Trends of vaccine-preventable diseases in Afghanistan from the Disease Early Warning System, 2009-2015.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Afghanistan's public health system was neglected during decades of military and civil conflict, and trends in infectious disease occurrence remain poorly characterized. This study examines cyclical and long-term trends of six vaccine-preventable diseases: pneumonia, diarrhea, meningitis, typhoid, measles, and acute viral hepatitis.

Methods

Using weekly data collected between 2009 and 2015 through Afghanistan's Disease Early Warning System, we calculated monthly case counts, and fit a Poisson regression with a Fourier transformation for seasonal cycles and dummy variables for year.

Results

We found the greatest incidence of diarrhea and typhoid in the summer, pneumonia in the winter, and measles in the late spring. Meningitis and acute viral hepatitis did no

SUBMITTER: Wagner AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5453561 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature