Title
Associations Between Eight Earth Observation-Derived Climate Variables and Enteropathogen Infection: An Independent Participant Data Meta-Analysis of Surveillance Studies With Broad Spectrum Nucleic Acid Diagnostics
Date Issued
01 January 2022
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Colston J.M.
Zaitchik B.F.
Badr H.S.
Burnett E.
Ali S.A.
Rayamajhi A.
Satter S.M.
Eibach D.
Krumkamp R.
May J.
Chilengi R.
Howard L.M.
Sow S.O.
Jahangir Hossain M.
Saha D.
Imran Nisar M.
Zaidi A.K.M.
Kanungo S.
Mandomando I.
Faruque A.S.G.
Kotloff K.L.
Levine M.M.
Breiman R.F.
Omore R.
Page N.
Platts-Mills J.A.
Ashorn U.
Fan Y.M.
Shrestha P.S.
Ahmed T.
Mduma E.
Yori P.P.
Bhutta Z.
Bessong P.
Lima A.A.M.
Kang G.
Humphrey J.
Prendergast A.J.
Ntozini R.
Okada K.
Wongboot W.
Gaensbauer J.
Melgar M.T.
Pelkonen T.
Freitas C.M.
Publisher(s)
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Abstract
Diarrheal disease, still a major cause of childhood illness, is caused by numerous, diverse infectious microorganisms, which are differentially sensitive to environmental conditions. Enteropathogen-specific impacts of climate remain underexplored. Results from 15 studies that diagnosed enteropathogens in 64,788 stool samples from 20,760 children in 19 countries were combined. Infection status for 10 common enteropathogens—adenovirus, astrovirus, norovirus, rotavirus, sapovirus, Campylobacter, ETEC, Shigella, Cryptosporidium and Giardia—was matched by date with hydrometeorological variables from a global Earth observation dataset—precipitation and runoff volume, humidity, soil moisture, solar radiation, air pressure, temperature, and wind speed. Models were fitted for each pathogen, accounting for lags, nonlinearity, confounders, and threshold effects. Different variables showed complex, non-linear associations with infection risk varying in magnitude and direction depending on pathogen species. Rotavirus infection decreased markedly following increasing 7-day average temperatures—a relative risk of 0.76 (95% confidence interval: 0.69–0.85) above 28°C—while ETEC risk increased by almost half, 1.43 (1.36–1.50), in the 20–35°C range. Risk for all pathogens was highest following soil moistures in the upper range. Humidity was associated with increases in bacterial infections and decreases in most viral infections. Several virus species' risk increased following lower-than-average rainfall, while rotavirus and ETEC increased with heavier runoff. Temperature, soil moisture, and humidity are particularly influential parameters across all enteropathogens, likely impacting pathogen survival outside the host. Precipitation and runoff have divergent associations with different enteric viruses. These effects may engender shifts in the relative burden of diarrhea-causing agents as the global climate changes.
Volume
6
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Enfermedades infecciosas Pediatría Otros temas de medicina clínica Investigación climática
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85123802329
Source
GeoHealth
ISSN of the container
24711403
Sponsor(s)
The authors would like to thank the fieldworkers, research teams, and participants of the included studies who dedicated their time and information to better the understanding of the transmission and impact of enteric infections in early childhood. The findings and conclusions of this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The research presented in this article was supported financially by NASA's Group on Earth Observations Work Programme (16‐GEO16‐0047) and the Department of Internal Medicine and the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health of the University of Virginia. Further funding was obtained from the BMGF under OPP1066146 to M. N. Kosek. The funder played no role in the design and implementation of the study or the analysis and interpretation of the results.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus