scholarly journals Ranking the risk of animal-to-human spillover for newly discovered viruses

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (15) ◽  
pp. e2002324118
Author(s):  
Zoë L. Grange ◽  
Tracey Goldstein ◽  
Christine K. Johnson ◽  
Simon Anthony ◽  
Kirsten Gilardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Virus Discovery ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Zoonotic Viruses ◽  
Using Data

The death toll and economic loss resulting from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic are stark reminders that we are vulnerable to zoonotic viral threats. Strategies are needed to identify and characterize animal viruses that pose the greatest risk of spillover and spread in humans and inform public health interventions. Using expert opinion and scientific evidence, we identified host, viral, and environmental risk factors contributing to zoonotic virus spillover and spread in humans. We then developed a risk ranking framework and interactive web tool, SpillOver, that estimates a risk score for wildlife-origin viruses, creating a comparative risk assessment of viruses with uncharacterized zoonotic spillover potential alongside those already known to be zoonotic. Using data from testing 509,721 samples from 74,635 animals as part of a virus discovery project and public records of virus detections around the world, we ranked the spillover potential of 887 wildlife viruses. Validating the risk assessment, the top 12 were known zoonotic viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. Several newly detected wildlife viruses ranked higher than known zoonotic viruses. Using a scientifically informed process, we capitalized on the recent wealth of virus discovery data to systematically identify and prioritize targets for investigation. The publicly accessible SpillOver platform can be used by policy makers and health scientists to inform research and public health interventions for prevention and rapid control of disease outbreaks. SpillOver is a living, interactive database that can be refined over time to continue to improve the quality and public availability of information on viral threats to human health.

scholarly journals If long-term suppression is not possible, how do we minimize mortality for COVID-19 and other emerging infectious disease outbreaks?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Handel ◽  
Joel C. Miller ◽  
Yang Ge ◽  
Isaac Chun-Hai Fung
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care System ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Long Time

As COVID-19 continues to spread, public health interventions are crucial to minimize its impact. The most desirable goal is to drive the pathogen quickly to extinction. This generally involves applying interventions as strongly as possible, which worked for SARS, but so far has failed for COVID-19. If fast eradication is not achievable, the next best goal is to delay the spread and minimize cases and burden on the health care system until suitable drugs or vaccines are available. This suppression approach also calls for strong interventions, potentially applied for a long time.

scholarly journals A case study of the evaluation of a public health intervention

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Forssman ◽  
Leena Gupta ◽  
Graham Burgess
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Action ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Health Action

Large public health interventions to control infectious disease outbreaks are common, but rigorous evaluation to improve the quality and effectiveness of these is rarely undertaken. Following a large community-based clinic to prevent a hepatitis A outbreak, a multifaceted and multidisciplinary evaluation was conducted involving consumers, health professionals and industry partners. The results of this evaluation were used to produce practical operational guidelines for the planning and conduct of future interventions. These guidelines have been distributed to all public health units in New South Wales and may be included in the next edition of the NSW Health notifiable diseases manual. The evaluation approach can be applied to all public health interventions across NSW and Australia to assist in the development of operational guidelines, in order to increase the quality of public health action in outbreak prevention.

Lifecourse Socio-economic Mobility and Oral Health in Middle Age

2009 ◽  
Vol 88 (10) ◽  
pp. 938-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Pearce ◽  
W.M. Thomson ◽  
A.W.G. Walls ◽  
J.G. Steele
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Using Data

Socio-economic variations in health exist for a wide range of health outcomes, including oral health and oral-health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). Less is known regarding how socio-economic trajectories may influence oral health and OHRQoL. This study examined whether social mobility is related to the number of teeth retained by age 50 years and OHRQoL measured at the same time, using data from the Newcastle Thousand Families Study, a birth cohort established in 1947. Women remaining in the non-manual class had the greatest tooth retention. While promotion of a healthier lifestyle and continued improvements in oral hygiene throughout life appear to be the public health interventions most likely to improve oral health into middle age, there may be sub-groups of the population on which different approaches in terms of public health interventions need to be focused.

