scholarly journals The Rapid Assessment of Aggregated Wastewater Samples for Genomic Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 on a City-Wide Scale

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric C. Rouchka ◽  
Julia L. Chariker ◽  
Kumar Saurabh ◽  
Sabine Waigel ◽  
Wolfgang Zacharias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Catchment Areas ◽  
University Of Louisville ◽  
Rapid Monitoring ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Neighborhood Scale ◽  
Wastewater Samples ◽  
The Individual

AbstractThroughout the course of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic there has been a need for approaches that enable rapid monitoring of public health using an unbiased and minimally invasive means. A major way this has been accomplished is through the regular assessment of wastewater samples by qRT-PCR to detect the prevalence of viral nucleic acid with respect to time and location. Further expansion of SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring efforts to include the detection of variants of interest / concern through next-generation sequencing have enhanced the understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. In this report we detail the results of a collaborative effort between public health and metropolitan wastewater management authorities and the University of Louisville to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic through the monitoring of aggregate wastewater samples over a period of 28 weeks. Our data indicates that wastewater monitoring of water quality treatment centers and smaller neighborhood-scale catchment areas is a viable means by which the prevalence and genetic variation of SARS-CoV-2 within a metropolitan community of approximately one million individuals may be monitored. Importantly, these efforts confirm that regional emergence and spread of variants of interest / concern may be detected as readily in aggregate wastewater samples as compared to the individual wastewater sheds.

scholarly journals The Rapid Assessment of Aggregated Wastewater Samples for Genomic Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 on a City-Wide Scale

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1271
Author(s):  
Eric C. Rouchka ◽  
Julia H. Chariker ◽  
Kumar Saurabh ◽  
Sabine Waigel ◽  
Wolfgang Zacharias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Next Generation Sequencing ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Catchment Areas ◽  
Neighborhood Scale ◽  
Wastewater Samples ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Generation Sequencing

Throughout the course of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic there has been a need for approaches that enable rapid monitoring of public health using an unbiased and minimally invasive means. A major way this has been accomplished is through the regular assessment of wastewater samples by qRT-PCR to detect the prevalence of viral nucleic acid with respect to time and location. Further expansion of SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring efforts to include the detection of variants of interest/concern through next-generation sequencing has enhanced the understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. In this report, we detail the results of a collaborative effort between public health and metropolitan wastewater management authorities and the University of Louisville to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic through the monitoring of aggregate wastewater samples over a period of 28 weeks. Through the use of next-generation sequencing approaches the polymorphism signatures of Variants of Concern / Interest were evaluated to determine the likelihood of their prevalence within the community on the basis of their relative dominance within sequence datasets. Our data indicate that wastewater monitoring of water quality treatment centers and smaller neighborhood-scale catchment areas is a viable means by which the prevalence and genetic variation of SARS-CoV-2 within a metropolitan community of approximately one million individuals may be monitored, as our efforts detected the introduction and emergence of variants of concern in the city of Louisville. Importantly, these efforts confirm that regional emergence and spread of variants of interest/concern may be detected as readily in aggregate wastewater samples as compared to the individual wastewater sheds. Furthermore, the information gained from these efforts enabled targeted public health efforts including increased outreach to at-risk communities and the deployment of mobile or community-focused vaccination campaigns.

Sewage Treatment by Waste Stabilization Pond Systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-14
Author(s):  
J. Kenneth, R. S. Suglo
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Stabilization Pond ◽  
Waste Stabilization Pond ◽  
Quality Guidelines ◽  
Waste Stabilization ◽  
High Reduction ◽  
Wastewater Samples

Sewage generated in Ghana is commonly discharged into the environment without any form of treatment to reduce the degree ofcontamination and mitigate potential public health and environmental issues. Although some attempts have been made in someparts of Ghana to utilize the waste stabilization pond (WSP) system to treat domestic sewage, the ponds often fail to achievetheir purpose due to lack of basic maintenance and supervision. To assess the utility of the WSP system for treating sewage,wastewater samples were collected from the raw sewage, anaerobic, facultative and maturation ponds of WSPs at Obuasi inGhana, and analyzed for physicochemical and microbiological contaminants. The results show that the final pond effluent meetsrecommended microbiological and chemical quality guidelines. The waste stabilization pond system demonstrates high removalefficiencies of wastewater contaminants. The biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, nitrate and faecal coliformsreduction efficiencies of 97.3%, 97.6%, 83.3% and 99.94% respectively are highly significant, and compare well with reportedremoval efficiencies in the literature. Additionally, the ponds have high reduction efficiencies for heavy metals and pathogenicmicroorganisms. The wastewater treatment system complies with standard wastewater management practices, and provides auseful method for treating and disposing wastewater in Ghana.

