{"title":"Current status of the sterile insect technique for the suppression of mosquito populations on a global scale.","authors":"Jérémy Bouyer","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01242-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-024-01242-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized the urgent need for alternative strategies to chemical insecticides for controlling mosquito populations, particularly the invasive Aedes species, which are known vectors of arboviruses. Among these alternative approaches, the sterile insect technique (SIT) is experiencing rapid development, with numerous pilot trials being conducted worldwide.</p><p><strong>Main text: </strong>This review aims to elucidate the principles of SIT and highlight the significant recent advancements that have facilitated its scalability. I also employ a phased conditional approach to categorize the progression of 39 projects, drawing on peer reviewed studies, press releases and direct communication with project managers. This review indicates that a substantial number of projects illustrate the efficacy of SIT in suppressing Aedes populations, with one project even demonstrating a reduction in dengue incidence. I offer several recommendations to mitigate potential failures and address the challenges of compensation and overcompensation when implementing SIT field trials. Furthermore, I examine the potential implications of male mating harassment on the effectiveness of SIT in reducing disease transmission.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This comprehensive assessment underscores the promise of SIT as a viable strategy for mosquito control. The insights gained from these trials not only contribute to the understanding of SIT's effectiveness but also highlight the importance of careful project management and ecological considerations in the pursuit of public health objectives.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"68"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11426227/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142330498","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hanqi Ouyang, Ziyu Zhao, Ibrahima Socé Fall, Amadou Garba Djirmay, Okugbe Ebiotubo Ohore, Robert Bergquist, Guojing Yang
{"title":"Spatial-temporal distribution of neglected tropical diseases burdens in China from 2005 to 2020.","authors":"Hanqi Ouyang, Ziyu Zhao, Ibrahima Socé Fall, Amadou Garba Djirmay, Okugbe Ebiotubo Ohore, Robert Bergquist, Guojing Yang","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01235-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01235-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Out of the 21 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) listed by the World Health Organization, 15 affect the People's Republic of China. Despite significant achievements in controlling NTDs, comprehensive assessments of the disease burden based on actual case data and detailed information on spatial and temporal dynamics are still lacking. This study aims to assess the disease burden and spatial-temporal distribution of NTDs in China from 2005 to 2020, to provide a reference for the formulation of national health agendas in line with the global health agenda, and guide resource allocation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The number of cases and deaths of major NTDs in China from 2005 to 2020 were downloaded from the China Public Health Science Data Center ( https://www.phsciencedata.cn/Share/index.jsp ) of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and relevant literatures. Simplified formulas for disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) helped estimate the years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and total DALYs. Spatial autocorrelation analysis of the average NTDs burden data for the years 2005 to 2020 was evaluated using Moran's I statistic.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>China's overall NTDs burden decreased significantly, from 245,444.53 DALYs in 2005 to 18,984.34 DALYs in 2020, marking a reduction of 92.27%. In 2005, the DALYs caused by schistosomiasis and rabies represent a substantial proportion of the total disease burden, accounting for 65.37% and 34.43% respectively. In 2015, Hunan and Sichuan provinces had the highest diversity of NTDs, with 9 and 8 number of different NTDs reported respectively. And the highest disease burden was observed in Sichuan (242,683.46 DALYs), Xizang Zizhiqu (178,318.99 DALYs) and Guangdong (154,228.31 DALYs). The \"high-high\" clustering areas of NTDs were mainly in China's central and southern regions, as identified by spatial autocorrelation analysis.