scholarly journals The rapid identification ofClostridium perfringensas the possible aetiology of a diarrhoeal outbreak using PCR

2007 ◽  
Vol 136 (8) ◽  
pp. 1142-1146 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. LOH ◽  
Y. C. LIU ◽  
S. W. CHEW ◽  
E. S. ONG ◽  
J. M. FAM ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Food Contamination ◽  
Rapid Identification ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Military Camp ◽  
Stool Samples ◽  
Laboratory Investigations ◽  
And Control

SUMMARYA gastroenteritis outbreak occurred in a military camp where a laboratory and epidemiological investigation was carried out. The early onset of symptoms indicated probable food contamination withClostridium perfringens. Stool samples collected from affected patients were tested within 4 h via real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of theC. perfringens plcgene. Ten out of the 12 stool samples were positive. Confirmation of the molecular test results was carried out by enumeration ofC. perfringensin stool by culture and shown to be in excess of 106spores/g stool. The isolates obtained from culture were further analysed by PCR for the presence of the chromosomal enterotoxin (cpe) gene. Based on the clinical symptoms, epidemiological and laboratory investigations,C. perfringenswas implicated as the aetiological agent. The ability to conduct real-time PCR analysis greatly shortens the time to diagnosis and allows for preventive and control measures to be effected quickly.

ESTIMATION OF SARS-COV-2 SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES SEROPREVALENCE IN HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN DISTRICT UDAIPUR, INDIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 61-63
Author(s):  
Shelesh Kumar Swami ◽  
Nitesh Kumar Chauhan ◽  
Shuchi Goyal ◽  
A.K. Verma ◽  
Shweta Biyani
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
High Seroprevalence ◽  
Know How ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
And Control ◽  
Infection Eradication ◽  
Cumulative Prevalence

Background:Current pandemic caused by Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) causes clinical symptoms from fever to acute respiratory distress syndrome but may remain mild or asymptomatic. To evaluate the cumulative prevalence of SARSCoV-2 infection in a community and know how immune response develops in the population, reliable assay alongwith RT-PCR for detection of SARS-CoV 2 antibodies is needed. Healthcare workers (HCWs) represent a high-risk populat - ion for infection with SARS-CoV-2. Methods: We evaluated total antibodies recognizing the SARS CoV 2 receptor binding domain (S1-RBD) - - - or the Spike protein over a period of six months in a total of 310 healthcare workers engaged in hospital using SARS-CoV-2 Total antibody assay kit. Findings: The overall seroprevalence found in our analysis was 41.93%. In case of males the percentage positive was found to be signicantly higher at 43.91%, compared to females at 36.25%. Seroprevalence was signicantly higher in 50 years above age group in comparison to 20-50 years old aged healthcare workers. The seroprevalence was higher in doctors, nursing staff and lab technicians than other healthcare professionals as 44.6%. Conclusions: This study showed high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers which means remaining proportion of the healthcare workers are still susceptible to the infection. Good compliance to infection eradication and control measures, adequate PPEs, and early detection and isolation of healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 are mandatory to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

scholarly journals Characterising within-hospital SARS-CoV-2 transmission events: a retrospective analysis integrating epidemiological and viral genomic data from a UK tertiary care setting across two pandemic waves

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin B Lindsey ◽  
Ch. Julián Villabona-Arenas ◽  
Finlay Campbell ◽  
Alexander J Keeley ◽  
Matthew D Parker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Rapid Identification ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Hospital Acquired Infections ◽  
Prevention And Control Measures ◽  
Hospital Acquired ◽  
And Control ◽  
Second Wave

