Ralstonia solanacearum differentially modulates soil physicochemical properties and rhizospheric bacteriome of resistant and susceptible tobacco cultivars

Ralstonia solanacearum is a devastating soilborne pathogen which poses significant yield and economic losses to tobacco production globally. The impact of R. solanacearum on rhizosphere bacteriome and soil physicochemical characteristics in resistant and susceptible tobacco cultivars is poorly understood. This study aims to determine the effect of R. solanacearum on soil physicochemical parameters and rhizosphere bacteriome of resistant (K326) and susceptible (Hongda) tobacco cultivars at various growth stages. Results demonstrated that the contents of available potassium and phosphorus, as well as soil pH were significantly increased in K326 soils (CK and T2) compared with Hongda (T1) after 21, 42, and 63 days post-inoculation (dpi) of R. solanacearum except for available nitrogen which showed an opposite trend. The qPCR results showed a significant decrease in R. solanacearum population in rhizosphere of K326 (T2) compared to the Hongda (T1) at 21 and 63 dpi than that after 42 dpi. The rhizosphere bacteriome analysis through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed that rhizosphere bacterial community composition was significantly different between two tobacco cultivars (Hongda and K326) and this effect was more prominent after 63 dpi (93 days after post-transplantation), suggesting that each cultivar recruits a unique set of bacterial communities. There was no obvious difference observed in the rhizosphere bacteriome of CK (K326) and T2 (K326), which might be attributed to the same genetic makeup and inherent resistance of K326 to bacterial wilt infection. Analysis of co-occurrence networks revealed that the microbial network in T1 (Hongda) was more complex than those in T2 (K326) and CK (K326), while the networks in CK and T2 were almost identical. The present research highlights the time-course relationship between environmental factors and rhizosphere bacteriome of tobacco cultivars showing different levels of resistance against R. solanacearum. Conclusively, studying the plant-soil-microbe interaction system in susceptible and resistant tobacco cultivars may enable us to develop effective integrated disease control plans for the healthy production of tobacco crops.

Assessing the impact of climatic variability on acute respiratory diseases across diverse climatic zones in South Africa

Acute respiratory diseases are a significant public health concern in South Africa, with climatic variables such as temperature and rainfall being key influencers. This study investigates the associations between these variables and the prevalence of acute respiratory diseases in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), representing distinct climatic zones. Spearman's correlation analyses showed negative correlations in Johannesburg for respiratory disease claims with maximum temperature (r = -0.12, p < 0.0001) and mean temperature (r = -0.13, p < 0.0001), and a negative correlation with daily rainfall (r = -0.12, p < 0.0001). Cape Town demonstrated a negative correlation with maximum temperature (r = -0.18, p < 0.0001) and a positive correlation with rainfall (r = 0.08, p < 0.0001). Utilizing Distributed Lag Non-linear Models (DLNM), the study revealed that in Johannesburg, the relative risk (RR) of respiratory claims increases notably at temperatures below 12 °C, and again at a Tmax between 16 and 23 °C. The risk escalates further at >30 °C, although with a considerable error margin. For Cape Town, a stable level of moderate RR is seen from Tmax 15-24 °C, with a significant increase in RR and error margin above 30 °C. In Gqeberha, the DLNM results are less definitive, reflecting the city's moderate climate and year-round rainfall. The RR of acute respiratory diseases did not show clear patterns with temperature changes, with increasing error margins outside the 22 °C threshold. These findings emphasize the imperative for region-specific public health strategies that account for the complex, non-linear influences of climate on respiratory health. This detailed understanding of the climate-health nexus provides a robust basis for enhancing public health interventions and future research directed at reducing the impacts of climate factors.

Spatiotemporal distribution of climate-sensitive disease incidences in ethiopia: a longitudinal retrospective analysis of Malaria, Meningitis, Cholera, Dysentery, Leishmaniasis and Dengue fever between 2010 and 2022/2023

BACKGROUND

Understanding the temporal and geographic distribution of disease incidences is crucial for effective public health planning and intervention strategies. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of disease incidences in Ethiopia, focusing on six major diseases: Malaria, Meningitis, Cholera and Dysentery, over the period from 2010 to 2022, whereas Dengue Fever and Leishmaniasis from 2018 to 2023.

METHODS

Using data from Ethiopian public health institute: public health emergency management (PHEM), and Ministry of Health, we examined the occurrence and spread of each disease across different regions of Ethiopia. Spatial mapping and time series analysis were employed to identify hotspots, trends, and seasonal variations in disease incidence.

