Infectious disease and economics: The case for considering multi-sectoral impacts

An overview of the perspectives used in health economic evaluations

The term 'perspective' in the context of economic evaluations and costing studies in healthcare refers to the viewpoint that an analyst has adopted to define the types of costs and outcomes to consider in their studies. However, there are currently notable variations in terms of methodological recommendations, definitions, and applications of different perspectives, depending on the objective or intended user of the study. This can make it a complex area for stakeholders when interpreting these studies. Consequently, there is a need for a comprehensive overview regarding the different types of perspectives employed in such analyses, along with the corresponding implications of their use. This is particularly important, in the context of low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), where practical guidelines may be less well-established and infrastructure for conducting economic evaluations may be more limited. This article addresses this gap by summarising the main types of perspectives commonly found in the literature to a broad audience (namely the patient, payer, health care providers, healthcare sector, health system, and societal perspectives), providing their most established definitions and outlining the corresponding implications of their uses in health economic studies, with examples particularly from LMIC settings. We then discuss important considerations when selecting the perspective and present key arguments to consider when deciding whether the societal perspective should be used. We conclude that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to what perspective should be used and the perspective chosen will be influenced by the context, policymakers'/stakeholders' viewpoints, resource/data availability, and intended use of the analysis. Moving forward, considering the ongoing issues regarding the variation in terminology and practice in this area, we urge that more standardised definitions of the different perspectives and the boundaries between them are further developed to support future studies and guidelines, as well as to improve the interpretation and comparison of health economic evidence.

Characterization and optimization of exopolysaccharide extracted from a newly isolated halotolerant cyanobacterium, Acaryochloris Al-Azhar MNE ON864448.1 with antiviral activity

Several antiviral agents lost their efficacy due to their severe side effects and virus mutations. This study aimed to identify and optimize the conditions for exopolysaccharide (EPS) production from a newly isolated cyanobacterium, Acaryochloris Al-Azhar MNE ON864448.1, besides exploring its antiviral activity. The cyanobacterial EPS was purified through DEAE-52 cellulose column with a final yield of 83.75%. Different analysis instruments were applied for EPS identification, including Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Plackett-Burman's design demonstrated that working volume (X1), EDTA (X2), inoculum size (X3), CaCl2 (X4), and NaCl (X5) are the most important variables influencing EPS production. Central composite design (CCD) exhibited maximum EPS yield (9.27 mg/mL) at a working volume of 300 mL in a 1 L volumetric flask, EDTA 0.002 g/L, inoculum size 7%, CaCl2 0.046 g/L, and NaCl 20 g/L were applied. EPS showed potent antiviral activities at different stages of herpes simplex virus type-1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2), adenovirus (ADV) and coxsackievirus (A16) infections. The highest half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) (6.477 µg/mL) was recorded during HSV-1 internalization mechanism, while the lowest IC50 (0.005669 µg/mL) was recorded during coxsackievirus neutralization mechanism.

Plasmonic Fluorescence Sensors in Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases

The increasing demand for rapid, cost-effective, and reliable diagnostic tools in personalized and point-of-care medicine is driving scientists to enhance existing technology platforms and develop new methods for detecting and measuring clinically significant biomarkers. Humanity is confronted with growing risks from emerging and recurring infectious diseases, including the influenza virus, dengue virus (DENV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Ebola virus, tuberculosis, cholera, and, most notably, SARS coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19), among others. Timely diagnosis of infections and effective disease control have always been of paramount importance. Plasmonic-based biosensing holds the potential to address the threat posed by infectious diseases by enabling prompt disease monitoring. In recent years, numerous plasmonic platforms have risen to the challenge of offering on-site strategies to complement traditional diagnostic methods like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Disease detection can be accomplished through the utilization of diverse plasmonic phenomena, such as propagating surface plasmon resonance (SPR), localized SPR (LSPR), surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF), surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy, and plasmonic fluorescence sensors. This review focuses on diagnostic methods employing plasmonic fluorescence sensors, highlighting their pivotal role in swift disease detection with remarkable sensitivity. It underscores the necessity for continued research to expand the scope and capabilities of plasmonic fluorescence sensors in the field of diagnostics.

The economic burden of diseases in the Nordic countries: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Economic burden studies can provide insights into the drivers leading to increasing healthcare costs. It can also provide a more holistic view of how diseases impact the welfare of patients and their families. Having concrete estimates of the economic burden across multiple diseases can help policymakers determine which diseases are economically more burdensome. This study aimed to review and summarise comprehensively economic burden studies across multiple diseases in the Nordic countries between 2000 and 2020.

METHODS

According to the 2020 PRISMA statement, a systematic literature review was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, Academic Search Premier and Global Health databases using key terms related to the economic burden of any disease in Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Grey literature was also reviewed.

RESULTS

A total of 10,050 potential titles and abstracts were identified and screened, and 254 full-text papers that met the inclusion criteria were evaluated by two independent reviewers. Of these, 119 articles were included in a qualitative synthesis. Twenty-nine had clearly defined comparison groups, thus able to attribute the costs to the disease. Large variations concerning methodology and cost components were noted. Across diseases, the economic burden ranged from EUR 1668 per patient annually for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to EUR 93,041 for multiple sclerosis. However, estimates varied widely, even within each disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Our review highlights the need for more comparable economic burden studies. Future studies should focus on applying robust methodology and homogeneous cost-reporting methods to inform policymakers about which diseases are economically more burdensome.

Role of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) in treating and diagnosing microbial infections

This review article highlights the innovative role of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in addressing global healthcare challenges related to microbial infections. MOFs, comprised of metal nodes and organic ligands, offer unique properties that can be applied in the treatment and diagnosis of these infections. Traditional methods, such as antibiotics and conventional diagnostics, face issues such as antibiotic resistance and diagnostic limitations. MOFs, with their highly porous and customizable structure, can encapsulate and deliver therapeutic or diagnostic molecules precisely. Their large surface area and customizable pore structures allow for sensitive detection and selective recognition of microbial pathogens. They also show potential in delivering therapeutic agents to infection sites, enabling controlled release and possible synergistic effects. However, challenges like optimizing synthesis techniques, enhancing stability, and developing targeted delivery systems remain. Regulatory and safety considerations for clinical translation also need to be addressed. This review not only explores the potential of MOFs in treating and diagnosing microbial infections but also emphasizes their unique approach and discusses existing challenges and future directions.

COVID-19 induced shocks and its implications for human capital development

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 has delivered an enormous shock to the global economy, triggering the deepest recession in eight decades, almost three times as deep as the 2009 global recession. Of all the nations in Africa, Nigeria remains one of the nations with a huge and significant impact on the human capital.

