Detection of Territores of High Risk HFRS Exposure in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Applying GIS-Technologies

Objective of the investigation was to differentiate the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan according to the levels of risk of exposure to HFRS. Materials and methods. Utilized were the records on HFRS morbidity among the population of the Republic of Bashkortostan over the period of 1980-2014, collected in the Rospotrebnadzor Administration and the Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Republic of Bashkortostan, as well as personalized data on HFRS incidence in the Republic over the period of 2009-2011. Key research method was GIS-technology based analysis. Results and discussion. It is established that 56.7 % of HFRS epidemic manifestations are in the forest-steppe zone, 24.3 % - in flood-plain biotopes, and 16.1 % - in forest area. Recorded is a high level of infection among the people aged 20-50. What is more, morbidity rates for men come up to 79 %, for women - 21 %. Children under 14 and individuals over 60 suffer much more rarely. Determined is the fact that HFRS-affected residential areas are situated 2.5 times closer to forest zones and 1.6 times - to flood plains, than those in which HFRS cases are not registered. Substantiated is the prospective of GIS application, first and foremost geo-coding, for epidemiological zoning of enzootic as regards HFRS territories, detection of areas where high risk of exposure exists, and performance of targeted preventive measures.