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Chapter 31
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-6915-2.ch031
ABSTRACT
Vector-borne diseases pose a major public health threat. Combined, these diseases contribute significantly
to illness and mortality worldwide and have an adverse impact on development and economic growth of
nations. Public health stakeholders seeking to control and prevent these diseases are confronted with a
myriad of challenges. Some of these difficulties are related to the nature of the data, the uncertainty of
disease dynamics, and volatility of human-environment interactions. Visualization tools are capable of
ameliorating some of these challenges. In this paper, the authors demonstrate how interactive visualiza-
tions can support stakeholders’ decision-making tasks. In particular, they present a visualization tool
they created that can support control efforts related to the recent Zika outbreak in Brazil.
1. INTRODUCTION
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs), such as zika, malaria, and dengue fever, do not respect geopolitical bound-
aries, as evidenced by their prevalent spread across the globe. For example, for the first time in history,
Chikungunya, a disease endemic in African and South Asian countries, is now present in Caribbean
nations (Charrel, Leparc-Goffart, Gallian, & de Lamballerie, 2014). Vector-borne diseases are a major
public health threat which results in over 750 thousand deaths each year (World Health Organization,
2012). VBDs increase health inequities, put a strain on health services, and negatively impact develop-
ment and economic growth (Campbell-Lendrum et al., 2015; World Health Organization, 2012). In full
Exploring the Spread of Zika:
Using Interactive Visualizations to
Control Vector-Borne Diseases
Oluwakemi Ola
Western University, Canada
Olha Buchel
Si Technology Group, Inc., Canada
Kamran Sedig
Western University, Canada