scholarly journals Knowledge and Experiences of Health Professionals in the Peripheral Management of Leishmaniasis in Morocco (ELHajeb)

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. El-Mouhdi ◽  
M. Fekhaoui ◽  
F. Elhamdaoui ◽  
H. Guessioui ◽  
A. Chahlaoui

Background. Morocco hopes to eliminate leishmaniases by 2030. These diseases exist in cutaneous and visceral forms and constitute a serious public health problem. The fight against these parasitoses is carried out within the framework of a national program to control leishmaniases, which offers free treatment. However, the screening rate in public health structures does not exceed 35%. Objective. To determine the knowledge and experience of the social actors directly involved in the fight against leishmaniasis to contribute to analyse and understand the factors of this underreporting and to draw scientific recommendations to improve screening and control activities. Methods. Using a self-administered questionnaire, we conducted an exploratory survey during April and May 2019 among all health professionals working in public health structures in the province of ELHajeb in central Morocco. Results. We found that most of the health professionals had good knowledge about the clinical signs of each form of leishmaniasis, but they had erroneous information about the true vector of the disease, the reservoirs, and the mode of transmission. 76% recognized the national leishmaniases control program and only 17% received continuing education. 85% of these professionals focused on the curative aspects of the program. 47% stated that patients do not adhere to the antileishmaniasis treatment, and 25% stated that the population uses the concept of “Hboub of Chniwla” to refer to cutaneous leishmaniasis. Conclusion. The study concluded that the operationalization of the activities of the leishmaniases control program recognizes some weaknesses which explain the underscreening of cases. Improvement of this situation requires the implementation of continuous training programs for caregivers and awareness-raising programs for citizens which should focus on the mode of transmission, preventive measures against reservoirs, sand flies bites, and recognition of lesions using the popular names of the disease as a starting point.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Tan ◽  
Luca Piccoli ◽  
Antonio Lanzavecchia

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 565
Author(s):  
Husni Husni ◽  
Th. B Rahayujati ◽  
S Supargiyono

Evaluation of malaria risk factors prevention and control program in Kulon Progo RegencyPurposeThe purpose of this research was to evaluate the program of prevention and control of malaria risk factors in Kulon Progo District in 2016 based on system approach.MethodThis research was evaluation program used mixed methods (sequential explanatory design). Data collected from 7 public health center of active focus malaria and district health office. Respondents were program managers and head of public health center, district program managers, head of control and eradication of communicable diseases, and head of district health offices. The instruments used structured questionnaires and in-depth interview guides. Quantitative data analysis was descriptive and qualitative data used Miles and Huberman model.Results Most of the availability of human resources, funds, facilities, materials, and methods already meet implementation needs except entomologists, allocation of funds activities other than IRS, time of the implementation of larval fish deployment. Most of the processes that started from the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation have gone well except for planning other than IRS, preparation vector control without entomology database, implementation of environmental management, larviciding, and larval fish deployment. Coverage of LLINs, coverage of IRS, control of LLINs efficacy, and test of vector resistance have met the target, except coverage of larviciding and larval fish deployment was not available.ConclusionPrevention and control program of malaria risk factors has implemented but wasn’t based on entomological data. District health offices should recruit entomologist to support vector control activities.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Jahangiry ◽  
Maryam Khazaee-Pool ◽  
Towhid Babazadeh ◽  
Parvin Sarbakhsh ◽  
Koen Ponnet

Abstract Background: Brucellosis is one of the most frequently occurring zoonotic diseases of veterinary and a public health problem in developing countries. It affects human and animal health and has measurable effects on the productive and reproductive performance of livestock. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to develop a community-based intervention program for brucellosis prevention and control. A two-arm parallel cluster randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of the program over six months in a rural population in Ahar, East Azerbaijan, Iran. A total of 16 village health houses were randomly allocated to the intervention and the control groups (eight per arm), and 400 participants were recruited via household health records in the health houses. The PRECEDE model, which is an acronym for Predisposing, Reinforcing and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation, was used to design, implement, and evaluate the brucellosis prevention and control program. Knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, social support, environmental enabling, and behavioral factors were measured at the baseline and the six-month follow-up. A generalized mixed effects model was used to analyze data. Results: The mean ages (SD) of the intervention and control group respondents were 35.9 (11.87) and 37.28 (11.04) years, respectively. After the six-month intervention, significant between-group differences were found on all PRECEDE variables, adjusted for education, history of brucellosis, and family history of brucellosis. Conclusion: There is a need to consolidate collaborative health and veterinary sector efforts, as well as increase regular vaccination practices and financial resources to support farmers willing to slaughter animals and/or offer slaughter facilities. The present study was able to demonstrate which educational and ecological factors influence behaviors and environments related to brucellosis and, as such, provide evidence of the effectiveness of interventions based on the PROCEDE model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 01-04
Author(s):  
Deac Monica

