Monkeypox virus: emerging of an old neglected virus.

Since April 2022, cases of simian orthopoxvirosis (commonly known as monkeypox) have been reported in more than hundred non-endemic countries. The causative agent, the Monkeypox virus (MPXV), is a virus of the family Poxviridae belonging to the genus Orthopoxvirus (OPXV). The sudden and unusual emergence of this virus mainly in Europe and in the United States has highlighted a previously neglected infectious disease. This virus has been endemic in Africa for at least several decades, since its discovery in 1958 in captive monkeys. MPXV, because of its proximity to the smallpox virus, is part of the list of Microorganisms and Toxins (MOT), which includes all human pathogens considered to be potentially misused for malicious purposes (biological weapons proliferation, bioterrorism) or susceptible to provoke laboratory accidents. As such, its use is subjected to strict regulations in level-3 biosafety laboratories, which de facto limits the possibilities of its study in France. The objective of this article is to review the current knowledge about OPXV in general, and then to focus on the virus responsible for the 2022 MPXV outbreak.

[Monkeypox virus: emerging of an old neglected virus]. / Virus Monkeypox : l'émergence d'un virus ancien jusque-là négligé.

Since April 2022, cases of simian orthopoxvirosis (commonly known as monkeypox) have been reported in more than hundred non-endemic countries. The causative agent, the Monkeypox virus (MPXV), is a virus of the family Poxviridae belonging to the genus Orthopoxvirus (OPXV). The sudden and unusual emergence of this virus mainly in Europe and in the United States has highlighted a previously neglected infectious disease. This virus has been endemic in Africa for at least several decades, since its discovery in 1958 in captive monkeys. MPXV, because of its proximity to the smallpox virus, is part of the list of Microorganisms and Toxins (MOT), which includes all human pathogens considered to be potentially misused for malicious purposes (biological weapons proliferation, bioterrorism) or susceptible to provoke laboratory accidents. As such, its use is subjected to strict regulations in level-3 biosafety laboratories, which de facto limits the possibilities of its study in France. The objective of this article is to review the current knowledge about OPXV in general, and then to focus on the virus responsible for the 2022 MPXV outbreak.

Infectious Diseases Institute at Makerere University College of Health Sciences: a case study of a sustainable capacity building model for health care, research and training.

The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI), established in 2001, was the first autonomous institution of Makerere University set up as an example of what self-governing institutes can do in transforming the academic environment to become a rapidly progressive University addressing the needs of society This paper describes the success factors and lessons learned in development of sustainable centers of excellence to prepare academic institutions to respond appropriately to current and future challenges to global health. Key success factors included a) strong collaboration by local and international experts to combat the HIV pandemic, along with b) seed funding from Pfizer Inc., c) longstanding collaboration with Accordia Global Health Foundation to create and sustain institutional strengthening programs, d) development of a critical mass of multi-disciplinary research leaders and managers of the center, and e) a series of strong directors who built strong governance structures to execute the vision of the institute, with subsequent transition to local leadership. Conclusion: Twenty years of sustained investment in infrastructure, human capital, leadership, and collaborations present Makerere University and the sub-Saharan Africa region with an agile center of excellence with preparedness to meet the current and future challenges to global health.

Geo-environmental parametric 3D models of SARS-CoV-2 virus circulation in hospital ventilation systems.

The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has the potential to cause natural ventilation systems in hospital environments to be rendered inadequate, not only for workers but also for people who transit through these environments even for a limited duration. Studies in of the fields of geosciences and engineering, when combined with appropriate technologies, allow for the possibility of reducing the impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the environment, including those of hospitals which are critical centers for healthcare. In this work, we build parametric 3D models to assess the possible circulation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the natural ventilation system of a hospital built to care infected patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Building Information Modeling (BIM) was performed, generating 3D models of hospital environments utilizing Revit software for Autodesk CFD 2021. The evaluation considered dimensional analyses of 0°, 45°, 90° and 180°. The analysis of natural ventilation patterns on both internal and external surfaces and the distribution of windows in relation to the displacement dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus through the air were considered. The results showed that in the external area of the hospital, the wind speed reached velocities up to 2.1 m/s when entering the building through open windows. In contact with the furniture, this value decreased to 0.78 m/s. In some internal isolation wards that house patients with COVID-19, areas that should be equipped with negative room pressure, air velocity was null. Our study provides insights into the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 contamination in internal hospital environments as well as external areas surrounding hospitals, both of which encounter high pedestrian traffic in cities worldwide.

