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Home > Projects
Climate Change & Waterborne Diseases: The possible role of high impact weather events in Canada, 1975-2001
This study was part of Phase I of the larger study on Links Between Climate, Water and Waterborne Illness, and Projected Impacts of Climate Change in Canada. It focused on Canadian waterborne disease outbreaks between 1975 - 2001, and the potential role of high impact weather events.
Abstract:
The possible role of high impact weather events in waterborne disease outbreaks in Canada, 1975-2001
M. Kate Thomas, Dominique Charron, David Waltner-Toews, Corinne Schuster, Abdel R. Maarouf, and John D. Holt
Background:
Adequate supply of safe water is crucial to health and wellbeing. Recent disease outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, and Cryptosporidium have heightened Canadians awareness to the risks associated with a contaminated water supply. The main objectives of this research were to describe the incidence and distribution of waterborne disease outbreaks in Canada in relation to preceding weather conditions and to test the association between high impact weather and waterborne disease outbreaks.
Methods:
We examined extreme rainfall and spring snowmelt in association with 168 Canadian waterborne disease outbreaks from 1975 to 2001 using case-crossover methodology. Explanatory variables including daily rainfall amount, temperature, and peak stream flow were used to determine the relationship between high impact weather and the occurrence of waterborne disease outbreaks.
Results:
We found an association between the timing of the maximum 5-day rolling cumulative average rainfall and risk of outbreak. The maximum 5-day rolling cumulative average rainfall occurring 24 days prior the outbreak maximized the relative odds of an outbreak occurring. There was an association between the total maximum degree-days above 0oC and risk of outbreak. For each degree-day above 0oC the relative odds of an outbreak increased by a factor of 1.00491 (95% confidence interval 1.00134 to 1.00846). We did not find an association between odds of an outbreak and the amount or percentile of maximum 5-day rolling cumulative average of rainfall (mm) or stream flow (m3/s).
Conclusion:
These results suggest that weather is a contributing factor to waterborne disease outbreaks in Canada. This could have implications for water management and public health initiatives.
Keywords: drinking water; temperature; precipitation; infections; case-crossover
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| Timeline | End Date: July 2004. |
| Team | Principal Investigator: M. Kate Thomas Dept of Population Medicine University of Guelph
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| Funding | Funding support for the overall project was received from the Health Policy Research Program, Health Canada. The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or official policy of Health Canada. |
| Collaborators | Committee Members:
Dominique Charron
David Waltner-Toews Special thanks to:
Corinne Schuster
Abdel R. Maarouf
John D. Holt
Don MacIver
Heather Auld
Joan Klaassen |
| Publications | Thomas MK, Charron DF, Waltner-Toews D, Holt J, Maarouf AR. The Role Of High Impact Weather In Waterborne Disease Outbreaks in Canada. Int J Environ Health Res. 2006 Jun;16(3):167-80. Schuster CJ, Ellis A, Robertson WJ, Aramini JJ, Charron DF, Marshall B, Medeiros, D. 2005. Drinking Water Related Infectious Disease Outbreaks in Canada, 1974-2001, Can J Public Health, 96(4). Charron D, Thomas M, Waltner-Toews D, Aramini J, Edge T, Kent R, Maarouf A, Wilson J. Vulnerability of waterborne diseases to climate change in Canada: a review. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2004 Oct 22-Nov 26;67(20-22):1667-77.
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