Evidence of Endemic Hendra Virus Infection in Flying-Foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus)—Implications for Disease Risk Management

This study investigated the seroepidemiology of Hendra virus in a spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) population in northern Australia, near the location of an equine and associated human Hendra virus infection in late 2004. The pattern of infection in the population was investigated using a serial cross-sectional serological study over a 25-month period, with blood sampled from 521 individuals over six sampling sessions. Antibody titres to the virus were determined by virus neutralisation test. In contrast to the expected episodic infection pattern, we observed that seroprevalence gradually increased over the two years suggesting infection was endemic in the population over the study period. Our results suggested age, pregnancy and lactation were significant risk factors for a detectable neutralizing antibody response. Antibody titres were significantly higher in females than males, with the highest titres occurring in pregnant animals. Temporal variation in antibody titres suggests that herd immunity to the virus may wax and wane on a seasonal basis. These findings support an endemic infection pattern of henipaviruses in bat populations suggesting their infection dynamics may differ significantly from the acute, self limiting episodic pattern observed with related viruses (e.g. measles virus, phocine distemper virus, rinderpest virus) hence requiring a much smaller critical host population size to sustain the virus. These findings help inform predictive modelling of henipavirus infection in bat populations, and indicate that the life cycle of the reservoir species should be taken into account when developing risk management strategies for henipaviruses

Evidence of Endemic Hendra Virus Infection in Flying-Foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus)—Implications for Disease Risk Management

This study investigated the seroepidemiology of Hendra virus in a spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) population in northern Australia, near the location of an equine and associated human Hendra virus infection in late 2004. The pattern of infection in the population was investigated using a serial cross-sectional serological study over a 25-month period, with blood sampled from 521 individuals over six sampling sessions. Antibody titres to the virus were determined by virus neutralisation test. In contrast to the expected episodic infection pattern, we observed that seroprevalence gradually increased over the two years suggesting infection was endemic in the population over the study period. Our results suggested age, pregnancy and lactation were significant risk factors for a detectable neutralizing antibody response. Antibody titres were significantly higher in females than males, with the highest titres occurring in pregnant animals. Temporal variation in antibody titres suggests that herd immunity to the virus may wax and wane on a seasonal basis. These findings support an endemic infection pattern of henipaviruses in bat populations suggesting their infection dynamics may differ significantly from the acute, self limiting episodic pattern observed with related viruses (e.g. measles virus, phocine distemper virus, rinderpest virus) hence requiring a much smaller critical host population size to sustain the virus. These findings help inform predictive modelling of henipavirus infection in bat populations, and indicate that the life cycle of the reservoir species should be taken into account when developing risk management strategies for henipaviruses

Role of BRCA gene dysfunction in breast and ovarian cancer predisposition

Tumor suppressor genes that perform apparently generic cellular functions nonetheless cause tissue-specific syndromes in the human population when they are mutated in the germline. The two major hereditary breast/ovarian cancer predisposition genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, appear to participate in a common pathway that is involved in the control of homologous recombination and in the maintenance of genomic integrity. How might such functions translate into the specific suppression of cancers of the breast and ovarian epithelia? Recent advances in the study of BRCA1 and BRCA2, discussed herein, have provided new opportunities to address this question

Knee problems are common in young adults and associated with physical activity and not obesity: the findings of a cross-sectional survey in a university cohort

Background: Obesity and sedentary behaviour, risk factors for knee osteoarthritis in middle-age, are increasing in younger adults. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of knee problems in young adults, to characterise these problems and explore the relationship with physical activity, physical inactivity and obesity. Methods: Presence of knee problems was collected through self-report questionnaire from staff and students of one university aged 18-39; direct measurement of weight and height was taken and activity measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Twelve-month prevalence of knee problems was estimated. Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between knee problems and physical activity levels, sitting time and body mass index. Results: The prevalence of knee problems was high (31.8% [95% CI 26.9% to 37.2%]) among the 314 participants; knee pain was the most common dominant symptom (65%). Only high physical activity levels (OR 2.6 [95% CI 1.4-4.9]) and mental distress (OR 2.3 [95% CI 1.2-4.6]) were independent risk factors for knee problems. Conclusions: Knee problems were common among young adults, who were staff and students of a university. With increasing obesity prevalence, populations are being encouraged to become more active. More attention may need to be paid towards prevention of knee problems in such programmes, and further research is warranted

Five insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 provides a rules-based synthesis of the available evidence on levels and trends in health outcomes, a diverse set of risk factors, and health system responses. GBD 2019 covered 204 countries and territories, as well as first administrative level disaggregations for 22 countries, from 1990 to 2019. Because GBD is highly standardised and comprehensive, spanning both fatal and non-fatal outcomes, and uses a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of hierarchical disease and injury causes, the study provides a powerful basis for detailed and broad insights on global health trends and emerging challenges. GBD 2019 incorporates data from 281 586 sources and provides more than 3.5 billion estimates of health outcome and health system measures of interest for global, national, and subnational policy dialogue. All GBD estimates are publicly available and adhere to the Guidelines on Accurate and Transparent Health Estimate Reporting. From this vast amount of information, five key insights that are important for health, social, and economic development strategies have been distilled. These insights are subject to the many limitations outlined in each of the component GBD capstone papers.Peer reviewe