RSS FeedClimate Linked to Infant Brain Disorder in Uganda
Category: Faculty and Staff News
Posted by: jml43
on Apr 12, 2013
Infant infections take more lives in Africa than malaria or tuberculosis. In Uganda, over 4,000 new cases of infant hydrocephalus are reported each year. With only four neurosurgeons in the country and limited medical facilities, most of these children do not receive medical attention, leading to severe disabilities and even death.
A recent study links 60 percent of hydrocephalus cases in Uganda to environmental conditions, the first time that a major neurological disorder is associated with climate changes.
Recalling their data on climate patterns, hospital records and microbiological research, Dr. Steve Schiff, Director of the Center for Neural Engineering at Penn State University told UNEARTH News, “There turned out to be nothing subtle here. You could see the relationship between case numbers and rainfall in the raw data.”
US Deputy Chief of Mission Virginia Blaser visits CURE Children’s Hospital of Uganda in Mbale. Photo credit: US Mission, Uganda
Hydrocephalus is a common neurological disorder among children. In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 375,000 infants develop hydrocephalus every year.
The brain naturally produces cerebrospinal fluid that circulates nutrients and cushions the brain. Hydrocephalus occurs when the brain fails to absorb the fluid, causing internal build up that enlarges the child’s head and puts pressure on the brain. Left untreated, this impairs cognitive and physical abilities, leaving the child scarred for life.
While most hydrocephalus cases in developed countries are congenital, Schiff points that many infants in Uganda develop hydrocephalus after acquiring blood infections the first month of life. Around three to four months after infection, these infants were reported to exhibit signs of hydrocephalus.
Comparing hospital records of hydrocephalus patients with satellite rainfall data from the African Rainfall Estimation Project at the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency, Schiff and his team found indications that associated climate patterns with the disease. Cases of post-infectious hydrocephalus peaked shortly before and after the heaviest rainfall, when it was not too dry or too wet allowing bacteria to thrive.
Studies on other diseases with strong climate links have helped strengthen this recent finding. Malaria in the East African highlands, for example, is affected by irregular oscillation of sea-surface temperatures of the Indian Ocean. Melioideosis, a terrible infectious disease in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, is caused by a bacteria that grows in dangerous concentrations given certain environmental conditions.
“We need to be predictive about what the best medication is to treat these infants with,” Schiff told UNEARTH News. “Preventing serious infections in newborn infants is much better than trying to better treat them once they occur.”
Uganda only has four neurosurgeons to address thousands of hydrocephalus cases each year. Those who do get medical treatment are taken to the Children’s Hospital of Uganda (CURE Uganda), which does over 650 surgical procedures every year to treat hydrocephalus. This leaves thousands more in ill-equipped hospitals or untreated because of difficult roads and transportation systems.
“Since it seems from our preliminary work that the types of bacteria change with seasons, our antibiotics chosen need to change with time and season,” Schiff said.
CT Scans of the normal infant brain and brain with post-infectious hydrocephalus, Photo credit: Dr. Steven Schiff
Health providers take both microbial surveillance of sick infants, and combine this with immediately available climate data. Once the microbial origins and routes are identified, appropriate therapy can be developed.
However, the changing rainfall patterns in sub-Saharan Africa pose a challenge in coming up with accurate projections.
“We need to use our ability to observe and control processes in engineering and weather prediction to optimize both predictive treatment and predictive public health policy,” Schiff stressed.
As a global health concern, hydrocephalus must be placed at the center of the medical dialogue for countries to pay much needed attention on primary child care.
**Source: UN Earth News
A recent study links 60 percent of hydrocephalus cases in Uganda to environmental conditions, the first time that a major neurological disorder is associated with climate changes.
Recalling their data on climate patterns, hospital records and microbiological research, Dr. Steve Schiff, Director of the Center for Neural Engineering at Penn State University told UNEARTH News, “There turned out to be nothing subtle here. You could see the relationship between case numbers and rainfall in the raw data.”
US Deputy Chief of Mission Virginia Blaser visits CURE Children’s Hospital of Uganda in Mbale. Photo credit: US Mission, Uganda
Hydrocephalus is a common neurological disorder among children. In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 375,000 infants develop hydrocephalus every year.
The brain naturally produces cerebrospinal fluid that circulates nutrients and cushions the brain. Hydrocephalus occurs when the brain fails to absorb the fluid, causing internal build up that enlarges the child’s head and puts pressure on the brain. Left untreated, this impairs cognitive and physical abilities, leaving the child scarred for life.
While most hydrocephalus cases in developed countries are congenital, Schiff points that many infants in Uganda develop hydrocephalus after acquiring blood infections the first month of life. Around three to four months after infection, these infants were reported to exhibit signs of hydrocephalus.
Comparing hospital records of hydrocephalus patients with satellite rainfall data from the African Rainfall Estimation Project at the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency, Schiff and his team found indications that associated climate patterns with the disease. Cases of post-infectious hydrocephalus peaked shortly before and after the heaviest rainfall, when it was not too dry or too wet allowing bacteria to thrive.
Studies on other diseases with strong climate links have helped strengthen this recent finding. Malaria in the East African highlands, for example, is affected by irregular oscillation of sea-surface temperatures of the Indian Ocean. Melioideosis, a terrible infectious disease in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, is caused by a bacteria that grows in dangerous concentrations given certain environmental conditions.
“We need to be predictive about what the best medication is to treat these infants with,” Schiff told UNEARTH News. “Preventing serious infections in newborn infants is much better than trying to better treat them once they occur.”
Uganda only has four neurosurgeons to address thousands of hydrocephalus cases each year. Those who do get medical treatment are taken to the Children’s Hospital of Uganda (CURE Uganda), which does over 650 surgical procedures every year to treat hydrocephalus. This leaves thousands more in ill-equipped hospitals or untreated because of difficult roads and transportation systems.
“Since it seems from our preliminary work that the types of bacteria change with seasons, our antibiotics chosen need to change with time and season,” Schiff said.
CT Scans of the normal infant brain and brain with post-infectious hydrocephalus, Photo credit: Dr. Steven Schiff
Health providers take both microbial surveillance of sick infants, and combine this with immediately available climate data. Once the microbial origins and routes are identified, appropriate therapy can be developed.
However, the changing rainfall patterns in sub-Saharan Africa pose a challenge in coming up with accurate projections.
“We need to use our ability to observe and control processes in engineering and weather prediction to optimize both predictive treatment and predictive public health policy,” Schiff stressed.
As a global health concern, hydrocephalus must be placed at the center of the medical dialogue for countries to pay much needed attention on primary child care.
**Source: UN Earth News