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Background: Rabies is a disease transmitted mostly through animal bites in humans, and seasonal variation in animal bites has been reported by different studies. There has been no study in India using time series analysis for studying monthly variation in animal bite cases. Aim: (a) To find out long-term trends and monthly variations in new animal bite cases. (b) To make projections for new animal bite cases. (c) To find out the difference between actual and projected new animal bite cases following the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: A retrolective, record-based study was conducted in a tertiary care facility, Jaipur, and data of new Category II and Category III animal bite cases were taken from January 2007 to December 2021. A multiplicative model was used for conducting time series analysis. The projected monthly number of cases was estimated using the line of best fit based on the least square method. Result: An increasing trend in the annual number of animal bite cases was observed from 7,982 in 2007 to 10,134 in 2019. The monthly index was lowest for the months July to November (0.88 to 0.95), peaked in January (1.14), remained higher from January to June, and fell in July (0.95). The monthly number of new animal bite cases from April 2020 to December 2021 was significantly lower than the projected number (P-value < 0.001).
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The simulations reveal that women entrepreneurs have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Factories, shops, and many other businesses were closed by the Government order. Many of these business closures are permanent. Small businesses around the world have been hit hard by the spread of the COVID-19. This research is therefore being conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 on women-owned firms. Convenience sampling technique was used for primary data collection. Sample size was 100 women entrepreneurs in Northern Tamil Nadu. Data analysis was done through path analysis. The research discovered that there is impact of factors of COVID-19 pandemic such as social distance and worker absenteeism on challenges on women entrepreneurs. It is found that there is impact of challenges faced during COVID-19 pandemic on intention to quit among women entrepreneurs. The research also discovered that there is impact of factors of COVID-19 pandemic such as social distance and worker absenteeism on intention to quit among women entrepreneurs. Hence, it is concluded that the policymakers need to develop a comprehensive national policy for women entrepreneurs. Through good national policy, women entrepreneurs can stem from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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This study explores the influx of digital payment users in India as part of the aftermath of the covid pandemic. COVID-19 has dramatically fuelled the adoption of digital modes of payments with customers trailing away from the traditional cash and cheques by placing greater reliance on real-time and digital payments. In many markets, mobile money providers have become a vital part of the COVID-19 response, offering a much safer and socially distanced alternative to disburse payments to the public quickly, securely, and efficiently. This study takes into account whether residents of various districts in South Kerala are responding to the pandemic through the fast adoption of mobile payment apps and thus embracing digital transition. The paper also aims to provide significant insight into the various digital modes of payment and the challenges that lie ahead with digital transformation.
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Objective: To introduce the principle and method ofa-Sutte model, establish a a-Sutte model by using software R, compare the fitting and prediction effects of thea-Sutte model and multiple seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model, SARIMA model and provides reference for the application of thea-Sutte model in epidemic prediction.
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Objective: To understand the epidemiological characteristics and explore source of infection of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases imported through an inbound air flight from Kenya to Guangzhou, China.
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This study assesses the COVID-19 and its shocks on macro-economic variables in Nepalese economy based on the secondary data sets of macroeconomics variable pre- and post-COVID-19 by applying descriptive statistical methods. The growth of COVID-19 is unpredictably spreading all over the world. Its hot spot has been in the South Asia, particularly in Delhi and Nepal. Its correlation between COVID 19 cases and per capita GDP is positive. In South Asia, its growth rate is higher than its recovery indicating inefficiency of health system. Similarly, its shocks are so strong to influence trend, pattern and structure of macro-economic variables. Economic growth declined at 0.1percent in 2020 with falling outputs of agriculture, industry and service sectors. Unemployment rate reaches at 27.8 percent from 11.4 percent. The poor population increased by 7.47 percent. Besides, residential income and household income has fallen along with sharp decline in labor and remittance income. Lastly, its negative implication is found in foreign exchange reserve and balance of payment, trade and revenue. Thus, the COVID-19 and its shocks are undesired fluctuations and impose implications in Nepalese economy. Therefore, Nepal should improve health care system and vaccine availability for reducing the effects of pandemic and the lockdown for stability and recovery of the economy and also for welfare of the poor.
