scholarly journals Re-emerging Infectious Disease (RED) Alert tool

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maneesha Chitanvis ◽  
Ashlynn Daughton ◽  
Forest M Altherr ◽  
Geoffery Fairchild ◽  
William Rosenberger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Emerging Infectious Disease ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Incidence Trends ◽  
Effective Public Health ◽  
Emergence Event

Objective: Although relying on verbal definitions of "re-emergence", descriptions that classify a “re-emergence” event as any significant recurrence of a disease that had previously been under public health control, and subjective interpretations of these events is currently the conventional practice, this has the potential to hinder effective public health responses. Defining re-emergence in this manner offers limited ability for ad hoc analysis of prevention and control measures and facilitates non-reproducible assessments of public health events of potentially high consequence. Re-emerging infectious disease alert (RED Alert) is a decision-support tool designed to address this issue by enhancing situational awareness by providing spatiotemporal context through disease incidence pattern analysis following an event that may represent a local (country-level) re-emergence. The tool’s analytics also provide users with the associated causes (socioeconomic indicators) related to the event, and guide hypothesis-generation regarding the global scenario.Introduction: Definitions of “re-emerging infectious diseases” typically encompass any disease occurrence that was a historic public health threat, declined dramatically, and has since presented itself again as a significant health problem. Examples include antimicrobial resistance leading to resurgence of tuberculosis, or measles re-appearing in previously protected communities. While the language of this verbal definition of “re-emergence” is sensitive enough to capture most epidemiologically relevant resurgences, its qualitative nature obfuscates the ability to quantitatively classify disease re-emergence events as such.Methods: Our tool automatically computes historic disease incidence and performs trend analyses to help elucidate events which a user may considered a true re-emergence in a subset of pertinent infectious diseases (measles, cholera, yellow fever, and dengue). The tool outputs data visualizations that illustrate incidence trends in diverse and informative ways. Additionally, we categorize location and incidence-specific indicators for re-emergence to provide users with associated indicators as well as justifications and documentation to guide users’ next steps. Additionally, the tool also houses interactive maps to facilitate global hypothesis-generation.Results: These outputs provide historic trend pattern analyses as well as contextualization of the user’s situation with similar locations. The tool also broadens users' understanding of the given situation by providing related indicators of the likely re-emergence, as well as the ability to investigate re-emergence factors of global relevance through spatial analysis and data visualization.Conclusions: The inability to categorically name a re-emergence event as such is due to lack of standardization and/or availability of reproducible, data-based evidence, and hinders timely and effective public health response and planning. While the tool will not explicitly call out a user scenario as categorically re-emergent or not, by providing users with context in both time and space, RED Alert aims to empower users with data and analytics in order to substantially enhance their contextual awareness; thus, better enabling them to formulate plans of action regarding re-emerging infectious disease threats at both the country and global level.

scholarly journals PO 8460 PANDORA-ID NET (PAN-AFRICAN NETWORK FOR RAPID RESEARCH, RESPONSE, RELIEF AND PREPAREDNESS FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES EPIDEMICS)

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. A40.2-A40
Author(s):  
Francine Ntoumi ◽  
Francine Zumla ◽  
Giuseppe Ippolito ◽  
Francesco Vairo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Rapid Diagnostics ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Effective Response ◽  
Zoonotic Infections ◽  
Pan African

BackgroundNew and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks continue to cause much human suffering and loss of life worldwide. Since Africa has experienced repeated outbreaks of zoonotic infections, an important need exists to improve local and regional capacities to identify and respond to zoonotic outbreaks. PANDORA ID-NET is an EDCTP-supported ‘ONE Human and Animal HEALTH’ multidisciplinary consortium of 24 partner institutions (15 African and 9 European) in 9 African and 4 European countries.MethodsOur overall aim is to strengthen regional and pan-African capacities and systems for enabling a rapid and effective response to infectious diseases with epidemic potential, arising from within Africa or imported from overseas. We aim to build laboratory and public health capabilites for rapid detection and surveillance of pathogens from human and animal sources. This will include obtaining accelerated evidence for optimal clinical management of patients, infection control measures, and public health response during outbreaks. Capacities will be built: a) for performing multisite clinical trials (evaluating rapid diagnostics, biomarkers, a range of treatments, vaccines and operational research studies) and, b) for timely collection, analysis and communication of information.ConclusionOur activities will be aligned to EDCTP regional Networks of Excellence, Africa CDC and other relevant global and regional initiatives, thus maximizing complementarity and achieving a multiplier effect, facilitating rapid policy implementation of outputs.

