scholarly journals Impact of lockdown on COVID-19 prevalence and mortality during 2020 pandemic: observational analysis of 27 countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sultan Ayoub Meo ◽  
Abdulelah Adnan Abukhalaf ◽  
Ali Abdullah Alomar ◽  
Faris Jamal AlMutairi ◽  
Adnan Mahmood Usmani ◽  
...  

Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the impact of 15 days before, 15 days during, and 15 days after the lockdown on the trends in the prevalence and mortality in 27 countries during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Twenty-seven countries were randomly selected from the different continents. The information on the trends in the prevalence and mortality due to COVID-19 pandemic in 27 countries was obtained from World Health Organization and lockdown data were obtained from concerned countries and their ministries. The impact of lockdown for 15 days before, 15 days during, and 15 days after the lockdown on the prevalence and mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 27 countries was analyzed. Results The findings showed that 15 days after the lockdown there was a trend toward a decline, but no significant decline in the mean prevalence and mean mortality rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic compared to 15 days before, and 15 days during the lockdown in 27 countries. The mean growth factor for number of cases was 1.18 and for mortality rate was 1.16. Conclusions The findings indicate that 15 days after the lockdown, daily cases of COVID-19 and the growth factor of the disease showed a declined trend, but there was no significant decline in the prevalence and mortality.

2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurício Carvalho Vasconcellos ◽  
José Augusto Albuquerque dos Santos ◽  
Ivonise Paz da Silva ◽  
Fátima Eliana Ferreira Lopes ◽  
Virgínia Torres Schall

Laboratory and field bioassays have confirmed the specificity of the molluscicidal activity of the Euphorbia splendens var. hislopii latex (crown of Christ) (Euphorbiaceae) over snails of the species Biomphalaria glabrata, B. tenagophila, B. straminea, B. pfeifferi and Bulinus sp. in the control of Schistosoma mansoni. In the present study, the effect of the pH variation on lethal concentration (LC90) over B. tenagophila was evaluated. Bioassays with the aqueous solutions of the latex ranging from 0.4 to 12 µl/l were adjusted for pH of 5.0; 6.0; 7.0 and 8.0, and tested in accordance with methods standardized by World Health Organization. The results obtained indicated that the minor concentration of the latex occurred at pH 6.0 (LC90 = 3.2 µl/l) and the maximum at pH 8.0 (LC90 = 10.3 µl/l). Lethal concentrations adjusted for pH 5.0 and 7.0 were 3.4 µl/l and 4,7µl/l, respectively. From the results it could be concluded that the molluscicidal toxicity was not altered when the concentrations were adjusted for pH 5.0 and 6.0, as we observed that mortality rate was 100% starting at a concentration of 2.0 µl/l, not the same for the concentrations with adjustment for pH 7.0 and 8.0.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIKKI PANG

“I want my leadership to be judged by the impact of our work on the health of two populations: women and the people of Africa.” This is how Dr. Margaret Chan, the current Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), described her leadership mission. The reason behind this mission is evident. Women and girls constitute 70% of the world’s poor and 80% of the world’s refugees. Gender violence against women aged 15–44 is responsible for more deaths and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents, and war. An estimated 350,000 to 500,000 women still die in childbirth every year. The negative health implications of absolute poverty are worst in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Hence, Chan aims to have the biggest impact on the world’s poorest people.