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>China has made unremitting efforts in the prevention and control of NTDs, and the disease burden of major NTDs in China has decreased significantly. Using the One Health concept to guide disease prevention and control in the field to effectively save medical resources and achieve precise intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"64"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11373236/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142134263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Prevalence and correlations of schistosomiasis mansoni and schistosomiasis haematobium among humans and intermediate snail hosts: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Xin-Yao Wang, Qin Li, Yin-Long Li, Su-Ying Guo, Shi-Zhu Li, Xiao-Nong Zhou, Jia-Gang Guo, Robert Bergquist, Saleh Juma, Jian-Feng Zhang, Kun Yang, Jing Xu","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01233-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01233-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The control of schistosomiasis is particularly difficult in sub-Saharan Africa, which currently harbours 95% of this disease. The target population for preventive chemotherapy (PC) is expanded to all age group at risk of infection, thus increasing the demands of praziquantel (PZQ) tablets according to the new released guideline by World Health Organization. Due to the gap between available PZQ for PC and requirements, alternative approaches to assess endemicity of schistosomiasis in a community, are urgently needed for more quick and precise methods. We aimed to find out to which degree the infection status of snails can be used to guide chemotherapy against schistosomiasis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We searched literature published from January 1991 to December 2022, that reported on the prevalence rates of Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium in the intermediate snails Biomphalaria spp. and Bulinus spp., respectively, and in humans. A random effect model for meta-analyses was used to calculate the pooled prevalence estimate (PPE), with heterogeneity assessed using I-squared statistic (I<sup>2</sup>), with correlation and regression analysis for the exploration of the relationship between human S. mansoni and S. haematobium infections and that in their specific intermediate hosts.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Forty-seven publications comprising 59 field investigations were included. The pooled PPE of schistosomiasis, schistosomiasis mansoni and schistosomiasis haematobium in humans were 27.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 24.0-31.1%], 25.6% (95% CI: 19.9-31.3%), and 28.8% (95% CI: 23.4-34.3%), respectively. The snails showed an overall infection rate of 8.6% (95% CI: 7.7-9.4%), with 12.1% (95% CI: 9.9-14.2%) in the Biomphalaria spp. snails and 6.9% (95% CI: 5.7-8.1%) in the Bulinus spp. snails. The correlation coefficient was 0.3 (95% CI: 0.01-0.5%, P < 0.05) indicating that the two variables, i.e. all intermediate host snails on the one hand and the human host on the other, were positively correlated.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The prevalence rate of S. mansoni and S. haematobium is still high in endemic areas. Given the significant, positive correlation between the prevalence of schistosomes in humans and the intermediate snail hosts, more attention should be paid to programme integration of snail surveillance in future.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"63"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11367875/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142113797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
René Gato, Zulema Menéndez, Misladys Rodríguez, Gladys Gutiérrez-Bugallo, María Del Carmen Marquetti
{"title":"Advancing the art of mosquito control: the journey of the sterile insect technique against Aedes aegypti in Cuba.","authors":"René Gato, Zulema Menéndez, Misladys Rodríguez, Gladys Gutiérrez-Bugallo, María Del Carmen Marquetti","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01224-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01224-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Aedes aegypti, the primary vector of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika viruses, poses a significant public health threat worldwide. Traditional control methods using insecticides are increasingly challenged by resistance and environmental concerns. The sterile insect technique (SIT) offers an eco-friendly alternative that has been successfully applied to other insect pests. This article aims to briefly review Ae. aegypti management in Cuba, highlighting the accomplishments, challenges, and future directions of the SIT.</p><p><strong>Main body: </strong>Here we provide a brief summary of the extensive history of Ae. aegypti control efforts in Cuba. After a successful eradication campaign in the 1980s, a resurgence of dengue cases has been observed in recent years, suggesting that traditional control methods may have limited effectiveness under current conditions. In response, Cuba initiated a phased approach to develop and evaluate the feasibility of SIT for Ae. aegypti control, starting in 2008. Initial research focused on Ae. aegypti mating behavior and sterilization methods, followed by successful laboratory and semi-field trials that demonstrated population suppression. The first open-field trial in 2020 confirmed the efficacy of the SIT in reducing Ae. aegypti populations under real-world conditions. Currently, the research is in a phase involving a cluster-randomized superiority-controlled trial. This planned trial will compare the standard vector control program with the same program augmented by the SIT, aiming to assess the impact of the SIT on dengue incidence as the primary outcome. Implementing robust epidemiological trials to evaluate the effectiveness of the SIT is complex due to potential spillover effects from mosquito and human movement across study areas. Additionally, conducting the SIT requires significant development and operational investments. Despite these challenges, the ongoing Cuban trial holds promise for establishing the SIT as an effective and sustainable tool for Ae. aegypti control and for reducing the burden of mosquito-borne diseases.