Seroprevalence of visceral leishmaniasis in children living in rural areas of Ahar and Osku Counties in East Azarbaijan Province, North-west of Iran in 2018

Author(s):  
Amirhossein Maghsood ◽  
Mahdi Parsaei ◽  
Afshin Azimi ◽  
Mehdi Mohebali ◽  
Behnaz Akhoundi ◽  
...  

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or Kala-azar is an endemic disease in some areas of Iran, including East Azarbaijan, Ardabil, Fars and Bushehr provinces. The disease is sporadic in other parts of the country. According to the reports of numerous cases of the disease from Ahar and Osku counties (cities), East Azarbaijan province and the lack of new study on the prevalence of the disease, this study was designed to determine the seroprevalence of VL in the children of Ahar and Osku counties, in East Azarbaijan Province. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, blood samples were collected in the test tube without anticoagulants, from children under 8 years from rural areas of Ahar and Osko, in 2018. The samples were evaluated using Direct Agglutination Test (DAT) to measure anti Leishmania infantum antibodies for titer up to 1:3200. Results: Out of 209 children <8 years in selected centers in Ahar and Osku, two cases (0.95%) revealed anti-Leishmania antibodies titer 1:3200. Initially, one of the two positive individuals in the study had a suspicious antibody titer of 1:1600, whose antibody titer increased to 1:3200 after 4 weeks. Conclusion: The Kala-azar, in spite of low endemicity, is one of the health problems in Ahar and Osku in East Azarbaijan Province. This study suggests the necessity of supplementary studies based on molecular approaches in the region and other parts of the province.

Author(s):  
Kate Emond ◽  
Melanie Bish ◽  
Michael Savic ◽  
Dan I. Lubman ◽  
Terence McCann ◽  
...  

Mental-health-related presentations account for a considerable proportion of the paramedic’s workload in prehospital care. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the perceived confidence and preparedness of paramedics in Australian metropolitan and rural areas to manage mental-health-related presentations. Overall, 1140 paramedics were surveyed. Pearson chi-square and Fisher exact tests were used to compare categorical variables by sex and location of practice; continuous variables were compared using the non-parametric Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Perceived confidence and preparedness were each modelled in multivariable ordinal regressions. Female paramedics were younger with higher qualifications but were less experienced than their male counterparts. Compared to paramedics working in metropolitan regions, those working in rural and regional areas were generally older with fewer qualifications and were significantly less confident and less prepared to manage mental health presentations (p = 0.001). Compared to male paramedics, females were less confident (p = 0.003), although equally prepared (p = 0.1) to manage mental health presentations. These results suggest that higher qualifications from the tertiary sector may not be adequately preparing paramedics to manage mental health presentations, which signifies a disparity between education provided and workforce preparedness. Further work is required to address the education and training requirements of paramedics in regional and rural areas to increase confidence and preparedness in managing mental health presentations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Cruz S. Sebastião ◽  
Joana Morais ◽  
Miguel Brito

The increase in HIV infection and drug-resistant strains is an important public health concern, especially in resource-limited settings. However, the identification of factors related to the propagation of infectious diseases represents a crucial target offering an opportunity to reduce health care costs as well as deepening the focus on preventing infection in high-risk groups. In this study, we investigate the factors related to drug resistance among HIV-infected pregnant women in Luanda, the capital city of Angola. This was a part of a cross-sectional study conducted with 42 HIV-positive pregnant women. A blood sample was collected, and HIV-1 genotyping was carried out using an in-house method. Multivariate analyses were performed to determine the interaction between sociodemographic characteristics and drug resistance. HIV drug resistance was detected in 44.1% of the studied population. High probabilities of drug resistance were observed for HIV-infected pregnant women living in rural areas (AOR: 2.73; 95% CI: 0.50–14.9) with high educational level (AOR: 6.27; 95% CI: 0.77–51.2) and comorbidities (AOR: 5.47; 95% CI: 0.28–106) and infected with a HIV-1 non-B subtype other than subtype C (AOR: 1.60; 95% CI: 0.25–10.3). The present study reports high HIV drug resistance. Furthermore, older-age, rural areas, high educational levels, unemployed status, having comorbidities, and HIV-1 subtypes were factors related to drug resistance. These factors impact on drug susceptibility and need to be urgently addressed in order to promote health education campaigns able to prevent the spread of drug-resistant HIV strains in Angola.


2021 ◽  
pp. 20-24
Author(s):  
Radhika Vijay

OBJECTIVES: Nobody is refrained from the use of medications in today's times, not even kids,The objective of this study is to focus on the knowledge and awareness level, perception, of children of primary and secondary grade towards medicines , prevention of Infections and Diseases and drug compliance. This descriptive, cross sectional observational study was done METHODS: amongst the kids of North West Rajasthan ,India from August 2020 to October 2020 via an online questionnaire . A sample size of 100 kids , 50 each from Primary and Secondary grade was chosen for the study. The data was entered in Microsoft Excel and was statistically analysed. Results are outcomes of various RESULTS: questions put up to conduct detailed analysis of kids' awareness and medicinal knowledge, drug preferences, factors inuencing and attitude related to hygiene, safety and protection from Covid 19 infection. Kids are the young budding phys CONCLUSION: icians and their childhood beliefs and perceptions might affect their behaviour and decisions in adult lives. Parents and schools can play a great role through educational programs . It's well said, “Children are like wet cement, whatever falls on them, leaves an impression.”


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 174550652110606
Author(s):  
Ashenafi Mekonnen ◽  
Genet Fikadu ◽  
Kenbon Seyoum ◽  
Gemechu Ganfure ◽  
Sisay Degno ◽  
...  

Introduction: Maternal near-miss precedes maternal mortality, and women are still alive indicating that the numbers of near-misses occur more often than maternal mortality. This study aims to assess the prevalence of maternal near-miss and associated factors at public hospitals of Bale zone, Southeast Ethiopia. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study design was carried out from 1 October 2018 to 28 February 2019, among 300 women admitted to maternity wards. A structured questionnaire and checklist were used to collect data. Epi-info for data entry and statistical package for social science for analysis were used. The descriptive findings were summarized using tables and text. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval and p-value < 0.05 were used to examine the association between the independent and dependent variables. Result: The prevalence of maternal near-miss in our study area was 28.7%. Age < 20 years, age at first marriage < 20 years, husbands with primary education, and being from rural areas are factors significantly associated with the prevalence of maternal near-miss. The zonal health department in collaboration with the education department and justice office has to mitigate early marriage by educating the community about the impacts of early marriage on health.


Author(s):  
Lisa Zumpe ◽  
Tobias Bensel ◽  
Andreas Wienke ◽  
Matilda Mtaya-Mlangwa ◽  
Jeremias Hey

There has been no research on the prevalence of and factors associated with dental caries in rural southwestern Tanzania among schoolchildren. Determining the prevalence of and factors associated with dental caries will help to assess the need for dental intervention and prophylactic measures among children in the region. In February 2020, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the Wanging’ombe District of the Ilembula Ward. The data were collected through clinical examinations and personal interviews at two primary schools. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify potential risk indicators for caries. The study included 319 students aged 11–12 years (average 11.92 ± 0.27 years). The mean Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth index was 0.24 ± 0.68, and the mean Specific affected Caries Index was 1.66 ± 0.9. The greatest influences on the caries risk were poor oral hygiene (OR 8.05, 95% CI 0.49–133.23), low tooth brushing frequency (OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.26–7.26) and low level of education in parents (OR 2.63, 95% CI 0.99–6.98). Dental caries was low among students in rural areas in the Wanging’ombe District.


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