Health informatics model for helminthiasis in Thailand

Abstract

Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016. At the beginning of the new millennium, helminth infections continue to be prevalent, particularly among impoverished populations. This study attempts to create the first health informatics model of helminthiasis in Thailand. The authors investigate how a health informatics model could be used to predict the control and eradication in a national control campaign. Fish-borne helminthiasis caused by Opisthorchis viverrini remains a major public health problem in many parts of South-East Asia, including Thailand, Lao PDR, Vietnam and Cambodia. The epicentre of this disease is located in north-east Thailand, where high prevalence coexists with a high incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (CHCA). The current report was conducted to determine a mathematical model of surveillance for helminthiasis while also using a geographic information system. The fish-borne helminthiasis model or the predicted equation was Y1 = 3.028 + 0.020 (elevation) - 2.098 (clay). For soil-transmitted helminthiasis, the mathematical model or the predicted equation was Y2 = -1.559 + 0.005 (rainfall) + 0.004 (elevation) - 2.198 (clay). The Ministry of Public Health has concluded that mass treatment for helminthiasis in the Thai population, targeting high-risk individuals, may be a cost-effective way to allocate limited funds. This type of approach, as well as further study on the correlation of clinical symptoms with environmental and geographic information, may offer a novel strategy to the helminth crisis.