International Journal of Infectious Diseases最新文献

{"title":"Impact of the LGBT+ rights on reporting cases and deaths of Mpox globally: Relationships with the LGBT+ rights index during 2022-2024 epidemics","authors":"Prof A Rodríguez-Morales , Dr D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana , Dr Jaime A. Cardona-Ospina","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107422","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107422","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Multiple aspects of the epidemics of mpox during 2022-2024 have been explored, including clinical features, diagnostic aspects, therapies and vaccines. However, factors associated with reporting of cases and death of Mpox have been poorly assessed. No studies regarding the relationships between the LGBT+ rights and the morbidity and mortality from Mpox have been published yet.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>An ecological study for 106 countries was done using the LGBT+ rights index (LGBT-RI) per country that were obtained from the State Sponsored Homophobia Reports produced by ILGA, LexisNexis, Factiva, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the U.S. State Department, and Velasco report (2020), from Our World in Data, and the cases, calculating the incidence rates (cases per 100,000 pop.), from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Also, mortality rates (cases per 100,000 pop.) and case fatality rates (deaths per 100 cases, %CFR) were calculated. The annual variation of the variables was assessed, and non-linear regression models (exponential) were done at Stata/MP® v.14.0.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The non-linear regression models revealed significant findings. The relationship between epidemiological factors and LGBT-RI was found to be significant. During this epidemic, there was a positive relationship between LGBT-RI and reported of Mpox cases (r2=0.1006; p=0.0040), countries with higher LGBT-RI had higher Mpox cases. Similarly, higher LGBT-RI values were also significantly associated with higher Mpox incidence rates (cases/100,000 pop) (r2=0.5062; p<0.0001). Number of deaths notified were also associated with the LGBT-RI (r2=0.0636; p=0.0328). Consistently, the Mpox mortality rate was also associated with the LGBT-RI (r2=0.1390; p=0.0005). Finally, the %CFR, as expected, this variable was not associated with LGBT-RI (r2=0.0216; p=0.3287).</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>These findings underscore the significant influence of stigma and discrimination that may be associated with Mpox. In particular, the LGBT+ rights allow trust in the health system, diagnostic and management. At the same, the proper notification of a Mpox case and its associated outcomes. Even in 2024, there are 88 countries or territories, specially in Africa, Middle East, and Asia, that have not reported yet, even a single case of Mpox. Even in Latin American and the Caribbean, ten countries are included in that list. Despite the epidemics of 2022-2024, Mpox remains a neglected condition worldwide, with a resurgence in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023-2024. The need for further studies on multiple epidemiological factors of Mpox is therefore paramount.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Sexual rights still influence not just HIV and other sexually transmitted infections epidemiology, but also of the reemerging/emerging Mpox globally.</div><","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107422"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143520559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"One Health intervention for elimination of animal to human disease transmission of Anthrax in an endemic district of Odisha: A baseline and endline study","authors":"Dr. Debaprasad Parai , Mr. Matrujyoti Pattnaik , Dr. Hari Ram Choudhary , Dr Arun Kumar Padhi , Dr. Niranjana Sahoo , Dr. Sanghamitra Pati , Dr Debdutta Bhattacharya","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107424","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107424","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Anthrax is a rare but serious infectious disease of public health importance caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax cases have been documented in various states of India, including Odisha. In Odisha, Koraput district stands out with more than 300 reported human cases and over 10 confirmed deaths due to Anthrax infection in the past six years.The present study is a baseline and endline survey to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices with regards to the anthrax disease among the communities of indigenous population residing in the region pre and post of the tailored made One Health intervention for elimination of human Anthrax in this endemic district.</div></div><div><h3>Methodology</h3><div>This is a repeated cross-sectional survey conducted both as a baseline survey in mid of 2020 among 2670 respondents and again as endline survey during end of 2022 among 2511 respondents using a structured 85 item questionnaire by multi-stage sampling method. Descriptive statistics were reported and logistic regression was performed to estimate the relationship between the variables and knowledge of anthrax. One Health intervention package was developed with the help of various multistakeholders from the Koraput district which include establishing an active surveillance, developing a dedicated anthrax diagnostic facility in the state for the early diagnosis, sensitization and capacity-building training for all the stakeholders, behavioral Change Communication (BCC) and Information Education Communication (IEC) activities at the community and free livestock vaccination drive across the district with the help of district veterinary department and coordination or support from the other stakeholders for smooth execution of the vaccination drive.