Habitat model for baiting foxes in suburban areas to counteract Echinococcus multilocularis

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas König ◽  
Christof Janko ◽  
Bence Barla-Szabo ◽  
Diana Fahrenhold ◽  
Claudius Heibl ◽  
...  

Context Foxes are carriers of many zoonoses, such as the fox tapeworm. Treating foxes with medication of edible bait is often the only way of protecting people. Whereas bait can be distributed very effectively by aeroplane in rural areas, in settled areas it must be distributed by hand. In doing so it is important to get as close as possible to the foxes. Aims In suburban areas it is important to ensure that it is mainly foxes that take the bait and that they do so within a short time. In order to achieve this, a habitat model was developed for the baiting of foxes in suburban areas. Methods In Grünwald, a suburb of Munich, 12 foxes were radio-collared and observed to see which gardens they visited more frequently or for longer periods. At the same time, the community area was divided up by a grid. At each point on the grid, two gardens were selected: one garden known to be visited by foxes, and a control garden in which no fox had been observed. In this way the structure of average gardens in the community could be compared with those used by foxes. On this basis a model of garden use by foxes was developed and checked by a program of phototrapping in a separate area. Key results Using sources of food, bushes and garden houses as variables, a habitat model was developed with the categories ‘unsuitable’, ‘less suitable’ and ‘very suitable’ for foxes. This correlated closely with the appearance of foxes in gardens (P < 0.001). Conclusion The model helps to identify gardens preferred by foxes. Implications This study shows us how to reach foxes in suburban environments quickly with bait containing medication and so contributes to improving public health. The method described, of checking a model in an area not used in the development of the model, can also be seen as a contribution towards the universalisation of models.

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
O Gladys Otuneme ◽  
FO Akinkuade ◽  
O Oluwasola Obebe ◽  
OS Usiobeigbe ◽  
TG Faloye ◽  
...  

Urinary Schistosomiasis is endemic in Nigeria and continues to pose public health challenges especially in inhabitants of rural areas. This study was conducted in an attempt to determine the co-infection of Schistosoma haematobium and S. intercalatum in Apojola Community area of Abeokuta North LGA of Ogun State, Nigeria. Urine samples were analyzed in the Laboratory using sedimentation/centrifugation technique to determine schistosoma eggs. Positive urine samples were further confirmed using Ziehl-Neelsen (zn) staining method for differentiating S. haematobium from S. intercalatum eggs. The results indicate that 79 (52.7%) of the urine samples collected were positive for schistosoma eggs. Among the positive urine samples, 62% had S.haematobium while 38% had S. intercalatum eggs. Infections were found to be high in males 39 (55.7%) than female 40 (50%). Villagers who were <13 years of age had the highest prevalence rate of infection. Co-infection of S. haematobium and S. intercalatum among the villagers was established in the study and was observed to be highest in the age group <13years, compared to other age group. The study confirmed the endemicity and the co-infection of S. haematobium and S. intercalatum in the study area. It is therefore recommended that water control, sanitation and snails elimination as well as community-based programs are urgently needed to reduce S. haematobium and S. intercalatum infection.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v4i1.21845 South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.4(1) 2014: 67-71


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Maria A. Loroño-Pino ◽  
Ana Uitz-Mena ◽  
Claudia M. Carrillo-Solís ◽  
Rocío J. Zapata-Gil ◽  
Dora M. Camas-Tec ◽  
...  

Dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika viruses transmitted byAedes aegyptimosquitoes are major public health threats in the tropical and subtropical world. In México, construction of large tracts of “fraccionamientos” high density housing to accommodate population growth and urbanization has provided fertile ground forAe. aegypti-transmitted viruses. We investigated the utility of pyrethroid-treated window curtains to reduce both the abundance ofAe. aegyptiand to prevent dengue virus (DENV) transmission in fraccionamiento housing. Windows and doors of fraccionamiento homes in urban/suburban areas, whereAe. aegyptipyrethroid resistance associated with the Ile1016 knock down resistance (kdr) mutation in the voltage gated sodium channel gene was high, and in rural areas, where kdr resistance was low, were fitted with either insecticide-treated curtains (ITCs) or non-treated curtains (NTCs). The homes were monitored for mosquito abundance and DENV infection. ITCs reduced the indoor abundance ofAe. aegyptiand the number of DENV-infected mosquitoes in homes in rural but not in urban/suburban study sites.The presence of non-treated screens also was associated with reduced numbers of mosquitoes in homes. “Super-infested” homes, yielding more than 50 mosquitoes, including DENV-infected mosquitoes, provide a significant public health risk to occupants, visitors, and people in neighboring homes.


Author(s):  
NA Moiseeva ◽  
IL Kholstinina ◽  
MF Knyazeva ◽  
TV Mazhaeva ◽  
OL Malykh ◽  
...  

