Discovery of interspecific alloparental care of silver-eared mesia nestlings by a mountain bulbul.

Although brood parasitism has been well documented among bird species, interspecific alloparenting, which is parenting behavior of adult individuals of one species toward the progeny of another species, is increasingly being reported. However, compared with the many reports of interspecific alloparenting behavior in North America and Europe, this phenomenon is less well known in China, with only two prior cases of interspecific alloparenting behavior in birds having been recorded. On June 23, 2022, we observed an instance of interspecific alloparental care provided by a mountain bulbul (Ixos mcclellandii) towards silver-eared mesia (Leiothrix argentauris) nestlings in Caihu Village, Jingdong County, Yunnan Province, southwestern China. We recorded 19.5 h of footage during the period in which the mountain bulbul provided care for the nestlings with the aim of documenting detailed observations of interspecific alloparenting to contribute to our overall understanding of this behavior. The alloparenting behavior of the mountain bulbul lasted for at least 5 days. During this period, both silver-eared mesia parents fed their nestlings 157 times and removed their nestlings' fecal sacs 5 times, while the mountain bulbul fed the nestlings 30 times and removed the nestlings' fecal sacs 4 times. In addition, the male silver-eared mesia parent chased the mountain bulbul away during nestling feeding. As there was no life history information for the mountain bulbul at that time, we were unable to directly determine why it exhibited interspecific alloparental care. Regardless of the reason for the mountain bulbul's behavior, these findings provide valuable information for future studies on the reproductive ecology of these two bird species.

Determinants of diarrheal disease in children undergoing complementary feeding in a low-income urban setting in Kenya.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify and characterise the determinants influencing the occurrence of diarrheal diseases in children aged 6-24 months undergoing complementary feeding within a low-income urban community in Kenya. METHODS: This study followed a cross-sectional design and recruited caregivers of children aged 6-24 months from 302 households. The dependent variable was the 2-week diarrhoea prevalence among children, with independent variables including sociodemographic characteristics, child immunisation and feeding status, and water and sanitation facilities. Data analysis was performed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were used to assess associations between independent variables and the occurrence of diarrheal diseases. RESULTS: The majority of caregivers were female (n = 282, 93.4%), aged 25-34 years (n = 156, 51.7%), had attained secondary school education (n = 154, 51%), were unemployed (n = 162, 53.6%), and earned Ksh 10,000 (USD 100) or less. 296 (98%) indexed children were fully vaccinated against rotavirus. Most households used improved drinking water sources (n = 272, 90.1%). Most caregivers did not regularly wash their hands with soap and water (n = 225, 74.5%). The 2-week diarrhoea prevalence among children was 34.1% (103/302), with 69.9% (72/103) of these cases seeking care at a healthcare facility. Logistic regression analysis revealed that children of caregivers earning Ksh 20,000 and below (aOR = 2.9[1.3-6.5], p = 0.01), and those from households using unimproved sanitation facilities (aOR = 1.9 [CI 1-3.4], p = 0.042), had significantly higher odds of having diarrhoea. CONCLUSION: The study found a high prevalence of diarrhoea in Kenyan children aged 6-24 months, with caregiver income and household sanitation facilities significantly impacting the occurrence of the disease. The study suggests integrated approaches, including education, income generation, hygiene, and improved nutrition, to address the burden of diarrheal disease.

Understanding global perspectives for the acceptance of community sanitation welfare schemes through a localised qualitative survey in Kho Nagorian, Jaipur, India.

