SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Lebanon: findings from the first nationwide serosurvey

Background Lebanon, a small country in the Middle East, remains severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Seroprevalence surveys of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies provide accurate estimates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and hence evaluate the extent of the pandemic. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Lebanon and to compare the estimated cumulative number of COVID-19 cases with the officially registered number of laboratory-confirmed cases up to January 15, 2021. Methods A nationwide population-based serosurvey study was conducted in Lebanon between December 7, 2020, and January 15, 2021, before the initiation of the national vaccination program. The nCOVID-19 IgG & IgM point-of-care (POCT) rapid test was used to detect the presence of anti-SARS-COV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the blood. Seroprevalence was estimated after weighting for sex, age, and area of residence and adjusting for the test performance. Results Of the 2058 participants, 329 were positive for IgG SARS-COV-2, resulting in a crude seroprevalence of 16.0% (95% CI 14.4–17.6). The weighed seroprevalence was 15.9% (95% CI of 14.4 and 17.4). After adjusting for test performance, the population weight-adjusted seroprevalence was 18.5% (95% CI 16.8–20.2). This estimate implies that 895,770 individuals of the general population were previously infected by COVID-19 up to January 15, 2021 in Lebanon. The overall estimated number of subjects with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection was three times higher than the officially reported cumulative number of confirmed cases. Seroprevalence was similar across age groups and sexes (p-value > 0.05). However, significant differences were revealed across governorates. Conclusions Our results suggest that the Lebanese population is still susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and far from achieving herd immunity. These findings represent an important contribution to the surveillance of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon and to the understanding of how this virus spreads. Continued surveillance for COVID-19 cases and maintaining effective preventive measures are recommended to control the epidemic spread in conjunction with a national vaccination campaign to achieve the desired level of herd immunity against COVID-19.

Seroprevalence of COVID-19 virus infection in Guilan province, Iran

BackgroundThe extent of infection by coronavirus disease 2019 has not been well known. In this study we aimed to determine seropositivity of COVID-19 virus infection in population of a highly affected area in north of Iran.MethodsIn a population-based cluster random sampling design through phone call invitation, a total of 196 household including 551 subjects agreed to participate in this study. Each participant were taken 50ml blood sample at health care center. Rapid test kits were used to detect antibody against COVID-19. Crude, population-weight adjusted and test performance adjusted prevalence of antibody seropositivity to SARS-CoV-2 were reported.ResultsThe prevalence of antibody seropositivity was 22% (95%CI: 19-26%). The population weight adjusted estimate was 21% (95%CI: 14-29%) and test performance adjusted prevalence was 33% (95%CI: 28-39%). Based on these estimates the range of infected people in this province would be between 518000 and 777000.ConclusionThe population seropositivity prevalence of COVID-19 virus infection indicated that the asymptomatic infection is much higher than the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19. This estimate can be used to better detect infection fatality rate and decide for public policy guidelines.

An Image-Assisted Rod-Platform Weighing System for Weight Information Sampling of Broilers

The average weight and flock uniformity of broilers in group housing is important information that allows producers to know the flock growth conditions and determine the selling time. However, gathering weight information of chickens is not only labor-intensive for humans but also frightening for the birds. In this study, an image-assisted rod-platform weighing system was developed to automatically monitor the average weight and flock uniformity of broilers in chicken houses. This weighing system consists of a computer and several weighing scales. Each weighing scale contains a rod-platform weighing module and a surveillance camera module. The principle of the automated weighing system is to estimate population weight information using samples. The design of the rod-platform weighing module was based on the perching habit of birds to attract more broilers to stand on the rod platform and thus get more weight samples. The surveillance camera module is used to detect the number of broilers on the rod using image processing technology. A data processing method called PORWI, which includes elimination of redundant records and trim of non-redundant records, was designed to optimize the results of chicken number identification from images to improve the accuracy of the results. An experiment was done in two small groups of broilers with approximately 100 chickens and 8.58 m2 of area for each group. A weekly weighing was conducted, and three kinds of weight information were obtained, which included manual population weight information (MPWI), manual sample-based weight information (MSWI), and automated sampling weight information (ASWI). Each weight information set comprised the group average weight and flock uniformity, which were then used to evaluate accuracy. The perching rate of chickens using the rod platform reached an average of 60 times h-1, and the rate was retained with increasing age. Compared with the MPWI obtained by individual weighing, the manual sample-based measurement method provided results with errors of 0% to +5%, while our automated weighing system achieved accuracies within ±2% for average weight and ±1.5% for flock uniformity. Keywords: Automatic weighing, Average weight, Broiler, Chicken detection, Uniformity.

