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Weather helps predict dengue fever
Guangzhou, China (UPI) Oct 26, 2009 Chinese scientists say they've determined weather conditions such as temperatures, humidity and wind speed can help predict dengue fever outbreaks. Dengue fever -- one of the most widespread insect-borne diseases found in humans -- is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Being able to predict the trend of dengue fever can facilitate early public heath responses. The research team led by Qiyong Liu of China's Centers for Disease Control and Linwei Tian of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at Chinese University in Hong Kong correlated weather conditions, including minimum and maximum temperature, wind velocity, humidity and rainfall, with the number of cases of dengue fever in the city of Guangzhou from 2001 until 2006. They discovered higher minimum temperatures and lower wind speeds were associated with the highest number of cases of dengue fever. If the effects of humidity were factored into the mathematical model, the model fit actual events even better, they said. The effects of minimum temperature and humidity on the incidence of dengue fever were subject to a lag of about one month, whereas the effects of wind velocity were apparent during the same month, the scientists said. The study is detailed in the journal BMC Public Health. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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More than half of Chinese don't want swine flu shot: pollBeijing (AFP) Oct 26, 2009 More than half of all Chinese do not plan to be vaccinated against swine flu because they are unsure about the safety of the shot, according to a survey by state media published Monday. The poll by the China Daily and popular web portal sohu.com said more than 54 percent of the 2,000 respondents said they did not want the A(H1N1) vaccine -- a huge turnaround from two months ago, when 76 ... read more |
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