Spatial generalization of epidemiological models based on the Normalized Environmental Distance NED concept

Landscape epidemiology is a discipline that tries to find answers to epidemiological issues, based on a holistic and spatial view of the problem. This is usually used in air, water and vectors borne diseases, as is the case of Dengue whose vector is a mosquito. Models of these relationships are constructed from a set of field data and variables derived from satellites. The problem appears basically because the number of places where field data are available is usually limited. In this work we propose to redefine the concept of "closeness" or more generally "distance" to move from a geometric or geographical fact to evaluating as an eco-epidemiological facture. Thus we define the Normalized Environmental Distance (NED) as a multidimensional distance based on environmental variables relevant to the problem under study. We show how to calculate this distance, based on information derived from satellites, and how use it in the context of models for dengue.