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Purpose: Ostracism is being socially ignored or excluded by others. Ostracism leads to serious psychological distress and health issues in the young adults being ostracized. However, there are no psychometrically designed instruments to measure this phenomenon in young adults. This study aims to develop a scale that measures ostracism efficiently and establishes the scale's psychometric properties. Design/methodology/approach: The research design used for the study is "a mixed-method study using non-experimental research with an exploratory sequential approach and instrument development design." For the formation of the item pool, theoretical evidence was collected and focus group discussions were conducted. Afterward, content validity was established with the help of subject matter experts, followed by Velicer's minimum average partial method and maximum likelihood factor analysis to form the instrument's factorial structure. Findings: Velicer's minimum average partial method and maximum likelihood factor analysis made two factors as follows: ostracism experience and psychological effect. The instrument developed has a high value of alpha reliability i.e. a = 0.97 and a = 0.96, a = 0.92 for the subscales, respectively. Research limitations/implications: The sample used for the research was enough to run the analysis, but future studies can go for a more extensive and more diverse sample. The sample was based solely on university students. The current research focused only on the target of the phenomenon, and the whole research process was conducted online because of the Covid-19 pandemic going on. The scale developed can be used in several settings to find out if the individual is being ostracized or not. Practical implications: The scale's most important implication is in the colleges and universities where young adults are found and face this problem daily. Likewise, psychologists can also use it in clinical settings. The other important implication of this scale is that it is opening a route to future research as different variables can be studied in ostracism such as depression, physical health and anxiety. Social implications: Ostracism is a hidden evil in societies that is not usually talked about. When people are not given equal importance in groups or settings, it leads to serious psychological issues in those individuals. This scale will in the identification of the problem that will lead to a proper solution to this evil. Originality/value: This work is original and not copied from anywhere. The research was conducted with the sole purpose of developing a scale on the ostracism experiences in young adults. The data is collected in the form of online surveys. The current scale is an attempt at developing a more reliable and valid scale that can be used in social settings.
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India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), in the last 15 years, has evolved as the world's largest employer of the last resort. This social protection, specifically designed as a demand-driven automatic employment stabiliser to enable households to cope with livelihood shocks, offers 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to all rural households. The budget for this unique legislative entitlement in a developing country was nearly doubled from US$8 billion in 2019-20 to $15 billion in 2020-21 to partially offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. After the first pandemic wave, NREGA provided employment to 76 million households - more than a third of all rural Indian families. Even though women have consistently worked more than half the NREGA person-days annually, in the midst of the pandemic women's share of employment declined by 2 per cent in 2020-21. However, this may have been a temporary decrease due to the unprecedented mass reverse exodus of urban migrants to their rural villages. Still, state-level analysis in this research highlights the persistent under-utilisation of NREGA by women in the poorer states of the Indo-Gangetic plain. On the other hand, the southern states have higher participation of women due to a combination of factors including better human development outcomes, higher wages, and sometimes better child-care facilities at worksites, which are necessary nationwide remedies. In particular, in the state of Kerala the novel integration of the government-initiated Kudumbashree community self-help women's groups with NREGA has led to the feminisation of the programme. This convergence provides important insights on the significance of women's participation in the decentralised management of NREGA to dilute both gender-intensive and gender-exclusive barriers, which could be fruitfully replicated nationwide.
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COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out recently in several parts of the world. Little is known about the post-vaccination experience outside of clinical trial conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the adverse effects and infection rate of vaccinated people in a community scenario. It will help to educate the public, dispel misinformation and reduce vaccine hesitancy. Aim and Objectives: Assessing total beneficiaries of COVID-19 vaccination and finding among them COVID-19 infection and AEFI after vaccination. Subject and Methods: Cross sectional Study at COVID-19 Vaccination centre at DCH in Mumbai, since 1st February2021-31st July 2021, Data was collected by calling telephonically the registered beneficiaries in Vaccination Centre, data was collected and analysed in MS-excel sheet and SPSS using CHI-square test.
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PURPOSE: There are scarce data to aid in prognostication of the outcome of critically ill cancer patients with COVID-19. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we investigated the mortality of critically ill cancer patients with COVID-19. METHODS: We searched online databases and manually searched for studies in English that reported on outcomes of adult cancer patients with COVID-19 admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) or those with severe COVID-19 between December 2019 and October 2020. Risk of bias was assessed by the Modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. We also determined the odds of death for cancer patients versus noncancer patients, as also outcomes by cancer subtypes, presence of recent anticancer therapy, and presence of one or more comorbidities. Random-effects modeling was used. RESULTS: In 28 studies (1,276 patients), pooled mortality in cancer patients with COVID-19 admitted to an ICU was 60.2% (95% CI, 53.6 to 6.7;I2 = 80.27%), with four studies (7,259 patients) showing higher odds of dying in cancer versus noncancer patients (odds ratio 1.924;95% CI, 1.596 to 2.320). In four studies (106 patients) of patients with cancer and severe COVID-19, pooled mortality was 59.4% (95% CI, -39.4 to 77.5;I2 = 72.28%);in one study, presence of hematologic malignancy was associated with significantly higher mortality compared with nonhematologic cancers (odds ratio 1.878;95% CI, 1.171 to 3.012). Risk of bias was low. CONCLUSION: Most studies were reported before the results of trials suggesting the benefit of dexamethasone and tocilizumab, potentially overestimating mortality. The observed mortality of 60% in cancer patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU is not prohibitively high, and admission to the ICU should be considered for selected patients (registered with PROSPERO, CRD42020207209).