Objectives - To characterise within-hospital SARS-CoV-2 transmission across two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design - A retrospective Bayesian modelling study to reconstruct transmission chains amongst 2181 patients and healthcare workers using combined viral genomic and epidemiological data. Setting - A large UK NHS Trust with over 1400 beds and employing approximately 17,000 staff. Participants - 780 patients and 522 staff testing SARS-CoV-2 positive between 1st March 2020 and 25th July 2020 (Wave 1); and 580 patients and 299 staff testing SARS-CoV-2 positive between 30th November 2020 and 24th January 2021 (Wave 2). Main outcome measures - Transmission pairs including who-infected-whom; location of transmission events in hospital; number of secondary cases from each individual, including differences in onward transmission from community and hospital onset patient cases. Results - Staff-to-staff transmission was estimated to be the most frequent transmission type during Wave 1 (31.6% of observed hospital-acquired infections; 95% CI 26.9 to 35.8%), decreasing to 12.9% (95% CI 9.5 to 15.9%) in Wave 2. Patient-to-patient transmissions increased from 27.1% in Wave 1 (95% CI 23.3 to 31.4%) to 52.1% (95% CI 48.0 to 57.1%) in Wave 2, to become the predominant transmission type. Over 50% of hospital-acquired infections were concentrated in 8/120 locations in Wave 1 and 10/93 locations in Wave 2. Approximately 40% to 50% of hospital-onset patient cases resulted in onward transmission compared to less than 4% of definite community-acquired cases. Conclusions - Prevention and control measures that evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic may have had a significant impact on reducing infections between healthcare workers, but were insufficient during the second wave to prevent a high number of patient-to-patient transmissions. As hospital-acquired cases appeared to drive most onward transmissions, more frequent and rapid identification and isolation of these cases will be required to break hospital transmission chains in subsequent pandemic waves

scholarly journals Occurrence of Marek's disease in vaccinated Algerian broiler breeder flocks: A histopathological survey

2021 ◽  
pp. 3021-3027
Author(s):  
Lounas Abdelaziz ◽  
Besbaci Mohamed ◽  
Akkou Madjid ◽  
Tali Oumennoune
Keyword(s):  
Color Change ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Histopathological Examination ◽  
Lymphoproliferative Disease ◽  
Marek's Disease ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Marek’S Disease ◽  
Broiler Breeder ◽  
Blast Cells ◽  
And Control

Background and Aim: Marek's disease (MD) is a lymphoproliferative disease that occurs in chickens. In the absence of control measures, MD causes devastating losses to commercial poultry flocks. Vaccination has enabled dramatic success in the prevention and control of MD. However, the MD vaccination program has failed frequently, and occasional clinical outbreaks have been reported in the vaccinated flocks as well. The present study aimed to describe the clinical and histopathological characteristics of the field cases of MD in broiler breeder flocks. Materials and Methods: A survey on the update of MD occurrence in Algerian broiler breeder flocks was conducted from June 2020 to September 2020. Ten vaccinated broiler breeder flocks located in Central Algeria and having progressive tumors in different visceral organs were evaluated for MD virus infection by conducting a histopathological examination of the birds. Results: The age of the birds affected with MD ranged from 13 to 22 weeks. The mortality rate varied sensitively from 4% to 10%. The clinical symptoms reported in the affected flocks included locomotor, nervous, digestive, and respiratory symptoms. Necropsy of the dead or euthanized birds revealed visceral lymphomatosis in several organs and macroscopic changes in the peripheral nerves (including loss of longitudinal striation, color change [grayish], and volume increase). The histopathological findings included the infiltration and proliferation of lymphocytes and blast cells (lymphoblasts) in various organs of the birds, which are the typical characteristics of MD and, therefore, confirmed the field infection of MD in these birds. Conclusion: The present study provided evidence for the high prevalence of MD in the broiler breeder flocks vaccinated with a bivalent vaccine (turkey herpesvirus+Rispens) at the hatchery. The findings of the present study may indicate highlevel failure of vaccination in these birds.

scholarly journals The New Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Outbreak May Mean That Existing Commercial Vaccines Are Not Enough to Fully Protect Against the Epidemic Strains

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Gao ◽  
Zezhong Zheng ◽  
Heng Wang ◽  
Songqiang Yi ◽  
Guihong Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Watery Diarrhea ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Diarrhea Virus ◽  
Pig Farm ◽  
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea ◽  
And Control

Background: On October 30, 2020, piglets and sows in the farrowing house of a pig farm in Jiangxi showed clinical symptoms such as anorexia, watery diarrhea, and vomiting. Epidemiological test, clinical necropsy, and RT-PCR test were carried out on the pig farm for diagnosis. After comprehensive considerations, the disease was judged as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infection.Results: Thereafter, a series of comprehensive prevention and control measures such as emergency vaccination with autogenous vaccines were adopted. Half a month after inoculation with autogenous vaccines for the farm, the mortality rate of newborn piglets in the farrowing house began to decline, and production gradually returned to being stable. The second-generation sequencing analysis and phylogenetic analysis showed that the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) sequence obtained from the stool and small intestine samples of the diseased pigs on the farm was 97.8% homologous to the vaccine strain. At the same time, antibody testing found that the vaccinated pigs on the pig farm had satisfactory immune response.Conclusion: This case indicated that the PEDV outbreak on the pig farm might aggravate owing to the strain being mutated and could escape the immune protection of the existing vaccine. This case has accumulated technical data for the clinical prevention and control of porcine epidemic diarrhea.

