Abstract
 Geostatistical Analysis of Possible Spirochetal Involvement in Multiple Sclerosis Track: Health and Human Services Author(s): Megan Blewett, Margaret Kilduff Multiple sclerosis (MS) is believed to have geographic factors, although the identity of those factors has eluded researchers for centuries. MS is most frequently found in temperate climates north of 40 degrees latitude, especially in Europe and North America. Its etiology is unknown, but current mainstream thinking is that it is an autoimmune disorder caused by an unidentified virus. In the 1930s, a small group of researchers believed that MS was caused by a spirochete. This paper presents results of data visualization work done testing and expanding the latter hypothesis using ArcGIS 9. The geographic distribution of MS as plotted using mortality data was comparable to the distributions of known geography-dependent spirochetal diseases including Lyme. We investigated population densities and how they vary with elevation. A geospatially indicated vector and reservoir host (ixodid tick and seabird, respectively) are also discussed. Megan Blewett Madison High School 15 Niles Avenue Madison , NJ 07940-2310 US Phone: 973-377-6117 E-mail: megan.blewett@att.net Margaret Kilduff University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey 65 Bergen Street, Room 353A P.O. Box 1709 Newark , NJ 07101-1709 US Phone: 973-972-9489 Fax: 973-972-7854 E-mail: kildufma@umdnj.edu |
|||||