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Background: Preliminary data highlights the importance of anticoagulation therapy in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolism in SARS CoV-2 infection. There is insufficient data comparing the safety and efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and subcutaneous enoxaparin in the prophylactic management of COVID-19 associated thromboembolic disease, particularly in mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 infection. Objectives: The study was designed to investigate the efficacy of oral rivaroxaban as a prophylactic anticoagulant in mild to moderate SARS CoV-2 infection.
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Background: World health organization declared covid-19 pandemic worldwide. Efforts are being made to increase the awareness about covid-19 in the general public and as well as in patients through various health education programs. Material and Methods: The study included 1000 individuals and was conducted by The Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Government Medical College, Patiala during the 6-month period from January 2021 to June 2021. Patient intentions, apprehensions, and reasons for not getting vaccinated were be assessed by questionnaire. All walk-in patients above 18yr of age were included. To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the participants, 18 questions (including for knowledge, attitude, for practice) were included. The questions were directly asked from patients in their vernacular language along with demographic details and responses noted. Need of study: To spread the Knowledge about vaccination and the need for getting vaccinated so that hesitancy for covid-19 vaccination can be decreased and the severity of infection can be controlled. Awareness about vaccination is vitally important for developing effective control measures in a public health crisis.
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This is a brief account of a community project that the medical staff of an urban primary care institution carried out. The goal was to spread knowledge and raise awareness about COVID-19 prevention among the Ghanaian communities that are a part of the Manna Mission Hospital's catchment area in the Ledzokuku Municipality. It has been discovered that community-based health education has a larger effect on the prevention of newly emerging infectious diseases, resulting in a decrease in the occurrence of such diseases. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 is not an exception. Results of a community outreach effort carried out by employees of a Ghanaian urban primary care hospital were emphasised in this paper. Increased health education is required to raise community residents' understanding of COVID-19's impact on public health. This community outreach initiative has raised awareness of COVID-19 prevention and control, handwashing, and facemask use. Many patients who attended the hospital wore face masks, frequently washed their hands with soap and water while it was running, and frequently used alcohol-based hand sanitisers, all signs of increased awareness. To stop the spread of COVID-19 in their communities, the primary healthcare workforce has a crucial role to play.
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Background: Anxiety is one of the commonest mental health challenges facing medical students. Levels of anxiety have not been estimated among medical students in Zambia. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of anxiety disorders and its associated factors among pre-clinical students during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Copperbelt province of Zambia. Materials and Methods: A sample size of 398 students was sampled using a 1 in 2 systematic random sampling technique. The Zung's Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) was used to determine levels of anxiety. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) and their 95% Confidence Interval (CI) are reported.
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This study aims to assess the reality of distance learning in Moroccan universities in exceptional circumstances imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the Moroccan government to suspend face-to-face study and compensate for it by distance learning for preserving the students' pedagogical continuity. The inclusion of interactive platforms for the benefit of students to ensure pedagogical communication with professors and the monitoring of lessons through them is among the most important decisions in Moroccan universities. However, this teaching style has defined several obstacles and problems, which we have tried to assess through a student opinion survey questionnaire to identify their opinions on the extent to which university distance learning has achieved the objectives set by the Moroccan education system. The importance of the study lies in the fact that the student is the center of the teaching-learning process, which makes knowing his attitudes towards distance education one of the things that must be studied and analyzed. This may enable officials to monitor realistic data and restructure the education system to achieve successful educational outcomes. First, the study concluded that the students encountered material and financial difficulties related to the logistical means and Internet connection, which negatively affected the students' motivation toward distance learning. Then, the study concluded that the digital content available to students was ineffective. Finally, the researchers concluded that the distance learning option could not compensate for face-to-face teaching in Moroccan universities.
