Preventive Measures against Ebola and COVID-19 and Their Impact on Human Dirty-Hand Disease Mitigation in Côte d'Ivoire

Hygiene is the most useful public health measure for preventing infections of important endemic and emerging diseases of global significance. This study aimed to assess the impact of these public health preventive measures on dirty hand diseases. A retrospective survey was conducted in the rural general hospitals of Taabo (south-central Côte d'Ivoire) and Marcory (urban Abidjan) to collect clinical data on dirty hand diseases in the patients' records from 2013 to 2020. In addition, focus group discussions (N = 8) were conducted in the communities in both settings to identify the sociocultural and economic hindering or fostering factors that affected the adoption of and the compliance with handwashing and disinfection practices. A total of 3245 and 8154 patients' records were examined in the general hospitals of Taabo and Marcory, respectively. Compared with women, men were more affected by typhoid fever (OR, 0.68 [95%CI, 0.53–0.88]) and influenza (OR, 0.87 [95%CI, 0.75–1]). Hygiene measures promoted during Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks had no impact on the prevalence of typhoid fever in both settings;however, a positive impact was observed regarding influenza infections. Populations were aware of the importance of handwashing for public health but had difficulties adhering due to financial constraints, access to drinking water, and the absence or scarcity of handwashing facilities.

Thyroid outbreak during the pandemic of COVID-19: a report

Background : In the 19th Week of 2020, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) noted an unusual increase in the number of fever cases in Routine Syndromic Surveillance. Objectives : The unusual increase of fever cases were investigated to identify the agent, the source of infection and to propose recommendations for control measures. Methods : Active surveillance of fever cases done, blood samples, stool samples and water samples were collected from the affected area. The secondary data of indoor and outdoor patient were collected from the nearest health facilities. Result : It was a single peak outbreak of typhoid, started from 1st May, 2020, had peaked during the 19th Week of May. 2020 and ended on 31st May, 2020. The epicentre of the outbreak was the residential colony of Industrial labour. The outbreak of Typhoid occurred due to conditions generated due to the pandemic of COVID -19. Two sources of active infection were found. First, contaminated supply of drinking water and second a food-handler, who was the carrier of Typhoid. Interpretation and Conclusion : It is a lesson to learn that the local communicable diseases should be monitor during the pandemic. Otherwise, that can cause the situation of co-epidemic.

INTERDEPENDÊNCIAS E CIVILIZAÇÃO EM TEMPOS DE COV ID-19 1

Em março de 2020 a Organização Mundial da Saúde decretou estado de pandemia por SARS-Cov-2, o que exigiu importantes medidas médicas e sanitarias, bem como posicionamentos e ações políticas com consequências agudas por parte de todos os países atingidos. Johan Goudsblom aborda as epidemias de lepra, peste, sífilis e cólera, discutindo possíveis transformações civilizatórias. Seguindo na mesma linha do autor e adicionando discussões centradas nos conceitos eliasianos de figuração, interdependência, identidade-eu e identidade-nós, esse ensaio traz algumas reflexoes, elaboradas ainda no calor dos acontecimentos, a respeito da sociedade brasileira.Alternate :In March 2020 the World Health Organization declared a state of pandemic by SARS-Cov-2, which required important medical and health measures as well as political stances and actions with acute consequences on the part of all affected countries. Johan Goudsblom addresses the epidemics of leprosy, plague, syphilis, and cholera, discussing possible civilizational changes. Following the same line and adding discussions centered on the Eliasian concepts of figuration, interdependence, I-identity and We-identity, this essay brings some reflections, still elaborated in the heat of the events, concerning Brazilian society.

Special Report From NEHA: Our New Brand

Since the establishment of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) on June 25, 1937 in Long Beach CA under the name of the National Association of Sanitarians, they have stood strong offering shelter to the profession from literal and political storms while lifting up the science and expertise of the workforce. Whether championing the first water regulations to reduce cholera and typhoid or modern water regulations to eliminate lead exposure, they walk alongside their members to provide the best science and practice and to raise their collective environmental health voice for the communities they serve. In 2021, they embarked on a journey to reflect on where the organization--and the workforce--has been over the past 84 years, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep themselves centered, they returned to the original NEHA charter to reflect on the wisdom of their professional forebearers. From this charter, they developed a new mission anchored on their history that reaches toward their future: To build, sustain, and empower an effective environmental health workforce.

