Pub Date : 2024-02-09DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2023.1287499
Ibrahima Diouf, Ibrahima Sy, Moussa Diakhaté
This study examines the relationship between climate change and public health in Haiti, a country already facing socioeconomic challenges. The well-being of Haiti’s vulnerable population is expected to be further affected by climate change, leading to an increase in vector-borne, water-borne, and heat-related diseases. As one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change effects, Haiti is currently experiencing an increase in vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and chikungunya, as well as water-borne diseases and emerging zoonotic outbreaks. This study aims to improve planning, decision-making, and responses to public health challenges by utilizing health data, climatic information, and impact models. The methodology involves the creation of a comprehensive climate and health database to uncover detailed spatial-temporal relationships on a national scale. By evaluating disease indicators from historical periods (1950-2014) and future projections (2015-2100) using the Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs) from the multi-model ensemble mean of the CMIP6 models, target diseases, including malaria, meningitis, dengue, and heat-sensitive chronic diseases are assessed. Our results highlight a decrease in rainfall and a strong increase in temperatures, especially within western Haiti under the extreme SSP585 scenario. The ability of the impact models to simulate the seasonality and spatial distribution of malaria incidence, dengue and heatwaves was performed. The analysis of risks related to climate-sensitive diseases’ climatic parameters shows that Haiti’s west and central regions are mostly exposed to vector-borne and water-borne diseases. Models predict a decrease in malaria cases due to climate change with hot temperatures and a decline in rainfall, while dengue transmission patterns may undergo changes. These findings will inform the implementation of context-specific early-warning systems and adaptation strategies for climate-sensitive diseases while acknowledging the challenges of integrating climate-altered data into health policies.
{"title":"Assessing climate change impacts on public health in Haiti: a comprehensive study of disease distribution, modeling, and adaptation strategies","authors":"Ibrahima Diouf, Ibrahima Sy, Moussa Diakhaté","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2023.1287499","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2023.1287499","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the relationship between climate change and public health in Haiti, a country already facing socioeconomic challenges. The well-being of Haiti’s vulnerable population is expected to be further affected by climate change, leading to an increase in vector-borne, water-borne, and heat-related diseases. As one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change effects, Haiti is currently experiencing an increase in vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and chikungunya, as well as water-borne diseases and emerging zoonotic outbreaks. This study aims to improve planning, decision-making, and responses to public health challenges by utilizing health data, climatic information, and impact models. The methodology involves the creation of a comprehensive climate and health database to uncover detailed spatial-temporal relationships on a national scale. By evaluating disease indicators from historical periods (1950-2014) and future projections (2015-2100) using the Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs) from the multi-model ensemble mean of the CMIP6 models, target diseases, including malaria, meningitis, dengue, and heat-sensitive chronic diseases are assessed. Our results highlight a decrease in rainfall and a strong increase in temperatures, especially within western Haiti under the extreme SSP585 scenario. The ability of the impact models to simulate the seasonality and spatial distribution of malaria incidence, dengue and heatwaves was performed. The analysis of risks related to climate-sensitive diseases’ climatic parameters shows that Haiti’s west and central regions are mostly exposed to vector-borne and water-borne diseases. Models predict a decrease in malaria cases due to climate change with hot temperatures and a decline in rainfall, while dengue transmission patterns may undergo changes. These findings will inform the implementation of context-specific early-warning systems and adaptation strategies for climate-sensitive diseases while acknowledging the challenges of integrating climate-altered data into health policies.","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"8 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139850379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-08DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2024.1356329
Catherine Grant
{"title":"Operationalising transdisciplinary remote methods in epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response in Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Catherine Grant","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2024.1356329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2024.1356329","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"163 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139793795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-08DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2024.1356329
Catherine Grant
{"title":"Operationalising transdisciplinary remote methods in epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response in Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"Catherine Grant","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2024.1356329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2024.1356329","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"3 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139853651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2024.1276210
Aristide Toussaint Nguélé, Matteo Mozzicafreddo, Hongliang Chen, Angela Piersanti, Salum Seif Salum, Said M. Ali, Junjie Zhang, Cristina Miceli
