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Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Apr 2021Feline leishmaniosis (FeL) is increasingly reported throughout the world and skin lesions predominate in the clinical picture. There are, however, few evidence-based... (Review)
Review
Feline leishmaniosis (FeL) is increasingly reported throughout the world and skin lesions predominate in the clinical picture. There are, however, few evidence-based data on cutaneous feline leishmaniosis and directions are strongly needed for a better management of the disease. In this study, we systematically reviewed what is currently known about the clinical dermatological presentation of FeL through analysis of the literature and, further, by adding unpublished cases managed by Italian veterinary dermatologists. Sixty-six feline cases of cutaneous leishmaniosis published in 33 articles between 1990 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Six unpublished cases of cutaneous FeL managed by Italian dermatologists were also reviewed. The majority of cases were reported from South America, followed by Europe and North America. Nodules were the most frequently reported clinical signs and the presence of Leishmania in lesioned skin was assessed mainly by cytology. A total of six Leishmania species have been identified as being responsible for skin lesions. Coinfections by FIV or FeLV were reported in 12.1% and 9.1% of the cases, respectively. Clinical data including treatment have been analyzed and discussed to provide directives for proper management of the disease for which cats may also serve as domestic reservoirs for human infections.
PubMed: 33924616
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10040472 -
Scientific Reports Mar 2021This study aimed to consolidate current knowledge of wildlife brucellosis in Africa and to analyse available predictors of infection. The Preferred Reporting Items for... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
This study aimed to consolidate current knowledge of wildlife brucellosis in Africa and to analyse available predictors of infection. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. Information on species, test used, test results, area, rainfall, livestock and wildlife contact and year of study were extracted. This systematic review revealed 42 prevalence studies, nine disease control articles and six articles on epidemiology. Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella inopinata and Brucella suis were reported in wildlife. The prevalence studies revealed serological evidence of brucellosis in buffalo, antelope (positive in 14/28 species), carnivores (4/12) and other species (7/20) over the last five decades. Buffalo populations were more likely to be infected and had a higher seroprevalence than other species; the pooled seroprevalence was 13.7% (95% CI 10.3-17.3%) in buffalo, 7.1% (95% CI 1.1-15.5%) in carnivores and 2.1% (95% CI 0.1-4.9%) in antelope. Wildlife in high rainfall areas (≥ 800 mm) were more likely to be infected, and infected populations showed higher seroprevalence in high rainfall areas and in studies published after 2000. Domestic animal contact was associated with increased seroprevalence in antelope and carnivore species, but not in buffalo, supporting the hypothesis that buffalo may be a reservoir species.
Topics: Africa; Animal Diseases; Animals; Animals, Wild; Arachnid Vectors; Brucella; Brucellosis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Multivariate Analysis; Public Health Surveillance; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Ticks; Zoonoses
PubMed: 33727580
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85441-w -
The Science of the Total Environment Jul 2021The current pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led people to implement preventive measures, including surface... (Review)
Review
The current pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led people to implement preventive measures, including surface disinfection and use of alcohol-based hand gel, in order to avoid viral transmission via fomites. However, the role of surface transmission is still debated. The present systematic review aims to summarize all the evidence on surface survival of coronaviruses infecting humans. The analysis of 18 studies showed the longest coronavirus survival time is 28 days at room temperature (RT) on different surfaces: polymer banknotes, vinyl, steel, glass, and paper banknotes. Concerning SARS-CoV-2 human infection from contaminated surfaces, dangerous viral load on surfaces for up to 21 days was determined on polymer banknotes, steel, glass and paper banknotes. For viruses other than SARS-CoV-2, the longest period of survival was 14 days, recorded on glass. Environmental conditions can affect virus survival, and indeed, low temperatures and low humidity support prolonged survival of viruses on contaminated surfaces independently of surface type. Furthermore, it has been shown that exposure to sunlight significantly reduces the risk of surface transmission. Although studies are increasingly investigating the topic of coronavirus survival, it is difficult to compare them, given the methodology differences. For this reason, it is advisable to define a reference working protocol for virus survival trials, but, as an immediate measure, there is also a need for further investigations of coronavirus survival on surfaces.
Topics: COVID-19; Fomites; Humans; Humidity; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 33714096
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146191 -
Veterinary Research Feb 2021Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a multi-host disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). Due to its impact on economy, sanitary standards of...
