Impact of weather factors on Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

Abstract

Background: Although multiple combinations of weather factors may contribute to an increased incidence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia, few studies have investigated the association between weather factors and cases of M pneumoniae pneumonia. Methods: Data on cases of M pneumoniae pneumonia and weather factors in Fukuoka, Japan from 1999 to 2007 were obtained and time-series analysis was used to assess the effects of weather variables on M pneumoniae pneumonia cases, adjusting for confounding factors. A total of 13 056 M pneumoniae pneumonia cases were reported during the 9-year study period, of which 12 234 (93.7%) were under 15 years of age. Results: The weekly number of M pneumoniae pneumonia cases increased by 16.9% (95% CI 11.3% to 22.8%) for every 1uC increase in the average temperature and by 4.1% (95% CI 2.7% to 5.5%) for every 1% increase in relative humidity. Conclusions: From 1999 to 2007, cases of M pneumoniae pneumonia increased significantly with increased average temperature and relative humidity in Fukuoka, Japan.Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M pneumoniae) is a common respiratory pathogen that affects both upper and lower respiratory tract infections in all age groups.1 2 This agent is estimated to be responsible for 15-20% of all cases of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and as many as 40% of cases among children.2 3 An estimated 30% or more of M pneumoniae infections in children aged 5-15 years result in pneumonia, and as many as 18% of these cases require hospitalisation. 5M pneumoniae infections can occur worldwide, with outbreaks occurring cyclically every 3-7 years. 6 7 A study has shown that M pneumoniae infection did not show seasonal variations; 8 in contrast, however, recent studies have shown that M pneumoniae infection peaks in winter 9 or spring, 10 and this aetiology should be considered first when it occurs in the summer and autumn months. 11 The clear cyclical and seasonal occurrence suggests that climatic factors could play a role. Moreover, another study has shown that the most important factor explaining the variance in CAP is the direct and indirect effects of meteorological variables. 12However, few quantitative studies have investigated the impact of weather factors and variability on the incidence of M pneumoniae pneumonia, allowing for the mutual confounding between weather factors and potential confounding by other seasonally varying factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between weather variations and the weekly incidence of M pneumoniae pneumonia between 1999 and 2007 in Fukuoka, Japan using time-series methodology.

Emergence of Macrolide-Resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Hong Kong Is Linked to Increasing Macrolide Resistance in Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Analysis Type 4-5-7-2

“…During the entire period, the changes in the annual cycle of positive rates were irregular, with peaks in early summer (in 2012), mid-summer (in 2013), and early autumn (in 2014). This is in line with reports describing more M. pneumoniae infections with increased relative humidity and ambient temperature (19,20). In our neighborhood areas, recent epidemic outbreaks of M. pneumoniae infections were also noted in South Korea from 2010 to 2011, in Japan from 2011 to 2012, and in Beijing and Shanghai, China, in 2012 (4,21,22).…”

Epidemiological characteristics and meteorological factors of childhood Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in Hangzhou

“…[21] The effects of temperature were such that irrespective of relative humidity, an increase in temperature resulted in a decreased airborne survival time in laboratory settings. [21] In real-life, Onozuka et al [8] found the number of cases of MPP increased with higher temperature or relative humidity in the weeks preceding disease onset which was opposite to the experimental results. Although humidity was thought to be an important factor for survival of M. pneumoniae, [8,21] our data proved no correlation between MPP rate and humidity or between temperature and humidity.…”

“…[21] In real-life, Onozuka et al [8] found the number of cases of MPP increased with higher temperature or relative humidity in the weeks preceding disease onset which was opposite to the experimental results. Although humidity was thought to be an important factor for survival of M. pneumoniae, [8,21] our data proved no correlation between MPP rate and humidity or between temperature and humidity. Nor other meteorological factors including monthly mean precipitation and raining days were found to be correlated to the MPP rate.…”

“…climate effects. [5][6][7][8] The present study aims to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of MPP in Hangzhou and to observe the relationship between meteorological factors and MPP. A total of 14 799 children were enrolled in this study.…”

Update of the scientific evidence for specifying lower limit relative humidity levels for comfort, health, and indoor environmental quality in occupied spaces (RP-1630)

“…Although several low humidity studies were obtained during the literature search, many studies focused on pneumonia in humid environments (Onozuka et al, 2009;Negrisoli and Nascimento, 2013;Ramos, 2013). In laboratory tests, four studies considered aerosol viability (Dunklin and Puck, 1948;Wright et al, 1968;Theunissen et al, 1993;Ko et al, 2000) and one study examined the spread of pathogens on fomites (Lopez et al, 2013), with conditions shown in Figure 3.…”