scholarly journals Species identification and phylogenetic analysis of Leishmania isolated from patients, vectors and hares in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, The People’s Republic of China

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0010055
Author(s):  
Yun-Fu Chen ◽  
Li-Fu Liao ◽  
Na Wu ◽  
Jiang-Mei Gao ◽  
Peng Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
World Health ◽  
Sand Fly ◽  
Animal Reservoir ◽  
Autonomous Region ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Potential Reservoir ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Xinjiang Autonomous Region ◽  
Sand Fly Vectors

Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has been declared as one of the six major tropical diseases by the World Health Organization. This disease has been successfully controlled in China, except for some areas in the western region, such as the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, where both anthroponotic VL (AVL) and desert type zoonotic VL (DT-ZVL) remain endemic with sporadic epidemics. Methodology/Principal findings Here, an eleven-year survey (2004–2014) of Leishmania species, encompassing both VL types isolated from patients, sand-fly vectors and Tarim hares (Lepus yarkandensis) from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region was conducted, with a special emphasis on the hares as a potential reservoir animal for DT-ZVL. Key diagnostic genes, ITS1, hsp70 and nagt (encoding N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase) were used for phylogenetic analyses, placing all Xinjiang isolates into one clade of the L. donovani complex. Unexpectedly, AVL isolates were found to be closely related to L. infantum, while DT-ZVL isolates were closer to L. donovani. Unrooted parsimony networks of haplotypes for these isolates also revealed their relationship. Conclusions/Significance The above analyses of the DT-ZVL isolates suggested their geographic isolation and independent evolution. The sequence identity of isolates from patients, vectors and the Tarim hares in a single DT-ZVL site provides strong evidence in support of this species as an animal reservoir.

scholarly journals Mental health in Hong Kong: transition from hospital-based service to personalised care

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric F. C. Cheung ◽  
Linda C. W. Lam ◽  
Se-fong Hung
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Central Intelligence Agency ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
World Health ◽  
Intelligence Agency ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Ethnic Chinese ◽  
Health Organization

Hong Kong was a UK colony before 1997 but has since been a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. It is located in southern China and has an area of 1104 km2. Approximately 95% of Hong Kong's population is ethnic Chinese. Hong Kong is a developed capitalist economy, with a gross domestic product of US$301.6 billion (2009 estimate), of which about 5.5% is spent on healthcare and about 0.24% on mental health (World Health Organization, 2005). Despite the relatively low level of spending on healthcare, Hong Kong nevertheless has one of the longest life expectancies in the world (79.2 years for men; 84.8 years for women) and a very low infant mortality rate (2.93 per 1000 live births) (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010).

scholarly journals Epidemiological Study of leishmaniasis in Iran and the Middle East in the Last Two Decades

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-100
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hossien Feiz Haddad ◽  
◽  
Abdolaziz Gharaei ◽  
Abdolaziz Gharaei ◽  
Mehry Sharify Nia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Cutaneous Leishmaniasis ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
World Health ◽  
Sand Fly ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Middle East Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Leishmaniasis is one of the most forgotten diseases in the world affecting the poor people in large numbers. At present, 350 million people are at risk and 2 million new cases are reported annually, of which 1.5 million of them are cutaneous leishmaniasis and the rest are related to visceral leishmaniasis. The World Health Organization and Tropical Diseases Research (TDR) division ranks leishmaniasis in the first group of emerging and uncontrolled disease. Leishmaniasis appears in three form; Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL), muco-Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (MCL) and Viceral Leishmaniasis (VL). More than 90% of cutaneous leishmaniasis are in Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Peru. Viceral leishmaniasis in terms of geographical conditions divided into five different types; Indian Leishmaniasis, is human disease reservoir type and sand fly of Phlebotomus argenti is vector. African leishmaniasis or Sudanese leishmaniasis is second and common in Sudan and Kenya. Gerbils, otters, dogs and cats are reservoirs and the vector is Phlebotomus orientalis. Russian type is the third form and prevalent in Turkmenistan and the Caucasus (Soviet Union). Dogs and foxes are the main reservoirs and Phlebotomus archablensis is vector of the disease. The American type is the fourth form and infects American countries and dogs and jackals carry the disease and Phlebotomus intermedius are vectors of the disease. The fifth is Mediterranean Leishmaniasis also called Middle Eastern type which is common in the Middle East countries among people under the age of 10 and in Iran observe in the provinces of Khuzestan, Fars, Isfahan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Ardabil and Khorasan.

