scholarly journals Progress towards developing sensitive non-sputum based TB diagnostic tests: the promise of urine cell-free DNA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily MacLean ◽  
Ruvandhi R. Nathavitharana
Keyword(s):  
Performance Criteria ◽  
World Health ◽  
Cell Free Dna ◽  
Free Dna ◽  
Retrospective Clinical Study ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Smear Negative ◽  
Tb Diagnostics ◽  
Study Participants

A highly accurate, non-sputum based test for tuberculosis (TB) detection is a key priority for the field of TB diagnostics. A recent study in Journal of Clinical Microbiology by Oreskovic and colleagues (J Clin Microbiol 59:e00074-21, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.00074-21) reports the performance of an optimized urine cell-free DNA (cfDNA) using sequence-specific purification combined with short-target PCR to improve the accuracy of TB detection. Their retrospective clinical study utilized frozen urine samples (n=73) from study participants diagnosed with active pulmonary TB in South Africa and the USA in an early phase validation study. Overall, this cfDNA technique detected TB with sensitivity of 83.7% (95% CI:71.0-91.5) and specificity of 100% (95% CI:86.2-100), which meet the World Health Organization’s published performance criteria. Sensitivity was 73.3% in people without HIV (95% CI:48.1-89.1) and 76% in people with smear negative TB (95% CI:56.5-88.5). In this commentary, we discuss the results of this optimized urine TB cfDNA assay within the larger context of TB diagnostics and pose additional questions for further research.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Germophobia Questionnaire in Iran

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-316
Author(s):  
Seyed Mohammadreza Alavizadeh ◽  
◽  
Mojgan Sepahmansour ◽  
Somaye Entezari ◽  
Mohammadreza Seirafi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The World ◽  
Valid Instrument ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Study Participants

Objective: The Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has recently been identified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The outbreak of the disease has caused numerous individuals around the world to become extremely frightened and subsequently present the signs of phobia. Fear is the basic emotion of anxiety disorders and individuals cope with their emotions by different strategies. The present study aimed at developing and validating Emotion Regulation Strategies for Germophobia Questionnaire (ERS-GPQ). Methods: The study participants were 99 individuals (74 females) of the Iranian population with concerns about germs who were selected with the snowball sampling method. They completed the ERS-GPQ and GPQ in the Google Forms platform. Results: The present study results illustrated that the ERS-GPQ has acceptable internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (a=0.61), reliability coefficients with split-half (0.70), and one-week test-retest (0.92); the ERS-GPQ also presented a moderate positive correlation with the contamination obsessions checklist of GPQ (r=0.44) as the convergent coefficient. Besides, the confirmatory factor analysis indicated 2 factors of the ERS-GPQ. Finally, the ERS-GPQ has 2 components with good convergent and discriminate validities and composite reliability. Conclusion: Based on the current research findings, the ERS-GPQ has acceptable and good psychometric properties; researchers can use the ERS-GPQ as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing ER strategies concerning germophobia. Furthermore, it has some considerations for practitioners in epidemic and pandemic crises, like COVID-19.

scholarly journals The effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the provision of urgent surgery: a perspective from the USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhiman Cheeyandira
Keyword(s):  
Disease Control ◽  
Surgical Care ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
World Health ◽  
Urgent Surgery ◽  
The World ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Made In

Abstract Corona virus pandemic has affected all the 50 states in the USA. States such as NY, CA and WA being the most affected. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, as of 28 March 2020, the total number of cases in the USA is over 103 300 and number of deaths to 1668. In the coming weeks, COVID-19 rates are expected to begin skyrocketing and hit a peak in late April/May/June given lessons learned from China, Italy and others. COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) as confirmed cases approach 575 444 patients with 26 654 deaths across over 160 countries, as of 28 March 2020. There is a lot of impact on management of the urgent and emergent cases. This article highlights the changes that are being made in delivering urgent and emergent surgical care during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Epidemiological Models of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) to Control the Transmission Based on Current Evidence: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swati Arora ◽  
Rishabh Jain ◽  
Harendra Pal Singh
Keyword(s):  
Real Data ◽  
World Health ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Epidemiological Models ◽  
Medical Supplies ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The Uk

