Evaluating insecticide resistance across African districts to aid malaria control decisions

Malaria vector control may be compromised by resistance to insecticides in vector populations. Actions to mitigate against resistance rely on surveillance using standard susceptibility tests, but there are large gaps in the monitoring data across Africa. Using a published geostatistical ensemble model, we have generated maps that bridge these gaps and consider the likelihood that resistance exceeds recommended thresholds. Our results show that this model provides more accurate next-year predictions than two simpler approaches. We have used the model to generate district-level maps for the probability that pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles gambiae s.l. exceeds the World Health Organization thresholds for susceptibility and confirmed resistance. In addition, we have mapped the three criteria for the deployment of piperonyl butoxide-treated nets that mitigate against the effects of metabolic resistance to pyrethroids. This includes a critical review of the evidence for presence of cytochrome P450-mediated metabolic resistance mechanisms across Africa. The maps for pyrethroid resistance are available on the IR Mapper website, where they can be viewed alongside the latest survey data

Epidemiology of Confirmed COVID-19 Deaths in Adults, England, March-December 2020

Of the 58,186 coronavirus deaths among adults in England during March-December 2020, 77% occurred in hospitals, 93% were in patients >60 years, and 91% occurred within 28 days of positive specimen. Cumulative mortality rates were highest among persons of Black, Asian, other, or mixed ethnicities and in socioeconomically deprived areas

Estimation of HPV prevalence in young women in Scotland; monitoring of future vaccine impact

Background Estimation of pre-immunisation prevalence of HPV and distribution of HPV types is fundamental to understanding the subsequent impact of HPV vaccination. We describe the type specific prevalence of HPV in females aged 20--21 in Scotland who attended or defaulted from cervical screening using three specimen types; from attenders liquid based cytology and from defaulters urine or self-taken swabs. Methods Residual liquid based cytology samples (n = 2148), collected from women aged 20--21 attending for their first smear were genotyped for HPV. A sample (n = 709) from women who had defaulted from screening was also made available for HPV testing through the use of postal testing kits (either urine samples (n = 378) or self-taken swabs (n = 331)). Estimates of prevalence weighted by deprivation, and for the postal testing kit, also by reminder status and specimen type were calculated for each HPV type. The distribution of HPV types were compared between specimen types and the occurrence of multiple high-risk infections examined. The influence of demographic factors on high-risk HPV positivity and multiple infections was examined via logistic regression. Results The prevalence of any HPV in young women aged 20--21 was 32.2% for urine, 39.5% for self-taken swab, and 49.4% for LBC specimens. Infection with vaccine specific types (HPV 16, 18) or those associated with cross-protection (HPV 31, 33, 45, 51) was common. Individuals were more likely to test positive for high-risk HPV if they resided in an area of high deprivation or in a rural area. The overall distribution of HPV types did not vary between defaulters and attenders. Multiple infections occurred in 48.1% of high-risk HPV positive individuals. Excluding vaccine types the most common pairing was HPV 56 and 66. Conclusions Understanding of the pre-immunisation prevalence of HPV in young women puts Scotland in a prime position to assess the early effect of vaccination as the first highly vaccinated cohorts of individuals enter the screening programme. Differences in results with different specimen types must be taken into account when monitoring the impact of vaccination programmes

Chronic disease prevention programs offered by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in New South Wales, Australia

Objectives: To identify and describe chronic disease prevention programs offered by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Methods: ACCHSs were identified through the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW website. Chronic disease programs were identified from the Facebook page and website of each ACCHS. Characteristics, including regions, target population, condition, health behaviour, modality and program frequency were extracted and summarised. Results: We identified 128 chronic disease programs across 32 ACCHSs. Of these, 87 (68%) programs were broad in their scope, 20 (16%) targeted youth, three (2%) targeted Elders, 16 (12%) were for females only and five (4%) were for males only. Interventions included physical activity (77, 60%), diet and nutrition (74, 58%), smoking (70, 55%), and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Check (44, 34%), with 93 programs (73%) of ongoing duration. Conclusions: Chronic disease prevention programs address chronic conditions by promoting physical activity, diet and nutrition, smoking cessation and health screening. Most target the general Aboriginal community, a few target specific groups based on gender and age, and more than one‐quarter are time‐limited. Implications for public health: Chronic disease programs that are co‐produced with specific groups, based on age and gender, may be needed.Victoria Sinka, Pamela Lopez‐Vargas, Allison Tong, Michelle Dickson, Marianne Kerr, Noella Sheerin ... et al

Mapping and modelling the geographical distribution and environmental limits of podoconiosis in Ethiopia