Dilemmas of nudging in public health: an ethical analysis of a Danish pamphlet

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Busch ◽  
Emilie Kirstine Madsen ◽  
Antoinette Mary Fage-Butler ◽  
Marianne Kjær ◽  
Loni Ledderer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Screening Programme ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Ethical Analysis ◽  
Choice Making ◽  
The Face ◽  
Information Materials ◽  
The Individual ◽  
To Receive

Summary Nudging has been discussed in the context of public health, and ethical issues raised by nudging in public health contexts have been highlighted. In this article, we first identify types of nudging approaches and techniques that have been used in screening programmes, and ethical issues that have been associated with nudging: paternalism, limited autonomy and manipulation. We then identify nudging techniques used in a pamphlet developed for the Danish National Screening Program for Colorectal Cancer. These include framing, default nudge, use of hassle bias, authority nudge and priming. The pamphlet and the very offering of a screening programme can in themselves be considered nudges. Whether nudging strategies are ethically problematic depend on whether they are categorized as educative- or non-educative nudges. Educative nudges seek to affect people’s choice making by engaging their reflective capabilities. Non-educative nudges work by circumventing people’s reflective capabilities. Information materials are, on the face of it, meant to engage citizens’ reflective capacities. Recipients are likely to receive information materials with this expectation, and thus not expect to be affected in other ways. Non-educative nudges may therefore be particularly problematic in the context of information on screening, also as participating in screening does not always benefit the individual.

scholarly journals The Integration of People Convicted of a Sexual Offence Into the Community and Their (Risk) Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. F. McCartan ◽  
K. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Sexual Offending ◽  
Community Integration ◽  
Sexual Offence ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Purpose of Review We are reviewing recent research into the community integration of men convicted of a sexual offence and their (risk) management. This is a high-profile political issue that binds together research in psychology, criminology, politics, health, public health, and policy studies. The review will demonstrate that a multi-disciplinary, life course, EpiCrim-oriented approach is the most effective way of reducing re-offending and promoting desistance in this population. Recent Findings Research demonstrates that life course development, especially from psychology and criminology, has an impact on whether people sexually offend or not. Therefore, to understand sexual offending behaviour, we need to look at the aetiology of said behaviour from a nature and a nurture perspective. Therefore, we need to use an Epidemiological Criminology (a marriage of Public Health and criminology) approach that works at all four stages of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) (individual, interrelationship, community, and societal). The research encourages a person first approach, that we look at Adverse Childhood Experiences and past trauma in the lives of men who sexually offend and use this, in conjunction with strength-based approaches, to inclusively integrate them into society. Summary The prevention of sexual offending, both first time offending, and relapse prevention require a multi-level, multi-disciplinary approach. Successful desistance from sexual offending is as much about the community and society as it is about the individual.

scholarly journals The Michigan BioTrust for Health: Using Dried Bloodspots for Research to Benefit the Community While Respecting the Individual

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (S1) ◽  
pp. 98-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Chrysler ◽  
Harry McGee ◽  
Janice Bach ◽  
Ed Goldman ◽  
Peter D. Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Filter Paper ◽  
Health Program ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Health Laboratory ◽  
Public Health Program ◽  
Personal Use ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Blood Spot

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) stores almost 4 million dried blood spot specimens (DBS) in the Michigan Neonatal Biobank. DBS are collected from newborns under a mandatory public health program to screen for serious conditions. At 24 to 36 hours of age, a few drops of blood are taken from the baby’s heel and placed on a filter paper card. The card is sent to the state public health laboratory for testing. After testing, MDCH retains the spots indefinitely for the personal use of the patient and also, pursuant to a 2000 law, for possible research.

scholarly journals Harnessing testing strategies and public health measures to avert COVID-19 outbreaks during ocean cruises

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Chowell ◽  
Sushma Dahal ◽  
Raquel Bono ◽  
Kenji Mizumoto
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Contact Network ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Testing Strategies ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

