scholarly journals Phenotypic and molecular characteristics ofStaphylococcus aureusand methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureusin slaughterhouse pig-related workers and control workers in Guangdong Province, China

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (9) ◽  
pp. 1843-1851 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. L. WANG ◽  
L. LI ◽  
S. M. LI ◽  
J. Y. HUANG ◽  
Y. P. FAN ◽  
...  

SUMMARYPig farmers and veterinarians have high prevalence of methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) due to the occupational livestock exposure, while few reported this association on slaughterhouse workers. We conducted this cross-sectional study to explore the phenotypic and molecular characteristics ofS. aureusand MRSA in slaughterhouse pig-related workers and control workers in Guangdong Province, China. Participants were interviewed and provided two nasal swabs. Swabs were tested forS. aureus, and isolates were further tested for antimicrobial susceptibility, virulence genes and multi-locus sequence typing. Compared with control workers, pig-related workers have significantly higher prevalence of MRSA carriage (adjusted odd ratio (aOR) 3·70, 95% CI 1·63–8·40). The proportions of MRSA resistant to clindamycin, erythromycin, tetracycline or chloromycetin were significantly higher in pig-related workers than in control workers. The predominant phenotypes ofS. aureuswere resistant to penicillin, clindamycin, erythromycin and tetracycline. Three MRSA CC9 isolates with livestock-associated characteristics (resistance to tetracycline and absence of immune evasion cluster (IEC) genes) were detected in pig-related workers but not in control workers. For human-associated CCs (CC7, CC59, CC6, and CC188), there was no significant difference in IEC profile or antimicrobial resistance between the groups. These findings reveal that there may be a potential risk for livestock-to-human transmission of LA-MRSA and human-to-human transmission of human-associated MRSA.

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (05) ◽  
pp. 678-683
Author(s):  
NASIR AZIZ ◽  
HAMID MAHMOOD ◽  
HASHIM RIAZ ◽  
Zahid Mahmood ◽  
Akhtar Murad Qadir ◽  
...  

Objective: This study was designed to analyze the BCG vaccination status and compare the immune globulins levels in thehousehold contacts of tuberculous patients with non contacts of unexposed healthy peoples. Place: Gulab Devi Hospital, Post GraduateMedical Institute and Defense Housing Authority Lahore. Study design: Cross sectional study. Materials and Methods: Investigationslike ESR were done and the sera of 200 persons included in the study were tested for anti tuberculous antibodies by ELISA. BCGvaccination present or absent and scars were positive or negative in both groups were included. Results: The combined serologicalpositivity of the household contacts was 65.8% and for non-contacts was 34.1%. BCG scars were mostly absent in the householdcontacts as well as in non-contacts; But statistically IgG and IgA were present significantly by higher number in the household contacts ascompared to non-contacts, where as no significant difference in the IgM levels. These immunoglobulins status were compared with BCGscars in both study and control groups. The results were analyzed by SPSS version 14. Conclusions: Household contacts of tuberculosispatients are more susceptible to tuberculosis as compared to the non-contacts, as shown by positive and negative status ofantituberculous antibodies in the house hold contacts. More over BCG vaccination has no significant role in humoral evaluation.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243962
Author(s):  
Fahmi Y. Al-Ashwal ◽  
Mohammed Kubas ◽  
Mohammed Zawiah ◽  
Ahmad Naoras Bitar ◽  
Ramzi Mukred Saeed ◽  
...  

Background The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) represents a difficult challenge and could have devastating consequences for the healthcare system and healthcare workers in war-torn countries with poor healthcare facilities such as Yemen. Our study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, preparedness, counselling practices of healthcare workers regarding COVID-19, and the perceived barriers to adequately prevent and control COVID-19 in Yemen. Methods Healthcare workers (HCWs) from major healthcare facilities participated in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire comprising of five main domains (demographics, knowledge, self-preparedness, counselling practice, perceived barriers) was distributed among HCWs after obtaining informed consent. A convenient sampling technique was used. Descriptive and inferential analyses were applied using SPSS software. Results A total of 1000 participants were initially targeted to participate in the study with 514 (51.4%) responding, of which 55.3% were female. Physicians and nurses constituted the largest proportion of participants, with 39.5% and 33.3%, respectively. The median scores for knowledge, self-preparedness, and counselling practice were 8 (out of 9), 9 (out of 15), and 25 (out of 30), respectively. The physician group showed a statistically significant association with better knowledge compared to the nurse group only, P<0.001. Males had higher preparedness scores than females, p<0.001. Also, the intensive care unit (ICU) and emergency departments presented a statistically significant difference by which the participants from these departments were more prepared compared to the others (e.g. outpatients, paediatrics and surgery) with P < 0.0001. The lack of awareness among the general population about COVID-19 preventive measures was perceived as the most common barrier for the adequate prevention and control of COVID-19 in Yemen (89.1%). Conclusion The major highlight of this study is that HCWs have, overall, good knowledge, suboptimal preparedness, and adequate counselling practices prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Yemen, despite the high number of perceived barriers. However, urgent action and interventions are needed to improve the preparedness of HCWs to manage COVID-19. The perceived barriers also need to be fully addressed by the local healthcare authorities and international organisations working in Yemen for adequate prevention and control measures to be in place in managing COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (89) ◽  
pp. 128-140
Author(s):  
Luciano Aparecido Almeida-Junior ◽  
Talitha Siqueira Mellara ◽  
Gisele Carvalho Inácio ◽  
Raquel Assed Bezerra Silva ◽  
Paulo Nelson-Filho ◽  
...  

