Use of a Health Information System (HIS) for the Epidemiological Surveillance of Leishmaniasis in Urban Areas E. Brianti 1,* , M. Drigo 2 , V. Zirilli 1 , G. Poglayen 3 and S. Giannetto 1 1 Dipartimento di Sanita`Pubblica Veterinaria, Facolta`di Medicina Veterinaria, Universita`di Messina, Polo Universitario dell_Annunziata, 98168, Messina, Italia; 2 Dipartimento di Sanita`Pubblica, Patologia Comparata e Igiene Veterinaria, Facolta` di Medicina Veterinaria, Universita`di Padova, Padova, Italy; 3 Dipartimento di Sanita` Pubblica e Patologia Animale, Facolta`di Medicina Veterinaria, Alma Mater Studiorum, Universita`di Bologna, Bologna, Italia * Correspondence: E-mail: ebrianti@unime.it Brianti, E., Drigo, M., Zirilli, V., Poglayen, G. and Giannetto, S., 2007. Use of a Health Information System (HIS) for the epidemiological surveillance of leishmaniasis in urban areas. Veterinary Research Communica- tions, 31(Suppl. 1), 213–215 Keywords: GIS, Health Information System, Italy, leishmaniasis, surveillance, urban area Abbreviations: GIS, Geographical Information System; HIS, Health Information System INTRODUCTION Over recent years leishmaniasis has become a serious Public Health problem in Italy and reported cases in Humans have increased over the last decade. Infected dogs represent the main reservoir of Leishmania in the Mediterranean basin and their proximity to humans acts as risk factor for the transmission in urban areas. As in humans, the inci- dence of the disease in dogs is rising and canine leishmaniasis has been spreading from historical endemic areas of southern Italy to northern territories. On the vector side, data from studies in different Italian regions show that Phleboto- mus perniciosus and Phlebotomus perfiliewi, proved vectors for Leishmania, have the ability to colonize a wide range of habitats including urban sites. Consequently, because of the possible dangerous coexistence of infected dogs, vectors and humans, the urban environment represents a target for epidemiological studies and surveillance activities of this zoonosis. No standard and regular surveillance system currently exists for leishmaniasis even though they are notifiable in 33 of the 88 countries in which they occur (Dujardin, 2006). Thus, new tools and efforts need to be provided for improvement in the control and prevention of the disease. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is a computer- based technology for geographical representation and spatial analysis of data and it opened new perspectives for epidemiological studies. In fact, GIS technologies have been widely used as tools for the surveillance and monitoring activities of other zoonotic disease in urban areas (Werneck et al., 2002; Caiaffa et al., 2005). 213 Veterinary Research Communications, 31(Suppl. 1) (2007) 213–215 DOI: 10.1007/s11259-007-0008-5 # Springer 2007