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In 1990, the seroprevalence of antibody against hepatitis C virus (anti- HCV) in Taiwan was first documented to be 0.95% in volunteer blood donors, 90% in hemophiliacs, and 81% in parenteral drug abusers. The risk factors for HCV infection in Taiwan include iatrogenic transmission (medical injection, hemodialysis, acupuncture, and blood transfusion), tattooing, and sexual transmission. The long-term risk of hepatic and non-hepatic diseases has been well-documented by REVEL-HCV study. A national program of antiviral therapy for chronic viral hepatitis was launched in Taiwan in 2003. Mortality rates of end-stage liver diseases decreased continuously from 2000-2003 to 2008-2011 in all age and gender groups. When the World Health Assembly adopted the Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis in 2016, National program to eliminate hepatitis C was very carefully evaluated. It became a consensus to reach the WHO's 2030 goals in 2025. Taiwan Hepatitis C Policy Guideline 2018-2025 was approved and published at the beginning of 2019. There are triple focuses of hepatitis C elimination in Taiwan including (1) therapy spearheads prevention, (2) screening supports therapy, and (3) prevention secures outcome. A total of US$1.7 billion will be allocated from 2017 to 2025 for the elimination of HCV. The coverage of HCV screening and treatment has been increasing significantly since 2017. The HCV screening coverage was almost 100% for dialytic patients, 96% for HIV-infected patients, 65% for patients under opioid substitution treatment, 63% for patients in the pre-end-stage renal disease care program, 57% for patients in the early chronic kidney disease care program, 52% for patients in diabetes care program, 39% for prisoners, and 38% for adults aged 45-79 years old in the general population by April 30, 2020. The budget to cover the cost of DAA increased from US$101 million in 2017 to US$219 million in 2019. The number of chronic hepatitis C patients receiving DAA therapy increased from 9,538 in 2017, 19,549 in 2018, to 45,806 in 2019. However, the number of DAA-treated CHC patients reduced to 36,159 in 2020 and 20,559 in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The cure rate based on SVR12 was 96.8% in 2017, 97.4% in 2018, over 98.6% after 2019. It is expected that Taiwan will achieve WHO's HCV elimination goal by 2025.
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The Public Health Commission of Hubei Province, China, at the end of 2019reported cases of severe and unknown pneumonia, marked by fever, malaise, dry cough, dyspnea, and respiratory failure, that occurred in the urban area of Wuhan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The lung infection, SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19, was caused by a brand-new coronavirus (coronavirus disease 2019). Since then, infections have increased exponentially, and the WHO labeled the outbreak a worldwide emergency at the beginning of March 2020. Infected and asymptomatic individuals who can spread the virus are the main sources of it. The transmission occurs mainly by airthrough the air through the droplets, however indirect transmission is also possible, such as through contact with infected surfaces. It becomes essential to identify viral carriers as soon as possible in order to stop the spread of the disease and reduce morbidity and mortality. Imaging examinations, which are among the specific tests used to make the definite diagnosis, are crucial in the patient's management when COVID-19 is suspected. Numerous papers that use machine learning techniques discuss the use of X-ray chest radiographs as a component that aids in diagnosis and permits disease follow-up. The goal of this work is to supply the scientific community with information on the most widely used Machine Learning algorithms applied to chest X-ray images. © 2022 IEEE.
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The events of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan and the WHO's immediate response have garnered international media attention and popular criticism against the organization for being unduly deferential to Chinese reporting and, by extension, incapable of independent investigation and pandemic management. The study examines the WHO's efforts to contain international spread of the virus whilst managing its relationship with influential member states, namely the United States and China. It argues that the International Health Regulations (2005) are poorly insulated against underlying political dynamics and competition that are largely unrelated to international public health. That is, the existing framework governing pandemic events are susceptible to manipulation by influential member states with ulterior motives who do not abide by their reporting duties. Finally, the study suggests that, by promoting greater transparency and incorporating a dispute-settlement mechanism focused on adjudicating international health law-specific matters, the WHO will be better equipped to respond to future pandemics. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2023.