scholarly journals DBatVir: the database of bat-associated viruses

Database ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lihong Chen ◽  
Bo Liu ◽  
Jian Yang ◽  
Qi Jin
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Emerging Infectious Disease ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Zoonotic Viruses ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Reservoir Hosts ◽  
Viral Sequences

Abstract Emerging infectious diseases remain a significant threat to public health. Most emerging infectious disease agents in humans are of zoonotic origin. Bats are important reservoir hosts of many highly lethal zoonotic viruses and have been implicated in numerous emerging infectious disease events in recent years. It is essential to enhance our knowledge and understanding of the genetic diversity of the bat-associated viruses to prevent future outbreaks. To facilitate further research, we constructed the database of bat-associated viruses (DBatVir). Known viral sequences detected in bat samples were manually collected and curated, along with the related metadata, such as the sampling time, location, bat species and specimen type. Additional information concerning the bats, including common names, diet type, geographic distribution and phylogeny were integrated into the database to bridge the gap between virologists and zoologists. The database currently covers >4100 bat-associated animal viruses of 23 viral families detected from 196 bat species in 69 countries worldwide. It provides an overview and snapshot of the current research regarding bat-associated viruses, which is essential now that the field is rapidly expanding. With a user-friendly interface and integrated online bioinformatics tools, DBatVir provides a convenient and powerful platform for virologists and zoologists to analyze the virome diversity of bats, as well as for epidemiologists and public health researchers to monitor and track current and future bat-related infectious diseases. Database URL: http://www.mgc.ac.cn/DBatVir/

scholarly journals An approach to and web-based tool for infectious disease outbreak intervention analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlynn R. Daughton ◽  
Nicholas Generous ◽  
Reid Priedhorsky ◽  
Alina Deshpande
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Outbreak ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreak ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Community ◽  
Parameter Ranges

Abstract Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death globally. Decisions surrounding how to control an infectious disease outbreak currently rely on a subjective process involving surveillance and expert opinion. However, there are many situations where neither may be available. Modeling can fill gaps in the decision making process by using available data to provide quantitative estimates of outbreak trajectories. Effective reduction of the spread of infectious diseases can be achieved through collaboration between the modeling community and public health policy community. However, such collaboration is rare, resulting in a lack of models that meet the needs of the public health community. Here we show a Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model modified to include control measures that allows parameter ranges, rather than parameter point estimates, and includes a web user interface for broad adoption. We apply the model to three diseases, measles, norovirus and influenza, to show the feasibility of its use and describe a research agenda to further promote interactions between decision makers and the modeling community.

scholarly journals Human factors in emerging infectious diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott B. Halstead
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Emerging Infectious Disease ◽  
Emerging Disease ◽  
Human Behaviour ◽  
Microbial World ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Methods Of Control

When the underlying causes and mechanisms of emerging infectious disease problems are studied carefully, human behaviour is often involved. Even more often, the only methods of control or prevention available are to change human behaviour. Several major recent emerging disease problems can be cited. It is sometimes emphasized that it is human carelessness, human excesses, human ignorance or human habits of conquest or leisure which contribute directly to the biological niches that microorganisms are all too capable of exploiting. We must look at ourselves as the engines of microbial opportunism. It is not likely that we will ever conquer the microbial world;we must look instead to control the human factors that contribute to emergence.

scholarly journals Patterns of smallpox mortality in London, England, over three centuries

PLoS Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. e3000506
Author(s):  
Olga Krylova ◽  
David J. D. Earn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Spectral Analysis ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Control

Smallpox is unique among infectious diseases in the degree to which it devastated human populations, its long history of control interventions, and the fact that it has been successfully eradicated. Mortality from smallpox in London, England was carefully documented, weekly, for nearly 300 years, providing a rare and valuable source for the study of ecology and evolution of infectious disease. We describe and analyze smallpox mortality in London from 1664 to 1930. We digitized the weekly records published in the London Bills of Mortality (LBoM) and the Registrar General’s Weekly Returns (RGWRs). We annotated the resulting time series with a sequence of historical events that might have influenced smallpox dynamics in London. We present a spectral analysis that reveals how periodicities in reported smallpox mortality changed over decades and centuries; many of these changes in epidemic patterns are correlated with changes in control interventions and public health policies. We also examine how the seasonality of reported smallpox mortality changed from the 17th to 20th centuries in London.