METHODS

Hence, here we employed the recent nationally representative data from Nigeria - the COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey 2020-World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study Integrated Agriculture Survey (LSMS-ISA), a harmonized dataset to explore how the COVID-19 induced shocks affected households' human capital development (using health and education outcomes).

RESULTS

The results indicate that the COVID-19 induced shocks impact on both health and education in Nigeria. Interestingly, access to social safety nets had a positive association with the health and education outcomes. The study concludes that households' access to social safety nets, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic aids in the development of the nation's human capital. Therefore, effectively enhancing household's resilience and strengthening human capital development require positive and considerable innovation, maybe over a period of years. Hence, just an access to the national social safety nets programs or social programs may not be as effective as expected. Therefore, it may not be as successful as intended to just have access to national social safety net programs or social programs that contribute or transfer negligible amounts to the vulnerable recipients over short time frames.

Mannose-specific plant and microbial lectins as antiviral agents: A review

Lectins are non-immunological carbohydrate-binding proteins classified on the basis of their structure, origin, and sugar specificity. The binding specificity of such proteins with the surface glycan moiety determines their activity and clinical applications. Thus, lectins hold great potential as diagnostic and drug discovery agents and as novel biopharmaceutical products. In recent years, significant advancements have been made in understanding plant and microbial lectins as therapeutic agents against various viral diseases. Among them, mannose-specific lectins have being proven as promising antiviral agents against a variety of viruses, such as HIV, Influenza, Herpes, Ebola, Hepatitis, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-1 (SARS-CoV-1), Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and most recent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The binding of mannose-binding lectins (MBLs) from plants and microbes to high-mannose containing N-glycans (which may be simple or complex) of glycoproteins found on the surface of viruses has been found to be highly specific and mainly responsible for their antiviral activity. MBLs target various steps in the viral life cycle, including viral attachment, entry and replication. The present review discusses the brief classification and structure of lectins along with antiviral activity of various mannose-specific lectins from plants and microbial sources and their diagnostic and therapeutic applications against viral diseases.

The Reasons Behind Long-Term Endemicity of Brucellosis in Low and Middle-Income Countries: Challenges and Future Perspectives

Brucellosis is a neglected worldwide zoonotic disease with more than 500,000 new human cases each year. Direct contact with infected animals and consumption of undercooked animal origin foods are the main routes of brucellosis transmission to humans. Although long endeavor has been applied to control and eliminate brucellosis from animal and human populations in developing countries especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the disease is still endemic in these regions. Many common or unique factors including raw milk consumption, unhygienic slaughter of livestock, extensive husbandry, budgetary limitations, misdiagnosis, and other conditions play a role in long-term endemicity of brucellosis in these locations. It has been shown that One Health is the only practical approach to control brucellosis; however, applying such methods is challenging in low-resource areas. In such conditions, brucellosis is continuously maintained in animals and repeatedly spread to human populations. In this article, factors playing a critical role in brucellosis endemicity, and the real conditions challenging the application of One Health approach in control of brucellosis are highlighted.

Socioeconomic impacts of airborne and droplet-borne infectious diseases on industries: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Recent pandemics have had far-reaching effects on the world's largest economies and amplified the need to estimate the full extent and range of socioeconomic impacts of infectious diseases outbreaks on multi-sectoral industries. This systematic review aims to evaluate the socioeconomic impacts of airborne and droplet-borne infectious diseases outbreaks on industries.

METHODS

A structured, systematic review was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines. Databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, IDEAS/REPEC, OSHLINE, HSELINE, and NIOSHTIC-2 were reviewed. Study quality appraisal was performed using the Table of Evidence Levels from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Joanna Briggs Institute tools, Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and Center of Evidence Based Management case study critical appraisal checklist. Quantitative analysis was not attempted due to the heterogeneity of included studies. A qualitative synthesis of primary studies examining socioeconomic impact of airborne and droplet-borne infectious diseases outbreaks in any industry was performed and a framework based on empirical findings was conceptualized.

RESULTS

A total of 55 studies conducted from 1984 to 2021 were included, reporting on 46,813,038 participants working in multiple industries across the globe. The quality of articles were good. On the whole, direct socioeconomic impacts of Coronavirus Disease 2019, influenza, influenza A (H1N1), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, tuberculosis and norovirus outbreaks include increased morbidity, mortality, and health costs. This had then led to indirect impacts including social impacts such as employment crises and reduced workforce size as well as economic impacts such as demand shock, supply chain disruptions, increased supply and production cost, service and business disruptions, and financial and Gross Domestic Product loss, attributable to productivity losses from illnesses as well as national policy responses to contain the diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence suggests that airborne and droplet-borne infectious diseases have inflicted severe socioeconomic costs on regional and global industries. Further research is needed to better understand their long-term socioeconomic impacts to support improved industry preparedness and response capacity for outbreaks. Public and private stakeholders at local, national, and international levels must join forces to ensure informed systems and sector-specific cost-sharing strategies for optimal global health and economic security.

Clinical evaluation of cell-free and cellular metagenomic next-generation sequencing of infected body fluids

INTRODUCTION

Previous studies have evaluated metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for pathogen detection in blood and body fluid samples. However, no study has assessed the diagnostic efficacy of mNGS using cellular DNA.

OBJECTIVES

This is the first study to systematically evaluate the efficacy of cfDNA and cellular DNA mNGS for pathogen detection.

METHODS

A panel of seven microorganisms was used to compare cfDNA and cellular DNA mNGS assays concerning limits of detection (LoD), linearity, robustness to interference, and precision. In total, 248 specimens were collected between December 2020 and December 2021. The medical records of all the patients were reviewed. These specimens were analysed using cfDNA and cellular DNA mNGS assays, and the mNGS results were confirmed using viral qPCR, 16S rRNA, and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicon next-generation sequencing.

RESULTS

The LoD of cfDNA and cellular DNA mNGS was 9.3 to 149 genome equivalents (GE)/mL and 27 to 466 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL, respectively. The intra- and inter-assay reproducibility of cfDNA and cellular DNA mNGS was 100%. Clinical evaluation revealed that cfDNA mNGS was good at detecting the virus in blood samples (receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area under the curve (AUC), 0.9814). In contrast, the performance of cellular DNA mNGS was better than that of cfDNA mNGS in high host background samples. Overall, the diagnostic efficacy of cfDNA combined with cellular DNA mNGS (ROC AUC, 0.8583) was higher than that of cfDNA (ROC AUC, 0.8041) or cellular DNA alone (ROC AUC, 0.7545).

CONCLUSION

Overall, cfDNA mNGS is good for detecting viruses, and cellular DNA mNGS is suitable for high host background samples. The diagnostic efficacy was higher when cfDNA and cellular DNA mNGS were combined.