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BACKGROUND: The core of the healthcare system is healthcare workers (HCWs). A skilled and healthy workforce is essential during a health emergency like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. AIM: This study evaluated knowledge of COVID-19, its preventive measures, and factors affecting it among HCWs at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Cairo University to determine their desire to obtain the available COVID-19 vaccines in addition to the factors that may affect it. METHOD(S): This descriptive cross-sectional study included 151 HCWs in Egypt using a self-administered questionnaire created by the researchers after examining the information supplied by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, World Health Organization, and the relevant research regarding knowledge assessment. Initially, demographic data were collected. Participants were asked their source of knowledge about COVID-19 and their intent to receive the available vaccines. Knowledge about COVID-19 and preventive measures was compared between different HCWs in NCI. In addition, knowledge score was compared according to different factors to determine factors affecting knowledge. RESULT(S): Physicians represented about 40% of the total number of participants. HCWs' knowledge of COVID-19 was higher among physicians, with a higher percentage of correct answers than the other two groups (nurses and pharmacists and employees and technicians). Younger age groups had a significantly higher median knowledge score than the older groups. Physicians had significantly higher median scores than employee and technician groups. CONCLUSION(S): The overall knowledge about COVID-19 and its preventive measures among HCWs was generally good, especially among physicians more than allied health professionals. However, some of the virus-related knowledge was less advanced than expected for the HCWs position.Copyright © 2023 Nora Atef, Mohamed Bendary, Amira Khater.
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The earlier we can detect and identify health threats, the faster we can respond and the more lives we can save...not to mention the impact on other aspects of societies and economies, as we clearly see through COVID-19 and other infectious disease events in our history. But responding faster requires us to do something with those things that we detect earlier first. It requires us to transform what we get through surveillance systems and the other vast amounts of information available to us in our increasingly digital world to intelligence that can then lead to appropriate actions. This should inform our collective priorities for surveillance;we need to ask ourselves how we can improve our intelligence so that the decisions that are made and the policies that are put in place are better informed, more timely and, ultimately, more effective in protecting lives and livelihoods. Seeking to address this very question, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization's Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence was created. This presentation will provide an overview of some of the intelligence work preceding its creation through the Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) initiative and highlight some of its key activities and ambitions moving forward. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Infectious Diseases is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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Remdesivir (GS-5734) is a new direct-acting antiviral drug in the nucleotide analogue class with antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and the ability to inhibit RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Preliminary results from phase III randomized clinical trials of remdesivir are inconsistent. Understanding the fact of the limited world experience with the use of remdesivir in COVID-19 required further study of its efficacy and safety in real clinical practice. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of remdesivir in the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Material and methods. The study included 1422 patients with a novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) who received remdesivir as part of complex therapy in a hospital setting at medical organizations of the Moscow public health system. Additionally, standard therapy was carried out, regulated by the Interim Guidelines "Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Novel Coronavirus Infection (COVID-19)" of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, the current version. The efficacy of the drug was assessed based on primary and secondary efficacy points. Primary variable: 1) cumulative incidence of clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 treated with remdesivir as part of complex therapy;2) median time to clinical improvement according to the World Health Organization ordinal categorical scale (under clinical improvement, the patient is assumed to move >2 categories towards improvement in clinical condition). Secondary variables: 1) median time to achieve <2 NEWS scores lasting at least 24 hours or hospital discharge;2) mortality from all causes;3) duration of fever (>38 degreeC), days;4) duration of hospitalization, days;5) time to achieve elimination of the pathogen from the upper respiratory tract (no SARS-CoV-2 RNA), days. The safety of remdesivir was assessed based on the registration of adverse events using the method of spontaneous reports. Results. The analysis of clinical outcomes of treatment showed that 1195 (84.1%) patients recovered, death from all causes occurred in 227 (15.9%) patients. The median improvement in clinical status on the World Health Organization ordinal categorical scale was 6 days. The median time to reach a NEWS score of <2, lasting at least 24 hours, or hospital discharge was 4 days. The median duration of fever was 3 days from the start of remdesivir administration. The median length of hospital stays for patients included in the Register was 9 days. Adverse reactions associated with the use of remdesivir were recorded in 11 (0.7%) patients. Serious adverse reactions were not registered. During hospitalization, all adverse reactions were resolved. Conclusion. A retrospective analysis of data from the Registry of 1422 patients with COVID-19 who received remdesivir as part of complex therapy in medical organizations of the state healthcare system of Moscow in routine clinical practice showed clinical efficacy and a favorable safety profile of remdesivir (Remdeform, lyophilizate for solution for intravenous administration 100 mg, manufactured by JSC Pharmasyntez, Russia). The data obtained are consistent with previous randomized clinical trials of remdesivir and allow us to recommend its further use in patients with COVID-19 as part of complex therapy.Copyright © The Author(s), 2022.