RESULTS

The findings reveal distinct patterns for each disease, with varying cases and temporal dynamics. Monthly wise, Malaria exhibits a cyclical pattern with a peak during the rainy and humid season, while Dysentery, Meningitis and Cholera displays intermittent incidences. Dysentery cases show a consistent presence throughout the years, while Meningitis remains relatively low in frequency but poses a potential threat due to its severity. Dengue fever predominantly occurs in the eastern parts of Ethiopia. A significant surge in reported incident cases occurred during the years 2010 to 2013, primarily concentrated in the Amhara, Sidama, Oromia, Dire Dawa, and Benishangul-Gumuz regions.

CONCLUSIONS

This study helps to a better understanding of disease epidemiology in Ethiopia and can serve as a foundation for evidence-based decision-making in disease prevention and control. By recognizing the patterns and seasonal changes associated with each disease, health authorities can implement proactive measures to mitigate the impact of outbreaks and safeguard public health in the region.

Epidemiology of pneumonia in hospitalized adults ≥18 years old in four districts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 2015-2019

BACKGROUND

Community-acquired pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children and adults worldwide. Adult pneumonia surveillance remains limited in many low- and middle-income settings, resulting in the disease burden being largely unknown.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study was conducted by reviewing medical charts for respiratory admissions at four district hospitals in Ulaanbaatar during January 2015-February 2019. Characteristics of community-acquired pneumonia cases were summarized by disease severity and age. To explore factors associated with severe pneumonia, we ran univariable and age-adjusted logistic regression models. Incidence rates were calculated using population denominators.

RESULTS

In total, 4290 respiratory admissions met the case definition for clinical pneumonia, including 430 admissions of severe pneumonia. The highest proportion of severe pneumonia admissions occurred in adults >65 years (37.4%). After adjusting for age, there were increased odds of severe pneumonia in males (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.63; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.33-2.00) and those with ≥1 underlying medical condition (aOR: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.14-1.87). The incidence of hospitalized pneumonia in adults ≥18 years increased from 13.49 (95% CI: 12.58-14.44) in 2015 to 17.65 (95% CI: 16.63-18.71) in 2018 per 10,000 population. The incidence of severe pneumonia was highest in adults >65 years, ranging from 9.29 (95% CI: 6.17-13.43) in 2015 to 12.69 (95% CI: 9.22-17.04) in 2018 per 10,000 population.

INTERPRETATIONS

Vaccination and other strategies to reduce the risk of pneumonia, particularly among older adults and those with underlying medical conditions, should be prioritized.

FUNDING

Pfizer clinical research collaboration agreement (contract number: WI236621).

Prediction of Ross River virus incidence in Queensland, Australia: building and comparing models

Transmission of Ross River virus (RRV) is influenced by climatic, environmental, and socio-economic factors. Accurate and robust predictions based on these factors are necessary for disease prevention and control. However, the complicated transmission cycle and the characteristics of RRV notification data present challenges. Studies to compare model performance are lacking. In this study, we used RRV notification data and exposure data from 2001 to 2020 in Queensland, Australia, and compared ten models (including generalised linear models, zero-inflated models, and generalised additive models) to predict RRV incidence in different regions of Queensland. We aimed to compare model performance and to evaluate the effect of statistical over-dispersion and zero-inflation of RRV surveillance data, and non-linearity of predictors on model fit. A variable selection strategy for screening important predictors was developed and was found to be efficient and able to generate consistent and reasonable numbers of predictors across regions and in all training sets. Negative binomial models generally exhibited better model fit than Poisson models, suggesting that over-dispersion in the data is the primary factor driving model fit compared to non-linearity of predictors and excess zeros. All models predicted the peak periods well but were unable to fit and predict the magnitude of peaks, especially when there were high numbers of cases. Adding new variables including historical RRV cases and mosquito abundance may improve model performance. The standard negative binomial generalised linear model is stable, simple, and effective in prediction, and is thus considered the best choice among all models.

Changes to the practice of pediatric otolaryngology as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted medical practice globally. The objective of this study was to examine the changes to the practice of pediatric otolaryngology internationally due to the COVID-19 pandemic and examine potential contributors.

METHOD

An online survey was designed to assess practice demographics, patterns of COVID-19 related restrictions in communities, and changes to practice and referrals. This was disseminated via an international Covid-19 WhatsApp™ group of pediatric otolaryngologists.

RESULTS

There were 45 respondents of 177 group members (25.4%) from 15 countries. The mean estimated time spent under strictest lockdown measures was 16.2 (±10.7) weeks (range: 1-45 weeks). Operating room time was reduced for 82.9%, with an average reported reduction of 41.5%. Almost all (>75%) of respondents reported reduced referrals for five common conditions: otitis media with effusion (average reported decrease - 56.1%); acute otitis media (average decrease 62.8%); acute mastoiditis (average decrease 66.6%); recurrent pharyngotonsillitis (average decrease 51.0%); and peritonsillar abscess (average decrease 52.1%). COVID-19 cases per million population significantly influenced the acuity of referrals received (p < .05). No conditions were reported as increased in frequency and the acuity of most conditions was reported as unchanged by the majority of respondents.

