Seasonality in human zoonotic enteric diseases: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although seasonality is a defining characteristic of many infectious diseases, few studies have described and compared seasonal patterns across diseases globally, impeding our understanding of putative mechanisms. Here, we review seasonal patterns across five enteric zoonotic diseases: campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, vero-cytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC), cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis in the context of two primary drivers of seasonality: (i) environmental effects on pathogen occurrence and pathogen-host associations and (ii) population characteristics/behaviour.

Methodology/principal findings

We systematically reviewed published literature from 1960-2010, resulting in the review of 86 studies across the five diseases. The Gini coefficient compared tempo

SUBMITTER: Lal A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3317665 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature