Background and Objectives: In industrialized countries, the risk of transmission of infectious diseases after a natural disaster is low but real and associated with the characteristics of the displaced population and with endemic diseases in the geographic area. A major contribution to the transmission of infectious diseases is the overcrowding that could contribute to the epidemic of acute respiratory diseases, pneumonia and meningitis. Surveillance in areas hit by natural disasters is therefore essential to understand the impact itself of the disaster on communicable diseases. This study aimed to investigate the potential impact of the 2009 LʼAquila earthquake on hospitalizations for bacterial meningitis, conducting a retrospective observational study using the Hospital Discharge Records as informational flow. Materials and Methods: Hospitalization rates, expressed x 100,000 people, were standardized and stratified by belonging to the seismic crater or not. The statistical significance of the time trend of the standardized rates was assessed through the Poisson regression. Results: In 2009, the H. influenzae hospitalization rate recorded in the municipalities of the crater (0.52x100,000 people, 95% CI 0.50-1.54) was more than six times greater than that recorded for the municipalities outside the crater (0.08x100,000 people, 95% CI 0.07-0.23). For S. pneumoniae, rates were higher in the seismic crater than in the rest of the region and in the rest of the Italian territory only in the years 2009 and 2010, when there was a peak in hospitalization rates for pneumococcus in this area of the region (1.17x100,000 people, 95% CI 0.46-2.81). Regarding N. Meningitidis meningitis, no peak of hospitalization in 2009 was found out. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that after the 2009 LʼAquila earthquake, there was a peak of hospitalization for bacterial meningitis, probably as the result of acute lower respiratory tract infections, often caused by pneumococcus or H. influenzae
Bacterial Meningitis Hospitalizations after the 2009 L'Aquila Earthquake: A Retrospective Observational Study
F. Fiasca;A. Mattei
;P. Vittorini;S. Necozione;A. Appetiti;A. M. Angelone;L. Fabiani
2018-01-01
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In industrialized countries, the risk of transmission of infectious diseases after a natural disaster is low but real and associated with the characteristics of the displaced population and with endemic diseases in the geographic area. A major contribution to the transmission of infectious diseases is the overcrowding that could contribute to the epidemic of acute respiratory diseases, pneumonia and meningitis. Surveillance in areas hit by natural disasters is therefore essential to understand the impact itself of the disaster on communicable diseases. This study aimed to investigate the potential impact of the 2009 LʼAquila earthquake on hospitalizations for bacterial meningitis, conducting a retrospective observational study using the Hospital Discharge Records as informational flow. Materials and Methods: Hospitalization rates, expressed x 100,000 people, were standardized and stratified by belonging to the seismic crater or not. The statistical significance of the time trend of the standardized rates was assessed through the Poisson regression. Results: In 2009, the H. influenzae hospitalization rate recorded in the municipalities of the crater (0.52x100,000 people, 95% CI 0.50-1.54) was more than six times greater than that recorded for the municipalities outside the crater (0.08x100,000 people, 95% CI 0.07-0.23). For S. pneumoniae, rates were higher in the seismic crater than in the rest of the region and in the rest of the Italian territory only in the years 2009 and 2010, when there was a peak in hospitalization rates for pneumococcus in this area of the region (1.17x100,000 people, 95% CI 0.46-2.81). Regarding N. Meningitidis meningitis, no peak of hospitalization in 2009 was found out. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that after the 2009 LʼAquila earthquake, there was a peak of hospitalization for bacterial meningitis, probably as the result of acute lower respiratory tract infections, often caused by pneumococcus or H. influenzaePubblicazioni consigliate
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