scholarly journals Human filariasis—contributions of the Litomosoides sigmodontis and Acanthocheilonema viteae animal model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederic Risch ◽  
Manuel Ritter ◽  
Achim Hoerauf ◽  
Marc P. Hübner
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Lymphatic Filariasis ◽  
Mouse Models ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Litomosoides Sigmodontis ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Acanthocheilonema Viteae

AbstractFilariae are vector-borne parasitic nematodes that are endemic worldwide, in tropical and subtropical regions. Important human filariae spp. include Onchocerca volvulus, Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia spp., and Loa loa and Mansonella spp. causing onchocerciasis (river blindness), lymphatic filariasis (lymphedema and hydrocele), loiasis (eye worm), and mansonelliasis, respectively. It is estimated that over 1 billion individuals live in endemic regions where filarial diseases are a public health concern contributing to significant disability adjusted life years (DALYs). Thus, efforts to control and eliminate filarial diseases were already launched by the WHO in the 1970s, especially against lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, and are mainly based on mass drug administration (MDA) of microfilaricidal drugs (ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, albendazole) to filarial endemic areas accompanied with vector control strategies with the goal to reduce the transmission. With the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it was decided to eliminate transmission of onchocerciasis and stop lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem by 2030. It was also requested that novel drugs and treatment strategies be developed. Mouse models provide an important platform for anti-filarial drug research in a preclinical setting. This review presents an overview about the Litomosoides sigmodontis and Acanthocheilonema viteae filarial mouse models and their role in immunological research as well as preclinical studies about novel anti-filarial drugs and treatment strategies.

scholarly journals An epidemiological study of the prevalence and determinants of overweight and obesity in women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) group in an urban slum

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2460
Author(s):  
Pratibha U. Mulik ◽  
Sudam R. Suryawanshi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Urban Slum ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Age Group ◽  
History Of

Background: After comparing data of NFHS-3 and 4, prevalence of overweight and obesity in women of an urban population almost doubled in 10 yr. So, the causes of increasing prevalence need to be studied as public health concern. Objective of the study is to determine prevalence of overweight and obesity among reproductive age group (15-49 years) of women in an urban slum of Mumbai.Methods: Total 220 women were selected among 11 sectors from A to K by simple random method and data collected by using validated questionnaire. WHO’s classification was used to classify as overweight and obese.Results: Out of 220 women participated in study, 14 (6.36%) were obese, 75 (34.09%) were overweight according to BMI and 17 (7.7%) were found to be obese according to waist to hip ratio. From the present study it was seen that age group of the women, socio economic class, education, history of hypothyroidism, family history of obesity, types of work women do, hours of television watching, calorie and fat intake, had a significant relationship with BMI, whereas physical exercise they used to do and tendency to sleep in the afternoon and hours of sleep in the night had non-significant relationship with BMI.Conclusions: Obesity and overweight is found to be a growing public health problem and can be preventable. Interventional measures include developing healthy eating habits, regular moderate physical exercise, sleeping habits, health camps for screening of overweight and obesity.

scholarly journals Comprehensive Contraceptive Education Intervention in a College Setting: Design and Methodology

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Evans ◽  
Breanna De Leon ◽  
Reaghan Bathrick ◽  
Annie Ricupero
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Unintended Pregnancy ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Education Intervention ◽  
Reproductive Justice ◽  
Unintended Pregnancies ◽  
Contraceptive Education

Background: Unintended pregnancy continues to be a public health concern across the nation. National data demonstrates the highest rates of unintended pregnancy occurs in women who are 18 to 24 years old. Providing practical and meaningful health education about contraception has the potential to reduce unintended pregnancy and improve quality of life for young adults. This paper describes the design and methodology for a comprehensive contraceptive education intervention at a public university. Methods: Convenience sampling was used with a custom survey conducted in Women’s Health classes from 2015-2021. Surveys contained questions about demographic characteristics, knowledge of contraception options, sources of knowledge, stress levels, and confidence in knowledge. Students completed a pretest, received a comprehensive contraception health education lecture, and completed a post-test. Data collection was approved by the university’s IRB, and analyses were conducted using SPSS Version 27. Conclusion: At a time when reproductive freedom, choice, and justice is scrutinized and suppressed, it is imperative that young adults maintain and understand the importance of having control over when, where, and how they decide to have children if they desire to do so. There is a need for continued comprehensive health education and appropriate resources at the university level. The use of assessments, building trusted professor-student relationships, and exploring credible and reliable information sources can be used to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies for college-aged students. If significant, the replication of the design and methods could have a significant impact on the public health problem of unintended pregnancies, maternal health equity, and reproductive justice.

scholarly journals Thinness as Major Underlying Problem Among Adolescents of Northeast India

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Mondal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Northeast India ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Rural Regions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
S Model ◽  
Model Approach

