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SEASONALITY OF ROTAVIRUS IN SOUTH ASIA: A META-ANALYSIS APPROACH ASSESSING ASSOCIATIONS WITH TEMPERATURE, PRECIPTATION, AND VEGETATION INDEX
Citation:
JAGAI, J. S., R. Sarkar, D. Kattula, H. Ward, G. Kang, AND E. Naumova. SEASONALITY OF ROTAVIRUS IN SOUTH ASIA: A META-ANALYSIS APPROACH ASSESSING ASSOCIATIONS WITH TEMPERATURE, PRECIPTATION, AND VEGETATION INDEX. PLOS ONE . Public Library of Science, San Francisco, CA, 7(5):e38168, (2012).
Impact/Purpose:
We conducted a meta-analysis to examine how patterns of rotavirus infection relate to temperature and precipitation in South Asia.
Description:
Background: Rotavirus infection causes a significant proportion of diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide leading to dehydration, hospitalization, and in some cases death. Rotavirus infection represents a significant burden of disease in developing countries, such as those in South Asia. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis to examine how patterns of rotavirus infection relate to temperature and precipitation in South Asia. Monthly rotavirus incidence data were abstracted from 30 published epidemiological studies and related to monthly aggregated ambient temperature and precipitation for each study location using linear mixed-effects models. We also assessed whether the relationship varied in tropical climates and humid mid-latitude climates. Results: Overall, as well as in tropical and humid mid-latitude climates, low temperature and precipitation levels are significant predictors of an increased incidence ofrotaviral diarrhea. When assessing lagged relationships, temperature and precipitation in the previous month remained significant predictors and the association with temperature was stronger in the tropical climate. Conclusions: In South Asia the highest incidence of rotavirus was seen in the colder, drier months. Meteorological characteristics can be used to better focus and target public health prevention programs.
