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Socioeconomic factors associated with plague differ between decades
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CDC researchers have found that there were different socioeconomic factors associated with the plague in New Mexico in the 1980s vs. the 2000s.
In the 1980s, plague was more likely in census block groups that had poor housing conditions and high proportions of the population living near or below the poverty line. In the 1990s, plague was more associated with higher median incomes and home values. By the 2000s, plague was associated with wealthier census block groups and newer homes.
“Poor socioeconomic status has been anecdotally associated with human plague cases, but this factor has rarely been investigated quantitatively in the United States and such information has not been systematically collected for cases of Yersinia pestis infection,” the researchers wrote. “Identifying human socioeconomic or behavioral risk factors may enable a more refined definition of the highest risk populations for more targeted control efforts.”
The analysis consisted of 123 of 162 cases of plague in New Mexico from 1976 to 2007. The researchers chose census block groups that had similar population densities to plague-positive census block groups. The study period was divided into three time frames: 1976 to 1985 using 1980 census data; 1986 to 1995 using 1990 census data; and 1996 to 2007 using 2000 census data. Socioeconomic conditions for each census block group were identified for each time period.
There was a change in the distribution of plague cases throughout Mexico. In the 1980s, plague cases were scattered throughout the state and common in the region of McKinley and Cibola counties in the northwestern part of the state. By the 1990s, plague cases were more focused in the Santa Fe-Albuquerque area in the north-central part of the state.
“We were unable to determine whether the socioeconomic status of individual plague-case patients has changed from poor to middle or upper-income classes,” the researchers wrote. “Future investigations are needed to characterize the characteristics and behaviors of persons to verify and fully understand the changing factors associated with plague cases in New Mexico.”
References:
Schotthoefer AM. Emerg Infect Dis. 2012;doi:10.3201/eid1807.120121.
Disclosures:
The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.