In Wuhan city of China, an episode of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) happened. during late December and it has quickly spread to all places in the world. Until May 29, 2020, cases were high in the USA with 1.7 Million, Russia with approximately 387 thousand, the UK with 271 thousand confirmed cases. Everybody on the planet is anxious to know when the coronavirus pandemic will end. In this scourge, most nations force extreme medication measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. Modeling has been utilized broadly by every national government and the World Health Organization in choosing the best procedures to seek after in relieving the impacts of COVID-19. Many epidemiological models are studied to understand the spread of the illness and its prediction to find maximum capacity for human-to-human transmission so that control techniques can be adopted. Also, arrangements for the medical facilities required such as hospital beds and medical supplies can be made in advance. Many models are used to anticipate the results keeping in view the present scenario. There is an urgent need to study the various models and their impacts. In this study, we present a systematic literature review on epidemiological models for the outbreak of novel coronavirus in India. The epidemiological dynamics of COVID-19 is also studied. Here, In addition, an attempt to take out the results from the exploration and comparing it with the real data. The study helps to choose the models that are progressive and dependable to predict and give legitimate methods for various strategies.

scholarly journals WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION - SCENE OF AMERICAN-CHINESE CONFRONTATIONS

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-83
Author(s):  
Svetlana CEBOTARI ◽  
Victoria BEVZIUC
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
World Health ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health Organization

The activity of the World Health Organization is now becoming a topic in disputes between the big power centres – the USA and China. The role of the WHO is also becoming a research topic not only for researchers in medical sciences, but also for political specialists in international relations. With the COVID-19 crisis, the WHO is becoming a scene of the major challenges – the USA and China. This Article aims to highlight the USA and China relations with reference to the work of the WHO, including the effectiveness of the organization with a global pandemic such as that of the COVID-19.

scholarly journals Plague: A natural history of Yersinia pestis

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-14
Author(s):  
Richard W. Titball
Keyword(s):  
Yersinia Pestis ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
World Health ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
The Third ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The 19Th Century

Yersinia pestis is the aetiological agent of plague, a disease that has a place in history as one the major causes of death from the 14th to the 17th Centuries1. It is estimated that, during the Black Death pandemic, approximately 30% of the population of Europe died of plague, and so great in number were the corpses that, in many parts of Europe, the dead were placed in burial pits rather than receiving individual burials. Y. pestis has also been responsible for two other pandemics of disease. The first of these, the Justinian plague, occurred during the 1st Century. The third pandemic occurred during the latter part of the 19th Century and was confined mainly to South-East Asia1. Even today, several thousand cases of plague are reported to the World Health Organization each year, mainly from South-East Asia, the southwestern parts of the USA, Madagascar and Africa.

scholarly journals Evolution of COVID19 new cases in 16 countries and Scenarios for Brazil using metaphorical analysis of Board, Inverted Pyramid and Papyri

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 560-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Gomes da Silva
Keyword(s):  
World Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Business Managers ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Inverted Pyramid ◽  
Unified Health System ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Metaphorical Analysis

Since the end of 2019, the world has become aware of a new virus that has emerged in China, which in February 2020 was called by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2019) as Coronavirus disease (COVID19). Due to its fast transmission, at 18:32 (GMT) on March 29, 2020, the world has officially accounted for about 710,950 new confirmed cases with 33,553 deaths and 150,734 recovered cases (Worldometers, 2020). The pandemic has become the newest challenge for several nations, especially the USA, Italy, China, Spain, Germany, Iran, for being the most affected, and since Brazil is a continental country with disabilities in its Unified Health System, it could be in the next two months among the five most affected. Thus, the main objective of the research is analyze the evolution of new cases of COVID19 in 16 countries to present short-term scenarios and recommendations for Brazil to face the pandemic. The research is applied, as its results and recommendations can be applied with adaptation by government authorities, business managers and citizens. The research is descriptive, with a qualitative and quantitative approach, based on bibliographic and documentary research, involving the study of articles, reports, manuals and other technical documents related to the subject. For the creation of scenarios, data collection focused on the number of new cases registered in 16 countries, including Brazil, as well as in the development of an approach using metaphorical analysis of the Board, the Inverted Pyramid and Papyri. The main conclusion is that even though no country is prepared to face epidemics and pandemics (NTI, JHU and EIU, 2019), among the 16 countries investigated, Thailand, Finland, Australia, South Korea, Denmark and Sweden are benchmarks that Brazil could study in order not to repeat the scenarios of China, USA, Italy and Spain. At the end, ten recommendations are made for future research and also to public and private managers.