Dental hygiene is a preventive measure to prevent and control diseases, and tooth brushing is the most efficient mechanical method for removing biofilm. The aim of the present study was to analyze the care of children with or without special needs in relation to the maintenance and physical condition of the brushes in relation to stiffness, deformities and the presence of residues. The cross-sectional study, using a questionnaire and visual inspection of the brushes, assessed the knowledge of 60 children without special needs and 60 children with special needs in relation to care after using a toothbrush and visual analysis of toothbrushes. The results showed no statistically significant difference in relation to previous knowledge about toothbrush care if they have already received instructions on toothbrush care, replacement periodicity, storage, brush head size, bristle deformities and presence of residues. There was a statistical difference in relation to the bristle stiffness in which the group of children with special needs used more hard bristles than the children without special needs. The present study concludes that children with special needs use harder bristles than children without special needs and that there is no difference between prior knowledge of the maintenance of toothbrushes with the periodicity of exchange, storage, brush head size, deformities of the toothbrushes, bristles and the presence of waste from children with and without special needs.


Author(s):  
Ahmed F. Amin ◽  
Hisham Abou-Taleb ◽  
Mustafa Gamal ◽  
Marwa M. Thabet ◽  
Nashwa Azoz ◽  
...  

Background: This study aims to evaluate the level of podocalyxin (PCX) in preeclampsia with severe features patients and correlate it with the results of laboratory tests.Methods: The current study was a cross-sectional study conducted in Assiut Women Health Hospital between April and October 2018.  The study included 60 patients divided into two groups; Group (A): 30 patients diagnosed to have preeclampsia with severe features and Group (B): 30 patients as normal control group. Complete laboratory investigations with measurements of the PCX level was performed for all study participants.Results: No statistically significant difference between the study group and control group according to blood urea (p= 0.339) and serum creatinine (p= 0.801).There was statistically significant difference between the study group and control group according to PCX level (p= 0.001); the mean PCX was 3340.0 ± 2394.6 in the study group versus 1083.5±1400.2 in the control group. Univariate analysis revealed podocalyxin was not correlated with clinical data or laboratory investigations.Conclusions: Podocalyxin levels were significantly elevated in preeclampsia.


2012 ◽  
pp. 129-134
Author(s):  
Thi Lan Tran ◽  
Thi Huong Le ◽  
Xuan Ninh Nguyen

Objectives: Assess the nutritional status, worm infection status and some related factors among children aged 12-36 months of Dakrong district, Quang Tri province. Subject and method: A cross sectional study was carried out in 2010, in 680 children aged 12-36 months in 4 communes of Dakrong district, Quang Tri province. Results: The malnutrition rate was 55.0% for underweight, 66.5% for stunting and 16.2% for wasting. The prevalence of malnutrition increases by age group. The prevalence of worm infection was 31.6%, the highest prevalence was belong to Ascaris infection (24.6%), followed by Hookworm and Trichuris (6.5% and 6.2%, respectively). The prevalence of worm infection among children under two is very high (27.0%). The prevalence of worm infection was distributed quite equally between the malnutrition children group and normal children group. Recommendation: Early deworming forchildren from 12 months should be considered as important strategy against the malnutrition of children in Dakrong district, Quang Tri province


