A microbial risk assessor's guide to Valley Fever (Coccidioides spp.): Case study and review of risk factors.

Autor: Kahn D; Department of Civil Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA., Chen W; Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA., Linden Y; Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA., Corbeil KA; Department of Water Management and Hydrological Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 79016, USA., Lowry S; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA., Higham CA; Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK., Mendez KS; The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, Houston, TX 77030, USA., Burch P; Seaford High School, 1575 Seamans Neck Rd, Seaford, NY 11783, USA., DiFondi T; Seaford High School, 1575 Seamans Neck Rd, Seaford, NY 11783, USA., Verhougstraete M; University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, 1295 N. Marton Ave., Tucson, AZ 85724, USA., De Roos AJ; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA., Haas CN; Department of Civil Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA., Gerba C; University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, 1295 N. Marton Ave., Tucson, AZ 85724, USA., Hamilton KA; The Biodesign Institute Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA. Electronic address: kerry.hamilton@asu.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Mar 20; Vol. 917, pp. 170141. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jan 17.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170141
Abstrakt: Valley Fever is a respiratory disease caused by inhalation of arthroconidia, a type of spore produced by fungi within the genus Coccidioides spp. which are found in dry, hot ecosystems of the Western Hemisphere. A quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for the disease has not yet been performed due to a lack of dose-response models and a scarcity of quantitative occurrence data from environmental samples. A literature review was performed to gather data on experimental animal dosing studies, environmental occurrence, human disease outbreaks, and meteorological associations. As a result, a risk framework is presented with information for parameterizing QMRA models for Coccidioides spp., with eight new dose-response models proposed. A probabilistic QMRA was conducted for a Southwestern US agricultural case study, evaluating eight scenarios related to farming occupational exposures. Median daily workday risks for developing severe Valley Fever ranged from 2.53 × 10 -7 (planting by hand while wearing an N95 facemask) to 1.33 × 10 -3 (machine harvesting while not wearing a facemask). The literature review and QMRA synthesis confirmed that exposure to aerosolized arthroconidia has the potential to result in high attack rates but highlighted that the mechanistic relationships between environmental conditions and disease remain poorly understood. Recommendations for Valley Fever risk assessment research needs in order to reduce disease risks are discussed, including interventions for farmers.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Kerry Hamilton and other faculty at QMRA workshop (Charles Haas) reports financial support and travel were provided by NIH.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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