Community sanitation is a fundamental human right and need. Every year, as per the World Bank, total cost of providing sanitation services is estimated at around 114 billion USD per year. In India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA), a public welfare scheme (PWS), is aimed at addressing community sanitation problems. Despite the successful implementation of SBA, local communities still practise open defaecation. To deduce the behavioural patterns governing communal toilet use, interviews were conducted with the local communities in the Kho Nagorian area of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. This qualitative survey examined attitudes towards the construction of a toilet, awareness towards the SBA scheme, and the willingness to use excreta-based pit humus. The study then discusses the factors that increase the local community's willingness to use these toilets. Results show that open defaecation is still prevalent in society. One way to foster the adoption of toilets is that the construction materials should mainly consist of local materials. As a recourse, places of worship could be used to influence people's perception of hygiene. In addition, community toilets should be cleaned often as well. PWS should not be made accessible at no cost to prevent a sense of entitlement among the people. A small sum should be charged to increase social responsibility towards the PWS. Another way to curb open defaecation is to tap into the sense of entitlement by making effective use of social campaign programs. Further, cross-table analysis revealed that the locals were inclined to use a toilet if they have invested in it. Advertisements were found to be ineffective, and proposals were made to make them effective. These findings aid in understanding public perceptions and can guide the development of public policies. The findings also assist in making tax distribution decisions that reflect public concerns, attitudes, and values.

Financial incentives for sanitation take-up: A randomized control trial in rural Vietnam.

This study assesses the impact of financial incentives on hygienic latrine ownership by poor/near-poor households in Vietnam. Rural communes were randomly assigned to a control group and three treatment arm groups: (T1) a rebate for households that installed a hygienic latrine; (T2) a financial reward for commune governments if the proportion of hygienic latrines in their commune increased by 30 percentage points; (T3) both a household rebate and a commune reward. We find a strong and positive effect from the household rebate (treatment arms 1 and 3) but an insignificant effect from the commune reward (treatment arm 2) on household ownership of a septic tank latrine. Our analysis provides suggestive evidence that microcredit is a channel through which a rebate encourages the installation of septic tank latrines. We also find that treatment arm 3 increases people's knowledge regarding sanitation and the availability of water and soap for handwashing within households.

Comparative sanitation data from high-frequency phone surveys across 3 countries.

With less than half of the world's urban population having safely managed sanitation due to the high cost and difficulty of building sewers and treatment plants, many rely on off-grid options like pit latrines and septic tanks, which are hard to empty and often lead to illegal waste dumping; this research focuses on container-based sanitation (CBS) as an emerging off-grid solution. Off-grid sanitation refers to waste management systems that operate independently of centralized infrastructure and CBS is a service providing toilets that collect human waste in sealable containers, which are regularly emptied and safely disposed of. These data relate to a project investigating CBS in Kenya, Peru, and South Africa, focusing on how different user groups access and utilize sanitation - contrasting CBS with other types. Participants, acting as citizen scientists, collected confidential data through a dedicated smartphone app designed by the authors and external contractors. This project aimed to explore the effective scaling, management, and regulation of off-grid sanitation systems, relevant to academics in urban planning, water and sanitation services, institutional capability, policy and governance, and those addressing inequality and poverty reduction. The 12-month data collection period offered participants small incentives for weekly engagement, in a micro payment for micro tasks approach. Participants were randomly selected, attended a training workshop, and (where needed) were given a smartphone which they could keep at the end of the project. We conducted weekly smartphone surveys in over 300 households across informal settlements. These surveys aimed to understand human-environment interactions by capturing daily life, wellbeing, income, infrastructural service use, and socioeconomic variables at a weekly resolution, contributing to more informed analyses and decision-making. The smartphone-based approach offers efficient, cost-effective, and flexible data collection, enabling extensive geographical coverage, broad subject areas, and frequent engagement. The Open Data Kit (ODK) tools were used to support data collection in the resource-constrained environment with limited or intermittent connectivity.

