One Health
Published December 28, 2023 | Version 1
Preprint Open

Geo-epidemiology – a geo-referenced, dynamic, data-driven, interdisciplinary, cost-benefit oriented approach to prevent disease dissemination

Creators

  • 1. Geospatial Research Services, Ithaca, New York, USA.
  • 2. Center for Global Health, Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
  • 3. Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome, Italy.
  • 4. KB One Health LLC, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
  • 5. National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Tbilisi, Georgia.
  • 6. Department of Human Ecology, CINVESTAV, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
  • 7. Biosecurity, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA.

Contributors

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Data curator:

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Project leader:

Work package leader:

  • 1. Geospatial Research Services, Ithaca, New York, USA
  • 2. Center for Global Health, Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
  • 3. Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome, Italy.
  • 4. KB One Health LLC, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
  • 5. National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Tbilisi, Georgia.
  • 6. Department of Human Ecology, CINVESTAV, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
  • 7. Biosecurity, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA.

Description

Geo-epidemiology is an inter-disciplinary field that, based on geo-referenced and bio-dynamic data, attempts to prevent disease dissemination earlier and more effectively. Hoping to promote its development, the theoretical background of this field is reviewed, including a data-based description on its non-reductionist, complexity-related principles. Three central concepts of geo-epidemiology are emphasized: (1) connectivity (geographically measurable structures that predate disease emergence); (2) dynamics (relationships likely to be missed by static methods and metrics); (3) cost/benefit assessments of potential interventions (geo-referenced, context-specific, decision-making). Applications derived from these concepts range from differentiation of infection types (bio-geo-temporal information that distinguishes, earlier, at least five different types of infections) to context-specific, cost-effective decision-making. Geo-epidemiology may also promote dynamic testing (a geo-temporal method likely to identify and isolate asymptomatic patients affected by rapidly disseminating pandemics).  These concepts are illustrated with examples that involve non-human species as well as human populations affected by COVID-19. Given the limited number of publications that focus on geo-referenced, cost-benefit oriented interventions of epizootics and epidemics, it is suggested that new graduate-level, innovative multi-national educational programs on geo-epidemiology are needed.  The previous creation of disease-related, geo-referenced, and temporal datasets – similar to those described in this perspective– may foster such efforts.

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Dates

Submitted
2023-12-29
Analytic geo-epidemiology