title: The analysis of disease clusters, Part I: State of the art.
abstract: Public health professionals often are asked to investigate apparent clusters of human health events, or "disease clusters." A cluster is an excess of cases in space (a geographic cluster), in time (a temporal cluster), or in both space and time. This is part I of an introductory-level review of the analysis of disease clusters for physicians and health professionals concerned with infection surveillance in hospitals. It reviews the status of the field with the hope of expanding the use of cluster analysis methods for the routine surveillance of infectious disease in the hospital environment.
authors.affiliation: BioMedware, 516 N State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Jacquez
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grimson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wartenberg
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012984:Software; D013029:Space-Time Clustering; D014481:United States