Large intestine-dwelling helminths affect microbiome composition. In sub-Saharan Africa, where helminth infections are endemic, the use of chemotherapeutic drugs is the primary strategy for controlling soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs). However, the emergence of anthelmintic resistance necessitates the urgent exploration of alternative and complementary treatments to achieve the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating STHs. One promising avenue involves the manipulation of gut microbiota in at-risk populations. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of the interplay between Trichuris trichiura and the gut microbiome. In this study, we used the Mini-FLOTAC technique for parasitological analyses and a shotgun metagenomic sequencing approach to investigate the effect of T. trichiura on the gut microbiome by comparing infected and non-infected women of reproductive age (WRA) from Pemba. Structural and functional analyses of the gut microbiome revealed that T. trichiura infection shaped the host gut microbiome in WRA. Some taxa vary according to infection status. Prevotella genus was more abundant in healthy participants, whereas species such as Weissella cibaria, Leuconostoc citreum (new emergent probiotics), and Leuconostoc lactis (starter) decreased in infected individuals, suggesting the use of potential probiotic treatments to mitigate dysbiosis induced by STHs. Furthermore, the overall number of common fungi, irrespective of species, was significantly higher in the mycobiome of Trichuris infected participants. Functional analysis revealed significant differences in metabolic pathways (p < 0.05), with cholesterol metabolism and pathogenic infections being more abundant in the infected samples than in the non-infected samples. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intricate interactions between helminth infections and the gut microbiome in the WRA, particularly in STH-endemic regions. The identified associations between specific gut microbial changes and T. trichiura infection may pave the way for innovative complementary treatments to effectively combat STHs.
{"title":"Trichuris trichiura infection is associated with changes in gut microbiome composition and function among women of reproductive age from Pemba, Tanzania","authors":"Aristide Toussaint Nguélé, Matteo Mozzicafreddo, Hongliang Chen, Angela Piersanti, Salum Seif Salum, Said M. Ali, Junjie Zhang, Cristina Miceli","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2024.1276210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2024.1276210","url":null,"abstract":"Large intestine-dwelling helminths affect microbiome composition. In sub-Saharan Africa, where helminth infections are endemic, the use of chemotherapeutic drugs is the primary strategy for controlling soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs). However, the emergence of anthelmintic resistance necessitates the urgent exploration of alternative and complementary treatments to achieve the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating STHs. One promising avenue involves the manipulation of gut microbiota in at-risk populations. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of the interplay between Trichuris trichiura and the gut microbiome. In this study, we used the Mini-FLOTAC technique for parasitological analyses and a shotgun metagenomic sequencing approach to investigate the effect of T. trichiura on the gut microbiome by comparing infected and non-infected women of reproductive age (WRA) from Pemba. Structural and functional analyses of the gut microbiome revealed that T. trichiura infection shaped the host gut microbiome in WRA. Some taxa vary according to infection status. Prevotella genus was more abundant in healthy participants, whereas species such as Weissella cibaria, Leuconostoc citreum (new emergent probiotics), and Leuconostoc lactis (starter) decreased in infected individuals, suggesting the use of potential probiotic treatments to mitigate dysbiosis induced by STHs. Furthermore, the overall number of common fungi, irrespective of species, was significantly higher in the mycobiome of Trichuris infected participants. Functional analysis revealed significant differences in metabolic pathways (p < 0.05), with cholesterol metabolism and pathogenic infections being more abundant in the infected samples than in the non-infected samples. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intricate interactions between helminth infections and the gut microbiome in the WRA, particularly in STH-endemic regions. The identified associations between specific gut microbial changes and T. trichiura infection may pave the way for innovative complementary treatments to effectively combat STHs.","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"24 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139804199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2024.1276210
Aristide Toussaint Nguélé, Matteo Mozzicafreddo, Hongliang Chen, Angela Piersanti, Salum Seif Salum, Said M. Ali, Junjie Zhang, Cristina Miceli
Large intestine-dwelling helminths affect microbiome composition. In sub-Saharan Africa, where helminth infections are endemic, the use of chemotherapeutic drugs is the primary strategy for controlling soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs). However, the emergence of anthelmintic resistance necessitates the urgent exploration of alternative and complementary treatments to achieve the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating STHs. One promising avenue involves the manipulation of gut microbiota in at-risk populations. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of the interplay between Trichuris trichiura and the gut microbiome. In this study, we used the Mini-FLOTAC technique for parasitological analyses and a shotgun metagenomic sequencing approach to investigate the effect of T. trichiura on the gut microbiome by comparing infected and non-infected women of reproductive age (WRA) from Pemba. Structural and functional analyses of the gut microbiome revealed that T. trichiura infection shaped the host gut microbiome in WRA. Some taxa vary according to infection status. Prevotella genus was more abundant in healthy participants, whereas species such as Weissella cibaria, Leuconostoc citreum (new emergent probiotics), and Leuconostoc lactis (starter) decreased in infected individuals, suggesting the use of potential probiotic treatments to mitigate dysbiosis induced by STHs. Furthermore, the overall number of common fungi, irrespective of species, was significantly higher in the mycobiome of Trichuris infected participants. Functional analysis revealed significant differences in metabolic pathways (p < 0.05), with cholesterol metabolism and pathogenic infections being more abundant in the infected samples than in the non-infected samples. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intricate interactions between helminth infections and the gut microbiome in the WRA, particularly in STH-endemic regions. The identified associations between specific gut microbial changes and T. trichiura infection may pave the way for innovative complementary treatments to effectively combat STHs.
