The impact of COVID-19 on hunters in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos: a qualitative analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated efforts to engage critically with forest-adjacent, rural, communities who rely on wildlife. In this study, we interviewed 109 hunters of wildlife across Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos regarding the effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on them individually, as well as more generally within their communities. We found that negative economic impacts such as loss of employment and constrained finances due to rising prices was an especially prevalent theme due to city-wide lockdowns, factory closures, and border closures. In Vietnam, hunting was stated to have increased as young men were forced to return to their villages to work; however, trade in wildlife was believed to have decreased due to the inability of middlemen traders to easily leave urban spaces or cross-country lines. This theme of barriers to trade was found in Cambodia and Laos as well. Our results show the importance of establishing sustainable, non-wildlife-dependent livelihoods within rural communities, to mitigate hunting and mitigate the potential for emerging infectious disease transmission. Overall, our results show the value in engaging with hunters to understand locally and spatially-specific trends, and provide direction for future avenues of research.

Optimal and worst examination strategies for COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging threat to the whole world, and every government is seeking an optimal solution. However, none of them have succeeded, and they have only provided series of natural experiments. Although simulation studies seem to be helpful, there is no model that addresses the how much testing to be conducted to minimise the emerging infectious disease outbreaks. In this study, we develop a testing susceptible, infectious, exposed, recovered, and dead (testing-SEIRD) model using two discrete populations inside and outside hospitals. The populations that tested positive were isolated. Through the simulations, we examined the infectious spread represented by the number of cumulative deaths, hospitalisations, and positive tests, depending on examination strategies, testing characteristics, and hospitalisation capacity. We found all-or-none responses of either expansion or extinction of the infectious spreads, depending on the rates of follow-up and mass testing, which represent testing the people identified as close contacts with infected patients using follow-up surveys and people with symptoms, respectively. We also demonstrated that there were optimal and worst examination strategies, which were determined by the total resources and testing costs. The testing-SEIRD model is useful in making decisions on examination strategies for the emerging infectious disease outbreaks.

Human factors in emerging infectious diseases

When the underlying causes and mechanisms of emerging infectious disease problems are studied carefully, human behaviour is often involved. Even more often, the only methods of control or prevention available are to change human behaviour. Several major recent emerging disease problems can be cited. It is sometimes emphasized that it is human carelessness, human excesses, human ignorance or human habits of conquest or leisure which contribute directly to the biological niches that microorganisms are all too capable of exploiting. We must look at ourselves as the engines of microbial opportunism. It is not likely that we will ever conquer the microbial world;we must look instead to control the human factors that contribute to emergence.

Factors affecting healthcare workers’ compliance with social and behavioural infection control measures during emerging infectious disease outbreaks: rapid evidence review

ObjectiveThe 2019–2020 outbreak of novel coronavirus has raised concerns about nosocomial transmission. This review’s aim was to explore the existing literature on emerging infectious disease outbreaks to identify factors associated with compliance with infection control measures among healthcare staff.MethodsA rapid evidence review for primary studies relevant to healthcare workers’ compliance with infection control measures.ResultsFifty-six papers were reviewed. Staff working in emergency or intensive care settings or with contact with confirmed cases appeared more likely to comply with recommendations. There was some evidence that anxiety and concern about the risk of infection were more associated with compliance, and that monitoring from superiors could improve compliance. Observed non-compliance of colleagues could hinder compliance. Staff identified many barriers to compliance related to personal protective equipment, including availability, perceived difficulty and effectiveness, inconvenience, discomfort and a negative impact on patient care. There were many issues regarding the communication and ease of understanding of infection control guidance.ConclusionWe recommend provision of training and education tailored for different occupational roles within the healthcare setting, managerial staff ‘leading by example’, ensuring adequate resources for infection control and timely provision of practical evidence-based infection control guidelines.

A genetikai adatok szerepe a járványok elleni küzdelemben

Összefoglaló. A COVID–19-járvány alatt bizonyossá vált, hogy az adattudományok, az adatok gyors megosztása és a nemzetközi összefogás a hatékony járványkezelés kulcsfontosságú eszközei. A járvány előtt létrejött Újonnan Felbukkanó fertőző betegségek Obszervatóriuma (Versatile Emerging infectious disease Observatory, VEO) nevű nemzetközi konzorcium célja egy olyan monitorozó rendszer kiépítése, amely a potenciálisan veszélyes kórokozókat még az előtt azonosítja, mielőtt azok tömeges megbetegedéseket okoznának, lehetőséget adva ezzel a gyors reagálásra. A járványok megelőzésére és kezelésére létrejött nemzetközi együttműködésekben, így a VEO-ban is a kórokozók, vagy a fertőzésnek kitett személyek genetikai szekvencia adatai kiemelkedő fontosságúak. Az ilyen típusú adatok kezelésével kapcsolatban az Európai Unióban többek között a Nagojai Jegyzőkönyv és a GDPR fogalmaz meg elveket, szabályokat. Summary. Data science is proved to be a key tool in the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but it requires a huge amount of data shared between international research groups. The Versatile Emerging infectious disease Observatory (VEO) EU collaboration was established to generate and distribute high quality data for an evidence-based early warning system for emerging infectious diseases. Through an iterative process between data scientists, disease experts, social scientists and citizen scientists, a collaborative platform will be created for storing, secure sharing and analyses of traditional and new data sources. Next generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized genomic research. This versatile technology is broadly applicable to pathogens and human hosts. Rapid sharing of pathogen genetic resources, including physical samples of cultured pathogens and additionally genetic sequencing data of pathogens, is crucial in support of research and outbreak response. Access to genetic resources is regulated by the Nagoya protocol which is an internationally binding treaty to ensure equal sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. So far the Nagoya protocol has been applied only to biological samples, but digital data from genetic sequencing doesn’t necessarily fall under the treaty. Effects of diseases can differ based on genetic backgrounds, as certain gene variants may provide protection against or susceptibility to viral diseases. Human genomic data is an important resource for medical research. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) lists identifiable human genetic data as sensitive, which is a subset of personal data. Sharing and analysis of this kind of data are strictly regulated and they are also subject to ethical challenges. These concerns become less pronounced when analyzing environmental samples like sewage. Samples collected from wastewater treatment plants can be used as pooled samples, containing naturally anonymized genetic information of the human population, near the wastewater treatment plant.