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Chlabicz M, Nabożny A, Koszelew J, Łaguna W, Szpakowicz A, Sowa P, Budny W, Guziejko K, Róg-Makal M, Pancewicz S, Kondrusik M, Czupryna P, Cudowska B, Lebensztejn D, Moniuszko-Malinowska A, Wierzbicki A, Kamiński KA. Medical Misinformation in Polish on the World Wide Web During the COVID-19 Pandemic Period: Infodemiology Study. J Med Internet Res 2024; 26:e48130. [PMID: 38551638 PMCID: PMC10984342 DOI: 10.2196/48130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 08/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although researchers extensively study the rapid generation and spread of misinformation about the novel coronavirus during the pandemic, numerous other health-related topics are contaminating the internet with misinformation that have not received as much attention. OBJECTIVE This study aims to gauge the reach of the most popular medical content on the World Wide Web, extending beyond the confines of the pandemic. We conducted evaluations of subject matter and credibility for the years 2021 and 2022, following the principles of evidence-based medicine with assessments performed by experienced clinicians. METHODS We used 274 keywords to conduct web page searches through the BuzzSumo Enterprise Application. These keywords were chosen based on medical topics derived from surveys administered to medical practitioners. The search parameters were confined to 2 distinct date ranges: (1) January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021; (2) January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022. Our searches were specifically limited to web pages in the Polish language and filtered by the specified date ranges. The analysis encompassed 161 web pages retrieved in 2021 and 105 retrieved in 2022. Each web page underwent scrutiny by a seasoned doctor to assess its credibility, aligning with evidence-based medicine standards. Furthermore, we gathered data on social media engagements associated with the web pages, considering platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit, and Twitter. RESULTS In 2022, the prevalence of unreliable information related to COVID-19 saw a noteworthy decline compared to 2021. Specifically, the percentage of noncredible web pages discussing COVID-19 and general vaccinations decreased from 57% (43/76) to 24% (6/25) and 42% (10/25) to 30% (3/10), respectively. However, during the same period, there was a considerable uptick in the dissemination of untrustworthy content on social media pertaining to other medical topics. The percentage of noncredible web pages covering cholesterol, statins, and cardiology rose from 11% (3/28) to 26% (9/35) and from 18% (5/28) to 26% (6/23), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Efforts undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic to curb the dissemination of misinformation seem to have yielded positive results. Nevertheless, our analysis suggests that these interventions need to be consistently implemented across both established and emerging medical subjects. It appears that as interest in the pandemic waned, other topics gained prominence, essentially "filling the vacuum" and necessitating ongoing measures to address misinformation across a broader spectrum of health-related subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Małgorzata Chlabicz
- Department of Population Medicine and Lifestyle Diseases Prevention, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
- Department of Invasive Cardiology, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Nabożny
- Department of Software Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland
| | - Jolanta Koszelew
- R&D Department, Science4People Limited Liability Company, Szczecin, Poland
| | - Wojciech Łaguna
- Faculty of Computer Science, Bialystok University of Technology, Białystok, Poland
| | - Anna Szpakowicz
- Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Bialystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Paweł Sowa
- Department of Population Medicine and Lifestyle Diseases Prevention, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Wojciech Budny
- Department of Allergology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Guziejko
- 2nd Department of Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Magdalena Róg-Makal
- Department of Invasive Cardiology, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Sławomir Pancewicz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfection, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Maciej Kondrusik
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfection, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Piotr Czupryna
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfection, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Beata Cudowska
- Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Nutrition, Allergology and Pulmonology, Medical University of Bialystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Dariusz Lebensztejn
- Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Nutrition, Allergology and Pulmonology, Medical University of Bialystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Anna Moniuszko-Malinowska
