Influence of Climatic Factors on Human Hantavirus Infections in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Systematic Review

Pathogens

Kirk Osmond Douglas¹  Karl Payne²  John Agard³  Gilberto Sabino-Santos⁴ 

[1]Centre for Biosecurity Studies, Cave Hill Campus, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, St. Michael BB11000, Barbados

[2]Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies, Cave Hill Campus, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, St. Michael BB11000, Barbados

[3]Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine 999183, Trinidad and Tobago

[4]School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, 1324 Tulane Ave Suite 517, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA

关键词: climate change;    hantavirus;    Latin America;    Caribbean;    public health;    biosecurity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/pathogens11010015

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background: With the current climate change crisis and its influence on infectious disease transmission there is an increased desire to understand its impact on infectious diseases globally. Hantaviruses are found worldwide, causing infectious diseases such as haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS)/hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in tropical regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). These regions are inherently vulnerable to climate change impacts, infectious disease outbreaks and natural disasters. Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses present in multiple rodent hosts resident in Neotropical ecosystems within LAC and are involved in hantavirus transmission. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to assess the association of climatic factors with human hantavirus infections in the LAC region. Literature searches were conducted on MEDLINE and Web of Science databases for published studies according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria. The inclusion criteria included at least eight human hantavirus cases, at least one climatic factor and study from > 1 LAC geographical location. Results: In total, 383 papers were identified within the search criteria, but 13 studies met the inclusion criteria ranging from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Panama in Latin America and a single study from Barbados in the Caribbean. Multiple mathematical models were utilized in the selected studies with varying power to generate robust risk and case estimates of human hantavirus infections linked to climatic factors. Strong evidence of hantavirus disease association with precipitation and habitat type factors were observed, but mixed evidence was observed for temperature and humidity. Conclusions: The interaction of climate and hantavirus diseases in LAC is likely complex due to the unknown identity of all vertebrate host reservoirs, circulation of multiple hantavirus strains, agricultural practices, climatic changes and challenged public health systems. There is an increasing need for more detailed systematic research on the influence of climate and other co-related social, abiotic, and biotic factors on infectious diseases in LAC to understand the complexity of vector-borne disease transmission in the Neotropics.

【 授权许可】

Unknown