COVID-19
Virendra Mane; Priya Prabhu; Poorva Bhalerao
Abstract
Background: The first wave of COVID-19 in India began to decline suddenly in September 2020 and appeared to be nearly over by the end of January 2021. At the time, no models or papers predicted or explained this decline. The authors hypothesized in their previous study that the cases decreased due to ...
Read More
Background: The first wave of COVID-19 in India began to decline suddenly in September 2020 and appeared to be nearly over by the end of January 2021. At the time, no models or papers predicted or explained this decline. The authors hypothesized in their previous study that the cases decreased due to increased Relative Humidity during Monsoon and forecasted that another wave would begin with the dry season in February 2021 and would be contained by monsoon humidity. The current study was carried out to put the seasonality hypothesis to the test in 2021-22. The study also included findings about the effectiveness of policy control measures on case decline.Methods: Humidity cycles in India were studied to determine the most humid periods, which corresponded to changes in daily cases across the country, on a zone-by-zone basis, and in smaller regions. The enforcement date and subsequent case decline (if any) were observed for the effectiveness of policy control measures.Results: In low humidity periods, there was a clear relationship between relative humidity and case decline and case increase. Policy controls have been found to be effective in reducing and halting case increase, resulting in a subsequent decline.Conclusion: In India, COVID-19 increases during the dry season around February and decreases during the monsoon season. Policy controls (lockdowns) are an effective way to halt the virus's exponential spread. The findings may be useful in planning local control and prevention activities.
Epidemiology
Hulera Usman Kabido; Joseph Fuh Nfongeh; Victor Kolawole Fadayomi; Onyemachi Ifeanyi Adibe; Abdullahi Shuaibu Kabiru; Nafisat Tijjani Dalhat; Yahuza Jibrin Abubakar
Abstract
Background: Due to its persistent nature, ulcers brought on by Helicobacter pylori have been a significant public health concern. This study looked at how specific risk factors affected the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among peptic ulcer patients visiting medical institutions in Lafia, ...
Read More
Background: Due to its persistent nature, ulcers brought on by Helicobacter pylori have been a significant public health concern. This study looked at how specific risk factors affected the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection among peptic ulcer patients visiting medical institutions in Lafia, Nigeria. Methods: The blood and stool samples of 180 individuals (71 men and 109 women) were collected randomly, checked for H. pylori using test strips for H. pylori antibodies and antigens (Azure Biotech Inc.), and the feces also were grown on Columbia blood agar base (TITAN Biotech Ltd). Using a standardized questionnaire, some participant risk data was also gathered.Results: A positive culture method (CM) test result was obtained from 14/71 (19.72%) of the 71 male patients and 37/109 (33.94%) of the 109 female subjects out of a total of 210 subjects. For CM alone, it was discovered that female participants had a considerably greater incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection than their male counterparts (p=0.038). Nevertheless, all analytical techniques discovered no evidence of a significant difference between age groups (p>0.05). Only the blood antibody (BAB) approach showed a substantially greater prevalence (p=0.021) in married patients, with 79/116 (68.10%) reactive instances. The presence of drinking water source (p < 0.001, 0.001, 0.002 using CM, BAB, and SAG, respectively) and number of occupants per room (p < 0.001, 0.001, 0.002 using CM, BAB, and SAG, respectively) as potential risk factors for H. pylori infection was also demonstrated.Conclusion: The majority of risk factors that were taken into consideration for this study demonstrated a strong correlation with Helicobacter pylori infection in Lafia, Nigeria.
COVID-19
Moslem Taheri Soodejani; Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabaei
Abstract
A "prevention paradox," according to Thompson, is a type of prevention that has many benefits for the entire population but may not be as beneficial to each individual as it is to the entire community. COVID-19 is one of the most mysterious developing viruses in history, capable of being transmitted ...
Read More
A "prevention paradox," according to Thompson, is a type of prevention that has many benefits for the entire population but may not be as beneficial to each individual as it is to the entire community. COVID-19 is one of the most mysterious developing viruses in history, capable of being transmitted from one person to another mostly through breathing. If we do not follow specific advice, such as wearing a face mask, we will all become infected very rapidly. To save the lives of a small percentage of the population, millions of people should wear face masks.
HIV/AIDS
Ayouba A. Fofana; Nimetcan Mehmet
Abstract
Background: In Africa, HIV is one of the most serious public health issues. The purpose of this study was to look into the prevalence and incidence rates of HIV/AIDS in West Africa across all age ranges and population groups.Methods: This is a comprehensive study of published and unpublished studies ...
