Study of Spatial Pattern of Tuberculosis by Geographical Information System in Kerman Province, 2011-2016: An Ecological Study

  Background and Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that more than 95% of its cases and the death caused by it occurs in low and middle income countries. Nowadays Geographical Information System (GIS) software is one of the most useful epidemiologic devices for identifying geographic areas and high risk population for infection by TB. This study was performed in Kerman, Iran, to determine the geographical pattern of TB in this province. Materials and Methods: In this ecological study, documents of 1927 New TB patients identified in Kerman province at the beginning of 2011 until the end of the 2016 were assessed. Information of patients was extracted from the software for patients’ registration. The data was analyzed using chi-square test.  Findings: In this study, 1356 patients (70.37%) had pulmonary tuberculosis and 571 patients (29.63%) had extra pulmonary tuberculosis. The average incidence of tuberculosis at 6 years in the female population in the province was 11.41 and in the male population was 9.99 per 100,000 people. By mapping the incidence of tuberculosis, the highest average incidence at 6 years was observed in the counties of Qaleh Ganj, Kahnooj and Kerman.   Conclusion: GIS maps indicate that the risk of TB in the eastern and southern areas of the province (especially the counties of Qaleh Ganj, Kahnooj, Kerman, Bam and Rudbar) is higher than in other areas. Special care and services to high-risk areas is recommended. Key words: Tuberculosis, Spatial Pattern, Geographic Information Systems, Kerman   Funding: This research was funded by Research Council of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. Conflict of interest: M. Rezaeian is the Editor in chief of JRUMS. Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences approved study (Ethical code: IR.RUMS.REC.1397.9).   How to cite this article: Behzadinejad R, Rezaeian M,  Khalili P, Vazirinejad R. Study of Spatial Pattern of Tuberculosis by Geographical Information System in Kerman Province, 2011-2016: An Ecological Study. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2020; 19 (2): 193-212. [Farsi]