Existence of severe acute respiratory syndrome causing Coronavirus-2 (COVID-19) on aquatic animals and aquatic products: a review

Many pandemic diseases have emerged in the history and millions of people affected from these diseases. Among the marked pandemics in history, the plague, known as the black death, was recorded to cause the death of 17-54% of the world population. Similar to previous pandemics, as the SARS CoV-2, which emerged in 2019 and belonged to the coronavirus family, caused an epidemic and turned into a pandemic infection, positive cases were detected in more than 483 million people, and more than 6.1 million people died. While this emerging epidemic is still continuing its effects, it has been determined that there are positive cases in pets such as dogs and cats, especially in mink (Neovison vison). Especially in Denmark, Netherlands and Finland, positive animals for COVID-19 were accepted. Unlike the pandemic until today, the COVID-19 has spread to broader geographies and affected many animal species. With the reports that the SARS-CoV-2 - was first transmitted from bats to humans, this viral agent has been accepted as zoonotic, but a complete transmission route has not been shown for its transmission from other animals to humans except bats. It is reported that there is no significant risk of transmission of the virus, which is transmitted primarily by the respiratory route, from both pets and edible foods to humans. Although there are many reports in terrestrial animals, studies on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 - in aquatic animals or aquatic environments and COVID-19 transmission in aquatic animals have doubts. Here we reviewed the viability of the SARS-CoV-2 - in the aquatic environment, transmission to the aquatic ecosystem and aquatic animals, and therefore the risks to humans through water or aquatic products.

Record flooding in Pakistan poses major health risks

The recent record floods in Pakistan are the biggest natural disaster in the history of the country. Satellite images show the great extent of land submerged in inland lakes.1 The United Nations secretary general António Guterres described the flooding as a “monsoon on steroids.”2

Bottled water sales rose globally as pandemic took hold

Speed read Bottled water consumption rose in many poor countries during COVID-19 lockdowns Lack of access to safe drinking water a factor in the shift to bottles But countries reliant on tourism saw a decline in sales Families in some of the poorest parts of the world turned to buying bottled water as the pandemic sent countries into lockdown, with larger chunks of incomes being spent on drinking water, SciDev.Net analysis shows. Bottled water consumption has increased in the past two years as the number of production companies has increased, while outbreaks of the waterborne disease cholera, as well as COVID-19, have driven the need for safe drinking water. The extent to which communities trust their public or private water suppliers is one factor in the rise or fall of bottled water sales, say analysts.

Comparison of Risk of Diseases and Humanitarian Help of Areas after Bombing and Shelling in Yemen and Karabakh Autonomous Region Armenia

Several Yemenese towns had been shelled and bombed in the Karabakh Region in 2000-2001 by neighboring states. Bombing and/or natural disasters due to earthquakes and floods have been related to outbreaks of waterborne diseases due to destruction of water pipelines and damaging wells for individual water supply. We compare 2 Regions: 1 in tropical;the other in a mild climate afflicted by similar war intervention-shelling and bombing from neighboring countries, Yemen and Karabakh Arzach Autonomous Region of Armenia in 2020.

In Search of a Lost Father: Adrien Proust (1834–1903), An Almost Forgotten Public Health Pioneer

Objectives: In this communication, we wish to remember the important historical role played by Marcel Proust’s father, the now mostly forgotten Achille-Adrien Proust (1834–1903). Study Design and Methods: His career, scientific interests and, above all, his brilliant intuitions and suggestions in the fight against cholera in the 19th century are recalled. Results and Conclusions: His role in the promotion of a globally effective vision of public hygiene and health is stressed as a bright example for modern physicians fighting contemporary epidemics.

Barriers to Water and Sanitation Safety Plans in Rural Areas of South Africa—A Case Study in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province

The implementation of water and sanitation safety plans (WSSP) has the potential of greatly improving the challenge of resource-limited drinking-water supplies. However, the most effective tool to make WSSP successful is understanding of the factors that contribute to hindering the implementation of these plans, specifically in rural communities. This study therefore aimed at assessing the status of basic services and determining the factors that contribute to hampering the process of WSSP in rural communities. A survey was conducted between March 2020 and March 2021 in rural communities of the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The overall results indicate that poverty, unemployment, lack of access to purified water, and inadequate sanitation facilities have resulted in waterborne diseases reported within the communities and have a major impact in hindering WSSP. Other barriers observed are inequality regarding financial power, absent and degrading water and sanitation infrastructures, and lack of protection and maintenance of natural water sources. Therefore, there is a need for community members to be educated on proper behavior and perceptions towards sanitation, including working hand-in-hand with different stakeholders, men and women from communities, and different cultures and religions to overcome these barriers, so that human disease associated with water supply, wastewater reuse, and sanitation in rural communities can be alleviated.