Climate Change-Associated Conflict and Infectious Disease

2017 ◽  
pp. 68-88
Author(s):  
Devin C. Bowles
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Food Scarcity ◽  
Surveillance Programs

One of the least appreciated mechanisms by which climate change will affect infectious diseases is via increased violent conflict. Climate change will diminish agricultural and pastoral resources and increase food scarcity in many areas, including already impoverished equatorial regions. Many in the defence and public health fields anticipate that climate change will increase conflict by fuelling competition over scarce resources. Already, some commentators argue that the conflicts in Darfur and Syria were partially caused or exacerbated by climate change. Conflict facilitates a range of conditions conducive to the spread of many infectious diseases, including malnutrition, forced migration, unhygienic living conditions and widespread sexual assault. Flight or killing of health personnel inhibits vaccination, vector control and disease surveillance programs. Emergence of new diseases may go undetected and discovery of outbreaks could be suppressed for strategic reasons. These conditions combine to increase the risk of pandemics.

scholarly journals Mumps: an Update on Outbreaks, Vaccine Efficacy, and Genomic Diversity

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Lam ◽  
Jennifer B. Rosen ◽  
Jane R. Zucker
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Vaccination Coverage ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mumps Virus ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Genomic Diversity ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Mmr Vaccine

SUMMARY Mumps is an acute viral infection characterized by inflammation of the parotid and other salivary glands. Persons with mumps are infectious from 2 days before through 5 days after parotitis onset, and transmission is through respiratory droplets. Despite the success of mumps vaccination programs in the United States and parts of Europe, a recent increase in outbreaks of mumps virus infections among fully vaccinated populations has been reported. Although the effectiveness of the mumps virus component of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is suboptimal, a range of contributing factors has led to these outbreaks occurring in high-vaccination-coverage settings, including the intensity of exposure, the possibility of vaccine strain mismatch, delayed implementation of control measures due to the timeliness of reporting, a lack of use of appropriate laboratory tests (such as reverse transcription-PCR), and time since last vaccination. The resurgence of mumps virus infections among previously vaccinated individuals over the past decade has prompted discussions about new strategies to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks. The decision to implement a third dose of the MMR vaccine in response to an outbreak should be considered in discussions with local public health agencies. Traditional public health measures, including the isolation of infectious persons, timely contact tracing, and effective communication and awareness education for the public and medical community, should remain key interventions for outbreak control. Maintaining high mumps vaccination coverage remains key to U.S. and global efforts to reduce disease incidence and rates of complications.

scholarly journals Outbreak of trichinellosis related to eating imported wild boar meat, Belgium, 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (37) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Messiaen ◽  
Annemie Forier ◽  
Steven Vanderschueren ◽  
Caroline Theunissen ◽  
Jochen Nijs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Wild Boar ◽  
Sharp Decrease ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Large Outbreak ◽  
Wild Boar Meat

Trichinellosis is a rare parasitic zoonosis caused by Trichinella following ingestion of raw or undercooked meat containing Trichinella larvae. In the past five years, there has been a sharp decrease in human trichinellosis incidence rates in the European Union due to better practices in rearing domestic animals and control measures in slaughterhouses. In November 2014, a large outbreak of trichinellosis occurred in Belgium, related to the consumption of imported wild boar meat. After a swift local public health response, 16 cases were identified and diagnosed with trichinellosis. Of the 16 cases, six were female. The diagnosis was confirmed by serology or the presence of larvae in the patients’ muscle biopsies by histology and/or PCR. The ensuing investigation traced the wild boar meat back to Spain. Several batches of imported wild boar meat were recalled but tested negative. The public health investigation allowed us to identify clustered undiagnosed cases. Early warning alerts and a coordinated response remain indispensable at a European level.

scholarly journals Ethics of instantaneous contact tracing using mobile phone apps in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 427-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Parker ◽  
Christophe Fraser ◽  
Lucie Abeler-Dörner ◽  
David Bonsall
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Mobile Phone Data ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Infectious Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Ethical Implications

In this paper we discuss ethical implications of the use of mobile phone apps in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact tracing is a well-established feature of public health practice during infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics. However, the high proportion of pre-symptomatic transmission in COVID-19 means that standard contact tracing methods are too slow to stop the progression of infection through the population. To address this problem, many countries around the world have deployed or are developing mobile phone apps capable of supporting instantaneous contact tracing. Informed by the on-going mapping of ‘proximity events’ these apps are intended both to inform public health policy and to provide alerts to individuals who have been in contact with a person with the infection. The proposed use of mobile phone data for ‘intelligent physical distancing’ in such contexts raises a number of important ethical questions. In our paper, we outline some ethical considerations that need to be addressed in any deployment of this kind of approach as part of a multidimensional public health response. We also, briefly, explore the implications for its use in future infectious disease outbreaks.

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