Perceptions of malaria control and prevention in an era of climate change: a cross-sectional survey among CDC staff in China

Long-lasting household damage from Cyclone Idai increases malaria risk in rural western Mozambique

Cyclone Idai in 2019 was one of the worst tropical cyclones recorded in the Southern Hemisphere. The storm caused catastrophic damage and led to a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique. The affected population suffered a cholera epidemic on top of housing and infrastructure damage and loss of life. The housing and infrastructure damage sustained during Cyclone Idai still has not been addressed in all affected communities. This is of grave concern because storm damage results in poor housing conditions which are known to increase the risk of malaria. Mozambique has the 4th highest malaria prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa and is struggling to control malaria in most of the country. We conducted a community-based cross-sectional survey in Sussundenga Village, Manica Province, Mozambique in December 2019-February 2020. We found that most participants (64%) lived in households that sustained damage during Cyclone Idai. The overall malaria prevalence was 31% measured by rapid diagnostic test (RDT). When controlling for confounding variables, the odds of malaria infection was nearly threefold higher in participants who lived in households damaged by Cyclone Idai nearly a year after the storm. This highlights the need for long-term disaster response to improve the efficiency and success of malaria control efforts.

Public health professionals' perceptions of the capacity of China's CDCs to address emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases

BACKGROUND

China's capacity to control and prevent emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases is critical to the nation's population health. This study aimed to explore the capacity of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) in China to deal with infectious diseases now and in the future.

METHODS

A survey was conducted in 2015 among 973 public health professionals at CDCs in Beijing and four provinces, to assess their capacity to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

RESULTS

Although most professionals were confident with the current capacity of CDCs to cope with outbreaks, nearly all indicated more funding was required to meet future challenges. Responses indicated that Yunnan Province faced more challenges than Anhui, Henan and Liaoning Provinces in being completely prepared and able to deal with outbreaks. Participants aged 20-39 years were more likely than those aged 40 and over to believe strategies such as interdisciplinary and international collaborations for disease surveillance and control, would assist capacity building.

CONCLUSION

The capacity of China's CDCs to deal with infectious diseases was excellent. However, findings suggest it is imperative to increase the number of skilled CDC staff, financial support, and strengthen county level staff training and health education programs.

Global Research Output and Theme Trends on Climate Change and Infectious Diseases: A Restrospective Bibliometric and Co-Word Biclustering Investigation of Papers Indexed in PubMed (1999-2018)

Climate change is a challenge for the sustainable development of an international economy and society. The impact of climate change on infectious diseases has been regarded as one of the most urgent research topics. In this paper, an analysis of the bibliometrics, co-word biclustering, and strategic diagram was performed to evaluate global scientific production, hotspots, and developing trends regarding climate change and infectious diseases, based on the data of two decades (1999–2008 and 2009–2018) from PubMed. According to the search strategy and inclusion criteria, a total of 1443 publications were found on the topic of climate change and infectious diseases. There has been increasing research productivity in this field, which has been supported by a wide range of subject categories. The top highly-frequent major MeSH (medical subject headings)/subheading combination terms could be divided into four clusters for the first decade and five for the second decade using a biclustering analysis. At present, some significant public health challenges (global health, and travel and tropical climate, etc.) are at the center of the whole target research network. In the last ten years, “Statistical model”, “Diarrhea”, “Dengue”, “Ecosystem and biodiversity”, and “Zoonoses” have been considered as emerging hotspots, but they still need more attention for further development.

Dengue control in the context of climate change: Views from health professionals in different geographic regions of China

BACKGROUND

Dengue is a significant climate-sensitive disease. Public health professionals play an important role in prevention and control of the disease. This study aimed to explore dengue control and prevention in the context of climate change in China.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 630 public health professionals in 2015. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed.

RESULTS

More than 80% of participants from southwest and central China believed climate change would affect dengue. However, participants from northeast China were less likely to believe so (65%). Sixty-nine percent of participants in Yunnan perceived that dengue had emerged/re-emerged in recent years, compared with 40.6% in Henan and 23.8% in Liaoning. Less than 60% of participants thought current prevention and control programs had been effective. Participants believed mosquitoes in high abundance, imported cases and climate change were main risk factors for dengue in China.

CONCLUSION

There were varying views of dengue in China. Professionals in areas susceptible to dengue were more likely to be concerned about climate change and dengue. Current prevention and control strategies need to be improved. Providing more information for staff in lower levels of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may help in containing a possible increase of dengue.

China's capacity of hospitals to deal with infectious diseases in the context of climate change

OBJECTIVES

Infectious diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in China. The capacity of hospitals to deal with the challenge from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases due to climate change is of great importance to population health. This study aimed to explore the capacity of hospitals in China to deal with such challenges.

METHODS

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was utilized to gauge information regarding capacity of hospitals to deal with infectious diseases in the context of climate change among 611 clinical professionals whose roles pertained to infectious disease diagnosis, treatment and management in Anhui Province of China. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression analysis were performed on the data.

RESULTS

More than 90% of participants believed climate change would have an adverse influence on population health and infectious disease control in China. Most indicated that their hospitals were well prepared for emerging infectious diseases at present, and they considered that logistical support in hospitals (e.g. administrative and maintenance services) should be strengthened for future capacity building. The majority of participants suggested that effective prevention and control measures, more interdisciplinary collaborations, more funding in rural areas for health care, and improved access to facilities enabling online reporting of infectious diseases, were extremely important strategies in building capacity to curb the population health impact of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases due to climate change in China.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical professionals recognized that climate change will likely increase the transmission of infectious diseases. Although rural health care and hospitals' logistical support need to be improved, most professionals believed their hospitals to be capable of dealing with emerging diseases. They thought that interdisciplinary and cross-regional collaborations, together with necessary resource support (e.g. improved facilities for rural health care) would be important control strategies.

What Can We Learn about Workplace Heat Stress Management from a Safety Regulator Complaints Database?

Heat exposure can be a health hazard for many Australian workers in both outdoor and indoor situations. With many heat-related incidents left unreported, it is often difficult to determine the underlying causal factors. This study aims to provide insights into perceptions of potentially unsafe or uncomfortably hot working conditions that can affect occupational health and safety using information provided by the public and workers to the safety regulator in South Australia (SafeWork SA). Details of complaints regarding heat exposure to the regulator's "Help Centre" were assembled in a dataset and the textual data analysed thematically. The findings showed that the majority of calls relate to indoor work environments such as kitchens, factories, and warehouses. The main themes identified were work environment, health effects, and organisational issues. Impacts of hot working conditions ranged from discomfort to serious heat-related illnesses. Poor management practices and inflexibility of supervisors featured strongly amongst callers' concerns. With temperatures predicted to increase and energy prices escalating, this timely study, using naturalistic data, highlights accounts of hot working conditions that can compromise workers' health and safety and the need for suitable measures to prevent heat stress. These could include risk assessments to assess the likelihood of heat stress in workplaces where excessively hot conditions prevail.