{"title":"Trichuris trichiura infection is associated with changes in gut microbiome composition and function among women of reproductive age from Pemba, Tanzania","authors":"Aristide Toussaint Nguélé, Matteo Mozzicafreddo, Hongliang Chen, Angela Piersanti, Salum Seif Salum, Said M. Ali, Junjie Zhang, Cristina Miceli","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2024.1276210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2024.1276210","url":null,"abstract":"Large intestine-dwelling helminths affect microbiome composition. In sub-Saharan Africa, where helminth infections are endemic, the use of chemotherapeutic drugs is the primary strategy for controlling soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs). However, the emergence of anthelmintic resistance necessitates the urgent exploration of alternative and complementary treatments to achieve the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating STHs. One promising avenue involves the manipulation of gut microbiota in at-risk populations. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of the interplay between Trichuris trichiura and the gut microbiome. In this study, we used the Mini-FLOTAC technique for parasitological analyses and a shotgun metagenomic sequencing approach to investigate the effect of T. trichiura on the gut microbiome by comparing infected and non-infected women of reproductive age (WRA) from Pemba. Structural and functional analyses of the gut microbiome revealed that T. trichiura infection shaped the host gut microbiome in WRA. Some taxa vary according to infection status. Prevotella genus was more abundant in healthy participants, whereas species such as Weissella cibaria, Leuconostoc citreum (new emergent probiotics), and Leuconostoc lactis (starter) decreased in infected individuals, suggesting the use of potential probiotic treatments to mitigate dysbiosis induced by STHs. Furthermore, the overall number of common fungi, irrespective of species, was significantly higher in the mycobiome of Trichuris infected participants. Functional analysis revealed significant differences in metabolic pathways (p < 0.05), with cholesterol metabolism and pathogenic infections being more abundant in the infected samples than in the non-infected samples. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the intricate interactions between helminth infections and the gut microbiome in the WRA, particularly in STH-endemic regions. The identified associations between specific gut microbial changes and T. trichiura infection may pave the way for innovative complementary treatments to effectively combat STHs.","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"14 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139864302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2023.1286274
B. Mengistu, F. Kebede, Biruck Kebede Negash, Addisalem Miheret, Biruk Kebede Beyene, Solomon Abetew, Berihu Gebremariam Tedla, Asfaw Kejella Oucha, Shigute Alene, Sharone Backers, Clara Burgert, Emily Toubali, Molly Brady, Scott McPherson
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries ensure morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP) services are available to all lymphedema and hydrocele patients in lymphatic filariasis (LF)-endemic areas. The first step in ensuring the availability of MMDP services is to understand the number and distribution of people with lymphedema and hydrocele. We examined the burden of lymphoedema and hydrocoele using different patient estimation approaches employed in endemic districts of the Beneshangul-Gumuz and Tigray regions of Ethiopia.In Approach I, trained health extension workers (HEWs) conducted the patient estimates during a door-to-door pre-mass drug administration (MDA) census. Validation of a sample of the data collected was integrated with a post-MDA coverage survey. In Approach II, trained HEWs conducted a stand-alone patient estimation, and clinical officers validated all suspected patients. In 15 districts, 753,557 individuals were surveyed. A total of 1,645 lymphedema (1:1.6 male-to-female ratio) and 517 hydrocele cases were identified. The prevalence of lymphedema and hydrocele was 40 per 10,000 in the adult population and 25 per 10,000 in the adult male population, with wide variation across districts. Validation in Approach I showed that 94% of the lymphedema cases and 77% of hydrocele cases were correctly identified by the HEWs, while 60% and 53% were correctly identified in Approach II.Patient estimation is important for planning, prioritization, targeting interventions, and monitoring progress in LF-endemic areas. Trained HEWs can correctly identify most cases using a standardized patient estimate job aid and questionnaire, even when cascade training is used. For the purposes of LF elimination, these results are sufficient and at a low cost per district. Ethiopia’s LF program could integrate patient estimations into MDA activities in the remaining LF-endemic districts with minimal cost and effort.
