Investigation of Mycobacterium bovis population by RFLP scheme, in two main provinces of Iran – Tehran and Alborz

Introduction: Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) caused by Mycobacterium bovis is considered as one of the most important diseases of cattle. Identifying and culling infected animals following positive tuberculin test detection is one of the fundamental control strategies of tuberculosis in cattle in the world. Passing five decades after implementation of such a control program from 1963, now, Iran experiences an admirable drastic decreased rate of 0.18% in comparison with a previous 5% at the beginning of the program. Materials and methods: A total of 31 lymph nodes of positive-tuberculin cattle referred to an Alborz Province abattoir and 70 farm samples obtained in the Tehran Province during the years 1390–1391 Hijri were sent to Razi Institute. Passing standard preparation procedures, the isolates were obtained after 8 weeks at 37 °C. Then their DNA was extracted using van Solingen's method. Employing PCR-RFLP schemes, 13 M. bovis isolates were confirmed. Qualitative and quantitative RFLP evaluation, exploiting PGRS and DR probes for hybridization were performed. Results: Digestion by PvuII enzyme followed by hybridization employing separate probes PGRS and DR resulted in three genetic detection types. Also, the combination of the two probes provided four different patterns. Discussion: The data obtained from this study compared with the national surveillance carried out in 1385, showed similarly a consistent pattern of M. bovis BCG as the predominant isolates found in most of the provinces, particularly in Tehran

KAP-COVIDGLOBAL: a multinational survey of the levels and determinants of public knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19

Objective The adherence to public health recommendations to control COVID-19 spread is influenced by public knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP). We performed this cross-sectional study to assess the levels and determinants of public KAP towards COVID-19 in a large, multinational sample.Design Cross-sectional study (survey).Setting The questionnaire was distributed to potential respondents via online platforms.Participants 71 890 individuals from 22 countries.Methods We formulated a four-section questionnaire in English, followed by validation and translation into seven languages. The questionnaire was distributed (May to June 2020) and each participant received a score for each KAP section.Results Overall, the participants had fair knowledge (mean score: 19.24±3.59) and attitudes (3.72±2.31) and good practices (12.12±1.83) regarding COVID-19. About 92% reported moderate to high compliance with national lockdown. However, significant gaps were observed: only 68.2% knew that infected individuals may be asymptomatic; 45.4% believed that antibiotics are an effective treatment; and 55.4% stated that a vaccine has been developed (at the time of data collection). 71.9% believed or were uncertain that COVID-19 is a global conspiracy; 36.8% and 51% were afraid of contacting doctors and Chinese people, respectively. Further, 66.4% reported the pandemic had moderate to high negative effects on their mental health. Female gender, higher education and urban residents had significantly (p≤0.001) higher knowledge and practice scores. Further, we observed significant correlations between all KAP scores.Conclusions Although the public have fair/good knowledge and practices regarding COVID-19, significant gaps should be addressed. Future awareness efforts should target less advantaged groups and future studies should develop new strategies to tackle COVID-19 negative mental health effects

Relationships between social spending and childhood obesity in OECD countries: an ecological study

Objectives The burden of childhood obesity is clustered among children in low-socioeconomic groups. Social spending on children—public welfare expenditure on families and education—may curb childhood obesity by reducing socioeconomic disadvantages. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between social spending on children and childhood obesity across the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.Design Ecological study.Setting Data on social spending on children were obtained from the OECD Social Expenditure Database and the OECD educational finance indicators dataset during 2000–2015. Data on childhood obesity were obtained from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration database.Participants Aggregated statistics on obesity among children aged 5–19 years, estimated for OECD 35 countries based on the measured height and weight on 31.5 million children.Outcome measures Country-level prevalence of obesity among children aged 5–19 years.Results In cross-sectional analyses in 2015, social spending on children was inversely associated with the prevalence of childhood obesity after adjusting for potential confounders (the gross domestic product per capita, unemployment rate, poverty rate, percentage of children aged <20 years and prevalence of childhood obesity in 2000). In addition, when we focused on changes from 2000 to 2015, an average annual increase of US$100 in social spending per child was associated with a decrease in childhood obesity by 0.6 percentage points for girls (p=0.007) and 0.7 percentage points for boys (p=0.04) between 2000 and 2015, after adjusting for the potential confounders. The dimensions of social spending that contributed to these associations between the changes in social spending on children and childhood obesity were early childhood education and care (ECEC) and school education for girls and ECEC for boys.Conclusion Countries that increase social spending on children tend to experience smaller increases in childhood obesity