Melissa González Ramírez, Jaime Andrés Hoyos Muñoz, Germán Alberto Moreno Gómez, Mateo Aguirre Flórez, José Fernando Gómez González
{"title":"Relationship between steroid use and superinfections in SARS-CoV-2 patients. A systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Melissa González Ramírez, Jaime Andrés Hoyos Muñoz, Germán Alberto Moreno Gómez, Mateo Aguirre Flórez, José Fernando Gómez González","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2277000","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2277000","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Introduction:</b> The use of steroids has been proposed as a pharmacological approach to treat the SARS-CoV-2 infection to improve outcomes. However, there are doubts about safety against the development of superinfections and their worse outcomes. <b>Objective:</b> To establish the relative frequency of superinfection associated with using steroids in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. <b>Materials and methods:</b> We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis using PRISMA standards in 5 databases (PubMed/Scopus/Cochrane/EMBASE/Google Scholar). The search was carried out between February 2020 and May 2023. The search terms were 'steroids' or 'superinfection' 'and' followed by 'SARS-CoV-2' or 'COVID-19'. <b>Results:</b> We found 77 studies, but only 10 with 3539 patients were included in the systematic review. All patients developed severe disease. The documented OR for superinfection through the meta-analysis was 1.437 (95% IC 0.869-2.378) with a p-value of 0.158 without showing a risk attributed to steroids and the development of superinfections. In the Funnel-plot analysis, no publication biases were found. <b>Conclusion:</b> No relationship was found between using steroids and superinfection in patients with SARS-CoV-2.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"13 1","pages":"2277000"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10769522/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139378446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Detection rates of norovirus gastroenteritis and factors associated with the infection before and during COVID-19 pandemic: a secondary analysis of surveillance data in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Southern China.","authors":"Yanxu Zhong, Huan Lu, Yuyan Jiang, Dongmei Tan, Yuli Pan, Tippawan Liabsuetrakul","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2278246","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2278246","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background:</b> Changes in oral and hand hygiene behaviors have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 which may be associated with the incidence of the norovirus infection, a common cause of gastroenteritis. <b>Objective:</b> To estimate the trends of detection rates of norovirus gastroenteritis and associated factors before COVID-19 in 2015-2019 and during the COVID-19 in 2020 in Guangxi, China. <b>Methods:</b> A secondary analysis of Guangxi surveillance data of gastroenteritis patients was conducted. The detection rate in 2020 was predicted using an autoregressive integrated moving average modeland associated factors were analyzed using multiple logistic regression adjusted for interaction effects. <b>Results:</b> Of 7,903 gastroenteritis patients, the overall detection rate of norovirus gastroenteritis was 12.8%, (14.3% before and 6.1% during COVID-19). Detection rates gradually decreased from 2015 to 2020, of which the slope of predicted line was slightly flatter than the actual line. The odds ratios of detection were double to triple increase during COVID-19 in the younger age group and having food intake outside their homes. Tourist city, season, and types of food were independent associated factors. <b>Conclusion:</b> The detection rates were higher during the COVID-19 year among the population aged 45 years or less and those who consumed food outside their home.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"13 1","pages":"2278246"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10769525/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139378445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solveig Jore, Hildegunn Viljugrein, Marika Hjertqvist, Timothée Dub, Henna Mäkelä