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Calas ◽  
N. Zemali ◽  
G. Camuset ◽  
J. Jaubert ◽  
R. Manaquin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recommendations for sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening vary significantly across countries. This study evaluated the prevalence of urogenital and extragenital infections with Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), and Mycoplasma genitalium (MG) in patients visiting a French STI clinic in the Indian Ocean region to determine whether current STI screening practices should be updated. Methods This cross-sectional study examined all patients who visited the STI clinic between 2014 and 2015. Triplex polymerase chain reaction screening for CT, NG, and MG was performed on urine, vaginal, pharyngeal, and anal specimens (FTD Urethritis Basic Kit, Fast Track Diagnostics, Luxembourg). Results Of the 851 patients enrolled in the study, 367 were women (367/851, 43.2%) and 484 were men (484/851, 56.0%). Overall, 826 urogenital specimens (826/851, 97.1%), 606 pharyngeal specimens (606/851, 71.2%), and 127 anal specimens (127/851, 14.9%) were taken from enrolled patients. The prevalence of urogenital CT and MG was high in women ≤25 years (19/186, 10.21%; 5/186, 2.69%) and in men who have sex with women ≤30 years (16/212, 7.54%; 5/212, 2.36%). Among patients with urogenital CT infection, 13.7% (7/51) had urethritis. All patients with urogenital MG infection were asymptomatic. Men who have sex with men had a high prevalence of pharyngeal CT (2/45, 4.44%) and NG (3/44, 6.81%) and a high prevalence of anal CT (2/27, 7.41%), NG (2/27, 7.40%), and MG (1/27, 3.70%). After excluding patients with concomitant urogenital infection, extragenital infections with at least 1 of the 3 pathogens were found in 20 swabs (20/91, 21.9%) taken from 16 patients (16/81, 19.7%), all of them asymptomatic. Conclusions Routine multisite screening for CT, NG, and MG should be performed to mitigate the transmission of STIs in high-risk sexually active populations.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e046265
Author(s):  
Shotaro Doki ◽  
Shinichiro Sasahara ◽  
Daisuke Hori ◽  
Yuichi Oi ◽  
Tsukasa Takahashi ◽  
...  

ObjectivesPsychological distress is a worldwide problem and a serious problem that needs to be addressed in the field of occupational health. This study aimed to use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict psychological distress among workers using sociodemographic, lifestyle and sleep factors, not subjective information such as mood and emotion, and to examine the performance of the AI models through a comparison with psychiatrists.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingWe conducted a survey on psychological distress and living conditions among workers. An AI model for predicting psychological distress was created and then the results were compared in terms of accuracy with predictions made by psychiatrists.ParticipantsAn AI model of the neural network and six psychiatrists.Primary outcomeThe accuracies of the AI model and psychiatrists for predicting psychological distress.MethodsIn total, data from 7251 workers were analysed to predict moderate and severe psychological distress. An AI model of the neural network was created and accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated. Six psychiatrists used the same data as the AI model to predict psychological distress and conduct a comparison with the AI model.ResultsThe accuracies of the AI model and psychiatrists for predicting moderate psychological distress were 65.2% and 64.4%, respectively, showing no significant difference. The accuracies of the AI model and psychiatrists for predicting severe psychological distress were 89.9% and 85.5%, respectively, indicating that the AI model had significantly higher accuracy.ConclusionsA machine learning model was successfully developed to screen workers with depressed mood. The explanatory variables used for the predictions did not directly ask about mood. Therefore, this newly developed model appears to be able to predict psychological distress among workers easily, regardless of their subjective views.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. e148-e157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Rader ◽  
Laura F White ◽  
Michael R Burns ◽  
Jack Chen ◽  
Joseph Brilliant ◽  
...  

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. e043814
Author(s):  
Mesfin Tadese ◽  
Andargachew Kassa ◽  
Abebaw Abeje Muluneh ◽  
Girma Altaye

ObjectivesThe study aimed to provide an association between dysmenorrhoea and academic performance among university students in Ethiopia. Further, the study attempts to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of dysmenorrhoea.Design and methodInstitution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 April to 28 April 2019. A semistructured and pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Binary logistic regression analysis and one-way analysis of variance were performed to model dysmenorrhoea and academic performance, respectively.Setting and participantsEthiopia (2019: n=647 female university students).OutcomesThe primary outcome is dysmenorrhoea, which has been defined as painful menses that prevents normal activity and requires medication. The self-reported cumulative grade point average of students was used as a proxy measure of academic performance, which is the secondary outcome.ResultsThe prevalence of dysmenorrhoea was 317 (51.5%). The educational status of father (adjusted OR (AOR) (95% CI) 2.64 (1.04 to 6.66)), chocolate consumption (AOR (95% CI) 3.39 (95% 1.28 to 8.93)), daily breakfast intake (<5 days/week) (AOR (95% CI) 0.63 (0.42 to 0.95)), irregular menstrual cycle AOR (95% CI) 2.34 (1.55 to 3.54)) and positive family history of dysmenorrhoea AOR (95% CI) 3.29 (2.25 to 4.81)) had statistically significant association with dysmenorrhoea. There was no statistically significant difference in academic performance among students with and without dysmenorrhoea (F (3611)=1.276, p=0.28)).ConclusionsDysmenorrhoea was a common health problem among graduating University students. However, it has no statistically significant impact on academic performance. Reproductive health officers should educate and undermine the negative academic consequences of dysmenorrhoea to reduce the physical and psychological stress that happens to females and their families.


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