Determinants of Neonatal and Postneonatal Mortality in Northeastern Brazil: A Cohort Study of Newborns Admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Despite advances in neonatology, neonatal mortality from preventable causes remains high in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. This study aimed to analyze the determinants associated with neonatal and postneonatal mortality in newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit. A cohort study was carried out in a capital in the Brazilian Northeast from 2013 to 2018. The outcome studied was death. Poisson regression was performed in the multivariate analysis of variables. Four hundred and eighty newborns were eligible, and 8.1% (39 newborns) died. Among them, 34 died in the neonatal period. The determinants that remained significantly associated with neonatal and postneonatal mortality in the final adjustment model (p < 0.05) were history of abortion, perinatal asphyxia, early neonatal sepsis and umbilical venous catheterization. All causes of this outcome were preventable. The neonatal mortality rate, although it did not include twins, neonates with malformations incompatible with life and other conditions, was 3.47 deaths per thousand live births (95% CI:1.10-8.03‱), well below the national average. In this study, pregnant women from different social classes had in common a private plan for direct access to health services, which provided them with excellent care throughout pregnancy and postnatal care. These results indicate that reducing neonatal mortality is possible through public policies with strategies that promote improvements in access to health services.

A scoping review of the links between early childhood caries and clean water and sanitation: the Sustainable Development Goal 6.

INTRODUCTION: The United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 calls for universal access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), which are crucial elements of health and well-being and fundamental for a life in dignity. Early childhood caries (ECC) is a preventable disease affecting health and quality of life of millions of young children worldwide. This scoping review aims to explore the connection between ECC and access to clean water and sanitation. METHODS: This scoping review, registered on the Open Science Framework and following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, conducted a thorough search in databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar, SciELO) and websites (via Google) in November 2023. The search, without date limitations, targeted studies in English and Spanish linking ECC to SDG6. Exclusions were made for studies solely focusing on ECC without a direct connection to clean water and sanitation. Descriptive statistics summarized the retrieved papers. RESULTS: The initial search yielded 303 articles. After removing duplicates, 264 articles remained for title and abstract screening after which 244 were excluded and one report was added through citation searching. The 21 remaining articles underwent full text review. There were no studies on a direct association between access to clean water and sanitation and the prevalence of ECC. There were nine studies that showed indirect associations between ECC and access to clean water and sanitation through the links of: water and sanitation access as a marker for poverty (n = 1), water consumption as a feeding practice (n = 4), and the effectiveness of water fluoridation (n = 4). These were used to develop a conceptual model. CONCLUSIONS: While it is conceivable that a direct link exists between ECC and access to clean water and sanitation, the available body of research only offers evidence of indirect associations. The exploration of potential pathways connecting water access to ECC warrants further investigation in future research.

High efficiency azo dye removal via a combination of adsorption and photocatalytic processes using heterojunction Titanium dioxide nanoparticles on hierarchical porous carbon.

Amidst the rapid development of the textile industry, wastewater problems also arise. High-performance materials for reactive black 5 (RB5) dye treatment by adsorption and photocatalysis were evolved using Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on carbon media. Herein, the synthesis of spherical carbon via the water-in-oil emulsion method alongside a sol-gel process and the production of TiO2 nanoparticles using the precipitation procedure of Titanium isopropoxide and carbonization at 700-900°C for 2 h are a novel approach in this work. The characterization of these materials indicates that different temperatures result in distinct properties, for instance, raised pores on the surface of the media and changes in the crystal structure of TiO2. The results show that the as-synthesized material carbonized at 900°C had distinguished dye adsorption, up to 430 ppm in 1 h, due to their high surface area and pore volume. On the contrary, the calcined 700°C condition had the prominent photocatalytic efficiency on account of the heterojunction band gap between anatase and rutile crystal structure. A mixed phase minimizes the charge recombination, subsequently increasing the photocatalytic capability.

A comprehensive evaluation of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in Health Facilities: A Systematic Review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite global recognition, WHO reports reveal significant gaps, with one in four healthcare facilities lacking basic water services, affecting over 1.8 billion people, and 21% lacking sanitation services, impacting 1.5 billion people, especially prevalent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to critically evaluate the current state of WASH facilities across a diverse range of healthcare settings. METHODS: This review includes various databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and grey literature, eligible studies employing various designs were scrutinized for WASH infrastructure and practices. Methodological quality was rigorously evaluated using the QuADS checklist. Data analysis, performed with R software, involved deriving pooled estimates of WASH intervention effects. Sensitivity analyses were conducted, employing statistical methods like funnel plots to ensure robustness and mitigate biases. RESULTS: Out of 13,250 articles screened, 18 were included in this review. Meta-analyses revealed significant effect sizes for WASH interventions across domains- water (67.38%), sanitation (53.93%), waste management (40.82%), environment (56.58%), hygiene (66.83%), and management (42.30%). CONCLUSION: Widespread disparities in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) persist across healthcare facilities (HCFs), with rural areas facing notable deficits. Challenges in water quality, sanitation, and waste management demand comprehensive, multi-sectoral approaches for improvement.

