A comprehensive review of viruses in terrestrial animals from the Caribbean islands of Greater and Lesser Antilles.

Viruses pose a major threat to animal health worldwide, causing significant mortalities and morbidities in livestock, companion animals and wildlife, with adverse implications on human health, livelihoods, food safety and security, regional/national economies and biodiversity. The Greater and Lesser Antilles consist of a cluster of islands between the North and South Americas and is habitat to a wide variety of animal species. This review is the first to put together decades of information on different viruses circulating in companion animals, livestock and wildlife from the Caribbean islands of Greater and Lesser Antilles. Although animal viral diseases have been documented in the Caribbean region since the 1940s, we found that studies on different animal viruses are limited, inconsistent and scattered. Furthermore, a significant number of the reports were based on serological assays, yielding preliminary data. The available information was assessed to identify knowledge gaps and limitations, and accordingly, recommendations were made, with the overall goal to improve animal health and production, and combat zoonoses in the region.

Special Section: Islands of refuge, islands of contagion. (Special Section: Islands of refuge, islands of contagion.)

This section contains three papers dealing with: toxic colonialism in Ilet la Mere, French Guiana;the isolation of Mediterranean islands from COVID-19 and the recovery of their tourism economy;and the effect of colonialism and neocolonialism on the response of Barbuda and Puerto Rico to COVID-19.

Politics of prevention in the periphery: the initial response to COVID-19 on Barbuda and Puerto Rico. (Special Section: Islands of refuge, islands of contagion.)

The islands of Barbuda and Puerto Rico share a history of dispossession and exploitation, occupying a peripheric position in a core-periphery world system. Yet, each island's response to COVID-19, and the subsequent effects of the pandemic, could not be more different. This paper examines how colonialism and neocolonialism affected the islands' ability to respond to COVID-19. Barbuda relied on community traditions of support and self-reliance and was able to restrict all travel to and from the island, including travelers from the diaspora and those participating in its informal economic sector. In doing so, Barbuda effectively isolated itself from infection. On the other hand, Puerto Rico, in a protracted economic crisis, was particularly vulnerable to touristic flows, diasporic movements, and a large informal sector. The Puerto Rican response was shaped by deep politicization in the mainland U.S., which complicated an evidence-based strategy to combat the emergency. These cases show that islands, particularly those located in peripheric or subaltern spaces, cannot isolate themselves from the worst effects of COVID-19 through mere geography. Pandemics are not only driven by biological events but also by the narratives of colonialism, encompassing political, economic, and cultural factors, which determine their trajectories - sometimes with devastating outcomes.

Hurricane Hazards, Evacuations, and Sheltering: Evacuation Decision-Making in the Prevaccine Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the PRVI Region

Although research relating to hurricane evacuation behavior and perceptions of risk has grown throughout the years, there is very little understanding of how these risks compound during a pandemic. Utilizing the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (PRVI) as a study region, this work examines risk perceptions and evacuation planning during the first hurricane season following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic before vaccines were widely available. Analyses of how people view public shelters and whether evacuation choices will change in light of COVID-19 concerns were conducted, and results reflect major changes in anticipated evacuation behavior during the 2020 hurricane season. Key findings include that over one-half of the sample considered themselves vulnerable to COVID-19. When asked about their intended actions for the 2020 hurricane season, a significant number of individuals who would have previously evacuated to a shelter said that they would choose not to during the pandemic, reflecting that public shelter usage has the potential to decrease when the decision is coupled with COVID-19 threats. In addition, individuals were shown to have a negative perception of public shelter options. Approximately one-half of the respondents had little faith in shelters’ ability to protect them, and three-quarters of respondents found the risks of enduring a hurricane to be less than those posed by public shelters. These results will inform future hazard mitigation planning during a disease outbreak or pandemic. © 2022 American Meteorological Society.

Issues challenging food security goals in the era of disruptive change and opportunities to revisit extension education strategies. (Special Issue: Journal of international agricultural and extension education.)

This study examined the challenges to the achievement of food security goals and the role of Extension Advisory Services (EAS) at a time when the world is faced with the double burden of an immediate pandemic in the midst of ongoing climate change events. EAS have always played vital roles in past emergencies around the world and are being challenged to respond timely and appropriately in these times. The purpose of this paper was to (i) describe the impacts of disruptive changes on food systems across the world, (ii) present key agricultural education and extension responses to such changes and (iii) make recommendations to strengthen EAS responses. There was a focus on Covid-19 and climate change as disruptive changes. An internet-mediated approach to source information and a review of published literature were used to gather information. Results detailed the several impacts of Covid-19 and climate change in seven regions of the world, the impacts of both disruptive events on the four pillars of food security, and some global responses in the areas of agricultural education and extension to meet present challenges. Recommendations included the strengthening and deepening of collaboration of all extension service providers at country level to ensure coordinated responses, building stronger community resilience and extension research directed to assist the reengineering of extension organizations in terms of structure, leadership and management.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 in Trinidad and Tobago

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) has affected over 250 million people globally and resulted in over 5 million deaths since it was first reported in November 2019.