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfection, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
| | - Adam Wierzbicki
- Department of Computer Science, Polish-Japaneese Academy of Information Technology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Karol A Kamiński
- Department of Population Medicine and Lifestyle Diseases Prevention, Medical University of Białystok, Białystok, Poland
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Porras-Silesky C, Solano-Barquero A, Jiménez-Rocha A, Alvarado-Hidalgo I, Valverde-Altamirano É, Rojas A. Social media as a tool for detecting underdiagnosed parasitic infections: the case of spirocercosis. Parasitol Res 2023; 123:29. [PMID: 38082034 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-023-08054-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Spirocercosis is a parasitic disease caused by the nematode Spirocerca lupi that affects several canids around the world. In Costa Rica, few spirocercosis cases have been reported; however, it is suspected that the infection is currently underdiagnosed. As seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, social media has sped up the spread of scientific knowledge, raising practioner's awareness of the epidemiology and signs and manifestations of infections. The aim of this work was to use social media as a tool for increasing awareness of spirocercosis among veterinarians and investigate the frequency of cases occurring in Costa Rica. Infographic material about the infection was disseminated by Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram from January 2021 to July 2022 using a public account of the Laboratory of Helminthology of the University of Costa Rica. In addition, Google Forms questionnaires were completed by veterinarians to report the number of spirocercosis cases in their clinics, associated manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of the disease. Remarkably, since 2020, a six-fold increase in the number of cases per year was noted. Clinical manifestations matched those reported elsewhere, and one of every three dogs infected with S. lupi died spontaneously or required euthanasia because of the infection. This work suggests that S. lupi infection in Costa Rica may have been underdiagnosed in the last decade, and the knowledge and awareness of clinical personnel play a major role in the detection of this and other infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catalina Porras-Silesky
- Laboratory of Helminthology, Faculty of Microbiology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Alberto Solano-Barquero
- Laboratory of Helminthology, Faculty of Microbiology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
- Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Ana Jiménez-Rocha
- Laboratory of Parasitology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica
| | | | | | - Alicia Rojas
- Laboratory of Helminthology, Faculty of Microbiology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
- Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
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Cassini R, Bruschi F, Frangipane di Regalbono A, Rinaldi L. Parasitological transitions: selected outcomes from the XXXII Congress of the Italian Society for Parasitology. Parasitology 2023; 150:1077-1081. [PMID: 37929593 PMCID: PMC10801369 DOI: 10.1017/s003118202300104x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Founded in 1959, the Italian Society of Parasitology (SoIPa) includes nearly 200 researchers and professionals in the fields of medicine, veterinary medicine, biotechnology, epidemiology and environmental sciences. The diversity of its members, in a historical and continuous collaboration with other international scientific societies, embodies a broad and multidisciplinary field such as parasitology. Since 1959, SoIPa has organized a biennial congress, covering all aspects of general parasitology with participants from all over Italy, Europe and beyond, involved in a dynamic and multi-faceted scientific framework of contributions and symposia. The present Special Issue (SI) contains 6 review papers and 1 research article, focussed on emerging topics presented and discussed during some of the symposia organized within the XXXII SoIPa Congress, held in Naples from 27th June to 30th June 2022. These review papers reflect several emerging subjects (i.e. ‘Italian network on Neglected Tropical Diseases’, ‘Wildlife parasites and citizen science’, ‘Comparing approaches to parasitological issues’, ‘Unusual perspectives on the role of parasites’) with the aim to explore the new role that parasitologists can play in the future society, working together to promote dialogue on science-informed decisions to support the so-called ‘twin green and digital transition’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rudi Cassini
- Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16 - 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Bruschi
- Department of Translational Research, N.T.M.S., School of Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Antonio Frangipane di Regalbono
- Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università, 16 - 35020 Legnaro, Italy
| | - Laura Rinaldi
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy
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Barahona-Segovia RM, González CR, Pañinao-Monsálvez L. Citizen Science Meet South American Tachinids: New Records of Feather-Legged Fly Trichopoda (Galactomyia) pictipennis Bigot (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Chile. NEOTROPICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 52:227-239. [PMID: 35737226 DOI: 10.1007/s13744-022-00979-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The species of Gymnosomatini (Diptera: Tachinidae) are specialized to attack stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Some of these flies, such as those in the genus Trichopoda Berthold, are conspicuous and represent target species to study with citizen science. Here we report for the first time the distribution range of T. (Galactomyia) pictipennis Bigot, a newly introduced biological control species of tachinid for use against stink bugs in Chile using data obtained through the citizen science method. Additionally, we update the distribution of T. arcuata (Bigot), a native biological control species of tachinid, and assess the grade of overlap between the flies and their main stink bug hosts. We obtained data regarding the occurrence of flies and stink bugs from the citizen science program "Moscas Florícolas de Chile," from Facebook groups, and from iNaturalist. We standardized our data to avoid temporal, spatial, and geographic biases. We report the extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) for each fly and stink bug species. The EOOs for T. pictipennis and T. arcuata are 85,474 km2 and 20,647 km2 through central Chile ecosystems, respectively. The EOO of T. arcuata is overlapped by 53% with the introduced species. Trichopoda pictipennis has a high percentage of overlap with the EOO of Nezara viridula Linnaeus (61%), whereas T. arcuata has low percentages of overlap with different native Acledra species and with N. viridula. We discuss the potential of citizen science to detect (1) areas with higher diversity or gaps of occurrences, (2) new biological control agents, (3) prey records, (4) negative impacts on non-target species, (5) changes in composition at long-term, and (6) areas to promote conservation biological control in agricultural landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo M Barahona-Segovia
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Biodiversidad, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno, Chile.
- Moscas Florícolas de Chile Citizen Science Program, Valdivia, Chile.
| | - Christian R González
- Instituto de Entomología, Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de La Educación, Santiago de Chile, Chile
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Szentivanyi T, Vincze O. Tracking wildlife diseases using community science: an example through toad myiasis. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-022-01623-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
AbstractParasite and pathogen surveillance is crucial for understanding trends in their distributions and host spectra, as well as to document changes in their population dynamics. Nevertheless, continuous surveillance is time-consuming, underfunded due to the non-charismatic nature of parasites/pathogens, and research infrastructure is usually limited to short-term surveillance efforts. Species observation data provided by the public can contribute to long-term surveillance of parasites using photographic evidence of infections shared on community science platforms. Here, we used public photo repositories to document the occurrence across space and time of Lucilia spp. (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a parasite inducing nasal toad myiasis in the European toad Bufo bufo (Anura: Bufonidae). We found a total of 262 toad myiasis observations on iNaturalist (n = 132), on GBIF (n = 86), on Flickr (n = 41), and on observation.org (n = 3). Our results indicate that the distribution of toad myiasis is regionally limited, despite its host being widely distributed and abundant across a wide region in Europe. Observations were found in 12 countries with relatively low prevalence, including Belgium (3.90%, CI 2.44–6.18), Denmark (1.26%, CI 0.89–1.80), France (0.45%, CI 0.14–1.38), Germany (1.27%, CI 0.92–1.75), Lithuania (0.50%, CI 0.13–1.98), Luxembourg (1.30%, CI 0.42–3.95), the Netherlands (2.71%, CI 1.61–4.52), Poland (0.89%, CI 0.34–2.35), Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) (4.76%, CI 0.67–27.14), Switzerland (NA), Ukraine (0.87%, CI 0.12–5.91), and in the UK (0.45%, CI 0.28–0.72). Nevertheless, the number of uploaded observations of both parasite infection and host presence indicates a stable increase likely due to the growing popularity of community science websites. Overall, community science is a useful tool to detect and monitor certain wildlife diseases and to recognize potential changes in disease dynamics through time and space.
