Analysis of avian disease transmission risk and prevention measures in China

Many zoonotic diseases are found in wild animals and present a serious risk to human health, in particularly the virus carried by birds flying freely around the world is hard to control. There are three main bird migration routes which cover the most areas of China. It is important to investigate and fully understand the types of avian transmitted diseases in key areas on the bird migration routines and its impacts on both birds and human health. However, no literature is available in how about the risk of virus carried by migrating birds, and how to predict and reduce this risk of virus spreading to human being so far. In this paper, we first reviewed the main pathogen types carried by birds, including coronaviruses, influenza viruses, parasites, Newcastle disease virus (NDV), etc., and then discussed the spread risk of avian viruses to human being and animals in key areas of biosafety prevention. We also analyzed and discussed the risk of cross-spread of diseases among different bird species in nature reserves located on bird migration routes which provide sufficient food sources for migratory birds and attract numerous birds. Diseases transmitted by wild birds pose a serious threat to poultry farms, where high density of poultry may become avian influenza virus (AIV) reservoirs, cause a risk of avian influenza outbreaks. Airports are mostly built in suburban areas or remote areas with good ecological environment. There are important transit places for bird migration and densely populated areas, which have serious risk of disease transmission. Finally, this paper puts forward the following prevention suggestions from three aspects. First, establish and improve the monitoring and prediction mechanism of migratory birds, and use laser technology to prevent contact between wild birds and poultry. Second, examine and identify virus types carried by birds in their habitats and carry out vaccination. Third, protect the ecological environment of bird habitat, and keep wild birds in their natural habitat, so as to reduce the contact between wild birds and human and poultry, and thus reduce the risk of virus transmission.

Epidemiological characteristics of associated epidemics in Tongzhou district, Beijing, 2015-2020

Objective: To analyze the characteristics of the associated epidemics in Tongzhou district of Beijing from 2015 to 2020, identify the risk factors and provide scientific basis for the early warning, prevention and control of infectious disease epidemics.

Safety and superior immunogenicity of heterologous boosting with an RBD-based SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine in Chinese adults (preprint)

Homologous and heterologous booster with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines represent the most effective strategy to prevent the ongoing Omicron pandemic. The additional protection from these prototype SARS-CoV-2 S-targeting vaccine was attributed to the increased RBD-specific memory B cells with expanded potency and breadth. Herein, we show the safety and immunogenicity of heterologous boosting with the RBD-targeting mRNA vaccine AWcorna (also term ARCoV) in Chinese adults who have received two doses inactivated vaccine. The superiority over inactivated vaccine in neutralization antibodies, as well as the safety profile, support the use of AWcorna as heterologous booster in China.

Political Ideology, Ingroup Favoritism, and Conspiratorial Thinking: Patriotism, Nationalism, and COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories.

This article examined the relationship between ideology and conspiratorial thinking and the related mediating effect of ingroup favoritism in a non-Western society. We investigated patriotism and nationalism as two favorable orientations toward national ingroups. We also examined their relationship with the general conspiracy mentality and the specific conspiracy beliefs that have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that conservative ideology was associated with conspiratorial beliefs in China regardless of the specific conspiracy theories related to ingroups or outgroups, which indicates such tendencies may exist universally across cultures. Patriotism was not associated with conspiracy theories about the origin of COVID-19, whereas nationalism was negatively associated with the conspiracy theories about China (an ingroup) and positively associated with conspiracy theories about the US (an outgroup). Moreover, nationalism mediated the relationship between ideology and specific conspiracy beliefs during the pandemic. The general conspiracy mentality did not predict conspiracy theories about the origin of COVID-19. The results indicate that believing conspiracy theories is not only the result of a stable conspiracy mentality but is also influenced by ideology and intergroup relations.

Patient and practitioner perspectives on the design of a simulated affective touch device to reduce procedural anxiety associated with radiotherapy: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to elicit the views of relevant stakeholders on the design of a device using simulated affective touch to reduce procedural anxiety surrounding radiotherapy and imaging. DESIGN: This qualitative study collected data from focus groups which were then analysed using inductive thematic analysis in line with Braun and Clarke's methods. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Twenty patients and carers were recruited, as well as 10 healthcare practitioners involved in either delivering radiotherapy or imaging procedures. RESULTS: Patients, carers and healthcare practitioners agreed on some aspects of the device design, such as ensuring the device is warm and flexible in where it can be used on the body. However, patient and healthcare practitioner cohorts had at times differing viewpoints. For example, healthcare practitioners provided professional perspectives and required easy cleaning of the device. Meanwhile patients focused on anxiety-relieving factors, such as the tactile sensation of the device being either a vibration or pulsation. There was no consensus on who should control the device. CONCLUSIONS: The desired features of a simulated affective touch device have been investigated. Different priorities of patients and their carers and healthcare practitioners were evident. Any design must incorporate such features as to appease both groups. Areas where no consensus was reached could be further explored, alongside including further patient and public involvement in the form of a project advisory group.

