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The Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
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ISSN: 1606-0997 EISSN: 1606-0997
Vol. 22, No. 4, 2004, pp. 399-403
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Bioline Code: hn04048
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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The Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2004, pp. 399-403
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Environmental Temperature, Cholera, and Acute Diarrhoea in Adults in Lima, Peru
Lama, Javier R.; Seas, Carlos R.; León-Barúa, Raúl; Gotuzzo, Eduardo & Sack, R. Bradley
Abstract
The effects of environmental temperature, presence and severity of El Niño, presence of cholera in the
community, and interactions among these variables on the number of adult diarrhoeal patients attending
the Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru, during 1991-1998, were evaluated. During
1991-1996, an increased number of visits to the hospital due to acute diarrhoea in the warmer months
was observed. This periodic pattern was altered in 1997, when rising of the environmental temperature
was observed in Lima secondarily associated with a strong El Niño event. Amultivariate model was built
in which environmental temperature and interaction between environmental temperature and presence of
cholera predicted the number of adult patients with acute diarrhoea attending the Hospital Nacional
Cayetano Heredia. Monitoring of environmental temperature and presence of cholera may be used as
a warning system to predict epidemics of diarrhoea in adults, which may have a tremendous impact on
healthcare strategies and management of health services in general.
Keywords
Diarrhoea; Acute; Cholera; Environment; Temperature; El Niño; Retrospective studies; Peru
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