Grantee Research Project Results
2007 Progress Report: A Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) Public Health Decision Support System Based on Climate and Environmental Changes
EPA Grant Number: R832754Title: A Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) Public Health Decision Support System Based on Climate and Environmental Changes
Investigators: Comrie, Andrew C. , Yool, Stephen R.
Institution: University of Arizona
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: December 14, 2005 through December 13, 2007 (Extended to December 13, 2009)
Project Period Covered by this Report: December 14, 2006 through December 13,2007
Project Amount: $265,004
RFA: Decision Support Systems Involving Climate Change and Public Health (2005) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Climate Change
Objective:
Develop a Valley Fever decision-support database for Arizona. This objective has not changed.
Progress Summary:
Understanding the basis of environmentally-mediated infectious disease is central to the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency. Valley fever (coccidioidomycosis) is a disease endemic to arid regions in the Western Hemisphere, and is caused by the soil-dwelling fungi Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii. Arizona is currently experiencing significant annual incidence, exceeding significantly other climate-related diseases (e.g., Hantavirus; West Nile Virus). We develop under the present agreement in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) a public health decision-support database that builds on these findings. We have in Year 2 worked with ADHS to secure zip code level human case data for model validation; modeled exposure date; completed climate-satellite-derived data time series correlations; and performed initial multi-layer, multi-scale remote sensing based spatial analysis of soil structure and disturbance.. The database will serve as a practical reference for health officials and as a model for health information support systems in general.
Future Activities:
The overall aim of Year 3 is to finalize climate, surface moisture, ecological and exposure databases. We will articulate these databases with zip code and county level human cases so outcomes are useful potentially at both county and local scales. The zip code data provide a basis for fine scale studies we believe are key to understanding the operational scale of this pathogen. The fine scale work on fungal ecology and disturbance was neither proposed nor funded for the current effort. We have recruited graduate student researchers to expand the merits of this.
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 29 publications | 5 publications in selected types | All 5 journal articles |
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Comrie AC, Glueck MF. Assessment of climate-coccidioidomycosis model: model sensitivity for assessing climatologic effects on the risk of acquiring coccidioidomycosis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2007;1111:83-95. |
R832754 (2007) R832754 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
geographic epidemiology; climate modeling; geospatial information technology; remote sensing & GIS, RFA, Health, Air, Scientific Discipline, Ecological Risk Assessment, Health Risk Assessment, Risk Assessments, Atmosphere, Air Pollution Effects, climate change, Environmental Monitoring, ecosystem models, Global Climate Change, air quality modeling, decision making database tool, human exposure, regional climate model, climate models, demographics, ambient air pollution, climatic influence, human health risk, modeling, coccidioidomycosisRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.