Home Nursing for Disabled Elderly Patients during Corona Virus Disease 2019 in Wuhan City

Abstract: Objective: To provide door-to-door nursing service for disabled elderly patients during Corona Virus Disease 2019, so as to ensure patient safety and improve service quality. Methods: Set up home visiting service commando team, reengineer the visiting process, do a good job in hierarchical management, strengthen the protection of medical staff, patients and their families, and provide online and offline health education guidance. Results: there were 178 cases of on-site service, including 44 emergency cases and 134 non emergency cases;69 times of dressing change, 85 times of catheter change, 19 times of gastric tube change, 71 times of bladder irrigation, 6 times of health assessment and 2 times of foot disease treatment. All the visiting officers Corona Virus Disease 2019 suspected or confirmed cases to do their own protection, no cross infection occurred in 1 cases. Conclusion: during the epidemic period of Corona Virus Disease 2019, the needs of elderly patients with disability were met, which provided practical experience for dealing with public health emergencies and preventing the risk of infectious diseases.

Targeting the Microbiome With KB109 in Outpatients with Mild to Moderate COVID-19 Reduced Medically Attended Acute Care Visits and Improved Symptom Duration in Patients With Comorbidities (preprint)

IntroductionIn 2020, the world experienced the beginning of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), also known as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Mounting evidence indicates that the gut microbiome plays a role in host immune response to infections and, in turn, may have an impact on the disease trajectory of SARS-CoV2 infection. However, it remains to be established whether modulation of the microbiome can impact COVID-19-related symptomatology and patient outcomes. Therefore, we conducted a study designed to modulate the microbiome evaluating the safety and physiologic effects of KB109 combined with self-supportive care (SSC) vs SSC alone in non-hospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. KB109 is a novel synthetic glycan developed to increase the production of gut microbial metabolites that support immune system homeostasis through gut microbiome modulation. Our goal was to gain a better understanding of the safety of KB109, the natural course of COVID-19 symptomatology, and the possible role of the gut microbiome in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. MethodsAdult patients who tested positive for COVID-19 were randomized 1:1 to receive KB109 combined with SSC or SSC alone for 14 days and were then followed for an additional 21 days (35 days in total). Patients self-assessed their COVID-19-related symptoms (8 cardinal symptoms plus 5 additional symptoms) and self-reported comorbidities. The primary and secondary objectives were to evaluate the safety of KB109 plus SSC compared with that of SSC alone and to evaluate selected measures of health, respectively. ResultsBetween July 2, 2020 and December 23, 2020, 350 patients were randomized to receive KB109 and SSC (n=174) or SSC alone (n=176). Overall, the most common comorbidities reported were hypertension (18.0% [63/350 patients]) followed by chronic lung disease (8.6% 30/350 patients). KB109 was well tolerated with most treatment-emergent adverse events being mild to moderate in severity. The administration of KB109 plus SSC reduced medically-attended visits (ie, hospitalization, emergency room visits, or urgent care visits) by 50.0% in the overall population and by 61.7% in patients with [≥]1 comorbidity; in patients aged [≥]45 years or with [≥]1 comorbidity, medically-attended visits were reduced by 52.8%, In the SSC group, patients reporting [≥]1 comorbidity had a longer median time to resolution of symptoms than those who reported no comorbidities at baseline (13 overall symptoms: 30 vs 21 days, respectively; hazard ratio [HR]=1.163 [95% CI, 0.723-1.872]; 8 cardinal symptoms: 21 vs 15 days, respectively; HR=1.283 [95% CI, 0.809-2.035]). In patients reporting [≥]1 comorbidity, median time to resolution of symptoms was shorter in the KB109 plus SSC group compared with the SSC alone group (13 overall symptoms: 30 vs 21 days, respectively; HR=1.422 [95% CI, 0.898-2.250]; 8 cardinal symptoms: 17 vs 21 days, respectively; HR=1.574 [95% CI, 0.997-2.485]). In the KB109 plus SSC group, patients aged [≥]45 years or with [≥]1 comorbidity had a shorter median time to resolution of symptoms compared with SSC alone (overall 13 symptoms: 21 vs 31 days; HR=1.597 [95% CI, 1.064-2.398]). ConclusionsResults from our study show that KB109 is well tolerated among patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Patients with [≥]1 comorbidity had a longer duration of COVID-19 symptoms than those without comorbidities. Moreover, in patients reporting [≥]1 comorbidity or aged [≥]45 years (at-risk population), administration of KB109 plus SSC improved median time to resolution of COVID-19-related symptoms and reduced the rate of medically-attended visits compared with SSC alone.

