scholarly journals Epidemiologic characteristics of Campylobacter infections in high-income countries: a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 588-596
Author(s):  
G. Gill

Introduction. The Campylobacter is the most common bacterial cause of foodborne illnesses in high-income countries. In contrast to other infectious diseases, the number of Campylobacter cases has increased in developed countries over the last ten years. A systematic review has been conducted to identify the factors contributing to incidence of Campylobacter infection in developed countries and to estimate it by age, sex, geography, and season.Materials and methods. The review was limited to studies published in English from 2010-2021; eight nationwide surveillance and register-based cohort studies, which met the selection criteria, were included in the review.Results. While the highest incidence of Campylobacter infection was reported among young children living in rural areas, the highest number of Campylobacter cases among adults was recorded in urban settings. Nevertheless, population-wise, children and older adults are most affected, while the incidence rates are higher in males than in females, with cases peaking every summer.Conclusion. Campylobacter infection is a public health concern in high-income countries, being difficult to eradicate and having become an urgent challenge to the existing well-developed surveillance systems. Additionally, the threat of antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter is growing at an alarming rate. The reasons behind Campylobacter affecting more men than women as well as the age and geographic distribution of the infection still need thorough research.

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. e2019021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahabeddin Sarvi ◽  
Tooran Nayeri Chegeni ◽  
Mehdi Sharif ◽  
Mahbobeh Montazeri ◽  
Seyed Abdollah Hosseini ◽  
...  

Toxoplasmosis is a serious zoonotic disease that can lead to abortion and congenital disorders and has a widespread global distribution in humans and animals. The objective of this review was to investigate the incidence of toxoplasmosis in Iranian neonates in order to obtain a comprehensive assessment of the overall situation of the disease for use in developing future interventions. Original studies investigating the incidence of Toxoplasma gondii infections in Iranian neonates were systematically searched in a number of English-language and Persian-language electronic databases. The search process resulted in the inclusion of a total of 11 studies in the systematic review, 10 of which were entered into the meta-analysis. The reviewed articles included 2,230 Iranian neonates investigated through January 1, 2018. Based on the retrieved studies, the overall weighted incidence rates of toxoplasmosis in the Iranian neonatal population and neonates with suspected congenital toxoplasmosis were estimated to be 0.64% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.31 to 1.09) and 4.10% (95% CI, 2.68 to 5.77), respectively, using a fixed-effects model. The findings of the reviewed studies demonstrate that the incidence of toxoplasmosis is high in Iranian neonates. Accordingly, it can be concluded that toxoplasmosis is a serious public health concern that has been ignored by the Ministry of Health. Therefore, it is essential to perform further studies, in addition to implementing screening and detection programs, using standardized methods to estimate the incidence of toxoplasmosis in Iran and to determine its associated risk factors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda K. Murphy ◽  
Julie A. Clennon ◽  
Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec ◽  
Cassie C. Jansen ◽  
Francesca D. Frentiu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Public health concern about RRV is increasing due to rising incidence rates in Australian urban centres, along with increased circulation in Pacific Island countries. Australia experienced its largest recorded outbreak of 9,544 cases in 2015, with the majority reported from South East Queensland (SEQ). This study examined potential links between disease patterns and transmission pathways of RRV. Methods: The spatial and temporal distribution of notified RRV cases, and associated epidemiological features in SEQ, were analysed for the period 2001-2016. This included fine-scale analysis of disease patterns across the suburbs of the capital city of Brisbane, and those of 8 adjacent Local Government Areas, and host spot analyses to identify locations with significantly high incidence. Results: The mean annual incidence rate for the region was 41/100,000 with a consistent seasonal peak in cases between February and May. The highest RRV incidence was in adults aged from 30-64 years (mean incidence rate: 59/100,000), and females had higher incidence rates than males (mean incidence rates: 44/100,000 and 34/100,000, respectively). Spatial patterns of disease were heterogeneous between years, and there was a wide distribution of disease across both urban and rural areas of SEQ. Overall, the highest incidence rates were reported from predominantly rural suburbs to the north of Brisbane City, with significant hot spots located in peri-urban suburbs where residential, agricultural and conserved natural land use types intersect. Conclusions: Although RRV is endemic across all of SEQ, transmission is most concentrated in areas where urban and peri-urban environments intersect. The drivers of RRV transmission across rural-urban landscapes should be prioritised for further investigation, including identification of specific vectors and hosts that mediate human spillover.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neda Firouraghi ◽  
Sayyed Mostafa Mostafavi ◽  
Amene Raouf-Rahmati ◽  
Alireza Mohammadi ◽  
Reza Saemi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an important public health concern worldwide. Iran is among the most CL-affected countries, being listed as one of the first six endemic countries in the world. In order to develop targeted interventions, we performed a spatial-time visualization of CL cases in an urban area to identify high-risk and low-risk areas during 2016-2019.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of Mashhad. Patient data were gathered from Mashhad health centers. All cases (n=2425) were diagnosed in two stages; the initial diagnosis was based on clinical findings. Subsequently, clinical manifestation was confirmed by parasitological tests. The data were aggregated at the neighborhood and district levels and smoothed CL incidence rates per 100,000 individuals were calculated using the spatial empirical Bayesian approach. Furthermore, we used the Anselin Local Moran’s I statistic to identify clusters and outliers of CL distribution during 2016-2019 in Mashhad. Results:The overall incidence rates decreased from 34.6 per 100,000 in 2016 to 19.9 per 100,000 individuals in 2019. Both cluster analyses by crude incidence rate and smoothed incidence rate identified high-risk areas in southwestern Mashhad over the study period. Furthermore, the analyses revealed low-risk areas in northeastern Mashhad over the same 3-year period.Conclusions:The southwestern area of Mashhad had the highest CL incidence rates. This piece of information might be of value to design tailored interventions such as running effective resource allocation models, informed control plans and implementation of efficient surveillance systems. Furthermore, this study generates new hypotheses to test potential relationships between socio-economic and environmental risk factors and incidence of CL in areas with higher associated risks.


