Excess prenatal loss and respiratory illnesses of infant macaques living outdoors and exposed to wildfire smoke

Abstract

Global climate change has transformed predictions of fire seasons in the near future, and record-breaking wildfire events have had catastrophic consequences in recent years. In September 2020, multiple wildfires subjected Oregon to hazardous air quality for several days. In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to examine prenatal loss, morbidity, and mortality of rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) exposed to poor air quality from the nearby wildfires. Detailed medical records from 2014 to 2020 of 580 macaques housed outdoors at a research facility in Beaverton, Oregon were used to evaluate the association between these health outcomes and wildfire smoke exposure. Logistic regression models estimated excess prenatal loss, hospitalization rates, respiratory problems, and mortality during and following the wildfire event, and Kruskal–Wallis statistics were used to determine if infant growth was affected by wildfire smoke exposure. Risk of pregnancy loss (relative risk = 4.1; p < 0.001) and odds of diagnosis with a respiratory problem (odds ratio = 4.47; p = 0.003) were higher in exposed infant macaques compared to nonexposed infants. Infant growth was not affected by poor air quality exposure. Our findings suggest wildfire smoke exposure poses a risk to the health of infants and pregnant individuals and should be monitored more closely in the future.