Επιδημιολογική διερεύνηση,επιτήρηση και πρόληψη της βρουκέλλωσης σε γεωργοκτηνοτροφική περιοχή της Ελλάδας με την βοήθεια μηχανογραφημένης χαρτογράφησης

Brucellosis,a zoonosis distributed worldwide,is caused most commonly by Brucella melitensis. The control of brucellosis in animals,which is considered the only effective step in preventing the disease in humans,is a difficult and expensive task. Thus controlling human brucellosis in most countries has relied upon establishing reporting systems of both human and animal brucellosis cases. Between 1980 and 1989,5958 brucellosis cases were reported to the Ministry of Health,Greece,with high incidence rates in the rural areas. Since it is well known that brucellosis,like other infectious diseases,is under-reported,the number of brucellosis cases in this decade is assumed to be much higher. Moreover,sero-epidemiological studies support the fact that brucellosis is endemic and constitutes a serious health problem in certain rural areas of Greece. Thus a control programme for a high incidence area was designed.Three combined studies were included in this programme:1)population survey,2)trial of human brucellosis vaccine and intradermal reaction(IDR) test and 3)long term surveillance and health education. To achieve our objectives computerised mapping techniques were evaluated. Mapping has proved to be a powerful tool in epidimiological research.The initial use of mapping techniques was based on local distributions and a classic example of this was in the study of cholera epidemic in London (in 1854) and the study of endemic typhus in Alabama (1922-1926. Recent advances in computer graphics have simplified the methodology and have led to the extensive use of mapping on a county-level such ..