CONCLUSION

The measures taken to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in many changes to pediatric otolaryngology practice and the referral patterns of common conditions. Some of these changes may have enduring sequelae.

Clinical disease incidence during early lactation, risk factors and association with fertility and culling in grazing dairy cows in Uruguay

This paper aims to describe clinical disease incidence in early lactation and explore its association with fertility and culling in 13 commercial grazing dairy herds in Uruguay. Seven farms with less than 250 dairy cows considered small herds (SH) with a herd size average ± (SD) of 144 ± (56) cows and six farms with more than 500 cows considered large herds (LH) with a herd size average ± (SD) of 830 ± (239) cows were selected. Herd managers recorded health events during the first 90 days in milk in 5375 Holstein dairy cows [24.5% (n=1316) of them were primiparous cows, (PP)] during one year. Overall, 36.5% (n=1959) of the cows had at least one clinical health event between 1-90 days in milk. The cumulative incidences were 2.2% for twin birth and 4.9% for stillbirth. Cumulative incidence was 4.4% for retained placenta-metritis (RP-metritis), 27.6% for clinical mastitis and 5.0% for lameness. Our data showed that parity and herd size were risk factors for postpartum disease in grazing dairy herds. In PP cows, stillbirth incidence was higher than in multiparous (MP) cows (PP=6.9 ± 3.4, SD vs. MP=4.3 ± 2.6, SD), while in MP cows twin births (MP=2.7 ± 1.7, SD vs. PP=0.7 ± 2.7, SD), RP-metritis (MP=4.6 ± 3.9, SD vs. PP=3.8 ± 3.7, SD) and mastitis incidence (MP=30.9 ± 11.4, SD vs. PP=17.2 ± 13.9, SD) was higher. Clinical mastitis (LH=29.4 ± 9.6, SD vs. SH=19.1 ± 11.3, SD) and lameness incidence (LH=5.6 ± 1.9, SD vs. SH=2.3 ± 2.1, SD) was higher in large herds than in small herds. RP-metritis was increased by stillbirth (OR=4.4, 95 % CI=2.9-6.5) and twin birth (OR=2.8, 95 % CI=1.5-5.1). Diseases had a negative impact on time to first service and pregnancy rate and increased culling hazard rate. Disease incidence in early lactation was high and showed a wide variation among herds (10.4%-48.7%), which highlights the relevance of a herd health program prioritizing the early lactation disease control.

Epidemiological trends of foodborne Campylobacter outbreaks in the United States of America, 1998-2016

Campylobacter is a major cause of foodborne diarrheal infections in the United States of America (USA). This study aimed to elucidate the patterns of Campylobacter foodborne outbreaks temporally and spatially concerning food vehicles. We collected the data of foodborne outbreaks from 1998 to 2016 reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The incidence rate of outbreaks for each food source was calculated and analyzed for each variable including season, food location, and census region. Overall, 465 single-state outbreaks and 8003 cases were reported during 1998-2016. Outbreaks were frequently attributed to dairy products (32%), chicken (17%) and vegetables (6%). Binomial regression analysis showed that compared to chicken items, the highest rate ratio of outbreaks was associated with dairy products (1.86) followed by vegetables (1.35) and meat products (0.76). More outbreaks were reported in the summer (35%) followed by the spring (26%) and fall (22%) season. We found that the highest number of outbreaks occurred in the West 159 (34%) and Midwest 137 (29%) census regions. The study highlights the role of dairy, chicken, and vegetables as food vehicles in Campylobacter outbreaks. Findings from this study can help in devising strategies to mitigate the increasing occurrence of Campylobacter foodborne outbreaks.

Household presentation of influenza and acute respiratory illnesses to a primary care sentinel network: retrospective database studies (2013-2018)

Background

Direct observation of the household spread of influenza and respiratory infections is limited; much of our understanding comes from mathematical models. The study aims to determine household incidence of influenza-like illness (ILI), lower (LRTI) and upper (URTI) respiratory infections within a primary care routine data and identify factors associated with the diseases’ incidence.

