scholarly journals What would happen if Santa Claus was sick? His impact on communicable disease transmission

2019 ◽  
Vol 211 (11) ◽  
pp. 523-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Furuse
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Santa Claus

scholarly journals An Investigation of the General Population’s Self-Reported Hand Hygiene Behaviour and Compliance in a Cross-European Setting

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2402
Author(s):  
Aaron Lawson ◽  
Marie Vaganay-Miller ◽  
Robert Cameron
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Hand Hygiene ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Hygiene Practice ◽  
Hygiene Behaviour ◽  
Level Of Understanding ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Travel Abroad ◽  
And Control

Every year, thousands of people from the UK travel to other countries for work and leisure. Europe, and particularly Spain, is one of the most popular travel destinations for people from the UK. However, it is known that travel to other countries can enhance the risk of communicable disease transmission from person to person, especially when a new one emerges. Adequate hand hygiene behaviour and compliance is widely accepted as being a simple, effective method in preventing the spread of communicable diseases that may be contracted during travel abroad. There is a well-established body of work investigating hand hygiene practice and compliance in community settings, but no recent studies have examined the hand hygiene practice and compliance of the general population when travelling abroad or in a cross-European context. The findings of this study indicated that most UK members of the general population when travelling abroad have a good level of understanding of the importance of adequate hand hygiene practice and compliance and its role regarding communicable disease prevention and control. As such, self-reported levels of compliance were high. Similar findings were made for Spanish members of the general population. However, while self-reported perceptions of adequacy of hand hygiene performance were relatively high, particularly among UK respondents, this was not supported by responses specifically focused on hand hygiene behaviour. However, differences in self-reported adequacy regarding the importance of handwashing versus hand drying, the number of steps that should be followed and the length of time that should be spent washing and drying hands were found for each group. This suggests that self-reported compliance may reflect intention to practice hand hygiene rather than true compliance. It also suggests that there are gaps in knowledge regarding the adequate method of hand hygiene among the cohort as a whole, and indeed these differences may account be a factor in for the high transmission rates of communicable disease when travelling abroad.

scholarly journals What is Communicable? Unaccounted Injuries and “Catching” Diabetes in an Illegible Epidemic

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Moran-Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Treatment Access ◽  
Infectious Disease Transmission ◽  
The World ◽  
Historically Situated ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Non Communicable Disease

Long-accepted models of causality cast diseases into the binary of either “contagious” or “non-communicable,” typically with institutional resources focused primarily on interrupting infectious disease transmission. But in southern Belize, as in much of the world today, epidemic diabetes has become a leading cause of death and a notorious contributor to organ failure and amputated limbs. This ethnographic essay follows caregivers’ and families’ work to survive in-between public health categories, and asks what responses a bifurcated model of infectious versus non-communicable disease structures or incapacitates in practice. It proposes an alternative focus on diabetes as a “para-communicable” condition—materially transmitted as bodies and ecologies intimately shape each other over time, with unequal and compounding effects for historically situated groups of people. The article closes by querying how communicability relates to community, and why it matters to reframe narratives about contributing causalities in relation to struggles for treatment access.

scholarly journals Preparedness and Preventive Behaviors for a Pandemic Disaster Caused by COVID-19 in Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 4124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir M. Cvetković ◽  
Neda Nikolić ◽  
Una Radovanović Nenadić ◽  
Adem Öcal ◽  
Eric K. Noji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Personal Hygiene ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Management Decision Making ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Impact

