Wildfire and smoke association with COVID-19 cases in the Pantanal wetland, Brazil.

Public Health

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.

Published: December 2023

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 (PM). 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 PM 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 PM 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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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2023.10.032DOI Listing

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