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Lorenz C, Libonati R, Belém LBC, Oliveira A, Chiaravalloti RM, Nunes AV, Batista EKL, Fernandes GW, Chiaravalloti-Neto F, Damasceno-Junior GA, Berlinck CN, Roque FO. Wildfire and smoke association with COVID-19 cases in the Pantanal wetland, Brazil. Public Health 2023; 225:311-319. [PMID: 37972494 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2023.10.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES In 2020, Brazil experienced two concurrent public health challenges related to respiratory disease: wildfires and increased mortality due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Smoke from these wildfires contributed to a variety of air pollutants, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The present study aims to investigate the effects of environmental and socio-economic factors on COVID-19 hospitalisation in the Pantanal. STUDY DESIGN Ecological retrospective study. METHODS We applied a multilevel negative binomial model to relate monthly hospitalisation data with environmental variables. RESULTS We showed that monthly PM2.5 concentration levels had the greatest influence on the increase in hospitalisations by COVID-19 in the elderly (23 % increase). The Gini index, a coefficient that reflects income inequalities, also had a positive association with COVID-19 hospitalisations (18 % increase). Higher temperatures and humidity were protective factors, showing a 15 % and 14 % decrease in hospitalisations, respectively. The results of the present study suggest that high PM2.5 exposure contributed to the increase in COVID-19 hospitalisations, as did the social inequalities of each municipality. CONCLUSIONS The present study highlights the importance of gathering evidence supported by multiple information sources to guide decision-making and identify populations needing better public health systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Lorenz
- Instituto de Estudos Avançados, Universidade de São Paulo, R. do Anfiteatro, 513 - Butantã, São Paulo/SP, 05508-060, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - R Libonati
- Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos, 274, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-916, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - L B C Belém
- Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos, 274, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-916, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - A Oliveira
- Departamento de Meteorologia, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos, 274, Ilha do Fundão, 21941-916, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - R M Chiaravalloti
- University College London, Anthropology Department, 14 Taviton Street, WC1H 0BW, London, United Kingdom
| | - A V Nunes
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, Av. Costa e Silva - Pioneiros, MS, 79070-900, Campo Grande, Brazil
| | - E K L Batista
- National Research Center for Carnivores Conservation, Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity, Estrada Municipal Hisaichi Takebayashi 8600, Atibaia, 12952-011, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - G W Fernandes
- Evolutionary Ecology & Biodiversity (DGEE ICB) Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627 - Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - F Chiaravalloti-Neto
- Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Dr. Arnaldo 715, 01246-904, São Paulo/SP, Brazil
| | - G A Damasceno-Junior
- Laboratório de Botânica/Laboratório de Ecologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, Av. Costa e Silva - Pioneiros, MS, 79070-900, Campo Grande, Brazil
| | - C N Berlinck
- National Research Center for Carnivores Conservation, Chico Mendes Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity, Estrada Municipal Hisaichi Takebayashi 8600, Atibaia, 12952-011, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - F O Roque
- Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Cidade Universitária, Av. Costa e Silva - Pioneiros, MS, 79070-900, Campo Grande, Brazil; Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, 1 James Cook Dr, Douglas, Cairns, 4811, Queensland, Australia
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Fabris AL, Nunes AV, Schuch V, de Paula-Silva M, Rocha G, Nakaya HI, Ho PL, Silveira ELV, Farsky SHP. Hydroquinone exposure alters the morphology of lymphoid organs in vaccinated C57Bl/6 mice. Environ Pollut 2020; 257:113554. [PMID: 31767231 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The influenza is a common viral infection that can be fatal, especially in high-risk groups such as children, pregnant women, elderly, and immune-deficient individuals. Vaccination is the most efficient approach to prevent the spreading of viral infection and promote individual and public health. In contrast, exposure to environmental pollutants such as cigarette smoke reduces the efficacy of vaccination. We investigated whether chronic exposure to hydroquinone (HQ), the most abundant compound of the tobacco particulate phase, could impair the adaptive immune responses elicited by influenza vaccination. For this, adult male C57BL/6 mice were daily exposed to either nebulized HQ or PBS for 1 h for a total of eight weeks. At weeks 6 and 8, the mice were primed and boosted with the trivalent influenza vaccine via IM respectively. Although the HQ exposure did not alter the body weight of the mice and the biochemical and hematological parameters, the pollutant increased the oxidative stress in splenocytes of immunized animals, modified the morphology of spleen follicles, and augmented the size of their lymph nodes. The lymphoid organs of HQ-exposed mice presented a similar number of vaccine-specific IgG-secreting cells, titers of vaccine-specific total IgG, and respective subclasses. Transcriptome studies with HQ, benzene, or cigarette smoke exposure were also analyzed. The genes up-regulated upon pollutant exposure were associated with neutrophil migration and were shown to be co-expressed with antibody-secreting cell genes. Therefore, these findings suggest that HQ exposure may trigger an immune-compensatory mechanism that enhances the humoral responses induced by influenza vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- André Luis Fabris
- Laboratory of Experimental Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Andre Vinicius Nunes
- Laboratory of Immunology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Viviane Schuch
- Computational Systems Biology Laboratory, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Marina de Paula-Silva
- Laboratory of Experimental Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gho Rocha
- Laboratory of Experimental Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Helder I Nakaya
- Computational Systems Biology Laboratory, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paulo Lee Ho
- Bacteriology Service, BioIndustrial Division, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Eduardo L V Silveira
- Laboratory of Immunology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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