</div></div><div><h3>Result</h3><div>Out of the total participants in the study, males were about (76.25% in baseline) and (72.08% in endline) and about half had no formal education in both the groups. Most of the respondents (54.19% in baseline) and (54.56% in endline) were involved in agriculture as an occupation. More than 50% of the respondents had livestock in their houses and farming was the main purpose for keeping the livestock in both the groups. Around 20.26% of respondents knew about anthrax during the baseline and after intervention 53.64% of the respondents had knowledge about it. Almost 21.29% of livestock owners had vaccinated their animals against anthrax disease which increased to 66.5% during the endline survey.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>The results indicate a noteworthy enhancement in the knowledge, attitude and practices among the study population from the baseline to endline survey.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This study highlights a significant increase in both knowledge and practices related to anthrax within the community after One Health interventions. The findings can address various health challenges related to zoonotic dis","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107424"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143520667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Estimating transmission heterogeneity and case ascertainment from variations in case counts in surveillance data","authors":"Dr Judith Bouman ,&nbsp;Dr Jantien Backer ,&nbsp;Dr Christian Althaus","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107435","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107435","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>The reported numbers of infectious disease case counts in surveillance data typically show considerable variation. This variation is a result of the process and observation noise. The process noise stems from the stochastic element of transmission at the individual level, i.e., the overdispersion of secondary cases. The observation noise results from variations in testing uptake and the sampling error. Our objective was to better understand how the process and observation noise shape the observed variation in infectious disease case counts in surveillance data.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We derived a mechanistic model of the data generating process of infectious disease case counts in surveillance data that incorporates a negative binomial offspring distribution for individual cases and the binomial sampling error from the observation process. We validated the model using data from stochastic simulations of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and case ascertainment. Finally, we applied the model to SARS-CoV-2 surveillance data from Switzerland.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Assuming a constant observation probability, we showed that the daily numbers of reported cases in surveillance data are expected to follow a quasi Poisson distribution. The overdispersion in reported cases is a function of the expected number of cases, the effective reproduction number, the overdispersion in secondary cases k, and the observation probability. Using simulated data, we found that one can estimate the overdispersion in secondary cases when the observation probability is known, or vice versa. We illustrated this property with data from the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Switzerland from 2020 to 2022. Using previous estimates for the overdispersion in secondary cases, we were able to estimate and track the upper bound of the observation probability of SARS-CoV-2 over time.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>We showed how the process noise at the individual level of transmission and the observation noise result in the observed variation in infectious disease case counts in surveillance data.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Our model has the potential to continuously monitor either the transmission heterogeneity or the case ascertainment for various infectious diseases from routine surveillance data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107435"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143520672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A rapid and sensitive extraction-free HiFi-LAMP assay for detecting Mycobacterium leprae","authors":"Zhengfang Wang ,&nbsp;Xi Yang ,&nbsp;Zhi-Ze Wang ,&nbsp;Xiu-Feng Yu ,&nbsp;Zhe Li ,&nbsp;Shangwen Song ,&nbsp;Yongjuan Zhao ,&nbsp;Yi-Qun Kuang ,&nbsp;Yu-Ye Li ,&nbsp;Chiyu Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107835","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107835","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Timely and accurate detection of <em>Mycobacterium leprae</em> (<em>M. leprae</em>) is crucial for efficient treatment and early intervention of leprosy, which requires a simple and rapid extraction-free assay.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A HiFi-loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for detection of <em>M. leprae</em>. The performance of the assay was assessed by comparing with qPCR and nested PCR assays using clinical samples. The extraction-free HiFi-LAMP assay was assessed by saliva from individuals with leprosy.