Article Category:
Research Article

Geospatial Analysis of Multilevel Socioenvironmental Factors Impacting the Campylobacter Burden among Infants in Rural Eastern Ethiopia: A One Health Perspective

Xiaolong Li Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Dehao Chen Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Song Liang Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Jemal Y. Hassen Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia;

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Sarah L. McKune Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Center for African Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Global Food Systems Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Arie H. Havelaar Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Global Food Systems Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Department of Animal Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Jason K. Blackburn Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;
Spatial Epidemiology and Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Geography, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

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for the CAGED Research Team
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0401
Volume/Issue:
Ahead of Print
Open access
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Increasing attention has focused on health outcomes of Campylobacter infections among children younger than 5 years in low-resource settings. Recent evidence suggests that colonization by Campylobacter species contributes to environmental enteric dysfunction, malnutrition, and growth faltering in young children. Campylobacter species are zoonotic, and factors from humans, animals, and the environment are involved in transmission. Few studies have assessed geospatial effects of environmental factors along with human and animal factors on Campylobacter infections. Here, we leveraged Campylobacter Genomics and Environmental Enteric Dysfunction project data to model multiple socioenvironmental factors on Campylobacter burden among infants in eastern Ethiopia. Stool samples from 106 infants were collected monthly from birth through the first year of life (December 2020–June 2022). Genus-specific TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect and quantify Campylobacter spp. and calculate cumulative Campylobacter burden for each child as the outcome variable. Thirteen regional environmental covariates describing topography, climate, vegetation, soil, and human population density were combined with household demographics, livelihoods/wealth, livestock ownership, and child–animal interactions as explanatory variables. We dichotomized continuous outcome and explanatory variables and built logistic regression models for the first and second halves of the infant’s first year of life. Infants being female, living in households with cattle, reported to have physical contact with animals, or reported to have mouthed soil or animal feces had increased odds of higher cumulative Campylobacter burden. Future interventions should focus on infant-specific transmission pathways and create adequate separation of domestic animals from humans to prevent potential fecal exposures.

Author Notes

Financial support: This project was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Food Security (Agreement no. AID-OAA-L-15-00003) as part of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems and by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Grant no. OPP#1175487). Under the grant conditions of the foundation, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License has already been assigned to the author accepted manuscript version that might arise from this submission. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed here are those of the authors alone. Research reported in this publication was supported by the University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute, which was supported in part by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (Grant no. UL1TR001427).

Authors’ contributions: X. Li, S. Liang, S. L. McKune, A. H. Havelaar, and J. K. Blackburn conceptualized and designed the study. X. Li and D. Chen curated and analyzed data. J. Y. Hassen, S. L. McKune, and A. H. Havelaar managed and coordinated the research activity in this project. X. Li drafted the initial manuscript. D. Chen, S. Liang, S. L. McKune, A. H. Havelaar, and J. K. Blackburn reviewed and critically revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Data availability: Deidentified individual participant data will be made available through Dataverse (https://dataverse.org/) after December 31, 2024.

Current contact information: Xiaolong Li, Dehao Chen, Song Liang, and Sarah L. McKune, Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, E-mails: xiaolong.li@ufl.edu, dehao.chen@emory.edu, songliang@umass.edu, and smckune@ufl.edu. Jemal Yousuf Hassen, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, E-mail: jemaly2001@yahoo.com. Arie H. Havelaar, Department of Animal Sciences, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, E-mail: ariehavelaar@ufl.edu. Jason K. Blackburn, Spatial Epidemiology and Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Geography, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, E-mail: jkblackburn@ufl.edu.

Address correspondence to Jason K. Blackburn, University of Florida, 2055 Mowry Rd., Gainesville, FL 32610. E-mail: jkblackburn@ufl.edu
Copyright:
© The author(s) 2024
Received:
17 Jun 2024
|
Accepted:
02 Oct 2024
|
Published Online:
31 Dec 2024
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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