AbstractTo ensure the safe operation of schools, workplaces, nursing homes, and other businesses during COVID-19 pandemic there is an urgent need to develop cost-effective public health strategies. Here we focus on the cruise industry which was hit early by the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 40 cruise ships reporting COVID-19 infections. We apply mathematical modeling to assess the impact of testing strategies together with social distancing protocols on the spread of the novel coronavirus during ocean cruises using an individual-level stochastic model of the transmission dynamics of COVID-19. We model the contact network, the potential importation of cases arising during shore excursions, the temporal course of infectivity at the individual level, the effects of social distancing strategies, different testing scenarios characterized by the test’s sensitivity profile, and testing frequency. Our findings indicate that PCR testing at embarkation and daily testing of all individuals aboard, together with increased social distancing and other public health measures, should allow for rapid detection and isolation of COVID-19 infections and dramatically reducing the probability of onboard COVID-19 community spread. In contrast, relying only on PCR testing at embarkation would not be sufficient to avert outbreaks, even when implementing substantial levels of social distancing measures.

PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING, MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-324
Author(s):  
Floyd M. Feldmann
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Patch Test ◽  
Tuberculin Test ◽  
Preliminary Test ◽  
Outpatient Services ◽  
Medical Social Work ◽  
Striking Change ◽  
Tuberculin Testing ◽  
Health Nursing ◽  
The Individual

As a pediatric problem, tuberculosis has undergone striking change in the past decades, yet few diseases have the complicated interrelationship of personal and community significance that is peculiar to tuberculosis. Management of the tuberculous patient has become largely a matter for hospital and specialized outpatient services, and the individual practitioner has been chiefly concerned with case finding in his own practice. Since the tuberculin test is such an important tool in this respect, the editors thought such a review as presented by Dr. Feldmann of particular importance. A number of controversial points are touched on. In any public health procedure a routine screening test has value in relation to the proportion of positives likely to result. A test which results in more than 50% positive is not very helpful. On the other hand, a test with one positive in 1,000 is probably too expensive. Dr. Feldmann points out the cogent reasons for routine tuberculin testing and the pediatrician will need to consider these reasons in the light of the conditions in his community and the relevant local and state health program. Some may be disturbed by the criticism made of the patch test, yet it is important to recognize its limitations. Failure of the patch test to detect all positives has been well known and most pediatricians have thought it useful chiefly as a preliminary test to find the more sensitive reactors.

Where Is Disability in Global Public Health?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Krahn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Global South ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Models Of Disability ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Individual

Accounting for about 15% of the world’s population, persons with disabilities constitute a critical population. Despite a substantial knowledge base in disability and public health, persons with disabilities have been remarkably invisible within general global public health. Public health’s view of disability is shifting from regarding disability only as an outcome to prevent, to using disability as a demographic characteristic that identifies a population experiencing a range of inequities. Alternative models of disability reflect how disability has been viewed over time. These models vary in their underlying values and assumptions, whether the locus of disability is the individual or the environment or their interaction, who designates “disability,” and the focus of intervention outcomes. The United Nations flagship report on Disability and Sustainable Development Goals, 2018 documents that, as a group, the lives of persons with disabilities are marked by large disparities in Sustainable Development Goal indicators. These include increased likelihood of experiencing poverty, hunger, poor health, and unemployment, and greater likelihood of encountering barriers to education and literacy, clean water and sanitation, energy, and information technology. Overall, persons with disabilities experience greater inequalities, and this is particularly experienced by women and girls with disabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic and other disasters have highlighted the gaps in equality and consequent vulnerability of this population. Global disability data have improved dramatically during the decade from 2010 to 2020 with the advent of standardized disability question sets (Washington Group) and model surveys (Model Disability Survey). New studies from the Global South and North identify areas and strategies for interventions that can effectively advance the Sustainable Development Goals. This call-to-action outlines strategies for increasing visibility and improving wellbeing of persons with disabilities, particularly in the Global South. Increased visibility of the disability population within the global public health community can be achieved through active engagement of persons with disabilities. Improved collection of disability data and routine analysis by disability status can provide information vital to planning and policies. A twin-track approach can provide direction for interventions—inclusion in mainstream programs where possible, use of disability-specific and rehabilitation approaches where necessary. The article ends by outlining ways that multiple roles can increase the inclusion of persons with disabilities in global public health.

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