Epidemiological analysis on the spatiotemporal clustering of students' pulmonary tuberculosis in Wenzhou from 2008 to 2017

Objective To analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of students pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases in Wenzhou from 2008 to 2017, and to provide the scientific basis for TB control.Methods Arc GIS and Sa TScan applications was used to analyze the spatiotemporal clustering of PTB in students at the township level from 2008 to 2017, and to present the spatial and temporal clustering areas of PTB in students by Arc GIS.Results The students' PTB incidence rate in Wenzhou presented declining trend from 2008 to 2017.Global spatial autocorrelation with Sa TScan showed that there were the obvious clustering for students PTB.Chashan Street, where Wenzhou college town is located, was the main clustering areas for pulmonary tuberculosis.The true registered number of cases was 83 (RR = 4.67, LLR = 61.77, P < 0.01).The secondary clustering areas were 3 districts in middle and northern of Yong Jia, and southern of Yue Qing, The true registered number of cases was 139, 159, 179 (RR = 2.31, 1.49, 1.43, LLR = 36.14, 10.48, 9.49, P< 0.01).The purely temporal scan statistics showed the temporal cluster with a two-month period from April to May.The real registered number of cases was 688 (RR = 2.12, LLR = 121.48, P<0.01).Conclusion The Spatiotemporal scanning analysis method can be very well applied to analyze hot spots of PTB in students.In combination with geographic information systems, it can better intuitively and comprehensively display the areas of disease clustering and provide scientific reference for future targeted prevention and control measures.