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The <em>M. leprae</em> HiFi-LAMP assay has high specificity and sensitivity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 43 copies/25 µL reaction. Both sensitivity and specificity of the HiFi-LAMP assay were 100% for 130 purified DNA from nasal and oral samples, and the sensitivity was slightly higher than 50%-88.9% by the qPCR assay. A higher detection rate of <em>M. leprae</em> was observed in nasal swabs than oral swabs. The extraction-free assay directly using 6 µL saliva has a LOD of 11,833 <em>M. leprae</em> RLEP copies/mL saliva, can be completed within 30 mins, and showed 66.7% sensitivity for three saliva samples when compared with the assay using purified DNA.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The standard and/or extraction-free HiFi-LAMP assays can be used for detecting and monitoring <em>M. leprae</em> in endemic areas in resource-limited settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107835"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143390828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toward the elimination of HAT in Nigeria: leaving no community behind","authors":"Rolayo T. Emmanuel ,&nbsp;Kelly Zongo ,&nbsp;Olaleye O. Olusola","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107808","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2025.107808","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>Sleeping sickness, also known as human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), is a tsetse fly-borne neglected tropical disease that affects underserved rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the advancements in diagnostics, the actual status of sleeping sickness in Nigeria remains unclear. In our quest for clarity, we conducted a human population survey to ascertain the prevalence of HAT in tsetse fly-infested remote rural hamlets.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Blood samples were collected from 72 consenting participants by finger pricking. Blood samples were blotted on a Flinders Technology Associate Classic Card and screened for <em>T. b. gambiense</em> infection using colorimetric loop-mediated amplification with <em>Trypanosoma brucei gambiense surface glycoprotein</em>-specific (<em>TgsGP</em>) primers.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Of the 72 consenting individuals, 40.28% (55.17% men, 44.83% women) were infected with <em>T. b. gambiense</em> (<em>P</em> = 0.738). Age group 51-60 years had the highest prevalence of 77.78% (<em>P</em> = 0.214). The infection rate was higher among uneducated individuals, with a prevalence of 34.48% (<em>P</em> = 0.007). Alaho had the highest prevalence (66.67%), followed by Arabata (38.10%) and Oloya (31.43%) (<em>P</em> = 0.035).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Silent transmission of HAT is ongoing at the study sites, warranting intensified community sensitization and surveillance scale-up. An urgent, health-guided, strategic control approach is imperative to prevent epidemics in hamlets and a devastating resurgence in Nigeria.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107808"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143074412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integral Scientific Advice for Outbreak Response: Lessons learned from an Avian Influenza Simulation in the Netherlands","authors":"Dr Anja Schreijer,&nbsp;Dr. Femke Overbosch,&nbsp;Dr. Tomris Cesuroglu,&nbsp;Dr Charlotte Waltz,&nbsp;Drs. Bart Blokland,&nbsp;Drs Jeanette de Boer,&nbsp;Drs Tim Florschutz","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107436","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107436","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Background&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The continuing avian influenza outbreaks in animals pose a public health threat worldwide. Concerns about the risk for humans are raising, now we see spread among different mammal species and animal to human transmission. The question raises how governments are best advised about this impending outbreak. One of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that future pandemics demand swift and effective collaboration across disciplines to address diverse consequences and priorities. In many countries the governance framework for outbreaks requires different disciplines to provide advice separately to the government. We conducted an avian influenza outbreak simulation to explore development of integrated scientific advice in pandemics.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;We organised two simulation events on 17 April and 24 May 2024. Prior to the simulation exercise, literature research and in-depth interviews were conducted with experts. During the simulations, the scenario dealt with different phases of the start of a pandemic situation due to a novel influenza virus from zoonotic origin. The scenario on 17 April depicted a variant of avian influenza spreading via pigs, including the first cases with human-to-human transmission, triggering significant health implications for humans and animals. In May the simulation continued with widespread human-to-human and cross-border transmission, hence the start of a new pandemic. A best- and worst-case scenario was illustrated from a biomedical and social-economic viewpoint. On both events, 20-23 Dutch experts from different disciplines initially crafted their recommendations independently. Three interdisciplinary groups then converged, utilizing an evidence-to-decision framework. Thematic analysis was conducted on notes of group and plenary discussions, and reflection and evaluation sessions.