Contaminação ambiental de uma agroindústria familiar de queijo colonial no sudoeste paranaense / Environmental contamination of a family colonial cheese agroindustry in the southwest of Parana

As falhas na higienização em um estabelecimento de alimentos podem refletir em problemas causando a contaminação ou deterioração do produto produzido. Esta pesquisa foi motivada por reclamações de consumidores informando que os queijos apresentaram fungos, mesmo estando dentro do prazo de validade e por solicitação do Serviço de Inspeção Municipal. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar a contaminação ambiental em uma agroindústria da agricultura familiar produtora de queijo colonial no Sudoeste Paranaense. Foram realizadas a contagem para aeróbios mesófilos em equipamentos e superfícies que entram em contato com o alimento e análise microbiológica ambiental de bolores e leveduras na sala de secagem dos queijos. A coleta foi realizada com método de esfregaço de suabe estéril para aeróbios mesófilos e semeadas em placas de Petri com Ágar Padrão de Contagem. Para a coleta ambiental foram expostas placas de Petri com ágar Saboraund durante 15 minutos. Os resultados demonstraram ausência de contaminação nas superfícies, mas foram encontrados bolores e leveduras de forma acentuada na sala de secagem dos queijos, o que pode contribuir para a deterioração do produto, diminuindo sua validade. Para minimizar as perdas por contaminação é necessário que o processo de higienização dos ambientes seja realizado de forma eficiente.

Failures in hygiene in a food establishment can result in problems causing contamination or deterioration of the product produced. This research was motivated by complaints from consumers reporting that the cheeses had mold, even though they were within their expiration date and at the request of the Municipal Inspection Service. This research was to evaluate environmental contamination in an agroindustry in the family farm producing colonial cheese in Southwest Paraná. For the microbiological assessment of environmental contamination, counting for mesophilic aerobes was carried out on equipment and surfaces that come into contact with food and, environmental microbiological analysis of molds and yeast in the cheese drying room. The collection was carried out using the sterile swab smear for mesophilic aerobes and seeded in Petri dishes with Counting Standard Agar. For environmental collection, sheets of Petri with Saboraund agar for 15 minutes. The results demonstrated absence of contamination on surfaces. But the presence of molds and yeasts in the drying room cheeses, which can contribute to the deterioration of the product and thus reduce the validity. To minimize losses due to contamination, it is It is necessary that the process of cleaning and disinfecting environments is carried out efficiently.

Risk Factors of Wasting-Based Malnutrition in the Flood-Affected Areas of Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The current study aimed to find the risk factors of wasting in flood-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data was collected. Children living in large family are 2.59 times more likely to be wasted (AOR = 2.59, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10, 6.10; p value = .029) and children living in medium size family are 2.23 times more likely to be wasted (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.03, 4.80; p value = .04) as compared to children in small family size. The study underscores the need for targeted interventions to address the identified risk factors and mitigate the impact of flooding on child nutrition.

Overview of transcriptome changes and phenomic profile of sanitized artichoke vis-à-vis non-sanitized plants.