Author(s):  
Josue Mbonigaba

The unsustainable food consumption across high-income countries (HICs) and low-income countries (LICs) is expected to differ in nature and extent, although no formal evidence in this respect has been documented. Documenting this evidence is the aim of this chapter. Specifically, the chapter seeks to answer the following questions: 1) Do the contexts in less developed countries (LDCs) and developed countries (DCs) make the nature and extent of unsustainability in food consumption different? 2) Do the mechanisms of the linkage between unsustainability of food consumption and health outcomes independent of countries' contexts? 3) Are current policies against unsustainable food consumption equally effective in DCs and LDCs? These questions are answered by means of a systematic review of the literature for the period 2000-2017. The findings are that the nature and extent of unsustainability is quite different across contexts of LICs and HICs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda K. Murphy ◽  
Julie A. Clennon ◽  
Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec ◽  
Cassie C. Jansen ◽  
Francesca D. Frentiu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Public health concern about RRV is increasing due to rising incidence rates in Australian urban centres, along with increased circulation in Pacific Island countries. Australia experienced its largest recorded outbreak of 9544 cases in 2015, with the majority reported from south east Queensland (SEQ). This study examined potential links between disease patterns and transmission pathways of RRV. Methods The spatial and temporal distribution of notified RRV cases, and associated epidemiological features in SEQ, were analysed for the period 2001–2016. This included fine-scale analysis of disease patterns across the suburbs of the capital city of Brisbane, and those of 8 adjacent Local Government Areas, and host spot analyses to identify locations with significantly high incidence. Results The mean annual incidence rate for the region was 41/100,000 with a consistent seasonal peak in cases between February and May. The highest RRV incidence was in adults aged from 30 to 64 years (mean incidence rate: 59/100,000), and females had higher incidence rates than males (mean incidence rates: 44/100,000 and 34/100,000, respectively). Spatial patterns of disease were heterogeneous between years, and there was a wide distribution of disease across both urban and rural areas of SEQ. Overall, the highest incidence rates were reported from predominantly rural suburbs to the north of Brisbane City, with significant hot spots located in peri-urban suburbs where residential, agricultural and conserved natural land use types intersect. Conclusions Although RRV is endemic across all of SEQ, transmission is most concentrated in areas where urban and peri-urban environments intersect. The drivers of RRV transmission across rural-urban landscapes should be prioritised for further investigation, including identification of specific vectors and hosts that mediate human spillover.


