Climatic Factors in Relation to Diarrhoea Hospital Admissions in Rural Limpopo, South Africa

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayoshi Ikeda ◽  
Thandi Kapwata ◽  
Swadhin K. Behera ◽  
Noboru Minakawa ◽  
Masahiro Hashizume ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Diarrheal Disease ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Age Factors ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Children Under 5

Diarrheal disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally, particularly in children under 5 years of age. Factors related to diarrheal disease incidence include infection, malnutrition, and exposure to contaminated water and food. Climate factors also contribute to diarrheal disease. We aimed to explore the relationship between temperature, precipitation and diarrhoea case counts of hospital admissions among vulnerable communities living in a rural setting in South Africa. We applied ‘contour analysis’ to visually examine simultaneous observations in frequencies of anomalously high and low diarrhoea case counts occurring in a season, and assigning colours to differences that were statistically significant based on chi-squared test results. Children under 5 years of age were especially vulnerable to diarrhoea during very dry, hot conditions as well as when conditions were wetter than usual. We saw an anomalously higher number of diarrhoea cases during ‘warmer than usual’ conditions in the dry winter season, with average winter temperatures in Limpopo being from about 5 to 10 °C. As for ‘wetter than usual’ conditions, we saw an anomalously higher number of diarrhoea cases during ‘drier than usual’ conditions for the winter and spring. The lagged association seen in cumulative rainfall could not be distinguished in the same way for temperature-related variables (indicating rainfall had a larger impact on higher cases of diarrhoea), nor for the older age group of 5 years and older. Dry conditions were associated with diarrhoea in children under 5 years of age; such conditions may lead to increased water storage, raising the risks of water contamination. Reduced use of water for personal hygiene and cleaning of outdoor pit latrines also affect sanitation quality. Rural communities require adequate and uninterrupted water provision, and healthcare providers should raise awareness about potential diarrhoeal risks, especially during the dry season as well as during wintertime when conditions are warmer than usual.

scholarly journals Climatic Factors in Relation to Diarrhea for Informed Public Health Decision-Making: A Novel Methodological Approach

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takayoshi Ikeda ◽  
Thandi Kapwata ◽  
Swadhin K. Behera ◽  
Noboru Minakawa ◽  
Masahiro Hashizume ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Diarrheal Disease ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Age Factors ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Diarrhea Case ◽  
Children Under 5

AbstractBackgroundDiarrheal disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally, particularly in children under 5 years of age. Factors related to diarrheal disease incidence include infection, malnutrition, and exposure to contaminated water and food. Climate factors also contribute to diarrheal disease.ObjectivesWe aimed to explore the relationship between temperature, precipitation and diarrhea case counts of hospital admissions among vulnerable communities living in a rural setting in South Africa.MethodsWe applied a novel approach of ‘contour analysis’ to visually examine simultaneous observations in frequencies of anomalously high and low diarrhea case counts occurring in a season and assigning colors to differences that were statistically significant based on chi-squared test results.ResultsThere was a significantly positive difference between high and low ‘groups’ when there was a lack of rain (0 mm of cumulative rain) for 1 to 2 weeks in winter for children under 5.Diarrhea prevalence was greater among children under 5 years when conditions were hotter than usual during winter and spring.DiscussionDry conditions may lead to increased water storage raising the risks of water contamination. Reduced use of water for personal hygiene and cleaning of outdoor pit latrines affect sanitation quality. Rural communities require adequate and uninterrupted water provision and healthcare providers should raise awareness about potential diarrheal risks especially during the dry season.

scholarly journals Factors association with some bacteria cause diarrhea disease among children under 5 years old

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Khadija Al-Mizury
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infection ◽  
Diarrheal Disease ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Salmonella Spp ◽  
Shigella Spp ◽  
Stool Samples ◽  
Diarrhea Disease ◽  
Children Under 5

