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Peer Reviews (226)

Published on in Vol 5 (2024)

Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/60433, first published .
Peer Review of “Human Brucellosis in Iraq: Spatiotemporal Data Analysis From 2007-2018”

Peer Review of “Human Brucellosis in Iraq: Spatiotemporal Data Analysis From 2007-2018”

Peer Review of “Human Brucellosis in Iraq: Spatiotemporal Data Analysis From 2007-2018”

Authors of this article:

Anonymous
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    This is the peer-review report for “Human Brucellosis in Iraq: Spatiotemporal Data Analysis From 2007-2018.”


    General Comments

    This paper [1] presents a spatiotemporal distribution analysis of the outbreak of the brucellosis in Iraq from 2007 to 2018, providing explanations for potential underlying causes. The methods employed include descriptive analysis and Getis-Ord Gi*. The paper exhibits a well-structured format, clear language, rich content, and appropriate methodology.

    Specific Comments

    Major Comments

    1. The Abstract and the main text exhibit inconsistency in describing the methods employed. The Results section of the main text only includes the results of the descriptive analysis and Getis-Ord Gi*, with no mention of the Moran I method as indicated in the Abstract.

    2. The methods used in the paper should be briefly explained in the Methods section to clarify their principles.

    3. In the Results section, the authors state that there is an increasing trend in female cases from 2016 onward. This conclusion cannot be drawn; female cases increased from 2016 to 2017 and then decreased by 2018, falling below the 2016 quantity.

    4. Include spatial distribution maps of the incidence rates for 1-2 years during the study period.

    Minor Comments

    5. Add numerical labels to the bars in Figure 1 for a more intuitive understanding.

    6. Figure 4 lacks coordinate axes, and there is an incomplete gray box on the horizontal axis, affecting aesthetics.

    7. Please provide the formula for calculating the case frequency.


    Specific Comments

    Major Comments

    1. Maybe I did not express it clearly, but for the local Getis-Ord Gi* method, which is one of the main methods applied in this paper, the authors should give the formula for its calculation and add the source.

    2. This is not a comment that has to be revised. Generally, the significance and spatial location of clusters in the local Getis-Ord Gi* results are shown on the same map; for example, hot spots with different levels of significance are represented by 3 progressively deeper red colors, and cold spots with different levels of significance are represented by 3 progressively deeper blue colors. Also, Figure 5 contains too many maps, and it is more concise to show the results for 1 year in 1 map.

    3. The elements that are really necessary inside a map, including but not limited to a scale, a compass, and preferably the addition of national boundaries, are missing.

    Other Comments

    The authors have finished revising, and I do not have any questions.

    Conflicts of Interest

    None declared.

    1. Mustafa AH, Khaleel HA, Lami F. Human brucellosis in Iraq: spatiotemporal data analysis from 2007-2018. JMIRx Med. 2024;5:e54611. [CrossRef]

    Edited by Edward Meinert; This is a non–peer-reviewed article. submitted 10.05.24; accepted 10.05.24; published 03.07.24.

    Copyright

    © Anonymous. Originally published in JMIRx Med (https://med.jmirx.org), 3.7.2024.

    This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIRx Med, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://med.jmirx.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.