Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2025

Trajectory Data Analyses for Pedestrian Space-time Activity Study
Published on: February 25, 2013
Analysis and prediction of infectious diseases based on spatial visualization and machine learning
Yunyun Cheng1, Yanping Bai2, Jing Yang3
1School of Information and Communication Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, China.
Abstract:
Infectious diseases are a global public health problem that poses a threat to human society. Since the 1970s, constantly mutated new infectious viruses have been quietly attacking humanity, and at least one new type of infectious disease is discovered every year. Therefore, early warning of infectious diseases will greatly reduce the socio-economic harm of infectious diseases. This study is based on the data of COVID-19 epidemic in China (except Macau and Taiwan Province) from 2020 to 2022. Firstly, we used ArcGIS software to analyze the spatial agglomeration pattern of the number of patients in various regions of China through global spatial autocorrelation analysis, local spatial autocorrelation analysis, center of gravity trajectory migration algorithm and other statistical tools; In addition, the areas with serious COVID-19 epidemic and requiring special attention were screened out. Then, autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA), extreme learning machine (ELM), support vector regression (SVR), wavelet neural network (Wavelet), recurrent neural network (RNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) were used to predict COVID-19 epidemic data in Guangdong Province, China; And the prediction performance of each model was compared through prediction accuracy indicators. Finally, a multi algorithm fusion learning model based on stacking technology is proposed to address the problem of poor generalization ability of single algorithm models in prediction; Furthermore, radial basis function network (RBF) was used as a two-level meta learner to fuse the above models, and particle swarm optimization (PSO) was used to optimize RBF parameters to reduce generalization error. The experimental results show that the performance of the integrated model is better than that of the single model in the COVID-19 dataset. In order to better apply the stacking model to the prediction of new infectious diseases, we applied the prediction model based on the COVID-19 dataset to the prediction of the number of AIDS and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases, and verified the wide applicability of our model in the prediction of infectious diseases.
Insights
Early warning systems for infectious diseases are crucial. A novel multi-algorithm fusion model effectively predicted COVID-19 and showed promise for other diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology and Public Health
- Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
- Data Science and Machine Learning
Background:
- Infectious diseases represent a significant global health challenge, with new viruses emerging annually.
- Early detection and prediction of infectious disease outbreaks are vital to mitigate socio-economic impacts.
- The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for robust predictive modeling tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the spatial patterns of COVID-19 in China.
- To evaluate the predictive performance of various machine learning models for infectious disease data.
- To develop and validate a superior ensemble learning model for infectious disease forecasting.
Main Methods:
- Spatial analysis using ArcGIS, including global and local spatial autocorrelation, and center of gravity trajectory migration.
- Comparative analysis of single predictive models: Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), Support Vector Regression (SVR), Wavelet Neural Network (Wavelet), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM).
- Development of a stacking ensemble model using Radial Basis Function Network (RBF) as a meta-learner, optimized with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO).
Main Results:
- Identification of high-incidence COVID-19 areas in China.
- Demonstration that the ensemble stacking model outperformed individual models in predicting COVID-19 cases in Guangdong Province.
- Validation of the ensemble model's broad applicability by successfully predicting cases of AIDS and Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB).
Conclusions:
- The developed multi-algorithm fusion model offers enhanced generalization and prediction accuracy for infectious diseases.
- Spatial analysis aids in identifying high-risk regions for targeted public health interventions.
- This approach provides a valuable framework for the early warning and management of emerging and existing infectious diseases.
Related Concept Videos
Steps in Outbreak Investigation
Manipulation and Analysis
Levels of Use of a GIS
Statistical Software for Data Analysis and Clinical Trials
Statistical Methods for Analyzing Epidemiological Data
Introduction to GIS

