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In October 2022, a total of 67 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 235 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (235), monkeypox (109), dengue fever (30), measles (27) and cholera (14). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Rift Valley fever (48.9%), Ebola virus disease (38.7%), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (27.3%), Lassa fever (18.2%) and West Nile fever (7.1%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, measles and dengue fever. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19 and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, Ebola virus disease, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, malaria and monkeypox, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, cholera, dengue fever and monkeypox, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19, monkeypox and West Nile fever.
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Foodborne parasites (FBP) are of great importance due to their high morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries with poor environmental sanitation, personal hygiene and animal husbandry habits. As they are not mandatory their real prevalence is unknown except for trichinosis. A classification based on the parasitic load and the years lost due to disability (DALYs) considered 11 FBP. The worst being cryptosporidiosis with more than 2 million DALYs and those with the highest morbidity were acquired toxoplasmosis and ascariasis. Another classification is based on the multicriteria decision for the risk and manage-ment of FBP. This consided 24 FBP, being Taenia solium - cysticercosis the most serious. In relation to the parasitic zoonoses that are part of the neglected diseases (NGD), leishmaniasis, shistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis were considered, cryptosporidiasis and intestinal nematodiasis were also considered al though both do not belong to the NGD. In relation to cryptosporidiosis only 1% is diagnosed, despite the fact that 25% of children with diarrhea present this zoonosis as a comorbidity. In relation to malaria, in 2022 we have the same number of cases globally as in the year 2000, due to different factors that have worsened parasitosis: Epidemic of Covid-19, Ebola, floods, conflicts, climate change (increase in global temperature), appearance of mutant P. falciparum resistant to therapy and that are not detected with rapid diagnostic tests (because they do not have the specific protein), appearance of new vectors, etc.
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Life remained far from normal as we completed the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic and entered a second year. Despite the challenges faced worldwide, together we continue to move the field of Medical Entomology forward. Here, I reflect on parallels between control of Covid-19 and vector-borne disease control, discuss the advantages and caveats of using new genotyping technologies for the study of invasive species, and proceed to highlight papers that were published between 2020 and 2021 with a focus on those related to mosquito surveillance and population genetics of mosquito vectors.
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Objective: To provide scientific basis for malaria control measures by investigating imported malaria cases of migrant workers from Africa and returning to Shanghai.
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On December 13, 2020, Yutian County People's hospital reported one imported malaria case in Hotan, Xinjiang. The patient had worked and lived in Yaounde, Cameroon, from January to September 2020. He was infected with malaria twice in March and May 2020. Antimalarial treatment was administrated by the team doctor for 2-3 days in each treatment. The treatment was stopped after the symptoms improved. The patient returned to China on September 16 and was hospitalized on December 13 due to a high fever of 39 degrees C and upper respiratory symptoms. Multiple detections of COVID-19 nucleic acid showed negative results. Peripheral blood from the patient was taken for Plasmodium rapid diagnostic test (RDT), which showed a positive result suggesting non Plasmodium falciparum infection. Ring stage P. ovale was found in the blood smear. Nested PCR showed positive for P. ovale. A diagnosis of imported ovale malaria was made. The patient was administrated with 4 dihydroartemisinin piperaquine tablets and 3 primaquine phosphate tablets daily. The malaria parasite test became negative after 8 days of treatment. The patient was followed up for 3 months after discharge and had no symptoms of chills or fever.
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The beginning to this paper discusses the ongoing evolution of bacteria, notably viruses, the most successful and common creatures in the biosphere. In the very long narrative of human history, only a very small recent incident occurs. After being the first species to control fire, H. erectus fled Africa to settle in Asia and Europe. Equatorial species diversity provided a plenty of food, but it also resulted in an abundance of insects that may harbor pathogens. The first dangers to health, not domestication, came from the Tse tse fly, Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes, and other mobile disease carriers. Human intestines were a smooth ride for helminths. A second outbreak of the bubonic plague decimated half of Europe's population in a span of years in 1348. It was followed by the first European contact with the Americas, which resulted in a sharp drop in local American populations due to European diseases and harsh treatment. Mexico experienced one of the worst demographic catastrophes ever recorded in history in the 16th century, when 60 to 80% of the people died. Salmonella enterica paratyphi, the intestinal bacteria that causes paratyphoid fever, had its DNA found in a mass grave from that period and place. The article's conclusion highlights the eradication of infectious diseases, which was made possible by pesticides, vaccines, plumbing, and antibiotics, as the greatest accomplishment of the 20th century. This is "one of the indisputably important achievements of our species," according to this report. Without a doubt, it contributed significantly to the growth of the human population to heights above a billion. Even if COVID-19 appeared as the novel was being written, the main narrative is nevertheless supported by the rapid development of a vaccine. Yes, there will always be new epidemics, especially as human communities become more encircled by wild rodent populations, but scientific improvements also shield us from total extinction.