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The phased evaluation conducted in Cuba confirms the efficacy of the SIT against Ae. aegypti, highlighting its potential for sustainable mosquito-borne disease management. The effective implementation of multi-site trials will be crucial in providing evidence of the potential of the sterile insect technique as part of a strategy to reduce the incidence of arboviral diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"61"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11360771/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142094000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Human-water interactions associated to cercarial emergence pattern and their influences on urinary schistosomiasis transmission in two endemic areas in Mali.","authors":"Bakary Sidibé, Privat Agniwo, Assitan Diakité, Boris Agossou Eyaton-Olodji Sègnito Savassi, Safiatou Niaré Doumbo, Ahristode Akplogan, Hassim Guindo, Moudachirou Ibikounlé, Laurent Dembélé, Abdoulaye Djimde, Jérôme Boissier, Abdoulaye Dabo","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01229-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01229-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Mali is known to be a schistosomiasis-endemic country with a limited supply of clean water. This has forced many communities to rely on open freshwater bodies for many human-water contact (HWC) activities. However, the relationship between contact with these water systems and the level of schistosome infection is currently receiving limited attention. This study assessed human-water interactions including cercarial emergence pattern and their influences on urinary schistosomiasis transmission in two communities in the Kayes district of Mali.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We carried out a parasitological study first in children in September 2021, then a cross-sectional study of quantitative observations of human-water contact activities in the population, and finally a study of snail infectivity at contact points in September 2022. The study took place in two communities, Fangouné Bamanan and Diakalèl in the Kayes region of western Mali. The chronobiological study focused on cercarial release from naturally infected snails. Released cercariae were molecularly genotyped by targeting the cox1 region, and the ITS and 18S ribosmal DNA gene (18S rDNA) regions of the DNA. Links between sociodemographic parameters, human water-contact points and hematuria were established using multivariate statistical analysis or the logistic regression model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The main factor predisposing the 97 participants to water contact was domestic activity (62.9%). Of the 378 snails collected at 14 sampling sites, 27 (7.1%) excreted schistosome cercariae, with 15.0% (19/126) at Fangouné Bamanan and 3.3% (8/252) at Diakalel. The release of Schistosoma cercariae shows three different patterns in Fangouné Bamanan: (i) an early release peak (6:00-8:00 AM), (ii) a mid-day release peak (10:00 AM-12:00 PM) and (iii) a double peak: (6:00-8:00 AM) and (6:00-8:00 PM) cercariae release; and two release patterns in Diakalel: early release (6:00-8:00 AM) and (ii) mid-day release (12:00-2:00 PM). All cercariae released during early diurnal (6:00-8:00 AM) or nocturnal emission patterns (6:00-8:00 PM) were hybrids parasite having an cox1 S. bovis or S. curassoni associated with an ITS and 18S rDNA of S. haematobium while the cercariae released during diurnal, or mid-day patterns (8:00 AM-6:00 PM) were pure S. haematobium.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study showed that domestic activity is the main source of exposure in the Kayes region. Two and three cercariae emission patterns were observed at Diakalel and Fangouné Bamanan respectively. These results suggest that the parasite adapts to the human-water contact period in order to increase its infectivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"62"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11360301/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142094001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Global, regional, and national burden of HIV-negative tuberculosis, 1990-2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.","authors":"Shun-Xian Zhang, Feng-Yu Miao, Jian Yang, Wen-Ting Zhou, Shan Lv, Fan-Na Wei, Yu Wang, Xiao-Jie Hu, Ping Yin, Pei-Yong Zheng, Ming Yang, Mei-Ti Wang, Xin-Yu Feng, Lei Duan, Guo-Bing Yang, Ji-Chun Wang, Zhen-Hui Lu","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01227-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01227-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Tuberculosis (TB) is a major infectious disease with significant public health implications. Its widespread transmission, prolonged treatment duration, notable side effects, and high mortality rate pose severe challenges. This study examines the epidemiological characteristics of TB globally and across major regions, providing a scientific basis for enhancing TB prevention and control measures worldwide.