scholarly journals Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Mexico, a need for Vaccination.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Chacon-Cruz ◽  
Erika Zoe Lopatybsky-Reyes ◽  
Esbeydy Garcia ◽  
Jesus Gilberto Montaño-Duron
Keyword(s):  
Baja California ◽  
Short Communication ◽  
Meningococcal Meningitis ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Meningitis Belt ◽  
Potential Association ◽  
Santa Ana Winds ◽  
Deadly Disease

Abstract Background Based on several previous studies (regional and national), Tijuana, Baja-California, Mexico (across the border from San Diego, California, USA), has shown the highest rate of Meningococcal Meningitis (MeM) in the country, however, the reason for this has not yet been known. In the “African Meningitis Belt”, the Harmattan seasons are associated with MeM outbreaks. The Santa Ana winds seasons (SAWs) are hot and dry winds (similar to Harmattan seasons) that occur seasonally in southwestern California, USA, and North of Baja-California, Mexico. Objectives Our aim was to demonstrate, as a short communication, a potential association of SAWs with MeM in Tijuana, Baja-California, Mexico, which in turn, may partially explain the high rate of this disease in the region. Methods Based on own previously published data obtained from thirteen years of active surveillance of MeM, and a 65 years review showing the occurrence of SAWs, we estimated the risk ratio (RR) of total cases number by MeM vs. bacterial non-MeM (bacterial meningitis not caused by Neisseria meningitidis) during seasons with and without SAWs. Results We found an association of SAWs seasons with MeM, but not with bacterial non-MeM (RR = 2.06, p = 0.02 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.8), which may partially explain the high endemicity of this deadly disease in this part of the globe. Conclusion This study shows a new potential climatic association with MeM, and provides more information that justifies universal meningococcal vaccination in Tijuana, Mexico.

scholarly journals 340. Association between Meningococcal Meningitis and Santa Ana Winds in Mexican Children and Adolescents from Tijuana, Baja-California, Mexico

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S240-S240
Author(s):  
Enrique Chacon-Cruz ◽  
Erika Z Lopatynsky-Reyes ◽  
Jesus G Montano-Duron
Keyword(s):  
Baja California ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Meningococcal Meningitis ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Prospective Surveillance ◽  
Surveillance Studies ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Mexican Children ◽  
Santa Ana Winds ◽  
High Incidence

Abstract Background The Tijuana, Baja-California, and San Diego, California, USA -border, is considered to be the most transited in the world. Based on our active surveillance studies, Tijuana has the highest incidence of meningococcal meningitis (MeM) in Mexico (Chacon-Cruz E. et al.: Ther. Adv. Vaccines 2016; 4: 15–9. J. Infect. Dis. Treat. 2017; 3: 1–4. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2011; 17: 543–6. And Ther. Adv. Vaccines 2019; 6: 1–7), and an outbreak of MeM in 2013 (Chacon-Cruz et al. Ther. Adv. Vaccines 2014; 2: 71–6). The Santa Ana Winds (SAWs) are episodic pulses of easterly, downslope, offshore flows over the coastal topography of the California Border Region: Southern California and Northern Baja-California (Mexico), occurring mostly from October to April, and are associated with very dry air, often with anomalous warming at low elevations, similar to the Harmattan winds associated with MeM outbreaks in Africa. We hypothesized that the high incidence of MeM in Tijuana is, in part, associated with SAWs. This association has never yet been described. Methods Based on 13 years of active/prospective surveillance (2005–2018) in children > 7 days and < 16 years of age at the General Hospital of Tijuana, we identified 51 cases of MeM (25% lethality), and 30 non-meningococcal meningitis (NMeM). Association between cases per month of MeM and NMeM, with SAWs seasons (from a 65 years review: Guzman-Morales J, et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2016; 43: 2827–34), was calculated by Risk Ratio (RR). A z test was also used to compare proportions of MeM during SAWs seasons vs. non-SAWs seasons. Results From 51 MeM, 44 (86.27%) occurred during SAWs seasons (z test = 7.32, p< 0.0002). Cases per month during 13 years (91 months for SAWs seasons and 60 months for non-SAWs seasons) were as follow (See Figure-1): SAWs seasons: non-SAWs seasons: MeM 0.483 cases/month 0.107 cases/month NMeM 0.186 cases/month 0.216 cases/month RR =1.76, p=0.0002 (95% CI 1.23 to 2.49) Conclusion 1. In Tijuana, Baja-California, Mexico, there is a strong association of Meningococcal Meningitis with seasons when Santa Ana Winds occur. 2. Routine immunization against vs. Neisseria meningitidis should be seriously considered in the region. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

