Integrated satellite imaging and syndromic surveillance reveal health effects of smoke from wildfires in rural eastern North Carolina counties in the summer of 2008
Citation:
RAPPOLD, A. G., R. B. DEVLIN, M. S. CARRAWAY, S. STONE, W. CASCIO, J. SZYKMAN, AND V. Kilaru. Integrated satellite imaging and syndromic surveillance reveal health effects of smoke from wildfires in rural eastern North Carolina counties in the summer of 2008. Presented at American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meting, Denver, CO, November 06 - 10, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
Satellite data and syndromic surveillance can be combined to assess the health impacts of smoke in rural counties.
Description:
Rationale: Wildfire smoke often impacts rural areas without air quality monitors, limiting assessment of health impacts. A 2008 wildfire in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge produced massive quantities of smoke affecting eastern NC, a rural area with limited air quality monitoring. To assess the association between smoke exposure and adverse health effects, we evaluated the rates of asthma-and other respiratory-related emergency department (ED) visits in the affected counties during and after the fire. Methods: Aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite was used to determine the location and extent of the smoke plume. Individual-level ED data, obtained from the NC Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool, included the visit date, list of chief complaints, up to 11 discharge ICD-9-CM codes, gender, age, and county of residence. We used Poisson regression to model the expected daily number of ED visits as a function of the dichotomous exposure predictor, adjusted for weekend and county-level disease rates. Results: Carbon particles in the smoke permitted satellite AOD to trace the plume. Exposure to wildfire smoke increased the relative risk for asthma-related ED visits by 12.4% (95% CI 0-26.4%) at lag 0 (today) and a 9.6% (95% CI 0-22%) at lag 1 (yesterday). Conclusions: Satellite data and syndromic surveillance can be combined to assess the health impacts of smoke in rural counties. Short-term wildfire smoke exposure resulted in increased rates of asthma-related ED visits. This is an abstract ora proposed presentation and does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.