Outbreak of Leptospirosis in Kerala

In South Asia, the monsoon brings life to vegetation, but at the same time has potential to cause public health problems. Notably, the climate change due to global warming is affecting the extent of monsoon rainfall in the region causing flooding which increases the risks of major disease outbreaks. Flooding and standing water after heavy rainfall increases the risk of vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, plague, chikungunya, typhoid, cholera and Leptospirosis. Worldwide, Leptospirosis is one of the most common and emerging zoonoses, except on the North and South Poles. Rat fever or leptospirosis is a bacterial infection caused by the spiral-shaped bacteria (spirochete) of the genus Leptospira. This infection is mainly seen in wild and even domesticated species of rodents. It is mainly transmitted to humans by exposure of the mucous membranes (oral, nasal & eye) and skin abrasions or cuts to the urine or tissues of infected rodents or soil contaminated by their urine. Rats are the primary reservoir of leptospirosis, although farm animals and livestock, such as horses, pigs, dogs or cattle, and even wild animals can also be a reservoir for the bacteria. However, human-to-human transmission seems to occur occasionally. It is also an occupational hazard with potential risk of exposure among outdoors workers such as farmers, cleaners, veterinarians, agricultural workers. Moreover, there exists an increased chance of a recreational hazard to those who swims and wades in contaminated waters .

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Effect of climate change and deforestation on vector borne diseases in the North-Eastern Indian state of Mizoram bordering Myanmar

The Journal of Climate Change and Health ◽

10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100015 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100015

Author(s):

Balasubramani Karuppusamy ◽

Devojit Kumar Sarma ◽

Pachuau Lalmalsawma ◽

Lalfakzuala Pautu ◽

Krishanpal Karmodiya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Vector Borne Diseases ◽

The North ◽

North Eastern ◽

Indian State ◽

Vector Borne

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From qualitative to quantitative insect metabarcoding: an in tandem multilocus mosquito identification methodology

10.1101/2020.11.22.393140 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Katerina Kassela ◽

Adamantia Kouvela ◽

Michael de Courcy Williams ◽

Konstantinos Konstantinidis ◽

Maria Goreti Rosa Freitas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Small Animal ◽

Individual Species ◽

Vector Borne Diseases ◽

Animal Populations ◽

Dna Metabarcoding ◽

Vector Borne ◽

28S Ribosomal Dna ◽

Identification And Quantification

AbstractIn the era of emergence and re-emergence of vector-borne diseases, a high throughput trap-based insect monitoring is essential for the identification of invasive species, study of mosquito populations and risk assessment of disease outbreaks. Insect DNA metabarcoding technology has emerged as a highly promising methodology for unbiased and large-scale surveillance. Despite significant attempts to introduce DNA metabarcoding in mosquito or other insect surveillance qualitative and quantitative metabarcoding remains a challenge. In the present study, we have developed a methodology of in-tandem identification and quantification using cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) combined with a secondary multilocus identification and quantification involving three loci of 28S ribosomal DNA. The presented methodology was able to identify individual species in pools of mosquitoes with 95.94% accuracy and resolve with high accuracy (p = 1, χ2 = 2.55) mosquito population composition providing a technology capable of revolutionizing mosquito surveillance through metabarcoding. The methodology, given the respective dataset, has the potential to be applied to various small animal populations.

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Critical transitions in malaria transmission models are consistently generated by superinfection

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2018.0275 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 374 (1775) ◽

pp. 20180275 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David Alonso ◽

Andy Dobson ◽

Mercedes Pascual

Keyword(s):