Virtualized Clinical Studies to Assess the Natural History and Impact of Gut Microbiome Modulation in Non-Hospitalized Patients with Mild to Moderate COVID-19 a Randomized, Open-Label, Prospective Study with a Parallel Group Study Evaluating the Physiologic Effects of KB109 on Gut Microbiota Structure and Function: A Structured Summary of a Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Study (preprint)

Objectives These 2 parallel studies (K031 and K032) aim to evaluate the safety of KB109 in addition to supportive self-care (SSC) compared with SSC alone in outpatients with mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). KB109 is a novel synthetic glycan that was formulated to modulate the gut microbiome composition and metabolic output in order to increase beneficial short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in the gut. The K031 study is designed to evaluate the safety of KB109 and characterize its impact on the natural progression of COVID-19 in patients with mild to moderate disease. The K032 study is evaluating the effect of KB109 on the gut microbiota structure and function in this same patient population. Additionally, both studies are evaluating measures of health care utilization, quality of life (QOL), laboratory indices, biomarkers of inflammation, and serological measures of immunity in patients who received SSC alone or with KB109. Noteworthy aspects of these outpatient studies include study design measures aimed at limiting in-person interactions to minimize the risk of infection spread, such as use of online diaries, telemedicine, and at-home sample collection. 

Perioperative challenges in managing a patient with COVID-19 undergoing debridement for massive scalp myiasis.

A young man presented to our centre needing an urgent debridement of his postcraniotomy wound due to massive myiasis during the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020. Prior to the surgery, his nasopharyngeal swab real-time PCR test result was unknown. One day later, it returned as SARS-CoV-2 positive. All healthcare workers who were involved in the patient management avoided cross infection as they wore appropriate personal protective equipment. This article depicts the importance of adequate preparations when handling potentially infectious patients and the perioperative issues associated with it.

Digital technology use during COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid review

Abstract The relationship between humans and digital technologies has been documented extensively in the past decades, but has yet to be reviewed through the lens of the current global pandemic crisis. This review synthesizes the rapidly growing literature on digital technology use during the current COVID-19 pandemic. It addresses the following four topics: (1) the specific digital technologies that have been used, (2) the specific populations who have used these digital technologies, (3) the specific activities that individuals and groups have used these digital technologies, and (4) the specific effects of using these digital technologies on humans during the pandemic. The 281 empirical articles we have identified suggest that (1) 28 various forms of technologies have been used, ranging from computers to artificial intelligence, (2) 8 different populations of users are using these technologies, primarily medical professionals, (3) 32 generalized types of activities are involved, including providing health services remotely, analyzing data, and communicating, and (4) 35 various effects have been observed, such as improved patient outcomes, continued education, and decreased outbreak impact. Through this rapid review, we sketched an expansive, multilevel model of the current knowledge of how humans are using technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Major findings and future directions are discussed.

A Cross-Sectional Survey of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Associated with COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in China (preprint)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has become a great threat to public health, which has greatly impacted the study and life of undergraduate students in China. Objective: This study aims to perform a survey of their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) associated with COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was designed to gather information regarding the COVID-19 related KAP among undergraduates during the home isolation in the outbreak. Subjects were recruited from 10 universities in Shaanxi Province, China. Enrollees voluntarily submitted their answers to a pre-designed questionnaire online. Results: A total of 872 subjects (female, 534; male, 338) were enrolled with ages from 17 to 25 years old. This cohort included 430 medical and 442 non-medical students, 580 freshmen and 292 higher school year students. There were 453 from public schools and 442 from private school, residing in 28 regions and provinces at the time of study. Results showed that appropriate knowledge was acquired by 82.34% subjects; the levels were significantly higher in undergraduates from public universities and medical majors than those from private schools and non-medical majors (p＜0.05). 73.81% subjects reported positive attitudes; females showed significantly higher levels of positive attitudes than males (p＜0.05). Proactive practice was found in 87.94% subjects. Using a common scoring method, the overall scores for Knowledge, Attitude and Practice were 4.12±0.749 (range: 0~5), 8.54±1.201 (range: 0~10), and 8.91±1.431 (range: 0~10), respectively. There was a positive correlation between attitude and practice (r=0.319, p<0.05) in the whole study group. Total KAP score was 21.57±2.291 (range: 0~25), which was significantly different among gender groups and major groups. Conclusions: Most undergraduates acquired necessary knowledge, positive attitude and proactive practice in response to COVID-19 outbreak; but their KAP scores significantly varied by gender, major and school types.

Unprecedented pandemic, unprecedented shift, and unprecedented opportunity

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic is currently spreading across the world in an unprecedented way. ?Social distancing? has become the latest buzzword in the headlines of media covering the COVID-19 pandemic As a result, the widely implemented social distancing measures has generated one unprecedented shift that pushes various types of human social interactions from dominantly offline to dominantly online. This becomes a ?new normal? in our daily life. For our research community of studying technology-related behavior, the COVID-19 pandemic provides an unprecedented opportunity to join the worldwide efforts to fight against the current pandemic and Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies calls for studies examining how humans behavior with emerging technologies in extreme events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.