Infec­tious etiology in acute diarrhea, referred several gastrointestinal diseases, Most are gastroenteri­tis associated with clinical signs and symptoms including: nausea, vomiting, abdomi­nal pain and cramps, bloating, flatulence, fever, passage of bloody stools, tenesmus, and fecal ur­gency disorders. Diarrheal illness is a large worldwide public health problem, with substantial regional variation, in the prevalence of medical signs by being caused by specific pathogens. Infectious diarrheal diseases, are the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and can cause real public health concerns. Such diarrhea was studied as a medical disorder, in a 3 years period, 2017 to 2020, in Transylvania a large region in Romania. It was found there, 3577 number of diarrheal diseases cases, appeared almost during July to August. The case incidence for the disease arrived at 65%, in the entire summer season. The cases data were transmitted by 12 district Sanitary Polices, to the Public Health Center Cluj. Cases were almost diagnosed by the family doctors of the region, in more then 50%. Few of this have need some days of hospitalization, because of several disease disorders, in which case it was used a specific adequate fluid and electrolyte replacement as key of the treatment, for managing diarrheal illnesses. Even so, 3 children under 5 years age died, because of severe complications. It was remarked so, organic failed who was estimate to be the cause of their deaths. Clinical and epidemiological evaluations were done and even defined the severity and type of this mentioned illnesses. The detected infectious etiology for the acute diarrheas, where determined in authorized Microbiology laboratories, where were identified: Shigella spp, Salmonella spp, Campylobacter spp, Yersinia spp, Rotavirus, Giardia. Most number of cases appeared in children, being suggestive in 63%, followed by elderly or adult people in 17% each. Acute diarrheal illness had to be considered a major public health issue, against which some determined control efforts are needed. Public health surveillance of infectious acute diarrhea, includes obligatory done strategies for a correct infection control.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-46
Author(s):  
Eloiza Sarmento Amoras ◽  
Anderson Luiz Pena Costa

Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by the fungi of the genus Aspergillus. These substances cause food poisoning with clinical manifestations that vary according to the time of exposure and concentration of the dose ingested, representing a serious public health problem for compromising the food security, also causing considerable economic losses both in the production of stocked vegetable foods, as well as in the livestock contaminated with these substances through the feed. Therefore, this literature review aims to introduce some aspects related to the contamination of food by the fungi of the genus Aspergillus, the chemical and toxicological properties of the aflatoxins, as well as the strategies of control to avoid them in food.


2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 1117-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. S. Costa-Ayub ◽  
C. D. Faraco ◽  
C. A. Freire

In view of the widely varying compositions of fixative solutions used for studying spiders, five different fixative formulas were tested for fixing male brown-spider (Loxosceles intermedia) gonad tissues. The brown spider represents a public health problem in Curitiba (Paraná State, Brazil). Morphological study of its gonads may aid in understanding the reproductive strategies of this species, and possibly in developing a reproduction control program. The fixatives tested contained glutaraldehyde alone or combined with paraformaldehyde, and the buffers cacodylate or phosphate, with or without the addition of sucrose or sodium chloride as osmolytes. Those containing 2.5% glutaraldehyde and 2% paraformaldehyde in 100 mM phosphate buffer with 200 mM sucrose, or in 200 mM sodium cacodylate, satisfactorily preserved mitochondria, the Golgi apparatus, and the membranes in general. These formulas were nearly isosmotic (439 mOsm/kg H2O and 455 mOsm/kg H2O respectively) to brown spider hemolymph (478 mOsm/kg H2O). With respective to the fixative agents, a glutaraldehyde-paraformaldehyde combination resulted in optimal fixation of Loxosceles intermedia cells. For other species of spiders, hemolymph osmolality should be considered, but the fixative formulas cited above would also probably yield good results.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e2014070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Sulis ◽  
Alberto Roggi ◽  
Alberto Matteelli ◽  
Mario C. Raviglione

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern worldwide: despite a regular, although slow, decline in incidence over the last decade, as many as 8.6 million new cases and 1.3 million deaths were estimated to have occurred in 2012. TB is by all means a poverty-related disease, mainly affecting the most vulnerable populations in the poorest countries. The presence of multidrug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis in most countries, with some where prevalence is high, is among the major challenges for TB control, which may hinder recent achievements especially in some settings. Early TB case detection especially in resource-constrained settings and in marginalized groups remains a challenge, and about 3 million people are estimated to remain undiagnosed or not notified and untreated. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently launched the new global TB strategy for the “post-2015 era” aimed at “ending the global TB epidemic” by 2035, based on the three pillars that emphasize patient-centred TB care and prevention, bold policies and supportive systems, and intensified research and innovation.This paper aims to provide an overview of the global TB epidemiology as well as of the main challenges that must be faced to eliminate the disease as a public health problem everywhere.