Background: Undernutrition is a major public health concern in many of the developing countries of Asia. Due to immense population size, socioeconomic disparities, illiteracy and inadequate access to health facilities prevalence is very high in India. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of age-sex specific thinness (low BMI-for-age) among adolescents residing in rural regions in India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study has conducted among 1165 adolescent (602 boys; 563 girls) aged 10-18 years of Darjeeling district, West Bengal, India. Anthropometric measurements were height and weight obtained and BMI (weight/height2, kg/ m2) was calculated. The prevalence of thinness was assessed using newly proposed age-sex specific cut-offs of Cole et al. The data were analyzed using chi-square, ANOVA and Least Mean and Square (L,M and S) model approach. Results: Prevalence of overall thinness is 49.10% (51.16% boys, 46.89% girls) among rural adolescents. The boys are found to be more sufferer than girls in the different thinness grades include mild (grade I; 27.41% vs. 27.11%), moderate (grade II; 14.62% vs. 12.08%) and severe (grade III; 9.14% vs. 8.70%) (p>0.05). The age and sex specific smooth percentile curves of BMI were derived using L,M and S model approach for further evaluation of nutritional status. Conclusion: The existence of high prevalence of thinness among adolescents indicates nutritional deprivation among rural Indian adolescents. There is an urgent need of appropriate nutritional intervention program to address the public health problem related to undernutrition especially among nutritionally vulnerable segments of adolescents residing in rural regions to ameliorate the nutritional status DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v34i1.8922    J Nepal Paediatr Soc 2014;34(1):39-47

scholarly journals The Health and Economic Burdens of Lymphatic Filariasis Prior to Mass Drug Administration Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (12) ◽  
pp. 2561-2567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher G Mathew ◽  
Alison A Bettis ◽  
Brian K Chu ◽  
Mike English ◽  
Eric A Ottesen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lymphatic Filariasis ◽  
Drug Administration ◽  
Mass Drug Administration ◽  
Economic Burden ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Clinical Disease ◽  
Productivity Costs ◽  
Symptomatic Disease ◽  
Life Years

Abstract Background The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) was launched in 2000 with the goal of eliminating lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem by 2020. Despite considerable progress, the current prevalence is around 60% of the 2000 figure, with the deadline looming a year away. Consequently, there is a continued need for investment in both the mass drug administration (MDA) and morbidity management programs, and this paper aims to demonstrate that need by estimating the health and economic burdens of LF prior to MDA programs starting in GPELF areas. Methods A previously developed model was used to estimate the numbers of individuals infected and individuals with symptomatic disease, along with the attributable number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The economic burden was calculated by quantifying the costs incurred by the health-care system in managing clinical cases, the patients’ out-of-pocket costs, and their productivity costs. Results Prior to the MDA program, approximately 129 million people were infected with LF, of which 43 million had clinical disease, corresponding to a DALY burden of 5.25 million. The average annual economic burden per chronic case was US $115, the majority of which resulted from productivity costs. The total economic burden of LF was estimated at US $5.8 billion annually. Conclusions These results demonstrate the magnitude of the LF burden and highlight the continued need to support the GPELF. Patients with clinical disease bore the majority of the economic burden, but will not benefit much from the current MDA program, which is aimed at reducing transmission. This assessment further highlights the need to scale up morbidity management programs.

scholarly journals Immunological Impacts of Diabetes on the Susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birhanu Ayelign ◽  
Markos Negash ◽  
Meaza Genetu ◽  
Tadelo Wondmagegn ◽  
Tewodros Shibabaw
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Bacterial Load ◽  
Miliary Tuberculosis ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Biochemical Basis ◽  
Dual Burden

The interaction between diabetes and major world infections like TB is a major public health concern because of rapidly rising levels of diabetes. The dual burden of tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM) has become a major global public health problem. Diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for the development of active and latent tuberculosis. Immune mechanisms contributing to the increased susceptibility of diabetic patients to TB are due to the defects in bacterial recognition, phagocytic activity, and cellular activation which results in impaired production of chemokines and cytokines. The initiation of adaptive immunity is delayed by impaired antigen-presenting cell (APC) recruitment and function in hyperglycemic host, which results in reduced frequencies of Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells and its secretion of cytokines having a great role in activation of macrophage and inflammatory response of tuberculosis. In addition, impaired immune response and killing of intracellular bacteria potentially increase bacterial load, chronic inflammation, and central necrosis that facilitate bacterial dissemination and miliary tuberculosis. Understanding of the immunological and biochemical basis of TB susceptibility in diabetic patients will tell us the rational development of implementation and therapeutic strategies to alleviate the dual burden of the diseases. Therefore, the aim of this review was focused on the association between diabetes and tuberculosis, focusing on epidemiology, pathogenesis, and immune dysfunction in diabetes mellitus, and its association with susceptibility, severity, and treatment outcome failure to tuberculosis.

scholarly journals TUBERCULOSIS: EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CONTROL

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e2014070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Sulis ◽  
Alberto Roggi ◽  
Alberto Matteelli ◽  
Mario C. Raviglione
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Tuberculosis Epidemiology ◽  
Slow Decline ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
And Control

