Journal article
Prioritising Infectious Disease Mapping.
- Abstract:
- Increasing volumes of data and computational capacity afford unprecedented opportunities to scale up infectious disease (ID) mapping for public health uses. Whilst a large number of IDs show global spatial variation, comprehensive knowledge of these geographic patterns is poor. Here we use an objective method to prioritise mapping efforts to begin to address the large deficit in global disease maps currently available.Automation of ID mapping requires bespoke methodological adjustments tailored to the epidemiological characteristics of different types of diseases. Diseases were therefore grouped into 33 clusters based upon taxonomic divisions and shared epidemiological characteristics. Disability-adjusted life years, derived from the Global Burden of Disease 2013 study, were used as a globally consistent metric of disease burden. A review of global health stakeholders, existing literature and national health priorities was undertaken to assess relative interest in the diseases. The clusters were ranked by combining both metrics, which identified 44 diseases of main concern within 15 principle clusters. Whilst malaria, HIV and tuberculosis were the highest priority due to their considerable burden, the high priority clusters were dominated by neglected tropical diseases and vector-borne parasites.A quantitative, easily-updated and flexible framework for prioritising diseases is presented here. The study identifies a possible future strategy for those diseases where significant knowledge gaps remain, as well as recognising those where global mapping programs have already made significant progress. For many conditions, potential shared epidemiological information has yet to be exploited.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 1.8MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003756
Authors
+ Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
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- Funding agency for:
- Golding, N
- Hay, S
- Grant:
- OPP1053338
- OPP1093011
- OPP1093011
+ Wellcome Trust
More from this funder
- Funding agency for:
- Howes, R
- Wiebe, A
- Battle, K
- Moyes, C
- Grant:
- Senior Research Fellowship (#095066)
+ University of Oxford
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- Funding agency for:
- Pigott, D
- Grant:
- Sir Richard Southwood Graduate Scholarship
- Publisher:
- Public Library of Science
- Journal:
- PLoS neglected tropical diseases More from this journal
- Volume:
- 9
- Issue:
- 6
- Pages:
- e0003756
- Publication date:
- 2015-06-10
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1935-2735
- ISSN:
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1935-2727
- Language:
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English
- Pubs id:
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pubs:527025
- UUID:
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uuid:f71a975e-9604-4f3a-96ce-e82faf7cad25
- Local pid:
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pubs:527025
- Source identifiers:
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527025
- Deposit date:
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2016-01-19
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Pigott et al
- Copyright date:
- 2015
- Notes:
- © 2015 Pigott et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This is the publisher's version of the article. The final version is available online from the Public Library of Science at: [10.1371/journal.pntd.0003756]
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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