Nasim Radkhoshnoud

Spatial Patterns of HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis Disease within the African Continent
by © 2002

This research project examined the Spatial-temporal distribution of HIV/AIDS and TB for 1997 and 1999 within the African continent. More specifically, this study investigated whether similar clustering of disease rates could be observed between the two diseases for the two years of study. This research was prompted from the existing literature suggesting the increase in the current rates of TB may be related to the burden of HIV/AIDS. African was chosen as the study area since the conditions (such as poverty) that often contribute to an increase in infectious disease are present.

Data for this study of (prevalence rates for HIV/AIDS and the incidence rates of TB) was obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) public web site, aggregated at the country level. Choropleth maps were used to reveal the spatial distribution of the two diseases. Pearson and Spearman correlations, descriptive statistics, and the Mann-Whitney U-test were used to assess temporal changes in disease rates. Pearson and Spearman Correlation and linear regression were used to assess the relationship between HIV/AIDS and TB for each year. Additionally, global spatial autocorrelation using Moran's I, and local spatial autocorrelation using the Localmoran and Zi-statistic, were used to examine the extent of clustering of rates for each time period. The results of the analysis revealed similar clustering of HIV/AIDS and TB within Africa, particularly lower rates for both diseases in the north and higher rates for both diseases within the southern region of the continent. There was an increase, but not significant, of rates over time for both diseases. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between HIV and TB for both years. These results support the growing public health recognition that efforts to prevent and control these diseases must involve a dual approach.

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