Abstract:

Background/Aims: The transmission rate of air-borne infectious diseases may vary secondary to climate conditions. The study assessed time trends in the seasonality of hospitalized varicella cases in a temperate region in relation to climatic parameters prior to the implementation of universal varicella immunization. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted among all pediatric and adolescent varicella patients (n = 2366) hospitalized at the "Aghia Sophia" Children's Hospital during 1982-2003 in Athens, Greece. Date of infection was computed based on hospital admission date. Seasonal and monthly trends in the epidemiology of varicella infection were assessed with time series analysis (ARIMA modeling procedure). The correlation between the frequency of varicella patients and the meteorological parameters was examined by the application of Generalized Linear Models with Gamma distribution. Results: During 1982-2003, the occurrence of hospitalized varicella cases increased during summer (p = 0.025) and decreased during autumn (p = 0.021), and particularly in September (p = 0.003). The frequency of hospitalized varicella cases was inversely associated with air temperature (p<0.001). In contrast, the occurrence of hospitalized varicella cases was positively associated with wind speed (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Pediatric hospitalizations for varicella infection rates have increased during summer and decreased during autumn in the examined temperate region. Time trends in hospitalized varicella cases are associated with climatic variables. © 2012 Critselis et al.

Notes:

Cited By :6Export Date: 2 November 2015Correspondence Address: Papaevangelou, V.; Second University Department of Pediatrics, P. and A. Kyriakou Children's Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece; email: vpapaev@med.uoa.grReferences: Bonanni, P., Breuer, J., Gershon, A., Gershon, M., Hryniewicz, W., Varicella vaccination in Europe: taking the practical approach (2009) BMC Med, 7, p. 26. , doi:10.1186/1741-7015-7-26;O'Grady, K., Merianos, A., Patel, M., Gilbert, L., High seroprevalence of antibodies to varicella zoster virus in adult women in a tropical climate (2000) Tropical Med Int Health, 5 (10), pp. 732-736; Prevention of varicella: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) (1996) MMWR, 45, pp. 1-35. , Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); de Melker, H., Berbers, G., Hahne, S., Rümke, H., van den Hof, S., The epidemiology of varicella and herpes zoster in the Netherlands: implications for varicella zoster virus vaccination (2006) Vaccine, 24, pp. 3946-3952; Khoshnood, B., Debruyne, M., Lancon, F., Emery, C., Fagnani, F., Seroprevalence of varicella in the French population (2006) Pediatr Infect Dis J, 25, pp. 41-44; Vyse, A.J., Gay, N.J., Hesketh, L.M., Morgan-Capner, P., Miller, E., Seroprevalence of antibody to varicella zoster virus in England and Wales in children and young adults (2004) Epidemiol Infect, 132, pp. 1129-1134; (2009) 2009 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases, , Red Book, 28th ed. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics; Liyanage, N.P., Fernando, S., Malavige, G.N., Mallikahewa, R., Sivayogan, S., Seroprevalence of varicella zoster infections in Colombo district, Sri Lanka (2007) Indian J Med Sci, 61 (3), pp. 128-134; Tseng, H.F., Tan, H.F., Chang, C.K., Wang, L.Y., Yang, S.E., A seroepidemiology study of varicella among children aged 0-12 years in Taiwan (2005) Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 36 (5), pp. 1201-1207; Garnett, G., Cox, M., Bundy, D., Didier, J.M., St Catharine, J., The age of infection with varicella zoster virus in St. Lucia, West Indies (1993) Epidemiol Infect, 110, pp. 361-372; Lee, B.W., Review of varicella zoster seroepidemiology in India and Southeast Asia (1998) Trop Med Int Health, 3 (11), pp. 886-890; Lolekha, S., Tanthiphabha, W., Sornchai, P., Kosuwan, P., Sutra, S., Effect of climatic factors and population density on varicella zoster virus epidemiology within a tropical country (2001) Am J Trop Med Hyg, 64 (34), pp. 131-136; Mandal, B.K., Mukherjee, P.P., Murphy, C., Mukherjee, R., Naik, T., Adult susceptibility to varicella in the tropics is a rural phenomenon due to the lack of previous exposure (1998) J Infect Dis, (SUPPL. 1), pp. S52-54; Venkitaraman, A.R., Seigneurin, J., Baccard, M., Lenoir, G.M., John, T.J., Measurement of antibodies to varicella-zoster virus in a tropical population be enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (1984) J Clin Microb, 20 (3), pp. 582-583; Katsafadou, A., Ferentinos, G., Constantopoulos, A., Papaevangelou, V., The epidemiology of varicella in school-aged Greek children before the implementation of universal vaccination (2008) Eur J Clin Microb Infect Dis, 27 (3), pp. 223-226; Yawn, B.P., Yawn, R.A., Lydick, E., Community impact of childhood varicella infections (1997) J Pediatr, 130 (5), pp. 759-765; Chan, J.Y., Tian, L., Kwan, Y., Chan, W., Leung, C., Hospitalizations for varicella in children and adolescents in a referral hospital in Hong Kong, 2004 to 2008: a time series study (2011) BMC Public Health, 11, p. 366; Kokaze, A., Yoshida, M., Sekine, Y., Ishikawa, M., Kurokochi, T., The magnitude of variation in temperature within a year has an effect on the seasonal variations of chickenpox incidence in Japan (2001) Epidemiol Infect, 126 (2), pp. 269-277; Wu, P.Y., Li, Y.C., Wu, H.D., Risk factors for chickenpox incidence in Taiwan from a large-scale computerized database (2007) Int J Dermatol, 46 (4), pp. 362-366; Nastos, P.T., Philandras, C.M., Founda, D., Zerefos, C.S., Air temperature trends related to changes in atmospheric circulation in the wider area of Greece (2011) Int J Remote Sens, 32 (3), pp. 737-750; Theodoridou, M., Laina, I., Hadjichristodoulou, C., Syriopoulou, V., Varicella-related complications and hospitalizations in a tertiary paediatric medical center before vaccine introduction (2006) Eur J Pediatr, 165, pp. 273-274; McGullagh, P., Nelder, J.A., (1997) Generalized Linear Models, , 2nd Edition, London: Chapman & Hall; Nedler, J.A., Wedderburn, R.W.M., Generalized linear models, J Roy Stat Soc Ser A (1972), 135, pp. 370-384Zak-Prelich, M., Borkowski, J.L., Alexander, F., Norval, M., The role of solar ultraviolet irradiation in zoster (2002) Epidemiol Infect, 129 (3), pp. 593-597; Sauerbrei, A., Differences in varicella-zoster virus seroepidemiology between temperate and tropical regions (2007) Indian J Med Sci, 61, pp. 123-124; Gustin, K.M., Belser, J.A., Wadford, D.A., Pearce, M.B., Katz, J.M., Influenza virus aerosol exposure and analytical system for ferrets (2011) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 108 (20), pp. 8432-8437; Teunis, P.F., Brienen, N., Kretzschmar, M.E., High infectivity and pathogenicity of influenza A virus via aerosol and droplet transmission (2010) Epidemics, 2 (4), pp. 215-222; Yang, W., Marr, L.C., Dynamics of airborne influenza A viruses indoors and dependence on humidity (2011) PLoS One, 6 (6), pp. e21481; Knibbs, L.D., Morawska, L., Bell, S.C., The risk of airborne influenza transmission in passenger cars (2012) Epidemiol Infect, 140 (3), pp. 474-478

Website