The influence of climate variation and change on diarrheal disease in the Pacific Islands.

Abstract

Freshwater resources are a high-priority issue in the Pacific region. Water shortage is a serious problem in many small island states, and many depend heavily on rainwater as the source of their water. Lack of safe water supplies is an important factor in diarrheal illness. There have been no previous studies looking specifically at the relationship between climate variability and diarrhea in the Pacific region. We carried out two related studies to explore the potential relationship between climate variability and the incidence of diarrhea in the Pacific Islands. In the first study, we examined the average annual rates of diarrhea in adults, as well as temperature and water availability from 1986 to 1994 for 18 Pacific Island countries. There was a positive association between annual average temperature and the rate of diarrhea reports, and a negative association between water availability and diarrhea rates. In the second study, we examined diarrhea notifications in Fiji in relation to estimates of temperature and rainfall, using Poisson regression analysis of monthly data for 1978-1998. There were positive associations between diarrhea reports and temperature and between diarrhea reports and extremes of rainfall. These results are consistent with previous research and suggest that global climate change is likely to exacerbate diarrheal illness in many Pacific Island countries.

Well Water Quality and Public Health Implications: the Case of Four Neighbourhoods of the City of Douala Cameroon

“…The rainy season results are consistent with results from other studies that hold that during the rainy season extreme rainfall can fill in sewage systems and this can in turn lead to wide scale seepage and flow of runoff into wells (Mendelsohn & Dawson, 2008). Singh et al, (2001) argued further that there is a strong link between extreme rainfall and diarrhoeal diseases in Fiji. However, it can also be argued that the quantity of water available in an area during the dry season can also cause cholera outbreaks.…”

Global food security under climate change

“…These findings have been corroborated by analyses based on monthly temperature observations. Several studies report a strong correlation between monthly temperature and diarrhoeal episodes on the Pacific Islands, Australia, and Israel (25)(26)(27).…”

Resistance and Resilience of A Stream Salamander To Supraseasonal Drought

“…[WGII 8.2.4,3.4.4] In areas with poor water supply infrastructure, the transmission of enteric pathogens peaks during the rainy season. In addition, higher temperatures were found to be associated with increased episodes of diarrhoeal disease (Checkley et al, 2000;Singh et al, 2001;Vasilev, 2003;Lama et al, 2004). The underlying incidence of these diseases is associated with poor hygiene and lack of access to safe water.…”

“…Because the greatest risk of dengue transmission is during annual wet seasons, vector control programmes should target these periods in order to reduce disease burdens. The incidence of diarrhoeal diseases is associated with annual average temperature (Singh et al, 2001) [WGII 8.2,8.4], and negatively associated with water availability in the Pacific (Singh et al, 2001). Therefore, increasing temperatures and decreasing water availability due to climate change may increase burdens of diarrhoeal and other infectious diseases in some Small Island States.…”