China and the Cholera Pandemic: Restructuring Society under Mao ( Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2021 ), pp. 312, $55.00, hardback, ISBN: 9780822946625 )

By braiding together multiple environmental and social factors – ranging from land and water transportation networks, festivities, seafood-eating habits, agricultural cycles, and intensified population gathering during ‘Shuangqiang, or the quick harvesting and planting of rice crops’(p. 3) – Fang presents an ecosystem that set the scene for Zhejiang’s cholera outbreak in July 1962. Cholera had a greater impact in rural areas owing to the poor water-management infrastructure there;women participated in agricultural production, making their infection rate equal to men’s;and the superior nutrition and limited contact with civilians on military bases explains the lower caseload among soldiers. [...]the book can also be read as an account of the resistance, confrontations, and negotiations that occurred between various strands of power in moving towards that style of governance, which was not without its blind spots: public health staff encountered difficulties and even violence when attempting to check inoculation certificates of officers in the People’s Liberation Army (Chapter 4);overseas Chinese were exempted from vaccination certificate checks because the PRC needed their remittances and skills (Chapter 4);and the Zhejiang government adapted its 1963 vaccination campaign to avoid peak farming season due to the passive participation of local cadres and farmworkers the previous year (Chapter 6).

Measuring Timeliness of Outbreak Response in the World Health Organization African Region, 2017-2019.

Large-scale protracted outbreaks can be prevented through early detection, notification, and rapid control. We assessed trends in timeliness of detecting and responding to outbreaks in the African Region reported to the World Health Organization during 2017-2019. We computed the median time to each outbreak milestone and assessed the rates of change over time using univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression analyses. We selected 296 outbreaks from 348 public reported health events and evaluated 184 for time to detection, 232 for time to notification, and 201 for time to end. Time to detection and end decreased over time, whereas time to notification increased. Multiple factors can account for these findings, including scaling up support to member states after the World Health Organization established its Health Emergencies Programme and support given to countries from donors and partners to strengthen their core capacities for meeting International Health Regulations.

Impact of lockdown on the microbiological status of the hospital water network during COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic started in China in early December 2019, and quickly spread around the world. The epidemic gradually started in Italy at the end of February 2020, and by May 31, 2020, 232,664 cases and 33,340 deaths were confirmed. As a result of this pandemic, the Italian Ministerial Decree issued on March 11, 2020, enforced lockdown; therefore, many social, recreational, and cultural centers remained closed for months. In Apulia (southern Italy), all non-urgent hospital activities were suspended, and some wards were closed, with a consequent reduction in the use of the water network and the formation of stagnant water. This situation could enhance the risk of exposure of people to waterborne diseases, including legionellosis. The purpose of this study was to monitor the microbiological quality of the water network (coliforms, E. coli, Enterococci, P. aeruginosa, and Legionella) in three wards (A, B and C) of a large COVID-19 regional hospital, closed for three months due to the COVID-19 emergency. Our study revealed that all three wards' water network showed higher contamination by Legionella pneumophila sg 1 and sg 6 at T1 (after lockdown) compared to the period before the lockdown (T0). In particular, ward A at T1 showed a median value = 5600 CFU/L (range 0-91,000 CFU/L) vs T0, median value = 75 CFU/L (range 0-5000 CFU/L) (p-value = 0.014); ward B at T1 showed a median value = 200 CFU/L (range 0-4200 CFU/L) vs T0, median value = 0 CFU/L (range 0-300 CFU/L) (p-value = 0.016) and ward C at T1 showed a median value = 175 CFU/L (range 0-22,000 CFU/L) vs T0, median value = 0 CFU/L (range 0-340 CFU/L) (p-value < 0.001). In addition, a statistically significant difference was detected in ward B between the number of positive water samples at T0 vs T1 for L. pneumophila sg 1 and sg 6 (24% vs 80% p-value < 0.001) and for coliforms (0% vs 64% p-value < 0.001). Moreover, a median value of coliform load resulted 3 CFU/100 ml (range 0-14 CFU/100 ml) at T1, showing a statistically significant increase versus T0 (0 CFU/100 ml) (p-value < 0.001). Our results highlight the need to implement a water safety plan that includes staff training and a more rigorous environmental microbiological surveillance in all hospitals before occupying a closed ward for a longer than one week, according to national and international guidelines.