Animal tuberculosis (TB) is a multi-host disease caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). Due to its impact on economy, sanitary standards of milk and meat industry, public health and conservation, TB control is an actively ongoing research subject. Several wildlife species are involved in the maintenance and transmission of TB, so that new approaches to wildlife TB diagnosis have gained relevance in recent years. Diagnosis is a paramount step for screening, epidemiological investigation, as well as for ensuring the success of control strategies such as vaccination trials. This is the first review that systematically addresses data available for the diagnosis of TB in wildlife following the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The article also gives an overview of the factors related to host, environment, sampling, and diagnostic techniques which can affect test performance. After three screenings, 124 articles were considered for systematic review. Literature indicates that post-mortem examination and culture are useful methods for disease surveillance, but immunological diagnostic tests based on cellular and humoral immune response detection are gaining importance in wildlife TB diagnosis. Among them, serological tests are especially useful in wildlife because they are relatively inexpensive and easy to perform, facilitate large-scale surveillance and can be used both ante- and post-mortem. Currently available studies assessed test performance mostly in cervids, European badgers, wild suids and wild bovids. Research to improve diagnostic tests for wildlife TB diagnosis is still needed in order to reach accurate, rapid and cost-effective diagnostic techniques adequate to a broad range of target species and consistent over space and time to allow proper disease monitoring.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Wild; Disease Reservoirs; Mycobacterium bovis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Tuberculosis
PubMed: 33627188
DOI: 10.1186/s13567-020-00881-y -
One Health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Jun 2021Dengue is a rapidly spreading mosquito-borne flavivirus infection that is prevalent in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Humans are known to be the main reservoir host... (Review)
Review
Dengue is a rapidly spreading mosquito-borne flavivirus infection that is prevalent in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Humans are known to be the main reservoir host maintaining the epidemic cycles of dengue but it is unclear if dengue virus is also maintained in a similar enzootic cycle. The systematic review was conducted in accordance to Cochrane's PRISMA recommendations. A search was done on PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and Cochrane Library. Key data on animal dengue positivity was extracted and classified according to animal type and diagnostic modes. Of the 3818 articles identified, 56 articles were used in this review. A total of 16,333 animals were tested, 1817 of which were positive for dengue virus by RT-PCR or serology. Dengue positivity was detected in bats (10.1%), non-human primates (27.3%), birds (11%), bovid (4.1%), dogs (1.6%), horses (5.1%), pigs (34.1%), rodents (3.5%), marsupials (13%) and other small animals (7.3%). While majority of dengue positivity via serology suggests potential enzootic transmission, but regular dengue virus spillback cannot be excluded. With the exception of bats, acute infection among animals is limited. Further investigation on animals is critically required to better understand their role as potential reservoir in dengue transmission.
PubMed: 33598525
DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2021.100216 -
Scientific Reports Feb 2021Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis that requires urgent action to stop its spread. To counteract the spread of antibiotic resistance, we must improve our...
Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis that requires urgent action to stop its spread. To counteract the spread of antibiotic resistance, we must improve our understanding of the origin and spread of resistant bacteria in both community and healthcare settings. Unfortunately, little attention is being given to contain the spread of antibiotic resistance in community settings (i.e., locations outside of a hospital inpatient, acute care setting, or a hospital clinic setting), despite some studies have consistently reported a high prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the community settings. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in commensal Escherichia coli isolates from healthy humans in community settings in LMICs. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we synthesized studies conducted from 1989 to May 2020. A total of 9363 articles were obtained from the search and prevalence data were extracted from 33 articles and pooled together. This gave a pooled prevalence of antibiotic resistance (top ten antibiotics commonly prescribed in LMICs) in commensal E. coli isolates from human sources in community settings in LMICs of: ampicillin (72% of 13,531 isolates, 95% CI: 65-79), cefotaxime (27% of 6700 isolates, 95% CI: 12-44), chloramphenicol (45% of 7012 isolates, 95% CI: 35-53), ciprofloxacin (17% of 10,618 isolates, 95% CI: 11-25), co-trimoxazole (63% of 10,561 isolates, 95% CI: 52-73), nalidixic acid (30% of 9819 isolates, 95% CI: 21-40), oxytetracycline (78% of 1451 isolates, 95% CI: 65-88), streptomycin (58% of 3831 isolates, 95% CI: 44-72), tetracycline (67% of 11,847 isolates, 95% CI: 59-74), and trimethoprim (67% of 3265 isolates, 95% CI: 59-75). Here, we provided an appraisal of the evidence of the high prevalence of antibiotic resistance by commensal E. coli in community settings in LMICs. Our findings will have important ramifications for public health policy design to contain the spread of antibiotic resistance in community settings. Indeed, commensal E. coli is the main reservoir for spreading antibiotic resistance to other pathogenic enteric bacteria via mobile genetic elements.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Infections; Humans; Prevalence
PubMed: 33564047
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82693-4 -
Parasites & Vectors Feb 2021Ethiopia has set the ambitious national targets of eliminating soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and schistosomiasis (SCH) as public health problems by 2020, and breaking...