Read More
Background: In Africa, HIV is one of the most serious public health issues. The purpose of this study was to look into the prevalence and incidence rates of HIV/AIDS in West Africa across all age ranges and population groups.Methods: This is a comprehensive study of published and unpublished studies on HIV/AIDS prevalence and incidence in West Africa. All publications published between 2010 and 2020 that were retrieved from databases, as well as other records containing information on the topic under consideration, were examined.Results: The comprehensive assessment of the literature generated 13 papers with data on the prevalence and incidence of HIV after applying the inclusion, exclusion, and quality criteria. These items came from nine different countries in West Africa. The prevalence rate of HIV in a specific group ranged from 1.4 percent to 54.9 percent in this article review.Conclusions: The review found that HIV prevalence in important demographics in West African nations was high. It also revealed that women are the ones who are most affected. HIV prevalence and incidence differ from country to country. In comparison to other nations, HIV prevalence in important populations was greater in Nigeria and lower in Benin.
Epidemiology
Itse Olaoye; Akinola Ayoola Fatiregun; Ekun Opeyemi; David Adeleke; Tsemaye Jacdonmi; Stephen Fagbemi; Famokun Gboyega; Abiona Samuel; Adefesoye Victor Akinpelumi; Onyibe Ifeoma Rosemary
Abstract
Background: The last case of the indigenous Wild Polio Virus in Ondo state was in 2008, and the last Polio compatible infection was in 2010. Poliovirus transmission was stopped thanks to the World Health Organization's (WHO) standards, which included acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance. We wanted ...
Read More
Background: The last case of the indigenous Wild Polio Virus in Ondo state was in 2008, and the last Polio compatible infection was in 2010. Poliovirus transmission was stopped thanks to the World Health Organization's (WHO) standards, which included acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance. We wanted to describe the state's polio surveillance performance during the last five years, from 2016 to 2020, using WHO-recommended measures and find areas where it could improve.Methods: Between January 2016 and December 2020, AFP case-based surveillance data was used to undertake a retrospective examination of records. Microsoft Excel was used for data processing, and Quantum Geographic Information System was used for mapping (GIS).Results: From 2016 to 2020, a total of 1,096 AFP instances were recorded, none of which were confirmed as Poliomyelitis. The bulk of the cases (77.2 percent) were found in children under the age of five. Males made up more than half of the cases (53.4%). More than 89 percent of reported cases received three or more OPV doses. Between 2016 and 2020, there was a 79 percent decline in reported incidents. Between 2016 and 2020, the average Non-Polio AFP rate was 11.2 per 100,000, with a stool adequacy of 98.4%.Conclusion: AFP surveillance in Ondo state met the minimum WHO targets during the study period, according to the findings. However, because of the possibility of poliovirus being imported from endemic countries, which might threaten Nigeria's polio-free status, all surveillance actors' sensitization and active case search should be strengthened, particularly in underperforming local government areas (LGAs).
Psychoepidemiology
Hossein Tavangar; Farzan Madadizadeh; Zohre Kalani; Razie Beygi Rizi; Zakieh Tavakoli; Mostafa Shokati Ahmad Abad
Abstract
Background: The presence of pain and anxiety in a patient affects the results and, therefore, the process of healing, as well as the postoperative complications. Therefore, this study was performed to gauge the effect of individual education-supported needs assessment on anxiety among elderly patients ...
Read More
Background: The presence of pain and anxiety in a patient affects the results and, therefore, the process of healing, as well as the postoperative complications. Therefore, this study was performed to gauge the effect of individual education-supported needs assessment on anxiety among elderly patients who were candidates for open-heart surgery.Method: This quasi-experimental study was carried out in Iran in 2019. Sixty-one patients, who were candidates for open-heart surgery and aged 60 years or older, were divided into two groups: experiment and control. The patients within the control group received routine care, and therefore, the patients with the intervention received education-supported needs assessment in addition to routine care. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to assess the patients’ anxiety levels. All analysis was performed in SPSS v19 with a significance level of 0.05.Results: The demographic variables were similar in both groups (p <0.05). The mean scores of both the state and the trait anxiety among the patients in the intervention group decreased significantly after the intervention (p <0.05). The mean scores of both the state and the trait anxiety among the patients in the control group were similar before and after the intervention (p>0.05).Conclusion: Individual education based on needs assessment among elderly patients is an effective strategy for reducing their anxiety before open-heart surgery.