Public awareness of One Health in China

One Health is recognized as an increasingly important approach to global health. It has the potential to inform interventions and governance approaches to prevent future pandemics. Successfully implementing the One Health approach in policy will require active engagement from the public, which begs the question: how aware is the public of One Health? In this study, we examine the level and distribution of One Health awareness among the general public in China using a survey conducted in Beijing (n = 1820). We distinguish between awareness of the term of "One Health" versus awareness of the core set of ideas - the interconnection between the health of people, animals, and the environment. Our analysis shows that 40% of respondents reported that they have heard of the term, but more than double the number indicated that they recognize the core idea of interconnection between people, animals, and the environment. Specifically, about 83% of the respondents said that they believe people's health is closely connected to animal health and 86% believe people's health is closely connected to plant and environmental health. Multiple regression analysis indicates that women, younger people, and individuals with a higher level of education show higher levels of One Health awareness than their counterparts. Being aware of the term is associated with higher recognition of the core ideas. Policymakers and health practitioners should consider these findings when designing public awareness campaigns and educational initiatives to promote One Health principles.

Approaches for disease prioritization and decision-making in animal health, 2000-2021: a structured scoping review

This scoping review identifies and describes the methods used to prioritize diseases for resource allocation across disease control, surveillance, and research and the methods used generally in decision-making on animal health policy. Three electronic databases (Medline/PubMed, Embase, and CAB Abstracts) were searched for articles from 2000 to 2021. Searches identified 6, 395 articles after de-duplication, with an additional 64 articles added manually. A total of 6, 460 articles were imported to online document review management software (sysrev.com) for screening. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 532 articles passed the first screening, and after a second round of screening, 336 articles were recommended for full review. A total of 40 articles were removed after data extraction. Another 11 articles were added, having been obtained from cross-citations of already identified articles, providing a total of 307 articles to be considered in the scoping review. The results show that the main methods used for disease prioritization were based on economic analysis, multi-criteria evaluation, risk assessment, simple ranking, spatial risk mapping, and simulation modeling. Disease prioritization was performed to aid in decision-making related to various categories: (1) disease control, prevention, or eradication strategies, (2) general organizational strategy, (3) identification of high-risk areas or populations, (4) assessment of risk of disease introduction or occurrence, (5) disease surveillance, and (6) research priority setting. Of the articles included in data extraction, 50.5% had a national focus, 12.3% were local, 11.9% were regional, 6.5% were sub-national, and 3.9% were global. In 15.2% of the articles, the geographic focus was not specified. The scoping review revealed the lack of comprehensive, integrated, and mutually compatible approaches to disease prioritization and decision support tools for animal health. We recommend that future studies should focus on creating comprehensive and harmonized frameworks describing methods for disease prioritization and decision-making tools in animal health.

Livestock health and disease economics: a scoping review of selected literature

Animal diseases in production and subsistence environments have the potential to negatively affect consumers, producers, and economies as a whole. A growing global demand for animal sourced food requires safe and efficient production systems. Understanding the burden of animal disease and the distribution of burden throughout a value chain informs policy that promotes safe consumption and efficient markets, as well as providing more effective pathways for investment. This paper surveys existing knowledge on the burden of animal disease across economic categories of production, prevention and treatment, animal welfare, and trade and regulation. Our scoping review covers 192 papers across peer-reviewed journals and reports published by organizations. We find there exists a gap in knowledge in evaluating what the global burdens of animal diseases are and how these burdens are distributed in value chains. We also point to a need for creating an analytical framework based on established methods that guides future evaluation of animal disease burden, which will provide improved access to information on animal health impacts.

The first arriving virus shapes within-host viral diversity during natural epidemics

Viral diversity has been discovered across scales from host individuals to populations. However, the drivers of viral community assembly are still largely unknown. Within-host viral communities are formed through co-infections, where the interval between the arrival times of viruses may vary. Priority effects describe the timing and order in which species arrive in an environment, and how early colonizers impact subsequent community assembly. To study the effect of the first-arriving virus on subsequent infection patterns of five focal viruses, we set up a field experiment using naïve Plantago lanceolata plants as sentinels during a seasonal virus epidemic. Using joint species distribution modelling, we find both positive and negative effects of early season viral infection on late season viral colonization patterns. The direction of the effect depends on both the host genotype and which virus colonized the host early in the season. It is well established that co-occurring viruses may change the virulence and transmission of viral infections. However, our results show that priority effects may also play an important, previously unquantified role in viral community assembly. The assessment of these temporal dynamics within a community ecological framework will improve our ability to understand and predict viral diversity in natural systems.

Strengthening coordination and collaboration of one health approach for zoonotic diseases in Africa

Despite the One Health progress made in some African countries in addressing zoonotic disease outbreaks, many still lack formal and funded One Health programs. Countries lack diagnostic capacity for zoonotic diseases, coordinated surveillance mechanisms, multisectoral response strategies and skilled workforce. With the devasting impacts of zoonotic disease outbreaks, recent epidemics have caused a loss of lives and negatively impacted the economy. Strengthening One Health approach across African Union (AU) Member States will improve the continent's ability and capacity to efficiently prevent, detect, and respond to emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases. The policy and practice changes needed to address zoonotic diseases require strong political commitment, financial investments, and institutionalised national One Health programs. The African Union endorses a One Health approach in which multiple sectors work jointly to raise awareness, gather credible data, implement programs, and promote evidence-based policy and practice in improve human, animal, and environmental health. The African Union working through its technical agencies set up an interagency multidisciplinary group "the One Health Coordinating Group on Zoonotic Diseases" to strengthen coordinated surveillance, prevention and control of zoonotic diseases on the continent. There is an urgent need to strengthen the coordination of One Health activities across the African continent. The African Union will leverage its unique political position on the continent to raise awareness, secure commitments, and influence policy at the head of state level. This manuscript highlights the opportunity to improve and strengthen One Health coordination and harmonisation of efforts through a continental strategy for zoonotic disease control.

Restoring Trust: The Need for Precision Medicine in Infectious Diseases, Public Health and Vaccines

There are limited data on precision medicine in infectious diseases and vaccines; however, precise management of infectious diseases plays a critical role in trust for government, health-care organizations, science, and pharma. The improvement in biomedical technologies, availability of large clinical and -omic data and appropriate application of artificial intelligence may allow precision in vaccines and public health and restore trust. This is an invited editorial on the role of precision medicine in infectious diseases and vaccines.

A framework for community curation of interspecies interactions literature

The quantity and complexity of data being generated and published in biology has increased substantially, but few methods exist for capturing knowledge about phenotypes derived from molecular interactions between diverse groups of species, in such a way that is amenable to data-driven biology and research. To improve access to this knowledge, we have constructed a framework for the curation of the scientific literature studying interspecies interactions, using data curated for the Pathogen-Host Interactions database (PHI-base) as a case study. The framework provides a curation tool, phenotype ontology, and controlled vocabularies to curate pathogen-host interaction data, at the level of the host, pathogen, strain, gene, and genotype. The concept of a multispecies genotype, the 'metagenotype,' is introduced to facilitate capturing changes in the disease-causing abilities of pathogens, and host resistance or susceptibility, observed by gene alterations. We report on this framework and describe PHI-Canto, a community curation tool for use by publication authors.

