Trends and correlates of cystic echinococcosis in Chile: 2001–2012

<div><p>Echinococcosis is a neglected zoonotic disease affecting over 1 million people worldwide at any given time. It is the leading cause of hospital admissions for parasitic diseases in Chile. We conducted a retrospective investigation of hospitalized cases to describe the epidemiological trends of echinococcosis in Chile. We also examined the potential environmental risk factors for echinococcosis hospitalization rates. Through nation-wide hospital discharge data, a total of 11,516 hospitalized patients with cystic echinococcosis were identified between January 2001 and December 2012. The mean age of hospitalization was 40 years, with notable gender difference in pediatric patients. The hospitalization rate was found to be overall steadily decreasing from 2001 (7.02 per 100,000) to 2012 (4.53 per 100,000) with a 5% decrease per year (rate ratio = 0.95 [95% CI: 0.94, 0.96]). The hospitalization rate was higher in the south of Chile compared to the north. Goat density and intermediate precipitation were found to be significantly positively associated with the hospitalization rate while annual average temperature was found to be significantly negatively associated with the hospitalization rate. Findings of this study indicate that echinococcosis is still an important public health burden in Chile related to interaction with livestock and climate. Efforts should be placed on targeted prevention measures for farmers and raising awareness of echinococcosis among health care workers.</p></div

Characteristics of patients hospitalized for echinococcosis from 2001 to 2012.

<p>Characteristics of patients hospitalized for echinococcosis from 2001 to 2012.</p

Map and trend of hospitalization rate by region from 2001 to 2012 (per 100,000).

<p>The map was created by authors using ArcGIS Desktop (ESRI 2011. ArcGIS Desktop: Release 10.3. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute.) and the base layer was obtained by National Library of Congress of Chile.</p

National hospitalization rate from 2001 to 2012 (per 100,000).

<p>National hospitalization rate from 2001 to 2012 (per 100,000).</p

Predicted incidence as a function of precipitation (mm/year).

<p>When dividing precipitation into three categories (0≤ to <200, 200≤ to <800, and 800≤), the HRR was calculated as follows, using the lowest category as reference. Precipitation 200≤ to <800 mm/year: 1.60 [0.69,3.81] p-value = 0.21. Precipitation 800≤ mm/year: 1.35 [0.51, 3.69] p-value = 0.52</p

Map and trend of hospitalization rate by region from 2001 to 2012 (per 100,000).

<p>The map was created by authors using ArcGIS Desktop (ESRI 2011. ArcGIS Desktop: Release 10.3. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute.) and the base layer was obtained by National Library of Congress of Chile.</p

Image4_Did COVID-19 Policies Have the Same Effect on COVID-19 Incidence Among Women and Men? Evidence From Spain and Switzerland.PNG

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how COVID-19 prevention policies influenced the COVID-19 incidence in men and women.Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study using the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and the Spanish Ministry of Health surveillance data for February 2020–June 2021 to explore sex and age differences in COVID-19 cases and testing. The female-male incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated for each week of the pandemic. We complemented our analysis with qualitative information on relevant containment measures in each country.Results: In Switzerland and in Spain, there was an excess of cases in women of 20–59 years old and 80+. This excess of cases was significant during the waves of the pandemic in both countries. In Switzerland, the biggest difference was observed for the age group 20–29, reaching an excess of 94% of cases compared to men during the first wave of COVID-19 (March–May 2020). The excess of cases in women was greater in Spain than in Switzerland, where it reached 159% for women aged 20–29 during the first wave (March–June 2020). In both countries, the age groups 60–79 had a significant excess of cases in men during the pandemic.Conclusion: COVID-19 public health policies affect men and women in different ways. Our findings highlight the importance of gender-sensitive responses to address a public health crisis.</p

Image5_Did COVID-19 Policies Have the Same Effect on COVID-19 Incidence Among Women and Men? Evidence From Spain and Switzerland.PNG

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how COVID-19 prevention policies influenced the COVID-19 incidence in men and women.Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study using the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and the Spanish Ministry of Health surveillance data for February 2020–June 2021 to explore sex and age differences in COVID-19 cases and testing. The female-male incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated for each week of the pandemic. We complemented our analysis with qualitative information on relevant containment measures in each country.Results: In Switzerland and in Spain, there was an excess of cases in women of 20–59 years old and 80+. This excess of cases was significant during the waves of the pandemic in both countries. In Switzerland, the biggest difference was observed for the age group 20–29, reaching an excess of 94% of cases compared to men during the first wave of COVID-19 (March–May 2020). The excess of cases in women was greater in Spain than in Switzerland, where it reached 159% for women aged 20–29 during the first wave (March–June 2020). In both countries, the age groups 60–79 had a significant excess of cases in men during the pandemic.Conclusion: COVID-19 public health policies affect men and women in different ways. Our findings highlight the importance of gender-sensitive responses to address a public health crisis.</p

Image3_Did COVID-19 Policies Have the Same Effect on COVID-19 Incidence Among Women and Men? Evidence From Spain and Switzerland.PNG

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how COVID-19 prevention policies influenced the COVID-19 incidence in men and women.Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study using the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and the Spanish Ministry of Health surveillance data for February 2020–June 2021 to explore sex and age differences in COVID-19 cases and testing. The female-male incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated for each week of the pandemic. We complemented our analysis with qualitative information on relevant containment measures in each country.Results: In Switzerland and in Spain, there was an excess of cases in women of 20–59 years old and 80+. This excess of cases was significant during the waves of the pandemic in both countries. In Switzerland, the biggest difference was observed for the age group 20–29, reaching an excess of 94% of cases compared to men during the first wave of COVID-19 (March–May 2020). The excess of cases in women was greater in Spain than in Switzerland, where it reached 159% for women aged 20–29 during the first wave (March–June 2020). In both countries, the age groups 60–79 had a significant excess of cases in men during the pandemic.Conclusion: COVID-19 public health policies affect men and women in different ways. Our findings highlight the importance of gender-sensitive responses to address a public health crisis.</p

Image6_Did COVID-19 Policies Have the Same Effect on COVID-19 Incidence Among Women and Men? Evidence From Spain and Switzerland.PNG

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how COVID-19 prevention policies influenced the COVID-19 incidence in men and women.Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study using the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health and the Spanish Ministry of Health surveillance data for February 2020–June 2021 to explore sex and age differences in COVID-19 cases and testing. The female-male incidence rate ratios (IRR) were estimated for each week of the pandemic. We complemented our analysis with qualitative information on relevant containment measures in each country.Results: In Switzerland and in Spain, there was an excess of cases in women of 20–59 years old and 80+. This excess of cases was significant during the waves of the pandemic in both countries. In Switzerland, the biggest difference was observed for the age group 20–29, reaching an excess of 94% of cases compared to men during the first wave of COVID-19 (March–May 2020). The excess of cases in women was greater in Spain than in Switzerland, where it reached 159% for women aged 20–29 during the first wave (March–June 2020). In both countries, the age groups 60–79 had a significant excess of cases in men during the pandemic.Conclusion: COVID-19 public health policies affect men and women in different ways. Our findings highlight the importance of gender-sensitive responses to address a public health crisis.</p