Environmental research
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Environmental research · Dec 2020
An index to quantify environmental risk of exposure to future epidemics of the COVID-19 and similar viral agents: Theory and practice.
In the presence of the novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and other new viral agents, one of the fundamental problems in science is the evaluation of environmental and social weaknesses of cities/regions to the exposure of infectious diseases for preventing and/or containing new COVID-19 outbreaks and the diffusion of other viral agents that generate a negative impact on public health and economy of countries. The current monitoring of transmission dynamics of infectious diseases is mainly based on reproduction number (R0) and fatality rates. However, this approach is a real-time monitoring of transmission dynamics for mitigating the numbers of COVID-19 related infected individuals and deaths. ⋯ Index c has a range from 1 (environmental and social weakness of urban areas leading to high levels of exposure to infectious diseases) to 0 (environment that reduces the risk of exposure to infectious diseases in society). The statistical evidence here, applied on case study of Italy, seems in general to support the predictive capacity of the Index c as a particularly simple but superior indicator in detecting the global correlation between potential risk of exposure of cities/regions to infectious diseases and actual risk given by infected individuals and deaths of the COVID-19. The Index c can support a proactive environmental strategy to help policymakers to prevent future pandemics similar to the COVID-19.
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Environmental research · Dec 2020
Household air pollution exposure and associations with household characteristics among biomass cookstove users in Puno, Peru.
Household air pollution (HAP) from combustion of biomass fuel, such as wood and animal dung, is among the leading environmental risk factors for preventable disease. Close to half of the world's population relies on biomass cookstoves for their daily cooking needs. Understanding factors that affect HAP can inform measures to maximize the effectiveness of cookstove interventions in a cost-effective manner. However, the impact of kitchen and household characteristics, as well as the presence of secondary stoves, on HAP concentrations is poorly understood in Puno, Peru. ⋯ Characterizing HAP within different settings can help identify effective and culturally-relevant solutions to reduce HAP exposures. We found that housing roof type is strongly related to kitchen area concentrations and personal exposures to HAP, perhaps because of greater ventilation in kitchens with metal roofs compared to those with thatch roofs. Although HAP concentrations remained above guidelines for all households, promoting use of metal roof materials and LPG stoves may be actionable interventions that can help reduce exposures to HAP in high-altitude rural Peru and similar settings.
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Environmental research · Oct 2020
Social distancing at health care centers early in the pandemic helps to protect population from COVID-19.
The impact of COVID-19 outbreak has been unequal across Spanish regions. The epidemic wave has been smoother in the Region of Murcia (RM) (6 deaths/100,000 residents). Physical distance from health centers from day 0 is an additional social distancing measure that confers an advantageous starting position in the fight against COVID-19. Late healthcare distancing measures are not as powerful as the early ones.
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Environmental research · Oct 2020
Disparate on-site access to water, sanitation, and food storage heighten the risk of COVID-19 spread in Sub-Saharan Africa.
COVID-19 is an active pandemic that likely poses an existential threat to humanity. Frequent handwashing, social distancing, and partial or total lockdowns are among the suite of measures prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and being implemented across the world to contain the pandemic. However, existing inequalities in access to certain basic necessities of life (water, sanitation facility, and food storage) create layered vulnerabilities to COVID-19 and can render the preventive measures ineffective or simply counterproductive. ⋯ There is a social gradient in in-house access between the rich and the poor, urban and rural richest, male- and female-headed households, among others. We conclude that SSA governments would need to infuse innovative gender- and age-sensitive support services (such as water supply, portable sanitation) to augment the preventive measures prescribed by the WHO. Short-, medium- and long-term interventions within and across countries should necessarily address the upstream, midstream and downstream determinants of in-house access and the full spectrum of layers of inequalities including individual, interpersonal, institutional, and population levels.
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Environmental research · Sep 2020
Population-level COVID-19 mortality risk for non-elderly individuals overall and for non-elderly individuals without underlying diseases in pandemic epicenters.
To provide estimates of the relative rate of COVID-19 death in people <65 years old versus older individuals in the general population, the absolute risk of COVID-19 death at the population level during the first epidemic wave, and the proportion of COVID-19 deaths in non-elderly people without underlying diseases in epicenters of the pandemic. ⋯ People <65 years old have very small risks of COVID-19 death even in pandemic epicenters and deaths for people <65 years without underlying predisposing conditions are remarkably uncommon. Strategies focusing specifically on protecting high-risk elderly individuals should be considered in managing the pandemic.