2020 ◽  
pp. 103-106
Author(s):  
K. M. Semutenko ◽  
T. M. Sharshakova

Objective: to evaluate the experience and possibilities of the use of eHealth technologies during the pandemic.Material and methods. A systematic review of literature containing information about the use of telemedicine, crowdsourcing monitoring and other eHealth resources during the COVID-19 pandemic was performed. Results. The main advantages and disadvantages of the use of eHealth technologies have been highlighted, the main problems arising on the way of their implementation have been identified and options for their solution have been proposed.Conclusion. In developed countries the COVID-19 pandemic has already accelerated the implementation of eHealth as a tool to combat the pandemic. But despite this, new laws and regulations governing liability in the field of remote treatment are needed, as well as guidelines regarding the use of crowdsourcing disease monitoring systems in addition to traditional epidemiological surveillance systems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Ardura-Garcia ◽  
Christian Kreis ◽  
Milenko Rakic ◽  
Manon Jaboyedoff ◽  
Maria Christina Mallet ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundRotavirus (RV) infection is the leading cause of diarrhoea-associated morbidity and mortality globally among children under 5 years of age. RV vaccination is available, but has not been implemented in many national immunisation plans, especially in highly developed countries. This systematic review aimed to estimate the prevalence and incidence of health care use for RV gastroenteritis (RVGE) among children aged under 5 years in highly developed countries without routine RV vaccination.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE and Embase databases from January 1st 2000 to December 17th 2018 for publications reporting on incidence or prevalence of RVGE-related health care use in children below 5 years of age: primary care and emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalisations, nosocomial infections and deaths. We included only studies with laboratory-confirmed RV infection, undertaken in highly developed countries with no RV routine vaccination plans. We used random effects meta-analysis to generate summary estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and prediction intervals.ResultsWe screened 4033 abstracts and included 74 studies from 21 countries. Average incidence rates of RVGE per 100 000 person-years were: 2484 (95% CI 697-5366) primary care visits, 1890 (1597-2207) ED visits, 500 (422-584) hospitalisations, 34 (20-51) nosocomial infections and 0.04 (0.02-0.07) deaths. Average proportions of cases of acute gastroenteritis caused by RV were: 21% (95% CI 16-26%) for primary care visits; 32% (25-38%) for ED visits; 41% (36-47%) for hospitalisations, 29% (25-34%) for nosocomial infections and 12% (8-18%) for deaths. Results varied widely between and within countries, and heterogeneity was high (I2>90%) in most models.ConclusionRV in children under 5 years causes many healthcare visits and hospitalisations, with low mortality, in highly developed countries without routine RV vaccination. The health care use estimates for RVGE obtained by this study can be used to model RV vaccine cost-effectiveness in highly developed countries.Take home messageRV-caused illness leads to a high burden of health care usage in highly developed countries who have not introduced RV vaccination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
pp. 36-40
Author(s):  
Francelia García Mendoza

Body image dissatisfaction, a risk factor for eating disorders, is no longer a phenomenon exclusive to developed countries or urbanized areas: the trend shows its expansion to other social sectors. The aim was to review the researches that have studied the presence of body image dissatisfaction in population from rural areas, describing both their methodology and the results obtained. A systematic review was carried out in PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus, using key words such as: "body dissatisfaction", "body image", "eating disorders", "rural area/population". 27 papers that complied with the inclusion criteria were reviewed. All reported body image dissatisfaction, mainly tending to thinness. It is important to consider the contributions of the works presented here, pointing out the need to implement intervention strategies aimed equally at rural populations.  


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda K. Murphy ◽  
Julie A. Clennon ◽  
Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec ◽  
Cassie C. Jansen ◽  
Francesca D. Frentiu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Ross River virus (RRV) is responsible for the most common vector-borne disease of humans reported in Australia. The virus circulates in enzootic cycles between multiple species of mosquitoes, wildlife reservoir hosts and humans. Despite regular outbreaks, ongoing morbidity and substantial economic costs, the underlying determinants of epidemics remain unclear. Public health concern about RRV has recently increased due to rising incidence rates in Australian urban centres, along with increased circulation in Pacific Island countries. Australia experienced its largest recorded outbreak of 9,544 cases in 2015, with the majority reported from South East Queensland (SEQ). We aimed to provide a detailed analysis of disease trends and explore potential links between disease patterns and transmission pathways of RRV. Methods: We assessed the spatial and temporal distribution of notified RRV cases, and associated epidemiological features in SEQ, from 2001-2016. This included fine-scale analysis of disease patterns across the suburbs of the capital city of Brisbane, and those of 8 adjacent Local Government Areas, and host spot analyses to identify locations with significantly high incidence. Results: The mean annual incidence rate for the region was 41/100,000 with a consistent seasonal peak in cases between February and May. The highest RRV incidence was in adults aged from 30-64 years (mean incidence rate: 59/100,000), and females had higher incidence rates than males (mean incidence rates: 44/100,000 and 34/100,000, respectively). Spatial patterns of disease were heterogeneous between years, and there was a wide distribution of disease across both urban and rural areas of SEQ. Overall, the highest incidence rates were reported from predominantly rural suburbs to the north of Brisbane City, with significant hot spots located in peri-urban suburbs where residential, agricultural and conserved natural land use types intersect. Conclusions: Although RRV is endemic across all of SEQ, transmission is most concentrated in areas where urban and peri-urban environments intersect. The drivers of RRV transmission across rural-urban landscapes should be prioritised for further investigation, including identification of specific vectors and hosts that mediate human spillover.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document