BACKGROUND
Ethiopia has set the ambitious national targets of eliminating soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and schistosomiasis (SCH) as public health problems by 2020, and breaking their transmission by 2025. This systematic review was performed to provide insight into the progress made by the national STH and SCH control programme purposed with reaching these targets.
METHODS
Studies published on STH and SCH in Ethiopia were searched for using Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and the resulting references of selected studies. Prevalence and intensity were analysed, stratified by region, age, and diagnostics.
RESULTS
A total of 231 papers published between 2000 and 2020 were included. Over the past two decades, Trichuris trichiura (TT) infection has shown the most statistically significant decrease (93%, p < 0.0001), followed by Schistosoma mansoni (SM) (69%, p < 0.0001), Ascaris lumbricoides (AL) (67%, p < 0.0001) and Schistosoma haematobium (83%, p = 0.038) infections. Geographically, parasite burden has only consistently shown a significant reduction in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia, where AL, TT, hookworm and SM significantly decreased by 80% (p = 0.006), 95% (p = 0.005), 98% (p = 0.009) and 87% (p = 0.031), respectively. Prevalence of STH was highest among adults across all species, contrary to typical age-infection profiles for TT and AL that peak among school-aged children. Expanding treatment to the whole community would target reservoirs of adult and preschool-aged infection within the community, assisting Ethiopia in reaching their national transmission break targets. There was substantial heterogeneity in diagnostic methods used across studies, the majority of which predominantly used single-slide Kato-Katz. This low slide frequency provides poor diagnostic sensitivity, particularly in low endemic settings.
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of STH and SCH in Ethiopia has decreased over time due to the strategic use of anthelmintics. Both standardising and increasing the sensitivity of the diagnostics used, alongside the ubiquitous use of parasite intensity with prevalence, would enable a more accurate and comparable understanding of Ethiopia's epidemiological progress. Further work is needed on community-wide surveillance in order to understand the burden and subsequent need for treatment among those outside of the standard school-based control program.
Topics: Cross-Sectional Studies; Ethiopia; Feces; Helminthiasis; Humans; Prevalence; Schistosomiasis; Soil; World Health Organization
PubMed: 33546757
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04600-0 -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Feb 2021Bats as flying mammals are potent vectors and natural reservoir hosts for many infectious viruses, bacteria, and fungi, also detected in their excreta such as guano....
Bats as flying mammals are potent vectors and natural reservoir hosts for many infectious viruses, bacteria, and fungi, also detected in their excreta such as guano. Accelerated deforestation, urbanization, and anthropization hastily lead to overpopulation of the bats in urban areas allowing easy interaction with other animals, expansion, and emergence of new zoonotic disease outbreaks potentially harmful to humans. Therefore, getting new insights in the microbiome of bat guano from different places represents an imperative for the future. Furthermore, the use of novel high-throughput sequencing technologies allows better insight in guano microbiome and potentially indicated that some species could be typical guano-dwelling members. Bats are well known as a natural reservoir of many zoonotic viruses such as Ebola, Nipah, Marburg, lyssaviruses, rabies, henipaviruses, and many coronaviruses which caused a high number of outbreaks including ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, many bacterial and fungal pathogens were identified as common guano residents. Thus, the presence of multi-drug-resistant bacteria as environmental reservoirs of extended spectrum β-lactamases and carbapenemase-producing strains has been confirmed. Bat guano is the most suitable substrate for fungal reproduction and dissemination, including pathogenic yeasts and keratinophilic and dimorphic human pathogenic fungi known as notorious causative agents of severe endemic mycoses like histoplasmosis and fatal cryptococcosis, especially deadly in immunocompromised individuals. This review provides an overview of bat guano microbiota diversity and the significance of autochthonous and pathogenic taxa for humans and the environment, highlighting better understanding in preventing emerging diseases. KEY POINTS: Bat guano as reservoir and source for spreading of autochthonous and pathogenic microbiota Bat guano vs. novel zoonotic disease outbreaks Destruction of bat natural habitats urgently demands increased human awareness.
Topics: Animals; Biodiversity; Chiroptera; Communicable Diseases, Emerging; Conservation of Natural Resources; Disease Reservoirs; Feces; Humans; Microbiota
PubMed: 33512572
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-021-11143-y -
Parasites & Vectors Jan 2021Trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma vivax is one of the diseases threatening the health and productivity of livestock in Africa and Latin America. Trypanosoma vivax is... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma vivax is one of the diseases threatening the health and productivity of livestock in Africa and Latin America. Trypanosoma vivax is mainly transmitted by tsetse flies; however, the parasite has also acquired the ability to be transmitted mechanically by hematophagous dipterans. Understanding its distribution, host range and prevalence is a key step in local and global efforts to control the disease.
