Health status and species of each coral sample taken in the Caribbean during 2013 (Contagious coral diseases project)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, produced by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread rapidly throughout the world. Latin American and the Caribbean countries have been harshly affected by the pandemic mainly due to less prepared healthcare systems and fragmented social safety nets. In the region, health status population-based indicators are worse than compared to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Recent evidence suggests that the progression and severity of COVID-19 are associated with the prior health status of individuals, and studies have shown that the case fatality rate is highly stratified among different populations. This narrative review aims to describe factors associated with adverse outcomes of COVID-19 in the context of social determinants of health in Latin American and Caribbean countries. In this review, we state that genetic and biological factors interact in a sophisticated way with social determinants of health, impacting the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Behavioral factors, such as physical inactivity, smoking, and unhealthy diets, are related to chronic systemic inflammation. Also, air pollution can prolong inflammation and the hyper-activation of the immune system. Air pollutants could facilitate the spread of the virus. Finally, frailty and comorbidities can be associated with COVID-19 severity through increasing vulnerability to stressors and leading to more severe symptoms of COVID-19 disease, including a higher mortality risk. All these factors contribute to increasing the impact of COVID-19 in Latin American and Caribbean countries. We highlight the relevance of considering social determinants of health in Latin American and the Caribbean countries, not only in controlling the likelihood of getting the disease but also its progression and severity. All these social determinants can guide the design and implementation of tailored interventions promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors, which should lower the spread of the disease, its severity, and lethality.

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O7D.4 Health inequalities among working population of latin america and the caribbean

Occupational and Environmental Medicine ◽

10.1136/oem-2019-epi.181 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 76 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. A67.2-A67

Author(s):

Michael Silva-Peñaherrera ◽

María Lopez-Ruiz ◽

Pamela Merino-Salazar ◽

Antonio Goméz-García ◽

Fernando Benavides

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Latin American ◽

Low Income ◽

Perceived Health ◽

Health Determinants ◽

Working Population ◽

Employment Conditions ◽

Working Age ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Working Age Population

BackgroundWorking and employment conditions are weighty health determinants. Low-income countries are frequently exposed to occupational risks, employment agreements are poorly regulated and a high proportion of the working population are in the informal sector. Studies in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) have been hampered by the lack of reliable data available.ObjectiveTo describe and compare the health inequality gap among workers of 20 countries of LAC.MethodsData have been taken from the last available Working Conditions Survey, National Health Surveys and from official records and national statistical institutes of each country. Three indicators were calculated to estimate health status of the working population (poor-self-perceived health, fatal and non-fatal injuries at work and general mortality within the working-age population), stratified by sex, age, level of study and occupation. Disparity was measured using Keppel index of disparity (ID) and Kuznets relative. Absolute and relative differences were calculated using the best health status country as reference category.ResultsMortality among the working-age population was higher in men and varied from 87.4 deaths per 1000 inhabitants in Chile to over 182.2 in Bolivia. Keppel ID between countries was 0.5, indicating medium-high disparity. The prevalence of poor self-perceived health was higher in women and revealed a gradient by age, education level and occupation, in which young people in qualified non-manual occupations and high levels of study had lower prevalence. The ID was 0.7 between countries demonstrating high disparity and the range varied from 12.2 in Uruguay to 50.9 in Nicaragua.ConclusionsThis study reveals the existence of wide gaps in health among workers in LAC, both within and between countries. The limitations of cross-country comparative data should considered. However, this analysis increases our understanding of the causes of inequalities and provides evidence to establish better public policies.

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Similarities and Differences Between Two Deadly Caribbean Coral Diseases: White Plague and Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.709544 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Aldo Cróquer ◽

Ernesto Weil ◽

Caroline S. Rogers

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rates ◽

Case Definition ◽

Tissue Loss ◽

Coral Tissue ◽

Coral Diseases ◽

Stony Coral ◽

Coral Microbiome ◽

White Plague ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Multiple Species

For several decades, white plagues (WPDs: WPD-I, II and III) and more recently, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) have significantly impacted Caribbean corals. These diseases are often difficult to separate in the field as they produce similar gross signs. Here we aimed to compare what we know about WPD and SCTLD in terms of: (1) pathology, (2) etiology, and (3) epizootiology. We reviewed over 114 peer-reviewed publications from 1973 to 2021. Overall, WPD and SCTLD resemble each other macroscopically, mainly due to the rapid tissue loss they produce in their hosts, however, SCTLD has a more concise case definition. Multiple-coalescent lesions are often observed in colonies with SCTLD and rarely in WPD. A unique diagnostic sign of SCTLD is the presence of bleached circular areas when SCTLD lesions are first appearing in the colony. The paucity of histopathologic archives for WPDs for multiple species across geographies makes it impossible to tell if WPD is the same as SCTLD. Both diseases alter the coral microbiome. WPD is controversially regarded as a bacterial infection and more recently a viral infection, whereas for SCTLD the etiology has not been identified, but the putative pathogen, likely to be a virus, has not been confirmed yet. Most striking differences between WPD and SCTLD have been related to duration and phases of epizootic events and mortality rates. While both diseases may become highly prevalent on reefs, SCTLD seems to be more persistent even throughout years. Both transmit directly (contact) and horizontally (waterborne), but organism-mediated transmission is only proven for WPD-II. Given the differences and similarities between these diseases, more detailed information is needed for a better comparison. Specifically, it is important to focus on: (1) tagging colonies to look at disease progression and tissue mortality rates, (2) tracking the fate of the epizootic event by looking at initial coral species affected, the features of lesions and how they spread over colonies and to a wider range of hosts, (3) persistence across years, and (4) repetitive sampling to look at changes in the microbiome as the disease progresses. Our review shows that WPDs and SCTLD are the major causes of coral tissue loss recorded in the Caribbean.