scholarly journals Remote Insects Trap Monitoring System Using Deep Learning Framework and IoT

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 5280
Author(s):  
Balakrishnan Ramalingam ◽  
Rajesh Elara Mohan ◽  
Sathian Pookkuttath ◽  
Braulio Félix Gómez ◽  
Charan Satya Chandra Sairam Borusu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Object Detection ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Dependent Tasks ◽  
And Control

Insect detection and control at an early stage are essential to the built environment (human-made physical spaces such as homes, hotels, camps, hospitals, parks, pavement, food industries, etc.) and agriculture fields. Currently, such insect control measures are manual, tedious, unsafe, and time-consuming labor dependent tasks. With the recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of things (IoT), several maintenance tasks can be automated, which significantly improves productivity and safety. This work proposes a real-time remote insect trap monitoring system and insect detection method using IoT and Deep Learning (DL) frameworks. The remote trap monitoring system framework is constructed using IoT and the Faster RCNN (Region-based Convolutional Neural Networks) Residual neural Networks 50 (ResNet50) unified object detection framework. The Faster RCNN ResNet 50 object detection framework was trained with built environment insects and farm field insect images and deployed in IoT. The proposed system was tested in real-time using four-layer IoT with built environment insects image captured through sticky trap sheets. Further, farm field insects were tested through a separate insect image database. The experimental results proved that the proposed system could automatically identify the built environment insects and farm field insects with an average of 94% accuracy.

ESTIMATION OF SARS COV 2 SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES SEROPREVALENCE IN HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN DISTRICT UDAIPUR, INDIA

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-33
Author(s):  
Shelesh Kumar Swami ◽  
Nitesh Kumar Chauhan ◽  
Shuchi Goyal ◽  
A.K. Verma ◽  
Shweta Biyani
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
High Risk Population ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Know How ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
And Control ◽  
Infection Eradication ◽  
Cumulative Prevalence

Background: Current pandemic caused by Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) causes clinical symptoms from fever to acute respiratory distress syndrome but may remain mild or asymptomatic. To evaluate the cumulative prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a community and know how immune response develops in the population, reliable assay alongwith RT-PCR for detection of SARS CoV 2 antibodies is needed. Healthcare workers (HCWs) represent a high-risk population for infection with SARS-CoV-2. Methods: We evaluated total antibodies recognizing the SARS CoV 2 receptor binding domain (S1-RBD) or the Spike protein over a period of six months in a total of 310 healthcare workers engaged in hospital using SARS-CoV-2 Total antibody assay kit. The overall Findings: seroprevalence found in our analysis was 41.93%. In case of males the percentage positive was found to be signicantly higher at 43.91%, compared to females at 36.25%. Seroprevalence was signicantly higher in 50 years above age group in comparison to 20-50 years old aged healthcare workers. The seroprevalence was higher in doctors, nursing staff and lab technicians than other healthcare professionals as 44.6%. Conclusions: This study showed high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers which means remaining proportion of the healthcare workers are still susceptible to the infection. Good compliance to infection eradication and control measures, adequate PPEs, and early detection and isolation of healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 are mandatory to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection

scholarly journals The pandemic of social media panic travels faster than the COVID-19 outbreak

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anneliese Depoux ◽  
Sam Martin ◽  
Emilie Karafillakis ◽  
Raman Preet ◽  
Annelies Wilder-Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
The Creation ◽  
And Control

We need to rapidly detect and respond to public rumours, perceptions, attitudes and behaviours around COVID-19 and control measures. The creation of an interactive platform and dashboard to provide real-time alerts of rumours and concerns about coronavirus spreading globally would enable public health officials and relevant stakeholders to respond rapidly with a proactive and engaging narrative that can mitigate misinformation.

scholarly journals Real-Time PCR Quantitation of Clostridia in Feces of Autistic Children

2004 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 6459-6465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuli Song ◽  
Chengxu Liu ◽  
Sydney M. Finegold
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Real Time Pcr ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
16S Rrna Genes ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Autistic Children ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
And Control

