Evaluating the Risk of Epidemic Thunderstorm Asthma: Lessons from Australia.

ABSTRACT: Epidemic thunderstorm asthma (ETA) is an emerging public health threat in Australia, highlighted by the 2016 event in Melbourne, Victoria, that overwhelmed health services and caused loss of life. However, there is limited understanding of the regional variations in risk. We evaluated the public health risk of ETA in the nearby state of Tasmania by quantifying the frequency of potential ETA episodes and applying a standardized natural disaster risk assessment framework. Using a case⁻control approach, we analyzed emergency presentations in Tasmania's public hospitals from 2002 to 2017. Cases were defined as days when asthma presentations exceeded four standard deviations from the mean, and controls as days when asthma presentations were less than one standard deviation from the mean. Four c

SUBMITTER: Campbell SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6427665 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature