Exploring the association of weather variability on Campylobacter - A systematic review

Erika Austhof; Shaylee Warner; Kathryn Helfrich; Kristen Pogreba-Brown; Heidi E Brown; Yann C Klimentidis; Elaine Scallan Walter; Rachel H Jervis; Alice E White

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118796

Exploring the association of weather variability on Campylobacter - A systematic review

Environ Res. 2024 Apr 4;252(Pt 1):118796. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118796. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Erika Austhof¹, Shaylee Warner², Kathryn Helfrich², Kristen Pogreba-Brown³, Heidi E Brown³, Yann C Klimentidis³, Elaine Scallan Walter², Rachel H Jervis⁴, Alice E White²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. Electronic address: barrette@arizona.edu.
² Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
⁴ Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA.

PMID: 38582433
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118796

Abstract

Background: Previous work has found climate change-induced weather variability is suspected to increase the transmission of enteric pathogens, including Campylobacter, a leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis. While the relationship between extreme weather events and diarrheal diseases has been documented, the specific impact on Campylobacter infections remains underexplored.

Objective: To synthesize the peer-reviewed literature exploring the effect of weather variability on Campylobacter infections in humans.

Methods: The review included English language, peer-reviewed articles, published up to September 1, 2022 in PubMed, Embase, GEOBASE, Agriculture and Environmental Science Database, and CABI Global Health exploring the effect of an antecedent weather event on human enteric illness caused by Campylobacter (PROSPERO Protocol # 351884). We extracted study information including data sources, methods, summary measures, and effect sizes. Quality and weight of evidence reported was summarized and bias assessed for each article.

Results: After screening 278 articles, 47 articles (34 studies, 13 outbreak reports) were included in the evidence synthesis. Antecedent weather events included precipitation (n = 35), temperature (n = 30), relative humidity (n = 7), sunshine (n = 6), and El Niño and La Niña (n = 3). Reviewed studies demonstrated that increases in precipitation and temperature were correlated with Campylobacter infections under specific conditions, whereas low relative humidity and sunshine were negatively correlated. Articles estimating the effect of animal operations (n = 15) found presence and density of animal operations were significantly associated with infections. However, most of the included articles did not assess confounding by seasonality, presence of animal operations, or describe estimates of risk.

Discussion: This review explores what is known about the influence of weather events on Campylobacter and identifies previously underreported negative associations between low relative humidity and sunshine on Campylobacter infections. Future research should explore pathogen-specific estimates of risk, which can be used to influence public health strategies, improve source attribution and causal pathways, and project disease burden due to climate change.

Keywords: Campylobacter; Climate change; Enteric diseases; Precipitation; Systematic review; Temperature.

Publication types

Review