Emotional determinants of public responses to the risk of epidemics and pandemics: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonis A. Kousoulis ◽  
Mark R. Francis ◽  
Imogen Grant ◽  
Heidi J Larson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Intervention Uptake

Abstract Background Understanding how people’s emotions influence their health decisions and behaviours at a population level is fundamental to designing effective communication strategies and public health interventions for infectious disease outbreaks. This review identifies relevant research to assess the role of emotional determinants and their impact on public responses to the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, specifically in relation to the uptake of public health interventions. Methods A comprehensive systematic review was conducted exploring the differences in public responses by emotion, infection, outcome and region. A basic consensus approach was followed in which emotional stimuli were categorised as being either pleasant or unpleasant, and predisposing people to bivalent behaviour (i.e., approach or withdrawal). All primary research studies published in five global databases between 1988-2019 were eligible for inclusion. Binomial tests (against a test proportion of 0.5 or 50% for each study outcome) were performed using the direction of effect observed in each study, i.e., either favouring or not favouring intervention uptake. Results A total of 75 studies from 28 different nations were eligible for inclusion in the review. A total of 97 correlations were made between 12 emotions, 10 infectious diseases, and the uptake of seven types of public health interventions. Unpleasant emotions were evoked much more often than pleasant following public health risk communications, with fear and anxiety being the most common. Overall, moderate anxiety-related emotions (worry, anxiety, stress, concern) seemed to be much more significant motivators for public action compared to extreme unpleasant emotions (fear, panic, hopelessness, shame), which had a statistically significantly negative effect on the uptake of public health interventions in several cases. Pleasant emotions (empathy, hope) also showed promise as motivators for public health intervention uptake, but more research is needed to corroborate this. Conclusions The results of this review show that the public’s emotional responses to epidemics in the past 30 years have played a clear role in determining how successful the rollout of public health interventions has been. Emotions need to be considered in crisis communications, and these research findings can help inform communications strategies in the evolving context of the COVID-19 pandemic and future infectious disease outbreaks.

scholarly journals Risk perception, public health interventions, and Covid-19 pandemic control in sub-saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ufuoma Aduh ◽  
Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan ◽  
Abayomi Afe ◽  
Augustine Anayochukwu Onyeaghala ◽  
Ikeoluwapo Oyeneye Ajayi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Perception ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Lessons Learnt ◽  
Sub Saharan

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) has had serious social, economic, and health effects globally. The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2), which was first announced in December 2019 has resulted in more than 24 million infections. There is paucity of knowledge on the role of risk perception in the adoption of public health interventions needed to control the spread of COVID 19 infections within communities. This was a scoping review and documents how risk perception may be a major challenge for populations to adopt and implement different behavioral changes recommended to curtail the spread COVID- 19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa; and seeks to proffer solutions on how the identified challenges can be addressed drawing from lessons learnt from previous epidemics within the region. Database search of Google Scholar, PubMed, Research Gate among others were performed using related keywords to identify relevant journals and lists of primary articles. Culture, religious beliefs and poverty may influence how populations respond to infectious disease outbreaks. Risk strategies that focus only on biomedical approaches to control the COVID-19 pandemic may not mobilize the needed behavioral change. Lessons learnt from HIV and Ebola epidemics showed that involvement of communities could help transform weak adoption of public health measures when measures were framed in the relevant cultural context. An understanding of the factors influencing risk perception is needed to design appropriate risk communication strategies. Community engagement and reliance on local communication networks could promote mutual trust and increase the uptake of public-health interventions.

scholarly journals Mass testing and containment of Covid-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Momiao Xiong ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Critical Question ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Virus Testing

Urgent public health interventions to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 curtailed most social activities and work. Meanwhile, maintaining social distancing and lockdown will cause substantial economic loss and social damage. Now the critical question is how to reopen the economy while containing the COVID-19 pandemic without social distancing restrictions? The solution is mass testing. Alternative public health intervention strategies such as shelter-in-place and social distancing policies that may halt economic activities may be curtailed if virus testing which is an effective way to contain Covid-19 is expanded. Although the U.S. still has a longer path ahead, we have estimated that if the number of daily tests is 581,000 per day, i.e., the current number of daily tests would need to be doubled in order for Covid-19 to be contained and social distancing measures to be lifted.

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