Methods

We conducted two five-year retrospective analyses of influenza-like illness (ILI), lower (LRTI) and upper (URTI) respiratory infections using the England Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC) primary care sentinel network database; a cross-sectional study reporting incident rate ratio (IRR) from a negative binomial model and a retrospective cohort study, using a shared gamma frailty survival model, reporting hazard ratios (HR). We reported the following household characteristics: children < 5 years old, each extra household member, gender, ethnicity (reference white), chronic disease, pregnancy, and rurality.

Results

The IRR where there was a child < 5 years were 1·62 (1·38–1·89, p < 0·0001), 2·40 (2.04–2.83, p < 0·0001) and 4·46 (3.79–5.255, p < 0·0001) for ILI, LRTI and URTI respectively. IRR also increased with household size, rurality and presentations and by female gender, compared to male. Household incidence of URTI and LRTI changed little between years whereas influenza did and were greater in years with lower vaccine effectiveness.

The HR where there was a child < 5 years were 2·34 (95%CI 1·88–2·90, p < 0·0001), 2·97 (95%CI 2·76–3·2, p < 0·0001) and 10·32 (95%CI 10.04–10.62, p < 0·0001) for ILI, LRTI and URTI respectively. HR were increased with female gender, rurality, and increasing household size.

Conclusions

Patterns of household incidence can be measured from routine data and may provide insights for the modelling of disease transmission and public health policy.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-020-09790-3.

Household presentation of acute gastroenteritis in a primary care sentinel network: retrospective database studies

Background

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a highly transmissible condition spreading rapidly between individuals and within households. Rotavirus vaccination was introduced in the UK in 2013. The study objectives were to investigate how acute gastroenteritis incidence changed over 25 years and household incidence of AGE since 2013.

Methods

Repeated cross-sectional study of Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre network. We used a negative binomial model to report incidence rate ratio (IRR) using the last 5 years data. We also conducted a retrospective cohort analysis, using a shared gamma frailty model (2013–2017). We explored the impact of child under 5- years, household size, socioeconomic status quintile, and rurality.

Results

In the cross-sectional analysis, the IRR of AGE in households with a child of under 5 years was 12.20 (95%CI 11.08–13.45-, p < 0.001) compared with households without; the IRR fell across IMD quintiles, for example there is a 37% decrease in incidence comparing IMD quintile 1 to quintile 5 (95%CI -0.52-0.76, p < 0.001),

The cohort study revealed that the presence of an under 5 in the household was associated with a higher risk of household presentation (HR = 6.29, 95% CI 5.61–7.06, p < 0.001). In addition, we observe a reduction in risk of presentation from the most to the least deprived socioeconomic quintile (second quintile: HR = 0.74 (95%CI 0.59–0.92), to least deprived quintile, HR = 0.55 (95%CI 0.41–0.74). We saw a lower association with male gender, white ethnicity and living outside London, but an increased association with increasing household size.

Conclusions

The incidence of AGE has changed over time: pre-school children, larger households, and living in London were associated with higher rates, and male gender and higher economic status associated with lower rates.

Global epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): disease incidence, daily cumulative index, mortality, and their association with country healthcare resources and economic status

It has been 2 months since the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan, China. So far, COVID-19 has affected 85 403 patients in 57 countries/territories and has caused 2924 deaths in 9 countries. However, epidemiological data differ between countries. Although China had higher morbidity and mortality than other sites, the number of new daily cases in China has been lower than outside of China since 26 February 2020. The incidence ranged from 61.44 per 1 000 000 people in the Republic of Korea to 0.0002 per 1 000 000 people in India. The daily cumulative index (DCI) of COVID-19 (cumulative cases/no. of days between the first reported case and 29 February 2020) was greatest in China (1320.85), followed by the Republic of Korea (78.78), Iran (43.11) and Italy (30.62). However, the DCIs in other countries/territories were <10 per day. Several effective measures including restricting travel from China, controlling the distribution of masks, extensive investigation of COVID-19 spread, and once-daily press conferences by the government to inform and educate people were aggressively conducted in Taiwan. This is probably the reason why there was only 39 cases (as of 29 February 2020) with a DCI of 1 case per day in Taiwan, which is much lower than that of nearby countries such as the Republic of Korea and Japan. In addition, the incidence and mortality were correlated with the DCI. However, further study and continued monitoring are needed to better understand the underlying mechanism of COVID-19.

Global epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): disease incidence, daily cumulative index, mortality, and their association with country healthcare resources and economic status

•

As of 29 Feb. 2020, COVID-19 has affected 85 403 patients in 57 countries/territories and caused 2924 deaths in 9 countries.

•

The incidence (per 1 000 000 people) ranged from 61.4 in Republic of Korea to 0.0002 in India.

•

Daily cumulative index (DCI) of COVID-19 (cumulative cases/no. of days between first reported case and 29 Feb. 2020) was greatest in China (1320.85).

