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Risk factors identified for lower respiratory tract infections in rural Alaskan children
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Using woodstoves and not having household sinks increased risk for respiratory tract infection in Alaska-native children, according to study results published online.
Lisa R. Bulkow, MS, of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the CDC in Anchorage, Alaska, and colleagues examined data on 128 children aged younger than 3 years and who had been hospitalized with lower respiratory tract infections in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2007. Bulkow and colleagues used 186 nonhospitalized children of the local community as the control group and matched them to the study group by subregion, season and age. The researchers used a nasopharyngeal swab to test for numerous respiratory viruses. Samples positive for respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus and parainfluenza virus type 3 were quantitated by reverse transcriptase real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
Bulkow and colleagues reported that their data fell in line with previously reported risk factors for infection, which included medically high-risk status such as prematurity; bottle feeding; vomiting after feeding; and overcrowding. Use of a woodstove and lack of sinks in the household were also identified as factors that increased infection risk.
“These studies suggest that increased access to running water in the home leads to increased hand washing and possibly decreased transmission of disease,” Bulkow and colleagues concluded. “Efforts continue to improve water and sanitation services in Alaska, but funding and technical challenges remain.”
Disclosure: Ms. Bulkow reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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