ABSTRACT Based on the hypothesis that intestinal clostridia play a role in late-onset autism, we have been characterizing clostridia from stools of autistic and control children. We applied the TaqMan real-time PCR procedure to detect and quantitate three Clostridium clusters and one Clostridium species, C. bolteae, in stool specimens. Group- and species-specific primers targeting the 16S rRNA genes were designed, and specificity of the primers was confirmed with DNA from related bacterial strains. In this procedure, a linear relationship exists between the threshold cycle (CT ) fluorescence value and the number of bacterial cells (CFU). The assay showed high sensitivity: as few as 2 cells of members of cluster I, 6 cells of cluster XI, 4 cells of cluster XIVab, and 0.6 cell of C. bolteae could be detected per PCR. Analysis of the real-time PCR data indicated that the cell count differences between autistic and control children for C. bolteae and the following Clostridium groups were statistically significant: mean counts of C. bolteae and clusters I and XI in autistic children were 46-fold (P = 0.01), 9.0-fold (P = 0.014), and 3.5-fold (P = 0.004) greater than those in control children, respectively, but not for cluster XIVab (2.6 � 108 CFU/g in autistic children and 4.8 � 108 CFU/g in controls; respectively). More subjects need to be studied. The assay is a rapid and reliable method, and it should have great potential for quantitation of other bacteria in the intestinal tract.

scholarly journals The first community outbreak of COVID-19 in Viet Nam: description and lessons learned

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-50
Author(s):  
Duong Nhu Tran ◽  
Quynh Mai Thi Le ◽  
Hien Tran Nguyen ◽  
Nghia Duy Ngu ◽  
Khoa Trong Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Viet Nam ◽  
Prevention And Control Measures ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Nonpharmaceutical Interventions ◽  
And Control

Objective: At the time of this study, the prevention of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) relied solely on nonpharmaceutical interventions. Implementation of these interventions is not always optimal and, consequently, several cases were imported into non-epidemic areas and led to large community outbreaks. This report describes the characteristics of the first community outbreak of COVID-19 in Viet Nam and the intensive preventive measures taken in response. Methods: Cases were detected and tested for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Contact tracing and active surveillance were conducted to identify suspected cases and individuals at risk. Clinical symptoms were recorded using a standardized questionnaire. Results: In Vinh Phuc province from 20 January to 3 March 2020, there were 11 confirmed cases among 158 suspected cases and 663 contacts. Nine of the confirmed cases (81.8%) had mild symptoms at the time of detection and two (18.2%) were asymptomatic; none required admission to an intensive care unit. Five prevention and control measures were implemented, including quarantining a community of 10 645 individuals for 20 days. The outbreak was successfully contained as of 13 February 2020. Discussion: In the absence of specific interventions, the intensive use of combined preventive measures can mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The lessons learned may be useful for other communities.

scholarly journals Norovirus outbreak among students of a boarding school in Kluang, Johor, Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (04) ◽  
pp. 274-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Nizam Subahir ◽  
Mohammad Saffree Jeffree ◽  
Mohd Rohaizat Hassan ◽  
Md Faizul Abd Razak ◽  
Syarifah Noor Ghulam Mohamad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boarding School ◽  
Food Samples ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Hygiene Practices ◽  
Abdominal Symptoms ◽  
Stool Samples ◽  
Fresh Stool ◽  
And Control ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics ◽  
First Time

Introduction: Norovirus (NoV) is a contagious virus causing acute gastroenteritis and is mainly responsible for diarrheal outbreak in closed settings. The aims of this study were to describe the epidemiological characteristic of an outbreak in a boarding school, to assess the extent of the outbreak and to implement appropriate control measures. Methodology: A descriptive study was conducted to describe the epidemiological characteristics of the outbreak. Data on demographic details, onset of abdominal symptoms, food intake history and contact with ill person three days prior to illness were obtained. Results: Twelve fresh stool and 14 food samples were tested for NoV and enteric pathogens, respectively. Out of 745 students, 42 (5.6%) were infected during this outbreak. Predominant clinical features were diarrhea (76.1%), vomiting (71.4%) and abdominal pain (67%). Eight (67%) stool samples and six (43.9%)food samples were positive for NoV and total coliforms, respectively. The dissemination of the disease was due to poor hygiene practices among students. Quarantine was imposed until the last case on September 28, 2016. The outbreak was declared over on September 30, 2016. Conclusions: A NoV outbreak was determined first time in Malaysia. Environmental assessment showed poor hygienic conditions in the school’s kitchen. The number of infected students increased considerably despite the implementation of preventive and control measures. Quarantine was effective to stop the outbreak which is characteristics of NoV outbreak.

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