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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1426503
This article is part of the Research Topic Innovative Tuberculosis Case Finding Interventions: Lessons From the Field View all 9 articles

Spatiotemporal analysis of tuberculosis in the Hunan Province, China, 2014-2022

Provisionally accepted
Guojun Huang Guojun Huang 1,2Zuhui Xu Zuhui Xu 2*Liqiong Bai Liqiong Bai 2*Jianjun Liu Jianjun Liu 1*Shicheng Yu Shicheng Yu 1*Hongyan Yao Hongyan Yao 1*
  • 1 Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
  • 2 Hunan Chest Hospital, Changsha, Anhui Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a major infectious disease that threatens human health. China is a high tuberculosis-burden country and the Hunan Province has a high tuberculosis notification rate. However, no comprehensive analysis has been conducted on the spatiotemporal distribution of PTB in the Hunan Province. Therefore, this study investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of PTB in the Hunan Province to enable targeted control policies for tuberculosis. Methods: We obtained data about cases of PTB in the Hunan Province notified from January 2014 to December 2022 from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention. Time-series analysis was conducted to analyze the trends in PTB case notifications. Spatial autocorrelation analysis was conducted to detect the spatial distribution characteristics of PTB at a county level in Hunan Province. Space-time scan analysis was conducted to confirm specific times and locations of PTB clustering.Results: A total of 472,826 new cases of PTB were notified in the Hunan Province during the 9-year study period. The mean PTB notification rate showed a gradual, fluctuating downward trend over time. The number of PTB notifications per month showed significant seasonal variation, with an annual peak in notifications in January or March, followed by a fluctuating decline after March, reaching a trough in November or December. Moran's I index of spatial autocorrelation revealed that the notification rate of PTB by county ranged from 0.117 to 0.317 during the study period, indicating spatial clustering. The hotspot areas of PTB were mainly concentrated in the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, Zhangjiajie City, and Hengyang City. The most likely clustering region was identified in the central-southern part of the province, and a secondary clustering region was identified in the northwest part of the province.This study identified the temporal trend and spatial distribution pattern of tuberculosis in the Hunan Province. PTB clustered mainly in the central-southern and northwestern regions of the province. Disease control programs should focus on strengthening tuberculosis control in these regions.

    Keywords: Tuberculosis, spatiotemporal analysis, Spatial autocorrelation analysis, clustering, China

    Received: 01 May 2024; Accepted: 30 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Huang, Xu, Bai, Liu, Yu and Yao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Zuhui Xu, Hunan Chest Hospital, Changsha, Anhui Province, China
    Liqiong Bai, Hunan Chest Hospital, Changsha, Anhui Province, China
    Jianjun Liu, Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China
    Shicheng Yu, Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China
    Hongyan Yao, Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.