Association of Weather Variables With Pathogens Contributing to Conjunctivitis Worldwide.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Infectious Diseases
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Infectious conjunctivitis is a common ocular condition with diverse etiologies.
• Understanding the environmental factors influencing pathogen prevalence is crucial for public health.
• Previous research has not comprehensively linked global weather variables to specific conjunctivitis pathogens.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify weather variables associated with pathogens causing infectious conjunctivitis globally.
• To analyze the relationship between meteorological factors and the prevalence of different types of conjunctivitis-causing agents.

Main Methods:

• Collected pathogen data from 498 acute infectious conjunctivitis cases across 13 sites in 8 countries (2017-2023).
• Linked pathogen identification with geographically matched, publicly available weather data (temperature, precipitation, relative humidity).
• Utilized mixed-effects logistic regression to assess associations between weather exposures and infection types (RNA virus, DNA virus, bacteria, fungus).

Main Results:

• Precipitation was linked to increased RNA virus and decreased DNA virus conjunctivitis.
• Relative humidity correlated with higher rates of RNA virus and fungal infections, but lower rates of DNA virus and bacterial infections.
• Temperature showed no significant association with any type of ocular infection.

Conclusions:

• Weather factors differentially impact pathogens responsible for conjunctivitis.
• Humidity and precipitation emerge as significant predictors for conjunctivitis pathogens worldwide.
• Further research is necessary to elucidate the effects of changing weather and environmental conditions on ocular infectious diseases.