Serological Epidemiological Survey Of Bovine Diarrhea In Large-Scale Cattle Farms In Inner Mongolia, China from 2019 to 2022 (preprint)

Bovine diarrhea is a multi-factorial disease, and remains one of the most serious health problems in cattle husbandry. However, the endemic trends of the main pathogens responsible for bovine diarrhea have not been analyzed before, therefore, the purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of bovine diarrhea pathogens in the large-scale cattle farms of Inner Mongolia in China, we assessed the differences in the prevalence of infection based on age and area, as well as determined local prevalence rates and the rates of mixed infections. Using stratified random sampling strategy, cattle were divided into four age stages (0-2 months, 3-6 months, 7-18 months and ＞18 months), 2,216 serum samples were collected from 38 cattle herds in 12 leagues and cities in Inner Mongolia of China. Positive rates of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV), Bovine Rotavirus (BRV), Bovine Coronavirus (BCoV), Escherichia coli K99 (E.coli K99), and M. paratuberculosis (Mptb) antibodies were detected in the samples by ELISA to determine the epidemic trends and differences of the five pathogens in Inner Mongolia. The positive rate of BVDV vaccine higher than 90% in each age category of cattle, and the prevalence rates of BRV and Mptb in other ages significantly higher than ＞18 months (P <0.05). Except BVDV, the prevalence of BCoV was the highest in 0-2 months old (74.88%), the highest positive rate in ＞18 months old is BRV (63.31%), the infection of viral pathogens were serious in Inner Mongolia. With the highest mixed infection (33.74%) being BRV and BCoV in the category of 0-2 months, and there was a mixed infection of BRV and BCoV at four age stages, Only double and triple infections were detected in cattle aged 2-6 months and 6-18 months, quadruple infections were detected in cattle aged 0-2 months and ＞18 months. Furthermore, obvious regional epidemiological differences among the five pathogens were observed, 5 pathogens were detected in 11 regions, Hulun Buir city was seriously infected with bacterial pathogens, only antibodies to viral pathogens were detected in Ulanqab city. All the above detected pathogens can trigger high mortality and poor prognosis in cattle. This study is the first to report the prevalence and characteristics of the main pathogens of bovine diarrhea in large-scale cattle farms in Inner Mongolia, China, which has practical significance for the future prevention and control of bovine diarrhea and reduce economic losses in cattle farming.

Telemedicine Use Among People with HIV in 2021: The Hybrid-Care Environment (preprint)

Background: Telemedicine use for the care of people with HIV (PWH) was widely expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2021, as on-site care was re-introduced, care was delivered through a mixture of in-person and telemedicine. We studied how different patient populations used telemedicine in this hybrid-care environment. Methods: Using observational data from patients enrolled in the Johns Hopkins HIV Clinical Cohort, we analyzed all in-person and telemedicine HIV primary care visits completed in an HIV clinic from January 1st, 2021 to December 30th, 2021. We used log-binomial regression models to investigate the association between patient characteristics and the probability of completing a telemedicine versus in-person visit. A secondary analysis of telemedicine visits investigated the probably of completing a video versus telephone visit. Results: A total of 5,518 visits were completed by 1,884 patients; 4,282 (77.6%) visits were in-person, 800 (14.5%) by phone, and 436 (7.9%) by video. The relative risk (RR) of completing telemedicine vs. in-person visits was 0.65 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.47, 0.91) for patients age 65+ vs. age 20-39; 0.84 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.98) for males vs. females; 0.81 (95% CI: 0.66, 0.99) for Black vs. white patients; 0.62 (95% CI: 0.49, 0.79) for patients in the highest vs. lowest quartile of Area Deprivation Index; and 1.52 (95% CI: 1.26, 1.84) for patients >15 miles vs. <5 miles from clinic. Conclusions: In the second year of the pandemic, overall in-person care was utilized more than telemedicine, and significant differences persist across subgroups in telemedicine uptake.