Aim: “Diarrhea has been a common cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years old. This study was intended to assessment level of personal hygiene, type of water taken by children, crowding index and some factors associated with some bacterial infection in children under 5 years.”Material and Methods: This study enrolled 143 children under 5 years with clinical evidence of diarrheal disease through the period extending from 15/4/2016 to 30/8/2016, who were admitted to Baghdad teaching hospital,   stool samples were collected from children who had diarrhea were inoculated on selective culture media using standard method. “The isolate were identified depending on morphological feature of colonies and from all media biochemically using API 20E system.”Results: A total bacterial infection was observed (13.9%). Specific prevalence of species bacteria is as follows,” E.coli (7.7%), and Shigella spp. (2%), and Salmonella spp. (3.5%) and V. cholera (0.7%).” Finding from our study indicate that patient in the age group >5 years of age were more likely to have diarrhea than those who were younger, and Children that consumed tap water were more infected with bacteria (9.7%). In this study, crowding index were associated with diarrheal disease,” children from households with 1 or 2 people per room were (1.4%) less likely to have diarrhea compared to children from household with more than 3 people per room (30%). Our results indicate that availability of house hold sanitation facilities, access to filter and clean water, good personal hygiene and butter nutrition were all associated with lower incidence of diarrhea.” 

scholarly journals Climatic factors associated with hospitalizations for rotavirus diarrhoea in children under 5 years of age

2007 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. D'SOUZA ◽  
G. HALL ◽  
N. G. BECKER
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Seasonal Effects ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Average Temperature ◽  
Temperature And Humidity ◽  
Higher Temperature ◽  
Log Linear ◽  
Children Under 5

SUMMARYThis study compares the seasonality of rotavirus diarrhoeal hospital admissions and its relationship to climatic factors across three Australian cities. Weekly admission of rotavirus diarrhoea (1993–2003) in children aged <5 years and weekly average temperature and relative humidity for each city were modelled using a log-linear model with a cubic trend and season. Interactions were included to test for differences in the effect of temperature and humidity between seasons and between cities. Admissions of rotavirus diarrhoea peaked in winter and spring and were lowest in summer. Higher temperature and humidity in the previous week were associated with a decrease in rotavirus diarrhoeal admissions in three cities. The effects of both temperature and humidity on rotavirus admissions in Brisbane differed across seasons. Strategies to combat outbreaks of rotavirus diarrhoea should take climatic factors and seasonal effects into consideration to plan for the excess seasonal hospital admissions.

scholarly journals Influence of vaccination status and clinical, seasonal and sociodemographic factors on rotavirus prevalence in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osaretin E. Asowata ◽  
Olubisi T. Ashiru ◽  
Saajida Mahomed ◽  
A. Willem Sturm ◽  
Prashini Moodley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Vaccination Status ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Rotavirus Infection ◽  
Childhood Morbidity ◽  
Human Rotavirus ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

Human rotavirus infection is the leading cause of diarrhoea in infants and young children worldwide. In South Africa, diarrhoea is a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in children less than five years old, and before the vaccine was introduced rotavirus had been reported as causing one-third of all diarrhoeal related hospital admissions. This study assessed factors influencing the prevalence of rotavirus in children aged five years and under in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between June 2014 and June 2015. In addition, genotypes of the rotaviruses were determined. A stool specimen was collected from children presenting with diarrhoea to a regional hospital. Clinical, vaccination status, seasonal and sociodemographic information was collected using a structured questionnaire. ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) was performed to detect rotavirus antigen in the stool. Rotavirus from selected positives specimens were genotyped using RT–PCR (reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction). The data were analysed using SPSS. In total, 365 stool specimens were collected. Rotavirus antigen was detected in 83 (23%) patients. The prevalence of rotavirus was not affected by vaccination status (p = 0.3; OR 1.5; CI 0.7–3.1), HIV status (p = 0.2; OR 0.6; CI 0.2–1.5), breastfeeding (p = 0.9; OR 1.1; CI 0.5–2.5) and administration of anti-helminth treatment (p = 0.6; OR 0.8; CI 0.3–1.9). The highest rotavirus prevalence was observed in the winter season (p 0.001; OR 43.3; CI 14.9–125.0). The G9P[8] was the most prevalent genotype (21%) followed by G9P[4] (14%). Rotavirus remains a major contributor to childhood diarrhoeal aetiology and hospitalisation in KwaZulu-Natal. Further investigation is needed to better understand the key drivers of rotavirus infection despite a successful vaccination programme in South Africa.