Phenylalanine and Tryptophan-Based Surfactants as New Antibacterial Agents: Characterization, Self-Aggregation Properties, and DPPC/Surfactants Vesicles Formulation

Cationic surfactants based on phenylalanine (C_nPC₃NH₃Cl) and tryptophan (C_nTC₃NH₃Cl) were synthesized using renewable raw materials as starting compounds and a green synthetic procedure. The synthesis, acid-base equilibrium, aggregation properties, and antibacterial activity were investigated. Conductivity and fluorescence were used to establish critical micelle concentrations. Micellization of C_nPC₃NH₃Cl and C_nTC₃NH₃Cl occurred in the ranges of 0.42-16.2 mM and 0.29-4.6 mM, respectively. Since those surfactants have some acidic character, the apparent pK_a was determined through titrations, observing increasing acidity with increasing chain length and being slightly more acidic with the phenylalanine than the tryptophan derivatives. Both families showed promising antibacterial efficacy against eight different bacterial strains. Molecular docking studies against the enzyme peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase (PDB ID:2OQO) were used to investigate the potential binding mechanism of target surfactant molecules. According to small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) results, the surfactants incorporate into DPPC (Dipalmitoyl Phosphatidyl Choline) bilayers without strong perturbation up to high surfactant concentration. Some of the C₁₂TC₃NH₃Cl/DPPC formulations (40%/60% and 20%/80% molar ratios) exhibited good antibacterial activity, while the others were not effective against the tested bacteria. The strong affinity between DPPC and surfactant molecules, as determined by the DFT (density functional theory) method, could be one of the reasons for the loss of antibacterial activity of these cationic surfactants when they are incorporated in vesicles.

Understanding Virus Structure and Dynamics through Molecular Simulations

Viral outbreaks remain a serious threat to human and animal populations and motivate the continued development of antiviral drugs and vaccines, which in turn benefits from a detailed understanding of both viral structure and dynamics. While great strides have been made in characterizing these systems experimentally, molecular simulations have proven to be an essential, complementary approach. In this work, we review the contributions of molecular simulations to the understanding of viral structure, functional dynamics, and processes related to the viral life cycle. Approaches ranging from coarse-grained to all-atom representations are discussed, including current efforts at modeling complete viral systems. Overall, this review demonstrates that computational virology plays an essential role in understanding these systems.

How Effective are Metal Nanotherapeutic Platforms Against Bacterial Infections? A Comprehensive Review of Literature

The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria has been deemed a global crisis that affects humans worldwide. Novel anti-infection strategies are desperately needed because of the limitations of conventional antibiotics. However, the increasing gap between clinical demand and antimicrobial treatment innovation, as well as the membrane permeability obstacle especially in gram-negative bacteria fearfully restrict the reformation of antibacterial strategy. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have the advantages of adjustable apertures, high drug-loading rates, tailorable structures, and superior biocompatibilities, enabling their utilization as drug delivery carriers in biotherapy applications. Additionally, the metal elements in MOFs are usually bactericidal. This article provides a review of the state-of-The-art design, the underlying antibacterial mechanisms and antibacterial applications of MOF- and MOF-based drug-loading materials. In addition, the existing problems and future perspectives of MOF- and MOF-based drug-loading materials are also discussed.

DeGlyPHER: Highly sensitive site-specific analysis of N-linked glycans on proteins

Traditional mass spectrometry-based glycoproteomic approaches have been widely used for site-specific N-glycoform analysis, but a large amount of starting material is needed to obtain sampling that is representative of the vast diversity of N-glycans on glycoproteins. These methods also often include a complicated workflow and very challenging data analysis. These limitations have prevented glycoproteomics from being adapted to high-throughput platforms, and the sensitivity of the analysis is currently inadequate for elucidating N-glycan heterogeneity in clinical samples. Heavily glycosylated spike proteins of enveloped viruses, recombinantly expressed as potential vaccines, are prime targets for glycoproteomic analysis. Since the immunogenicity of spike proteins may be impacted by their glycosylation patterns, site-specific analysis of N-glycoforms provides critical information for vaccine design. Using recombinantly expressed soluble HIV Env trimer, we describe DeGlyPHER, a modification of our previously reported sequential deglycosylation strategy to yield a "single-pot" process. DeGlyPHER is an ultrasensitive, simple, rapid, robust, and efficient approach for site-specific analysis of protein N-glycoforms, that we developed for analysis of limited quantities of glycoproteins.

Living Safely With Bats: Lessons in Developing and Sharing a Global One Health Educational Resource

As part of a public health behavior change and communication strategy related to the identification of a novel ebolavirus in bats in Sierra Leone in 2016, a consortium of experts launched an effort to create a widely accessible resource for community awareness and education on reducing disease risk. The resulting picture book, Living Safely With Bats, includes technical content developed by a consortium of experts in public health, animal health, conservation, bats, and disease ecology from 30 countries. The book has now been adapted, translated, and used in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia. We review the processes used to integrate feedback from local stakeholders and multidisciplinary experts. We also provide recommendations for One Health and other practitioners who choose to pursue the development and evaluation of this or similar zoonotic disease risk mitigation tools.

Modelling the propagation of infectious disease via transportation networks

The dynamics of human mobility have been known to play a critical role in the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19. In this paper, we present a simple compact way to model the transmission of infectious disease through transportation networks using widely available aggregate mobility data in the form of a zone-level origin-destination (OD) travel flow matrix. A key feature of our model is that it not only captures the propagation of infection via direct connections between zones (first-order effects) as in most existing studies but also transmission effects that are due to subsequent interactions in the remainder of the system (higher-order effects). We demonstrate the importance of capturing higher-order effects in a simulation study. We then apply our model to study the first wave of COVID-19 infections in (i) Italy, and, (ii) the New York Tri-State area. We use daily data on mobility between Italian provinces (province-level OD data) and between Tri-State Area counties (county-level OD data), and daily reported caseloads at the same geographical levels. Our empirical results indicate substantial predictive power, particularly during the early stages of the outbreak. Our model forecasts at least 85% of the spatial variation in observed weekly COVID-19 cases. Most importantly, our model delivers crucial metrics to identify target areas for intervention.

