scholarly journals Predicting the Presence of Leptospires in Rodents from Environmental Indicators Opens Up Opportunities for Environmental Monitoring of Human Leptospirosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 325
Author(s):  
Leon Biscornet ◽  
Christophe Révillion ◽  
Sylvaine Jégo ◽  
Erwan Lagadec ◽  
Yann Gomard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Infection Prevalence

Leptospirosis, an environmental infectious disease of bacterial origin, is the infectious disease with the highest associated mortality in Seychelles. In small island territories, the occurrence of the disease is spatially heterogeneous and a better understanding of the environmental factors that contribute to the presence of the bacteria would help implement targeted control. The present study aimed at identifying the main environmental parameters correlated with animal reservoirs distribution and Leptospira infection in order to delineate habitats with highest prevalence. We used a previously published dataset produced from a large collection of rodents trapped during the dry and wet seasons in most habitats of Mahé, the main island of Seychelles. A land use/land cover analysis was realized in order to describe the various environments using SPOT-5 images by remote sensing (object-based image analysis). At each sampling site, landscape indices were calculated and combined with other geographical parameters together with rainfall records to be used in a multivariate statistical analysis. Several environmental factors were found to be associated with the carriage of leptospires in Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus, namely low elevations, fragmented landscapes, the proximity of urbanized areas, an increased distance from forests and, above all, increased precipitation in the three months preceding trapping. The analysis indicated that Leptospira renal carriage could be predicted using the species identification and a description of landscape fragmentation and rainfall, with infection prevalence being positively correlated with these two environmental variables. This model may help decision makers in implementing policies affecting urban landscapes and/or in balancing conservation efforts when designing pest control strategies that should also aim at reducing human contact with Leptospira-laden rats while limiting their impact on the autochthonous fauna.

scholarly journals Effects of environmental parameters on chytrid infection prevalence of four marine diatoms: a laboratory case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Scholz ◽  
Wim Vyverman ◽  
Frithjof C. Küpper ◽  
Halldór G. Ólafsson ◽  
Ulf Karsten
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Marine Diatom ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Marine Diatoms ◽  
North West ◽  
Infection Susceptibility

AbstractThe influence of environmental factors on the infection susceptibility of four different marine diatom host species to chytrid infection was tested under laboratory conditions, using host and parasite isolates obtained from diverse coastal areas in north-west Iceland in 2015. Specifically, a total of 120 monoclonal marine diatom host cultures of

scholarly journals Risk and Environmental Factors Associated with the Presence of Canine Parvovirus Type 2 in Diarrheic Dogs from Thessaly, Central Greece

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 590
Author(s):  
Maria Kantere ◽  
Labrini V. Athanasiou ◽  
Alexios Giannakopoulos ◽  
Vassilis Skampardonis ◽  
Marina Sofia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Gastrointestinal Disease ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Canine Parvovirus ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Working Dogs ◽  
Canine Parvovirus Type 2

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) primarily infects dogs, which are the main host reservoir, causing severe gastrointestinal disease associated with immunosuppression. The present study was conducted in Thessaly, Greece and aimed to identify risk and environmental factors associated with CPV-2 infection in diarrheic dogs. Fecal samples were collected from 116 dogs presenting diarrhea and were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the presence of CPV-2 DNA. Supplementary data regarding clinical symptoms, individual features, management factors and medical history were also gathered for each animal during clinical evaluation. Sixty-eight diarrheic dogs were found to be positive for the virus DNA in their feces. Statistical analysis revealed that CPV-2 DNA was less likely to be detected in senior dogs, while working dogs, namely hounds and shepherds, had higher odds to be positive for the virus. Livestock density and land uses, specifically the categories of discontinuous urban fabric and of human population density, were identified as significant environmental parameters associated with CPV-2 infection by using Geographical Information System (GIS) together with the Ecological Niche Model (ENM). This is the first description of the environmental variables associated with the presence of CPV-2 DNA in dogs’ feces in Greece.

scholarly journals Relationships between Environmental Factors and Pathogenic Vibrios in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (21) ◽  
pp. 7076-7084 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. N. Johnson ◽  
A. R. Flowers ◽  
N. F. Noriea ◽  
A. M. Zimmerman ◽  
J. C. Bowers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Vibrio Vulnificus ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Pathogenicity Factor ◽  
Hemolysin Gene ◽  
Thermostable Direct Hemolysin ◽  
Pathogenic Vibrios ◽  
Abundance And Distribution