{"title":"Outdoor recreation, tick borne encephalitis incidence and seasonality in Finland, Norway and Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020/2021).","authors":"Solveig Jore, Hildegunn Viljugrein, Marika Hjertqvist, Timothée Dub, Henna Mäkelä","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2281055","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2281055","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During the pandemic outdoor activities were encouraged to mitigate transmission risk while providing safe spaces for social interactions. Human behaviour, which may favour or disfavour, contact rates between questing ticks and humans, is a key factor impacting tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) incidence. We analyzed annual and weekly TBE cases in Finland, Norway and Sweden from 2010 to 2021 to assess trend, seasonality, and discuss changes in human tick exposure imposed by COVID-19. We compared the pre-pandemic incidence (2010-2019) with the pandemic incidence (2020-2021) by fitting a generalized linear model (GLM) to incidence data. Pre-pandemic incidence was 1.0, 0.29 and 2.8 for Finland, Norway and Sweden, respectively, compared to incidence of 2.2, 1.0 and 3.9 during the pandemic years. However, there was an increasing trend for all countries across the whole study period. Therefore, we predicted the number of cases in 2020/2021 based on a model fitted to the annual cases in 2010-2019. The incidences during the pandemic were 1.3 times higher for Finland, 1.7 times higher for Norway and no difference for Sweden. When social restrictions were enforced to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2 there were profound changes in outdoor recreational behavior. Future consideration of public health interventions that promote outdoor activities may increase exposure to vector-borne diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"13 1","pages":"2281055"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10769561/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139379122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Veterinary services under siege: how the armed conflict in Sudan threatens animal and human health and how to respond.","authors":"Abdullah A A Mohammed, Musa Ahmed","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2281054","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2281054","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"13 1","pages":"2281054"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10769538/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139379123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carol Esson, Gustaf Samelius, Tanja M Strand, Åke Lundkvist, Johan R Michaux, Therese Råsbäck, Tara Wahab, Tserennadmid Nadia Mijiddorj, Lee Berger, Lee F Skerratt, Matthew Low
{"title":"The prevalence of rodent-borne zoonotic pathogens in the South Gobi desert region of Mongolia.","authors":"Carol Esson, Gustaf Samelius, Tanja M Strand, Åke Lundkvist, Johan R Michaux, Therese Råsbäck, Tara Wahab, Tserennadmid Nadia Mijiddorj, Lee Berger, Lee F Skerratt, Matthew Low","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2270258","DOIUrl":"10.1080/20008686.2023.2270258","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The alpine ecosystems and communities of central Asia are currently undergoing large-scale ecological and socio-ecological changes likely to affect wildlife-livestock-human disease interactions and zoonosis transmission risk. However, relatively little is known about the prevalence of pathogens in this region. Between 2012 and 2015 we screened 142 rodents in Mongolia's Gobi desert for exposure to important zoonotic and livestock pathogens. Rodent seroprevalence to <i>Leptospira</i> spp. was >1/3 of tested animals, <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> approximately 1/8 animals, and the hantaviruses being between 1/20 (Puumala-like hantavirus) and <1/100 (Seoul-like hantavirus). Gerbils trapped inside local dwellings were one of the species seropositive to Puumala-like hantavirus, suggesting a potential zoonotic transmission pathway. Seventeen genera of zoonotic bacteria were also detected in the faeces and ticks collected from these rodents, with one tick testing positive to <i>Yersinia</i>. Our study helps provide baseline patterns of disease prevalence needed to infer potential transmission between source and target populations in this region, and to help shift the focus of epidemiological research towards understanding disease transmission among species and proactive disease mitigation strategies within a broader One Health framework.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"13 1","pages":"2270258"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10588514/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49692776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hui Yun Penny Oh, Mahathir Humaidi, Qian Yi Chan, Grace Yap, Kai Yang Ang, Jason Tan, Lee Ching Ng, Diyar Mailepessov
