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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expressions of peripheral blood microRNA-21(miR-21) and transforming growth factor-beta(TNF-beta)/Smad signaling transduction pathway in patients with bronchial asthma complicated with respiratory virus infection. METHODS: Totally 109 patients with asthma complicated with respiratory virus infection(study group) and 104 patients without virus infection(control group) in the Third People's Hospital of Gansu Province between Feb.2019 and Feb.2021 were selected for the cross-sectional study. The basic data of the two groups were collected, and parameters including vital signs, lung function, peripheral blood miR-21 and TGF-beta/Smad signaling pathway proteins were measured. According to the guidelines, the patients of the two groups were divided into acute exacerbation phase and stable phase. The examination results of each group were compared and the levels of peripheral blood miR-21 and TGF-beta/Smad signaling pathway proteins expression of patients with asthma complicated with respiratory virus infection were analyzed. RESULTS: In study group, the proportion of respiratory virus infection among 109 patients was 33.94% for influenza virus, 23.85% for human rhinovirus, 19.27% for respiratory syncytial virus, 10.09% for parainfluenza virus, 6.42% for adenovirus, 4.59% for human coronavirus and 1.83% for human metapneumovirus respectively. The proportion of patients with acute exacerbation phase in the study group was higher than that in the control group, and the levels of peripheral blood miR-21, TGF-beta1, Smad7, pSmad2 and pSmad3 were higher than those in control group(P<0.05). The levels of miR-21, TGF-beta1, Smad2, Smad3, Smad7, pSmad2 and pSmad3 in peripheral blood of patients with acute exacerbation phase of asthma were higher than those of patients with stable phase of asthma(P<0.05). There were no statistical differences in peripheral blood miR-21, TGF-beta1, Smad2, Smad3, Smad7, pSmad2 and pSmad3 levels in asthma patients with different virus infections. CONCLUSION: Early respiratory virus infections might lead to increased expression of peripheral blood miR-21 and increased activation of TGF-beta/Smad signaling pathway in patients with asthma, which played an important role in acute attack of asthma.
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According to the public data collected from the Health Commission of Gansu Province, China, regarding the COVID-19 pandemic during the summer epidemic cycle in 2022, the epidemiological analysis showed that the pandemic spread stability and the symptom rate (the number of confirmed cases divided by the sum of the number of asymptomatic cases and the number of confirmed cases) of COVID-19 were different among 3 main epidemic regions, Lanzhou, Linxia, and Gannan; both the symptom rate and the daily instantaneous symptom rate (daily number of confirmed cases divided by the sum of daily number of asymptomatic cases and daily number of confirmed cases) in Lanzhou were substantially higher than those in Linxia and Gannan. The difference in the food sources due to the high difference of the population ethnic composition in the 3 regions was probably the main driver for the difference of the symptom rates among the 3 regions. This work provides potential values for prevention and control of COVID-19 in different regions.
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COVID-19 , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics/prevention & control , China/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Objective: To understand the epidemiology and etiology of a cluster of cases with gastroenteritis in a nursing home in Anning district of Lanzhou, and to provide a scientific evidence for the prevention and control of norovirus diarrhea in community nursing centers. Methods: From January 28 to February 4 2021, an epidemiological investigation was conducted on all diarrhea cases, nursing staff and chefs in a nursing home in Anning district, Lanzhou city. Samples of patients' anal swabs, feces, vomitus were collected for norovirus detection by real-time fluorescent PCR. ORF1/ORF2 junction region of norovirus in some selected positive samples(Ct value 25) was sequenced. MEGA-X software was used to construct a phylogenetic tree for genetic evolution analysis using the neighboring method. Results: The first case was confirmed on January20,2021, and the number of cases peaked during January 25and 29.A total of 58 clinically diagnosed cases were reported,57were older people, with an incidence of(57/360,15.83%). Diarrhea(50/58,86.21%),vomiting(35/58,60.34%),nausea(13/58,22.41%)and abdominal pain(6/58,10.34%)were common symptoms, all cases were mild. Fifty-three asymptomatic cases were detected among chefs, housekeepers and nurses.A total of 163specimens were tested, the positive rate of norovirus GII was 49.08%(80/163). The positive rate of fecal samples collected from nurses, chefs and housekeepers was 48.62%(53/109), and was11.11%(2/18)in environmental surface swabs. The possibility of other pathogenic infections such as SARS-CoV-2was ruled out by further tests. Thirteen positive samples were selected for sequencing, and 9were successfully sequenced, they were all recombinant GII.4Sydney_2012 [P16]genotypes, forming an independent cluster, while in a large evolutionary branch with the 2020GII.10 [P16]and 2019GII.2 [P16]virus strains in Lanzhou city, showing a relative close genetic connection. Conclusions: GII .4Sydney_2012[P16]genotype of norovirus is found to be causative pathogen of this outbreak, and close contact is the main reason of the outbreak and persistence of the infection,so asymptomatic infections of norovirus play an important role in the disease spreading. Therefore, public health management in nursing homes and other centralized nursing facilities should be strengthened especially for asymptomatic workers in order to prevent virus transmission.