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The interdisciplinary discussions helped participants identify the blind spots within the disciplinary recommendations. A sense of urgency differed between sectors, leading to diverse point of focus within the expert teams. The biomedical team focussed on limiting the spread of the virus, while the the social-economic team focussed on mitigating the impact of the outbreak within society. Hence, the biomedical team advised measures like a local lockdown and active surveillance, where the social economic team preferred citizen consultations, exploration of economic and mental support and proper communication.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;During integrative discussion, the various disciplines brought valuable insights from respective sectors, converging the different views towards a shared focus and creating mitigating advice.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;For example, the integral advice provided various mitigating measures to interventions with a large social impact, e.g. setting up an auxiliary structure to quickly identify and support vulnerable groups and setting up tailored commu","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107436"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143520673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Climate change-driven vector-borne diseases spread to temperate climate territories: The frying pan theory.","authors":"Prof Miguel Clavero ,&nbsp;Dr Sergio Magallanes ,&nbsp;Ms Pilar Aguilera-Sepulveda ,&nbsp;Dr Maria Jose Ruiz-Lopez ,&nbsp;Dr Josue Martinez-De la Puente ,&nbsp;Dr Francisco Llorente ,&nbsp;Dr Ana Vazquez ,&nbsp;Dr Elisa Perez-Ramirez ,&nbsp;Dr Martina Ferraguti ,&nbsp;Dr Jovita Fernandez-Pinero ,&nbsp;Prof Jordi Figuerola","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107418","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107418","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Introduction&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Recently, as the effects of anthropogenic climate change (ACC) become evident, vector-borne diseases (VBD) are spreading and establishing in temperate regions of the world. We investigated whether these two phenomena are related. We hypothesized that ACC has turned many areas, previously considered “unsuitable” for sustaining VBD cycles, into “suitable” ones. The hypothesis assumes that VBD pathogens have historically been able to reach temperate areas, but only started to thrive there under the influence of ACC, hence their current spread. To support this hypothesis, which we tentatively named “The frying pan theory”, we have chosen the recent spread of West Nile virus (WNV) in Spain as a model of study.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods &amp; Materials&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The study area was Southern Spain, now endemic for WNV. We analyzed eighteen years (2003 to 2020) of data on WNV seroprevalence in common coots and horses and compared them statistically with annual series of climate variables (temperature, pluviometry, etc). We also performed phylogenetic analyses using WNV sequences from samples of mosquitoes, birds and horses, collected in the area up to 2022, and analyzed the pathogenicity of representative Spanish WNV isolates from this area and period in a mouse model.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Coots’ and horses’ seroprevalences exhibited a biphasic curve indicating at least two epizootic waves, one before and another after 2010. Seroprevalence in coots correlated with maximum winter temperature and average spring temperature. Horses’ seroprevalence correlated positively with average minimum annual temperature and the number of rain days per year and negatively with total annual precipitations. Phylogenetic analyses revealed at least six independent introductions of WNV into Southern Spain during the study period. Some introductions succeeded in establishing in the area and spreading to neighboring regions, while others did not. No significant changes in the pathogenicity of the strains studied were observed.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Discussion&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Long-term comparisons between annual variation of pathogen exposure and climate variables allow forecasting VBD trends. In this regard, higher minimum temperatures are among the ACC trends that may favor vector biology and hence VBD. Our data support that VBD pathogens like WNV can spread to new territories, but they will only establish their cycles successfully if they find suitable conditions. In Spain, competent WNV hosts (birds) and vectors (Culex mosquitoes), have always been present, and the virus has likely been introduced occasionally since long, e.g. by bird migrations. However, local WNV cycles would only be established if these necessary ingredients are “heated” by ACC much like well-cooked bacon and eggs may result only if heated in a frying pan.