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The ecological study used data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021. It assessed new incidence cases, deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and trends in age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs), mortality rates (ASMRs), and DALY rates for drug-susceptible tuberculosis (DS-TB), multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) from 1990 to 2021. A Bayesian age-period-cohort model was applied to project ASIR and ASMR.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In 2021, the global ASIR for all HIV-negative TB was 103.00 per 100,000 population [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 92.21, 114.91 per 100,000 population], declining by 0.40% (95% UI: - 0.43, - 0.38%) compared to 1990. The global ASMR was 13.96 per 100,000 population (95% UI: 12.61, 15.72 per 100,000 population), with a decline of 0.44% (95% UI: - 0.61, - 0.23%) since 1990. The global age-standardized DALY rate for HIV-negative TB was 580.26 per 100,000 population (95% UI: 522.37, 649.82 per 100,000 population), showing a decrease of 0.65% (95% UI: - 0.69, - 0.57 per 100,000 population) from 1990. The global ASIR of MDR-TB has not decreased since 2015, instead, it has shown a slow upward trend in recent years. The ASIR of XDR-TB has exhibited significant increase in the past 30 years. The projections indicate MDR-TB and XDR-TB are expected to see significant increases in both ASIR and ASMR from 2022 to 2035, highlighting the growing challenge of drug-resistant TB.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study found that the ASIR of MDR-TB and XDR-TB has shown an upward trend in recent years. To reduce the TB burden, it is essential to enhance health infrastructure and increase funding in low-SDI regions. Developing highly efficient, accurate, and convenient diagnostic reagents, along with more effective therapeutic drugs, and improving public health education and community engagement, are crucial for curbing TB transmission.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"60"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11331668/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142001102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Epidemiological features and temporal trends of the co-infection between HIV and tuberculosis, 1990-2021: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.","authors":"Shun-Xian Zhang, Ji-Chun Wang, Jian Yang, Shan Lv, Lei Duan, Yan Lu, Li-Guang Tian, Mu-Xin Chen, Qin Liu, Fan-Na Wei, Xin-Yu Feng, Guo-Bing Yang, Yong-Jun Li, Yu Wang, Xiao-Jie Hu, Ming Yang, Zhen-Hui Lu, Shao-Yan Zhang, Shi-Zhu Li, Jin-Xin Zheng","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01230-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01230-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The co-infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and tuberculosis (TB) poses a significant clinical challenge and is a major global public health issue. This study aims to elucidate the disease burden of HIV-TB co-infection in global, regions and countries, providing critical information for policy decisions to curb the HIV-TB epidemic.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The ecological time-series study used data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021. The data encompass the numbers of incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life year (DALY), as well as age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), prevalence rate (ASPR), mortality rate (ASMR), and DALY rate for HIV-infected drug-susceptible tuberculosis (HIV-DS-TB), HIV-infected multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (HIV-MDR-TB), and HIV-infected extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (HIV-XDR-TB) from 1990 to 2021. from 1990 to 2021. The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) of rates, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), was calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In 2021, the global ASIR for HIV-DS-TB was 11.59 per 100,000 population (95% UI: 0.37-13.05 per 100,000 population), 0.55 per 100,000 population (95% UI: 0.38-0.81 per 100,000 population), for HIV-MDR-TB, and 0.02 per 100,000 population (95% UI: 0.01-0.03 per 100,000 population) for HIV-XDR-TB. The EAPC for the ASIR of HIV-MDR-TB and HIV-XDR-TB from 1990 to 2021 were 4.71 (95% CI: 1.92-7.59) and 13.63 (95% CI: 9.44-18.01), respectively. The global ASMR for HIV-DS-TB was 2.22 per 100,000 population (95% UI: 1.73-2.74 per 100,000 population), 0.21 per 100,000 population (95% UI: 0.09-0.39 per 100,000 population) for HIV-MDR-TB, and 0.01 per 100,000 population (95% UI: 0.00-0.03 per 100,000 population) for HIV-XDR-TB in 2021. The EAPC for the ASMR of HIV-MDR-TB and HIV-XDR-TB from 1990 to 2021 were 4.78 (95% CI: 1.32-8.32) and 10.00 (95% CI: 6.09-14.05), respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings indicate that enhancing diagnostic and treatment strategies, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, increasing access to quality medical care, and improving public health education are essential to combat HIV-TB co-infection.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"59"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11328430/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141996694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Caixia Li, Dejina Thapa, Qian Mi, Yuanxiu Gao, Xia Fu
