Sex, gender and emerging infectious disease surveillance: a leptospirosis case study

Jozica Skufca,Yuzo Arima

doi:10.5365/wpsar.2012.3.3.001

Abstract

WPSAR Vol 3, No 3, 2012 | doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2012.3.3.001 www.wpro.who.int/wpsar 1 a Emerging Disease Surveillance and Response, Division of Health Security and Emergencies, Western Pacifi c Regional Offi ce, World Health Organization, Manila, Philippines. Submitted: 1 June 2012; Published: 2 August 2012 doi: 10.5365/wpsar.2012.3.3.001 Whatever the population, wherever the place, whenever the period, sex has been an essential demographic variable for surveillance. However, the distinction between “sex” and “gender” has not always been well understood or acknowledged by those of us engaged in public health surveillance. Sex refers to the biological and physiological factors that define males and females, while gender refers to socially constructed roles and attributes that a particular society considers appropriate for men and women.1 While both sex and gender factors contribute to reported surveillance data, their full contributions are often not recognized. When such data are then used to ascertain sex/gender differential in disease risk without caution, the complete picture behind the observed distribution may be missed or misinterpreted. Using leptospirosis as a case example, we describe the importance of interpreting surveillance data with a Sex, gender and emerging infectious disease surveillance: a leptospirosis case study

Highlights

Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease with a high public health burden in the Asia Pacific region
A commonly cited risk factor for the disease is male sex/gender,[2] and an excess of male leptospirosis cases observed in surveillance data is often ascribed to occupational/recreational exposures associated with male gender
While there has been a considerable decrease in leptospirosis cases in Japan, there continues to be an excess of male cases (16/20 cases reported from November 2003 to April 2005 were male), with the majority linked to maledominated occupations.[5]

Summary

Introduction

Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease with a high public health burden in the Asia Pacific region. A commonly cited risk factor for the disease is male sex/gender,[2] and an excess of male leptospirosis cases observed in surveillance data is often ascribed to occupational/recreational exposures associated with male gender.

Results

Conclusion