Information Management in Veterinary Services

Information

• Information is processed data that provides context and meaning.
• Data is simply facts and figures, while information is processed data with meaning.
• Information comes from many sources like books, websites, observations, and experiments.

Information Use

• Information must be:
  • Managed: This means ensuring its quality, controlling access, and keeping it organized.
  • Analyzed: This means turning the information into something understandable through interpretation and processing.
  • Acted upon: This means using the information to make decisions and take action.

Information Gathering

• Veterinary Services require effective systems to gather relevant information from the field.
• This information must be processed into a form that national policy makers and field staff can use.
• Web-based animal health information systems allow for near-instantaneous dissemination of information.
• Increased communication and connectivity mean there are more sources of information on animal diseases than ever before.

Animal Health Information Systems

• Animal health information systems gather, collate, and analyze data to provide meaningful information.
• National systems handle information about the health of livestock within a country.
• Regional systems are designed for specific areas, such as the EU’s Animal Diseases Information System (ADIS) and the ASEAN Regional Animal Health Information System (ARAHIS).
• Global systems, such as the OIE’s World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS), FAO’s EMPRES-i system, and ProMED, provide information on a wider scale.
• Some animal health information systems are password-protected and not publicly accessible.

Purposes of Animal Health Information Systems

• Provide comprehensive information to decision makers on disease, control measures, and their consequences.
• Share information within and between countries (early warning system).
• Monitor disease occurrence and control programs.
• Estimate vaccination coverage.
• Provide information required to meet international disease reporting needs.
• Support declarations of disease status for trading purposes.
• Identify unusual disease events or emerging diseases.
• Highlight shortfalls/gaps in surveillance.

Transboundary Animal Disease Information System (TADinfo)

• TADinfo was developed by the FAO and is designed to be customizable for each country.
• It imports geographical information and allows data transfer to regional and global animal health information systems.
• The new TADinfo has innovations that improve upon the first generation.

Geographical Information System (GIS)

• A computerized database management system used for capturing, storing, analyzing, and displaying spatially referenced data.
• Consists of four main components:
  • Input
  • Storage
  • Manipulation
  • Output
• Used as tools for analysis, modeling, and decision-making.
• Disadvantages:
  • Expensive
  • Requires a vast amount of data input
  • GIS layers can lead to costly mistakes
  • Initiating and implementing GIS can be challenging
  • Large amount of data can cause problems when analyzing due to complexity
• Data requires complex overlay operations that may require specialized training for personnel.

Visual Display of Spatial Phenomena

• The visual display of spatial phenomena offers a powerful descriptive analytical tool.
• Example: The distribution of different strains of Mycobacterium bovis in a wild animal population was used to understand disease transmission paths.
• Example: GIS maps helped to visualize the distribution of brown ear ticks in southern Africa and compare the prevalence of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus with East Coast Fever occurrence.

Spatial Analysis

• Involves:
  • Preparing an appropriate model.
  • Proper visualization.
  • Exploratory data analysis.
• Ranges from simple map overlay to statistical models.
• Helps interpret and predict the movement of populations and inanimate objects.
• Example: GIS maps the movement of animals between wild and domestic areas to identify high-risk areas for disease transmission.

Types of Spatial Data

• Point Patterns: Analysis of point patterns helps understand spatial clustering related to disease transmission.
• Geostatistical Data: Statistical methodology used to assess if a point pattern is regular, random, or clustered.
• Lattice Data: Represents a surface using a grid of regularly spaced sample points with a constant sampling distance.

Applications of GIS in Veterinary Medicine

• GIS has broad applications in the veterinary field, including:
  • Outbreak notification.
  • Disease prevention and eradication.
  • Disease surveillance.
  • Understanding disease dynamics and spreading patterns.
  • Correlation of disease trends with climate.
  • GIS was first used in veterinary medicine in 1994 to address the Foot and Mouth Disease epidemic.

GIS Capabilities

• Maps epidemiological information like morbidity, mortality, prevalence, incidence, and geographic disease distribution.
• Supports the veterinary sector in analyzing relationships between locations, the environment, and disease patterns.
• Helps assess the risk and distribution of diseases across countries.
• Used for various GIS operations:
  • Buffer generation
  • Overlay operation
  • Neighborhood analysis
  • Spatial analysis

Overlay Operations

• Combine information from different vector files into a new, more tailored file.
• Change both the spatial and attribute levels of the data.

Buffer Generation

• Calculates the distance from each cell to its nearest source.
• Used for applications like:
  • Finding the nearest hospital.
  • Calculating distances from outbreak sites.
  • Determining distances to major roads.

GIS Software

• Two commonly used GIS software programs in veterinary medicine are:
  • Quantum GIS (QGIS)
  • ArcGIS
• GIS outputs can be presented as maps, tables, diagrams, and other forms.

Data Sources of GIS

• Data for GIS can come from:
  • Paper Maps: Maps are one of the most traditional sources of GIS data.
  • Remote Sensing: Uses sensors on satellites or aircraft to gather data about the earth's surface.
  • Global Positioning System (GPS): Uses satellite signals to determine locations, directions, and time.

Application of GIS in Animal Disease Surveillance

• GIS is a valuable tool in disease monitoring and surveillance programs.
• It helps visualize disease foci, monitor newly infected or re-infected areas, identify populations at risk, target interventions, and monitor eradication efforts.

Explore the essential concepts of information management, focusing on its definition, gathering methods, and effective use in veterinary services. Understand how processed data transforms into meaningful information to aid decision-making and policy development in animal health.