Author(s):  
Kamruddin Ahmed

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) did not only cause a devastating effect on every corner of society but also taught us many important lessons. One of the lessons is on the importance of the principles of public health. We have seen this repeatedly in recent years during the emergence of SARS, Ebola, MARS and Nipah (Ahmed et al., 2019). The principles of public health have been effective in controlling these infections and we are confident that COVID-19 will be under control using these simple measures. As health professionals, we must set examples by following preventive measures, i.e. wearing mask properly, safe distancing and washing hands, to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, there is an erroneous concept in these measures however, therefore, cooperation of everybody in the community is necessary to overcome them.


Author(s):  
Irma Saltos ◽  
Giovanna Segovia

Introducción: Las infecciones asociadas con la atención de salud son un problema de salud pública, todos los esfuerzos que se realizan para prevenir y controlar las infecciones aún son insuficientes. La limpieza y desinfección en la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI) por las características del paciente y las medidas terapéuticas invasivas que se ejecutan, la limpieza y desinfección      deben ser rigurosas. Objetivo: Evaluar el proceso de limpieza y desinfección en unidades de cuidados intensivos de segundo y tercer nivel de atención, de referencia nacional, de la Ciudad de Quito, de acuerdo con el protocolo del Ministerio de Salud Pública del Ecuador. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional descriptivo, trasversal, se recolectó información mediante observación directa utilizando una guía diseñada sobre la base de los protocolos de limpieza y desinfección reglamentarios. Resultados: Los protocolos de limpieza y desinfección que se realizan en la UCI evidencian brechas de incumplimiento que afectan su eficacia y eficiencia en la limpieza concurrente, la limpieza terminal, la utilización del equipo de protección personal por los trabajadores y en el manejo, conservación de los desinfectantes. Conclusiones: Los protocolos de limpieza y desinfección que se aplican en la UCI, evidencian brechas en el cumplimiento. Por tal razón, deben ser objeto de procesos rigurosos de mejora continua, en lo relacionado a la limpieza y desinfección de todos los elementos como (cama, colchón, velador, monitor y ventilador mecánico), es necesario intervenir en el adecuado uso de los desinfectantes y es necesario monitorear y educar sobre el uso correcto en el manejo de los      guantes.   Palabras Claves: Limpieza, desinfección, cuidados intensivos, desinfectantes ABSTRACT Introduction: Infections associated with health care are a public health problem, all the efforts made to prevent and control infections are still insufficient. Cleaning and disinfection in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to the characteristics of the patient and the invasive therapeutic measures that are carried out, cleaning and disinfection must be rigorous. Objective: To evaluate the process of cleaning and disinfection in intensive care units of second and third level of care, of national reference, of the City of Quito, in accordance with the protocol of the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional observational study was carried out, information was collected by direct observation using a guide designed on the basis of the regulatory cleaning and disinfection protocols. Results: The cleaning and disinfection protocols carried out in the ICU show non-compliance gaps that affect their effectiveness and efficiency in concurrent cleaning, terminal cleaning, the use of personal protective equipment by workers and in the handling and conservation of disinfectants. Conclusions: The cleaning and disinfection protocols applied in the ICU show gaps in compliance. For this reason, they must be subject to rigorous processes of continuous improvement, in relation to the cleaning and disinfection of all elements such as (bed, mattress, nightstand, monitor and mechanical ventilator), it is necessary to intervene in the proper use of disinfectants and it is necessary to monitor and educate on the correct use in the handling of gloves. Keywords: Cleaning, disinfection, intensive care, disinfectants  


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huanzhang Li ◽  
Xinzhong Zang ◽  
Xiaokang Hu ◽  
Eniola Michael Abe ◽  
Menbao Qian ◽  
...  

Cysticercosis remains a public health problem in China, with disease prevalence attributed to poor socio-economic and public health conditions. This parasitic food-borne disease was prioritized for effective control following implementation of the national surveys on parasitic diseases carried out in China. We predicted the cysticercosis distribution in Dali, Yunnan Province by assessing spatio-temporal distribution characteristics between 2000 and 2014 to better understand the trend of the disease incidence. A database of cysticercosis cases was provided by the clinical department at the Dali Prefectural Institute of Research and Control of Schistosomiasis. Describing the epidemiological features of cysticercosis and analyzing its spatiotemporal distribution of cases using mapping, scanning and spatial autocorrelation analysis, our findings found a total of 3,347 patients with cysticercosis infection, neurocysticercosis in particular. Cysticercosis prevalence was the highest among young and middle-aged male farmers, and also predominant among the Bai nationality. Three aggregation areas were identified during the period 2000-2014. Hotspot analysis implicated Dali City, Eryuan County and Yangbi County between 2000 and 2007, with areas gradually shifting towards the western and northern parts of the province. The hotspot map indicated that Eryuan County was a constant problem with respect to cysticercosis. The results indicated three cysticercosis clusters in Dali that could be attributed to environmental factors and unhealthy lifestyles. Multi-sectoral control initiatives are, therefore, recommended in these areas to effectively control and prevent cysticercosis among the population.


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