scholarly journals Passive epidemiological surveillance in wildlife in Costa Rica identifies pathogens of zoonotic and conservation importance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Alfaro-Alarcon ◽  
Fernando Aguilar ◽  
Tamara Solorzono ◽  
Mario Baldi ◽  
Elias Barquero-Calvo ◽  
...  

Epidemiological surveillance systems for pathogens in wild species have been proposed as a preventive measure for epidemic events. These systems can minimize the detrimental effects of an outbreak, but most importantly,  passive surveillance systems are the best adapted to countries with limited resources. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the technical and infrastructural feasibility to establish this type of scheme in Costa Rica targeting thedetection of pathogens of zoonotic and conservation importance in wildlife. Between 2018 and 2020, 85 carcasses of free-ranging vertebrates were admitted for post mortem analysis and complementary laboratory analysis, representing a  solid basis for the implementation of a passive surveillance system for wildlife diseases in the country. However, we encounter during this research significant constraints that affected the availability of carcasses for analysis, mainly related to the initial identification of cases, detection biases towards events in populated- or easily accessible-areas with nearby located wildlife management centers, further associated with financial disincentives, and limited local  logistics capacity. Thus resulting in the exclusion of some geographic regions of the country. This epidemiological surveillance scheme allowed us to estimate the general state of health of the country's wildlife, establishing the cause of death of the analyzed animals as follows: (i) 46 (54.1%) traumatic events, (ii) 23 (27.1%) infectious agents, (iii) two (2.4%) degenerative illness, (iv) three (3.5%) presumably poisoning, and (v) in 11 (12.9%)undetermined. It also allowed the detection of pathogens such as, canine distemper virus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Toxoplasma gondii, Trypanosoma spp., Angiostrongylus spp., Dirofilaria spp., Baylisascaris spp., among others. As well as recognizing the circulation of these pathogens around national territory and also on those analyzed species. This strategy is crucial in geographical regions defined as critical for the appearance of diseases due to their great biodiversity and social conditions.

Based on an epidemiological survey,1 human TBEV neuroinfections may have an endemic emergent course, and natural foci are in full territorial expansion. Identified risk areas are Tulcea district, Transylvania, at the base of the Carpathian Mountains and the Transylvanian Alps.2,3 TBE has been a notifiable disease since 1996. Surveillance of TBE is not done at the country level, only regionally in some counties (northern/central/western part, close to Hungary). The passive surveillance system was implemented in 2008. However, there is no regular screening and the relative risk of contracting this disease is unknown. In 1999, an outbreak of TBE in humans was recorded with a total of at least 38 human cases.4


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Hyde ◽  
Matthew H. Bonds ◽  
Felana A. Ihantamalala ◽  
Ann C. Miller ◽  
Laura F. Cordier ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Reliable surveillance systems are essential for identifying disease outbreaks and allocating resources to ensure universal access to diagnostics and treatment for endemic diseases. Yet, most countries with high disease burdens rely entirely on facility-based passive surveillance systems, which miss the vast majority of cases in rural settings with low access to health care. This is especially true for malaria, for which the World Health Organization estimates that routine surveillance detects only 14% of global cases. The goal of this study was to develop a novel method to obtain accurate estimates of disease spatio-temporal incidence at very local scales from routine passive surveillance, less biased by populations' financial and geographic access to care. Methods We use a geographically explicit dataset with residences of the 73,022 malaria cases confirmed at health centers in the Ifanadiana District in Madagascar from 2014 to 2017. Malaria incidence was adjusted to account for underreporting due to stock-outs of rapid diagnostic tests and variable access to healthcare. A benchmark multiplier was combined with a health care utilization index obtained from statistical models of non-malaria patients. Variations to the multiplier and several strategies for pooling neighboring communities together were explored to allow for fine-tuning of the final estimates. Separate analyses were carried out for individuals of all ages and for children under five. Cross-validation criteria were developed based on overall incidence, trends in financial and geographical access to health care, and consistency with geographic distribution in a district-representative cohort. The most plausible sets of estimates were then identified based on these criteria. Results Passive surveillance was estimated to have missed about 4 in every 5 malaria cases among all individuals and 2 out of every 3 cases among children under five. Adjusted malaria estimates were less biased by differences in populations’ financial and geographic access to care. Average adjusted monthly malaria incidence was nearly four times higher during the high transmission season than during the low transmission season. By gathering patient-level data and removing systematic biases in the dataset, the spatial resolution of passive malaria surveillance was improved over ten-fold. Geographic distribution in the adjusted dataset revealed high transmission clusters in low elevation areas in the northeast and southeast of the district that were stable across seasons and transmission years. Conclusions Understanding local disease dynamics from routine passive surveillance data can be a key step towards achieving universal access to diagnostics and treatment. Methods presented here could be scaled-up thanks to the increasing availability of e-health disease surveillance platforms for malaria and other diseases across the developing world.