Epidemiology
Itse Olaoye; Akinola Ayoola Fatiregun; Stephen Fagbemi; Famokun Gboyega; Rosemary Onyibe
Abstract
Background: Acute gastroenteritis, a very common disease in humans affecting both children and adults, remains a major public health concern worldwide. Several groups of viruses have been reported as the causative agents of acute gastroenteritis. An outbreak of acute gastroenteritis with a high fatality ...
Read More
Background: Acute gastroenteritis, a very common disease in humans affecting both children and adults, remains a major public health concern worldwide. Several groups of viruses have been reported as the causative agents of acute gastroenteritis. An outbreak of acute gastroenteritis with a high fatality rate was reported in Ondo State, Southwest, Nigeria, in September 2020. Methods: To provide a descriptive epidemiology of the outbreak, a field investigation was carried out in affected communities in September 2020. Results: Four Local Government Areas (LGA) were affected, with Odigbo LGA having the highest attack rate of 14.9 per 100,000 population. The epidemic curve was propagated in nature. 50 cases were reported with 21 deaths (42%). The outbreak primarily affected 15-year-olds (94%, n=47) and more males (58%, n=29). Conclusion: Poor sanitation, food, and water hygiene conditions in communities of the LGA visited were observed. The spread of the outbreak was probably facilitated by water sellers.
COVID-19
Virendra Mane; Poorva Bhalerao
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was expected to affect India severely; cases rose exponentially from May-June 2020, but around mid-September reached their peak and started declining. It showed a sign of the wave’s completion by the end of January 2021. This decline was not predicted by any models ...
Read More
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was expected to affect India severely; cases rose exponentially from May-June 2020, but around mid-September reached their peak and started declining. It showed a sign of the wave’s completion by the end of January 2021. This decline was not predicted by any models and the authors have not come across any explanation. Winter seasonality of influenza and similar viruses is well known and observed fact and that it has a direct correlation to the colder temperatures as well as lower humidity. Similarly, in low humidity, viruses are most viable, and they become ineffective as the humidity increases and reaches its maximum extent. This article hypothesizes and tries to explain the cause behind the first major decline and shows the subsequent rise of the second wave, and one short low humidity period followed by a high humidity period between the first and second waves. Methods: The humidity cycles in India were studied to find high and low relative humidity periods, which then corresponded to the daily cases in the country (macro-level), region (mid-level), and smaller regions (micro-level). Results: A definite correlation was observed between Monsoon-induced humidity and the incidence rate decline. This happens in 8 to 10 weeks. Incidence rates start declining about 4 weeks after the peak humidity is reached in a particular region. A decrease in humidity below 65% or 55% or lower causes an increase in the case increase/uptrend in about 3-4 weeks. Conclusion: COVID-19 has a seasonal peak in India, peaking in the middle of the monsoon season around mid-September and reaching its lowest levels in January-February. As humidity drops from February to June/July, a trend reversal and sharp rise are expected. The subsequent wave/case peak would be expected to be seen around mid-September 2021.
Pharmacoepidemiology
Kourosh Zali
Abstract
The presence of a placebo arm is certainly a substantial element in randomized control trials (RCTs) because the effectiveness or efficacy of a new therapy can be evaluated through a direct comparison between the test treatment and the placebo arm. Conducting a placebo-controlled RCT is often very difficult ...
Read More
The presence of a placebo arm is certainly a substantial element in randomized control trials (RCTs) because the effectiveness or efficacy of a new therapy can be evaluated through a direct comparison between the test treatment and the placebo arm. Conducting a placebo-controlled RCT is often very difficult or even impossible. To solve this problem, the availability of standard treatments and ethical concerns have led scientists to consider an active or positive control treatment as a comparator to assess the treatment effect without a placebo arm. Such an assessment is often made under a so-called “non-inferiority trial” (NIT) design. Non-inferiority margin (NIM) is the most important part of an NIT. Because there is no well-established method to determine the NIM, it is very important that this margin be pre-specified and the criteria for how it was established well defined prior to conducting the study. All methods of determination of NIM rely upon subjective judgment with unverifiable assumptions. This article demonstrates six simple methods to calculate NIM.
COVID-19
Fazlollah Keshavarzi; Berry Wei Qi Ting; Betty Zhi Xin Tang; Kai Xin Chang; Fei San Chee; Kar Mey Chen
Abstract
Background. The worldwide economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is comparable with the largest disastrous events of modern human history, such as the first and second world wars. This study investigated the nationwide impact of the pandemic on the local Malaysian firms.Methods. A cross-sectional, ...