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Purpose of overview: The constant surge in accessing essential medicines creates a greater need for continuous monitoring of usage. The inability to source active pharmaceutical ingredients during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in drug shortages that increased online requests for medications. E-commerce and social sites have opened the floodgate for the marketing of falsified, substandard, and unregistered pharmaceuticals, making them easily accessible to consumers with the click of a button. A high prevalence of such products with compromised quality highlights further the need for enhanced post-marketing vigilance of safety and quality within the pharmaceutical industry. This review aims to assess the extent to which pharmacovigilance (PV) systems in selected Caribbean countries conform to the minimum World Health Organization (WHO) requirements, highlight the importance of PV in ensuring the safer use of medicines across the Caribbean region, and identify opportunities and challenges in building comprehensive PV systems. Recent Findings: The review finds that while major advancements in PV and adverse drug reaction (ADR) monitoring have occurred in Europe and other parts of the Americas, little has been done in the Caribbean region. Only a few countries in the region are active members of the WHO's global PV network, and ADR reporting is minimal. The reason for low reporting includes a lack of awareness, commitment, and participation of healthcare professionals, manufacturers, authorized distributors, and the general consumers. Summary: Nearly all established national PV systems do not fully conform to the minimum PV requirements by the WHO. Legislation, regulatory framework, political commitment, adequate funding, strategies, and incentives to encourage reporting of ADRs are needed to build sustainable PV systems in the Caribbean.Copyright © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) was detected in December 2019 in the Hubei Province of China. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. The WHO thus proposed country and technical guidelines in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper reviewed the preparedness of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries in ending the pandemic through the adoption of the WHO guidelines. The Socio-Ecological Model was adopted as a conceptual framework in conducting our analysis. We realized that while striving to implement the WHO guidelines, a plethora of microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem factors make it difficult for SSA countries to achieve the desired results aimed at halting the spread of the virus. SSA countries may, therefore, not be able to end the COVID-19 pandemic soon. We recommend various interventions including short-and long-term loan facilities from donor agencies, decentralization of COVID-19 testing to sub-national levels, and increased community engagement to improve risk communication and adherence to public health measures to end the spread of COVID-19 in SSA. © 2023 Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and the Medical Association of Malawi.
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BACKGROUND: COVID-19 as a pandemic has caused an alarming increase in mortality and morbidity. Viral-induced morphologic changes in the peripheral blood cells are well characterized in certain infections and can direct diagnostic workup to ensure timely therapeutic intervention. This study describes the morphological changes of blood cells in various stages of COVID disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of thousand COVID-positive patients admitted in the tertiary care center were taken for the study. They were classified as mild, moderate, and severe based on the clinical criteria suggested by World Health Organization. Peripheral smears of the patients were analyzed, and the morphological changes in various blood cells were correlated with the disease stage and coagulation parameters. RESULT(S): The study demonstrated significant morphological changes in the blood cells of COVID patients during the course of disease progression and during the onset of COVID-associated coagulopathy. Leukocytosis, neutrophilia, and toxic changes in neutrophils were seen in the severe stage of the disease and in COVID coagulopathy suggesting these are important indicators of disease severity. Activated lymphocyte was found to be the most common morphological presentation seen in all patients irrespective of the disease stage, whereas plasmacytoid lymphocytes were an important finding in severe-stage disease. Schistocytes an important finding in any other coagulopathy was present only in 1% of cases of COVID coagulopathy. CONCLUSION(S): The study demonstrated significant morphological changes in the blood cells of COVID-positive patients during the course of disease progression. Comprehensive daily complete blood count and peripheral smear examination should be undertaken in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 to predict potential clinical deterioration and signs of disease progression. These morphological changes in peripheral smear can be used as one of the factors indicating disease progression which can formulate for further evaluation. Since follow-up and post-COVID morphological examination were not done, additional research in this aspect can shed light on the clinical categorization of COVID patients based on the morphological findings.Copyright © 2023 Journal of Applied Hematology Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow.
