Climate change and infectious diseases in New Zealand: a brief review and tentative research agenda

Community Participation, Dengue Fever Prevention and Control Practices in Swat, Pakistan

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to determine the role of community participation in prevention of dengue fever in The Swat district located in the Northern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, which experienced a dengue fever outbreak in August, 2013. A total number of 8,963 dengue cases with 0.4% case fatality ratio were registered during the outbreak.

METHODS

A sample size of 354 respondents were proportionally allocated to each residential colony and then randomly selected. The association of independent variable (Community participation) and dependent variable (practices for control) were tested by using Chi Square test.

RESULTS

Results regarding perception of practices for dengue control with community participation showed that: practices for control had significant association with organization of people to eradicate dengue mosquitoes (p=0.00), community leaders (p=0.04), community efforts (p≤0.01), use of insecticides by community people (p=0.00) and involvement of community people in awareness campaign (p=0.00). Similarly, significant associations were found between practices for control and community shared information during dengue outbreak (p=0.00), community link with health department, NGO, Other agencies (p=0.02).

CONCLUSION AND GLOBAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

We conclude that the spread of dengue epidemic was aided by the ignorance, laziness of the community people and government agencies. However, the people, religious scholars, leaders and government agencies were not organized to participate in dengue prevention and eradication, hence, the chances of dengue infection increased in community. The study recommends mobilizing local communities and activating local leadership with active participation of Government and non-government organizations for initiation of preventive strategies.

Climate variability, weather and enteric disease incidence in New Zealand: time series analysis

BACKGROUND

Evaluating the influence of climate variability on enteric disease incidence may improve our ability to predict how climate change may affect these diseases.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the associations between regional climate variability and enteric disease incidence in New Zealand.

METHODS

Associations between monthly climate and enteric diseases (campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis) were investigated using Seasonal Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models.

RESULTS

No climatic factors were significantly associated with campylobacteriosis and giardiasis, with similar predictive power for univariate and multivariate models. Cryptosporidiosis was positively associated with average temperature of the previous month (β =  0.130, SE =  0.060, p <0.01) and inversely related to the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) two months previously (β =  -0.008, SE =  0.004, p <0.05). By contrast, salmonellosis was positively associated with temperature (β  = 0.110, SE = 0.020, p<0.001) of the current month and SOI of the current (β  = 0.005, SE = 0.002, p<0.050) and previous month (β  = 0.005, SE = 0.002, p<0.05). Forecasting accuracy of the multivariate models for cryptosporidiosis and salmonellosis were significantly higher.

CONCLUSIONS

Although spatial heterogeneity in the observed patterns could not be assessed, these results suggest that temporally lagged relationships between climate variables and national communicable disease incidence data can contribute to disease prediction models and early warning systems.

A review of national-level adaptation planning with regards to the risks posed by climate change on infectious diseases in 14 OECD nations

Climate change is likely to have significant implications for human health, particularly through alterations of the incidence, prevalence, and distribution of infectious diseases. In the context of these risks, governments in high income nations have begun developing strategies to reduce potential climate change impacts and increase health system resilience (i.e., adaptation). In this paper, we review and evaluate national-level adaptation planning in relation to infectious disease risks in 14 OECD countries with respect to "best practices" for adaptation identified in peer-reviewed literature. We find a number of limitations to current planning, including negligible consideration of the needs of vulnerable population groups, limited emphasis on local risks, and inadequate attention to implementation logistics, such as available funding and timelines for evaluation. The nature of planning documents varies widely between nations, four of which currently lack adaptation plans. In those countries where planning documents were available, adaptations were mainstreamed into existing public health programs, and prioritized a sectoral, rather than multidisciplinary, approach. The findings are consistent with other scholarship examining adaptation planning indicating an ad hoc and fragmented process, and support the need for enhanced attention to adaptation to infectious disease risks in public health policy at a national level.