{"title":"Association of rodents with man-made infrastructures and food waste in Urban Singapore.","authors":"Hui Yun Penny Oh, Mahathir Humaidi, Qian Yi Chan, Grace Yap, Kai Yang Ang, Jason Tan, Lee Ching Ng, Diyar Mailepessov","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2021.2016560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2021.2016560","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Rodent population control is an important measure in reducing the risk of rodent-borne disease transmission. In this study, we examined rodent activity in the sanitary waste network around the household waste-collection bin chamber of an urban residential apartment block.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We utilised infra-red camera traps to determine the pattern of rodent activity in a rodent-infested bin chamber and its associated sanitary waste network. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the risk factors that were independently associated with rodent activity in the bin chambers.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>The camera trap surveillance showed that the rodents were active in the bin chamber and sanitary network both in the day and at night. In the cross-sectional study, rodent activity in the bin chambers was independently associated with broken floor traps [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 36.7, CI: 21.3-66.3], calendar month [Log-likelihood ratio test (LRT) <i>p</i> = 0.002] and Town Council [LRT <i>p</i> = 0.004] variables. In restricted analysis, rodent activity in bin chambers was independently associated with defects in the wastewater pipe under the chamber [AOR: 12.3, CI: 4.3-51.7].</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our study suggests that urban municipal management councils should prioritize rodent control resources in areas according to the factors that increase the risk of rodent infestation.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"2016560"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8803118/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39584571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is composition of vertebrates an indicator of the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens?","authors":"Agustín Estrada-Peña, Natalia Fernández-Ruiz","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2022.2025647","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2022.2025647","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Communities of vertebrates tend to appear together under similar ranges of environmental features. This study explores whether an explicit combination of vertebrates and their contact rates with a tick vector might constitute an indicator of the prevalence of a pathogen in the quest for ticks at the western Palearctic scale. We asked how 'indicator' communities could be 'markers' of the actual infection rates of the tick in the field of two species of <i>Borrelia</i> (a bacterium transmitted by the tick <i>Ixodes ricinus)</i>. We approached an unsupervised classification of the territory to obtain clusters on the grounds of abundance of each vertebrate and contact rates with the tick. Statistical models based on Neural Networks, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, and AdaBoost were detect the best correlation between communities' composition and the prevalence of <i>Borrelia afzelii</i> and <i>Borrelia gariniii</i> in questing ticks. Both Gradient Boosting and AdaBoost produced the best results, predicting tick infection rates from the indicator communities. A ranking algorithm demonstrated that the prevalence of these bacteria in the tick is correlated with indicator communities of vertebrates on sites selected as a proof-of-concept. We acknowledge that our findings are supported by statistical outcomes, but they provide consistency for a framework that should be deeper explored at the large scale.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"2025647"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8757609/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39687623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erik Ingefors, Jonas Tverring, Fatima Nafaa, Niklas Jönsson, Sara Karlsson Söbirk, Charlott Kjölvmark, Oskar Ljungquist
{"title":"Low 30-day mortality and low carbapenem-resistance in a decade of <i>Acinetobacter</i> bacteraemia in South Sweden.","authors":"Erik Ingefors, Jonas Tverring, Fatima Nafaa, Niklas Jönsson, Sara Karlsson Söbirk, Charlott Kjölvmark, Oskar Ljungquist","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2021.2009324","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2021.2009324","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The aim of this study was to provide a descriptive account of carbapenem resistance and risk factors for mortality from invasive <i>Acinetobacter</i> infections in the south of Sweden.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Blood isolates with growth of <i>Acinetobacter</i> species between 2010 and 2019 in Skåne county were subtyped using MALDI-TOF and subjected to susceptibility testing against clinically relevant antibiotics. Association between risk factors and 30-day mortality were analysed in univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There were 179 bacteraemia episodes in 176 patients included in the study. The 30-day all-cause mortality was 16%. In all, two percent of <i>Acinetobacter</i> strains were carbapenem resistant. Independent risk factors associated with 30-day mortality in the multivariate regression model were <i>Acinetobacter</i> growth in all blood cultures drawn at the day of bacteraemia onset (OR 5.0, 95% CI: 1.8 to 13.7, <i>p</i>= 0.002), baseline functional capacity (1-4 points, OR 2.0, 95% CI: 1.2 to 3.4, <i>p</i>= 0.010) and correct empiric antibiotics at time of culture (OR 3.5 95% CI: 1.0 to 11.8, <i>p</i>= 0.045).