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Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico: A Need for Vaccination

Background: 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...

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Autores principales: Chacon-Cruz, Enrique, Lopatynsky-Reyes, Erika Zoe
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10055931/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36977137
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8030136
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author Chacon-Cruz, Enrique
Lopatynsky-Reyes, Erika Zoe
author_facet Chacon-Cruz, Enrique
Lopatynsky-Reyes, Erika Zoe
author_sort Chacon-Cruz, Enrique
collection PubMed
description Background: 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. Objectives: 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. Methods: 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 Neisseria meningitidis (NMeM, 30 cases, same age group) during seasons with and without SAWs. Results: We found an association between SAWs and MeM, but not with NMeM (RR = 2.06, p = 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. Conclusion: This study shows a new potential climatic association with MeM and provides more information that justifies universal meningococcal vaccination in Tijuana, Mexico.
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spelling pubmed-100559312023-03-30 Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico: A Need for Vaccination Chacon-Cruz, Enrique Lopatynsky-Reyes, Erika Zoe Trop Med Infect Dis Brief Report Background: 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. Objectives: 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. Methods: 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 Neisseria meningitidis (NMeM, 30 cases, same age group) during seasons with and without SAWs. Results: We found an association between SAWs and MeM, but not with NMeM (RR = 2.06, p = 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. Conclusion: This study shows a new potential climatic association with MeM and provides more information that justifies universal meningococcal vaccination in Tijuana, Mexico. MDPI 2023-02-23 /pmc/articles/PMC10055931/ /pubmed/36977137 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8030136 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Brief Report
Chacon-Cruz, Enrique
Lopatynsky-Reyes, Erika Zoe
Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico: A Need for Vaccination
title Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico: A Need for Vaccination
title_full Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico: A Need for Vaccination
title_fullStr Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico: A Need for Vaccination
title_full_unstemmed Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico: A Need for Vaccination
title_short Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico: A Need for Vaccination
title_sort association between meningococcal meningitis and santa ana winds in children and adolescents from tijuana, mexico: a need for vaccination
topic Brief Report
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10055931/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36977137
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed8030136
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