American Journal of Epidemiology · 1992 · 179 citations · 0 references
Veterinary MedicineBiostatisticsInfectious DiseasesEpidemiologySpatial AnalysisSpatial EpidemiologyDisease MappingDisease SpreadGeographic DistributionGeostatistical AnalysisSpatial Disease MappingSpatial Distribution Of DiseaseEpidemiologic Data AnalysisGeostatistical Disease MappingGeostatistical Disease ModelingInfectious Disease MappingKrigingSpatial Disease DynamicsSpatial Epidemiology ModelingSpatial Variability
This paper presents the application of a technique from the earth sciences, the "kriging" method, to the field of geographic epidemiology. Both the principles of the method and the basic equations are given. A key advantage of the method is that it relies on an analysis of the spatial variability of the data and allows the representation of the variable under study as a continuous process throughout a country. Application of the kriging method to the geographic distribution of an epidemic of influenza-like illness in France is discussed.