{"title":"Comparing different lymphatic filariasis patient estimate approaches and results in Ethiopia","authors":"B. Mengistu, F. Kebede, Biruck Kebede Negash, Addisalem Miheret, Biruk Kebede Beyene, Solomon Abetew, Berihu Gebremariam Tedla, Asfaw Kejella Oucha, Shigute Alene, Sharone Backers, Clara Burgert, Emily Toubali, Molly Brady, Scott McPherson","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2023.1286274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2023.1286274","url":null,"abstract":"The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries ensure morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP) services are available to all lymphedema and hydrocele patients in lymphatic filariasis (LF)-endemic areas. The first step in ensuring the availability of MMDP services is to understand the number and distribution of people with lymphedema and hydrocele. We examined the burden of lymphoedema and hydrocoele using different patient estimation approaches employed in endemic districts of the Beneshangul-Gumuz and Tigray regions of Ethiopia.In Approach I, trained health extension workers (HEWs) conducted the patient estimates during a door-to-door pre-mass drug administration (MDA) census. Validation of a sample of the data collected was integrated with a post-MDA coverage survey. In Approach II, trained HEWs conducted a stand-alone patient estimation, and clinical officers validated all suspected patients. In 15 districts, 753,557 individuals were surveyed. A total of 1,645 lymphedema (1:1.6 male-to-female ratio) and 517 hydrocele cases were identified. The prevalence of lymphedema and hydrocele was 40 per 10,000 in the adult population and 25 per 10,000 in the adult male population, with wide variation across districts. Validation in Approach I showed that 94% of the lymphedema cases and 77% of hydrocele cases were correctly identified by the HEWs, while 60% and 53% were correctly identified in Approach II.Patient estimation is important for planning, prioritization, targeting interventions, and monitoring progress in LF-endemic areas. Trained HEWs can correctly identify most cases using a standardized patient estimate job aid and questionnaire, even when cascade training is used. For the purposes of LF elimination, these results are sufficient and at a low cost per district. Ethiopia’s LF program could integrate patient estimations into MDA activities in the remaining LF-endemic districts with minimal cost and effort.","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139802952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-05DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2023.1286274
B. Mengistu, F. Kebede, Biruck Kebede Negash, Addisalem Miheret, Biruk Kebede Beyene, Solomon Abetew, Berihu Gebremariam Tedla, Asfaw Kejella Oucha, Shigute Alene, Sharone Backers, Clara Burgert, Emily Toubali, Molly Brady, Scott McPherson
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries ensure morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP) services are available to all lymphedema and hydrocele patients in lymphatic filariasis (LF)-endemic areas. The first step in ensuring the availability of MMDP services is to understand the number and distribution of people with lymphedema and hydrocele. We examined the burden of lymphoedema and hydrocoele using different patient estimation approaches employed in endemic districts of the Beneshangul-Gumuz and Tigray regions of Ethiopia.In Approach I, trained health extension workers (HEWs) conducted the patient estimates during a door-to-door pre-mass drug administration (MDA) census. Validation of a sample of the data collected was integrated with a post-MDA coverage survey. In Approach II, trained HEWs conducted a stand-alone patient estimation, and clinical officers validated all suspected patients. In 15 districts, 753,557 individuals were surveyed. A total of 1,645 lymphedema (1:1.6 male-to-female ratio) and 517 hydrocele cases were identified. The prevalence of lymphedema and hydrocele was 40 per 10,000 in the adult population and 25 per 10,000 in the adult male population, with wide variation across districts. Validation in Approach I showed that 94% of the lymphedema cases and 77% of hydrocele cases were correctly identified by the HEWs, while 60% and 53% were correctly identified in Approach II.Patient estimation is important for planning, prioritization, targeting interventions, and monitoring progress in LF-endemic areas. Trained HEWs can correctly identify most cases using a standardized patient estimate job aid and questionnaire, even when cascade training is used. For the purposes of LF elimination, these results are sufficient and at a low cost per district. Ethiopia’s LF program could integrate patient estimations into MDA activities in the remaining LF-endemic districts with minimal cost and effort.