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The disease was first detected in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province, in December 2019 and has since spread globally, especially to Europe and North America, resulting in the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic disaster of 2019–2020. Although most cases have mild symptoms, there is some progression to viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure and death. More than 4.6 million cases have been registered across 216 countries and territories as of 19 April 2020, resulting in more than 311,000 deaths. Risk to communities with continued widespread disease transmission depends on characteristics of the virus, including how well it spreads between people; the severity of resulting illness; and the medical or other measures available to control the impact of the virus (for example, vaccines or medications that can treat the illness) and the relative success of these. In the absence of vaccines or medications, non-pharmaceutical interventions were the most important response strategy based on community interventions such as person-to-person distancing, mask-wearing, isolation and good personal hygiene (hand-washing)—all of which have been demonstrated can reduce the impact of this seemingly unstoppable globally spreading natural disaster. This paper presents the results of quantitative research regarding the level of citizen preparedness for disasters caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Serbia. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire that was requested and then collected online among 975 respondents during disaster in April 2020. The questionnaire examined citizens’ basic socio-economic and demographic characteristics, their knowledge, preparedness, risk perception and preventive measures taken individually and as a community to prevent the death and widespread transmission of novel coronavirus disease 2019 in the Republic of Serbia. Based on the findings that there are major differences in the public’s perception of risks posed by communicable disease threats such as presented by COVID-19, emergency management agencies should use these differences to develop targeted strategies to enhance community and national preparedness by promoting behavioral change and improving risk management decision-making.

scholarly journals Tuberculosis contact investigations associated with air travel in Ireland, September 2011 to November 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (40) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Flanagan ◽  
Joan O'Donnell ◽  
Jolita Mereckiene ◽  
Darina O'Flanagan
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Air Travel ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Sputum Smear ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Latent Tb Infection

The risk of communicable disease transmission during air travel is of public health concern and has received much attention over the years. We retrospectively reviewed information from nine flights (≥ 8 hours) associated with infectious tuberculosis (TB) cases in Ireland between September 2011 and November 2014 to investigate whether possible transmission had occurred. Twenty-four flights notified in Ireland associated with sputum smear-positive pulmonary TB cases with a history of air travel were reviewed. Nine were suitable for inclusion and analysed. Six cases of infectious TB travelled on nine flights. A total of 232 passengers were identified for contact tracing; 85.3% (n = 198) had sufficient information available for follow-up. In total, 12.1% (n = 24) were reported as screened for TB. The results revealed no active TB cases among passengers and 16.7% (n = 4) were diagnosed with latent TB infection (LTBI) all of whom had other risk factors. Despite the limited sample size, we found no evidence of M. tuberculosis transmission from infectious passengers. This study identified challenges in obtaining complete timely airline manifests, leading to inadequate passenger information for follow-up. Receipt of TB screening results from international colleagues was also problematic. The challenge of interpreting the tuberculin skin test results in determining recent vs earlier infection was encountered.

scholarly journals Gestantes hiv positivas e os fatores de risco relacionados à transmissão vertical do hiv

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 171
Author(s):  
Bruna Lígia Ferreira Almeida Barbosa ◽  
Janaina Valadares Guimarães ◽  
Ana Karina Maqrques Salge
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Hiv Transmission ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Communicable Disease Control ◽  
Infectious Disease Transmission ◽  
Version 2.0 ◽  
Las Mujeres ◽  
Transmisión Vertical

