Effect of Meteorological and Geographical Factors on the Epidemics of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease in Island-Type Territory, East Asia

Abstract

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) has threatened East Asia for more than three decades and has become an important public health issue owing to its severe sequelae and mortality among children. The lack of effective treatment and vaccine for HFMD highlights the urgent need for efficiently integrated early warning surveillance systems in the region. In this study, we try to integrate the available surveillance and weather data in East Asia to elucidate possible spatiotemporal correlations and weather conditions among different areas from low to high latitude. The general additive model (GAM) was applied to understand the association between HFMD and latitude, as well as meteorological factors for islands in East Asia, namely, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, from 2012 to 2014. The results revealed that latitude was the most important explanatory factor associated with the timing and amplitude of HFMD epidemics (P < 0.0001). Meteorological factors including higher dew point, lower visibility, and lower wind speed were significantly associated with the rise of epidemics (P < 0.01). In summary, weather conditions and geographic location could play some role in affecting HFMD epidemics. Regional integrated surveillance of HFMD in East Asia is needed for mitigating the disease risk.

Effects of rainfalls variability and physical–chemical parameters on enteroviruses in sewage and lagoon in Yopougon, Côte d’Ivoire

“…Besides, it is recognized that, somatic coliphages (SOMCPH), phages of Bacteroides fragilis does not formally correlate with human enteric viruses (Wu et al 2011). Enteric viruses are a common source of waterborne diseases outbreaks throughout the world (Lee et al 2014). They are excreted not only in high concentrations in human and animal feces of individuals showing clinical syndromes, but also in lower concentrations in the feces and in some cases urine in a high proportion of the healthy population (Hundesa et al 2010).…”

Transmission of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease and Its Potential Driving Factors in Hong Kong

“…HFMD has a clear seasonal pattern in temperate regions with annual peaks in the summer 1,6 , while in tropical and subtropical regions including Hong Kong, multiple peaks may occur within a year 2,7 . Inconsistent findings about the associations between meteorological factors, such as temperature and relative humidity, and the incidence of HFMD were reported by different studies [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] .HFMD is considered to be transmitted mainly through direct contact with contaminated discharges, fluid of blisters or stool from infected persons, or contaminated objects 16 . Attending kindergarten or child-care center and visiting public playground were also reported as risk factors for HFMD [17][18][19] .…”

“…HFMD has a clear seasonal pattern in temperate regions with annual peaks in the summer 1,6 , while in tropical and subtropical regions including Hong Kong, multiple peaks may occur within a year 2,7 . Inconsistent findings about the associations between meteorological factors, such as temperature and relative humidity, and the incidence of HFMD were reported by different studies [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] .…”

Climate Variability and Avian Cholera Transmission in Guangxi, China

“…Previous studies have debated the correlation between climate factors and transmission of infectious diseases around the world (Patz et al, 1996;Altizer et al, 2006;Zhang et al, 2010;McCormick et al, 2013;Lee et al, 2015;Rika-Heke et al, 2015), including in many areas of China (Zhang et al, 2007a;Zhang et al, 2007b;Guan et al, 2008;Huang et al, 2011;Shen et al, 2015). Outbreaks of avian cholera are known to be frequently correlated with intensive poultry production, climate stress and possible predation in free range flocks (Elfaki et al, 2002).…”