•

High DCIs were also seen in the Republic of Korea (78.78), Iran (43.11) and Italy (30.62).

•

The incidence and mortality were correlated with the DCI.

It has been 2 months since the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan, China. So far, COVID-19 has affected 85 403 patients in 57 countries/territories and has caused 2924 deaths in 9 countries. However, epidemiological data differ between countries. Although China had higher morbidity and mortality than other sites, the number of new daily cases in China has been lower than outside of China since 26 February 2020. The incidence ranged from 61.44 per 1 000 000 people in the Republic of Korea to 0.0002 per 1 000 000 people in India. The daily cumulative index (DCI) of COVID-19 (cumulative cases/no. of days between the first reported case and 29 February 2020) was greatest in China (1320.85), followed by the Republic of Korea (78.78), Iran (43.11) and Italy (30.62). However, the DCIs in other countries/territories were <10 per day. Several effective measures including restricting travel from China, controlling the distribution of masks, extensive investigation of COVID-19 spread, and once-daily press conferences by the government to inform and educate people were aggressively conducted in Taiwan. This is probably the reason why there was only 39 cases (as of 29 February 2020) with a DCI of 1 case per day in Taiwan, which is much lower than that of nearby countries such as the Republic of Korea and Japan. In addition, the incidence and mortality were correlated with the DCI. However, further study and continued monitoring are needed to better understand the underlying mechanism of COVID-19.

Virological and Epidemiological Situation in the Influenza Epidemic Seasons 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 in Poland

The World Health Organization estimates that influenza virus infects 3–5 million people worldwide every year, of whom 290,000 to 650,000 die. In the 2016/2017 epidemic season in Poland, the incidence of influenza was 1,692 per 100,000 population. The influenza A virus, subtype A/H3N2/, was the predominant one in that season. However, in the most recent 2017/2018 epidemic season, the incidence exceeded 1,782 per 100,000 already by August of 2018. In this season, influenza B virus predominated, while the A/H1N1/pdm09 strain was most frequent among the influenza A subtypes. The peak incidence, based on the number of clinical specimens tested, was in weeks 4–5 of 2017 and week 8 of 2018 in the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 epidemic seasons, respectively. As of the 2017/2018 season, a quadrivalent vaccine, consisting of two antigens of influenza A subtypes and another two of influenza B virus, was available in Poland. Nonetheless, the vaccination rate remained at one of the lowest level in Europe, fluctuating between 3% and 4% of the general Polish population.

Effectiveness of alternative measures to reduce antimicrobial usage in pig production in four European countries

BACKGROUND

The reduction of antimicrobial usage (AMU) is in the focus in modern pig production. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of alternatives to reduce AMU at herd level. In a prospective study, 68 farrow-to-finish pig herds located in Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden were recruited on a voluntary basis to implement tailor-made intervention plans to reduce their AMU. Alternative measures included improvement of biosecurity (n = 29 herds), vaccination (n = 30), changes of feeding schemes or drinking water quality (n = 45), improved pig health and welfare care (n = 21) as well as changes in stable climate and zootechnical measures (n = 14). Herds were followed for 1 year after implementation of measures. Annual antimicrobial expenditures or treatment records, as well as disease incidence scores were collected and compared to those of the year before intervention. AMU was measured as the treatment incidence and calculated by age category, antimicrobial class and administration route.

RESULTS

Compliance with the intervention plans was high (median 93%). AMU was significantly reduced following the implementation of alternative measures: in the median herd of the four countries, pigs were treated before intervention 25% of their expected lifespan (200 days from birth to slaughter) and after intervention 16%. AMU of suckling and weaned pigs were significantly reduced by 37 and 54%, respectively. The usage of polymyxins and tetracyclines was significantly reduced by 69 and 49%, respectively. AMU via feed and water, as well as parenteral AMU were significantly reduced by 46 and 36%, respectively. Herds with a higher AMU level before intervention achieved a bigger reduction. The majority of disease incidence were similar before and after intervention, with a few exceptions of disorders related to the gastro-intestinal tract in suckling pigs (decreased) and in breeding pigs (increased).

CONCLUSION

Following tailor-made implementation of alternative measures, a substantial reduction of AMU in pig production was achievable without jeopardizing animal health. The AMU reduction in the youngest age categories (suckling and weaned pigs) and the reduction of group treatments via feed and water was in line with the recent European Guidelines on the prudent use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine.

Childhood onset type 1 diabetes at a tertiary hospital in south-western Iran during 2000-2015: Rapid increase in admissions and high prevalence of DKA at diagnosis

AIMS

Incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is increasing worldwide. We aimed to study trends in presentation and incidence of childhood diabetes in the last 15years in south-western Iran.

