Infant feeding practices and growth outcomes of Rastafarian children

This study was undertaken to determine Rastafarian infancy and childhood feeding practices and to analyze the effects of this vegan diet on the nutrient intake and growth of Rastafarian infants and children. The Rastafarian cult originated in Jamaica, West Indies. Rastafarians have special religious, dietary and social guidelines, including many dietary prohibitions. The daily spiritual ritual includes smoking marijuana. Forty children of immigrant Rastafarians living in Miami were assessed to analyze their vegan diet and its effects on their nutrient intake and growth. All children had been breast-fed for an average of two years in conjunction with the early addition of foods. Bush teas were preferred to soy formulas and were used medicinally. Excluding the three infants, the children were grouped according to age; one to three years old, n=ll; four to six years old, n=16; over six years, n=10. Among all groups, calories, calcium and B12 intakes were below 100% of the RDA. In the two older groups, B12 intake was less than 67% of the RDA and in the oldest group, calories were also less than 67% of the RDA. Z-scores were used to compare anthropometric data obtained at various ages. Although weights, lengths and weight of length were above the means, there was a negative correlation of weight for length with age. Growth percentile categories for weight, weight for length, and triceps skinfold decreased with age. The B12 intake and weight of one to three year olds were correlated (p=.01). Among four to six year olds, there was a correlation between B12 intake and both length (p=.01) and weight for length (p=.04). Among the oldest group, there are a negative correlation between B12 and weight (p=.O4); calories and length (p=.O3); and calories and weight for length (p=.006). Sub-optimal nutrient intakes of B12, calories and calcium in this population are similar to findings in other vegan groups

Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England

AbstractThe evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021.</jats:p