RESUMOObjetivo: determinar as características sociodemográficas de gestantes infectadas pelo HIV relacionadas ao risco de transmissão vertical do HIV. Método: estudo quantitativo, descritivo, em que foram analisados 323 prontuários de gestantes HIV positivo que realizaram o parto em uma maternidade pública. Os dados foram analisados pelo programa eletrônico SigmaStat®, versão 2.0. Os dados quantitativos foram analisados descritivamente a partir de distribuição de frequências, médias e desvio padrão. As proporções foram comparadas pelo teste do c2, acompanhado do teste exato de Fisher. Foram consideradas estatisticamente significantes as diferenças em que p foi menor que 5% (p<0,05). Resultados: verificaram-se situações que contrariam as recomendações do Ministério da Saúde: 54,5% das gestantes realizaram menos de seis consultas pré-natal; 87% praticaram sexo desprotegido durante a gestação; 71,2% realizaram a primeira consulta pré-natal somente após o primeiro trimestre. Conclusão: foi obtido o diagnóstico quantitativo acerca dos riscos de exposição sofrido pelas gestantes, facilitando um planejamento assertivo em relação aos aspectos que ainda são falhos e que aumentam as chances da transmissão vertical do HIV. Descritores:  HIV; Transmissão Vertical de Doenças Infecciosas; Controle de Doenças Transmissíveis; Gestantes.ABSTRACT Objective: to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of pregnant women infected with HIV related to the risk of vertical HIV transmission. Method: a descriptive and quantitative study, in which 323 records of HIV positive pregnant women who were delivered at a public maternity hospital were analyzed. The data was analyzed by the electronic program, SigmaStat®, version 2.0. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively from frequency distribution, means and standard deviation. The proportions were compared by the c2 test, accompanied by Fisher's exact test. Statistically significant differences were found in which p was less than 5% (p <0.05). Results: there were situations that contradicted the recommendations of the Ministry of Health: 54.5% of the pregnant women performed less than six prenatal consultations; 87% had unprotected sex during pregnancy; 71.2% performed the first prenatal visit only after the first trimester. Conclusion: a quantitative diagnosis was obtained about the risks of exposure experienced by pregnant women, facilitating assertive planning in relation to aspects that are still flawed and that increase the chances of vertical HIV transmission. Descriptors: HIV; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Communicable Disease Control; Pregnant Women.in relation to aspects that are still flawed and that increase the chances of vertical HIV transmission. Descriptors: HIV; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Communicable Disease Control; Pregnant Women.RESUMEN Objetivo: determinar las características sociodemográficas de las mujeres embarazadas infectadas por el VIH relacionandas al riesgo de transmisión vertical del VIH. Método: estudio cuantitativo, descriptivo, en que fueron analizados 323 prontuarios de las mujeres embarazadas VIH positivo, que realizaron el parto en una maternidad pública. Los datos fueron analizados por el programa electrónico SigmaStat®, versión 2.0. Los datos cuantitativos se analizaron de forma descriptiva a partir de la distribución de frecuencias, medias y desviaciones padronizadas. Las proporciones fueron comparadas por la prueba del c2, acompañado de la prueba exacta de Fisher. Se consideraron estadísticamente significativas las diferencias en que p fue menor que 5% (p <0,05). Resultados: se verificaron situaciones que contrarresta las recomendaciones del Ministerio de Salud: 54,5% de las mujeres embarazadas realizaron menos de seis consultas prenatales, el 87% practicaron sexo desprotegido durante la gestación; el 71,2% realizaron la primera consulta prenatal sólo después del primer trimestre. Conclusión: se obtuvo el diagnóstico cuantitativo acerca de los riesgos de exposición sufridos por las mujeres embarazadas, facilitando una planificación asertiva en relación a los aspectos que aún son fallidos y que aumentan las posibilidades de la transmisión vertical del VIH. Descriptores: VIH; Transmisión Vertical de Enfermedad Infecciosa; Control de Enfermedades Transmisibles; Mujeres Embarazadas.

scholarly journals Phylogenetic tree shapes resolve disease transmission patterns

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Colijn ◽  
Jennifer Gardy
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Tree ◽  
Real World ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Phylogenetic Trees ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Transmission Dynamics ◽  
Topological Features ◽  
Computationally Intensive

AbstractWhole genome sequencing is becoming popular as a tool for understanding outbreaks of communicable diseases, with phylogenetic trees being used to identify individual transmission events or to characterize outbreak-level overall transmission dynamics. Existing methods to infer transmission dynamics from sequence data rely on well-characterised infectious periods, epidemiological and clinical meta-data which may not always be available, and typically require computationally intensive analysis focussing on the branch lengths in phylogenetic trees. We sought to determine whether the topological structures of phylogenetic trees contain signatures of the overall transmission patterns underyling an outbreak. Here we use simulated outbreaks to train and then test computational classifiers. We test the method on data from two real-world outbreaks. We find that different transmission patterns result in quantitatively different phylogenetic tree shapes. We describe five topological features that summarize a phylogeny’s structure and find that computational classifiers based on these are capable of predicting an outbreak’s transmission dynamics. The method is robust to variations in the transmission parameters and network types, and recapitulates known epidemiology of previously characterized real-world outbreaks. We conclude that there are simple structural properties of phylogenetic trees which, when combined, can distinguish communicable disease outbreaks with a super-spreader, homogeneous transmission, and chains of transmission. This is possible using genome data alone, and can be done during an outbreak. We discuss the implications for management of outbreaks.

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