Long-term consequences of food insecurity among Ebola virus disease-affected households after the 2013-2016 epidemic in rural communities of Kono District, Sierra Leone: A qualitative study

The 2013-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic caused food insecurity during and immediately following local outbreaks in Sierra Leone, but longer-term effects are less well described, particularly among households with no EVD survivors. We conducted a qualitative sub-study in July 2018 in Kono District, Sierra Leone to understand the impact of food insecurity on EVD-affected households. Using data from a community-based cohort, we compiled a list of all households, within the sampled communities in Kono District, that had at least one EVD case during the epidemic. We used purposive sampling to recruit 30 households, inclusive of 10 households with no EVD survivors, to participate in the study. The research team conducted open-ended, semi-structured interviews with the head of each household. All 30 interviews were transcribed, translated, and analyzed using comparative content analysis consistent with a grounded theory approach. Most household members were facing persistent food insecurity as direct or indirect consequences of the EVD epidemic, regardless of whether they did or did not live with EVD survivors. Three major themes emerged as drivers and/or mitigators of EVD-related food insecurity. Financial instability and physical health complications were drivers of food insecurity in the population, whereas support provided by NGOs or governmental agencies was observed as a mitigator and driver of food insecurity after its removal. Among the EVD-households reporting long-term support through jobs and educational opportunities, there was sustained mitigation of food insecurity. EVD-affected households with and without survivors continue to face food insecurity three years after the EVD epidemic. Provision of support was a mitigator of food insecurity in the short term, but its removal was a driver of food insecurity in the longer term, suggesting the need for longer-term transitional support in affected households.

Copper-thiosemicarbazone complexes conjugated-cellulose fibers: Biodegradable materials with antibacterial capacity

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is vital in battling bacteria crisis, but conventional PPE materials lack antimicrobial activities and environmental friendliness. Our work focused on developing biodegradable and antibacterial fibers as promising bioprotective materials. Here, we grafted highly effective antibacterial copper-thiosemicarbazone complexes (CT1-4) on cellulose fibers via covalent linkages. Multiple methods were used to characterize the chemical composition or morphology of CT1-4 conjugated-fibers. Conjugation of CT1-4 maintains the mechanical properties (Breaking strength: 2.35-2.45 cN/dtex, Breaking elongation: 7.19 %-7.42 %) and thermal stability of fibers. CT1 can endow cellulose fibers with the excellent growth inhibition towards Escherichia coli (E. coli) (GIR: 61.5 % ± 1.28 %), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (GIR: 85.7 % ± 1.93 %), and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) (GIR: 87.6 % ± 1.44 %). We believe that the application of CT1 conjugated-cellulose fibers is not limited to the high-performance PPE, and also can be extended to various types of protective equipment for food and medicine safety.

Antiviral Activity of Ficus rubiginosa Leaf Extracts against HSV-1, HCoV-229E and PV-1

Ficus rubiginosa plant extract showed antimicrobial activity, but no evidence concerning its antiviral properties was reported. The antiviral activity of the methanolic extract (MeOH) and its n-hexane (H) and ethyl acetate (EA) fractions against Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), Human coronavirus (HCoV) -229E, and Poliovirus-1 (PV-1) was investigated in the different phases of viral infection in the VERO CCL-81 cell line. To confirm the antiviral efficacy, a qPCR was conducted. The recorded cytotoxic concentration 50% was 513.1, 298.6, and 56.45 µg/mL for MeOH, H, and EA, respectively, assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay after 72 h of treatment. The Ficus rubiginosa leaf extract inhibited the replication of HSV-1 in the early stages of infection, showing a complete inhibition up to 0.62, 0.31, and 1.25 µg/mL. Against HCoV-229E, a total inhibition up to 1.25 µg/mL for MeOH and H as well as 5 µg/mL for EA was observed. Otherwise, no activity was recorded against PV-1. The leaf extract could act directly on the viral envelope, destructuring the lipid membrane and/or directly blocking the enriched proteins on the viral surface. The verified gene inhibition suggested that the treatments with M, H, and EA impaired HSV-1 and HCoV-229E replication, with a greater antiviral efficiency against HSV-1 compared to HCoV-229E, possibly due to a greater affinity of Ficus rubiginosa towards membrane glycoproteins and/or the different lipid envelopes.

Business or Hope? The Vaccine of the Day after, a Life Expectancy

This approach reflects the moments when humanity was infected by the new pandemic from a health point of view. The acceleration to find the vaccine that will protect us from the pandemic brings some interesting questions from the point of view of possible side effects and from the point of view of the economy. The growing interest in first producing the so-called ‘morning after’ vaccine calls into question whether this is a purely scientific act open to all countries of the world free of charge. Along the way, there are still the interests of many companies that have been favoured in one way or another to increase their profits. The analysis exposes the paradigm of health versus economy, of life expectancy versus business. Within this framework, humanity is discussed as a balance, perhaps taken advantage of by some of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies located in the strongest countries in the market, to the detriment of the weakest.

An Interdisciplinary Approach to One Health: Course Design, Development, and Delivery

One Health is an approach to studying health by recognizing the interconnections between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. This article describes the process of designing a new course on One Health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). We brought together faculty and students from across campus to develop a multidisciplinary course dedicated to One Health and infectious diseases. This group met over 9 months to brainstorm course goals, objectives, and ideas. The group also organized a workshop to explore One Health's existing knowledge and ongoing work on the UIUC campus. We solicited the help of experts throughout the university to co-teach the course. The course curriculum and course materials included 13 unique case studies. The course was offered in fall 2019, and its goals were to add to the existing training and coursework on One Health at the University of Illinois campus, offer a course that would be suitable for students from all fields of study, and develop helpful case studies to be made available to other educators. Student feedback highlights the course's successes as well as areas for future improvement. This article describes this entire process of course development, provides recommendations to guide improvements in the next offering of the course, and details our contributions to the field of One Health education.

Global Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases

Our world is undergoing rapid planetary changes driven by human activities, often mediated by economic incentives and resource management, affecting all life on Earth. Concurrently, many infectious diseases have recently emerged or spread into new populations. Mounting evidence suggests that global change-including climate change, land-use change, urbanization, and global movement of individuals, species, and goods-may be accelerating disease emergence by reshaping ecological systems in concert with socioeconomic factors. Here, we review insights, approaches, and mechanisms by which global change drives disease emergence from a disease ecology perspective. We aim to spur more interdisciplinary collaboration with economists and identification of more effective and sustainable interventions to prevent disease emergence. While almost all infectious diseases change in response to global change, the mechanisms and directions of these effects are system specific, requiring new, integrated approaches to disease control that recognize linkages between environmental and economic sustainability and human and planetary health.

The value of vaccines

Optimizing vaccine spending depends on recognizing the full value of vaccination (VoV). Existing taxonomies of such value are not comprehensive because they are not guided by general theories. I rely on two such theories: subjective-value theory claims that what has value is determined by what people actually or ideally want in life. A welfarist theory of government states that a fundamental objective of government is to promote social value (or social welfare). These jointly imply that any aspect of life that individuals actually or ideally value and that could be negatively affected by vaccine-preventable diseases (and therefore positively affected by preventive vaccines) is an element of VoV. I build a more comprehensive-value taxonomy than currently exists based on this implication.

