Climate and leishmaniasis in French Guiana.

Amaury Roger (1) , Mathieu Nacher (1, 2) , Matthieu Hanf (1) , Anne Sophie Drogoul (3) , Antoine Adenis (1, 2) , Celia Basurko (1) , Julie Dufour (4) , Dominique Sainte Marie (4) , Denis Blanchet (2) , Stephane Simon (2) , Bernard Carme (2, 1) , Pierre Couppié (2, 4)

1 CIC - Antilles Guyane - Centre d'investigation clinique Antilles-Guyane
2 Epidémiologie des parasitoses et mycoses tropicales
3 Institut Pasteur de la Guyane
4 Service de Dermatologie et Vénérologie

To study the link between climatic variables and the incidence of leishmaniasis a study was conducted in Cayenne, French Guiana. Patients infected between January 1994 and December 2010. Meteorological data were studied in relation to the incidence of leishmaniasis using an ARIMA model. In the final model, the infections were negatively correlated with rainfall (with a 2-month lag) and with the number of days with rainfall > 50 mm (lags of 4 and 7 months). The variables that were positively correlated were temperature and the Multivariate El Niño Southern Oscillation Index with lags of 8 and 4 months, respectively. Significantly greater correlations were observed in March for rainfall and in November for the Multivariate El Niño/Southern Oscillation Index. Climate thus seems to be a non-negligible explanatory variable for the fluctuations of leishmaniasis. A decrease in rainfall is linked to increased cases 2 months later. This easily perceptible point could lead to an interesting prevention message.

Domaines: Santé publique et épidémiologie

Amaury Roger, Mathieu Nacher, Matthieu Hanf, Anne Sophie Drogoul, Antoine Adenis, et al.. Climate and leishmaniasis in French Guiana.. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2013, 89 (3), pp.564-9. ⟨10.4269/ajtmh.12-0771⟩. ⟨inserm-00913933⟩