The Seasonal End of Human Coronavirus Hospital Admissions with Implications for SARS-CoV-2 (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan T Evangelista
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Seasonal Effects ◽  
Human Coronavirus ◽  
Enveloped Virus ◽  
Multiplex Pcr Assay ◽  
Contact Transmission ◽  
Human Coronaviruses

UNSTRUCTURED The seasonality of influenza viruses and endemic human coronaviruses was tracked over an 8-year period to assess key epidemiologic reduction points in disease incidence for an urban area in the northeast United States. Patients admitted to a pediatric hospital with worsening respiratory symptoms were tested using a multiplex PCR assay from nasopharyngeal swabs. The additive seasonal effects of outdoor temperatures and indoor relative humidity (RH) were evaluated. The 8-year average peak activity of human coronaviruses occurred in the first week of January, when droplet and contact transmission was enabled by the low indoor RH of 20-30%. Previous studies have shown that an increase in RH to 50% has been associated with markedly reduced viability and transmission of influenza virus and animal coronaviruses. As disease incidence was reduced by 50% in early March, to 75% in early April, to greater than 99% at the end of April, a relationship was observed from colder temperatures in January with a low indoor RH to a gradual increase in outdoor temperatures in April with an indoor RH of 45-50%. As a lipid-bound, enveloped virus with similar size characteristics to endemic human coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 should be subject to the same dynamics of reduced viability and transmission with increased humidity. In addition to the major role of social distancing, the transition from lower to higher indoor RH with increasing outdoor temperatures could have an additive effect on the decrease in SARS-CoV-2 cases in May. Over the 8-year period of this study, human coronavirus activity was either zero or >99% reduction in the months of June through September, and the implication would be that SARS-Cov-2 may follow a similar pattern. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.15.20103416

The Use of Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in a Family of Rural English Police Forces

2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Greenberg ◽  
Niki Haines
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Act Assessment ◽  
Police Forces

Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 is used by police officers to detain persons who they feel might be suffering with mental disorder until a formal Mental Health Act assessment can be undertaken. Previous studies have shown that the outcomes of these assessments result in remarkably different rates of subsequent hospital admissions. Within a rural setting it has also been shown that the rate of use of Section 136 varies considerably. This study examines the use of Section 136 within a family of eight police forces that have been matched to ensure that they cover similar populations. The results show that there are considerable variations in the use of Section 136, with the Devon and Cornwall region using the section over two and a half times the mean for the group. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.

Abstract O.02: Validation of Kawasaki Disease Incidence Assessment as Derived from Health System Administrative Databases vs. Active Retrospective Surveillance in Ontario, Canada

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 131 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cedric Manlhiot ◽  
Sunita O’Shea ◽  
Bailey Bernknopf ◽  
Michael Labelle ◽  
Mathew Mathew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kawasaki Disease ◽  
Hospital Discharge ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Administrative Databases ◽  
Canadian Hospital ◽  
Hospital Discharge Database ◽  
Incident Cases ◽  
Discharge Database

Introduction: Historically, 2 methods have been used to determine the incidence of Kawasaki disease (KD): active or passive surveillance, or the use of administrative databases. Given the increasing regulatory requirements, mainly around patient privacy, periodic retrospective surveillances have become increasingly challenging. Administrative databases are not curated datasets and doubts have been cast on their accuracy. Methods: The Hospital for Sick Children has been conducting retrospective triennial surveillances of KD since 1995 by contacting all hospitals in Ontario and manually reviewing all cases through chart review, reconciling inter-hospital transfers and multiple readmissions. We queried the Canadian hospital discharge database (Canadian Institute for Health Information) for hospitalizations associated with a diagnosis of KD between 2004-9. The administrative dataset was manually reviewed; patient national health number, institution and dates of admission/discharge were used to identify inter-hospital transfers, readmission and follow-up episodes. Results: The Canadian hospital discharge database reported 1,685 admissions during the study period (281±44 per year) for Ontario. Manual review of the dataset identified 219 (13%) as inter-hospital transfers (56, 26%), readmissions (122, 56%), admissions for follow-up of coronary artery aneurysms (14, 6%) or hospital admissions not related to KD (27, 12%). When these admissions were removed, the total number of incident cases for the study period was 1,466 (244±45 per year). The retrospective triennial surveillance identified 1,373 KD cases during the same period (229±33 per year). The Canadian hospital discharge database overestimated the number of cases in all 6 years by an average of 6.7±5.9%. The overestimation likely comes from patients who were originally diagnosed with KD but in whom the diagnosis of KD was subsequently excluded (historically ~5-6%). Conclusions: Reliance on administrative data to determine incidence of KD is possible and accurate; data should be manually reviewed to remove non-incident cases and estimates should be adjusted to reflect the expected proportion of patients in whom the diagnosis of KD will be subsequently excluded.