Plant tissue in vitro culture is increasingly used in agriculture to improve crop production, nutritional quality, and commercial value. In plant virology, the technique is used as sanitation protocol to produce virus-free plants. Sanitized (S) artichokes show increased vigour compared to their non-sanitized (NS) counterparts, because viral infections lead to a decline of growth and development. To investigate mechanisms that control the complex traits related to morphology, growth, and yield in S artichokes compared to NS plants, RNAseq analysis and phenotyping by imaging were used. The role of peroxidases (POD) was also investigated to understand their involvement in sanitized plant development. Results showed that virus infection affected regulation of cell cycle, gene expression and signal transduction modulating cellular response to stimulus/stress. Moreover, primary metabolism and photosynthesis were also influenced, contributing to explain the main morphological differences observed between S and NS artichokes. Sanitized artichokes are also characterized by higher POD activity, probably associated with increased plant growth, rather than strengthening of cell walls. Overall, results show that the differences in development of S artichokes may be derived from the in vitro culture stressor, as well as through pathogen elimination, which, in turn, improve qualitative and quantitative artichoke production.

Key environmental exposure pathways to antimicrobial resistant bacteria in southern Malawi: A SaniPath approach.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a severe global health threat, yet the transmission pathways of AMR within communal public environments, where humans and animals interact, remain poorly explored. This study investigated AMR risk pathways, prevalence, and seasonality of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae, and observed practices contributing to environmental contamination within urban, peri-urban, and rural Malawi. Using the SaniPath tool, in August 2020, transect walks across three Malawian study sites identified potential AMR exposure pathways, including drains, standing water, soil, and areas of communal hand contact. Subsequently, from September-2020 to August-2021, 1440 environmental samples were collected at critical points along exposure routes (n = 40/month from each site). These underwent microbiological analysis using chromogenic agar techniques to detect the presence of ESBL E. coli and ESBL K. pneumoniae. Results showed the highest ESBL prevalence in urban environments (68.1 %, 95%CI = 0.64-0.72, p < 0.001) with a higher ESBL presence seen in drains (58.8 %, 95%CI = 055-0.62, p < 0.001) and soil (54.1 %, 95%CI = 0.46-0.62, p < 0.001) compared to other pathways. Environmental contamination was attributed to unavailability and poor condition of sanitation and hygiene infrastructure based on key informant interviews with community leaders (n = 9) and confirmed by independent observation. ESBL prevalence varied between seasons (χ2 (2,N = 1440) = 10.89, p = 0.004), with the highest in the hot-dry period (55.8 % (n = 201)). Prevalence also increased with increased rainfall (for ESBL E.coli). We highlight that community environments are likely to be a crucial component in AMR transmission, evident in the abundance of ESBL bacteria in identified exposure pathways. Additionally, poor sanitation infrastructure and practices coupled with seasonal dynamics further affect the presence of ESBLs in communal environments. Therefore, a context appropriate whole system approach that tackles infrastructure and behavioural factors, supported by effective surveillance is required to impact AMR and a range of aligned development challenges in these settings.

Socio-environmental externalities of sewage waste management.

Conventional sewage management is expensive and inefficient, putting the environment and public health at risk, making access to sewage services difficult for everyone. Reusing sewage waste has agricultural and economic potential, but can contain harmful contaminants if not treated properly. This review is based on the hypothesis that the destination of sewage waste generates environmental and social externalities, which have not yet been widely compared. With the aim of identifying, from the literature, the socio-environmental externalities generated by different sewage waste management approaches, a systematic review of the literature was carried out, including 244 documents, with 50 % of these discussing impacts of conventional treatment and 37 % analyzing the reuse of waste. The main impacts and externalities were evaluated in three situations: untreated sewage, treated sewage, and reused waste. The results indicate that sewage waste has an underutilized economic value and can generate revenue, reduce operational costs and electricity expenses. Six negative externalities generated by conventional sewage treatment were identified: health costs; environmental cleaning; carbon offsetting; damage to tourism; damage to fishing and agriculture; and real estate depreciation. In reuse, there is a risk of two negative externalities: health costs and environmental cleaning, but two positive externalities were also identified: the reduction of phosphate rock mining and the neutralization of carbon credits. The complexity of the transition to sustainable sewage treatment practices is highlighted given the lack of consensus on the safe use of sewage waste, the lack of regulatory standardization, implementation costs and differences in regional parameters, highlighting the need for preliminary experimentation in a multidisciplinary and contextualized approach, considering comparative externalities among the available sewage waste management possibilities.