Author(s):  
J A Hall ◽  
R J Harris ◽  
A Zaidi ◽  
S C Woodhall ◽  
G Dabrera ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is an important component of the community spread of the pandemic. Little is known about the factors associated with household transmission, at the level of the case, contact or household, or how these have varied over the course of the pandemic. Methods The Household Transmission Evaluation Dataset (HOSTED) is a passive surveillance system linking laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases to individuals living in the same household in England. We explored the risk of household transmission according to: age of case and contact, sex, region, deprivation, month and household composition between April and September 2020, building a multivariate model. Results In the period studied, on average, 5.5% of household contacts in England were diagnosed as cases. Household transmission was most common between adult cases and contacts of a similar age. There was some evidence of lower transmission rates to under-16s [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66–0.74). There were clear regional differences, with higher rates of household transmission in the north of England and the Midlands. Less deprived areas had a lower risk of household transmission. After controlling for region, there was no effect of deprivation, but houses of multiple occupancy had lower rates of household transmission [aOR 0.74 (0.66–0.83)]. Conclusions Children are less likely to acquire SARS-CoV-2 via household transmission, and consequently there was no difference in the risk of transmission in households with children. Households in which cases could isolate effectively, such as houses of multiple occupancy, had lower rates of household transmission. Policies to support the effective isolation of cases from their household contacts could lower the level of household transmission.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (08) ◽  
pp. 583-590
Author(s):  
Bilal Djeghout ◽  
Ammar Ayachi ◽  
Bianca Paglietti ◽  
Gemma C. Langridge ◽  
Salvatore Rubino

Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) represents a leading cause of food-borne disease worldwide. It is a global public health concern: more than 94 million cases and 115,000 deaths are reported every year, with a disproportionate impact in developing countries. The prevalence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella strains is another major health concern which affects antimicrobial treatment, as many studies report that infections caused by MDR strains are more severe than those caused by susceptible strains. In Algeria, NTS represent one of the primary causes of salmonellosis in both humans and food animal production, especially poultry. Epidemiological surveillance systems and monitoring programs for Salmonella infections are essential requirements to provide data useful for the effective detection and control of Salmonella outbreaks. The present review will supply a perspective on NTS infection, pathogenesis and antimicrobial resistance with a focus on the epidemiology of salmonellosis in Algeria.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor ul Ain ◽  
Samyyia Abrar ◽  
Rehan Ahmad Khan ◽  
Abdul Hannan ◽  
Namrah Imran ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Rapid emergence of carbapenem resistance (CR) is a health concern of pertinent importance. Epidemiological surveillance of CR at global and indigenous level (Pakistan) can help to improve infection control strategy and establish pharmacovigilance programs. This study evaluate the prevalence of clinically significant CR isolates, and its genetic variant distribution among different geographical regions of Pakistan. Methods: A meta-analysis was conducted to present the current rate of CR infections and prevalence of Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs). The proposed subject was researched using robustic electronic databases a) PubMed b) PubMed Central® (PMC), and c) Google Scholar to identify the available literature. Thereafter, relevant data was extracted and statistical analysis was performed using STATA version 14. Result: A total of 110 relevant studies were identified with 19 meeting the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis of CR, while 22 for MBLs. Pooled rate for carbapenem resistance was determined to be 0.28 (95% CI: 0.26-0.31) with overall significant heterogeneity (I 2 =99.61%, p<0.001) and significant estimated score ES=0 (Z=22.65, p<0.001). In case of Pakistan, the overall pooled proportion of MBL producers was 0.34 (95% CI: 0.29-0.39) with overall heterogeneity significance (I 2 =99.62%, p<0.001) and respective significant ES=0 (Z=13.17, p<0.001). Conclusively, diverse variants of carbapenemases (VIM, IMP, NDM, KPC, GIM, SIM) along with other co-existing β-lactamase variants (OXA, TEM, SHV, CTX-M) have been reported across the country. However, New Delhi Metallo-β-lactamase (NDM)-variants were reported in predominant literature. Conclusion: The prevalence of CR isolates in Pakistan is alarming, associated with MBL production primarily evident from the studies. The study emphasizes the need for regular surveillance, pharmacovigilance and antibiotic stewardship programs to ensure the availability of data to the authorities for preemptive measures of infection control.


2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. YAMAGUCHI ◽  
A. DUNGA ◽  
R. L. BROADHEAD ◽  
B. J. BRABIN

Measles surveillance data in Blantyre, Malawi were reviewed for 1996–8 to describe the epidemiology of infection and to estimate vaccine efficacy (VE) by the screening method. A total of 674 measles cases were reported to the Blantyre District Health Office during this period. Age distribution showed that 108 (16.1%) of the cases were aged less than 1 year. The median age was 5 years. Eighty percent of the cases between 1 and 19 years had been previously vaccinated. VE was 68.6% (95% CI, 52.7–79.2) for children 12–23 months of age and 67.3% (95% CI, 48.3–79.3) for infants 9–11 months of age. Reasons for this low vaccine efficacy are discussed. Previous vaccination history was negatively associated with the risk for developing cough during measles infection (odds ratio (OR), 0.30; 95% CI, 0.09–0.91), diarrhoea (OR, 0.64; CI, 0.44–0.95) and pneumonia (OR, 0.40; CI, 0.25–0.62). Logistic regression analysis showed that pneumonia in adults was negatively associated with vaccination history. The passive surveillance system for measles in Malawi was useful to describe the epidemiology of measles.


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