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We present a technology for the accurate and fast geo-location of medical data and the creation of central data archives, specifically designed for the development of disease risk maps and of other functions for modern epidemiology and surveillance. A WEBGIS system is configured as an Internet web service integrated with connectivity to a Geographical Information System (GIS). We developed for the ULSS Belluno a WEBGIS for the accurate mapping of tick-borne diseases, with specific attention to Lyme borreliosis, which may cause cardiac manifestations as atrioventricular conduction abnormalities, complete atrioventricular block, myocarditis and dilated cardiomiopathy. A first tree-based predictive model has been developed for risk classification of tick bites from 256 samples (data gathered through the Belluno Lyme WEBGIS), with a descriptive accuracy of 81.9% and a predictive accuracy of 75.1%. An experimental risk GIS map was therefore obtained from the model by considering altitude, week of sampling and vegetation type as predictor variables.

The analysis of spatial patterns in modern epidemiology has been greatly supported by the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), software environments whose main functionality is the processing of geo-referenced information. Adding a geographical location to facts and findings of medical interest allows to consider the biotic or abiotic factors that influence the spatial distribution of a disease, as in the famous historical example of John Snow mapping cholera cases in relation to water pumps in London in 1854 [1]. In order to recognize the associations between disease …