scholarly journals The Case of China

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 31-57

This article describes, from a sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and sociocultural perspective, the governance practices of the COVID-19 epidemic control response in China. We describe that, in line with the “whole of government approach,” strong resource mobilization and control of government departments, companies, and citizen communities has worked efficiently to rapidly contain the epidemic. Community participation at the grassroots level has played a decisive part. We assume that the deeply rooted collectivistic Chinese culture has made residents trust the government’s decisions and comply with the prevention and control strategies. We pose some intriguing questions for more analytical comparative research. They concern the normative interpretation of the influences of sociopolitical, economic, and cultural forces, as well as the balance between “collectivism” and “individualism” in societies.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Poremski ◽  
Sandra Henrietta Subner ◽  
Grace Lam Fong Kin ◽  
Raveen Dev Ram Dev ◽  
Mok Yee Ming ◽  
...  

The Institute of Mental Health in Singapore continues to attempt to prevent the introduction of COVID-19, despite community transmission. Essential services are maintained and quarantine measures are currently unnecessary. To help similar organizations, strategies are listed along three themes: sustaining essential services, preventing infection, and managing human and consumable resources.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vu Du ◽  
Pham Thai Dung ◽  
Nguyen Linh Toan ◽  
Can Mao ◽  
Nguyen Thanh Bac ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns. Maternal GBS colonization rates vary depending on geographic area, ethnic and social conditions worldwide. Many studies suggested the continuous surveillance of GBS to provide data to guide decision-making and planning prevention and control strategies. Here, we report the rate and the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of GBS from Vietnamese pregnant women over 5 year period. Methods We worked with 3863 Vietnamese pregnant women at < 37 weeks of gestation at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hanoi, Vietnam from Jan 2016 to Dec 2020. The data were recorded and retrieved from the computerized laboratory database. GBS was identified according to the American Society for Microbiology’s guidelines. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by the VITEK 2 system or E-test strips. The results were calculated according to the MIC breakpoints recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Results The positivity for GBS was 8.02% (310/3863) and the highest resistance rate was to tetracycline 89.66% (234/261), followed by 76.23% (202/265) for erythromycin, 58.21% (156/268) for clindamycin. The multidrug-resistance rate was 59.19% (161/272), and 8.46% (23/272) of isolates were resistant to 6 to 7 of the 12 antibiotics. Resistance to clindamycin in the absence of erythromycin resistance was found in 6/272 (2.2%) samples. The resistance rate to clindamycin was significantly increased (p < 0.01) over the time study period. Nevertheless, all isolates were sensitive to penicillin, ampicillin, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, quinupristin/dalfopristin, and vancomycin. Conclusion Our results indicate that penicillin and ampicillin are currently the drugs of choice for the prevention and treatment of GBS-related diseases for Vietnamese pregnant women. However, antibiotic resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin was high. Thus, it reinforces the need for continuous surveillance of GBS to provide data to guide planning prevention and control strategies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Vannucci Capelletti ◽  
Ângela Maria Moraes

Water is the main stimulus for the development of microorganisms, and its flow has an important role in the spreading of contaminants. In hospitals, the water distribution system requires special attention since it can be a source of pathogens, including those in the form of biofilms often correlated with resistance of microorganisms to various treatments. In this paper, information relevant to cases of nosocomial infections involving water circuits as a source of contaminants is compiled, with emphasis on the importance of microbiological control strategies to prevent the installation, spreading and growth of microorganisms in hospitals. An overview of the worldwide situation is provided, with emphasis on Brazilian hospitals. Different approaches normally used to control the occurrence of nosocomial infections due to waterborne contaminants are analyzed, and the use of the polysaccharide chitosan for this specific application is briefly discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanquan Chen ◽  
Pan Zhang ◽  
Yun Zhang ◽  
Hong Fung ◽  
Yong Han ◽  
...  