{"title":"Comparing different lymphatic filariasis patient estimate approaches and results in Ethiopia","authors":"B. Mengistu, F. Kebede, Biruck Kebede Negash, Addisalem Miheret, Biruk Kebede Beyene, Solomon Abetew, Berihu Gebremariam Tedla, Asfaw Kejella Oucha, Shigute Alene, Sharone Backers, Clara Burgert, Emily Toubali, Molly Brady, Scott McPherson","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2023.1286274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2023.1286274","url":null,"abstract":"The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries ensure morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP) services are available to all lymphedema and hydrocele patients in lymphatic filariasis (LF)-endemic areas. The first step in ensuring the availability of MMDP services is to understand the number and distribution of people with lymphedema and hydrocele. We examined the burden of lymphoedema and hydrocoele using different patient estimation approaches employed in endemic districts of the Beneshangul-Gumuz and Tigray regions of Ethiopia.In Approach I, trained health extension workers (HEWs) conducted the patient estimates during a door-to-door pre-mass drug administration (MDA) census. Validation of a sample of the data collected was integrated with a post-MDA coverage survey. In Approach II, trained HEWs conducted a stand-alone patient estimation, and clinical officers validated all suspected patients. In 15 districts, 753,557 individuals were surveyed. A total of 1,645 lymphedema (1:1.6 male-to-female ratio) and 517 hydrocele cases were identified. The prevalence of lymphedema and hydrocele was 40 per 10,000 in the adult population and 25 per 10,000 in the adult male population, with wide variation across districts. Validation in Approach I showed that 94% of the lymphedema cases and 77% of hydrocele cases were correctly identified by the HEWs, while 60% and 53% were correctly identified in Approach II.Patient estimation is important for planning, prioritization, targeting interventions, and monitoring progress in LF-endemic areas. Trained HEWs can correctly identify most cases using a standardized patient estimate job aid and questionnaire, even when cascade training is used. For the purposes of LF elimination, these results are sufficient and at a low cost per district. Ethiopia’s LF program could integrate patient estimations into MDA activities in the remaining LF-endemic districts with minimal cost and effort.","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"137 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139862647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-31DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2023.1334705
Margaret M Harnett, James Doonan, Anuradha Tarafdar, Miguel A Pineda, Josephine Duncombe-Moore, Geraldine Buitrago, Piaopiao Pan, Paul A Hoskisson, Colin Selman, William Harnett
The parasitic worm-derived immunomodulator, ES-62 rescues defective levels of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells (Bregs) and suppresses chronic Th1/Th17-driven inflammation to protect against joint destruction in the mouse collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model of rheumatoid arthritis. Such autoimmune arthritis is also associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota and disruption of intestinal barrier integrity. We recently further exploited the CIA model to show that ES-62's prevention of joint destruction is associated with protection of intestinal barrier integrity and normalization of the gut microbiota, thereby suppressing the gut pathology that precedes the onset of autoimmunity and joint damage in CIA-mice. As the status of the gut microbiota impacts on immune responses by influencing haematopoiesis, we have therefore investigated whether ES-62 harnesses the homeostatic mechanisms regulating this gut-bone marrow (BM) axis to resolve the chronic inflammation promoting autoimmunity and joint destruction in CIA. Reflecting this, ES-62 was found to counteract the BM myeloid/lymphoid bias typically associated with chronic inflammation and infection. This was achieved primarily by ES-62 acting to maintain the levels of lymphoid lineages (B220+ and CD3+ cells) observed in naïve, healthy mice but lost from the BM of CIA-mice. Moreover, ES-62's ability to prevent bone-destroying osteoclastogenesis was found to be associated with its suppression of CIA-induced upregulation of osteoclast progenitors (OCPs) in the BM. Critically, and supporting ES-62's targeting of the gut-BM axis, this rewiring of inflammatory haematopoiesis was lost in mice with a depleted microbiome. Underlining the importance of ES-62's actions in restoring steady-state haematopoiesis, the BM levels of B and T lymphoid cells were shown to be inversely correlated, whilst the levels of OCPs positively correlated, with the severity of joint damage in CIA-mice.