Introduction: Implementation of the Federal Public Health Promotion Project should raise awareness and develop skills of healthy nutrition in children, thus contributing to disease prevention. Our objective was to evaluate the results of pilot nutrition monitoring in school-aged children of the Sverdlovsk Region as part of the Federal Public Health Promotion Project and the National Demography Project. Results: We established that school meals were generally satisfactory: the rations complied with physiological needs of children in terms of their nutritional value, basic nutrients, energy, and distribution of calories by main meals. We noted differences in the cost and nutritional value of meals and the variety of dishes and foodstuffs used between urban and rural areas. As a rule, pupils have one or two school meals a day. Outside of school, their consumption of dairy products and fruit is limited. Conclusions: Our findings may promote the elaboration of municipal programs aimed, inter alia, at changing the amount of sugar and salt used in the manufacture of public catering products, the cost of dishes with a high content of sugar, saturated fats, and salt, and subsidies on healthy nutrition.


2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110270
Author(s):  
Knut Ole Sundnes ◽  
Geir Sverre Braut

The COVID-19 epidemic has revealed a shortage of basic knowledge and understanding of pandemics, especially regarding their dynamics and how to contain them. The results are a host of governments’ decrees and instructions, one replacing the other, often within the same week. It has further, in a truly short time, resulted in an overwhelming number of publications, many of them prioritising early publication over quality. This commentary addresses the concept of structured research related to disasters and how the use of endorsed guidelines will facilitate well-designed evaluation research with improved rigour and external validity, even if applied retrospectively. The outcome should be a solidified knowledge base. Further, the important role of public health efforts is to be highlighted, as their role has proved crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic.


2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 460-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Trotz-Williams ◽  
N. J. Mercer ◽  
J. M. Walters ◽  
D. Wallace ◽  
B. Gottstein ◽  
...  

1970 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Lachmann ◽  
R. A. Thompson

It has been shown that the "activated reactor" that is produced in certain human sera by complement activation is a stable complex of the fifth and sixth component of complement (C56). On interaction with C7, the indicator factor, a complex C567 is formed which for a short time (half-life less than 1 min) has an activated binding site and can attach itself to normal red cell membranes, conferring on them the hemolytic properties of the "heat stable" complement intermediate EC 1 ∼ 7, the capacity to be lysed by C8 and C9. These cells have neither antibody nor the complement components up to C3 bound on them. The binding site—activated C567c—can similarly bind to other hydrophobic surfaces, including agarose gel where it forms a "stainable line". If the complex is not bound to a surface, the binding site decays and the resulting complex will no longer give rise to lysis. However it will still inactivate C8 and C9 in solution. The sera that can generate activated reactor apparently do so because they have an excess of C5 and C6, compared to their content of C7. The phenomenon of reactive lysis thus represents complement-mediated lysis of unsensitized cells initiated at the C5 stage by a stable complex (C56) which was generated by complement activation at a distance. The immunochemistry of the phenomenon is described and some of its implications discussed.


Author(s):  
Chengfang Liu ◽  
Linxiu Zhang ◽  
Yaojiang Shi ◽  
Huan ZHOU ◽  
Alexis Medina ◽  
...  

Purpose Many public health systems have struggled with the dual questions of (1) why the uptake rate of maternal health services is low among some subpopulations; and (2) how to raise it. The objective of this study is to assess the uptake rate of a new set of maternal health services in poor rural areas of China. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on the survey responses of women’s representatives and village cadres from almost 1000 villages in June 2012 as part of a wide-scale public health survey in Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan provinces in the western part of China. Findings We find that the uptake rate of maternal health services (including in-hospital delivery, antenatal care visits and post-partum care visits) in poor rural areas of western China are far below average in China, and that the rates vary across provinces and ethnic groups. Our analyses demonstrate that distance, income, ethnicity and availability appear to be systematically correlated with low uptake rates of all maternal health services. Demand-side factors seem to be by far the most important sources of the differences between subpopulations. We also find that there is potential for creating a Conditional Cash Transfer program to improve the usage of maternal health services. Originality/value We believe that our results will contribute positively to the exploration of answers to the dual questions that many public health systems have struggled with (1) why the uptake rate of maternal health services is low among some subpopulations; and (2) how to raise it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-124
Author(s):  
Kevin S. Doyle

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have reached unprecedented levels in recent years and continue to rise. Counselors are uniquely positioned to respond to this crisis but may be reluctant or not equipped to do so due to a variety of factors, including scope of practice concerns. Responding to this crisis, however, is a clinical necessity and an ethical imperative for all practicing counselors, regardless of specialty area. A review of proposed responses at the macro/systemic, professional, and personal levels is presented, with concrete examples within each level, to assist counselors in identifying and implementing professional activity, advocacy, and engagement to address the unprecedented national public health emergency. Specific considerations for advocacy and for clinical practice are proposed to further assist counselors and motivate action.


Author(s):  
H.M. Snyder ◽  
M.C. Carrillo

An estimated 47 million people worldwide are living with dementia in 2015 and this number is expected to triple by 2050. There is a clear urgency for therapies and / or interventions to slow, stop or prevent dementia. Amounting evidence suggests strategies to reduce risk of development dementia may be of growing import for reducing the number of individuals affected. The Alzheimer’s Association believes, from a population based perspective that: (1) Regular physical activity and management of cardiovascular risk factors (e.g. diabetes, obesity, smoking and hypertension) have been shown to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and may reduce the risk of dementia; (2) A healthy diet and lifelong learning/cognitive training may also reduce the risk of cognitive decline. The current evidence underscores the need to communicate to the broader population what the science indicates and to do so with diverse stakeholders and consistent messaging. There has never been a better time to define and distribute global messaging on public health for dementia.


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