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The COVID-19 pandemic boosted the production and circulation of false information, especially online, leading the World Health Organization to classify this phenomenon as an infodemic, i.e., a misinformation epidemic. In addition to this, the growing aging of the population is a reality not only in Portugal, but throughout the world. The Internet, and in particular social networks, can be an important contribution to the well-being of the elderly, reducing their social isolation. However, it makes them even more susceptible to the consumption of false information. Considering the increasing contact with fake news, it is important to evaluate the determinants of the ability of the elderly to identify fake news. In this article we present a research proposal with a quantitative methodology, based on a hypothetical-deductive process, supported by a self-administered online questionnaire survey for data collection, to meet this objective. © 2022 Associacao Portuguesa de Sistemas de Informacao. All rights reserved.
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Influenza infection is asymptomatic in up to 75% of cases, but outbreaks result in significant morbidity. Reports found that severe influenza complications tend to occur among the very young (<5 years) and very old (>65 years), especially those with underlying co-morbidities like diabetes mellitus and heart disease. Even with no co-morbidity, some older persons with severe influenza may require hospitalisation or intensive care, with increased risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. In South-East Asia, influenza was often seen as a mild problem and was not deemed notifiable until the appearance of the Influenza A(H1N1) pandemic in 2009. For decades the data made available were based on extrapolated estimates collected mainly from paediatric populations, resulting in inconsistent findings. Following expanded surveillance across the region using national surveillance systems for influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), and better diagnostic methods, improved estimates of disease burden was achieved in South-East Asia. However, two studies conducted in 2008-2010 reported findings ranging from 2-3% to 11%. With regards to increased risk of complications, the estimated global annual attack rates for influenza were 5-10% in adults and 20-30% in children, resulting in 3-5 million cases of severe illness and 290,000-650,000 deaths. A study In Singapore reported that influenza is associated with annual excess mortality rates (EMR) of 11-14.8 per 100 000 person-years, especially affecting the elderly;these rates are comparable to that of the USA. As for hospitalisation rates of children under 5 years with seasonal influenza, the USA estimated a rate of 1.4 per 100,000. Comparable rates were reported in Singapore (0.7-0.9), Thailand (2.4), Viet Nam (3.9-4.7), and the Philippines (4.7). In 2018, an updated study reported a mean annual influenza-associated respiratory EMR of 4.0-8.8 per 100 000 individuals, with South-East Asia showing a high mortality rate of 3.5-9.2 per 100,000 individuals. It was already estimated in Thailand in 2004 that influenza resulted in USD23-63 million in economic costs, with the main contribution from lost productivity due to missed workdays. Thus, comparable to countries in temperate climate, the clinical and socioeconomic impact of influenza in South-East Asia appear to be just as substantial. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, global influenza incidence dropped dramatically. In South-East Asia, the trend in influenza detections was similar to the rest of the world, with numbers slightly higher than average in early 2020, followed by a quick drop-off by the end of April 2020. After April 2020, the detection rate remained low until late July 2020, when Influenza A(H3N2) predominated in Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste;influenza B in Lao People's Democratic Republic but with an upsurge in A(H3N2) activity. Following a two-year hiatus, influenza outbreaks began to re-emerge significantly since early 2022. From February through August 2022, influenza activity in the southern hemisphere remained lower than in pre-COVID-19 pandemic years, but was at the highest level compared to similar periods since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Reasons for the reduction during the COVID-19 pandemic include non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), reduced population mixing and reduced travel, and possibly viral interference between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus in the same host. In general, the reduction in influenza detections however does not appear to be associated with lack of testing. The World Health Organisation (WHO) continues to recommend that vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infection and severe outcomes caused by influenza viruses. Although influenza vaccine is not commonly used in most countries in South-East Asia, its burden is similar in other parts of the world where influenza vaccine is now routinely used. Currently, the countries in South-East Asia that are providing free influenza vacc na ion for those at high risk include Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and Lao People's Democratic Republic.Copyright © 2023
