Summary
Bluetongue
(BT) is an infectious, non-contagious, arthropod-borne disease transmitted
by biting midges. When BT spread throughout the Balkans (affecting
Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro), it caused serious
concerns for veterinary authorities in all countries in the eastern
Mediterranean. In 2003-2004 a web-based BT geographic information
system network was developed and implemented to provide veterinary
services with a tool to manage and analyse data on the disease and
to exchange information. The system was centralised to ensure there
was a common epidemiological surveillance strategy. Spatial and
alphanumerical data on the disease were organised in a single relational
geographic database. The system was equipped with a number of applications
for the display of dynamic maps and data information via the web,
with multi-user access for simultaneous queries from additional
users.
Keywords
Balkans,
Bluetongue, Geographic information system, Mediterranean Basin,
Surveillance network, Web. |