Spatiotemporal analysis of the spread of meningococcal meningitis in Kaduna Metropolis, 2007-2011

Abstract

Meningococcal meningitis is an airborne disease that has been a threat to human life for over a century now. This study aims to describe the spatiotemporal spread of Meningococcal meningitis in the population residing in Kaduna metropolis. All the reported cases (suspected and confirmed) within the Kaduna metropolis from 2007 to 2011 were collected from files of the patients. Only patients who are resident in Kaduna metropolis were considered. For each year, the directional distribution, standard distance and the spatiotemporal pattern were explored. The analysis of the directional distribution shows the direction and the angle that the spread is more biased to at the different years. Standard distance shows the different areas of coverage for the spread of the disease for those five years which points to those areas that need more attention. The spatiotemporal results revealed that some specific neighbourhoods within the metropolis had the cases reoccurring within the five year period especially at the western and central parts of the metropolis. This indicates that much more attention is needed in those areas as regards preventive strategies by the policy makers and the stake holders. The spread of Meningococcal meningitis disease in Kaduna metropolis is much more dominant in some specific neighbourhood.