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Background: The One Health concept (OHC) seeks to improve the health of plants, animals, and humans because improving animal and plant health will increase the capacity for improving human health. Many risks such as plant and animal biotechnology applications have the potential to generate new diseases that can be transmitted to humans. In this way, the health of humans, animals, and plants is interrelated and depends on one another. However, it has been difficult to apply the OHC in some countries, such as those in the Middle East. The absence of financial support in the region is a major hindrance to applying this concept in the region. The application of the OHC requires the support of specialists who can advocate the government for support in launching OHC-related projects. Here, we discuss the OHC in the context of antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases, and biosafety/biosecurity, which are important public health issues. Furthermore, we describe the current status of the OHC in the Middle East and recent research conducted related to this concept. There has been recent international solidarity in the application of the OHC to reduce risks that threaten the health of organisms. Several countries jointly launched the Global Health Security Agenda in 2014 with the aim of realizing a world that is free of infectious disease-related health risks. However, no previous review articles have examined the applications of the OHC in the Middle East region. This article discusses the OHC in terms of its needs and current applications in the Middle East. Methodology: The following keywords were used in the search: "One Health," "Middle East," "medicinal plants," "viruses," "rabies," "MERS," and "antimicrobial resistance." Related papers were obtained by searching for these keywords using available search engines, such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google search, as well as international organization websites. Conclusion(s): The concept of One Health is relatively new and has not been applied in most countries, possibly because the value of this concept for improving human health is not well understood. The key principle defining this concept and its importance is the interdependency of plants, animals, and human health. By applying the OHC, humans can benefit from healthy plants and animals by enhancing their growing conditions, medications, and environments. This would in turn improve general human health by allowing the safe extraction of therapeutics and food resources.Copyright © 2023
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a goal of elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030. In Japan, the estimated people of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections were 1.7-2.2 and 1.3-1.5 million in 2000, respectively. Although the mortality due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) had been increasing until around 2002, it has been gradually decreasing to date, and approximately 24,000 people died from HCC in 2021 in Japan. Japan has a national action plan for addressing viral hepatitis called, ''Basic Act on Hepatitis Measures'', established in 2009. ''Basic Guidelines for Promotion of Control Measures for Hepatitis'' was issued in 2011 and was updated in 2016 and 2022, comprising 9 principles in order to promote measures to prevent HBV and HCV. According to these guidelines, national and local government share screening costs for testing HBV and HCV for those residents who are over 40 years old. Thus, out-of-pocket expenses from examinees are free of charge or reduced to a minimum. In addition, for patients with chronic HBV or HCV infections treated with nucleotide analogues, interferon, and direct antiviral agents, the drug prices and examination expenses were covered by a medical-expenses support system for viral hepatitis. By these countermeasures against viral hepatitis, the estimated people of chronic HCV infection revealed a decrease to 1.0-1.6 million in 2011 (30-40% decrease from 2000 level) and 0.9-1.3 million in 2015 (40- 50% decrease from 2000 level). If the current situation had been continuing, the number of HCV patients is expected to decrease to 0.2-0.5 million (80-90% decrease from 2000 level and 60-80% decrease from 2015 level) by 2030. However, the COVID-19 pandemic since December 2019 is thought to have affected testing, linkage to care, treatment uptake, and follow-up, and new efforts that do not slow the progress to date toward HCV elimination, which is finally becoming visible, will be necessary in the future. In this lecture, I would also like to talk about the efforts at our hospital to achieve the sustainable development goal targeted by WHO.
