Contribution of GIS and remote sensing technologies for managing foodborne diseases in Malaysia

Foodborne diseases (e.g. cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and Hepatitis A) are still considered a threat to human health and economy of a country. The cooperation among governments, the food industries and consumers are essential in order to control the diseases effectively. These emerging diseases can be controlled by implementing an effective technology application and innovation. Geographical information system (GIS) and satellite remote sensing are not new technologies in the world, but their applications in Malaysia particularly in the field of health are not used widely although the technologies have potential in providing a holistic system for public health care and epidemiology. This study was to demonstrate practically the implementations of GIS and remote sensing technologies in managing cholera control plan as a foodborne disease in the country. Initially, it showed that the technologies could be applied in three operations; i) interactive mapping of cholera disease, ii) analyzing dynamic changes for cholera transmission risk system, and iii) a framework for public healthcare management system. These potential contributions of technologies in health hopefully could be beneficial to the epidemiologist and public health staffs of MOH institutions toward creating an efficient MyGeoHealth (Malaysian Geospatial and Health) approach.