{"title":"Disparities in hepatitis B virus healthcare service access among marginalised poor populations: a mixed-method systematic review.","authors":"Caixia Li, Dejina Thapa, Qian Mi, Yuanxiu Gao, Xia Fu","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01225-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01225-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Marginalised poor populations, characterised by poverty and social exclusion, suffer disproportionately from hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections and encounter substantial disparities in access to healthcare. This has further exacerbated the global HBV burden and precluded progress towards HBV elimination. This mixed-method systematic review aimed to synthesise their utilisation and influencing factors in HBV healthcare services, including screening, vaccination, treatment, and linkage-to-care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eleven databases were searched from their inception to May 4, 2023. Quantitative and qualitative studies examining the factors influencing HBV healthcare access among marginalised poor populations were included. A meta-analysis was conducted to synthesise the pooled rates of HBV healthcare utilisation. The factors influencing utilisation were integrated and visualised using a health disparity research framework.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twenty-one studies were included involving 13,171 marginalised poor individuals: sex workers, rural migrant workers, irregular immigrants, homeless adults, and underprivileged individuals. Their utilisation of HBV healthcare ranged from 1.5% to 27.5%. Meta-analysis showed that the pooled rate of at least one dose of the HBV vaccine barely reached 37% (95% confidence interval: 0.26‒0.49). Fifty-one influencing factors were identified, with sociocultural factors (n = 19) being the most frequently reported, followed by behavioural (n = 14) and healthcare system factors (n = 11). Socio-cultural barriers included immigration status, prison history, illegal work, and HBV discrimination. Behavioural domain factors, including previous testing for sexually transmitted diseases, residential drug treatment, and problem-solving coping, facilitated HBV healthcare access, whereas hostility coping exerted negative influences. Healthcare system facilitators comprised HBV health literacy, beliefs, and physician recommendations, whereas barriers included service inaccessibility and insurance inadequacies. The biological and physical/built environments were the least studied domains, highlighting that geographical mobility, shelter capacity, and access to humanitarian health centres affect HBV healthcare for marginalised poor populations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Marginalised poor populations encounter substantial disparities in accessing HBV healthcare, highlighting the need for a synergistic management approach, including deploying health education initiatives to debunk HBV misperceptions, developing integrated HBV management systems for continuous tracking, conducting tailored community outreach programmes, and establishing a human rights-based policy framework to guarantee the unfettered access of marginalised poor populations to essential HBV services.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"58"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11312201/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141914337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrated Eco-Health approach significantly reduces helminth infections in endemic Khong islands with emphasis on Schistosoma mekongi.","authors":"Somphou Sayasone, Youthanavanh Vonghachack, Shang Xia, Shan Lv, Xiao-Nong Zhou, Peter Odermatt","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01226-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01226-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Helminth infections, including Opisthorchis viverrini, hookworm, and Trichuris trichiura, are prevalent in Khong district, Champasack province, southern Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR). Schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mekongi is of public health concern on the islands of the Khong district. This study aimed to assess the impact of an Eco-Health/One-Health approach in combination with mass drug administration (MDA) to reduce these helminth infections.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a community intervention using a stepped-wedge trial approach on two endemic islands (Donsom and Donkhone) of the Khong district, Champasack province, Lao PDR, between April 2012 and March 2013. In each study village, 30-40 households were randomly selected. All members of selected households, who were at home during the study period were invited to participate in the study. A baseline study was conducted to assess helminth infections, knowledge attitudes and practices toward Schistosoma mekongi infection, behavior of open defecation and availability of latrine at home. After the baseline (T0), the Eco-Health/One-Health approach was implemented on Donsom (intervention) and Donkhone island (control). An assessment was conducted in 2014 (T1), one year after the completion of intervention implementation, to assess the short-term