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Objective: To summarize the clinical characteristics of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant infection by comparing with patients with wild strain infection in Gansu Province. Methods: Totally 141 patients diagnosed with Delta variant infection(variant group)and 88 patients with COVID- 19 (wild strain group) in Gansu Province were selected, and their clinical data were retrospectively collected and compared. Results The proportion of patients with hypertension and vaccination was higher in the variant group than in the wild strain group (P < 0.05). Most of the two groups were mild and common types, and there were no statistically significant differences in the other general data (all P > 0.05). The percentages of fever, fatigue, muscle soreness, chest tightness and shortness of breath in the variant group were lower than those in the wild group, and the proportion of sore throat was higher than that in the wild group (all P < 0.05). The proportions of white blood cells (WBC) < 4.0 x 109/L, platelets (PLT) < 100x109/L, glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) > 50.0 U/L, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) > 240.0 U/L, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) > 7.1 mmol/L, and international normalized ratio (INR) >1.13 were all lower in the variant group than in the wild strain group (all P < 0.05);the percentage of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) > 40 U/L was higher than that of the wild strain group (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found in the alanine aminotransferase (ALT), blood creatinine (Cr), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), calcitoninogen (PCT), or C-reactive protein (CRP) between these two groups (all P > 0.05). The proportions of abnormal chest CT, bilateral lesions, and three or more lobar lesions were significantly lower in the variant group than in the wild strain group (all P < 0.05). The proportions of treatments with interferon, ribavirin, lopinavir/ritonavir, antibiotics, glucocorticoids, immunoglobulins, hemopexin, Abidor tablets, and oxygen were lower in the variant group than in the wild strain group (all P < 0.05). The proportions of treatments with prone ventilation, anticoagulation, neutralizing antibodies, thymofacine, and hepatoprotective therapy were higher in the variant group than in the wild strain group (all P < 0.05). Thirty-five cases (53.0%) of lymphocytes in the wild strain group did not return to normal levels at discharge, and the differences in the time to recovery of lymphocytes, time to absorption of lung lesions, and time to nucle ic acid conversion between the two groups were not statistically significant (all P > 0.05). The recovery time of oxygen saturation (SaO2) in the variant group was shorter than that in the wild strain group, and the time of nucleic acid conversion and hospitalization was longer than that in the wild strain group (all P < 0.05). There were two deaths (2.3%) in the wild strain group and 0 death in the variant group, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Compared with patients with wild strain infection, patients with Delta variant infection are mainly of light and common type with high vaccination coverage, smaller lung lesion involvement, shorter SaO2 recovery time, but longer nucleic acid regression time and hospitalization time, and have a good prognosis after oxygen therapy, traditional Chinese medicine, immune boosting, etc. The prognosis is good after conventional treatment.
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The asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic infections of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has no perceptible clinical symptoms and signs, and it is not easy to be detected. The transmission of the virus carried by asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients is insidious, which brings great challenges to the control of the epidemic. Due to the length of the incubation period, some studies have failed to distinguish between asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic infections, resulting in a higher proportion of asymptomatic infections. This article reviews the latest research progress of characteristics, transmission, detection and control of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic infection.
