title: Prioritising Infectious Disease Mapping.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasing volumes of data and computational capacity afford unprecedented opportunities to scale up infectious disease (ID) mapping for public health uses. Whilst a large number of IDs show global spatial variation, comprehensive knowledge of these geographic patterns is poor. Here we use an objective method to prioritise mapping efforts to begin to address the large deficit in global disease maps currently available.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Automation of ID mapping requires bespoke methodological adjustments tailored to the epidemiological characteristics of different types of diseases. Diseases were therefore grouped into 33 clusters based upon taxonomic divisions and shared epidemiological characteristics. Disability-adjusted life years, derived from the Global Burden of Disease 2013 study, were used as a globally consistent metric of disease burden. A review of global health stakeholders, existing literature and national health priorities was undertaken to assess relative interest in the diseases. The clusters were ranked by combining both metrics, which identified 44 diseases of main concern within 15 principle clusters. Whilst malaria, HIV and tuberculosis were the highest priority due to their considerable burden, the high priority clusters were dominated by neglected tropical diseases and vector-borne parasites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A quantitative, easily-updated and flexible framework for prioritising diseases is presented here. The study identifies a possible future strategy for those diseases where significant knowledge gaps remain, as well as recognising those where global mapping programs have already made significant progress. For many conditions, potential shared epidemiological information has yet to be exploited.
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology & Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pigott
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology & Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rosalind E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Howes
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology & Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wiebe
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology & Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Battle
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Golding
authors.affiliation: Spatial Ecology & Epidemiology Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Peter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Gething
authors.affiliation: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Scott F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Dowell
authors.affiliation: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Tamer H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Farag
authors.affiliation: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Andres J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kimball
authors.affiliation: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: L Kendall
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.affiliation: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Craig H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Brooker
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Hmwe H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kyu
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Theo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vos
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
authors.forename: Christopher J L
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Moyes
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America; Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
authors.forename: Simon I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Hay
mesh_terms: D055877:Biosurveillance; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D062305:Geographic Mapping; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years