The behavioural immune system and pandemic psychology: the evolved psychology of disease-avoidance and its implications for attitudes, behaviour, and public health during epidemic outbreaks

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Mark Schaller ◽  
Damian R. Murray ◽  
Marlise K. Hofer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Disease Avoidance

scholarly journals The Antibody Response to Plasmodium falciparum: Cues for Vaccine Design and the Discovery of Receptor-Based Antibodies

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Tan ◽  
Luca Piccoli ◽  
Antonio Lanzavecchia
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Plasmodium Falciparum ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Antibody Response ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Vaccine Design ◽  
Immunoglobulin Genes ◽  
And Control ◽  
Sterilizing Immunity

Plasmodium falciparum remains a serious public health problem and a continuous challenge for the immune system due to the complexity and diversity of the pathogen. Recent advances from several laboratories in the characterization of the antibody response to the parasite have led to the identification of critical targets for protection and revealed a new mechanism of diversification based on the insertion of host receptors into immunoglobulin genes, leading to the production of receptor-based antibodies. These advances have opened new possibilities for vaccine design and passive antibody therapies to provide sterilizing immunity and control blood-stage parasites.

scholarly journals The Disillusioned Comfort with COVID-19 and the Potential of Convalescent Plasma and Cell Therapy

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 096368972094071
Author(s):  
Mia C. Borlongan ◽  
Maximillian C. Borlongan ◽  
Paul R. Sanberg
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Hand Washing ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Immunomodulatory Properties ◽  
Recommended Guidelines ◽  
Potential Use

Coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 is highly infectious, which can lead to acute and chronic debilitating symptoms, as well as mortality. The advent of safe and effective vaccines or antiviral drugs remains distant in the future. Practical public health measures, such as social distancing, hand washing, and wearing a face mask, are the current recommended guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for limiting the spread of the virus. Weakened immune system and aberrant inflammation represent a major pathological symptom of COVID-19 patients. Based on the unique immunomodulatory properties of both convalescent plasma and stem cells, we discuss here their potential use for treating COVID-19.

scholarly journals A critique of the World Resources Institute's report "Pesticides and the immune system: the public health risks".

1998 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Acquavella ◽  
C Burns ◽  
D Flaherty ◽  
M Holsapple ◽  
I Kimber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Risks ◽  
The World

Identifying the public health benefits of livestock-dependent, agro-ecosystems under climate change

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shana Gillette
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Disease Avoidance ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Disease Risks ◽  
Livestock Systems

AbstractAs the demand for meat continues to grow in South Asia and Africa and access to communal sources of water and forage shrinks, intensification of small-scale livestock systems in peri-urban areas is expected to expand. In South East Asia, smallholder transition to livestock intensification has been transformative, increasing economic opportunities while also introducing new disease risks. While we have an understanding of the emerging disease burden from livestock intensification; we have just begun to understand the possible public health benefits of sustainable landscapes and the potential health savings accrued from disease avoidance. To date, few studies have attempted to quantify the health benefits attributable to sustainable agro-ecosystems, especially in regard to livestock systems. In this paper, I will examine what is needed to measure and communicate the public health benefits and cost-savings (from disease avoidance) of sustainable agro-ecosystems.

scholarly journals Microbiota Modulating Nutritional Approaches to Countering the Effects of Viral Respiratory Infections Including SARS-CoV-2 through Promoting Metabolic and Immune Fitness with Probiotics and Plant Bioactives

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanvi Shinde ◽  
Philip M Hansbro ◽  
Sukhwinder Singh Sohal ◽  
Peter Dingle ◽  
Rajaraman Eri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Respiratory Infections ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Mechanistic Study ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Viral Respiratory Infections ◽  
Viral Respiratory

Viral respiratory infections (VRIs) can spread quickly and cause enormous morbidity and mortality worldwide. These events pose serious threats to public health due to time lags in developing vaccines to activate the acquired immune system. The high variability of people’s symptomatic responses to viral infections, as illustrated in the current COVID-19 pandemic, indicates the potential to moderate the severity of morbidity from VRIs. Growing evidence supports roles for probiotic bacteria (PB) and prebiotic dietary fiber (DF) and other plant nutritional bioactives in modulating immune functions. While human studies help to understand the epidemiology and immunopathology of VRIs, the chaotic nature of viral transmissions makes it difficult to undertake mechanistic study where the pre-conditioning of the metabolic and immune system could be beneficial. However, recent experimental studies have significantly enhanced our understanding of how PB and DF, along with plant bioactives, can significantly modulate innate and acquired immunity responses to VRIs. Synbiotic combinations of PB and DF potentiate increased benefits primarily through augmenting the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate. These and specific plant polyphenolics help to regulate immune responses to both restrain VRIs and temper the neutrophil response that can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This review highlights the current understanding of the potential impact of targeted nutritional strategies in setting a balanced immune tone for viral clearance and reinforcing homeostasis. This knowledge may guide the development of public health tactics and the application of functional foods with PB and DF components as a nutritional approach to support countering VRI morbidity.