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Cull B. Monitoring Trends in Distribution and Seasonality of Medically Important Ticks in North America Using Online Crowdsourced Records from iNaturalist. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13050404. [PMID: 35621740 PMCID: PMC9145093 DOI: 10.3390/insects13050404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary An increasing number of cases of tick-borne diseases are being reported across North America and in new areas. This has been linked to the spread of ticks, primarily the blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis and the lone star tick Amblyomma americanum, into new geographical regions. Tick surveillance systems have played an important role in monitoring the changing distributions of these ticks and have benefitted greatly from including data collected by members of the public through citizen or community science projects. Enlisting the help of community scientists is an economical way to collect large amounts of data over a wide geographical area, and participants can also benefit by receiving information relevant to their tick encounter, for example regarding tick-borne disease symptoms. This study examined tick observations from the online image-based biological recording platform iNaturalist to evaluate its use as an extra tool to collect information on expanding tick distributions. The distribution and seasonality of iNaturalist tick observations were found to accurately represent those of the studied species and identified potential new areas of tick expansion. Free-to-access iNaturalist data is a highly cost-effective method to support existing tick surveillance strategies to aid preparedness and response in emerging areas of tick establishment. Abstract Recent increases in the incidence and geographic range of tick-borne diseases in North America are linked to the range expansion of medically important tick species, including Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma americanum, and Amblyomma maculatum. Passive tick surveillance programs have been highly successful in collecting information on tick distribution, seasonality, host-biting activity, and pathogen infection prevalence. These have demonstrated the power of citizen or community science participation to collect country-wide, epidemiologically relevant data in a resource-efficient manner. This study examined tick observations from the online image-based biological recording platform iNaturalist to evaluate its use as an effective tool for monitoring the distributions of A. americanum, A. maculatum, I. scapularis, and Dermacentor in the United States and Canada. The distribution and seasonality of iNaturalist tick observations were found to accurately represent those of the studied species. County-level iNaturalist tick occurrence data showed good agreement with other data sources in documented areas of I. scapularis and A. americanum establishment, and highlighted numerous previously unreported counties with iNaturalist observations of these species. This study supports the use of iNaturalist data as a highly cost-effective passive tick surveillance method that can complement existing surveillance strategies to update tick distributions and identify new areas of tick establishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Cull
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
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Doherty JF, Poulin R. Come with me if you want to live: sympatric parasites follow different transmission routes through aquatic host communities. Int J Parasitol 2021; 52:293-303. [PMID: 34973954 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2021.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Community composition, including the relative density of each host species, plays a vital role in the transmission of parasites or disease in freshwater ecosystems. Whereas some host species can effectively transmit parasites, others can act as dead ends (non-viable transmission routes), accumulating large numbers of parasites throughout their life, thus becoming important sinks for parasite populations. Although population sinks have been identified in certain host-parasite systems, robust field estimates of the proportions of parasites that are lost to these hosts are lacking. Here, we quantified the distribution of encysted larval hairworms (phylum Nematomorpha), common parasites in lotic ecosystems, in two subalpine stream communities of New Zealand. With parasite and host population densities calculated per m2, we identified which host species most likely contributed to the transmission of three sympatric hairworm morphotypes identified in both streams, and which species acted as population sinks. We also tested for seasonal patterns and peaks in the abundance of each morphotype in the two communities over the sampling season. Finally, we tested whether hosts emerging from the streams had comparable abundances of hairworm morphotypes throughout the sampling period. For each morphotype, different key sets of host species harboured more hairworms on average (abundance) than others, depending on the stream. For one morphotype in particular, two species of hosts were found to be important population sinks that inhibited over a third of these parasites from completing their life cycle. We also observed a clear peak in abundance for another hairworm morphotype during summer. Our data suggest that hosts emerging from the streams matched their aquatic counterparts with respect to hairworm abundance, indicating no infection-dependent reduction in emergence success. Our findings suggest that, depending on relative community composition, sympatric parasites follow different host transmission pathways, some of which lead to dead ends that potentially impact overall infection dynamics. In turn, this information can help us understand the spread or emergence of disease in both freshwater and terrestrial environments, since hairworms infect terrestrial arthropods to complete their life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert Poulin
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Doherty JF, Chai X, Cope LE, de Angeli Dutra D, Milotic M, Ni S, Park E, Filion A. The rise of big data in disease ecology. Trends Parasitol 2021; 37:1034-1037. [PMID: 34602364 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Big data have become readily available to explore patterns in large-scale disease ecology. However, the rate at which these public databases are exploited remains unknown. We highlight trends in big data usage in disease ecology during the past decade and encourage researchers to integrate big data into their study framework.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xuhong Chai
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Laurie E Cope
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | | | - Marin Milotic
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Steven Ni
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Eunji Park
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Antoine Filion
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
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