Incidence of Acute Respiratory Infections during Disasters in the Absence and Presence of COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Japan recently experienced two major heavy rain disasters: the West Japan heavy rain disaster in July 2018 and the Kumamoto heavy rain disaster in July 2020. Between the occurrences of these two disasters, Japan began experiencing the wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, providing a unique opportunity to compare the incidence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) between the two disaster responses under distinct conditions. Sources for Information: The data were collected by using the standard disaster medical reporting system used in Japan, so-called the Japan-Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (J-SPEED), which reports number and types of patients treated by Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs). Data for ARI were extracted from daily aggregated data on the J-SPEED form and the frequency of ARI in two disasters was compared. Observation: Acute respiratory infection in the West Japan heavy rain that occurred in the absence of COVID-19 and in the Kumamoto heavy rain that occurred in the presence of COVID-19 were responsible for 5.4% and 1.2% of the total consultation, respectively (P <.001). Analysis of Observation and Conclusion: Between the occurrence of these two disasters, Japan implemented COVID-19 preventive measures on a personal and organizational level, such as wearing masks, disinfecting hands, maintaining social distance, improving room ventilation, and screening people who entered evacuation centers by using hygiene management checklists. By following the basic prevention measures stated above, ARI can be significantly reduced during a disaster.

Relationship of Exclusive Breastfeeding with History of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) in Children Aged 0-24 Months in Siwalima Village in November 2021

Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is a respiratory infection that affect both upper or lower respiratory tracts. The virus or bacteria causes ARI which lasts for 14 days. Indonesia had the highest mortality rate for ARI, in 2008 around 36.4% children infected; in 2009 around 32.1%; in 2010 around 18.2%; and in 2011 around 38.8%. The prevalence of ARI in Siwalima Health Center around 3240 children in 2020. Breastfeeding has huge benefit for both moms and babies. The prevalence of breastfeeding in Indonesia is 66.1%, but there are two provinces, West Papua (34%) and Maluku (37.2%) that have not reach the target yet. The purpose of this study is to find out if there is a correlation between Exclusive breastfeeding with history of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) in children in November 2021 in Siwalima Village, Aru Island, Maluku. This study uses observational analytical research methods, and cross- sectional design. The subject of this study are children age 0 - 24 months and lived in Siwalima Village. The sample of this study is using total sampling technic and there are 186 respondents. Questioners with yes or no answer are using in this study. The result of Spearman test showed that there was a correlation between Exclusive breastfeeding with history of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) in children in November 2021 in Siwalima Village, Aru Island, Maluku with a p value 0.01 < a = 0.000. There are 84 respondent (45.2%) had ARI and 102 respondent (34.8%) didn’t, also 91 respondents (48.9%) didn’t receive exclusive breastfeeding and 95 respondent receive exclusive breastfeeding. With this study, it is hoped that exclusive breastfeeding can be increased, especially for children aged 0 – 6 months in order to prevent infection.

Distribution Pattern of Children with Acute Respiratory Infection during Forest fire at Central Kalimantan Indonesia

Over the past 30 years, forest fire has been one of main ecological issues in Indonesia. Human-caused deforestation was accused to be the reason behind this matter, apart from the drastic changing in global climate. Palangkaraya is one of the citiesaffected by haze of the forest fire in 2015; considered to be the worst year of forest fire with the value of PM10 was above the normal threshold. As the impact to the community wellbeing, the prevalence of acute respiratory infection (ARI) in October 2015was increasing especially in children. The research aimed to analyse the spatial distribution of children with ARI in October 2015 at Palangkaraya City. Data onARI number were collected from Primary Care under Public Health Office of Palangkaraya City. The PM 10 value was collected bythe Environmental Agency of Palangkaraya City. The spatial analyse method was conducted using theAverage Nearest Neighbour (ANN) method. The result shows that the number of ANN ratio is 0.761801. It means that the distribution pattern of children with ARI in Central Kalimantan during the forest fire in October 2015 was in cluster form. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. 21(1) 2022 Page : 171-174

