Association between the incidence of typhoid and paratyphoid fever and meteorological variables in Guizhou, China.

BACKGROUND

Typhoid/paratyphoid fever (TPF) is endemic in Guizhou. We conducted wavelet analysis and Spearman's rank correlation analysis to explore the impact of meteorological variations on TPF infection in Guizhou, in an attempt to assess the risk factors associated with TPF epidemics.

METHODS

We examined the association between TPF incidence in Guizhou and temperature, precipitation and relative humidity using 24 years of data from 1984 to 2007. Periodicities of TPF incidence and the impact of climate factors on the TPF were detected by Spearman's rank correlation and wavelet analysis,

RESULTS

Temperature and precipitation with a 1-month lag were positively correlated with the monthly incidence of TPF. The multiyear incidence pattern of TPF in Guizhou was explicitly periodic. Moreover, the association and driving effect of precipitation on TPF were observed, and the results showed that the incidence of TPF in Guizhou had a closer correlation with precipitation than with temperature.

CONCLUSIONS

Safe water supply is the key issue for TPF control in Guizhou. Moreover, climate variation might impact the enteric infections, which may inform policy assessment for TPF control in Guizhou.