ABSTRACT Although autochthonous vibrio densities are known to be influenced by water temperature and salinity, little is understood about other environmental factors associated with their abundance and distribution. Densities of culturable Vibrio vulnificus containing vvh (V. vulnificus hemolysin gene) and V. parahaemolyticus containing tlh (thermolabile hemolysin gene, ubiquitous in V. parahaemolyticus), tdh (thermostable direct hemolysin gene, V. parahaemolyticus pathogenicity factor), and trh (tdh-related hemolysin gene, V. parahaemolyticus pathogenicity factor) were measured in coastal waters of Mississippi and Alabama. Over a 19-month sampling period, vibrio densities in water, oysters, and sediment varied significantly with sea surface temperature (SST). On average, tdh-to-tlh ratios were significantly higher than trh-to-tlh ratios in water and oysters but not in sediment. Although tlh densities were lower than vvh densities in water and in oysters, the opposite was true in sediment. Regression analysis indicated that SST had a significant association with vvh and tlh densities in water and oysters, while salinity was significantly related to vibrio densities in the water column. Chlorophyll a levels in the water were correlated significantly with vvh in sediment and oysters and with pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus (tdh and trh) in the water column. Furthermore, turbidity was a significant predictor of V. parahaemolyticus density in all sample types (water, oyster, and sediment), and its role in predicting the risk of V. parahaemolyticus illness may be more important than previously realized. This study identified (i) culturable vibrios in winter sediment samples, (ii) niche-based differences in the abundance of vibrios, and (iii) predictive signatures resulting from correlations between environmental parameters and vibrio densities.

scholarly journals The impact of environmental variables on the spread of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Kwan Lim ◽  
Oh Joo Kweon ◽  
Hye Ryoun Kim ◽  
Tae-Hyoung Kim ◽  
Mi-Kyung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Republic Of Korea ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Ozone Level ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact

AbstractCorona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a global pandemic and is a major public health concern worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of environmental factors, such as climate and air pollutants, in the transmission of COVID-19 in the Republic of Korea. We collected epidemiological and environmental data from two regions of the Republic of Korea, namely Seoul metropolitan region (SMR) and Daegu-Gyeongbuk region (DGR) from February 2020 to July 2020. The data was then analyzed to identify correlations between each environmental factor with confirmed daily COVID-19 cases. Among the various environmental parameters, the duration of sunshine and ozone level were found to positively correlate with COVID-19 cases in both regions. However, the association of temperature variables with COVID-19 transmission revealed contradictory results when comparing the data from SMR and DGR. Moreover, statistical bias may have arisen due to an extensive epidemiological investigation and altered socio-behaviors that occurred in response to a COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, our results suggest that various environmental factors may play a role in COVID-19 transmission.

scholarly journals Prioritizing and Analyzing the Role of Climate and Urban Parameters in the Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Based on Artificial Intelligence Applications

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Shaffiee Haghshenas ◽  
Behrouz Pirouz ◽  
Sami Shaffiee Haghshenas ◽  
Behzad Pirouz ◽  
Patrizia Piro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Cost Function ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Pso Algorithm ◽  
Data Set ◽  
De Algorithm

Nowadays, an infectious disease outbreak is considered one of the most destructive effects in the sustainable development process. The outbreak of new coronavirus (COVID-19) as an infectious disease showed that it has undesirable social, environmental, and economic impacts, and leads to serious challenges and threats. Additionally, investigating the prioritization parameters is of vital importance to reducing the negative impacts of this global crisis. Hence, the main aim of this study is to prioritize and analyze the role of certain environmental parameters. For this purpose, four cities in Italy were selected as a case study and some notable climate parameters—such as daily average temperature, relative humidity, wind speed—and an urban parameter, population density, were considered as input data set, with confirmed cases of COVID-19 being the output dataset. In this paper, two artificial intelligence techniques, including an artificial neural network (ANN) based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and differential evolution (DE) algorithm, were used for prioritizing climate and urban parameters. The analysis is based on the feature selection process and then the obtained results from the proposed models compared to select the best one. Finally, the difference in cost function was about 0.0001 between the performances of the two models, hence, the two methods were not different in cost function, however, ANN-PSO was found to be better, because it reached to the desired precision level in lesser iterations than ANN-DE. In addition, the priority of two variables, urban parameter, and relative humidity, were the highest to predict the confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Risk factors associated with Enteromyxum scophthalmi (Myxozoa) infection in cultured turbot, Scophthalmus maximus (L.)

