Chacon-Cruz Enrique, Lopatynsky-Reyes Erika Zoe
Institute for Global Health, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy.
Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, General Hospital of Tijuana, Tijuana 22010, Mexico.
Trop Med Infect Dis. 2023 Feb 23;8(3):136. doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed8030136.
Based on previous studies (regional and national), Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico (across the border from San Diego, California, USA), has been shown to have the highest rate of meningococcal meningitis (MeM) in the country. However, the reason for this high incidence has not yet been established. To explain this regional/endemic public health problem, we aimed to evaluate whether there is a climatic association with MeM in the region. In the "African Meningitis Belt," the Harmattan seasons are associated with MeM outbreaks; similarly, the Santa Ana winds (SAWs) seasons are characterized by hot and dry winds (similar to Harmattan seasons) that occur seasonally in Southwest California, USA, and Northwest Baja California, Mexico.
We aimed to determine a potential association of SAWs with MeM in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, which in turn may partially explain the high rate of this disease in the region.
Based on our previously published data obtained from thirteen years of active surveillance of MeM and a 65-year review showing the seasonal occurrence of SAWs, we estimated the risk ratio (RR) for the total case numbers of MeM (51 cases of children < 16 years old) vs. bacterial meningitis not caused by (NMeM, 30 cases, same age group) during seasons with and without SAWs.
We found an association between SAWs and MeM, but not with NMeM (RR = 2.06, = 0.02 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.8), which may partially explain the high endemicity of this deadly disease in this part of the globe.
This study shows a new potential climatic association with MeM and provides more information that justifies universal meningococcal vaccination in Tijuana, Mexico.
根据之前的地区和全国性研究，墨西哥下加利福尼亚州的蒂华纳（与美国加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥接壤）已被证明是该国脑膜炎球菌性脑膜炎（MeM）发病率最高的地区。然而，这种高发病率的原因尚未确定。为了解释这一地区性/地方性公共卫生问题，我们旨在评估该地区MeM与气候之间是否存在关联。在“非洲脑膜炎带”，哈马丹季节与MeM疫情相关；同样，圣安娜风（SAWs）季节的特点是炎热干燥的风（类似于哈马丹季节），在美国加利福尼亚州西南部和墨西哥下加利福尼亚州西北部季节性出现。
我们旨在确定墨西哥下加利福尼亚州蒂华纳市SAWs与MeM之间的潜在关联，这反过来可能部分解释该地区这种疾病的高发病率。
基于我们之前发表的从13年MeM主动监测中获得的数据以及一项65年的回顾，该回顾显示了SAWs的季节性发生情况，我们估计了有SAWs季节和无SAWs季节期间MeM（51例16岁以下儿童病例）与非脑膜炎球菌性细菌性脑膜炎（NMeM，30例，同年龄组）总病例数的风险比（RR）。
我们发现SAWs与MeM之间存在关联，但与NMeM无关（RR = 2.06，P = 0.02（95%CI 1.1至3.8），这可能部分解释了全球这一地区这种致命疾病的高流行率。
本研究显示了与MeM新的潜在气候关联，并提供了更多信息，证明在墨西哥蒂华纳进行普遍的脑膜炎球菌疫苗接种是合理的。