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Demographic and socio-economic shifts partly explain the Martinican nutrition transition: an analysis of 10-year health and dietary changes (2003–2013) using decomposition models

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s136898002100327x ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Zoé Colombet ◽

Michel Simioni ◽

Sophie Drogue ◽

Viola Lamani ◽

Marlène Perignon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Diet Quality ◽

Opposite Sign ◽

Nutrition Transition ◽

Dietary Intakes ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Dietary Changes ◽

Decomposition Models ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Dramatic Shift

Abstract Objective: The Caribbean has seen a dramatic shift in the obesity and chronic disease prevalence over the past decades, suggesting a nutrition transition. Simultaneously, Martinique has faced a demographic transition marked by significant population ageing. We aimed to differentiate the contribution of changes in health status and dietary intakes due to shifts in demographic and socio-economic characteristics (DSEC) from that due to unobserved factors. Design: Two cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2003 (n 743) and 2013 (n 573) on representative samples were used. Dietary intakes were estimated by 24-h recalls. The contribution of changes in health status and dietary intakes due to shifts in observed DSEC was differentiated from that due to unobserved factors over a 10-year interval, using Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition models. Setting: Martinique, French region in the Caribbean. Participants: Martinican adults (≥16 years). Results: Over the study period, health status deteriorated, partly owing to shifts in DSEC, explaining 62 % of the change in the prevalence of hypertension (+13 percentage points (pp)) and 48 % of waist circumference change (+3 cm). Diet quality decreased (mean adequacy ratio –2pp and mean excess ratio + 2 pp) and energy supplied by ultra-processed food increased (+4 pp). Shifts in DSEC marginally explained some changes in dietary intakes (e.g. increased diet quality), while the changes that remained unexplained were of opposite sign, with decreased diet quality, lower fruits, tubers and fish intakes and higher energy provided by ultra-processed foods. Conclusion: Explained dietary changes were of opposite sign to nutrition transition conceptual framework, probably because unobserved drivers are in play, such as food price trends or supermarkets spread.

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Locations and depths of sites used in coral disease mapping from the Caribbean in 2012 (Contagious coral diseases project)

Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office ◽

10.1575/1912/bco-dmo.658213.1 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Robert van Woesik

Keyword(s):

Coral Disease ◽

Disease Mapping ◽

Coral Diseases ◽

The Caribbean

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Shifting white pox aetiologies affecting Acropora palmata in the Florida Keys, 1994–2014

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2015.0205 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 371 (1689) ◽

pp. 20150205 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Kathryn P. Sutherland ◽

Brett Berry ◽

Andrew Park ◽

Dustin W. Kemp ◽

Keri M. Kemp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coral Disease ◽

Bacterial Pathogen ◽

Florida Keys ◽

Disease State ◽

Moving Target ◽

Acropora Palmata ◽

Coral Diseases ◽

Disease Aetiology ◽

The Caribbean

We propose ‘the moving target hypothesis’ to describe the aetiology of a contemporary coral disease that differs from that of its historical disease state. Hitting the target with coral disease aetiology is a complex pursuit that requires understanding of host and environment, and may lack a single pathogen solution. White pox disease (WPX) affects the Caribbean coral Acropora palmata . Acroporid serratiosis is a form of WPX for which the bacterial pathogen ( Serratia marcescens ) has been established. We used long-term (1994–2014) photographic monitoring to evaluate historical and contemporary epizootiology and aetiology of WPX affecting A. palmata at eight reefs in the Florida Keys. Ranges of WPX prevalence over time (0–71.4%) were comparable for the duration of the 20-year study. Whole colony mortality and disease severity were high in historical (1994–2004), and low in contemporary (2008–2014), outbreaks of WPX. Acroporid serratiosis was diagnosed for some historical (1999, 2003) and contemporary (2012, 2013) outbreaks, but this form of WPX was not confirmed for all WPX cases. Our results serve as a context for considering aetiology as a moving target for WPX and other coral diseases for which pathogens are established and/or candidate pathogens are identified. Coral aetiology investigations completed to date suggest that changes in pathogen, host and/or environment alter the disease state and complicate diagnosis.

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