Read More
Background. The worldwide economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is comparable with the largest disastrous events of modern human history, such as the first and second world wars. This study investigated the nationwide impact of the pandemic on the local Malaysian firms.Methods. A cross-sectional, online survey was carried out in East and West Malaysia by inviting the Malaysian firms’ executives to fill in a questionnaire that was adopted from previous similar studies in other countries. The final questionnaire included 16 questions distributed in three categories. The executives of firms were contacted through email and social media. SSPS was used to analyse the collected data.Results. A total of 379 responses were received. Nearly 42% of firms reported a small impact with some difficulties in business operations but overall stability. Approximately 32% of businesses were severely impacted, and operations were barely maintained. Six percent of the firms had no significant difficulties and 5.3% reported that the pandemic provided new opportunities for development.Conclusion. Almost one-third of the Malaysian firms are affected significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic. The business operation of half of the Malaysian firms is also affected to some extent. Supportive policies are needed to reduce the companies’ manufacturing costs and assist them in surviving and eventually returning to normal business operations.
Clinical Epidemiology
Farshad Kakian; Mohammad Ghasemi Palangi; Nahal Hadi
Abstract
Background: Urinary stones are one of the major health problems worldwide and a significant part of referrals to physicians. Also, growing antibiotics resistance is an important concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of urinary stones and bacterial strains with antibiotic resistance ...
Read More
Background: Urinary stones are one of the major health problems worldwide and a significant part of referrals to physicians. Also, growing antibiotics resistance is an important concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of urinary stones and bacterial strains with antibiotic resistance in women admitted to shiraz, southwest of Iran, from 2014 to 2019. Methods: In this period, all women admitted to the Zeinabieh Hospital were evaluated. The frequency of urinary stones and bacterial strains and antibiogram patterns of bacterial isolates were investigated from 2014 to 2019.Antibacterial susceptibility testing was done by disk diffusion method, fulfilling the standard criteria of “Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Performance Standards for Antimicrobial Susceptibility”. Results: Out of 101 isolates, the identified gram-negative bacteria were E. coli (68.3%), Klebsiella (6.9%), Enterobacter (6.9%), Pseudomonas (5%), Proteus (1%), and Acinetobacter (1%). Of gram-positive strains, Coagulase-positive Staphylococci (5.9%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CONS) (3%) and Non-Hemolytic Streptococci (2%) were identified. Also, the frequency of urinary tract stones was about 5%. Four cases of kidney stones were associated with E. coli and one case with Klebsiella. All isolates had the highest resistance to co-trimoxazole (62.5%), Ampicillin and Nalidixic acid.Conclusion: In this study, no association was found between the type of bacteria and urinary stone. From the variable bacteria isolated, the highest rate of E. coli (as an important pathogen) was confirmed. Also, most of the bacterial isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics, although Amikacin and nitrofurantoin (as the empirical therapy in our hospital) were dominated.
COVID-19
Jose Luis Turabian
Abstract
BackgroundMost people with COVID-19 receive care at home, increasing the likelihood of exposure for household members.ObjectiveTo study the prevalence and characteristics of secondary cases in families after the appearance of a primary caseMethodologyAn observational and retrospective study of families ...
Read More
BackgroundMost people with COVID-19 receive care at home, increasing the likelihood of exposure for household members.ObjectiveTo study the prevalence and characteristics of secondary cases in families after the appearance of a primary caseMethodologyAn observational and retrospective study of families with at least one polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed COVID-19 primary case was conducted from March 15 to December 25, 2020, in a general medicine office in Toledo, Spain. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were compared between primary and secondary cases in the families. The outcome of interest was secondary attack rate of SARS-CoV-2 within the family.Results39 families with a primary case (average size 3.4 members) with a total of 132 cohabitants were included. There were 22 cohabitants with negative PCR (22/92 = 24%), 70 secondary cases with positive PCR (Secondary attack rate 76%), of which 25 were asymptomatic (25/70 = 36%), and a cohabiting new-born. A high frequency of people from ethnic minorities, low household income and complex families was found, both in primary and secondary cases. The secondary cases with respect to the primary ones were more women, younger, students and with a lower socio-occupational level, with more asymptomatic cases, and milder symptomatic cases.ConclusionsIn this context, the prevalence of secondary domestic contacts is very high, and it occur in young women, being asymptomatic or mild. The high secondary attack rate suggests the importance of the pre-symptomatic or early symptomatic period of COVID-19, as well as the possible failure to comply with isolation measures.