Photodynamic Therapy as A New Technology for Inactivation of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Purpose: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) could be an emerging disease with a severe acute respiratory infection, and its epidemiology and unique medicinal properties are perpetually increasing. Regarding the lack of COVID-19 controls, this needs current technical events to worsen and treat. Antiviral Photodynamic Therapy (aPDT) could also be effective in reducing and inhibiting the coronavirus. aPDT with various photosensitizers is a very favorable procedure to manage viral infections. Materials and Methods: A total of 37 articles related to the publication of this review manuscript were mentioned. Several scientific databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science (ISI), and Google Scholar have checked the key phrases of COVID-19, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), photodynamic therapy, and antiviral photodynamic therapy. All 50 main studies were found, and 37 related studies were deemed suitable for this study after review. Results: Studies have shown that aPDT with different photosensitizers can be used to treat viral lung complications caused by infectious pathogens such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), SARS-CoV-2, and influenza. Recent studies have shown that aPDT-mediated Methylene Blue (MB) can help control and eradicate coronavirus. In general, more research is needed to use antiviral photodynamic therapy to control COVID-19. Conclusion: Regarding the lack of treatment for COVID-19, MB-mediated aPDT can help reduce the impact of COVID-19. More evidence is needed to support aPDT as a treatment (SARS-CoV-2).

Association of Acute Respiratory Infections with Indoor Air Pollution from Biomass Fuel Exposure among Under-Five Children in Jimma Town, Southwestern Ethiopia

Background. Most of the households in developing countries burn biomass fuel in traditional stoves with incomplete combustion that leads to high indoor air pollution and acute respiratory infections. Acute respiratory infection is the most common cause of under-five morbidity and mortality accounting for 2 million deaths worldwide and responsible for 18% of deaths among under-five children in Ethiopia. Although studies were done on acute respiratory infections, the majority of studies neither clinically diagnose respiratory infections nor use instant measurement of particulate matter. Methods. The community-based cross-sectional study design was employed among under-five children in Jimma town from May 21 to June 7, 2020. A total of 265 children through systematic random sampling were included in the study. The data were collected using a pretested semistructured questionnaire and laser pm 2.5 meter for indoor particulate matter concentration. Associations among factors were assessed through correlation analysis, and binary logistic regression was done to predict childhood acute respiratory infections. Variables with p -value less than 0.25 in bivariate regression were the candidate for the final multivariate logistic regression. Two independent sample t-tests were done to compare significant mean difference between concentrations of particulate matter. Results. Among 265 under-five children who were involved in the study, 179 (67.5%) were living in households that predominantly use biomass fuel. Prevalence of acute respiratory infections in the study area was 16%. Children living in households that use biomass fuel were four times more likely to develop acute respiratory infections than their counterparts (AOR: 4.348; 95% CI: 1.632, 11.580). The size of household was significantly associated with the prevalence of acute respiratory infections. Under-five children living in households that have a family size of six and greater had odds of 1.7 increased risk of developing acute respiratory infections than their counterparts (AOR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.299, 2.212). The other factor associated with acute respiratory infection was separate kitchen; children living in households in which there were no separate kitchen were four times at increased risk of developing acute respiratory infection than children living in households which have separate kitchen (AOR: 4.591; 95% CI: 1.849, 11.402). The concentration of indoor particulate matter was higher in households using biomass fuel than clean fuel. There was statistically higher particulate matter concentration in the kitchen than living rooms (t = 4.509, p ≤ 0.001 ). Particulate matter 2.5 concentrations (μg/m3) of the households that had parental smoking were significantly higher than their counterparts (AOR: 20.224; 95% CI: 1.72, 12.58). Conclusion. There is an association between acute respiratory infections and biomass fuel usage among under-five children. Focusing on improved energy sources is essential to reduce the burden and assure the safety of children.

The use of homeopathy to prevent symptoms of human flu and acute respiratory infections: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with 600 children from Brazilian Public Health Service