寄生蠕虫衍生的免疫调节剂 ES-62 能挽救产生 IL-10 的调节性 B 细胞（Bregs）的缺陷水平，并抑制 Th1/Th17 驱动的慢性炎症，从而保护类风湿性关节炎的小鼠胶原诱导关节炎（CIA）模型免受关节破坏。这种自身免疫性关节炎还与肠道微生物群失调和肠道屏障完整性破坏有关。我们最近进一步利用 CIA 模型表明，ES-62 预防关节破坏与保护肠道屏障完整性和肠道微生物群正常化有关，从而抑制了 CIA 小鼠自身免疫和关节损伤发生前的肠道病变。由于肠道微生物群的状态会影响造血功能，从而影响免疫反应，因此我们研究了 ES-62 是否能利用调节肠道-骨髓（BM）轴的平衡机制来解决促进 CIA 自身免疫和关节破坏的慢性炎症。研究发现，ES-62 能够抵消骨髓中与慢性炎症和感染相关的骨髓/淋巴细胞偏向。这主要是通过 ES-62 的作用来实现的，ES-62 能够维持在健康小鼠中观察到的淋巴细胞系（B220+ 和 CD3+ 细胞）的水平，但这些淋巴细胞系在 CIA 小鼠的 BM 中却消失了。此外，研究还发现 ES-62 预防破坏骨的破骨细胞生成的能力与其抑制 CIA 诱导的破骨细胞祖细胞（OCPs）在 BM 中的上调有关。重要的是，ES-62以肠道-BM轴为靶点，这种炎症性造血的重构在微生物群被破坏的小鼠中消失了，这也支持了ES-62的靶向作用。ES-62在恢复稳态造血方面的作用强调了其重要性，研究表明，B淋巴细胞和T淋巴细胞的生化水平与CIA小鼠关节损伤的严重程度成反比，而OCPs的水平则成正比。
{"title":"The parasitic worm product ES-62 protects against collagen-induced arthritis by resetting the gut-bone marrow axis in a microbiome-dependent manner.","authors":"Margaret M Harnett, James Doonan, Anuradha Tarafdar, Miguel A Pineda, Josephine Duncombe-Moore, Geraldine Buitrago, Piaopiao Pan, Paul A Hoskisson, Colin Selman, William Harnett","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2023.1334705","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fitd.2023.1334705","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The parasitic worm-derived immunomodulator, ES-62 rescues defective levels of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells (Bregs) and suppresses chronic Th1/Th17-driven inflammation to protect against joint destruction in the mouse collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model of rheumatoid arthritis. Such autoimmune arthritis is also associated with dysbiosis of the gut microbiota and disruption of intestinal barrier integrity. We recently further exploited the CIA model to show that ES-62's prevention of joint destruction is associated with protection of intestinal barrier integrity and normalization of the gut microbiota, thereby suppressing the gut pathology that precedes the onset of autoimmunity and joint damage in CIA-mice. As the status of the gut microbiota impacts on immune responses by influencing haematopoiesis, we have therefore investigated whether ES-62 harnesses the homeostatic mechanisms regulating this gut-bone marrow (BM) axis to resolve the chronic inflammation promoting autoimmunity and joint destruction in CIA. Reflecting this, ES-62 was found to counteract the BM myeloid/lymphoid bias typically associated with chronic inflammation and infection. This was achieved primarily by ES-62 acting to maintain the levels of lymphoid lineages (B220<sup>+</sup> and CD3<sup>+</sup> cells) observed in naïve, healthy mice but lost from the BM of CIA-mice. Moreover, ES-62's ability to prevent bone-destroying osteoclastogenesis was found to be associated with its suppression of CIA-induced upregulation of osteoclast progenitors (OCPs) in the BM. Critically, and supporting ES-62's targeting of the gut-BM axis, this rewiring of inflammatory haematopoiesis was lost in mice with a depleted microbiome. Underlining the importance of ES-62's actions in restoring steady-state haematopoiesis, the BM levels of B and T lymphoid cells were shown to be inversely correlated, whilst the levels of OCPs positively correlated, with the severity of joint damage in CIA-mice.</p>","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"4 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7615750/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140159705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-29DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2024.1329639
Md. Ilias Kamal Risat, Gail Davey, Peter Mugume, Shahaduz Zaman
