PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Danielle Medgyesi
AU  - Daniel Sewell
AU  - Reid Senesac
AU  - Oliver Cumming
AU  - Jane Mumma
AU  - Kelly K. Baker
TI  - The Landscape of Enteric Pathogen Exposure of Young Children in Public Domains of Low-Income, Urban Kenya: The Influence of Exposure Pathway and Spatial Range of Play on Multi-Pathogen Exposure Risks
AID  - 10.1101/388140
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 388140
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/08/09/388140.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/08/09/388140.full
AB  - Background Young children are infected by a diverse variety of enteric pathogens in low-income, high-burden countries. Little is known about which conditions pose the greatest risk for enteric pathogen exposure and infection. Young children frequently play in residential public areas around their household, including areas contaminated by human and animal feces, suggesting these exposures are particularly hazardous.Objectives The objective of this study was to examine how the dose of six types of common enteric pathogens, and the probability of exposure to one or multiple enteric pathogens for young children playing at public play areas in Kisumu, Kenya is influenced by the type and frequency of child play behaviors that result in ingestion of soil or surface water, as well as by spatial variability in the number of public areas children are exposed to in their neighborhood.Methods A Bayesian framework was employed to obtain the posterior distribution of pathogen doses for a certain number of contacts. First, a multivariate random effects tobit model was used to obtain the posterior distribution of pathogen concentrations, and their interdependencies, in soil and surface water, based upon empirical data of enteric pathogen contamination in three neighborhoods of Kisumu. Then, exposure doses were estimated using behavioral contact parameters from previous studies, and contrasted under different exposure conditions.Results Multi-pathogen exposure of children at public play areas was common. Pathogen doses and the probability of multi-pathogen ingestion increased with: higher frequency of environmental contact, especially for surface water; larger volume of soil or water ingested; and with play at multiple sites in the neighborhood versus single site play.Discussion Child contact with surface water and soil at public play areas in their neighborhood is an important cause of exposure to enteric pathogens in Kisumu, and behavioral, environmental, and spatial conditions are determinants of exposure.This study was supported by start-up funding from the University of Iowa to PI Baker and a career development award from the University of Iowa Environmental Health Sciences Research Center (NIH P30 ES005605). We appreciate the support of field staff who assisted with the collection of data, development of assays, or data management.