scholarly journals Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes from across Africa reveals potentially clinically relevant mutations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Modeline N. Longjohn ◽  
Olivia S. Egbule ◽  
Samuel O. Danso ◽  
Eugene E. Akujuru ◽  
Victor T. Ibubeleye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Severe Disease ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Etiologic Agent ◽  
World Health ◽  
Sequence Alignments ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus, the etiologic agent of the novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020 after the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. Across the continents and specifically in Africa, all index cases were travel-related. Understanding how the virus’s transportation across continents and different climatic conditions affect the genetic composition and the consequent effects on transmissibility, infectivity, and virulence of the virus is critical. Thus, it is crucial to compare COVID-19 genome sequences from the African continent with sequences from selected COVID-19 hotspots/countries in Asia, Europe, North and South America and Oceania.To identify possible distinguishing mutations in the African SARS-CoV-2 genomes compared to those from these selected countries, we conducted in silico analyses and comparisons. Complete African SARS-CoV-2 genomes deposited in GISAID and NCBI databases as of June 2020 were downloaded and aligned with genomes from Wuhan, China and other SARS-CoV-2 hotspots. Using phylogenetic analysis and amino acid sequence alignments of the spike and replicase (NSP12) proteins, we searched for possible vaccine coverage targets or potential therapeutic agents. Identity plots for the alignments were created with BioEdit software and the phylogenetic analyses with the MEGA X software.Our results showed mutations in the spike and replicate proteins of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. Phylogenetic tree analyses demonstrated variability across the various regions/countries in Africa as there were different clades in the viral proteins. However, a substantial proportion of these mutations (90%) were similar to those described in all the other settings, including the Wuhan strain. There were, however, novel mutations in the genomes of the circulating strains of the virus in African. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting these findings from Africa. However, these findings’ implications on symptomatic or asymptomatic manifestations, progression to severe disease and case fatality for those affected, and the cross efficacy of vaccines developed from other settings when applied in Africa are unknown.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merion Evans ◽  
Diana J. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Rapid Identification ◽  
World Health ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Animal Reservoir ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Horseshoe Bat ◽  
Health Organization

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has been described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the first serious and readily transmissible disease to emerge in the 21st century (WHO 2003a). The epidemic first appeared in southern China in late 2002 and was finally contained in July 2003 after spreading to 29 countries worldwide and infecting over 8,000 people with 774 reported deaths. The last known cases occurred in April 2004 after a laboratory acquired infection in China. The global response to the SARS epidemic, co-ordinated by WHO, led to the rapid identification of the causal agent, the development of diagnostic tests for the virus, the initiation of treatment protocols, estimation of key epidemiological factors affecting spread and the implementation of a range of public health interventions (WHO 2003a; Anderson et al. 2005).The cause of SARS has been conclusively identified as a previously unknown coronavirus (Peiris et al. 2003a; Ksiazek et al. 2003; Drosten et al. 2003). Early reports suggested a wild animal reservoir for the virus and attention focused on the wildlife trade in southern China (Xu et al. 2004). Numerous animal reservoirs of the SARS coronavirus have since been identified (Shi and Hu 2007). Masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) have been most consistently identified as the intermediate host responsible for passing the virus to humans (Guan et al. 2003; Song et al. 2005; Wang et al. 2005), while the definitive hosts may be the horseshoe bat species (genus Rhinolophus) (Wang et al. 2006 ).

scholarly journals Medical and social rehabilitation for new coronavirus infection (covid-19). temporal methodological recommendations of the Russian Federation and European countries (literature review)

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-52
Author(s):  
Elena Y. Lapina ◽  
Anatoly A. Yakushev
Keyword(s):  
Causative Agent ◽  
International Committee ◽  
World Health ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Health Organization

At the end of 2019, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) faced an outbreak of a new coronavirus infection, the causative agent of which was given the name 2019-nCoV. Subsequently, the World Health Organization (WHO) on February 11, 2020 gave the official name of the infection COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019). The International Committee for Taxonomy of Viruses has named the causative agent SARS-CoV-2. The virus quickly spread throughout the world and acquired the status of an epidemic. It was necessary to develop algorithms for rapid diagnosis, provision of specialized medical care, as well as rehabilitation and prevention of recurrence. At the moment, all data is accumulated in real time. And the information on rehabilitation and prevention of re-infection is completely minimal.

scholarly journals Free-ranging pigs identified as a multi-reservoir of Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma congolense in the Vavoua area, a historical sleeping sickness focus of Côte d’Ivoire

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0010036
Author(s):  
Barkissa Mélika Traoré ◽  
Mathurin Koffi ◽  
Martial Kassi N’Djetchi ◽  
Dramane Kaba ◽  
Jacques Kaboré ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trypanosoma Brucei ◽  
Direct Detection ◽  
Buffy Coat ◽  
World Health ◽  
Animal Reservoir ◽  
Animal Blood ◽  
Different Strains ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Free Ranging