BACKGROUND Ethiopia is assumed to have the highest burden of podoconiosis globally, but the geographical distribution and environmental limits and correlates are yet to be fully investigated. In this paper we use data from a nationwide survey to address these issues. METHODOLOGY Our analyses are based on data arising from the integrated mapping of podoconiosis and lymphatic filariasis (LF) conducted in 2013, supplemented by data from an earlier mapping of LF in western Ethiopia in 2008-2010. The integrated mapping used woreda (district) health offices' reports of podoconiosis and LF to guide selection of survey sites. A suite of environmental and climatic data and boosted regression tree (BRT) modelling was used to investigate environmental limits and predict the probability of podoconiosis occurrence. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Data were available for 141,238 individuals from 1,442 communities in 775 districts from all nine regional states and two city administrations of Ethiopia. In 41.9% of surveyed districts no cases of podoconiosis were identified, with all districts in Affar, Dire Dawa, Somali and Gambella regional states lacking the disease. The disease was most common, with lymphoedema positivity rate exceeding 5%, in the central highlands of Ethiopia, in Amhara, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples regional states. BRT modelling indicated that the probability of podoconiosis occurrence increased with increasing altitude, precipitation and silt fraction of soil and decreased with population density and clay content. Based on the BRT model, we estimate that in 2010, 34.9 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 20.2-51.7) million people (i.e. 43.8%; 95% CI: 25.3-64.8% of Ethiopia's national population) lived in areas environmentally suitable for the occurrence of podoconiosis. CONCLUSIONS Podoconiosis is more widespread in Ethiopia than previously estimated, but occurs in distinct geographical regions that are tied to identifiable environmental factors. The resultant maps can be used to guide programme planning and implementation and estimate disease burden in Ethiopia. This work provides a framework with which the geographical limits of podoconiosis could be delineated at a continental scale

An effective method for the identification and separation of Anopheles minimus, the primary malaria vector in Thailand, and its sister species Anopheles harrisoni, with a comparison of their mating behaviors

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. The attached article is the published pdf

Human adenine phosphoribosyltransferase: Characterization from subjects with a deficiency of enzyme activity

Adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) was characterized with respect to specific activity and immunoreactive protein (CRM) levels in hemolysate from 18 members of an APRT-deficient kindred. In addition, lymphoblastoid cell lines were established from six of these subjects and APRT from these cells was characterized in a similar fashion. Levels of specific activity and CRM in patients homozygous for the deficiency were less than 1% of normal. Heterozygous subjects had higher levels of activity and CRM in lymphoblasts than in erythrocytes and, in all cases, the APRT present was normal in terms of isoelectric point, subunit molecular weight, and heat stability. The higher levels of activity and CRM found in lymphoblasts may be due either to expression of a mutant gene product stabilized in a normal:mutant dimer or to autologous regulation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44148/1/10528_2004_Article_BF00488464.pd

Emergence of human angiohematopoietic cells in normal development and from cultured embryonic stem cells

Human hematopoiesis proceeds transiently in the extraembryonic yolk sac and embryonic, then fetal liver before being stabilized in the bone marrow during the third month of gestation. In addition to this classic developmental sequence, we have previously shown that the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) embryonic territory produces stem cells for definitive hematopoiesis from 27 to 40 days of human development, through an intermediate blood-forming endothelium stage. These studies have relied on the use of traditional markers of human hematopoietic and endothelial cells. In addition, we have recently identified and characterized a novel surface molecule, BB9, which typifies the earliest founders of the human angiohematopoietic system. BB9, which was initially identified with a monoclonal antibody raised to Stro-1(+) bone marrow stromal cells, recognizes in the adult the most primitive Thy-1(+) CD133(+) Lin(−), non-obese diabetic—severe combined immunodeficiency disease (NOD–SCID) mouse engrating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In the 3- to 4-week embryo,BB9expression typifies a subset of splanchnopleural mesodermal cells that migrate dorsally and colonize the ventral aspect of the aorta where they establish a population of hemogenic endothelial cells. We have indeed confirmed that hematopoietic potential in the human embryo, as assessed by long-term culture-initiating cell (LTC-IC) and SCID mouse reconstituting cell (SRC) activities, is confined to BB9-expressing cells. We have further validated these results in the model of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in which we have modeled, through the development of hematopoietic embryoid bodies (EBs), primitive and definitive hematopoieses. In this setting, we have documented the emergence of BB9(+) hemangioblast-like clonogenic angiohematopoietic progenitors that currently represent the earliest known founders of the human vascular and blood systems