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The exceptional conditions sweeping the world due to the Corona virus epidemic have prompted researchers to race to study each of the symptoms, phenomena and relevant clinical biochemical parameters to provide science and scientists with valuable information to achieve victory over the virus. The aim of this investigation is to study the early inflammatory features caused by the immune system before a cell storm occurs in Iraqi Corona patients. The investigation was conducted at Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, during the period from January 2021 until the end of March 2021. Our team obtained five milliliters of venous blood from 50 participants newly diagnosed with the Coronavirus (24 males and 26 females). Their ages ranged between (25-55) years compared to 38 individuals (18 males and 20 females). Corona virus patients had statistically significant higher (P<0.01) with Low density lipoproteins-cholesterol (LDL-C), urea, C-Reactive Protein (CRP), and (P<0.001) with D-dimer when they were compared with control group. There was a significant increase in the value of Interleukin-6(IL-6) in people infected with the virus compared to the reviewers whose swab results showed that they were not infected with the virus. For both interferon-? (IFN) and Tumor necrosis factor -a (TNF- a), the data showed a significant decrease in morale of reviewers diagnosed with acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19) against their non-infected peers. These data indicate that early intervention for IFN antiviral infection could be fundamental in inhibiting fibrosis to improve functional recovery. Any source of cytokine control, such as interferon-? and Tumor necrosis factor -a combined with combination therapies for clinical treatment, will be important in the future for COVID-19 infection.
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Background and aims: We present a study on the earliest cohort of patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus who were admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. The primary objective of the study was to find the difference in the rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admission with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients based on BCG vaccination status. The secondary objective was to assess risk factors for ICU admission and clinical course of patients with COVID-19.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted agriculture in India in many ways, yet no nationally representative survey has been conducted to quantify these impacts. The three objectives of this study were to evaluate how the pandemic has influenced: (1) cropping patterns and input use, (2) farmers' willingness to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, and (3) farmers' COVID-19 symptoms. Phone surveys were conducted between December 2020 and January 2021 with farmers who had previously participated in a nationally representative survey. Values are reported as weighted percent (95% confidence interval). A total of 3,637 farmers completed the survey;59% (56-61%) were small/marginal farmers;72% (69-74%) were male;and 52% (49-55%) had a below poverty line ration card. A majority of farmers (84% [82-86%]) reported cultivating the same crops in 2019 and 2020. Farmers who reported a change in their cropping patterns were more likely to be cultivating vegetables (p = 0.001) and soybean (p<0.001) and less likely to be cultivating rice (p<0.001). Concerning inputs, 66% (63-68%) of farmers reported no change in fertilizers;66% (64-69%) reported no change in pesticides;and 59% (56-62%) reported no change in labor. More than half of farmers (62% [59-65%]) were interested in trying sustainable farming, primarily because of government schemes or because their peers were practicing it. About one-fifth (18% [15-21%]) of farmers reported COVID-19 symptoms in the past month (cough, fever, or shortness of breath) and among those with symptoms, 37% (28-47%) reported it affected their ability to work. In conclusion, COVID-19 infections had started to impact farmers' productivity even during the first wave in India. Most farmers continued to grow the same crops with no change in input use. However, many expressed an interest in learning more about practicing sustainable farming. Findings will inform future directions for resilient agri-food systems.
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Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (which we define as refusal to be vaccinated when asked, resulting in delayed or non- vaccination) are poorly studied in sub-Saharan Africa and among refugees, particularly in Kenya. Using survey data from wave five (March to June 2021) of the Kenya Rapid Response Phone Survey (RRPS), a household survey representative of the population of Kenya, we estimated the self-reported rates and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy among non-refugees and refugees in Kenya. Non-refugee households were recruited through sampling of the 2015/16 Kenya Household Budget Survey and random digit dialing. Refugee households were recruited through random sampling of registered refugees. Binary response questions on misinformation and information were transformed into a scale. We performed a weighted (to be representative of the overall population of Kenya) multivariable logistic regression including interactions for refugee status, with the main outcome being if the respondent self-reported that they would not take the COVID-19 vaccine if available at no cost. We calculated the marginal effects of the various factors in the model. The weighted univariate analysis estimated that 18.0% of non-refugees and 7.0% of refugees surveyed in Kenya would not take the COVID-19 vaccine if offered at no cost. Adjusted, refugee status was associated with a -13.1[95%CI:-17.5,-8.7] percentage point difference (ppd) in vaccine hesitancy. For the both refugees and non-refugees, having education beyond the primary level, having symptoms of COVID-19, avoiding handshakes, and washing hands more often were also associated with a reduction in vaccine hesitancy. Also for both, having used the internet in the past three months was associated with a 8.1[1.4,14.7] ppd increase in vaccine hesitancy;and disagreeing that the government could be trusted in responding to COVID-19 was associated with a 25.9[14.2,37.5]ppd increase in vaccine hesitancy. There were significant interactions between refugee status and some variables (geography, food security, trust in the Kenyan government's response to COVID-19, knowing somebody with COVID-19, internet use, and TV ownership). These relationships between refugee status and certain variables suggest that programming between refugees and non-refugees be differentiated and specific to the contextual needs of each group.
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Background: Most of the studies that have informed the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya have relied on samples that are not representative of the general population. We conducted population-based serosurveys at three Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSSs) to determine the cumulative incidence of infection with SARS-CoV-2.