Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Techniques for analysis of disease clustering in space and in time in veterinary epidemiology.
- Journal:
- Preventive veterinary medicine
- Year:
- 2000
- Authors:
- Ward, M P & Carpenter, T E
- Affiliation:
- Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) · Australia
Plain-English summary
This study looks at different methods to understand how diseases, like blowfly strike (a condition where flies lay eggs on sheep, leading to skin infections), occur in specific areas and times. The researchers analyzed data from 33 sheep farms in southeastern Queensland, Australia, between August 1998 and May 1999. They used various statistical techniques to track and describe when and where these infections happened. The findings help provide a clearer picture of how blowfly strike affects sheep over time and in different locations. Overall, the study offers useful guidelines for investigating disease patterns in animals.
Abstract
Techniques to describe and investigate clustering of disease in space - the nearest-neighbour test, autocorrelation, Cuzick-and-Edwards' test and the spatial scan statistic - and in time - the Ederer-Myers-Mantel test and the temporal scan statistic - are reviewed. The application of these techniques in veterinary epidemiology is demonstrated by the analysis of a data set describing the occurrence of blowfly strike - both body strike and breech strike - between August 1998 and May 1999 in 33 commercial sheep flocks located within two local government areas of southeastern Queensland, Australia. By applying a combination of these methods, the occurrence of blowfly strike in the study area is well-characterised in both space and time. Guidelines for investigating disease clusters in veterinary epidemiology are discussed.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10821965/