Identification of environmental, socioeconomic, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) factors associated with COVID-19 incidence in the Philippines: A nationwide modelling study.

Despite the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions, the threat of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains significant on a global scale. Identifying external factors contributing to its spread is crucial, especially given the World Health Organization's recommendation emphasizing access to water, sanitation, and hygiene as essential in curbing COVID-19. There is a notable discrepancy in access to sanitation facilities, particularly evident in low- and middle-income countries. However, there is a lack of quantitative assessments regarding these factors. This study examines various environmental, socioeconomic, water, sanitation, and hygiene factors and their associations with COVID-19 incidence. All regions in the Philippines were categorized into clusters based on socioeconomic factors. A conceptual structural equation model (SEM) was developed using domain knowledge. The best-fitting SEM for each cluster was determined, and associations between factors and COVID-19 incidence were estimated. The correlation analysis revealed that rainfall, minimum temperature, and relative humidity were positively correlated with weekly COVID-19 incidence in urban regions. Maximum temperature, mean temperature, wind speed, and wind direction were negatively correlated with weekly COVID-19 incidence in rural regions, with time lags of 0, 3, and 7 weeks. In urban regions (Cluster 1), factors such as urbanization rate (1.00), area (-0.93), and population (0.54) were found to be associated with weekly COVID-19 incidence. Conversely, in rural regions (Cluster 2), factors including area (0.17), basic sanitation (0.84), and wind direction (0.83) showed associations with weekly COVID-19 incidence. These factors were causally associated with a latent variable reflecting the hidden confounders associated with COVID-19 incidence. It is important to note that sanitation factors were associated only in rural regions. Improving access to sanitation facilities in rural regions of the Philippines is imperative to effectively mitigate disease transmission in future pandemics. Identification of the causal effect of unobserved confounders with COVID-19 incidence is recommended for future research.

Daily Use Water Bottles as a Hub for Microbial Population: A Comparative Study of PET vs. Stainless Steel Water Bottles and Outcome of Washing Strategy Intervention.

Water bottles for everyday usage are a typical addition to people's life and offer a practical way to stay hydrated. Even though safe and clean water is preferred for consumption, the water bottle or container used to drink water was never considered to be cleaned. Here, we examined the adhering microbial populations in water bottles composed of stainless steel (SS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A total of 30 water bottles-15 PET and 15 SS-were gathered from different users. To identify and quantify the adhering microbial populations, microbial swabs from the inside surface of the bottles were collected and later cultivated on certain growth media. Overall the microbial load of PET is significantly higher than the SS water bottles of 68.8 + 19.1 cfu/ml and 35.4 + 8 cfu/ml respectively at initial sampling (P = 0.0027). We also evaluated the efficiency of various cleaning procedures in eliminating adherent bacteria populations. The cleaning strategy significantly reduced the microbial load (P<0.0001). The mean load observed was 11.2 + 2.3 cfu/ml post-wash. This comparison study offers important new information about the adherent microbial populations found in SS and PET water bottles used every day, in the end. This finding emphasizes the necessity of routine cleaning and upkeep of these bottles to reduce the possibility of microbial contamination and the accompanying health risks.

Egestabase - An online evidence platform to discover and explore options to recover plant nutrients from human excreta and domestic wastewater for reuse in agriculture.

Restoring nutrient circularity across scales is important for ecosystem integrity as well as nutrient and food security. As such, research and development of technologies to recover plant nutrients from various organic residues has intensified. Yet, this emerging field is diverse and difficult to navigate, especially for newcomers. As an increasing number of actors search for circular solutions to nutrient management, there is a need to simplify access to the latest knowledge. Since the majority of nutrients entering urban areas end up in human excreta, we have chosen to focus on human excreta and domestic wastewater. Through systematic mapping with stakeholder engagement, we compiled and consolidated available evidence from research and practice. In this paper, we present 'Egestabase' - a carefully curated open-access online evidence platform that presents this evidence base in a systematic and accessible manner. We hope that this online evidence platform helps a variety of actors to navigate evidence on circular nutrient solutions for human excreta and domestic wastewater with ease and keep track of new findings.