scholarly journals A qualitative study of the challenges of providing pre-prosthetic rehabilitation in rural South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liezel Ennion ◽  
Anton Johannesson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Lower Limb ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Limb Amputation ◽  
Prosthetic Rehabilitation ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Physical Strength ◽  
District Hospitals ◽  
Fitting In ◽  
Rural South Africa

Background: There is a known shortage of rehabilitation staff in rural settings and a sharp increase in the number of lower limb amputations being performed. A lack of adequate pre-prosthetic rehabilitation will result in worse physical and psychological outcomes for a person with a lower limb amputation, and they will not be eligible to be fitted with a prosthesis. Objective: To explore therapists’ experiences with providing pre-prosthetic rehabilitation in a rural setting. Study design: A qualitative descriptive approach was used to collect and analyse data. Methods: Data were collected from 17 purposively sampled therapists in five district hospitals in a rural community in South Africa. Data were collected in two rounds of focus groups to explore the challenges of providing pre-prosthetic rehabilitation in rural South Africa. Results: The main themes identified in the study were (1) a lack of government health system support, (2) poor socioeconomic circumstances of patients and (3) cultural factors that influence rehabilitation. These themes all negatively influence the therapists’ ability to follow up patients for pre-prosthetic rehabilitation after discharge from hospital. A lack of adequate pre-prosthetic rehabilitation is a substantial barrier to prosthetic fitting in rural South Africa. Patients who do not receive pre-prosthetic rehabilitation have a poorly shaped residuum or other complications such as knee or hip joint contractures which disqualifies them from being referred to prosthetic services. Conclusion: Therapists involved in this study identified the most important barriers to patients having access to prosthetic services. Clinical relevance Pre-prosthetic rehabilitation provides care of the residuum; maintenance or improvement of physical strength, joint range of motion and referral to a prosthetist. By exploring the challenges known to exist in this service, we can identify potential ways to reduce these barriers and improve the lives of those who use it.

scholarly journals Educational Needs of Mothers about using Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) at Home During Acute Diarrhea in Children under 5 at Urmia Population Research Center

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Baratali Rezapour
Keyword(s):  
Acute Diarrhea ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Oral Rehydration Therapy ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
Oral Rehydration Salt ◽  
Low Literacy ◽  
Oral Rehydration ◽  
Children Under 5 ◽  
At Home

Preventable factors such as infectious diseases (pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria), malnutrition and neonatal complications are still the leading cause of child mortality worldwide 1 In 2013, it is estimated that 6.3 million babies born worldwide died before the age of 5, and approximately 9.2% of these deaths were due to diarrheal diseases 2, 3 in simple, accessible ways, and effective treatment can reduce diarrhea-related mortality and make hospital admissions unnecessary, and the role of mothers is the most important 4. Since the presentation of Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) in 1979, mortality has reduced. Diarrhea has had a steady downward trend 5. If mothers who have children under 5 years of age, used correctly ORS, they could easily resolve the problem of dehydration in acute diarrhea 6. Mothers didn’t use correctly ORS because of their Low literacy and lack of knowledge and wrong attitude about ORT7. Some health care workers provide mothers’ required equipments, regardless of their educational needs, and mothers may not use ORS. In this study, health workers identified mothers' educational needs and subsequently they trained them about using ORS at home in acute diarrhea in children under 5 years of age

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