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Conclusion&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;The data obtained support our hypothesis, which may also apply to most o","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107418"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143520778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Establishment of a wastewater-based surveillance network to support infectious disease surveillance in South Africa","authors":"Ms Sibonginkosi Maposa ,&nbsp;Dr Mukhlid Yousif ,&nbsp;Ms Chenoa Sankar ,&nbsp;Mr Victor Vusi Mabasa ,&nbsp;Ms Nosihle Msomi ,&nbsp;Mr Emmanuel Phalane ,&nbsp;Mr Sipho Gwala ,&nbsp;Ms Mokgaetji Macheke ,&nbsp;Ms Natasha Singh ,&nbsp;Ms Kathleen Subramoney ,&nbsp;Ms Phindile Ntuli ,&nbsp;Mr Nkosenhle Ndlovu ,&nbsp;Mr Thabo Mangena ,&nbsp;Ms Mantshali Motloung ,&nbsp;Mr Lethabo Monametsi ,&nbsp;Ms Lebohang Rabotapi ,&nbsp;Ms Fiona Els ,&nbsp;Dr Said Rachida ,&nbsp;Ms Sibonginkosi Maposa ,&nbsp;Dr Kerrigan McCarthy","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107381","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107381","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Introduction&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;Wastewater surveillance for infectious disease has demonstrated its potential to support clinical surveillance of infectious disease through the COVID-19 and Mpox pandemics and the polio environmental surveillance. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) provides disease surveillance, specialised diagnostics, outbreak response, public health research and capacity building for communicable diseases. Through grant funding, the NICD developed a national and district wastewater surveillance network to support infectious disease surveillance in South Africa. We describe lessons learned sample collection, laboratory processing and data analysis and reporting as the surveillance network has become established.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Methods&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;A surveillance network comprising 48 wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and district sampling sites, with a minimum of once weekly sampling, was set up across 9 provinces in South Africa. Samples are collected according to standard procedures, maintained at 40C and transported to the NICD laboratory, In the laboratory, samples undergo concentration, storage of residual concentrate, RNA extraction, PCR detection and quantification. Positive samples are sequenced. All data are recorded into RedCap. Processing data including turn-around-times, sequencing quality data and results are reported weekly. Clinical case data as (determined by case definitions from national notifiable medical conditions surveillance) from the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) and NICD laboratory testing (measles and rubella) are downloaded weekly and epidemiological curves are generated.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Results&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;To date, 3350 samples have been collected from June 2020 until April 2024, with 25-58 samples processed weekly. Turn-around times for quantification and sequencing were 5-7 days, and 3-4 weeks. Challenges included delays in new site activation due to co-ordination across multiple layers of authority. Dedicated fridges were required in some sites to maintain sample integrity. Failure or delay in submitting samples occurred because of challenges with communication, co-ordination for the supply of sampling consumables to collection sites, and delays with processes for procurement of specialised courier services. In the laboratory, delays were experienced with shipment of filtration apparatus and PCR reagents. In addition, contamination in sequencing laboratories intermittently disrupted sequencing as deep cleaning was conducted. Analysis and reporting challenges were encountered in the introduction of RedCap data management system. The programme has also not been able to identify and attract senior bioinformatics staff.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;h3&gt;Discussion&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;div&gt;A stable network of sentinel sites with regular sampling, testing and reporting has been established. Challenges have provided learning and development opportunities. Research efforts are now focusing on exploring","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107381"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143520757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysing Open-source Images to Assess Face Mask Usage for Epidemiological Studies","authors":"Dr Hang Ding ,&nbsp;Mrs Ashley Quigley ,&nbsp;Professor Raina MacIntyre","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107407","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107407","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Face masks are an available intervention for respiratory emerging infectious diseases. Research during the COVID-19 pandemic has sought to manually quantify mask use in mass gatherings and public settings. Open-source images of mass gatherings or other large events on news and social media contain valuable information about face mask usage. This study aims to develop and validate an Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution to automatically analyse open-source crowd photos for estimation of mask use.