The Behavioral Immune System and Attitudes About Vaccines

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russ Clay
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Disgust Sensitivity ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
The Future ◽  
Sources Of Contamination

The present research utilized evolutionary theory to examine the relation between the behavioral immune system (i.e., disgust sensitivity) and attitudes about vaccines. The findings from the studies suggest that higher levels of dispositional disgust sensitivity is predictive of more negative attitudes toward vaccines. These findings are consistent with several recent publications and thus have broad implications for public health research associated with vaccines. In Study 1, participants reporting higher dispositional disgust sensitivity (specifically, contamination disgust) tended to report more negative attitudes about vaccines. Study 2 replicated this result in a nonstudent sample using additional measures of disgust sensitivity more closely associated with aversion to perceived sources of contamination. Study 2 also revealed that beliefs about the likelihood of contracting illness in the future were unrelated to vaccine attitudes. Implications for the observed relation between intuitive aversion to contamination and vaccine attitudes are discussed.

scholarly journals Immunizing Against Prejudice

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 1550-1556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Y. Huang ◽  
Alexandra Sedlovskaya ◽  
Joshua M. Ackerman ◽  
John A. Bargh
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Hand Washing ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Disease Avoidance ◽  
Behavioral Immune System ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Relationship

Contemporary interpersonal biases are partially derived from psychological mechanisms that evolved to protect people against the threat of contagious disease. This behavioral immune system effectively promotes disease avoidance but also results in an overgeneralized prejudice toward people who are not legitimate carriers of disease. In three studies, we tested whether experiences with two modern forms of disease protection (vaccination and hand washing) attenuate the relationship between concerns about disease and prejudice against out-groups. Study 1 demonstrated that when threatened with disease, vaccinated participants exhibited less prejudice toward immigrants than unvaccinated participants did. In Study 2, we found that framing vaccination messages in terms of immunity eliminated the relationship between chronic germ aversion and prejudice. In Study 3, we directly manipulated participants’ protection from disease by having some participants wash their hands and found that this intervention significantly influenced participants’ perceptions of out-group members. Our research suggests that public-health interventions can benefit society in areas beyond immediate health-related domains by informing novel, modern remedies for prejudice.

scholarly journals An update on clinical oncology for the non-oncologist

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-299
Author(s):  
Rafael Aliosha Kaliks
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Health System ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Tumor Progression ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Driver Mutations ◽  
New Treatments

ABSTRACT Recent advances in the understanding of tumor driver mutations, signaling pathways that lead to tumor progression, and the better understanding of the interaction between tumor cells and the immune system are revolutionizing cancer treatment. The pace at which new treatments are approved and the prices at which they are set have made it even more difficult to offer these treatments in countries like Brazil. In this review we present for the non-oncologist these new treatments and compare their availability in Brazilian public health system and private health system with that of developed countries.

scholarly journals The protective immunity induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination: a critical appraisal

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-225
Author(s):  
Eduardo Tosta
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Protective Immunity ◽  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
Present Essay ◽  
Clinical Presentations ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Shed Light

Understanding the interactions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) with humans is deeply grounded in immunology, from the diagnosis to pathogenesis, from the clinical presentations to the epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. However, the difficulty of capturing the complex and changeable array of immunological concepts and incorporating them into the strategies of control of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic poses significant hindrances to establish optimal public health policies. The contribution of immunology to the control of the pandemic is to shed light on the features and mechanisms of the protective immunity elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccines. Do they induce effective protective immunity? How? For how long? What is the effect of vaccination on individuals who were previously infected? To appropriately answer these questions, it is necessary to get rid of the outdated notion of a naïve, static, and closed immune system, which leads to misconceptions about susceptibility, specificity, immunological memory, and protective immunity. The present essay discusses these issues based on current immunological concepts.

scholarly journals Editorial: A Review of Micronutrients and the Immune System—Working in Harmony to Reduce the Risk of Infection

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 4180
Author(s):  
Ascensión Marcos
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Health Problem ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Recent Memory ◽  
Significant Public Health Problem ◽  
Significant Public Health

The emergence of the SARS-CoV virus in December 2019 saw the beginning of an unprecedented pandemic that represents the most significant public health problem in recent memory [...]

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document