METHODS

During a detailed review of compiled records of the main tertiary children's hospital of southwest of Iran, from January 2000 to December 2009, the following clinical information relevant to diabetes were analysed: admissions, demographic data, clinical and laboratory findings, hospital course, and mortality. Study continued 5years more to find out the real rate of increase. Significant findings with respect to the incidence of DKA, gender and age of subjects were summarized from among these cases. A total of 297 (known and new) cases were enrolled in the 1st (10year) stage of study and 691 new subjects in the 2nd (5year) period to check the trend in the whole 15year study period.

RESULTS

In the 1st period; excluding 129 repeated admissions, 297 cases were enrolled for analysis: 223 new and 74 known cases. Among the new cases, 67.3% presented with DKA, without any gender bias. Mortality rate in DKA subjects was 4% with higher risk in the <2year group and in girls (boy: girl=1:7; p=0.039). Adding the 2nd study period (total 15years) disclosed a rapid rise of incidence (new cases/5year) as 89, 134 and 691 new diabetes cases for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd 5year period of study respectively. The final annual incidence for <15year age group in 2015 was 13.35/100000.

CONCLUSIONS

The most new cases of T1DM presented with DKA, which is similar to the other developing countries. Such an increasing incidence of DM proposes more attention for periodic retraining of families and health staff to earlier diagnosis and management of new subjects, and to reduce morbidity and mortality rates.

Progress in the gut microbiota in exploring shrimp disease pathogenesis and incidence

It is now recognized that gut microbiota contributes indispensable roles in safeguarding host health. Shrimp is being threatened by newly emerging diseases globally; thus, understanding the driving factors that govern its gut microbiota would facilitate an initial step to reestablish and maintain a "healthy" gut microbiota. This review summarizes the factors that assemble the shrimp gut microbiota, which focuses on the current progresses of knowledge linking the gut microbiota and shrimp health status. In particular, I propose the exploration of shrimp disease pathogenesis and incidence based on the interplay between dysbiosis in the gut microbiota and disease severity. An updated research on shrimp disease toward an ecological perspective is discussed, including host-bacterial colonization, identification of polymicrobial pathogens and diagnosing disease incidence. Further, a simple conceptual model is offered to summarize the interplay among the gut microbiota, external factors, and shrimp disease. Finally, based on the review, current limitations are raised and future studies directed at solving these concerns are proposed. This review is timely given the increased interest in the role of gut microbiota in disease pathogenesis and the advent of novel diagnosis strategies.

Recurrence of tuberculosis in a low-incidence setting: a retrospective cross-sectional study augmented by whole genome sequencing

Background

The recurrence of tuberculosis (TB) disease in treated patients can serve as a marker of the efficacy of TB control programs. Recurrent disease represents either endogenous reactivation with the same strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis due to non-compliance or inadequate therapy or exogenous reinfection with a new strain. Genotyping or whole genome sequencing (WGS) of M. tuberculosis isolates from initial and recurrent cases can differentiate between reinfection and reactivation. This study examined cases of recurrent TB in New South Wales, Australia, using genotyping and WGS.

Methods

Culture-confirmed TB cases diagnosed at least 12 months apart between January 2011 and December 2016 were included. Isolates of M. tuberculosis from patients were compared using 24-locus Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit Variable Number Tandem Repeat (MIRU-24) typing and WGS.

Results

Eighteen cases of recurrent disease were identified but isolates from only 15 (83%) were available for study. MIRU-24 findings classified 13 (13/15; 87%) as reactivation and two (13%), as reinfection. Sequencing 13 cultivable paired isolates demonstrated 11 reactivations and two reinfections. There was genomic similarity in 10 out of 13 pairs while one case (1/13; 8%) had 12 SNPS differences. Two other cases (2/13;15%) had > 200 SNPs differences and were classified as reinfection. No phenotypic or genomic evidence of drug resistance was observed.

Conclusion

TB control programs can achieve consistently low rates of recurrent disease in low incidence settings. WGS of implicated isolates augments the differentiation between reactivation and reinfection and indicates that the majority of recurrences are due to reactivation rather than reinfection. Predominance of reactivation over reinfection indicates high-quality public health practices and a low risk of local transmission.

Trial registration

This study was approved by the Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC Ref: AU RED LNR/17/WMEAD/190; SSA Ref: LNR SSA/17/WMEAD/191).

