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Spatial distribution of Leishmania seropositive dogs in the Angelim neighborhood, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil: appraisal of three spatial clustering methods

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Abstract

The detection of spatial clusters has been suggested as a potential tool for guiding the delivery of interventions against visceral leishmaniasis; however, little attention has been given to the consistency of results by using different spatial clustering methods. The present study aimed to assess the performance of three different techniques for identifying patterns in the spatial distribution of canine leishmaniasis in the city of Teresina, Brazil. This cross-sectional study was based on a serological survey for canine leishmaniasis in which each dog domicile was georeferenced to the exact location of each animal in space. The spatial analysis was performed using three methods: the Cuzick-Edwards statistic, the Hierarchical Nearest Neighbour analysis, and the Kulldorff Scan statistic. All techniques were able to identify clusters of high prevalences of canine leishmaniasis, but results were not consistent among techniques. The feasibility of the identification and location of clusters of cases in a restricted number of villages in neighborhoods might contribute to the optimization of control measures against visceral leishmaniasis. However, given the relative inconsistency of the results provided by the different methods, protocols for assessing clusters of diseases should always include more than one method of evaluation.

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Acknowledgements

GLW is grateful to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq-Brazil) and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ-Brazil) for the grant of the Programa Cientistas do Nosso Estado (CNE-2015).

Funding

The study was partially funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq-Brazil) and the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ). The study sponsors have no role in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the paper; and decision to submit it for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Estudos em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Horácio Macedo, S/N - Próximo a Prefeitura Universitária da UFRJ, Ilha do Fundão – Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-598, Brazil

    Lília Aparecida Marques da Silva & Guilherme Loureiro Werneck

  2. Departamento de Epidemiologia, Instituto de Medicina Social, UERJ, Rua São Francisco Xavier 524 – Maracanã, Bloco D, 7º andar, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20550-013, Brazil

    José Ueleres Braga & Guilherme Loureiro Werneck

  3. Gerência de Controle de Zoonoses, Fundação Municipal de Saúde, Rua Minas Gerais, 909 - Acarapé, Teresina, PI, 64003-850, Brazil

    João Pereira da Silva

  4. Departamento de Morfofisiologia Veterinária, Programa de Pós-graduação em Tecnologias Aplicadas a Animais de Interesse Regional, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal Do Piauí, Campos Socopo- S/N, Teresina, PI, 64049-550, Brazil

    Maria do Socorro Pires e Cruz

  5. Núcleo de Estatística e Geoprocessamento, Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Professor Moraes Rego, s/n – Cidade Universitária - Campus da UFPE, 50, Recife, PE, 740-465, Brazil

    André Luiz Sá de Oliveira

  6. Fiocruz Piauí, Rua Magalhães Filho 519 - Centro/Norte, Teresina, PI, 64000-128, Brazil

    Guilherme Loureiro Werneck

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  1. Lília Aparecida Marques da Silva
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  2. José Ueleres Braga
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  3. João Pereira da Silva
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  5. André Luiz Sá de Oliveira
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  6. Guilherme Loureiro Werneck
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Correspondence to Guilherme Loureiro Werneck.

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The submitted manuscript has been read by all authors carefully. All authors agree that the manuscript represents their work. The authors declare that there are no financial or other relationships of any of the authors of the manuscript that might lead to any conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The authors declare that this research is in compliance with ethical standards. The use of this data for this research, without the identification of canine owners and the guarantee of confidentiality, was granted by the head of the Department of Health Care of the Health Department of the city of Teresina.

This paper and the data are original and have not previously been published or posted to the Internet, in whole or in part. Neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content has not and will not be submitted for publication elsewhere so long as it is under consideration by the GeoJournal.

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da Silva, L.A.M., Braga, J.U., da Silva, J.P. et al. Spatial distribution of Leishmania seropositive dogs in the Angelim neighborhood, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil: appraisal of three spatial clustering methods. GeoJournal 86, 2457–2465 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10195-3

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