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Our AI solution includes four analysis stages: 1) detecting individual faces on a given image, 2) excluding unusable (blurry or occluded) face images, 3) classifying face images with or without a mask, and 4) identifying the indoor or outdoor environment. Multiple machine learning (ML) techniques were employed, such as a model named ResNet152-pretrained for the mask-related classifications at Stages 2 and 3 and Microsoft AI Computer Vision Service at Stage 4. To train the models, we collected open-source images using data-searching strategies similar to those developed for the AI-driven outbreak warning platform, EPIWATCH® (The Kirby Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia)</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We finetuned those mask-related classification models using 25800 individual face images from 1871 open-source crowd images. We evaluated the face mask classification using images of mass gatherings. The face images were correctly classified for mask use in 88% of cases.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>We demonstrated the potential to classify open-source images to assess face mask use. Current results support our open-source analysis strategy with AI innovations for mask use estimation using open-source data. This is a novel epidemiological tool and further research is required to assess its validity in providing accurate assessments of mask wearing.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Analysing open-source images presents new opportunities to estimate mask use or other visual characteristics pertinent to public health and provide valuable insights into mandated mask-related health policies. AI-powered image analysis systems can help identify high-risk areas, track disease progression, and inform targeted interventions, ultimately contributing to more effective public health strategies and improved population health outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107407"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143520880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seroprevalence of dengue in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Senegal: results of the SERODEN study","authors":"Anthony Afum-adjei Awuah ,&nbsp;Aboubacry Gaye ,&nbsp;Antoine Nkuba-Ndaye ,&nbsp;Anna Vicco ,&nbsp;Moussa Dia ,&nbsp;Oumar Ndiaye ,&nbsp;Ndoumbe Ndiaye ,&nbsp;Franck William Mendy ,&nbsp;Mame Daba Thiam ,&nbsp;Idrissa Dieng ,&nbsp;Benoit Mputu-Ngoyi ,&nbsp;Paul Tshiminyi Munkamba ,&nbsp;Lionel Baketana-Kinzonzi ,&nbsp;Elysé Matungulu-Biyala ,&nbsp;Frida Nkawa ,&nbsp;Evans Asamoah Adu ,&nbsp;Eric Ebenezer Boham ,&nbsp;Hakim Alani ,&nbsp;Akua Pomaah Wiredu ,&nbsp;Louis Adu-Amoah ,&nbsp;Ilaria Dorigatti","doi":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107428","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107428","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>There are limited data on dengue transmission across most of African countries, including Senegal, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We aimed to assess the age-stratified dengue seroprevalence and estimate the force of infection (FOI, per-capita risk of dengue infection for a susceptible subject) in these countries.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We surveyed 14 regions in Senegal, 3 cities in Ghana, and 2 cities in DRC, leveraging blood samples collected from previous SARS-CoV-2 serosurveys of individuals aged 0 to 94 years. An Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used to measure IgG antibody levels against purified dengue particles (ELISA-1). A subset of samples was tested by ELISA for IgG against the recombinant nonstructural protein (NS1) of dengue (ELISA-2) and using a Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT) for all four dengue serotypes.</div><div>We used a Bayesian approach to reconstruct results obtained in the study and estimated the force of infection of dengue assuming a time-constant transmission.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In total, 8203 samples were tested by IgG ELISA-1: 1486 in Ghana, 3137 in Senegal and 3580 in DRC. Based on the IgG ELISA results, there was significant heterogeneity in the annual per capita risk of dengue infection across regions of Senegal, ranging from 0.2% (95% CrI: 0.1-0.3%) in Dakar to 2.6% (95% CrI: 1.9 -3.6%) in Fatick, corresponding to overall seroprevalence estimates of 5% (95% CrI: 3-8%) and 39% (95% CrI: 32-47%), respectively. In DRC, the average yearly FOI obtained from the IgG ELISA-1 results was 2.9% (95% CrI: 2.2-3.9%) in Kinshasa and 1.4% (95% CrI: 0.9-2.0%) in Matadi, with an overall population seroprevalence of 41% (95% CrI: 34-48%) in Kinshasa and 23% (95% CrI: 17, 32%) in Matadi. There were large heterogeneities in dengue transmission intensity across locations in Ghana, with a higher average yearly FOI in Tamale at 7.1% (95% CrI 5.6-9.6%)] compared to Accra at 2.6% (95% CrI 2.1-3.3%) and Kumasi at 0.5% (95% CrI 0.1-0.8%)​. Based on these results, we estimated that 43%, 11%, and 70% of the Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale populations, respectively, had been exposed to dengue virus. Notably, we found that the integration of the IgG ELISA-2 and PRNT test generated consistent estimates to those obtained with the IgG ELISA-1 test across locations.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>This three-country seroprevalence study provides evidence that dengue has been circulating at different levels across Ghana, DRC, and Senegal and highlights the large heterogeneity in population immunity and transmission across regions. Dengue surveillance needs to be strengthened in these countries and across Africa to monitor transmission and respond to future outbreaks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":14006,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases","volume":"152 ","pages":"Article 107428"},"PeriodicalIF":4.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143520679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}