Quantitative prediction of shrimp disease incidence via the profiles of gut eukaryotic microbiota

One common notion is emerging that gut eukaryotes are commensal or beneficial, rather than detrimental. To date, however, surprisingly few studies have been taken to discern the factors that govern the assembly of gut eukaryotes, despite growing interest in the dysbiosis of gut microbiota-disease relationship. Herein, we firstly explored how the gut eukaryotic microbiotas were assembled over shrimp postlarval to adult stages and a disease progression. The gut eukaryotic communities changed markedly as healthy shrimp aged, and converged toward an adult-microbiota configuration. However, the adult-like stability was distorted by disease exacerbation. A null model untangled that the deterministic processes that governed the gut eukaryotic assembly tended to be more important over healthy shrimp development, whereas this trend was inverted as the disease progressed. After ruling out the baseline of gut eukaryotes over shrimp ages, we identified disease-discriminatory taxa (species level afforded the highest accuracy of prediction) that characteristic of shrimp health status. The profiles of these taxa contributed an overall 92.4% accuracy in predicting shrimp health status. Notably, this model can accurately diagnose the onset of shrimp disease. Interspecies interaction analysis depicted how the disease-discriminatory taxa interacted with one another in sustaining shrimp health. Taken together, our findings offer novel insights into the underlying ecological processes that govern the assembly of gut eukaryotes over shrimp postlarval to adult stages and a disease progression. Intriguingly, the established model can quantitatively and accurately predict the incidences of shrimp disease.

County-level contextual factors associated with diabetes incidence in the United States

PURPOSE

Health and administrative systems are facing spatial clustering in chronic diseases such as diabetes. This study explores how geographic distribution of diabetes in the United States is associated with socioeconomic and built environment characteristics and health-relevant policies.

METHODS

We compiled nationally representative county-level data from multiple data sources. We standardized characteristics to a mean = 0 and a SD = 1 and modeled county-level age-adjusted diagnosed diabetes incidence in 2013 using 2-level hierarchical linear regression.

RESULTS

Incidence of age-standardized diagnosed diabetes in 2013 varied across U.S. counties (n = 3109), ranging from 310 to 2190 new cases/100,000, with an average of 856.4/100,000. Socioeconomic and health-related characteristics explained ∼42% of the variation in diabetes incidence across counties. After accounting for other characteristics, counties with higher unemployment, higher poverty, and longer commutes had higher incidence rates than counties with lower levels. Counties with more exercise opportunities, access to healthy food, and primary care physicians had fewer diabetes cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Features of the socioeconomic and built environment were associated with diabetes incidence; identifying the salient modifiable features of counties can inform targeted policies to reduce diabetes incidence.

Survey, symptomatology, transmission, host range and characterization of begomovirus associated with yellow mosaic disease of ridge gourd in southern India

Ridge gourd is an important vegetable crop and is affected by several biotic and abiotic factors. Among the different biotic factors, ridge gourd yellow mosaic disease (RgYMD) is new emerging threat for the production of ridge gourd. The incidence of the RgYMD varied from 30 to 100% in southern India with highest disease incidence of 100% observed in Belagavi district of Karnataka state. The infected plants showed chlorosis, mosaic, cupping of leaves, blistering, reduction in leaf size and stunted growth. The varieties/hybrids grown in the farmer's fields were found to be susceptible to the disease. Begomovirus was detected in 61 out 64 samples collected from different areas of southern India. Further, all the samples failed to give amplification for beta and alpha satellites. The transmission studies revealed that single whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) is enough to transmit the virus, however, 100% transmission was observed with 10 whiteflies. The minimum acquisition access period and inoculation access period for transmission of virus by whitefly was 15 min. Among the 56 host plants belonging to diversified families tested for host range, sponge gourd, ash gourd, bottle gourd, pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, cluster bean, tobacco and datura were shown to be susceptible. Seventy six varieties/hybrids evaluated for identifying the resistance source for RgYMD, all were found highly susceptible. Sequence analysis of DNA-A revealed that the causal virus shared highest nucleotide sequence identity (92.3%) with Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) infecting sponge gourd from northern India. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of both DNA-A and DNA-B components showed that the begomovirus associated with RgYMD is found to be strain of ToLCNDV. This is first report of ToLCNDV association with RgYMD from southern India.

Estimating hazard ratios in cohort data with missing disease information due to death

In clinical and epidemiological studies information on the primary outcome of interest, that is, the disease status, is usually collected at a limited number of follow-up visits. The disease status can often only be retrieved retrospectively in individuals who are alive at follow-up, but will be missing for those who died before. Right-censoring the death cases at the last visit (ad-hoc analysis) yields biased hazard ratio estimates of a potential risk factor, and the bias can be substantial and occur in either direction. In this work, we investigate three different approaches that use the same likelihood contributions derived from an illness-death multistate model in order to more adequately estimate the hazard ratio by including the death cases into the analysis: a parametric approach, a penalized likelihood approach, and an imputation-based approach. We investigate to which extent these approaches allow for an unbiased regression analysis by evaluating their performance in simulation studies and on a real data example. In doing so, we use the full cohort with complete illness-death data as reference and artificially induce missing information due to death by setting discrete follow-up visits. Compared to an ad-hoc analysis, all considered approaches provide less biased or even unbiased results, depending on the situation studied. In the real data example, the parametric approach is seen to be too restrictive, whereas the imputation-based approach could almost reconstruct the original event history information.

