Trends and seasonal variation in gastrointestinal infections in Tanzania: Analysis of 5-year DHIS2 data toward implementing the sampling cycles and metagenomic analyses

Abstract

Objectives: Gastrointestinal (GI) infections, such as diarrhea and dysentery, continue to be major contributors of morbidity and mortality in low-resource countries. Determining trends and seasonality of GI infections provides a better understanding of how interventions can be improved to reduce the burden. To this effect, an analysis of data from the District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2) was conducted to determine the trend and seasonal variations of GI infections in regions located in the Great Lakes of Tanzania. Methods: Data from DHIS2 of 22 districts in Tanzania recorded between January 2018 and December 2022 were analyzed for trends and seasonal variations in GI infections. The data were managed and analyzed by STATA and Microsoft Excel. Results: A total of 1,511,623 GI cases were recorded between January 2018 and December 2022, with diarrhea leading by 84.4%. Data have shown clear seasonal variations of GI infection: peaks during the rainy season and decline in the dry season. Conclusion: Results have revealed that there is a significant decrease in GI infections from January to August, and the cases increase from September to December. This confirmed two sampling cycles, the dry and rainy season, within which pathogen characteristics and diversity will be elucidated.