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study on <i>Acinetobacter</i> bacteraemia in South Sweden found low 30-day mortality and low carbapenem-resistance rates compared to previous international studies which may be due to a higher rate of contaminant findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"2009324"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8667949/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39728941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Solveig Jore, Uffe Christian Braae, Frederik Trier Møller, Ingrid Friesema, Karthik Paranthaman, Katri Jalava, Nathalie Jourdan-DaSilva, Emma Löf, Moa Rehn, Steen Ethelberg
{"title":"A common framework for using and reporting consumer purchase data (CPD) in foodborne outbreak investigations in Europe.","authors":"Solveig Jore, Uffe Christian Braae, Frederik Trier Møller, Ingrid Friesema, Karthik Paranthaman, Katri Jalava, Nathalie Jourdan-DaSilva, Emma Löf, Moa Rehn, Steen Ethelberg","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2021.2007828","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2021.2007828","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Consumer purchase data (CPD) can be a powerful tool in the investigation of foodborne outbreaks through analyses of electronic records of food that individuals buy. The objective of this study was to develop a common framework for use of CPD in foodborne outbreak investigations using the expertise of European public health professionals from 11 European countries. We also aimed to describe barriers and limitations preventing CPD utilization. CPD are mainly gathered from supermarket loyalty programmes, smaller consortia, and independent supermarkets. Privacy legislation governing CPD was perceived as the most crucial barrier for CPD usage, but still resolvable. The main practical challenges were obtaining consumer consent for CPD usage, the associated workload, data access, format, and analysis. Harmonising methods and reporting across countries, standardised consent forms and electronic consent methods were identified as solutions. This guideline was developed to support outbreak investigators in overcoming barriers in using CPD, thereby increasing public health professionals' application and value of this powerful investigation tool. In addition, we hope this framework will lead to more public health institutions, in collaboration with food safety authorities, making use of CPD in outbreak investigations in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"12 1","pages":"2007828"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8648039/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39958105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amir Modirihamedan, Shabnam Aghajantabar, Jacqueline King, Annika Graaf, Anne Pohlmann, Leila Aghaiyan, Zahra Ziafati Kafi, Yeganeh Mahfoozi, Hossein Hosseini, Martin Beer, Arash Ghalyanchilangeroudi, Timm Harder
{"title":"Wild bird trade at live poultry markets potentiates risks of avian influenza virus introductions in Iran.","authors":"Amir Modirihamedan, Shabnam Aghajantabar, Jacqueline King, Annika Graaf, Anne Pohlmann, Leila Aghaiyan, Zahra Ziafati Kafi, Yeganeh Mahfoozi, Hossein Hosseini, Martin Beer, Arash Ghalyanchilangeroudi, Timm Harder","doi":"10.1080/20008686.2021.1992083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20008686.2021.1992083","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Wild aquatic birds are the main natural host reservoir of avian influenza viruses (AIV). Migratory aquatic birds can translocate AI viruses over wide geographic distances. AIV may be transmitted reciprocally at the wild bird-poultry interface, increasing viral variability and potentially driving the zoonotic potential of these viruses. A cross-sectional study on AIV and several further avian viral pathogens conducted in 396 trapped migratory aquatic birds traded at live bird markets (LBM) in northern Iran identified 11 AIV-positive cases. The 10 identified H9N2 viral sequences fell into wild bird H9 lineage Y439; in addition, an H10N3 virus of Eurasian lineage was detected. Ten samples contained low viral loads of avian coronavirus but could not be further characterized. Although traditional trading of live-trapped wild birds provides income for hunters, particularly during fall migration periods, it increases the risk of introducing new AIV strains from the natural reservoir to poultry kept at LBMs and, potentially, to traders and customers. Banning these birds from poultry trading lines would lower such risks considerably.</p>","PeriodicalId":37446,"journal":{"name":"Infection Ecology and Epidemiology","volume":"11 1","pages":"1992083"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8583743/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39624188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}