2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 2101-2108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A Ronald ◽  
Jonathon R Campbell ◽  
Caren Rose ◽  
Robert Balshaw ◽  
Kamila Romanowski ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) screening and treatment is a key component of the World Health Organization (WHO) EndTB Strategy, but the impact of LTBI screening and treatment at a population level is unclear. We aimed to estimate the impact of LTBI screening and treatment in a population of migrants to British Columbia (BC), Canada. Methods This retrospective cohort included all individuals (N = 1 080 908) who immigrated to Canada as permanent residents between 1985 and 2012 and were residents in BC at any time up to 2013. Multiple administrative databases were linked to identify people with risk factors who met the WHO strong recommendations for screening: people with tuberculosis (TB) contact, with human immunodeficiency virus, on dialysis, with tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, who had an organ/haematological transplant, or with silicosis. Additional TB risk factors included immunosuppressive medications, cancer, diabetes, and migration from a country with a high TB burden. We defined active TB as preventable if diagnosed ≥6 months after a risk factor diagnosis. We estimated the number of preventable TB cases, given optimal LTBI screening and treatment, based on these risk factors. Results There were 16 085 people (1.5%) identified with WHO strong risk factors. Of the 2814 people with active TB, 118 (4.2%) were considered preventable through screening with WHO risk factors. Less than half (49.4%) were considered preventable with expanded screening to include people migrating from countries with high TB burdens, people who had been prescribed immunosuppressive medications, or people with diabetes or cancer. Conclusions The application of WHO LTBI strong recommendations for screening would have minimally impacted the TB incidence in this population. Further high-risk groups must be identified to develop an effective LTBI screening and treatment strategy for low-incidence regions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 927-936
Author(s):  
Giovanni Barbanti-Brodano ◽  
Cristiana Griffoni ◽  
Jarkko Halme ◽  
Giuseppe Tedesco ◽  
Silvia Terzi ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose To investigate whether the World Health Organization Safety Surgical Checklist (SSC) is an effective tool to reduce complications in spinal surgery. Methods We retrospectively evaluated the clinical and radiological charts prospectively collected from patients who underwent a spinal surgery procedure from January 2010 to December 2012. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of complications between two periods, from January to December 2010 (without checklist) and from January 2011 and December 2012 (with checklist), in order to assess the checklist’s effectiveness. Results The sample size was 917 patients with an average of 30-month follow-up. The mean age was 52.88 years. The majority of procedures were performed for oncological diseases (54.4%) and degenerative diseases (39.8%). In total, 159 complications were detected (17.3%). The overall incidence of complications for trauma, infectious pathology, oncology, and degenerative disease was 22.2%, 19.2%, 18.4%, and 15.3%, respectively. No correlation was observed between the type of pathology and the complication incidence. We observed a reduction in the overall incidence of complications following the introduction of the SSC: In 2010 without checklist, the incidence of complications was 24.2%, while in 2011 and 2012, following the checklist introduction, the incidence of complications was 16.7% and 11.7%, respectively (mean 14.2%). Conclusions The SSC seems to be an effective tool to reduce complications in spinal surgery. We propose to extend the use of checklist system also to the preoperative and postoperative phases in order to further reduce the incidence of complications. Graphic abstract These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (12) ◽  
pp. 5560-5567 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Thee ◽  
J. A. Seddon ◽  
P. R. Donald ◽  
H. I. Seifart ◽  
C. J. Werely ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued revised first-line antituberculosis (anti-TB) drug dosage recommendations for children. No pharmacokinetic studies for these revised dosages are available for children <2 years. The aim of the study was to document the pharmacokinetics of the first-line anti-TB agents in children <2 years of age comparing previous and revised WHO dosages of isoniazid (INH; 5 versus 10 mg/kg/day), rifampin (RMP; 10 versus 15 mg/kg/day), and pyrazinamide (PZA; 25 versus 35 mg/kg/day) and to investigate the effects of clinical covariates, including HIV coinfection, nutritional status, age, gender, and type of tuberculosis (TB), and the effect of NAT2 acetylator status. Serum INH, PZA, and RMP levels were prospectively assessed in 20 children <2 years of age treated for TB following the previous and the revised WHO dosage recommendations. Samples were taken prior to dosing and at 0.5, 1.5, 3, and 5 h following dosing. The maximum drug concentration in serum (Cmax), the time toCmax(tmax), and the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) were calculated. Eleven children had pulmonary and 9 had extrapulmonary TB. Five were HIV infected. The meanCmax(μg/ml) following the administration of previous/revised dosages were as follows: INH, 3.19/8.11; RMP, 6.36/11.69; PZA, 29.94/47.11. The mean AUC (μg·h/ml) were as follows: INH, 8.09/20.36; RMP, 17.78/36.95; PZA, 118.0/175.2. The meanCmaxand AUC differed significantly between doses. There was no difference in thetmaxvalues achieved. Children less than 2 years of age achieve target concentrations of first-line anti-TB agents using revised WHO dosage recommendations. Our data provided supportive evidence for the implementation of the revised WHO guidelines for first-line anti-TB therapy in young children.