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In order to study the pollution levels of PM2.5 and water-soluble inorganic ions（WSIIs）in the towns of southern Gansu, PM2.5 samples were collected quarterly in Cheng County of Gansu from April 2019 to February 2020. Their characteristics of variation were analyzed, and the sources were apportioned using correlation and principal component analysis. The results showed that the mean annual mass concentration of PM2.5 was（57.2±26.9）μg·m-3 in Cheng County of Gansu Province. The seasonal variation of PM2.5 concentration was represented by winter>spring>autumn>summer during the sampling period, and the concentrations in winter were about 1.9 times than that in summer. The annually good air quality rate was 81%, of which 100% in summer. The ranking of WSII concentrations was SO42->NO3->Na+>NH4+>Ca2+>K+>Cl->Mg2+.SNA is the highest water-soluble ions, accounting for 70.1% of the concentration of eight main water-soluble ions. The mean ratio of ρ（NO3-）/ρ（SO42-）was 0.6, indicating that fixed sources such as industrial and agricultural production and fossil fuel combustion emissions, was the major source for particulate pollution. During the 2019 coronavirus epidemic, control measures had a significant impact on the concentration of PM2.5 and SNA in water-soluble ions, and the mean concentration of PM2.5 was reduced by 44.2%. Source apportionment showed that WSIIs in PM2.5 were mainly from fossil fuel combustion, biomass combustion, secondary formation and road construction dust, etc. © 2022 Science Press. All rights reserved.
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Objective: The characteristics of imported coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) cases from outside China were analyzed to provide evidence for prevention and control backflow of the epidemic.
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OBJECTIVE: To analyze the differences of clinical characteristics, laboratory tests and imaging examinations in patients with Novel Coronavirus(SARS-COV-2)Delta variant infection in Gansu province, so as to provide reference for the prevention and treatment of SARS-COV-2. METHODS: The medical records, laboratory tests and imaging studies of 140 patients with SARS-COV-2 Delta variant infection admitted to Yantan Branch and Zhangye Second Hospital of Lanzhou Second People's Hospital from Oct. to Dec. 2021 in Gansu province were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 140 infected patients, 65 were males and 75 were females. The oldest was 87 years old, and the youngest was 1 year and 8 months, with an average age of(42.65+or-20.87) years old. Twenty percent of confirmed patients had fever. The mean duration of positive nucleic acid was 19.74 days. There were significant differences in the expression levels of serum amyloid A(SAA), interleukin-6(IL-6), C-reactive protein(CRP), basophil granulocytes(BAS) and lymphocyte(LYM) in patients with different types. Pulmonary lesions were found in 101 patients(72.14%) by imaging, and the proportion of abnormal lung imaging in mild, ordinary and severe patients accounted for 55.81%, 73.13% and 100% respectively. CONCLUSION: The majority of patients with COVID-19 Delta infection in Gansu province were mild and ordinary type. There were fewer fever patients. The main clinical manifestations were cough, expectoration and pharyngeal discomfort. Severe and critically ill patients are older and have more underlying diseases.
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We wished to understand the dynamic changes in production of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific antibodies in sera collected from coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients. Fifty-eight serum samples from 33 patients confirmed to have COVID-19 in Gansu Province, China, were tested for three types of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies: immunoglobulin (Ig) M, IgG, and total antibodies. The positive rate of IgM, IgG and total antibodies increased gradually with COVID-19 progression. Within the first 3 days, the positive rate of detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody using the three kits was 13.6%-31.8%. whereas, within 4-7 days, it was 36.4%-45.5%, within 8-14 days it was 55.6%-77.8%, and after 15 days, it was 100%. In addition, the three kits were used to measure antibodies from serum samples collected from healthy people, and the specificity was 99%-100%. Statistical analyses indicated no significant difference among the results of the three kits (P > 0.05 for all). In summary, the three SARS-CoV-2 antibody-detection kits had good sensitivity and specificity for detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, and could aid the clinical diagnosis of COVID-19. The dynamic characteristics of production of SARS-CoV-2- specific antibodies could provide important scientific bases for epidemiologic investigations.
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Objective: To investigate the diet-related topics posted on social media during the COVID-19 outbreak.
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An outbreak infection with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has developed in Wuhan since December 2019.This paper describes the first critical case in Gansu China.
