Citation

Wang K, Zhong S, Wang X, Wang Z, Yang L, Wang Q, Wang S, Sheng R, Ma R, Lin S, Liu W, Zu R, Huang C. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017; 14(10): e14101201.

Affiliation

School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, No. 74, 2nd Yat-Sen Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou 510080, China. huangcr@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph14101201

PMID

28994741

Abstract

(1) Background: Tornadoes are one of the deadliest disasters but their health impacts in China are poorly investigated. This study aimed to assess the public health risks and impact of an EF-4 tornado outbreak in Funing, China; (2) Methods: A retrospective analysis on the characteristics of tornado-related deaths and injuries was conducted based on the database from the Funing's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Funing People's Hospital. A change-point time-series analysis of weekly incidence for the period January 2010 to September 2016 was used to identify sensitive infectious diseases to the tornado; (3) Results: The 75 to 84 years old group was at the highest risk of both death (RR = 82.16; 95% CIs = 19.66, 343.33) and injury (RR = 31.80; 95% CI = 17.26, 58.61), and females were at 53% higher risk of death than males (RR = 1.53; 95% CIs = 1.02, 2.29). Of the 337 injuries, 274 injuries (81%) were minor. Most deaths occurred indoors (87%) and the head (74%) was the most frequent site of trauma during the tornado. Five diseases showed downward change-points; (4) Conclusions: The experience of the Funing tornado underscores the relative danger of being indoors during a tornado and is successful in avoiding epidemics post-tornado. Current international safety guidelines need modification when generalized to China.

Language: en

Keywords

death and injury; infectious disease; natural disaster; public health impact; tornado