The prospective of geographic information systems and satellite remote sensing in schistosomosis with especial reference to Assam

Abstract

Schistosomosis, the snail-borne parasitic disease due to Schistosoma spindale, S. indicum, S. nasale and S. incognitum causes economic losses to farming community in the endemic areas. Therefore, proper strategic control measures have to be formulated in perspective of a particular region of the country to up-lift the rural economy. The applications of geographic information system (GIS) along with remote sensing (RS) help in acquiring epidemiological information and relate it to factors known to influence the distributions of snail-borne schistosomosis to map out the disease surveillance in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The prevalence of Schistosoma spp. in different ecological zone can be observed by the using of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) pathfinder satellite sensor data because of the adaptation of the intermediate host snails to semi-permanent water bodies in the endemic areas of schistosomosis. Understanding the environmental limits of infection can also be aided the targeting of national control strategies for some parasitic diseases of livestock. The water logging habitats for snail intermediate hosts both in Brahmaputra and Borak valley of Assam play the significant role in dissemination of schistosomosis in livestock. The early prediction of the disease is very much important to formulate the strategic control of the disease. Therefore, the development of predictive models of spatial distribution of schistosomosis based on GIS and RS data helps in controlling schistosomosis.