Globally, a total of almost 4 million people live with podoconiosis in 32 potentially endemic countries including Rwanda. Podoconiosis is a non-infectious geochemical disease that causes massive swelling of the lower leg and is caused by long-term exposure to red clay soil found in tropical highland areas. The disease is a disabling neglected tropical disease (NTD) and is associated with profound stigma, discrimination and comorbid mental health conditions. Treatment interventions are commonly known as morbidity management and disability prevention. Both biomedical and traditional treatments are used by affected people. However, understandings informed by the social sciences of care in the context of NTDs are largely unexplored. This study explored the perspectives and experiences of care among care receivers (podoconiosis patients) and caregivers (family members, traditional healers) in the district of Huye, Rwanda.The study used qualitative methods including seventeen InDepth Interviews (eleven patients, two traditional healers, two care professionals, and two family members) and participant observation in a health centre and patients’ houses.A caring network was found amongst the podoconiosis patients, their family members, care professionals and traditional healers. Caring network is not only about the medical treatments, but also about the caring relationship amongst them.Using notions of ‘Network’ and ‘Collectives’, from the care ethics literature the study shows that in addition to care work requiring professional know-how, it is also about the relationships between patients, their families, traditional healers, and biomedical care professionals.
{"title":"Understanding the caring network of podoconiosis patients in Rwanda: a qualitative study","authors":"Md. Ilias Kamal Risat, Gail Davey, Peter Mugume, Shahaduz Zaman","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2024.1329639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2024.1329639","url":null,"abstract":"Globally, a total of almost 4 million people live with podoconiosis in 32 potentially endemic countries including Rwanda. Podoconiosis is a non-infectious geochemical disease that causes massive swelling of the lower leg and is caused by long-term exposure to red clay soil found in tropical highland areas. The disease is a disabling neglected tropical disease (NTD) and is associated with profound stigma, discrimination and comorbid mental health conditions. Treatment interventions are commonly known as morbidity management and disability prevention. Both biomedical and traditional treatments are used by affected people. However, understandings informed by the social sciences of care in the context of NTDs are largely unexplored. This study explored the perspectives and experiences of care among care receivers (podoconiosis patients) and caregivers (family members, traditional healers) in the district of Huye, Rwanda.The study used qualitative methods including seventeen InDepth Interviews (eleven patients, two traditional healers, two care professionals, and two family members) and participant observation in a health centre and patients’ houses.A caring network was found amongst the podoconiosis patients, their family members, care professionals and traditional healers. Caring network is not only about the medical treatments, but also about the caring relationship amongst them.Using notions of ‘Network’ and ‘Collectives’, from the care ethics literature the study shows that in addition to care work requiring professional know-how, it is also about the relationships between patients, their families, traditional healers, and biomedical care professionals.","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"44 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140489062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-29DOI: 10.3389/fitd.2024.1287025
Leon E. Hugo, Karla van Huyssteen, Olamide K. Oloniniyi, Laura Donnelly, Anna Conn, Katharine A. Collins, H. Mitchell, James S. McCarthy, Joanne Macdonald
Vector surveillance of Plasmodium falciparum is critical for monitoring and reducing one of the most severe forms of malaria, which causes high morbidity and mortality in children under five and pregnant women. Here we developed a rapid and highly sensitive test for the detection of P. falciparum (Pf)-infected mosquitoes (Rapid Pf test), with high suitability for low-resource vector surveillance implementation. The Rapid Pf test had similar analytical sensitivity to laboratory-based tests, detecting down to 4 copies/μL of a 18S rRNA DNA standard. In addition, the Rapid Pf test could be completed in less than 30 minutes, and only required a liquid sample preparation reagent, pestle, tube, and 39°C heating block for operation, indicating amenability for low-resource implementation. Diagnostic testing