impact of the Eco-Health/One-Health approach on helminth infections and compare intervention and control islands. Later in 2015, the Eco-Health/One-Health approach was implemented on control island (Donkhone). After the implementation of intervention, the parasitological assessments were conducted annually in humans in 2015 (T2), in 2016 (T3) and in 2017 (T4), and in dogs in 2017 (T4) to evaluate the long-term impact of the intervention on helminth infections. Frequency was used to describe the prevalence of helminth infections. Logistic regression was applied to associate the KAP (knowledge, attitudes, and practices and open defecation behavior) and the reduction of helminth infections between intervention and control islands. The reduction in prevalence pre- and post-intervention was associated using a McNemar test. A two-independent sample t-test was applied to compare the mean eggs per gram (EPG) of helminth infections between control and intervention islands. A paired t-test test was used to compare the mean EPG of stool samples before (baseline) and after (follow-up) interventions for the two islands separately. A P-value lower than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Eco-Health/One-Health approach appears to be associated with reduction in prevalence of S. mekongi by 9.0% [odds ratio (OR) = 0.49, P = 0.003] compared to the use of mass drug administration alone (control island). Additionally, this intervention package significantly reduced O. viverrini infection by 20.3% (OR = 1.92, P < 0.001) and hookworm by 17.9% (OR = 0.71, P = 0.045), res","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"57"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11295434/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141879691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analysis of influenza viruses A (H3N2) and B/Victoria during the COVID-19 pandemic in Guangdong, China.","authors":"Zhiqi Zeng, Yong Liu, Wenxiang Jin, Jingyi Liang, Jinbin Chen, Ruihan Chen, Qianying Li, Wenda Guan, Lixi Liang, Qiubao Wu, Yuanfang Lai, Xiaoyan Deng, Zhengshi Lin, Chitin Hon, Zifeng Yang","doi":"10.1186/s40249-024-01218-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40249-024-01218-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Non-pharmaceutical measures and travel restrictions have halted the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza. Nonetheless, with COVID-19 restrictions lifted, an unanticipated outbreak of the influenza B/Victoria virus in late 2021 and another influenza H3N2 outbreak in mid-2022 occurred in Guangdong, southern China. The mechanism underlying this phenomenon remains unknown. To better prepare for potential influenza outbreaks during COVID-19 pandemic, we studied the molecular epidemiology and phylogenetics of influenza A(H3N2) and B/Victoria that circulated during the COVID-19 pandemic in this region.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2022, we collected throat swabs from 173,401 patients in Guangdong who had acute respiratory tract infections. Influenza viruses in the samples were tested using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, followed by subtype identification and sequencing of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes. Phylogenetic and genetic diversity analyses were performed on both genes from 403 samples. A rigorous molecular clock was aligned with the phylogenetic tree to measure the rate of viral evolution and the root-to-tip distance within strains in different years was assessed using regression curve models to determine the correlation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the early period of COVID-19 control, various influenza viruses were nearly undetectable in respiratory specimens. When control measures were relaxed in January 2020, the influenza infection rate peaked at 4.94% (39/789) in December 2021, with the influenza B/Victoria accounting for 87.18% (34/39) of the total influenza cases. Six months later, the influenza infection rate again increased and peaked at 11.34% (255/2248) in June 2022; influenza A/H3N2 accounted for 94.51% (241/255) of the total influenza cases in autumn 2022. The diverse geographic distribution of HA genes of B/Victoria and A/H3N2 had drastically reduced, and most strains originated from China. The rate of B/Victoria HA evolution (3.11 × 10<sup>-3</sup>, P < 0.05) was 1.7 times faster than before the COVID-19 outbreak (1.80 × 10<sup>-3</sup>, P < 0.05). Likewise, the H3N2 HA gene's evolution rate was 7.96 × 10<sup>-3</sup> (P < 0.05), which is 2.1 times faster than the strains' pre-COVID-19 evolution rate (3.81 × 10<sup>-3</sup>, P < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Despite the extraordinarily low detection rate of influenza infection, concealed influenza transmission may occur between individuals during strict COVID-19 control. This ultimately leads to the accumulation of viral mutations and accelerated evolution of H3N2 and B/Victoria viruses. Monitoring the evolution of influenza may provide insights and alerts regarding potential epidemics in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":48820,"journal":{"name":"Infectious Diseases of Poverty","volume":"13 1","pages":"56"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11295596/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141876436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}