METHODS
The study was conducted according to the methodological recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. A systematic literature search was conducted on three search engines, namely PubMed, Scopus and CAB Direct, to identify all publications reporting natural infection of T. vivax across the world. All the three search engines were screened using the search term Trypanosoma vivax without time and language restrictions. Publications on T. vivax that met our inclusion criteria were considered for systematic review and meta-analysis.
RESULT
The study provides a global database of T. vivax, consisting of 899 records from 245 peer-reviewed articles in 41 countries. A total of 232, 6277 tests were performed on 97 different mammalian hosts, including a wide range of wild animals. Natural infections of T. vivax were recorded in 39 different African and Latin American countries and 47 mammalian host species. All the 245 articles were included into the qualitative analysis, while information from 186 cross-sectional studies was used in the quantitative analysis mainly to estimate the pooled prevalence. Pooled prevalence estimates of T. vivax in domestic buffalo, cattle, dog, dromedary camel, equine, pig, small ruminant and wild animals were 30.6%, 6.4%, 2.6%, 8.4%, 3.7%, 5.5%, 3.8% and 12.9%, respectively. Stratified according to the diagnostic method, the highest pooled prevalences were found with serological techniques in domesticated buffalo (57.6%) followed by equine (50.0%) and wild animals (49.3%).
CONCLUSION
The study provides a comprehensive dataset on the geographical distribution and host range of T. vivax and demonstrates the potential of this parasite to invade other countries out of Africa and Latin America.
Topics: Africa; Animals; Animals, Wild; Buffaloes; Camelus; Cattle; Disease Reservoirs; Dogs; Horses; Host Specificity; Insect Control; Insect Vectors; Livestock; Prevalence; Swine; Trypanosoma vivax; Trypanosomiasis, African; Tsetse Flies; Zoonoses
PubMed: 33494807
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04584-x -
Epidemiologia E Prevenzione 2020The determinants of the risk of becoming infected by SARS-CoV-2, contracting COVID-19, and being affected by the more serious forms of the disease have been generally...
The determinants of the risk of becoming infected by SARS-CoV-2, contracting COVID-19, and being affected by the more serious forms of the disease have been generally explored in merely qualitative terms. It seems reasonable to argue that the risk patterns for COVID-19 have to be usefully studied in quantitative terms too, whenever possible applying the same approach to the relationship 'dose of the exposure vs pathological response' commonly used for chemicals and already followed for several biological agents to SARS-CoV-2, too. Such an approach is of particular relevance in the fields of both occupational epidemiology and occupational medicine, where the identification of the sources of a dangerous exposure and of the web of causation of a disease is often questionable and questioned: it is relevant when evaluating the population risk, too. Specific occupational scenarios, basically involving health workers, exhibit important proportions of both subjects simply infected by SARS-CoV-2 and of ill subjects with, respectively, mild, moderate, and severe disease. Similar patterns have been described referring to various circumstances of community exposure, e.g., standing in crowded public places, travelling on crowded means of transport, living in accommodation or care homes, living in the same household as a COVID-19 case. The hypothesis that these findings are a consequence not only of high probabilities of exposure, but also of high doses (as a product of both intensity and duration, with possible autonomous effects of peaks of exposure) deserves to be systematically tested, in order to reconstruct the web of causation of COVID-19 individual and clustered cases and to cope with situations at critical risk for SARS-CoV-2, needing to be identified, mapped, and dealt with at the right time. A limited but consistent set of papers supporting these assumptions has been traced in the literature. Under these premises, the creation of a structured inventory of both values of viral concentrations in the air (in case and if possible, of surface contaminations too) and of viral loads in biological matrixes is proposed, with the subsequent construction of a scenario-exposure matrix. A scenario-exposure matrix for SARS-CoV-2 may represent a useful tool for research and practical risk management purposes, helping to understand the possibly critical circumstances for which no direct exposure measure is available (this is an especially frequent case, in contexts of low socio-economic level) and providing guidance to determine evidence-based public health strategies.
Topics: Aerosols; Air Microbiology; Air Pollution, Indoor; COVID-19; Cross Infection; Crowding; Disease Transmission, Infectious; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Monitoring; Family Characteristics; Fomites; Humans; Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional; Institutionalization; Occupational Exposure; Risk; Risk Assessment; SARS-CoV-2; Time Factors; Transportation; Viral Load; Viremia
PubMed: 33412806
DOI: 10.19191/EP20.5-6.S2.114