Background The existence of an animal reservoir of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (T. b. gambiense), the agent of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), may compromise the interruption of transmission targeted by World Health Organization. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of trypanosomes in pigs and people in the Vavoua HAT historical focus where cases were still diagnosed in the early 2010’s. Methods For the human survey, we used the CATT, mini-anion exchange centrifugation technique and immune trypanolysis tests. For the animal survey, the buffy coat technique was also used as well as the PCR using Trypanosoma species specific, including the T. b. gambiense TgsGP detection using single round and nested PCRs, performed from animal blood samples and from strains isolated from subjects positive for parasitological investigations. Results No HAT cases were detected among 345 people tested. A total of 167 pigs were investigated. Free-ranging pigs appeared significantly more infected than pigs in pen. Over 70% of free-ranging pigs were positive for CATT and parasitological investigations and 27–43% were positive to trypanolysis depending on the antigen used. T. brucei was the most prevalent species (57%) followed by T. congolense (24%). Blood sample extracted DNA of T. brucei positive subjects were negative to single round TgsGP PCR. However, 1/22 and 6/22 isolated strains were positive with single round and nested TgsGP PCRs, respectively. Discussion Free-ranging pigs were identified as a multi-reservoir of T. brucei and/or T. congolense with mixed infections of different strains. This trypanosome diversity hinders the easy and direct detection of T. b. gambiense. We highlight the lack of tools to prove or exclude with certainty the presence of T. b. gambiense. This study once more highlights the need of technical improvements to explore the role of animals in the epidemiology of HAT.

scholarly journals Clones and Clusters of Antimicrobial-Resistant Klebsiella from Southwestern Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayorinde O. Afolayan ◽  
Anderson O. Oaikhena ◽  
Aaron O. Aboderin ◽  
Olatunde F. Olabisi ◽  
Adewale A. Amupitan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
World Health ◽  
Infection Prevention And Control ◽  
Southwestern Nigeria ◽  
Single Locus Variant ◽  
Tertiary Hospitals ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
And Control

Introduction: Klebsiellapneumoniae is a World Health Organization high-priority antibiotic-resistant pathogen. However, little is known about the population structure and evolution of Klebsiella circulating in Nigeria. Methods: We performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 141 Klebsiella isolated between 2016 and 2018 from clinical specimens at 3 antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) sentinel surveillance tertiary hospitals in southwestern Nigeria. We conducted insilico multilocus sequence typing, AMR gene, virulence gene, plasmid, and K and O loci profiling, as well as phylogenetic analyses, using publicly available tools and Nextflow pipelines. Results: Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the majority of the 134 K. pneumoniae and 5 K. quasipneumoniae isolates from Nigeria characterized are closely related to globally disseminated multidrug-resistant clones. Of the 39 K. pneumoniae sequence types (STs) identified, the most common were ST307 (15%), ST5241 (12%), ST15 (≈9%), and ST25 (≈6%). ST5241, one of 10 novel STs detected, is a single locus variant of ST636 carrying dfrA14, tetD, qnrS, and oqxAB resistance genes. The extended-spectrum β lactamase (ESBL) gene blaCTX_M-15 was seen in 72 % of K. pneumoniae genomes, while 8% encoded a carbapenemase. Four likely outbreak clusters from one facility, within STs 17, 25, 307, and 5241, were ESBL but not carbapenemase-bearing clones. Conclusion: This study uncovered known and novel K. pneumoniae lineages circulating in Nigeria that include multidrug-resistant ESBL producers. Carbapenemase-producing isolates remain uncommon. WGS retrospectively identified outbreak clusters, pointing to the value of genomic approaches in AMR surveillance for improving infection prevention and control in Nigerian hospitals.

scholarly journals An Overview of SARS‐CoV‐2 and Animal Infection

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Mahdy
Keyword(s):  
Animal Species ◽  
Short Review ◽  
World Health ◽  
Zoonotic Infection ◽  
Wholesale Market ◽  
Wuhan City ◽  
Animal Reservoir ◽  
Animal Infection ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Health Organization

A novel coronavirus has been reported as the causative pathogen of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak Wuhan city, China in December 2019. Due to the rapid spreading of COVID-19 worldwide, it has been announced as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Hospitalized patients in Wuhan are associated with the Huanan seafood wholesale market where live animals, such as poultry, bats, snakes, frogs, rabbits, marmots, and hedgehogs are sold in that market which suggests a possible zoonotic infection. Therefore, it is essential to identify the potential animal reservoir, and the possibility of infection for other animal species. This short review aims to provide an overview on the relation between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection and animals.

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