Comparing the efficacy of control strategies for infectious disease outbreaks using field and simulation studies

Diseases characterized by long distance inoculum dispersal (LDD) are among the fastest spreading epidemics in both natural and managed landscapes. Management of such epidemics is extremely challenging because of asymptomatic infection extending at large spatial scales and frequent escape from the newly established disease sources. We compared the efficacy of area- and timing-based disease management strategies in artificially initiated field epidemics of wheat stripe rust and complemented with simulations from an updated version of the spatially explicit model EPIMUL, using model parameters relevant to field epidemics. The model was further used to expand the number of epidemic mitigations beyond that feasible to incorporate in the field. The field experiment was conducted for 2 years in two locations having different climatic conditions. Culling and protection treatments were applied at different times after epidemic initiation and to different spatial extents surrounding the outbreaks. In each experiment, treatments were replicated four times in plots 33.5 m long and 1.52 m wide with a 0.76 × 0.76 m inoculated focus centered within each plot. Disease gradients were assessed along the center lines of the plots at 1.52 m intervals both upwind and downwind from the focus. Both field and simulation results indicated that control measures applied over the entire population were highly effective in suppressing the epidemics by more than 99% but may not always be logistically and economically feasible at large spatial scales. Comparison between the variable sized treatment areas and application timings suggested that implementing contiguous premises (CP) cull at 1 day after first sporulation in the outbreak focus reduced rust by 52% and 60% in Corvallis and Madras, respectively. However, altering the cull size did not significantly affect the disease epidemic development, which suggested that early timing had a greater influence in suppressing the epidemics than did increased area of application. However, sufficiently large, treated areas may compensate for a delay in application timing to some extent. Results from these replicated treatments may help to devise appropriate management strategies for other LDD pathogens.

Difference between self-reported adherence to standard precautions and surveillance and factors influencing observed adherence: a quantile regression approach

Background

Standard precautions are minimum healthcare-associated infection prevention practices applied in all healthcare settings. The aim of this study was to investigate adherence to standard precautions using a survey and surveillance. Factors affecting observed adherence to standard precautions were also determined.

Methods

This cross-sectional observational study included 163 clinical nurses who were directly involved in patient care. Differences in adherence according to investigative methods are represented as a boxplot. Quantile regression was used to identify factors affecting observed adherence, including organizational factors (such as department, safety environment, and patient safety climate) and personal factors (such as knowledge and awareness). Stata SE version 14.2 was used for all statistical analyses.

Results

The observed adherence to standard precautions was 76.8 out of 100, whereas the self-reported adherence was approximately 95. Hand hygiene adherence received the lowest score of less than 70. Factors influencing observed adherence were self-reported adherence (p = 0.043) in 25% and 50% quantiles, work experience (p = 0.002) in the 25% quantile, and working department (p = 0.030) in the 50% quantile. There were no significant factors in the 75% quantile.

Conclusion

Inadequate adherence to standard precautions might increase healthcare-associated infections. Thus, an organizational environment such as nurse staffing needs to be established so that clinical nurses with high competency can comply with standard precautions in clinical settings.

Transparent and ultra-tough PVA/alkaline lignin films with UV shielding and antibacterial functions

Lignin and its derivatives can be used to make membranes with natural polymer materials for its properties including ultraviolet adsorption, biodegradable, antibacterial, and antioxidant. However, the lignin film has poor transparency due to the dark color, and how to control the proportion of each component to enhance properties is the main research topic. In this study, a polyvinyl alcohol /alkaline lignin (PVA/AL) composite film with excellent UV-shielding and visible-transparent performance successfully prepared by solution casting. By mixing with the N-halamine precursor 3-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DPDMH), the composite film after chlorination showed superb antibacterial efficacy and could inactivate 6.85 log Escherichia coli (E. coli) and 6.57 log Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) respectively within 5 min of contact. Moreover, the composite film with 5 wt% AL exhibited ultra-high elongation of 449 % and toughness of 92 MJ/m³, and the toughness and malleability was greatly improved. In addition, with the introduction of AL, the composite film could shield 100 % of the UVB (320-275 nm) and UVC (275-200 nm) spectra and most of the UVA (400-320 nm) spectrum. The films prepared in this work are expected to find applications in promising fields such as in packaging materials and ultraviolet shielding.

Inactivation Methods for Experimental Nipah Virus Infection

Nipah virus (NiV) is an emerging zoonotic paramyxovirus that causes severe disease in humans and livestock. Due to its high pathogenicity in humans and the lack of available vaccines and therapeutics, NiV needs to be handled in biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratories. Safe inactivation of samples containing NiV is thus necessary to allow further processing in lower containment areas. To date, there is only limited information available on NiV inactivation methods validated by BSL-4 facilities that can be used as a reference. Here, we compare some of the most common inactivation methods in order to evaluate their efficacy at inactivating NiV in infected cells, supernatants and organs. Thus, several physical and chemical inactivation methods, and combinations thereof, were assessed. Viral replication was monitored for 3 weeks and NiV presence was assessed by RT-qPCR, plaque assay and indirect immunofluorescence. A total of nineteen methods were shown to reduce NiV infectious particles in cells, supernatants and organs to undetectable levels. Therefore, we provide a list of methods for the safe and efficient inactivation of NiV.

The Use of Antibody-Antibiotic Conjugates to Fight Bacterial Infections

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is rapidly increasing and it is one of the significant twenty-first century’s healthcare challenges. Unfortunately, the development of effective antimicrobial agents is a much slower and complex process compared to the spread of AMR. Consequently, the current options in the treatment of AMR are limited. One of the main alternatives to conventional antibiotics is the use of antibody-antibiotic conjugates (AACs). These innovative bioengineered agents take advantage of the selectivity, favorable pharmacokinetic (PK), and safety of antibodies, allowing the administration of more potent antibiotics with less off-target effects. Although AACs’ development is challenging due to the complexity of the three components, namely, the antibody, the antibiotic, and the linker, some successful examples are currently under clinical studies.