Schistosoma mansoni infection in residents of a riverside community in Eastern Amazon.

Schistosoma mansoni worms cause a waterborne parasitic disease called schistosomiasis. It commonly affects individuals in lack of sanitation structure. In Brazil, Pará state has Belém as one of the worst sanitation-ranking places in 2023, where schistosomiasis transmission was already documented. This study reports the occurrence of schistosomiasis in residents of Ilha das Onças, an island next to Belém. Stool samples were obtained from participants over 2 years old, all residents from Furo do Rio Grande, one of the rivers on the island. The Kato-Katz technique was performed for parasite investigation in the stool samples. Each participant responded to a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire. The residences were georeferenced for map designing. Three out of 263 participants were S. mansoni positive, all men, ages ranging from 19 to 41 years old, with low parasitic load. Malacological surveys were carried out, but no Biomphalaria snails were found. Risk factors for schistosomiasis establishment are present on the island, and the lack of sanitation makes it a potential risk area. Malacological surveys are highly encouraged as preventive measures, as well as health surveillance for riverside populations, generating data that will help health authorities in the management and planning of preventive control actions.

Drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and health conditions in India: Findings from the national sample survey.

Introduction: Uncertainty exists in the drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and health conditions due to mosquitoes and flies across India. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the availability of drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and health in India. Methods: We used secondary analysis data on 95,548 household members from the National Sample Survey, which included 113,822 homes and 555,351 persons across India between June 2017 and 2018. Results: About 36.4% of household members stated that tube wells or boreholes outside the property at a distance of less than 0.2 km were their main source of drinking water. More than 87% of respondents said that the water they drank was free of impurities, and 55.1% said that it had not been treated. About 45.7% of respondents stated that there were no bathrooms in the dwellings. More than 50% of the time, according to the respondents, garbage was not collected. A flea or mosquito problem was reported by about 97% of households. Around 97% of households reported fevers that were caused by a disease. Conclusion: In India, poor access to drinking water, sanitary facilities, good hygiene, and healthcare existed. The results will support the next visionary programs to increase living standards in the country.

Cholera resurgence in Africa: assessing progress, challenges, and public health response towards the 2030 global elimination target.

Global efforts to combat epidemic cholera outbreaks have witnessed tremendous feats over the decades. However, sporadic outbreaks in regions, particularly across African states, mask these advancements. This regressive trend is frequently fuelled by factors retarding efforts towards optimal environmental sanitation and personal hygiene, which include ingesting infected food, drinking contaminated waters, and engaging in unhealthy environmental practices such as indiscriminate waste and sewage disposal and poor toilet practices. The ongoing efforts to achieve the Global Taskforce on Cholera Control (GTFCC) targets of a 90% reduction in cases and deaths by 2030, even in the wake of continuous outbreaks across various African regions, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) face a significant threat. One such effort, among others, is the AFRICHOL project, an enhanced cholera surveillance consortium launched in Africa over a decade ago as part of the GTFCC at WHO to monitor and fast-track the GTFCC's 2030 targets. It is tasked with supporting the implementation of research-based strategies for combating cholera in Africa. The prequalified oral cholera vaccines - Dukoral, Shanchol, and Euvichol - and those with recombinant DNA technology have also emerged as remarkable strides. In the face of this progress, challenges persist. Climate change, including extreme weather events and the lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, acts as a multiplier, amplifying existing challenges and hindering progress. Porous borders with inefficient disease surveillance networks among member states also facilitate the inter-territorial spread of the disease. Despite ongoing challenges, global targets are achievable provided strong institutional infrastructure and additional evidence-based public health initiatives are promulgated and enacted. The Global Roadmap to Ending Cholera Outbreaks by 2030 is a resourceful tool for advancing this fight and eradicating cholera.