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern worldwide: despite a regular, although slow, decline in incidence over the last decade, as many as 8.6 million new cases and 1.3 million deaths were estimated to have occurred in 2012. TB is by all means a poverty-related disease, mainly affecting the most vulnerable populations in the poorest countries. The presence of multidrug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis in most countries, with some where prevalence is high, is among the major challenges for TB control, which may hinder recent achievements especially in some settings. Early TB case detection especially in resource-constrained settings and in marginalized groups remains a challenge, and about 3 million people are estimated to remain undiagnosed or not notified and untreated. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently launched the new global TB strategy for the “post-2015 era” aimed at “ending the global TB epidemic” by 2035, based on the three pillars that emphasize patient-centred TB care and prevention, bold policies and supportive systems, and intensified research and innovation.This paper aims to provide an overview of the global TB epidemiology as well as of the main challenges that must be faced to eliminate the disease as a public health problem everywhere.

scholarly journals Bovine tuberculosis at the human-livestock-wildlife interface: Is it a public health problem in Tanzania? A review

2012 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bugwesa Z. Katale ◽  
Erasto V. Mbugi ◽  
Sharon Kendal ◽  
Robert D. Fyumagwa ◽  
Gibson S. Kibiki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Bovine Tuberculosis ◽  
Skin Testing ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Tuberculin Skin Testing ◽  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection ◽  
Potential Health

Despite the apparent public health concern about Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in Tanzania, little has been done regarding the zoonotic importance of the disease and raising awareness of the community to prevent the disease. Bovine tuberculosis is a potential zoonotic disease that can infect a variety of hosts, including humans. The presence of multiple hosts including wild animals, inefficient diagnostic techniques, absence of defined national controls and eradication programs could impede the control of bovine TB. In Tanzania, the diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis in animals is mostly carried out by tuberculin skin testing, meat inspection in abattoirs and only rarely using bacteriological techniques. The estimated prevalence of BTB in animals in Tanzania varies and ranges across regions from 0.2% to 13.3%, which is likely to be an underestimate if not confirmed by bacteriology or molecular techniques. Mycobacterium bovis has been detected and isolated from different animal species and has been recovered in 10% of apparently healthy wildebeest that did not show lesions at post-mortem. The transmission of the disease from animals to humans can occur directly through the aerosol route and indirectly by consumption of raw milk. This poses an emerging disease threat in the current era of HIV confection in Tanzania and elsewhere. Mycobacterium bovis is one of the causative agents of human extra pulmonary tuberculosis. In Tanzania there was a significant increase (116.6%) of extrapulmonary cases reported between 1995 and 2009, suggesting the possibility of widespread M. bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection due to general rise of Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This paper aims to review the potential health and economic impact of bovine tuberculosis and challenges to its control in order to safeguard human and animal population in Tanzania.

scholarly journals Epidemiological Correlates and Treatment Outcomes among Patients with MDR Tuberculosis in Northern India

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (02) ◽  
pp. 090-095
Author(s):  
Anjana Singh ◽  
Ved Prakash ◽  
Ravi Kant
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Treatment Outcomes ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Respiratory Medicine ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Tb Control ◽  
Northern India ◽  
Tb Treatment ◽  
Mdr Tb ◽  
Spss Software

ABSTRACT Introduction: Multi drug resistant-TB (MDR-TB) threatens global TB control and is a major public health concern in several countries. The present study was undertaken to detect the epidemiological correlates and treatment outcomes among patients with MDR-TB previously or currently admitted in Department of Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonary and Critical Medicine, KGMU, Lucknow. Material & Methods: This retrospective study included 2370 TB patients admitted in the Department of Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonary and Critical Medicine, KGMU, Lucknow between years 2012 to 2015. Treatment outcomes were observed. SPSS software was used for data analysis. Results: The total number of MDR-TB cases enrolled were 2370. There were 772 (32.6%) males (95% CI: 30.7 % -34.5%) and 1598 (67.4%) females (95% CI: 65.5% -69.3%) registered for MDR-TB treatment. The treatment outcomes were as follows: majority (77.1%) were under treatment, 279 (11.8%) patients were declared cured, 10 (0.4%) were failure cases, while 64 (2.7%) were defaulters, 149 (6.3%) had died and 41(1.7%) were transferred out. Conclusion: Emergence of MDR-TB has the potential to be a serious public health problem in Northern India and this necessitates strengthening of TB control and improved continuous monitoring of therapy.

scholarly journals Development of Vaccines against Visceral Leishmaniasis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystal J. Evans ◽  
Lukasz Kedzierski
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Visceral Leishmaniasis ◽  
Leishmania Donovani ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Past Infection ◽  
Health Goal ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Public Health Goal

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease resulting in a global morbidity of 2,090 thousand Disability-Adjusted Life Years and a mortality rate of approximately 60,000 per year. Among the three clinical forms of leishmaniasis (cutaneous, mucosal, and visceral), visceral leishmaniasis (VL) accounts for the majority of mortality, as if left untreated VL is almost always fatal. Caused by infection withLeishmania donovaniorL. infantum, VL represents a serious public health problem in endemic regions and is rapidly emerging as an opportunistic infection in HIV patients. To date, no vaccine exists for VL or any other form of leishmaniasis. In endemic areas, the majority of those infected do not develop clinical symptoms and past infection leads to robust immunity against reinfection. Thus the development of vaccine forLeishmaniais a realistic public health goal, and this paper summarizes advances in vaccination strategies against VL.

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