Parasitology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. QUIROGA ◽  
M. J. REDONDO ◽  
A. SITJÀ-BOBADILLA ◽  
O. PALENZUELA ◽  
A. RIAZA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Distribution Pattern ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Host Density ◽  
Scophthalmus Maximus ◽  
Fish Distribution ◽  
Fish Mortality ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Western Spain ◽  
Turbot Scophthalmus Maximus

An epidemiological cohort study of Enteromyxum scophthalmi in cultured turbot was performed on a farm in North Western Spain. Four different ongrowing stocks (A, B, C, D) were monitored monthly until market size. Fish from stocks C and D were divided into 2 subgroups, receiving filtered (CF and DF) or unfiltered (CUF and DUF) water. The lack of water filtration was positively associated with infection prevalence, as all fish kept in filtered water remained uninfected. Parasite abundance varied seasonally (P<0·05) in stock B and subgroup CUF. Infection was also associated (P<0·05) with host weight, and the highest prevalences and intensities were detected in 101–200 g and 201–300 g fish. Distribution pattern of E. scophthalmi in subgroups CUF and DUF had a variance higher than the mean, indicating overdispersion. The minimum period necessary for the first detection of the parasite and for the appearance of disease symptoms and mortality, varied depending on the stock and introduction date, although a long pre-patent period was always observed. Several factors, such as host density, parasite recruitment and parasite-induced fish mortality can contribute to the observed distribution pattern. Risk factors found to be associated with E. scophthalmi infection, including water quality and accumulation of infective stages in the culture tanks, should be considered when designing control strategies to prevent the introduction and spread of infective stages in the facilities.

Floristic study and assessment of the environmental factors governing the distribution of riparian plants in the Zat sub-Basin: Tensift Watershed, Morocco

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 7900-7915
Author(s):  
Mostakim Lahcen ◽  
Fetnassi Nidal ◽  
Ghamizi Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Phosphorus Concentration ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Riparian Plants ◽  
Emergent Plants ◽  
Significant Difference

Measuring the phytodiversity and determining environmental factors affecting the abundance and distribution of riparian plants of Zat sub-basin in Morocco were carried out in this study. A hypothesis was tested whether there is any statistically significant difference in environmental parameters and plants communities among the Zat River and its tributaries. For this purpose, water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, salinity, electrical conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, nitrate and phosphorus concentration, and riparian plants diversity were estimated at 17 stations along the Zat River and its tributaries during the periods (2018 and 2019). The Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) and Pearson correlation were preformed to assess the relationship between environmental parameters, and the distribution and abundance of riparian plants inventoried. The presence of 113 species was recorded, distributed between 43 families and 97 genera, 9 of which were floating-leaved, 24 submerged, and 80 emergent plants. The rare and threatened species inventoried were represented by 7 taxa, whereas 6 species are reported as endemic. Raunkiaer classification showed a dominance of therophytes (38.39%) over the other groups. According to CCA, the abiotic parameters (DO, elevation, salinity and nitrate concentration) were statistically significant parameters governing the distribution and abundance of the riparian plants inventoried. The results obtained reveal the state of the riparian vegetation in the Zat subBasin, therefore we can consider them as a reliable component for the assessment of the ecological status of the aquatic environment.

scholarly journals Pollution And Environmental Indicators Using A Multicriteria Analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1581
Author(s):  
Maria-Carmen Garcia-Centeno ◽  
Gema Fernandez-Aviles
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Decision Aid ◽  
Multicriteria Analysis ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Multicriteria Decision Aid ◽  
Multicriteria Decision

Pollution and environmental factors are a core topic because they influence in air quality of the different areas of a city. This is why in this article we propose to apply a multicriteria decision aid method (the Promethee) to establish a ranking among twenty one districts of Madrid city. To develop this ranking we use objective and subjective criteria that contain information about pollution and environmental indicators in these districts. The results show that some districts are the worse and the best regardless the used criteria.

scholarly journals Spatial modeling of dengue and socio-environmental indicators in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Rodrigues de Araujo Teixeira ◽  
Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Gini Index ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Dengue Transmission ◽  
Direct Association ◽  
Conditional Autoregressive ◽  
Dengue Control

This study analyzed the spatial distribution of dengue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2006, and associations between the incidence per 100,000 inhabitants and socio-environmental variables. The study analyzed reported dengue cases among the city's inhabitants, rainfall, Breteau index (for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus), Gini index, and social development index. We conducted mapping and used the global Moran index to measure the indicators' spatial autocorrelation, which was positive for all variables. The generalized linear model showed a direct association between dengue incidence and rainfall, one-month rainfall time lag, Gini index, and Breteau index for A. albopictus. The conditional autoregressive model (CAR) showed a direct association with rainfall for four months of the year, rain time lag in July, and Gini index in February. The results demonstrate the importance of socio-environmental variables in the dynamics of dengue transmission and the relevance for the development of dengue control strategies.

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