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Objectives: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) present greater severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to the general population, particularly those with glomerulonephritis and who are treated with glucocorticoids. Likewise, high disease activity and some immunosuppressants have been associated with worse outcomes. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with SLE in Argentina from the SAR-COVID registry and to establish factors associated with a worse outcome. Method(s): Observational study. Patients diagnosed with SLE with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (RT-PCR and/or positive serology) from the SAR-COVID registry were included. Data were collected from August 2020 to March 2022. The outcome of the infection was measured using the World Health Organization-ordinal scale (WHO-OS). Severe COVID-19 was defined as an WHO-OS value >=5. Descriptive analysis, Student's t , Mann Whitney U, ANOVA, Chi2 and Fisher's tests. Multivariable logistic regression. Result(s): A total of 399 patients were included, 93%female, with a mean age of 40.9 years (SD 12.2), 39.6% had at least one comorbidity. At the time of infection, 54.9% were receiving glucocorticoids, 30.8% immunosuppressants, and 3.3% biological agents. SARS-CoV-2 infection was mild in most cases, while 4.6% had a severe course and/or died. The latter had comorbidities, used glucocorticoids, and had antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) more frequently and higher disease activity at the time of infection. In the multivariate analysis, high blood pressure (OR 5.1, 95% CI 1.8-15.0), the diagnosis of APS (4.7, 95% CI 1.2-15.8), and the use of glucocorticoids (10 mg/day or more: OR 5.5, 95% CI 1.6-20.5) were associated with severe hospitalization and/or death from COVID-19 (WHO-EO >= 5). Conclusion(s): In this cohort of SLE patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, most had a symptomatic course, 22.1% were hospitalized, and 5% required mechanical ventilation. Mortality was close to 3%. The diagnosis of APS, having high blood pressure, and the use of glucocorticoids were significantly associated with severe COVID-19.
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Given the actual risk of poliomyelitis outbreaks in the region due to poliovirus derived from the Sabin vaccine or the importation of wild poliovirus, the Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases commissioned an ad hoc group of experts from the institution's Vaccines and Biologicals Committee, to draft an official position paper on the urgent need to increase immunization levels against the disease in the region and incorporate inactivated polio vaccine exclusive schedules in all national immunization programs. This publication discusses the main conclusions and recommendations generated as a result of such activity.Copyright © 2022, Sociedad Chilena de Infectologia. All rights reserved.
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BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) kept track of COVID-19 data at country level daily during the pandemic that included the number of tests, infected cases and fatalities. This daily record was susceptible to change depending on the time and place and impacted by underreporting. In addition to reporting cases of excess COVID-19-related deaths, the WHO also provided estimates of excess mortality based on mathematical models. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the WHO reported and model-based estimate of excess deaths to determine the degree of agreement and universality. METHODOLOGY: Epidemiological data gathered from nine different countries between April 2020 and December 2021 are used in this study. These countries are India, Indonesia, Italy, Russia, United Kingdom, Mexico, the United States, Brazil and Peru and each of them recorded more than 1.5 million deaths from COVID-19 during these months. Statistical tools including correlation, linear regression, intraclass correlation and Bland-Altman plots are used to assess the degree of agreement between reported and model-based estimates of excess deaths. RESULTS: The WHO-derived mathematical model for estimating excess deaths due to COVID-19 was found to be appropriate for only four of the nine chosen countries, namely Italy, United Kingdom, the United States and Brazil. The other countries showed proportional biases and significantly high regression coefficients. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that, for some of the chosen nations, the mathematical model proposed by the WHO is practical and capable of estimating the number of excess deaths brought on by COVID-19. However, the derived approach cannot be applied globally.