scholarly journals Smallpox in the Post-Eradication Era

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermann Meyer ◽  
Rosina Ehmann ◽  
Geoffrey L. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Health Benefit ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

Widespread vaccination programmes led to the global eradication of smallpox, which was certified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and, since 1978, there has been no case of smallpox anywhere in the world. However, the viable variola virus (VARV), the causative agent of smallpox, is still kept in two maximum security laboratories in Russia and the USA. Despite the eradication of the disease smallpox, clandestine stocks of VARV may exist. In a rapidly changing world, the impact of an intentional VARV release in the human population would nowadays result in a public health emergency of global concern: vaccination programmes were abolished, the percentage of immunosuppressed individuals in the human population is higher, and an increased intercontinental air travel allows for the rapid viral spread of diseases around the world. The WHO has authorised the temporary retention of VARV to enable essential research for public health benefit to take place. This work aims to develop diagnostic tests, antiviral drugs, and safer vaccines. Advances in synthetic biology have made it possible to produce infectious poxvirus particles from chemicals in vitro so that it is now possible to reconstruct VARV. The status of smallpox in the post-eradication era is reviewed.

scholarly journals δ1 variant of SARS-COV-2 acquires spike V1176F and yields a highly mutated subvariant in Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang-Jiao Yang
Keyword(s):  
Virus Entry ◽  
Viral Fitness ◽  
World Health ◽  
Heptad Repeat ◽  
Evolutionary Trajectory ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Effective Public Health

Genomic surveillance of SARS-COV-2 has revealed that in addition to many variants of interests, this virus has yielded four variants of concern, α, β, γ and δ, as designated by the World Health Organization. Delta variant has recently become the predominant pandemic driver around the world and yielded four different subvariants (δ1, δ2, δ3 and δ4). Among them, δ1 has emerged as the key subvariant that drives the pandemic in India, Europe and the USA. A relevant question is whether δ1 subvariant continues to evolve and acquires additional mutations. Related to this, this subvariant has acquired spike V1176F, a signature substitution of γ variant, and yielded a new sublineage, δ1F. The substitution alters heptad repeat 2 of spike protein and is expected to improve interaction with heptad repeat 1 and enhance virus entry. Moreover, there are δ1F sublineages encoding spike N501Y, A783, Q836E and V1264L. While N501Y is a signature substitution shared by α, β, γ variants, V1264L is a key substitution in a δ1 sublineage that is a major pandemic driver in Southeast Asia. The Q836E-encoding lineage carries an average of 50 mutations per genome, making it the most mutated variant identified so far. Similar to δ1 subvariant, δ2 subvariant has also acquired spike V1176F and yielded new sublineages. Together, these results suggest that V1176F is a recurrent spike substitution that is frequently acquired by SARS-COV-2 variants to improve viral fitness. It is thus important to track the evolutionary trajectory of related variants for considering and instituting the most effective public health measures.

scholarly journals A Normalized Mortality Rate Showed the Diverse Severity of COVID-19 in the World

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santosh Kumar ◽  
P.R. Renjith ◽  
C. Priscilla ◽  
Selva Kumar Ganesan
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Kidney Diseases ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Respiratory Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health Organization

