ABSTRACT
We initiated a collaboration between local government, academia, and citizen scientists to investigate high frequencies of elevated Escherichia coli bacteria levels in the coastal Short Beach neighborhood of Branford, Connecticut. Citizen scientist involvement enabled collection of short-duration postprecipitation outfall flow water samples (mean E. coli level = 4930 most probable number per 100 mL) and yielded insights into scientific collaboration with local residents. A records review and sanitary questionnaire identified aging properties with septic systems (3.3%) and holding tanks (0.6%) as potential sources of the E. coli contamination. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(9):1261-1264. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306943).
Subject(s)
Citizen Science , Water Quality , Connecticut , Escherichia coli , Humans , Residence CharacteristicsSubject(s)
Climate Change , Global Health , Forecasting , Global Health/trends , Health Planning , Humans , Renewable EnergyABSTRACT
TRANSLATIONS: For the Chinese, French, German, and Spanish translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Climate Change , Extreme Weather , Global Health , Conservation of Natural Resources/trends , Health Policy , Humans , International Cooperation , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Improved understanding of the effects of meteorological conditions on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent for COVID-19 disease, is needed. Here, we estimate the relationship between air temperature, specific humidity, and ultraviolet radiation and SARS-CoV-2 transmission in 2669 U.S. counties with abundant reported cases from March 15 to December 31, 2020. Specifically, we quantify the associations of daily mean temperature, specific humidity, and ultraviolet radiation with daily estimates of the SARS-CoV-2 reproduction number (Rt) and calculate the fraction of Rt attributable to these meteorological conditions. Lower air temperature (within the 20-40 °C range), lower specific humidity, and lower ultraviolet radiation were significantly associated with increased Rt. The fraction of Rt attributable to temperature, specific humidity, and ultraviolet radiation were 3.73% (95% empirical confidence interval [eCI]: 3.66-3.76%), 9.35% (95% eCI: 9.27-9.39%), and 4.44% (95% eCI: 4.38-4.47%), respectively. In total, 17.5% of Rt was attributable to meteorological factors. The fractions attributable to meteorological factors generally were higher in northern counties than in southern counties. Our findings indicate that cold and dry weather and low levels of ultraviolet radiation are moderately associated with increased SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility, with humidity playing the largest role.