Targeting Specific Checkpoints in the Management of SARS-CoV-2 Induced Cytokine Storm

COVID-19-infected patients require an intact immune system to suppress viral replication and prevent complications. However, the complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection that led to death were linked to the overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines known as cytokine storm syndrome. This article reported the various checkpoints targeted to manage the SARS-CoV-2-induced cytokine storm. The literature search was carried out using PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. Journal articles that discussed SARS-CoV-2 infection and cytokine storm were retrieved and appraised. Specific checkpoints identified in managing SARS-CoV-2 induced cytokine storm include a decrease in the level of Nod-Like Receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome where drugs such as quercetin and anakinra were effective. Janus kinase-2 and signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (JAK2/STAT1) signaling pathways were blocked by medicines such as tocilizumab, baricitinib, and quercetin. In addition, inhibition of interleukin (IL)-6 with dexamethasone, tocilizumab, and sarilumab effectively treats cytokine storm and significantly reduces mortality caused by COVID-19. Blockade of IL-1 with drugs such as canakinumab and anakinra, and inhibition of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) with zanubrutinib and ibrutinib was also beneficial. These agents' overall mechanisms of action involve a decrease in circulating proinflammatory chemokines and cytokines and or blockade of their receptors. Consequently, the actions of these drugs significantly improve respiration and raise lymphocyte count and PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio. Targeting cytokine storms' pathogenesis genetic and molecular apparatus will substantially enhance lung function and reduce mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prevalence of depression and anxiety among general population in Pakistan during COVID-19 lockdown: An online-survey

The present study's aim is to find the prevalence of two of the common indicators of mental health - depression and anxiety - and any correlation with socio-demographic indicators in the Pakistani population during the lockdown from 5 May to 25 July 2020. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an online questionnaire sent to volunteer participants. A total of 1047 participants over 18 were recruited through convenience sampling. The survey targeted depression and anxiety levels, which were measured using a 14 item self-reporting Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Out of the total sample population (N=354), 39.9% suffered from depression and 57.7% from anxiety. Binary logistical regressions indicated significant predictive associations of gender (OR=1.410), education (OR=9.311), residence (OR=0.370), household income (OR=0.579), previous psychiatric problems (OR=1.671), and previous psychiatric medication (OR=2.641). These were the key factors e associated with a significant increase in depression. Increases in anxiety levels were significantly linked to gender (OR=2.427), residence (OR=0.619), previous psychiatric problems (OR=1.166), and previous psychiatric medication (OR=7.330). These results suggest depression and anxiety were prevalent among the Pakistani population during the lockdown. Along with other measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, citizens' mental health needs the Pakistani government's urgent attention as well as that of mental health experts. Further large-scale, such as healthcare practitioners, should be undertaken to identify other mental health indicators that need to be monitored.

Food security and emerging infectious disease: risk assessment and risk management

Climate change, emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) and food security create a dangerous nexus. Habitat interfaces, assumed to be efficient buffers, are being disrupted by human activities which in turn accelerate the movement of pathogens. EIDs threaten directly and indirectly availability and access to nutritious food, affecting global security and human health. In the next 70 years, food-secure and food-insecure countries will face EIDs driving increasingly unsustainable costs of production, predicted to exceed national and global gross domestic products. Our modern challenge is to transform this business as usual and embrace an alternative vision of the biosphere formalized in the Stockholm paradigm (SP). First, a pathogen-centric focus shifts our vision of risk space, determining how pathogens circulate in realized and potential fitness space. Risk space and pathogen exchange are always heightened at habitat interfaces. Second, apply the document-assess-monitor-act (DAMA) protocol developing strategic data for EID risk, to be translated, synthesized and broadcast as actionable information. Risk management is realized through targeted interventions focused around information exchanged among a community of scientists, policy practitioners of food and public health security and local populations. Ultimately, SP and DAMA protect human rights, supporting food security, access to nutritious food, health interventions and environmental integrity.

Ultrasensitive Aptasensors for the Detection of Viruses Based on Opto-Electrochemical Readout Systems

Viral infections are becoming the foremost driver of morbidity, mortality and economic loss all around the world. Treatment for diseases associated to some deadly viruses are challenging tasks, due to lack of infrastructure, finance and availability of rapid, accurate and easy-to-use detection methods or devices. The emergence of biosensors has proven to be a success in the field of diagnosis to overcome the challenges associated with traditional methods. Furthermore, the incorporation of aptamers as bio-recognition elements in the design of biosensors has paved a way towards rapid, cost-effective, and specific detection devices which are insensitive to changes in the environment. In the last decade, aptamers have emerged to be suitable and efficient biorecognition elements for the detection of different kinds of analytes, such as metal ions, small and macro molecules, and even cells. The signal generation in the detection process depends on different parameters; one such parameter is whether the labelled molecule is incorporated or not for monitoring the sensing process. Based on the labelling, biosensors are classified as label or label-free; both have their significant advantages and disadvantages. Here, we have primarily reviewed the advantages for using aptamers in the transduction system of sensing devices. Furthermore, the labelled and label-free opto-electrochemical aptasensors for the detection of various kinds of viruses have been discussed. Moreover, numerous globally developed aptasensors for the sensing of different types of viruses have been illustrated and explained in tabulated form.

Designing for Green and Grey: Insights from Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles

Recognizing modern society’s multiple risks, this study examines single-use plastic water bottles at the intersection of environmental degradation and societal carelessness for the elderly. While prioritising economic profits and plastic waste, we have neglected bottles’ typical poor openability for older people. Thus, we evaluated the openability of bottles with environmentally friendly and socially inclusive designs in South Korea by comparing older and younger adults’ experiences. Integrating different attributes than existing studies that analyse opening torque or one-handed opening, the test results show that older adults experience the poorest two-handed openability when bottles have both a weight thickness lower than 14.42 g and an easily squeezable bottle structure. In South Korea, companies advocate eco-friendliness by valuing lighter weight with less plastic and support user-friendliness by adopting easily squeezed sidewall patterns, while the industry maintains broad opening torque regulations; however, we show this combination exceeds older users’ capabilities. That is, for openability, bottles need to keep a weight thickness greater than 12 g, abandon easily squeezed sidewall patterns or reduce the opening torque regulation range to 100 N-cm. These socially favourable but ecologically adverse measures will be sustainable when the efficient linear economy transitions to an effective circular economy.

Photonic Label-Free Biosensors for Fast and Multiplex Detection of Swine Viral Diseases

In this paper we present the development of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) biosensors for the label-free detection of six emerging and endemic swine viruses, namely: African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV), Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV), Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PPRSV), Porcine Parvovirus (PPV), Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2), and Swine Influenza Virus A (SIV). The optical biosensors are based on evanescent wave technology and, in particular, on Resonant Rings (RRs) fabricated in silicon nitride. The novel biosensors were packaged in an integrated sensing cartridge that included a microfluidic channel for buffer/sample delivery and an optical fiber array for the optical operation of the PICs. Antibodies were used as molecular recognition elements (MREs) and were selected based on western blotting and ELISA experiments to ensure the high sensitivity and specificity of the novel sensors. MREs were immobilized on RR surfaces to capture viral antigens. Antibody–antigen interactions were transduced via the RRs to a measurable resonant shift. Cell culture supernatants for all of the targeted viruses were used to validate the biosensors. Resonant shift responses were dose-dependent. The results were obtained within the framework of the SWINOSTICS project, contributing to cover the need of the novel diagnostic tools to tackle swine viral diseases.