Covid-19 has given a halt to all the activities in the world. Europe was most affected followed by the United States of America. In this study we have assessed the severity of Covid-19 by analyzing the mortality rate in Covid-19 and other diseases. The Covid-19 data and “death rate” data caused by other diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, non-communicable respiratory diseases, respiratory infectious diseases, diabetes mellitus, and kidney diseases) were downloaded from the world health organization (WHO) website. A normalized period based method was used to see the mortality rate of Covid-19 in comparison to other diseases. The deaths occurred by cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and respiratory diseases were more in number than the Covid-19 caused deaths in the 45 days period where most of the Covid-19 deaths had taken place. The mortality rate of Covid-19 was highest in France followed by Belgium and the lowest in Russia while the share of Covid-19 caused deaths in total deaths by all causes was the highest in Belgium followed by Spain and the lowest in Japan. The severity of Covid-19 in the USA was moderate. The severity of Covid-19 in Asian countries was found to be moderate to low. The severity of Covid-19 was diverse in the world. Europe showed the highest diversity in the mortality rate of Covid-19. Cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and non-communicable diseases were still more lethal and caused more deaths than Covid-19.

scholarly journals Global Trends of Seroprevalence and Universal Screening Policy for Chagas Disease in Donors: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Yeon Hee Kim ◽  
Julia Ledien ◽  
Eliana Rodriguez-Monguí ◽  
Andy Dobson ◽  
María-Gloria Basáñez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Chagas Disease ◽  
Universal Screening ◽  
World Health ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Seroprevalence Data ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Caribbean

AbstractBackgroundScreening for Trypanosoma cruzi among blood and organ donors is essential to reduce Chagas disease transmission. The World Health Organization (WHO) has prioritised curtailing transmission in blood banks (BBs) and transplantation centres (TCs) by 50% by 2025 and 100% by 2030. This study aims to update the situation on T. cruzi screening strategies in BBs and TCs to evaluate the evolution of seroprevalence and the achievement of screening milestones globally.MethodsWe used published articles and government reports on seroprevalence data and screening policies in BBs and TCs across the world. We conducted meta-analyses of T. cruzi seroprevalence estimates by who region, endemicity status, and country, and used meta-regression to identify the covariates influencing the estimates. Publication bias and sensitivity analyses were also conducted.ResultsBased on 99 studies and reports and found a global pattern of increased universal screening policies (USPs) in BBs from 1990 to 2018. We found information for 50 countries, of which 44 (88%) have implemented USPs and 21 (42%) achieved 100% coverage by 2015. Out of the 21 Chagas-disease endemic countries, 20 are in advanced USPS stages, and 18 achieved 100% coverage by 2015. Latin America (LA) was the first region to start USPS since the 1990s and 19 countries are in advanced stages of implementation and by 2015 there is evidence of 100% coverage in 15 LA countries. In the Caribbean Region, USPs are still in early implementation stages and by 2015 only five out of 24 countries have achieved 100% coverage. Outside Latin America and the Caribbean, there are USPs only in the USA, which initiated in 2007 and with 100% coverage in 2016. In Europe, there are no USPs, but some countries have implemented selective screening of at-risk donors in the UK, Spain, France and Switzerland. Whereas Sweden and Italy have implemented a deferral system. For TCs, national guidelines have been produced in some European countries since the 2000s; in the USA, USPs started since 2002, but 100% coverage is yet to be achieved. There is a global decrease in T. cruzi seroprevalence among blood donors from the 1970s to 2010s, particularly in endemic countries, where the T. cruzi pooled seroprevalence decreased from 2.42% (95% CI 0.75%-7.53%) in the 1970s to 0.38% (95% CI 0.30%-0.60%) in the 2010s. Seroprevalence in non-endemic countries has remained relatively stable between 1990s and 2010s around 0.01% (95% CI 0.01%-0.03%). Country and decade were identified as the two major predictors of seroprevalence in BBs. Data on TCs was scarce.InterpretationDespite global progress in T. cruzi screening policies, both USPs and 100% coverage are yet to be achieved. Seroprevalence in BBs have decreased in endemic countries, likely due to a combination of vector control, increased USPs and voluntary donation, and improved diagnosis. To achieve the proposed WHO goals by 2025 and 2030, USPs in TCs must become available in all endemic countries. In BBs, USPs should be a priority in the Caribbean region as well as non-endemic countries where migration from endemic countries is important.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document