REPORT
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Report III
Figure 1 High-Risk and Low-Risk Areas
There are various reasons to map out an infectious disease geographical distribution. Mapping often has the crucial aim of spatial epidemiology with maps showcasing disease distribution and intensity instrumental in showing the extent and magnitude of an issue affecting public health (Hay et al., 2013). According to the map, the high-risk cities include Jacksonville, Miami, Phoenix, Austin, New Orleans and Houston. The total number of cases experienced in these cities from February to April is 429, 392, 390, 368, 361 and 310, respectively. Consequently, the distribution patterns show that the high-risk states are Texas and California, with Texas having six cities with reported cases of infections. In comparison, California has seven cities with reported cases of infections. On the other hand, the low-risk cities are Omaha, Virginia Beach, Colorado Springs, Philadelphia and Indianapolis, with the total number of cases in each city being 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9, respectively. Markedly, the low-risk states based on the distribution and number of cases are Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Washington state, Boston, Missouri, Oregon and Virginia in no particular order. The states have single cities where the infection is present, coupled with a low number of cases, which leads to the low-risk classification as the chances of spread are minimal with the infections confined to a single city.
Looking at the map, the high-risk areas in the country are on the Eastern, Southern and South Western parts of the country. A closer look at the map shows the distribution patterns to be densely populated, indicating individuals moving within these areas are likely to be infected. On the other hand, the low-risk areas are in the Northern part of the country, considering that some states do not have even a single city with infections. The North-Western part of the country is also a low-risk area, with only two states reporting cases. Consequently, such mapping is critical to identifying health trends and enabling health care stakeholders to know where to concentrate efforts (Doan et al., 2019). Thus, the information is crucial to getting healthcare professionals where their services are needed, especially in the areas identified as high risk. As such, it clear that maps play a crucial role in healthcare.
References
Doan, S., Ngo, Q. H., Kawazoe, A., & Collier, N. (2019). Global Health Monitor: A Web-based System for Detecting and Mapping Infectious Diseases. arXiv preprint arXiv:1911.09735.
Hay, S. I., Battle, K. E., Pigott, D. M., Smith, D. L., Moyes, C. L., Bhatt, S., … & Gething, P. W. (2013). Global mapping of infectious disease. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 368(1614), 20120250.
Table of Figures
Figure 1 High-Risk and Low-Risk Areas 2