Long-term costs of introducing hpv-dna post-treatment surveillance to national cervical cancer screening in ireland

Introduction: Co-testing (cytology plus human papillomavirus DNA testing) as part of cervical cancer surveillance in Ireland increases one-time testing costs. Of interest to policy makers was the long-term impact of these costs accompanied by decreases in intensity of recalls for women with no detected abnormalities. Methods: A cost analysis of cytology-only and co-testing strategy was implemented using decision analytic modeling, aggregating testing utilization and costs for each of the two strategies over 12 years. Results: Aggregated incremental costs of the co-testing strategy were positive for the first 3 years but became negative thereafter, generating a cost savings of roughly Euro20 million in favor of the cytology-only strategy over a 12-year period. Results were robust over a range of sensitivity analyses with respect to discount and attrition rates. Discussion: This analysis provided valuable information to policy makers contributing to the introduction of co-testing for post-treatment surveillance (PTS) in Ireland

Long-term costs of introducing hpv-dna post-treatment surveillance to national cervical cancer screening in ireland

Introduction: Co-testing (cytology plus human papillomavirus DNA testing) as part of cervical cancer surveillance in Ireland increases one-time testing costs. Of interest to policy makers was the long-term impact of these costs accompanied by decreases in intensity of recalls for women with no detected abnormalities. Methods: A cost analysis of cytology-only and co-testing strategy was implemented using decision analytic modeling, aggregating testing utilization and costs for each of the two strategies over 12 years. Results: Aggregated incremental costs of the co-testing strategy were positive for the first 3 years but became negative thereafter, generating a cost savings of roughly Euro20 million in favor of the cytology-only strategy over a 12-year period. Results were robust over a range of sensitivity analyses with respect to discount and attrition rates. Discussion: This analysis provided valuable information to policy makers contributing to the introduction of co-testing for post-treatment surveillance (PTS) in Ireland

Second virial coefficient derivations from Cation effects on haemoglobin aggregation: balance of chemisorption against physisorption of ions

Derivation of relationships between the second virial coefficient and aggregation and turbidity

Data files: ion polarisabilities, surface charge and potential (Fig.4), interaction energies (Fig.5) from Cation effects on haemoglobin aggregation: balance of chemisorption against physisorption of ions

Data for plots given as Grace project files

Nasopulmonary mites (Acari: Halarachnidae) as potential vectors of bacterial pathogens, including Streptococcus phocae, in marine mammals.

Nasopulmonary mites (NPMs) of the family Halarachnidae are obligate endoparasites that colonize the respiratory tracts of mammals. NPMs damage surface epithelium resulting in mucosal irritation, respiratory illness, and secondary infection, yet the role of NPMs in facilitating pathogen invasion or dissemination between hosts remains unclear. Using 16S rRNA massively parallel amplicon sequencing of six hypervariable regions (or "16S profiling"), we characterized the bacterial community of NPMs from 4 southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis). This data was paired with detection of a priority pathogen, Streptococcus phocae, from NPMs infesting 16 southern sea otters and 9 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) using nested conventional polymerase chain reaction (nPCR). The bacteriome of assessed NPMs was dominated by Mycoplasmataceae and Vibrionaceae, but at least 16 organisms with pathogenic potential were detected as well. Importantly, S. phocae was detected in 37% of NPM by nPCR and was also detected by 16S profiling. Detection of multiple organisms with pathogenic potential in or on NPMs suggests they may act as mechanical vectors of bacterial infection for marine mammals

Occurrence of Mycoplasmas in Galapagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) and their Association with Other Respiratory Pathogens

Sarzosa MS, Duignan P, De Rango E, et al. Occurrence of Mycoplasmas in Galapagos Sea Lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) and their Association with Other Respiratory Pathogens. Journal of wildlife diseases. 2021.During the 2018 breeding season, an outbreak of respiratory disease occurred among Galapagos sea lions (Zalophus wollebaeki) that inhabit rookeries near urban areas with introduced fauna such as dogs and cats. Several sea lions had nasal discharge and respiratory distress and were in poor body condition. Eighteen sea lions were captured for a general health assessment including collection of blood for serology and nasal discharge for culture and PCR. Samples were analyzed for 15 respiratory pathogens known to infect cats, dogs, and marine mammals. There was no evidence for interspecies pathogen transmission between Galapagos sea lions and domestic animals. Several bacterial pathogens associated with respiratory tract infection in the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) were isolated. Mycoplasma spp. were identified by PCR in nasal discharge samples but were not the species commonly found in cats and dogs. © Wildlife Disease Association 2021