In Brazil, homeopathy was implemented in the Public Health Service through the National Policy on Complementary and Integrative Practices of the Health Ministry, published in 2006. Homeopathy appears as a very interesting therapy to be used in the Public Health Services since its medicines are compounded at a very low cost. Considering this interesting scenario to develop research in the Public Health, the Family Health Program (FHP) in Petropolis and the Faculty of Pharmacy at UFRJ started a partnership with the Roberto Costa Institute. A homeopathy clinical trial, employing a control protocol (double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled), was developed as a result of this partnership starting in April 2009 and ending in April 2010. This clinical trial, approved by the Ethics Committee at UFRJ, number 194/08, aimed to evaluate the efficacy of two types of biotherapics to prevent symptoms of both flu and acute respiratory infections, compared to placebo (ethanol 30%). The biotherapics tested were ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection) and InfluBio. ARI is a homeopathic complex containing three different microorganisms related to respiratory infection while InfluBio is a biotherapic compounded from infectious influenza A virus. Before the development of this clinical trial, ARI had been used routinely in FHP, in Petropolis, to prevent acute respiratory infections in patients. The qualitative results obtained from this application suggested that this medicine has a prophylactic potential in the treatment of respiratory diseases. Additionally, we evaluated the antiviral activity of InfluBio using in vitro methodology and the promising results obtained motivated our group to test it in a clinical trial. With this aim, 600 children, from 1 to 5 years of age, were selected by physicians in 21 units of FHP, following the inclusion/exclusion criteria. For 1 month (April 2009), the children received daily, in a blind manner, the test solutions (placebo, ARI, InfluBio) in the posology of 1 drop per year of age. After 30 days, the use of these solutions was interrupted, and the health agents monitored the children for the subsequent twelve months, registering, in a specific questionnaire, symptoms of flu and acute respiratory infections. The respiratory symptoms that were to be reported were: runny nose, fever, prostration, myalgia, cough and headache. In the occurrence of one or more of these symptoms, the health agents evaluated the necessity of intervention by the physician. Of the 600 children, 450 completed the planned monitoring. The main reasons why 150 quit the treatment were change of address and parents’ abandonment. Additionally, no death was recorded and all the children presented good clinical evolution. In the case of the children who received placebo, the frequency of episodes diagnosed as acute respiratory infection/flu was three times higher when compared to those that received the ARI and InfluBio samples, considering the superior limit of the interquartile interval. Moreover, children treated with these biotherapics did not present any or presented only a single episode of ARI/Flu. These results showed that both biotherapics tested were statistically higher (p

Determinants of Acute Respiratory Infection among Under-Five Children in Rural Ethiopia

Introduction: In low- and middle-income nations, acute respiratory infection (ARI) is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality. According to some studies, Ethiopia has a higher prevalence of childhood acute respiratory infection, ranging from 16 % to 33.5 %. The goal of this study was to determine the risk factors for acute respiratory infection in children under the age of five in rural Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 7,911 children under the age of five from rural Ethiopia was carried out from January 18 to June 27, 2016. A two stage cluster sampling technique was used recruit study subjects and SPSS version 20 was used to extract and analyze data. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with a childhood acute respiratory infection. The multivariable logistic regression analysis includes variables with a p-value less than 0.2 during the bivariate logistic regression analysis. Adjusted odds ratios were used as measures of effect with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were considered as significantly associated with an acute respiratory infection. Results: The total ARI prevalence rate among 7,911 under-five children from rural Ethiopia was 7.8%, according to the findings of the study. The highest prevalence of ARI was found in Oromia (12.8 %), followed by Tigray (12.7 %), with the lowest frequency found in Benishangul Gumuz (2.4 %). A multivariable logistic regression model revealed that child from Poor household (AOR=2.170, 95% CI: 1.631-2.887), mother’s no education (AOR=2.050,95% CI: 1.017-4.133), mother’s Primary education (AOR=2.387, 95% CI:1.176-4.845), child had not received vitamin A (AOR=1.926, 95% CI:1.578-2.351), child had no diarrhea (AOR=0.257, 95% CI: 0.210-0.314), mothers not working (AOR=0.773, 95% CI:0.630-0.948), not stunted (AOR=0.663, 95% CI: 0.552-0.796), and not improved water source (AOR=1.715, 95% CI: 1.395-2.109). Similarly, among under-five children, the age of the child, the month of data collection, anemia status, and the province were all substantially linked to ARI. Conclusions: Childhood ARI morbidity is a serious health challenge in rural Ethiopia, according to this study, with demographic, socioeconomic, nutritional, health, and environmental factors all having a role. As a result, regional governments, healthcare staff, and concerned groups should place a priority on reducing ARI, and attempts to solve the issue should take these variables into account.