Association of Weather Variables With Pathogens Contributing to Conjunctivitis Worldwide

To identify weather variables associated with pathogens contributing to infectious conjunctivitis globally.

Sample collection and pathogen identification from patients with acute infectious conjunctivitis was performed from 2017 to 2023. We linked pathogens identified from 13 sites across 8 countries with publicly available weather data by geographic coordinates. Mixed effects logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the associations between temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity exposures, and the prevalence of infection types (RNA virus, DNA virus, bacteria, and fungus).

In total, 498 cases from the United States, India, Nepal, Thailand, Burkina Faso, Niger, Vietnam, and Israel were included in the analysis. The 8-day average precipitation (mm) was associated with increased odds of RNA virus infection (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12 to 1.93, P = .01) and decreased odds of DNA infection (OR = 0.62, 95% CI: .46 to .82, P < .001). Relative humidity (%) was associated with increased odds of RNA virus infections (OR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.51 to 4.61, P < .001), and fungal infections (OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.19 to 4.66, P = .01), but decreased odds of DNA virus (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: .37 to .90, P = .02) and bacterial infections (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: .25 to .71, P < .001). Temperature (°C) was not associated with ocular infections for any pathogen type.

This study suggests that weather factors affect pathogens differently. Particularly, humidity and precipitation were predictors for pathogens contributing to conjunctivitis worldwide. Additional work is needed to clarify the effects of shifts in weather and environmental factors on ocular infectious diseases.