scholarly journals Influence of Santa Ana winds on the surface circulation of Todos Santos Bay, Baja California, Mexico

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Felipe Navarro-Olache ◽  
Rubén Castro ◽  
Reginaldo Durazo ◽  
Rafael Hernández-Walls ◽  
Adán Mejía-Trejo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baja California ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Surface Circulation ◽  
Santa Ana Winds

‘Santa Ana’ winds and upwelling filaments off Northern Baja California

2003 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Trasviña ◽  
M Ortiz-Figueroa ◽  
H Herrera ◽  
M.A Cosı́o ◽  
E González
Keyword(s):  
Baja California ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Santa Ana Winds

scholarly journals Hot and cold flavors of southern California’s Santa Ana winds: their causes, trends, and links with wildfire

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gershunov ◽  
Janin Guzman Morales ◽  
Benjamin Hatchett ◽  
Kristen Guirguis ◽  
Rosana Aguilera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Warming Trend ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Burned Area ◽  
Rossby Wave Breaking ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Santa Ana Winds

AbstractSanta Ana winds (SAWs) are associated with anomalous temperatures in coastal Southern California (SoCal). As dry air flows over SoCal’s coastal ranges on its way from the elevated Great Basin down to sea level, all SAWs warm adiabatically. Many but not all SAWs produce coastal heat events. The strongest regionally averaged SAWs tend to be cold. In fact, some of the hottest and coldest observed temperatures in coastal SoCal are linked to SAWs. We show that hot and cold SAWs are produced by distinct synoptic dynamics. High-amplitude anticyclonic flow around a blocking high pressure aloft anchored at the California coast produces hot SAWs. Cold SAWs result from anticyclonic Rossby wave breaking over the northwestern U.S. Hot SAWs are preceded by warming in the Great Basin and dry conditions across the Southwestern U.S. Precipitation over the Southwest, including SoCal, and snow accumulation in the Great Basin usually precede cold SAWs. Both SAW flavors, but especially the hot SAWs, yield low relative humidity at the coast. Although cold SAWs tend to be associated with the strongest winds, hot SAWs tend to last longer and preferentially favor wildfire growth. Historically, out of large (> 100 acres) SAW-spread wildfires, 90% were associated with hot SAWs, accounting for 95% of burned area. As health impacts of SAW-driven coastal fall, winter and spring heat waves and impacts of smoke from wildfires have been recently identified, our results have implications for designing early warning systems. The long-term warming trend in coastal temperatures associated with SAWs is focused on January–March, when hot and cold SAW frequency and temperature intensity have been increasing and decreasing, respectively, over our 71-year record.

scholarly journals Dust Deposition on the Gulf of California Caused by Santa Ana Winds

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian A. Álvarez ◽  
José N. Carbajal ◽  
Luis F. Pineda-Martínez ◽  
José Tuxpan ◽  
David E. Flores
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Dust Emission ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Dust Particles ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Western Coast ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Dust Deposition ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Santa Ana Winds