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BACKGROUND: In December 2019, a pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 emerged in Wuhan, China and has rapidly spread around the world since then. This study is to explore the patient characteristics and transmission chains of COVID-19 in the population of Gansu province, and support decision-making. METHODS: We collected data from Gansu Province National Health Information Platform. A cross-sectional study was conducted, including patients with COVID-19 confirmed between January 23 and February 6, 2020, and analyzed the gender and age of the patients. We also described the incubation period, consultation time and sources of infection in the cases, and calculated the secondary cases that occurred within Gansu for each imported case. RESULTS: We found thirty-six (53.7%) of the patients were women and thirty-one (46.3%) men, and the median ages were 40 (IQR 31-53) years. Twenty-eight (41.8%) of the 67 cases had a history of direct exposure in Wuhan. Twenty-five (52.2%) cases came from ten families, and we found no clear reports of modes of transmission other than family clusters. The largest number of secondary cases linked to a single source was nine. CONCLUSION: More women than men were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Gansu Province. Although the age range of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Gansu Province covered almost all age groups, most patients with confirmed COVID-19 tend to be middle aged persons. The most common suspected mode of transmission was through family cluster. Gansu and other settings worldwide should continue to strengthen the utilization of big data in epidemic control.
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Big Data , COVID-19/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , COVID-19/etiology , Child , Child, Preschool , China/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Middle Aged , Risk Factors , Sex Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has outbreak in the world. Little is known about the clinical characteristics of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the high-altitude region of China. We reported the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Gansu province, China. METHODS: In this retrospective study, patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were consecutively enrolled from January 21, 2020 to February 11, 2020. The information on the epidemiological, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, radiological features on admission, treatment and outcome were obtained with the final follow-up of March 13, 2020. On the basis of the median length of hospital stay, patients were further analyzed in two groups (long- vs. short-hospital stay). RESULTS: Of the 86 patients of COVID-19 in 11 cities of Gansu Province, the median hospital stay was 14.0 days (interquartile rang, 11.0-19.0 days). In the overall cohort, the median age was 41.0 years (interquartile rang, 31.0-54.3 years), and 48 (55.8%) patients were female. Forty (46.5%) had a history of exposure to epidemic regions, but none exposed to the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan. Common symptoms included fever (41, 47.7%), and cough (37, 43.0%). On admission, 30 (34.9%) and 58 (67.4%) patients had leukopenia and lymphopenia. According to chest CT scans, 53 (66.3%) of 80 patients showed bilateral pneumonia, and 19 (23.8%) of 80 patients showed unilateral pneumonia. Of the 15 asymptomatic cases, 10 (66.6%) cases were found CT findings of pneumonia. Besides, there were 65 (75.6%) patients with mild and moderate type of COVID-19. All 86 patients received antiviral and traditional Chinese medicine therapy, 53 (61.6%) received antibacterial therapy, and 3 (3.5%) patients received invasive ventilator mechanical ventilation. The proportion of patients received antibiotic treatment in long-hospital stay group was significantly higher than that in the short-hospital stay group (P=0.045). As of March 13, 2020, 84 (97.7%) patients were discharged, and two (2.3%) cases died. CONCLUSIONS: In the Gansu province cohort of 86 patients of COVID-19, most patients were with mild or moderate type, and most asymptomatic cases showed CT imaging findings of SARS-CoV-2 related pneumonia.
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Coronavirus Infections/diagnosis , Coronavirus Infections/therapy , Pneumonia, Viral/diagnosis , Pneumonia, Viral/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Betacoronavirus/isolation & purification , COVID-19 , Child , Child, Preschool , China/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Infant , Length of Stay/statistics & numerical data , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , SARS-CoV-2 , Treatment Outcome , Young AdultABSTRACT
To determine the epidemiology of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a remote region of China, far from Wuhan, we analyzed the epidemiology of COVID-19 in Gansu Province. From January 23 through February 3, 2020, a total of 35 (64.8%) of 54 reported cases were imported from COVID-19-epidemic areas. Characteristics that differed significantly during the first and second waves of illness in Gansu Province were mean patient age, occupation, having visited epidemic areas, and mode of transportation. Time from infection to illness onset for family clusters was shorter in Gansu Province than in Wuhan, consistent with shortened durations from onset to first medical visit or hospitalization. Spatial distribution pattern analysis indicated hot spots and spatial outliers in Gansu Province. As a result of adequate interventions, transmission of the COVID-19 virus in Gansu Province is decreasing.