Respon Ketahanan Beberapa Varietas Gandum terhadap Hama Gudang Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae)

<p>Resistance Response of Several Wheat Varieties Against Pest of Stored Product, Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae). Lina Herlina and Bonjok Istiaji. Since Sitophilus zeamais still become the major pest of wheat as stored product. Twelve varieties of wheat were evaluated for their resistance to the infestation of S. zeamais. The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Insect Specimen Collection of Indonesian Center for Agriculture Biotechnology and Genetic Resource Research and Development (ICABIOGRAD) from September 2011 to February 2012. Grains of each 12 varieties of wheat was weighed for 5 grams and placed into a plastic bottle. Six female imagos of S. zeamais (1 week old) were introduced into the bottle contained 5 grams of wheat grains. After seven days, all the insects were removed. Observation were done to count the dead and life insects after introduction. The number of larvae emerged from eggs were calculated and weighed daily. Grain weight of each variety was also weighed, the broken and intact seeds were counted and recorded at the end of the infestation. Research were conducted in randomly complete design using one factor, that was twelve varieties of wheat each were replicated three times. The result showed that the highest mortality of the pest were in Perdix, while the lowest were that in Anemos, Combi, and Nandu (0-16.7%). The highest fertility of the pests were found in the Anemos and SW Triso, while the lowest were there in Picallo (14.33-47.67 insects). Anemos was known to be variety with the highest insects population weight, while the Picallo was the variety that inhibited insect population (0.0161-0.0544 g). The longest of insect development periods was on Combi, the shortest was on Sweta (51.33-64.33 days). The shortest median development time was in the Anemos and the longest was in the Sit Nortrend (37.33-44 days). The highest percentage of seed damage and yield loss were in the Anemos, while the lowest were Picallo and Madonna. ANOVA at 5% showed no significant different for all parameters observed on the tested varieties. Resistance classification based on the indexes of Modification, Pointe and Dobie recorded that the most resistant varieties were Picallo and Pasadena.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Abstrak</strong></p><p>Sitophilus zeamais masih menjadi hama utama pada produk pascapanen. Penelitian dilakukan di Laboratorium Koleksi Spesimen Serangga BB Biogen dari September 2011 sampai Februari 2012 untuk mengevaluasi ketahanan 12 varietas gandum terhadap infestasi S. zeamais. Biji 12 varietas masingmasing ditimbang 5 g dan dimasukkan ke dalam botol plastik, kemudian diintroduksikan enam imago betina S. zeamais berumur seminggu. Setelah tujuh hari, seluruh serangga dikeluarkan, dihitung yang mati dan yang masih hidup. Jumlah larva (progeni F1) yang muncul dari telur diamati dan dihitung setiap hari. Berat gandum tiap varietas ditimbang pada akhir percobaan. Biji yang berlubang maupun yang masih utuh dihitung dan dicatat. Penelitian menggunakan rancangan acak lengkap satu faktor, yaitu jenis varietas gandum sebanyak 12 varietas, masing-masing dengan tiga ulangan. Hasil percobaan menunjukkan bahwa mortalitas larva tertinggi ditemukan pada varietas Perdix, sedangkan terendah pada Anemos, Combi, dan Nandu (kisaran 0-16,7%). Fertilitas tertinggi ditemukan pada Anemos dan SW Triso, sedangkan terendah pada Picallo (kisaran 14,33-47,67 ekor). Bobot tertinggi larva serangga ditemukan pada Anemos, terendah pada Picallo (kisaran 0,0161- 0,0544 g). Perkembangan serangga terlama ditemukan pada Combi dan terpendek pada varietas Sweta (kisaran 51,33-64,33 hari). Waktu paruh terpendek pada varietas Anemos dan terpanjang pada varietas Sit Nortrend (kisaran 37,33-44 hari). Kerusakan biji maupun kehilangan hasil tertinggi pada varietas Anemos, sedangkan terendah pada Picallo dan Madonna. Hasil ANOVA pada taraf 5% menunjukkan tidak terdapat perbedaan pengaruh yang signifikan dari seluruh varietas terhadap semua parameter yang diamati. Berdasarkan indeks Modif, Pointe maupun Dobie, varietas yang paling tahan adalah Picallo dan Pasadena.</p>

The impact of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages according to socio-economic position: a systematic review of the evidence

ObjectiveA tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) has been proposed to address population weight gain but the effect across socio-economic position (SEP) is unclear. The current study aimed to clarify the differential impact(s) of SSB taxes on beverage purchases and consumption, weight outcomes and the amount paid in SSB taxes according to SEP.DesignDatabases (OVID and EMBASE) and grey literature were systematically searched in June 2015 to identify studies that examined effects of an SSB price increase on beverage purchases or consumption, weight outcomes or the amount paid in tax across SEP, within high-income countries.ResultsOf the eleven included articles, three study types were identified: (i) those that examined the association between variation in SSB taxes and SSB consumption and/or body weight (n 3); (ii) price elasticity estimation of SSB demand (n 1); and (iii) modelling of hypothetical SSB taxes by combining price elasticity estimates with population SEP-specific beverage consumption, energy intake or body weight (n 7). Few studies statistically tested differences in outcomes between SEP groups. Nevertheless, of the seven studies that reported on changes in weight outcomes for the total population following an increase in SSB price, all reported either similar reductions in weight across SEP groups or greater reductions for lower compared with higher SEP groups. All studies that examined the average household amount paid in tax (n 5) reported that an SSB tax would be regressive, but with small differences between higher- and lower-income households (0·10–1·0 % and 0·03 %–0·60 % of annual household income paid in SSB tax for low- and high-income households, respectively).ConclusionsBased on the available evidence, a tax on SSB will deliver similar population weight benefits across socio-economic strata or greater benefits for lower SEP groups. An SSB tax is shown to be consistently financially regressive, but to a small degree.