A promising area for optimizing work in TB outbreaks is the use of information technology and mapping. Objective. To study the potential of geoinformation technologies for tracking outbreaks of socially significant infections. Materials and methods. The territory distribution and trend over time of TB and HIV infection outbreaks were analyzed in three districts of St. Petersburg by the clinical, epidemic, and social parameters, as well as geo-points of latent tuberculosis case registration during the period from 6 to 20 years. The geographical database and cartographic visualization was generated using versatile geographic information system QGIS. To solve the emerging problems of discrepancy and variability of data sources, as well as non-standard and often unreliable location information, a MS Excel template and a geocoding application were developed. Various combinations of geometric, color, and explanatory (narrative) parameters reflecting the analyzed clinical and epidemiological characteristics were selected to visualize the outbreaks on the map. It is possible to visualize the trend of the epidemic situation over time, reflecting the emergence and elimination of outbreaks. Results. Geoinformation technology in the mapping of outbreaks of socially significant infections allows visualizing the location and clusters of the outbreaks, visual coding of various parameters, and studying their trends over the years: emergence, evolution, and elimination. Multiscale imaging (switch from a larger scale to a smaller scale) makes it possible to study disease outbreaks in detail. Visualization of cases of latent tuberculosis allows identifying potentially unfavorable areas with suspected hidden sources of tuberculosis infection. Conclusion. The use of geoinformation technology in the informational support of the monitoring of socially significant infections outbreaks can help to raise the level of awareness of government health agencies and draw the attention of management and public organizations to this problem, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the revival of preventive and disease control activities of medical care to fight infections.