Infectious Disease ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

Past Century ◽

Theme Issue ◽

Vector Borne Diseases ◽

Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽

Critical Transitions ◽

Vector Borne ◽

And Control

The history of modelling vector-borne infections essentially begins with the papers by Ross on malaria. His models assume that the dynamics of malaria can most simply be characterized by two equations that describe the prevalence of malaria in the human and mosquito hosts. This structure has formed the central core of models for malaria and most other vector-borne diseases for the past century, with additions acknowledging important aetiological details. We partially add to this tradition by describing a malaria model that provides for vital dynamics in the vector and the possibility of super-infection in the human host: reinfection of asymptomatic hosts before they have cleared a prior infection. These key features of malaria aetiology create the potential for break points in the prevalence of infected hosts, sudden transitions that seem to characterize malaria’s response to control in different locations. We show that this potential for critical transitions is a general and underappreciated feature of any model for vector-borne diseases with incomplete immunity, including the canonical Ross–McDonald model. Ignoring these details of the host’s immune response to infection can potentially lead to serious misunderstanding in the interpretation of malaria distribution patterns and the design of control schemes for other vector-borne diseases.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Modelling infectious disease outbreaks in humans, animals and plants: approaches and important themes’. This issue is linked with the subsequent theme issue ‘Modelling infectious disease outbreaks in humans, animals and plants: epidemic forecasting and control’.

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Relationship between Flooding and Out Break of Infectious Diseasesin Kenya: A Review of the Literature

Journal of Environmental and Public Health ◽

10.1155/2018/5452938 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Fredrick Okoth Okaka ◽

Beneah D. O. Odhiambo

Keyword(s):

Infectious Diseases ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Epidemiological Data ◽

Early Warning Systems ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Extensive Literature ◽

Vector Borne Diseases ◽

Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽

Vector Borne ◽

The Relationship

Flooding can potentially increase the spread of infectious diseases. To enhance good understanding of the health consequences of flooding and facilitate planning for mitigation strategies, deeper consideration of the relationship between flooding and out-break of infectious diseases is required. This paper examines the relationship between occurrence of floods in Kenya and outbreak of infectious diseases and possible interventions. This review intended to build up the quality and comprehensiveness of evidence on infectious diseases arising after flooding incidence in Kenya. An extensive literature review was conducted in 2017, and published literature from 2000 to 2017 was retrieved. This review suggests that infectious disease outbreaks such as waterborne, rodent-borne, and vector-borne diseases have been associated with flooding in Kenya. But there is need for more good quality epidemiological data to cement the evidence. Comprehensive surveillance and risk assessment, early warning systems, emergency planning, and well-coordinated collaborations are essential in reducing future vulnerability to infectious diseases following flooding.

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Nairobi Sheep Disease Virus: a historical and epidemiological perspective

10.1101/2020.04.13.040014 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stephanie Krasteva ◽

Manuel Jara ◽

Alba Frias-De-Diego ◽

Gustavo Machado

Keyword(s):

Disease Virus ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽

Small Ruminants ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Transmission Risk ◽

Vector Borne Diseases ◽

Livestock Density ◽

Tick Borne Disease ◽

Vector Borne

AbstractNairobi Sheep Disease virus (NSDv) is a zoonotic and tick-borne disease that can cause over 90% mortality in small ruminants. NSDv has historically circulated in East Africa and has recently emerged in the Asian continent. Despite efforts to control the disease, some regions, mostly in warmer climates, persistently report disease outbreaks. Consequently, it is necessary to understand how environmental tolerances and factors that influence transmission may shed light on its possible emergence in other regions. In this study, we quantified the available literature of NSDv from which occurrence data was extracted. In total, 308 locations from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, India, Sri Lanka and China were coupled with landscape conditions to reconstruct the ecological conditions for NSDv circulation and identify areas of potential disease transmission risk. Our results identified areas suitable for NSDv in Ethiopia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Southeastern China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Unsuitable areas included Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Southern Somalia. In summary, soil moisture, livestock density, and precipitation predispose certain areas to NSDv circulation. It is critical to investigate the epidemiology of NSDv in order to promote better allocation of resources to control its spread in regions that are more at risk. This will help reduce disease impact worldwide as climate change will favor emergence of such vector-borne diseases in areas with dense small ruminant populations.

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