1
|
Walker CP, Cramer ER. Contagion to unrest: Investigating the link between disease and civil unrest in Africa. Politics Life Sci 2024; 43:24-33. [PMID: 38567780 DOI: 10.1017/pls.2023.27] [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] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Scholars, policymakers, and citizens alike remain invested in the impact of infectious diseases worldwide. Studies have found that emerging diseases and disease outbreaks burden global economies and public health goals. This article explores the potential link between measles outbreaks and various forms of civil unrest, such as demonstrations, riots, strikes, and other anti-government violence, in four central African countries from 1996 to 2005. Using a difference-in-differences model, we examine whether disease outbreaks have a discernible impact on the prevalence of civil unrest. While our findings indicate that the relationship between disease and civil unrest is not as strong as previously suggested, we identify a notable trend that warrants further investigation. These results have significant implications for health and policy officials in understanding the complex interplay between state fragility, civil unrest, and the spread of disease.
Collapse
|
2
|
Turaiche M, Grigoras ML, Bratosin F, Bogdan I, Bota AV, Cerbu B, Gurban CV, Wulandari PH, Gurumurthy S, Hemaswini K, Citu C, Marincu I. Disease Progression, Clinical Features, and Risk Factors for Pneumonia in Unvaccinated Children and Adolescents with Measles: A Re-Emerging Disease in Romania. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:13165. [PMID: 36293745 PMCID: PMC9603068 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192013165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Measles causes in vaccinated children, with some exceptions, a mild disease, while the unvaccinated can suffer complications that result in serious consequences and even death. Although the introduction of the measles vaccine has reduced the number of cases and the viral spread, the current downward vaccination trend has resulted in the resurgence of the disease. Currently, Romania has a measles vaccination coverage below the 95% safety threshold. Thus, an outbreak started in 2016 and still ongoing in Romania, many cases being identified in the Western region in the pediatric population. Our objective was to conduct a thorough examination of clinical characteristics, evolution, and risk factors in vaccinated and unvaccinated children in this region. To reach our objectives we used a retrospective cohort analysis. The authors reviewed clinical and laboratory data from patients hospitalized at "Victor Babes" Hospital for Infectious Diseases and Pulmonology in Timisoara. We found a total of 136 qualifying cases of measles among the children admitted to this facility. The two comparison groups consisted of 104 children under 10 years and 32 patients between 10 and 18 years. An important characteristic of both study groups was the high prevalence of patients from the Roma ethnicity, which, although represents a minority in Romania, the prevalence was over 40% in the current study. The infection source was in 40.4% of children under 10 years inside the family, while 71.9% of infections in the group of adolescents were isolated (p-value = 0.047). The multivariate risk factor analysis identified as independent risk factors for the development of pneumonia the older age of patients (OR = 1.62), poor nutritional status (OR = 1.25), Roma ethnicity (OR = 2.44), presence of anemia (OR = 1.58), and procalcitonin (OR = 3.09). It is essential to handle these risk factors in a patient with measles, especially in conjunction with an unknown vaccination status. To achieve a vaccination rate greater than 95 percent for Romanian children, measles vaccination awareness must be promoted, moreover in the Roma population. More comprehensive preventative methods must be developed promptly with the objective of eradicating measles in Romania via a vigorous vaccination campaign.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mirela Turaiche
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Mirela Loredana Grigoras
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Felix Bratosin
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Iulia Bogdan
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Adrian Vasile Bota
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Bianca Cerbu
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Camelia Vidita Gurban
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Department of Biochemistry, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | | | | | - Kakarla Hemaswini
- Malla Reddy Institute of Medical Sciences, Suraram Main Road 138, Hyderabad 500055, India
| | - Cosmin Citu
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square 2, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| | - Iosif Marincu
- Methodological and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Department of Infectious Diseases, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Rackimuthu S, Hunain R, Uday U, Muzzamil M, Rehman MU, Okonji OC, Lobo CA, Essar MY, Costa ACDS, Ahmad S, Bushabu FN. COVID-19, measles, and yellow fever: The need to reinforce vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo. CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GLOBAL HEALTH 2022; 13:100956. [PMID: 35013719 PMCID: PMC8731223 DOI: 10.1016/j.cegh.2021.100956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The immunization programs have been jeopardized all over the world due to the stay-at-home constraints imposed, to mitigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This has directly or indirectly placed the global health care system in peril, resulting in an overlapping public health crisis. With this commentary, we aim to accentuate the need to reinforce vaccination in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in lieu of the intersecting COVID-19, measles, and yellow fever outbreak, besides, providing recommendations so as to help alleviate the situation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Utkarsha Uday
- West Bengal University of Health Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Shoaib Ahmad
- District Head Quarters Teaching Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Fidèle Nyimi Bushabu
- Service of oral and maxillofacial surgery, Department of Dental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Congo
| |
Collapse
|