Analysis of the global situation of COVID-19 research based on bibliometrics.

With the rapid global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have contributed several important advances. The WHO and countries with severe outbreaks have developed diagnosis and treatment guidelines. Here, we analyze the current transformation and application of scientific research to global epidemic prevention and control. We described and analyzed current COVID-19 research from the perspectives of international cooperation, interdisciplinary cooperation, and research hotspots using a bibliometric clustering algorithm. Using the diagnosis and treatment guidelines of the WHO and the United States and China as examples, we evaluate the transformation of scientific results from basic research to applications. Scientific research results that have not yet been incorporated into these guidelines are summarized to encourage updates and improvements by applying scientific research to prevention and control. COVID-19 has fostered interdisciplinary cooperative research, and the current results are mainly focused on the origin, epidemiological characteristics, clinical research, and diagnosis and treatment methods for the virus. Due to the ongoing publication of new research, diagnosis and treatment guidelines are constantly improving. However, some research gaps still exist, and some results have not yet been incorporated into the guidelines. The current research is still in the preliminary exploratory stage, and some problems, such as weak international cooperation, unbalanced interdisciplinary cooperation, and the lack of coordination between research and applications, exist. Therefore, countries around the world must improve the International Public Health Emergency Management System and prepare for major public health emergencies in the future.

Tuberculosis control in crisis-causes and solutions.

Tuberculosis (TB) incidence is projected to decline at too slow a rate to meet the targets set at the UN high level meeting on ending TB, convened in New York in 2018. To understand the causes of the slow progress in TB control, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported a patient-pathway analysis that identified significant gaps with patients being "lost" at all points along the care cascade. Although each country differed in the reasons for failure, some commonalities were identified. Most striking was the failure to diagnose and report TB patients to a national registry making finding the missing patients a priority for TB control globally. The analysis also found that optimal use of existing tools will not accelerate the rate of decline in TB incidence sufficiently, necessitating the development of new and improved tools for TB control. Finally, it was recognized that gaps in our understanding of TB pathogenesis and protective immunity as well as limited knowledge about the host pathogen interactions in granulomas of infected tissues, hinder the progress needed to develop the new tools for improved TB control. A commitment of all governments to support research, develop new tools such as new diagnostics, better drug regimens and efficacious vaccines, and improving service delivery by TB control programs will be needed to accelerate the reduction in incidence and reduce disease burden globally.

High proportion of coxsackievirus B3 genotype A in hand, foot and mouth disease in Zhenjiang, China, 2011-2016.

BACKGROUND: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is usually caused by EVA71 and CVA16 except for a few cases that are caused by non-EVA71 non-CAV16 enteroviruses. Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is mostly associated with myocarditis, occasionally with HFMD. METHODS: The partial VP1 gene of enteroviruses were amplified and sequenced from 610 throat swabs from clinically confirmed HFMD children. All available CVB3 near full-length genomic and VP1 sequences were downloaded from GenBank. Phylogenetic and distance analyses were performed using MEGA 7.0. RESULTS: A total of 238 partial VP1 sequences were obtained, including 93 EVA71 (39%), 79 CAV16 (33%), 29 CVB3 (12%), 24 CVA6 (10%), and 13 other enterovirus serotypes (5.5%). CVB3 is classified into seven genotypes A-G according to phylogenetic and distance analyses. All CVB3 strains from Zhenjiang belonged to genotype A. In contrast to other genotypes that are prevalent in Europe and other regions of China, and often associated with aseptic meningitis and myocarditis, CVB3 genotype A strains identified in Zhenjiang were only detected among HFMD patients. CONCLUSIONS: This high prevalence of CVB3 genotype A among HFMD children has never been reported. This phenomenon has revealed a new epidemic trend of CVB3 among HFMD in China, and it has epidemiological implications for monitoring the epidemic risk of CVB3.

Tuberculosis in the 21st century: A narrative review.