It’s been a while since Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), causing major concerns and unfortunately panic in many countries. The on-going outbreak is of international concern and most countries have already announced a series of protective measures to confront this health threat of unknown magnitude. Travel warnings, scientific congress suspensions, cancellations of national holidays and closing of schools, amusement parks, cinemas, theatres and gyms are only some of these measures. The impact in sports is also tremendous. Major sport events like the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and Euro 2020 have been postponed. Others like the Miami Open and the Wimbledon tennis tournament have been cancelled and there is an ongoing discussion for forthcoming events. However, few have been said regarding the impact of limiting public exercise.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 704-707
Author(s):  
Muhammad Mudassir Usman ◽  
Muhammad Nuruddeen Abdulkareem ◽  
Abdullahi Muhammad ◽  
Kabiru Hamza

Industrial effluents discharged into the river poses a serious threat to our environment; the research examines the impact of some heavy metals of Kaduna refinery effluent into the Romi River. It asserts the nature of effluent released into the water body and also the impact of effluent on water quality. However the important water quality became relatively slowly as early human could only judge water quality through the physical senses of sight, taste and smell, now a days there is an increase of contamination of natural water bodies by industrial effluents in developing and densely populated countries like Nigeria, because rivers are major means of waste disposal and especially effluents from industries nearby. The data used in this research were generated from direct field measurement of pH, Conductivity, and Turbidity, heavy metal profiles (Chromium & Nickel) from Kaduna Refinery Effluent. The mean concentrations of the metals; chromium, iron, nickel, and zinc with the standard deviation were found to be: < 0.01 ± 0.1 mg/kg, and 0.06 ± 0.1 mg/kg. This study has shown that the mean concentration of chromium and Nickel found to be lower than the World Health Organization (WHO) acceptable limits while the concentration values of nickel 0.06 ± 0.1 mg/kg and iron 0.06 ± 0.1 mg/kg as found to be higher than the WHO, acceptable limits of the metals) obtained at the effluent points and this implicate the industry adjacent to the area as one of the sources of heavy metals in the river.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Larach ◽  
Dayalis González ◽  
Saúl Barrera ◽  
Roberto Epifanio ◽  
Mayka Morgan ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Parisis ◽  
A Bouletis ◽  
K Chatzidimitriou ◽  
D-D Palla ◽  
P Makri ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Sudden cardiac death is one of the main issues worldwide, with more than 700.000 deaths annually. It is strongly believed that the implementation of "Kids Save Lives" project in schools can change this situation. The World Health Organization endorsed the ‘Kids Save Lives’ project in 2015 in order to reduce mortality. The first chain of survival concerns the recognition of cardiac arrest with chin lift and head tilt manoeuvre of the victim and the feel- look- listen approach. Purpose Τo evaluate the level of theoretical knowledge, as far the recognition of cardiac arrest is concerned in Greek secondary school students before and after the "Kids Save Lives" program. Material – Method: Data collection took place on the academic periods of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 and was performed in secondary schools of Thessaly’s region. A total of 4922 students (51,9% female, mean age 14.2 years) participated on the "Kids save Lives" program according to the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and World Health Organization (WHO) statement. A 12-point questionnaire was answered by the students before and after the "kid saves lives" program, while practical skills were evaluated on manikins by experienced ERC Basic Life Support (BLS) Instructors. The knowledge of the recognition of cardiac arrest is investigated in this subgroup analysis Results The training improves significantly the theoretical knowledge regarding the recognition of cardiac arrest, with the percentage of correct answers being 58,3% and 96,1%,before and after the course respectively (p &lt; 0.001). In the practical part of the program, almost all of the participants (98.9%) could recognize the correct position near the victim and 91% perform chin lift manoeuvre and recognize cardiac arrest. Conclusions The overall results reveal that the "Kids Save Lives" program can play a important role in improving the theoretical knowledge and  the practical skills of Greek students towards towards the recognition of cardiac arrest and indicate the necessity of implementation in a greater scale nationwide.


2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (37) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Kopel ◽  
Z Amitai ◽  
M Savion ◽  
Y Aboudy ◽  
E Mendelson ◽  
...  

A measles outbreak is affecting the Tel Aviv district, Israel, since April 2012. As of 10 September, 99 cases were confirmed, including 63 (64%) migrants of Eritrean and Sudanese origin. All genotyped cases had the African B3 genotype*. The mean age of migrant and non-migrant cases was 6.0±9.6 and 30.2±24.2 years, respectively (p<0.001). The majority of both migrant and non-migrant cases was unvaccinated. This is the second African measles B3 genotype outbreak within the World Health Organization European region in 2012.


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