Pacing Forward in the Face of Fragility: Lessons From African Institutions and Governments' Response to Public Health Emergencies

Africa is home to 54 United Nation member states, each possessing a wealth of ethno-cultural, physiographic, and economic diversity. While Africa is credited as having the youngest population in the world, it also exhibits a unique set of “unfortunate realties” ranging from famine and poverty to volatile politics, conflicts, and diseases. These unfortunate realities all converge around social inequalities in health, that are compounded by fragile healthcare systems and a lack of political will by the continent's leaders to improve smart investment and infrastructure planning for the benefit of its people. Noteworthy are the disparities in responsive approaches to crises and emergencies that exist across African governments and institutions. In this context, the present article draws attention to 3 distinct public health emergencies (PHEs) that have occurred in Africa since 2010. We focus on the 2013–2016 Ebola outbreak in Western Africa, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which continues to spread throughout the continent, and the destructive locust swarms that ravaged crops across East Africa in 2020. Our aim is to provide an integrated perspective on how governments and institutions handled these PHEs and how scientific and technological innovation, along with educational response played a role in the decision-making process. We conclude by touching on public health policies and strategies to address the development of sustainable health care systems with the potential to improve the health and well-being of the African people.

Majority of Fortune 500 Companies in 2018 Did Not Recognize Risk of Epidemics Such as COVID-19

Infectious disease threats, like the 2002 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) disease, 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1), and the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), pose multisectoral risk with the potential for wide-ranging socioeconomic disruption. In our globally intertwined economy, the impact of such events can elicit economic shock waves that reach far beyond the country of origin. Review of the 2018 Fortune 500 company 10-K filings shows the majority did not document perceived risks associated with epidemics, outbreaks, or pandemics. Enhanced engagement and investment of the public and private sectors in advancing global health security is needed to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease events and ensure U.S. economic security.

Effects of social-distancing on infectious disease dynamics: an evolutionary game theory and economic perspective

We propose two models inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic: a coupled disease-human behaviour (or disease-game theoretic), and a coupled disease-human behaviour-economic model, both of which account for the impact of social-distancing on disease control and economic growth. The models exhibit rich dynamical behaviour including multistable equilibria, a backward bifurcation, and sustained bounded periodic oscillations. Analyses of the first model suggests that the disease can be eliminated if everybody practices full social-distancing, but the most likely outcome is some level of disease coupled with some level of social-distancing. The same outcome is observed with the second model when the economy is weaker than the social norms to follow health directives. However, if the economy is stronger, it can support some level of social-distancing that can lead to disease elimination.

Wild animal and zoonotic disease risk management and regulation in China: Examining gaps and One Health opportunities in scope, mandates, and monitoring systems

Emerging diseases of zoonotic origin such as COVID-19 are a continuing public health threat in China that lead to a significant socioeconomic burden. This study reviewed the current laws and regulations, government reports and policy documents, and existing literature on zoonotic disease preparedness and prevention across the forestry, agriculture, and public health authorities in China, to articulate the current landscape of potential risks, existing mandates, and gaps. A total of 55 known zoonotic diseases (59 pathogens) are routinely monitored under a multi-sectoral system among humans and domestic and wild animals in China. These diseases have been detected in wild mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish or other aquatic animals, the majority of which are transmitted between humans and animals via direct or indirect contact and vectors. However, this current monitoring system covers a limited scope of disease threats and animal host species, warranting expanded review for sources of disease and pathogen with zoonotic potential. In addition, the governance of wild animal protection and utilization and limited knowledge about wild animal trade value chains present challenges for zoonotic disease risk assessment and monitoring, and affect the completeness of mandates and enforcement. A coordinated and collaborative mechanism among different departments is required for the effective monitoring and management of disease emergence and transmission risks in the animal value chains. Moreover, pathogen surveillance among wild animal hosts and human populations outside of the routine monitoring system will fill the data gaps and improve our understanding of future emerging zoonotic threats to achieve disease prevention. The findings and recommendations will advance One Health collaboration across government and non-government stakeholders to optimize monitoring and surveillance, risk management, and emergency responses to known and novel zoonotic threats, and support COVID-19 recovery efforts.

The Power of Music to Prevent and Control Emerging Infectious Diseases

Music is a powerful approach to engage communities and disseminate information. Specifically, health campaigns employing music have been used to promote behaviors that can prevent emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). For example, hip hop artists supported campaigns to prevent acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in the 70s in the United States, while Brazilian funk promoted vaccination to mitigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, we broadcast musical messages in local languages to increase community awareness and support prevention measures in Guinea and Liberia in response to the recent Ebola outbreak in 2021. Given the potential of music to promote both individual and population-level behavioral changes to prevent transmission, there is a need to consolidate information on music-based health interventions, and on how we can measure their effectiveness. In this perspective, we provide examples of relevant initiatives, discussing challenges and solutions associated with implementing interventions based on our experience with the 2021 Ebola outbreak. We recommend four steps for a successful music-based health intervention including (1) establishing a task force, (2) compose a "catchy" song including critical preventive measures, (3) deliver the song to the target audience, and (4) evaluate the campaign effectiveness. We argue that close interactions between scientists and musicians can produce rapid musical content for disease prevention. We also identify and discuss several methodological frameworks for testing the effectiveness of such interventions. We conclude that support from public health authorities, government media departments, and international agencies, is necessary to deliver wide outreach and long-term sustainability of musical messaging toward effective EID prevention.

PHI-base in 2022: a multi-species phenotype database for Pathogen-Host Interactions

Since 2005, the Pathogen–Host Interactions Database (PHI-base) has manually curated experimentally verified pathogenicity, virulence and effector genes from fungal, bacterial and protist pathogens, which infect animal, plant, fish, insect and/or fungal hosts. PHI-base (www.phi-base.org) is devoted to the identification and presentation of phenotype information on pathogenicity and effector genes and their host interactions. Specific gene alterations that did not alter the in host interaction phenotype are also presented. PHI-base is invaluable for comparative analyses and for the discovery of candidate targets in medically and agronomically important species for intervention. Version 4.12 (September 2021) contains 4387 references, and provides information on 8411 genes from 279 pathogens, tested on 228 hosts in 18, 190 interactions. This provides a 24% increase in gene content since Version 4.8 (September 2019). Bacterial and fungal pathogens represent the majority of the interaction data, with a 54:46 split of entries, whilst protists, protozoa, nematodes and insects represent 3.6% of entries. Host species consist of approximately 54% plants and 46% others of medical, veterinary and/or environmental importance. PHI-base data is disseminated to UniProtKB, FungiDB and Ensembl Genomes. PHI-base will migrate to a new gene-centric version (version 5.0) in early 2022. This major development is briefly described.