Geographic information systems: their application in animal disease control

Geographic information systems (GIS) are computerised information systems that allow for the capture, storage, manipulation, analysis, display and reporting of geographically referenced data. They have been used in recent years for a wide variety of purposes, including town planning and environmental resource management. The technology has many features which make it ideal for use in animal disease control, including the ability to store information relating to demographic and causal factors and disease incidence on a geographical background, and a variety of spatial analysis functions. A number of possible veterinary applications are suggested, and three examples of the use of GIS in New Zealand are discussed.