Unexpected Risks for Campers and Hikers: Tick-Borne Infections

Dinç, Gökçen; Demiraslan, Hayati; Doğanay, Mehmet

doi:10.15171/ijtmgh.2017.02

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 53 publications

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“…Human behaviour changes with seasons, with social, occupational and recreational activity often showing marked inter-seasonal variation [1,12]. The way in which humans interact with the natural environment can also vary by season, resulting in differences in exposure to pathogens or to the vectors that carry them [13,14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The seasonality of infections in tropical Far North Queensland, Australia: A 21-year retrospective evaluation of the seasonal patterns of six endemic pathogens

Fairhead

Smith

Sim

et al. 2022

PLOS Glob Public Health

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An understanding of the seasonality of infections informs public health strategies and assists clinicians in their management of patients with undifferentiated illness. The seasonality of infections is driven by a variety of environmental and human factors; however, the role of individual climatic factors has garnered much attention. This study utilises Poisson regression models to assess the seasonality of six important infections in tropical Australia and their association with climatic factors and severe weather events over a 21-year period. Melioidosis and leptospirosis showed marked wet season predominance, while more cases of rickettsial disease and cryptococcosis were seen in cooler, drier months. Staphylococcus aureus infections were not seasonal, while influenza demonstrated inter-seasonality. The climate did not significantly change during the 21 years of the study period, but the incidence of melioidosis and rickettsial disease increased considerably, highlighting the primacy of other factors—including societal inequality, and the impact of urban expansion—in the incidence of these infections. While anthropogenic climate change poses a threat to the region—and may influence the burden of these infections in the future—this study highlights the fact that, even for seasonal diseases, other factors presently have a greater effect on disease incidence. Public health strategies must also target these broader drivers of infection if they are to be effective.

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