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Pennsylvania Combats West Nile Virus with ArcPad, Internet
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Agriculture (PDA) are collaborating with each other and the Esri Professional Services Division to build a West Nile Virus At right: Internet map showing sample site locations in Pennsylvania. BackgroundWest Nile virus first appeared in the United States in 1999 on Long Island in New York. Since then it has spread to other counties in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
To combat the disease in Pennsylvania, once infected dead birds or mosquitoes are found surveillance in an area increases. The enhanced surveillance information directs control efforts. Pennsylvania System DescriptionPennsylvania realized the importance of tracking all of the West Nile virus information spatially and chose to use GIS as the central repository for the data, which includes the results of the analysis of samples taken from sentinel chickens and horses, human beings, dead birds, and mosquitoes. Since the Above right: Using ArcPad in the field. Inset: Mosquitoes are collected in traps. One of the most important of the various pieces of information is an ID number. A unique number is entered on each form. The bottle that contains the sample is labeled with the same number so that all the information about a sample can be kept together in the database. An internal Web server automatically checks the external database and retrieves any new data. Data approved for public release (e.g., summary statistics by county) is published on the Internet; see www.westnile.state.pa.us. Current Status and Future PlansAs of October 2000, Phase I of the project, which focused primarily on designing and implementing the data collection software and hardware and analyzing and tracking mosquito samples, is nearing completion; the hardware and software for the system have been installed, and the ArcPad and Web user interfaces have been designed. Thirty-one mosquito pools and 29 dead birds have tested positive for the virus as of October 31, 2000. During Phase II, the system will be refined and expanded. Specifically, ArcPad will be used to report locations and other data for blood samples taken at random from wild birds. Web-based forms with attached drop-down lists of locations will be used to record blood sample data for sentinel chickens and horses, and address geocoding software accessed from a Web interface will be used to determine the locations of infected humans and animals. This system demonstrates the potential of handheld technology for disease monitoring and control. Eric Conrad at the Office of Field Operations at DEP, which is leading the project, says, "The handheld units enabled timely collection of field data. Web applications enable data submittal from various State and local agencies, and Esri software provided a vehicle for displaying the data from the database for both information dissemination and management decision making. Because of the versatility of Esri software, the data could be displayed at varying levels of detail: general for the public, moderately detailed for State and county agencies interested in what was going on, and highly detailed for management decisions." For more information, please visit www.westnile.state.pa.us or contact Eric Conrad, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (e-mail: Conrad.Eric@dep.state.pa.us). |