Saharan dust clouds and human health in the English-speaking Caribbean: What we know and don't know

Michele A. Monteil

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

36 Scopus citations

Abstract

Dust clouds travel across the Atlantic to the Americas and the Caribbean Islands. This long-range transport of dust leads to clouds that are enriched with small particles less than 10 μm aerodynamic diameter (PM10) which can reach human airways. The dust clouds also bring pollen, microbes, insects and chemicals, all of which could potentially have a negative impact on human health. This has led to a small number of retrospective studies being conducted on the islands of Barbados and Trinidad to look at possible associations between dust cover and acute asthma admissions to Emergency Rooms. The results have been conflicting. This review examines these studies, offers possible explanations for the differences in results, and suggests that there is a need for a prospective Caribbean-wide study to assess fully any relationship between African dust clouds and human respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)339-343
Number of pages5
JournalEnvironmental Geochemistry and Health
Volume30
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Accident & Emergency
  • Asthma
  • Barbados
  • Caribbean
  • Saharan dust clouds
  • Trinidad & Tobago

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Water Science and Technology
  • General Environmental Science
  • Geochemistry and Petrology

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