Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8, 51-74; doi:10.3390/ijerph8010051 OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ISSN 1660-4601 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph Article Spatio-Temporal Diffusion Pattern and Hotspot Detection of Dengue in Chachoengsao Province, Thailand Phaisarn Jeefoo 1,*, Nitin Kumar Tripathi 1 and Marc Souris 1,2,3 1 Remote Sensing and GIS Field of Study, School of Engineering and Technology, Asian Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand; E-Mails:
[email protected] (N.K.T.);
[email protected] (M.S.) 2 Center of Excellence for Vectors and Vector-Borne Diseases, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhompathom 73170, Thailand 3 Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 190, Marseille, France * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +66-2524-5799; Fax: +66-2524-5597. Received: 3 November 2010; in revised form: 20 December 2010 / Accepted: 21 December 2010 / Published: 29 December 2010 Abstract: In recent years, dengue has become a major international public health concern. In Thailand it is also an important concern as several dengue outbreaks were reported in last decade. This paper presents a GIS approach to analyze the spatial and temporal dynamics of dengue epidemics. The major objective of this study was to examine spatial diffusion patterns and hotspot identification for reported dengue cases. Geospatial diffusion pattern of the 2007 dengue outbreak was investigated. Map of daily cases was generated for the 153 days of the outbreak. Epidemiological data from Chachoengsao province, Thailand (reported dengue cases for the years 1999–2007) was used for this study.