A first important step towards better usability of available disease surveillance databases in developing countries, such as Brazil, is developing easier to interpret risk-based priority indices using small area scale health data. Additionally, there is a need to reclassify and downscale multi-resolution state-level geospatial data to better serve policymakers at the municipality level.  This Forum highlights a proposed transition from small-area Bayesian methods used in risk classification to geostatistical approaches and examines the potential of this approach on the occurrence of Leptospirosis in Brazil.