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This document deals only with infections potentially serious or presenting an epidemic risk and which may constitute health alerts local, national and even international. Their introduction can constitute a risky situation that must be know how to recognize in order to avoid any delay in medical care and put in place collective measures limiting their possible dissemination to caregivers, other patients and the general population. It is important to identify early the signs that should evoke these infections, to know the preventive measures their direct transmission and know when to alert health authorities. The fight against Covid-19 has led to the introduction of travel restrictions abroad. Recovery progressive international travel requires taking into account the risk of ending up in quarantine, the spread of variant strains of SARS-CoV-2 that are more transmissible, sometimes more virulent or capable resist natural or vaccine immunity. Malaria, which remains a frequent and potentially serious imported disease, is the subject of a separate chapter. In the case of any patient becoming symptomatic after returning from an endemic area, tests specific diagnostics (direct and indirect) of malaria must be carried out urgently in order to affirm or eliminate this hypothesis. Finally, the opinion of an infectiologist should be sought as much as necessary to support diagnostic and therapeutic management when an import disease is mentioned.
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In May 2022, a total of 66 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 233 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (233), monkeypox (36), dengue fever (31), measles (24) and cholera (11). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Ebola virus disease (100.0%), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (34.4%), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (22.2%), Lassa fever (19.8%) and monkeypox (4.0%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, cholera, dengue fever and measles. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19, dengue fever and cholera, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, Ebola virus disease, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, malaria and monkeypox, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, dengue fever, chikungunya fever and Zika virus disease, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe were COVID-19, monkeypox and acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology.
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Since 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread globally, it has undoubtedly had a huge negative impact on the prevention and control of many diseases including malaria, while malaria also brings new challenges to the prevention and control of COVID-19 in malaria endemic areas. Therefore, the awareness of malaria prevention and control to medical workers and the workers of parasitic disease prevention and control needs to be strengthened, and the knowledge of malaria prevention and control needs to be updated urgently. This article focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: on malaria prevention and control, the potential interaction of SARS-CoV-2-Plasmodium parasite co-infection, the challenge of the emergence of "diagnostic resistance" of Plasmodium falciparum strain to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of malaria prevalence on COVID-19 mortality.
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Hydatid cyst is an infection caused by the parasite Echinococcus granulosus, which is seen endemic in animal husbandry areas. Due to the heavy burden on physicians during the pandemics, diseases other than COVID-19 took a back seat during the differential diagnosis of patients. Hydatid cyst is located in the bone at a rate of 1-4%. The symptoms and imaging features of the cyst located in the bone are not specific, thus they are less likely to be considered in the differential diagnosis of extremity lesions. The absence of a specific clinical picture and the lack of high sensitivity of the indirect hemagglutination test bring radiological evaluations to the fore in diagnosis. In this case report, we shared diagnostic and treatment process of a patient-who was first admitted to the hospital with edema, pain and fever in the leg, was diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) later diagnosed hydatid cyst with lung and bone involvement.
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Environmental factors and infectious diseases are closely related, mathematical models seek to explain these interactions, however, the same analytical practices are often observed with infectious diseases despite substantial differences from non-infectious diseases that can result in analytical challenges.
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This article is based on a recommendation from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800,000 children since 2019, with key findings: (1) The vaccine introduction is feasible, improves health and saves lives, with good and equitable coverage of RTS,S seen through routine immunisation systems. This has occurred even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) RTS,S has increased equity in access to malaria prevention, with data from the pilot programme showing that more than two-thirds of children in the three pilot programme countries, who do not sleep under a bednet, have benefitted from the RTS,S vaccine, (3) To date, more than 2.3 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in three African countries, with a favourable safety profile, (4) In areas where the vaccine has been introduced, there has been no decrease in the use of insecticide-treated nets, uptake of other childhood vaccinations, or health seeking behaviour for febrile illness, (5) A reduction of 30% in deadly severe malaria, even when introduced in areas where insecticide-treated nets are widely used and there is good access to diagnosis and treatment, and (6) Modelling estimates that the vaccine is cost-effective in areas of moderate to high malaria transmission. Therefore, this recommendation includes funding decisions from the global health community for broader rollout, and country decision-making on whether to adopt the vaccine as part of national malaria control strategies.
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This article provides a brief overview of the 31st meeting of the International TaskForce for Disease Eradication (ITFDE) that was convened at The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA, USA on 20-21 October 2020 to discuss "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eradication and elimination programmes and the way forward." It highlights the results of 7 eradication programmes, with specific conclusions and recommendations for each: Guinea Worm Eradication Programme(dracunculiasis;GWEP);Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI);elimination programmes for measles and rubella (MR), malaria, river blindness (onchocerciasis;RB), and lymphatic filariasis (LF);and the program for the Global Elimination of Trachoma.