Dynamic denominators: the impact of seasonally varying population numbers on disease incidence estimates

BACKGROUND

Reliable health metrics are crucial for accurately assessing disease burden and planning interventions. Many health indicators are measured through passive surveillance systems and are reliant on accurate estimates of denominators to transform case counts into incidence measures. These denominator estimates generally come from national censuses and use large area growth rates to estimate annual changes. Typically, they do not account for any seasonal fluctuations and thus assume a static denominator population. Many recent studies have highlighted the dynamic nature of human populations through quantitative analyses of mobile phone call data records and a range of other sources, emphasizing seasonal changes. In this study, we use mobile phone data to capture patterns of short-term human population movement and to map dynamism in population densities.

METHODS

We show how mobile phone data can be used to measure seasonal changes in health district population numbers, which are used as denominators for calculating district-level disease incidence. Using the example of malaria case reporting in Namibia we use 3.5 years of phone data to investigate the spatial and temporal effects of fluctuations in denominators caused by seasonal mobility on malaria incidence estimates.

RESULTS

We show that even in a sparsely populated country with large distances between population centers, such as Namibia, populations are highly dynamic throughout the year. We highlight how seasonal mobility affects malaria incidence estimates, leading to differences of up to 30 % compared to estimates created using static population maps. These differences exhibit clear spatial patterns, with likely overestimation of incidence in the high-prevalence zones in the north of Namibia and underestimation in lower-risk areas when compared to using static populations.

CONCLUSION

The results here highlight how health metrics that rely on static estimates of denominators from censuses may differ substantially once mobility and seasonal variations are taken into account. With respect to the setting of malaria in Namibia, the results indicate that Namibia may actually be closer to malaria elimination than previously thought. More broadly, the results highlight how dynamic populations are. In addition to affecting incidence estimates, these changes in population density will also have an impact on allocation of medical resources. Awareness of seasonal movements has the potential to improve the impact of interventions, such as vaccination campaigns or distributions of commodities like bed nets.

Efficacy of ginger oil and extract combined with gum arabic on anthracnose and quality of papaya fruit during cold storage

Effect of 2.0 % ginger oil (GO) and 1.5 % ginger extract (GE) in combination with 10.0 % gum arabic (GA) was evaluated for the postharvest control of anthracnose and maintaining quality of Eksotika II papaya fruit during storage at 12 ± 1 °C and 80-85 % RH. Antifungal compounds present in GO and GE were analyzed using gas chromatography and GO was found to contain α-pinene, 1, 8-cineole and borneol, while only borneol was present in GE due to different extraction methods applied. The highest antifungal activity was shown in 2.0 % GO combined with 10 % GA, which significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited spore germination by 93 %. Based on the physicochemical properties tested, 2.0 % GO combined with 10 % GA significantly delayed the ripening of papaya. These results show that 10.0 % GA combined with 2.0 % GO is an effective postharvest biofungicide for papaya.

Effects of shortening the dry period of dairy cows on milk production, energy balance, health, and fertility: a systematic review

A dry period of 6-8 weeks for dairy cows is generally thought to maximise milk production in the next lactation. However, the value of such a long dry period is increasingly questioned. In particular, shortening the dry period shifts milk production from the critical period after calving to the weeks before calving. This shift in milk production could improve the energy balance (EB), health and fertility of dairy cows. The objective of this study was to systematically review the current knowledge on dry period length in relation to milk production, EB, fertility, and health of cows and calves. A meta-analysis was performed for variables where at least five studies were available. Overall, both shortening and omitting the dry period reduces milk production, increases milk protein percentage and tends to reduce the risk of ketosis in the next lactation. Individual studies reported an improvement of EB after a short or no dry period, compared with a conventional dry period. Shortening or omitting the dry period did not affect milk fat percentage and shortening the dry period did not alter the odds ratio for mastitis, metritis, or fertility measures in the next lactation. So, current evidence for an improvement of health and fertility of dairy cows is marginal and may be partly explained by the limited number of studies which have evaluated health and fertility in relation to dry period length, the limited number of animals in those studies and the variable responses reported.