Sadly, despite the discovery of the tuberculosis bacillus over a century ago by Robert Koch, tuberculosis remains a major killer and modern day plague. Progress in the eradication of tuberculosis has been very slow and will require determined efforts on multiple fronts to make substantial inroads to lower the currently stagnant incidence of around 2% globally.

Cascade of Refusal-What Does It Mean for the Future of Treatment as Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Recent recommendations by the World Health Organization support treatment for all people living with HIV (PLWH) globally to be initiated at the point of testing. While there has been marked success in efforts to identify and expand treatment for PLWH throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the goal of universal treatment may prove challenging to achieve. The pre-ART phase of the care cascade from HIV testing to HIV treatment initiation includes several social and structural barriers. One such barrier is antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment refusal, a phenomenon in which HIV-infected individuals choose not to start treatment upon learning their ART eligibility. Our goal is to provide further understanding of why treatment-eligible adults may choose to present for HIV testing but not initiate ART when indicated. In this article, we will discuss factors driving pre-ART loss and present a framework for understanding the impact of decision-making on early losses in the care cascade, with a focus on ART refusal.

National HIV/AIDS mortality, prevalence, and incidence rates are associated with the Human Development Index.

BACKGROUND: HIV/AIDS is a worldwide threat to human health with mortality, prevalence, and incidence rates varying widely. We evaluated the association between the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and national socioeconomic development. METHODS: We obtained global age-standardized HIV/AIDS mortality, prevalence, and incidence rates from World Health Statistics Report of the World Health Organization. The human development indexes (HDIs) of 141 countries were obtained from a Human Development Report. Countries were divided into 4 groups according to the HDI distribution. We explored the association between HIV/AIDS epidemic and HDI information using Spearman correlation analysis, regression analysis, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: HIV/AIDS mortality, prevalence, and incidence rates were inversely correlated with national HDI (r = -0.675, -0.519, and -0.398, respectively; P < .001), as well as the 4 indicators of HDI (ie, life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and gross national income per capita). Low HDI countries had higher HIV/AIDS mortality, prevalence, and incidence rates than that of medium, high, and very high HDI countries. Quantile regression results indicated that HDI had a greater negative effect on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in countries with more severe HIV/AIDS epidemic. CONCLUSIONS: Less-developed countries are likely to have more severe HIV/AIDS epidemic. There is a need to pay more attention to HIV/AIDS control in less-developed countries, where lower socioeconomic status might have accelerated the HIV/AIDS epidemic more rapidly.

La otra cara de la obesidad: reflexiones para una aproximación sociocultural / The other side of obesity: reflections for a sociocultural approach

Este artículo propone que si bien parece haber una unanimidad en el diagnóstico biomédico de la obesidad, éste es insuficiente o no lo bastante preciso, ya que se debe profundizar sobre las consecuencias de los distintos modos de vida en las maneras de comer, y de éstas en la salud de la población. Asimismo, tratamos de reflexionar sobre cómo la ideación biomédica de la obesidad contribuye a convertir el peso corporal y la comida en lo que desde una acepción bastante reduccionista y discutible se define como un "problema social". Por último nos planteamos la estandarización de las estrategias internacionales frente a la obesidad, vinculadas con su calificación como epidemia global, para reflexionar sobre los efectos de manejar una visión limitada de la cultura y la alimentación. Las ideas articuladas en este trabajo forman parte de la fase de problematización teórica del objeto, previas a la puesta en marcha del proyecto de investigación. Una aproximación socio-antropológica a la obesidad infantil en tres estudios de caso: España, México y Cuba.

This paper addresses the proposition that even though there appears to be unanimity on the biomedical diagnosis of obesity, it is insufficient or not precise enough, since it is necessary to know more about the consequences of different lifestyles in ways of eating and the impact of lifestyles on the health of the population. Therefore, the paper reflects on how the biomedical ideation of obesity contributes to make body weight and food into what from a rather reductionist and controversial approach is defined as a "social problem." Lastly, the standardization of international strategies against obesity is considered, linked to its classification as a global epidemic, in order to reflect on the effects of dealing with a limited view of culture and food. The ideas articulated in this work are part of the theoretical problematization phase of the topic, prior to the implementation of the research project entitled a socio-anthropological approach to childhood obesity in three case studies: Spain, Mexico and Cuba.