Occupational Epidemiology
Amanuel Godana Arero; Godana Arero; Shimels Hussien Mohammed; Sahar Eftekhari
Abstract
Background and objective: Low back pain (LBP), as a musculoskeletal disorder, remains a common health problem and is one of the most prevalent occupational injuries affecting adults living in both developed and developing countries. To increase the power and improve the prevalence estimates of LBP among ...
Read More
Background and objective: Low back pain (LBP), as a musculoskeletal disorder, remains a common health problem and is one of the most prevalent occupational injuries affecting adults living in both developed and developing countries. To increase the power and improve the prevalence estimates of LBP among the working Ethiopian population, a comprehensive meta-analysis was carried out. Methods: A comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted through multiple international electronic bibliographic databases such as Web of Science, Pub Med, EMBASE, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Population-based studies with the prevalence of LBP among the working population living in Ethiopia were included. Meta-analyses, meta-regression, and sensitivity analysis was conducted. Funnel plot symmetry visualization followed by Begg’s rank correlation, and Egger’s regression asymmetry test methods were performed to detect the existence of publication bias. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed by using the Cochrane Q and I2 statistics. Results: Overall, 719 articles were identified and 13 articles with 6513 participants met the inclusion criteria for meta-analyses. The pooled point and twelve-month prevalence of LBP among the working Ethiopian population was 49% (95% CI: 40-58) and 56% (95% CI: 49-62), respectively. Conclusion: The results showed a high prevalence of LBP among the working Ethiopian population, especially among teachers. We believe that prevention strategies addressing the early onset of LBP among the working population would most likely be the answer to the burden of LBP on future economies in Ethiopia.
Pharmacoepidemiology
Kourosh Zali
Abstract
The randomized controlled trial (RCT) is considered the best interventional design to assess issues related to treatment and prevention. The RCTs can have different designs including superiority, equivalence, or non-inferiority design. A superiority trial aims to detect the potential superiority of new ...
Read More
The randomized controlled trial (RCT) is considered the best interventional design to assess issues related to treatment and prevention. The RCTs can have different designs including superiority, equivalence, or non-inferiority design. A superiority trial aims to detect the potential superiority of new therapy compared to an active comparator or a placebo, an equivalence trial tends to demonstrate that a new therapy is an equivalent (within margins) to its active comparator, and a non-inferiority trial (NIT) is going to show that the new therapy is not worse than the comparator, as a typical active drug. Increasingly, major trials are conducted to see if the efficacy of a new treatment is as good as a standard treatment. The new treatment usually has some other advantages (e.g., fewer side effects, ease of administration, lower cost), making it worthwhile to demonstrate non-inferiority in respect to efficacy. Thus, NIT is going to determine whether a new treatment is not worse than a reference treatment by more than an acceptable amount. Among the challenges of NITs compared with superiority, trials are the choices of the non-inferiority margin (NIM), the primary population for analysis, and the comparator treatment considering several choices for the comparator arm in an NIT. This article is going to review the current knowledge about NIM.
Molecular Epidemiology
Farshad Kakian; Mohammad hoseein Rezaei; Masoud Amiri; saeid janabadi; behnam zamanzad; Abolfazle gholipour; Kourosh Naderi
Abstract
Background and aim: Klebsiella is an opportunistic organism that is the cause of many nosocomial infections. The present study was designed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (VIM) and Imipenemase (IMP)-producing Klebsiella isolates in ...
Read More
Background and aim: Klebsiella is an opportunistic organism that is the cause of many nosocomial infections. The present study was designed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (VIM) and Imipenemase (IMP)-producing Klebsiella isolates in patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) in an educational hospitalin Shahrekord, in the center of Iran. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, from 234 urine samples, 80 isolates of Klebsiella were identified with biochemical tests. In order to determine the production of Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), Modified Hodge Test (MHT), EDTA Disc Synergy (EDS) test and AmpC disc test were performed. The frequency of VIM and IMP genes was determined after DNA-amplification with PCR by electrophoresis technique. Thereby, 16SrRNA was considered as an internal control in PCR.Results: Phenotypic tests showed that out of the 80 isolates, 18 (22. 5%), 18 (22. 5%) and 10 (12.5%) isolates were positive for MHT, EDS and AmpC disc test, respectively. Following DNA amplification by PCR, the genes of interest were analyzed by electrophoresis technique. The findings were as follows: 22 isolates (27.5%) carried the VIM gene, but the IMP gene was not found in any of the isolates. Conclusions: Expansion of Klebsiella strains that produce MBLs is a severe threat to health centers and public health. The findings of this study showed that Klebsiella may produce MBLs. These enzymes can in turn degrade carbapenem antibiotics, which are considered as a last resort in the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections.