Numerical simulations revealed a profound interaction between the severe dust storm of 2007 caused by Santa Ana winds and the Gulf of California. The weather research and forecasting model coupled with a chemistry module (WRF-CHEM) and the hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory model (HYSPLIT) allowed for the estimation of the meteorological and dynamic aspects of the event and the dust deposition on the surface waters of the Gulf of California caused by the erosion and entrainment of dust particles from the surrounding desert regions. The dust emission rates from three chosen areas (Altar desert, Sonora coast, and a region between these two zones) and their contribution to dust deposition over the Gulf of California were analyzed. The Altar Desert had the highest dust emission rates and the highest contribution to dust deposition over the Gulf of California, i.e., it has the most critical influence with 96,879 tons of emission and 43,539 tons of dust deposition in the gulf. An increase of chlorophyll-a concentrations is observed coinciding with areas of high dust deposition in the northern and western coast of the gulf. This kind of event could have a significant positive influence over the mineralization and productivity processes in the Gulf of California, despite the soil loss in the eroded regions.

The Santa Ana Winds of Southern California

Weatherwise ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo A. Sergius ◽  
George R. Ellis ◽  
Richard M. Ogden
Keyword(s):  
Southern California ◽  
Santa Ana ◽  
Santa Ana Winds

scholarly journals Nature, Position, and Frequency of Mutations Made in a Single Cycle of HIV-1 Replication

2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (19) ◽  
pp. 9864-9878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Abram ◽  
Andrea L. Ferris ◽  
Wei Shao ◽  
W. Gregory Alvord ◽  
Stephen H. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Viral Replication ◽  
Mutation Rate ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Single Cycle ◽  
Efficient System ◽  
Hiv 1

ABSTRACT There is considerable HIV-1 variation in patients. The extent of the variation is due to the high rate of viral replication, the high viral load, and the errors made during viral replication. Mutations can arise from errors made either by host DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II or by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT), but the relative contributions of these two enzymes to the mutation rate are unknown. In addition, mutations in RT can affect its fidelity, but the effect of mutations in RT on the nature of the mutations that arise in vivo is poorly understood. We have developed an efficient system, based on existing technology, to analyze the mutations that arise in an HIV-1 vector in a single cycle of replication. A lacZα reporter gene is used to identify viral DNAs that contain mutations which are analyzed by DNA sequencing. The forward mutation rate in this system is 1.4 × 10−5 mutations/bp/cycle, equivalent to the retroviral average. This rate is about 3-fold lower than previously reported for HIV-1 in vivo and is much lower than what has been reported for purified HIV-1 RT in vitro. Although the mutation rate was not affected by the orientation of lacZα, the sites favored for mutations (hot spots) in lacZα depended on which strand of lacZα was present in the viral RNA. The pattern of hot spots seen in lacZα in vivo did not match any of the published data obtained when purified RT was used to copy lacZα in vitro.

scholarly journals Epidemiology of meningococcal meningitis in Angola, 1994–2000

2001 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. GASPAR ◽  
F. LEITE ◽  
L. BRUMANA ◽  
B. FÉLIX ◽  
A. A. STELLA
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Meningococcal Disease ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
Polysaccharide Vaccine ◽  
Meningococcal Meningitis ◽  
Mass Vaccination ◽  
Meningitis Belt ◽  
Vaccination Campaigns

We describe six meningococcal disease outbreaks that occurred in Angola during the period 1994–2000. In total, 7140 cases were documented. The age groups most affected were 15–29 years and 5–14 years; there were no differences in incidence between the sexes. Circulation of both serogroup A and sporadic serogroup B strains was demonstrated. Mass vaccination campaigns with A+C meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine were implemented, except in Yambala province in 1999 where insecure conditions precluded this intervention.Outbreaks of serogroup A meningococcal disease in Angola may indicate an extension of these epidemics outside the meningitis belt. Mass vaccination campaigns stopped the Angolan epidemics within weeks. Civil conflict and displaced persons living in crowded areas created serious difficulties for surveillance and impeded timely public health responses.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document