was performed using Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, either uninfected, or fed with P. falciparum gametocyte cultures. These P. falciparum fed mosquitoes were determined to have 79% infection prevalence based on parallel microscopy and qPCR testing on a subset of 19 mosquitoes. However, our Rapid Pf test determined a 90% positive test rate when testing individual infected mosquitoes (n=30), and did not detect 40 uninfected mosquitoes regardless of blood-fed status (n=40), suggesting the true prevalence of infection in the mosquitoes may have been higher than calculated by qPCR and microscopy. The Rapid Pf test was demonstrated to detect infection in individual mosquitoes (both fresh and frozen/thawed), as well as pools of 1 infected mosquito mixed with 19 known uninfected mosquitoes, and individual mosquitoes left in traps for up to 8 days. After testing on infected and uninfected mosquitoes (n=148) the Rapid Pf test was conservatively estimated to achieve 100% diagnostic sensitivity (95% confidence interval, CI: 91%-100%) and 97% diagnostic specificity (CI: 92%-99%) compared to the estimated prevalence from combined microscopy and qPCR results. These results indicate the Rapid Pf test could provide a highly effective tool for weekly surveillance of infected mosquitoes, to assist with P. falciparum monitoring and intervention studies.
{"title":"Rapid low-resource detection of Plasmodium falciparum in infected Anopheles mosquitoes","authors":"Leon E. Hugo, Karla van Huyssteen, Olamide K. Oloniniyi, Laura Donnelly, Anna Conn, Katharine A. Collins, H. Mitchell, James S. McCarthy, Joanne Macdonald","doi":"10.3389/fitd.2024.1287025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2024.1287025","url":null,"abstract":"Vector surveillance of Plasmodium falciparum is critical for monitoring and reducing one of the most severe forms of malaria, which causes high morbidity and mortality in children under five and pregnant women. Here we developed a rapid and highly sensitive test for the detection of P. falciparum (Pf)-infected mosquitoes (Rapid Pf test), with high suitability for low-resource vector surveillance implementation. The Rapid Pf test had similar analytical sensitivity to laboratory-based tests, detecting down to 4 copies/μL of a 18S rRNA DNA standard. In addition, the Rapid Pf test could be completed in less than 30 minutes, and only required a liquid sample preparation reagent, pestle, tube, and 39°C heating block for operation, indicating amenability for low-resource implementation. Diagnostic testing was performed using Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, either uninfected, or fed with P. falciparum gametocyte cultures. These P. falciparum fed mosquitoes were determined to have 79% infection prevalence based on parallel microscopy and qPCR testing on a subset of 19 mosquitoes. However, our Rapid Pf test determined a 90% positive test rate when testing individual infected mosquitoes (n=30), and did not detect 40 uninfected mosquitoes regardless of blood-fed status (n=40), suggesting the true prevalence of infection in the mosquitoes may have been higher than calculated by qPCR and microscopy. The Rapid Pf test was demonstrated to detect infection in individual mosquitoes (both fresh and frozen/thawed), as well as pools of 1 infected mosquito mixed with 19 known uninfected mosquitoes, and individual mosquitoes left in traps for up to 8 days. After testing on infected and uninfected mosquitoes (n=148) the Rapid Pf test was conservatively estimated to achieve 100% diagnostic sensitivity (95% confidence interval, CI: 91%-100%) and 97% diagnostic specificity (CI: 92%-99%) compared to the estimated prevalence from combined microscopy and qPCR results. These results indicate the Rapid Pf test could provide a highly effective tool for weekly surveillance of infected mosquitoes, to assist with P. falciparum monitoring and intervention studies.","PeriodicalId":73112,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in tropical diseases","volume":"227 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140489900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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