Applying a geospatial visualization based on USSD messages to real time identification of epidemiological risk areas in developing countries

The identification of epidemiological risk areas is one of the major problems in public health. Information management strategies are needed to design prevention and control of disease in the affected areas. This paper presents a model to optimize geographical data collection of suspected or confirmed disease occurrences using the USSD mobile technology, considering its wide adoption even in developing countries such as Paraguay. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is proposed for visualizing potential epidemiological risk areas in real time, aimed to support decision making and to implement prevention or contingency programs for public health.