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This article describes how the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced provision of treatment in the Yanomami focus area (YFA) in 2020, especially in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The distribution of ivermectin for mass treatment (MDA) to prevent onchocerciasis was affected worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as were MDA programs for other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). On 1 April 2020, WHO recommended that mass treatment campaigns, active case-finding, and population-based surveys for NTDs be postponed until further notice to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission associated with large-scale community health interventions. The Carter Center, which provides major funding to MDA in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, temporarily halted its activities in 2020 due to an administrative problem and, once the COVID-19 pandemic had taken hold, in order to adhere to WHO recommendations, its own policies, and the policies of other donor organizations. Ivermectin treatment continued to be offered in Brazil, supported by the government, with essential health services such as vaccination and malaria control. On 27 July 2021, WHO released new interim guidance for NTD programs. This included a risk-benefit analysis to figure out if activities could be resumed safely and detailed standards for reducing risk with all known precautions (such as wearing masks, socialdistance, hand sanitizing and/or handwashing, limiting live meetings and group size). The program in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela followed these instructions and made a plan to get back to work safely, which was what WHO wanted.
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This article describes the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF), which aims to stop the spread of infection by mass drug administration (MDA) and ease the suffering of patients through morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP). In 2020, LFMDA treated 21.6 million 2-4-year-olds and 98.5 million 5-14-year-olds. Given the impact of LF MDA on soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, WHO advises adding STH infection assessment into transmission assessment surveys (TAS) to increase NTD intervention efficiency. Once preTAS and TAS standards are met, an IU's population no longer needs MDA. 692 million people didn't need MDA. This 49% decline in LF cases is a huge step toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Thirteen countries and 171 IUs performed TASs in 2020. A total of 4316 TAS have been conducted in EUs, which are greater or smaller than IUs. 100% of EUs passed a TAS, according to 2020 reports (the proportion of children who tested positive for LF infection was below the threshold for considering transmission unsustainable). Several 2020 TAS were postponed because to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Despite a global epidemic, GPELF achieved progress in 2020, demonstrating the resolve and inventiveness of national LFprogrammes to end this illness.
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In this report, four countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico) have completed the WHO-recommended process for verification of the interruption of human onchocerciasis transmission, and many others have ceased mass drug administration (MDA), completed post-treatment surveillance (PTS), or both in at least one transmission area on their territory. Interruption of transmission enabled governments to preserve the benefits acquired over many years of effective MDA with Ivermectin and to discontinue MDA permanently, thereby protecting populations living in endemic areas from morbidity and infection. The eradication of human onchocerciasis would contribute significantly to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.3, which calls for the eradication of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2030. All countries endemic for onchocerciasis have reported instances of COVID-19. The impact of the pandemic on NTD interventions has been discussed elsewhere. In many countries, scheduled MDA rounds were postponed due to efforts to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in onchocerciasis-endemic nations. In 2020, 26.9% fewer patients were treated for onchocerciasis than in 2019. MDA was implemented in fewer nations and implementation units in 2020 (1096 versus 1538 in 2019), resulting in a 27.7% decrease in global geographical coverage. The WHO Global Health Observatory provides access to data submitted by governments.
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In historical and prehistoric times, various pathogens from human origin or from animals to humans have affected millions of people as diseases such as plague, smallpox, and tularemia. It is known that epidemic diseases played a role in the historical records on the way to the collapse of the Hittite state. There are many records of epidemics in ancient Greek and Roman states. Geographical discoveries have opened up new opportunities for the spread of diseases. The corona virus epidemic, which emerged in China at the end of 2019 and spread from there to the whole world, was named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization. It causes problems in many parts of the body in addition to the respiratory tract. COVID-19 has become the biggest epidemic of recent years, affecting millions of people. Restrictions against COVID-19 have raised concerns about health problems in people as well as economy. Psychological problems, anxiety and sleep disorders related to decreased sociality have been reported in many studies. Possible problems due to inactivity are areas where more data can be revealed in the future. The purpose of this review is to gather historical information on past outbreaks and present some of the selected effects of the current Covid-19 outbreak on human health.
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In March 2022, a total of 63 infectious diseases were reported globally, affecting 230 countries and regions. Except for influenza, the top five infectious diseases affecting greatest number of countries and regions were COVID-19 (230), dengue fever (32), measles (29), chikungunya fever (10) and cholera (9). The top five infectious diseases with highest case fatality rates were Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (33.3%), Rift Valley fever (20.0%), Lassa fever (18.6%), yellow fever (11.3%) and monkeypox (5.5%). The top five infectious diseases with greatest number of deaths were COVID-19, malaria, measles, cholera and Lassa fever. The prevalent infectious diseases in Asia were COVID-19 and dengue fever, the prevalent infectious diseases in Africa were COVID-19, cholera, yellow fever, Lassa fever, malaria, measles and poliomyelitis, the prevalent infectious diseases in America were COVID-19, dengue fever and chikungunya fever, the prevalent infectious disease in Europe was COVID-19.