Background: The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been challenging globally following the scarcity of medical resources after a surge in demand. As the pandemic continues, the question remains on how to accomplish more with the existing resources and improve the efficiency of existing health care delivery systems worldwide. In this study, we reviewed the experience from Wuhan - the first city to experience a COVID-19 outbreak – that has presently shown evidence for efficient and effective local control of the epidemic.Material and Methods: We performed a retrospective qualitative study based on the document analysis of COVID-19-related materials and interviews with first-line people in Wuhan.Results: We extracted two themes (the evolution of Wuhan's prevention and control strategies on COVID-19 and corresponding effectiveness) and four sub-themes (routine prevention and control period, exploration period of targeted prevention and control strategies, mature period of prevention and control strategies, and recovery period). How Wuhan combatted COVID-19 through multi-tiered and multi-sectoral collaboration, overcoming its fragmented, hospital-centered, and treatment-dominated healthcare system, was illustrated and summarized.Conclusion: Four lessons for COVID-19 prevention and control were summarized: (a) Engage the communities and primary care not only in supporting but also in screening and controlling, and retain community and primary care as among the first line of COVID-19 defense; (b) Extend and stratify the existing health care delivery system; (c) Integrate person-centered integrated care into the whole coordination; and (d) Delink the revenue relationship between doctors and patients and safeguard the free-will of physicians when treating patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zejin Ou ◽  
Huan He ◽  
Danfeng Yu ◽  
Yongzhi Li ◽  
Yuanhao Liang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background HIV/AIDS is a critical public health concern worldwide. This article aimed to demonstrate th trends of HIV/AIDS burden from 1990 to 2019.Methods Data was extracted from the Global Burden of Disease study (GBDs) 2019. Estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) and age-standardized rate (ASR) were estimated to quantify the trends at global, regional and national levels.Results During the period 1990-2004, the trend in incidence of HIV/AIDS was stable globally. Whereas the trends in prevalence, death and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) had pronounced increasing trends, with the respective EAPCs were 7.47 (95%confidence interval [CI]: 5.84 to 9.12), 10.85(95%CI: 8.90 to 12.84), and 10.40(95%CI: 8.47 to 12.36). Meanwhile, the pronounced increasing trends were seen in low-resource settings, particularly that of death in Oceania and South Asia, in which the respective EAPCs were 44.76 (95%CI: 40.81 to 48.82) and 40.82 (95%CI: 34.31 to 47.64). However, the global trends in incidence, death and DALYs of HIV/AIDS pronouncedly decreased from 2005 to 2019, with the respective EAPCs were −2.68(95%CI: −2.82 to −2.53), −6.73(95%CI: −6.98 to −6.47) and −6.75(95%CI: −6.95 to −6.54). Whereas prevalence showed increasing trend (EAPC: 0.71, 95%CI: 0.54 to 0.87). Decreasing trends of HIV/AIDS were observed in most regions and countries, particularly that of death and DALYs in Burundi respectively were −15.28 (95%CI: −16.08 to −14.47) and −15.07 (95%CI: −15.79 to −14.33). Conclusions Decreasing trends of HIV/AIDS were observed worldwide over the past 15 years. However, HIV/AIDS remains one of the most critical causes of health loss worldwide, which emphasized the effective prevention and control strategies.


Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Xiaomei Wang ◽  
Qi An ◽  
Zilong He ◽  
Wei Fang

Studying the structure and evolution characteristics of social networks is of great significance in assessing and controlling the outbreak of infectious diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to find research trends in this field. In this study, 1,752 documents (2001–2020) related to the relationship between the social network and epidemic published from Scopus, WOS (Web of Science), and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases were studied to provide a more comprehensive overview of the frontiers of research in this field, including epidemics in social networks, spread of disease, influence of different factors on the spread of the epidemic, prevention and control strategies of the epidemic, and comparison of various strategies. Besides, several new research directions in this field worthy of attention of researchers are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrie Harshad Patel ◽  
Shrikanth Sampath ◽  
Anoushka Kapoor ◽  
Devanshi Narendra Damani ◽  
Nikitha Chellapuram ◽  
...  

Cardiac arrhythmias constitute a tremendous burden on healthcare and are the leading cause of mortality worldwide. An alarming number of people have been reported to manifest sudden cardiac death as the first symptom of cardiac arrhythmias, accounting for about 20% of all deaths annually. Furthermore, patients prone to atrial tachyarrhythmias such as atrial flutter and fibrillation often have associated comorbidities including hypertension, ischemic heart disease, valvular cardiomyopathy and increased risk of stroke. Technological advances in electrical stimulation and sensing modalities have led to the proliferation of medical devices including pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, aiming to restore normal cardiac rhythm. However, given the complex spatiotemporal dynamics and non-linearity of the human heart, predicting the onset of arrhythmias and preventing the transition from steady state to unstable rhythms has been an extremely challenging task. Defibrillatory shocks still remain the primary clinical intervention for lethal ventricular arrhythmias, yet patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators often suffer from inappropriate shocks due to false positives and reduced quality of life. Here, we aim to present a comprehensive review of the current advances in cardiac arrhythmia prediction, prevention and control strategies. We provide an overview of traditional clinical arrhythmia management methods and describe promising potential pacing techniques for predicting the onset of abnormal rhythms and effectively suppressing cardiac arrhythmias. We also offer a clinical perspective on bridging the gap between basic and clinical science that would aid in the assimilation of promising anti-arrhythmic pacing strategies.


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