L'exposition aux moisissures des enfants en milieu citadin et rural

L'asthme est une des maladies chroniques des plus fréquentes chez l'enfant qui touche 7,6 à 10,7 % de la population infantile française (ISAAC, 1998). Un des facteurs étiologiques impliqué dans cette pathologie est les moisissures présentes dans l'habitat. Néanmoins, il reste toujours à clarifier quelle est la fenêtre d'exposition la plus critique au cours de l'enfance et à comprendre le mécanisme de cette étiologie. En effet, des effets contradictoires ont été associés à l'exposition précoce des enfants aux moisissures. L'exposition à une espèce de moisissure dominante augmente l'incidence de l'asthme chez le jeune enfant, alors que l'exposition à des bioaérosols riches et diversifiés en micro-organismes, comme ceux présent dans les fermes, le diminue. Ces deux effets font l'objet des deux études choisies dans cette note. [Auteure]]]> Asthma ; Child ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; Fungi ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial fre oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_C31B6241296B 2022-05-07T01:26:31Z openaire documents <oai_dc:dc xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> https://serval.unil.ch/notice/serval:BIB_C31B6241296B Long-acting antiretrovirals: a new era for the management and prevention of HIV infection. info:doi:10.1093/jac/dkab324 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1093/jac/dkab324 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/34499731 Thoueille, P. Choong, E. Cavassini, M. Buclin, T. Decosterd, L.A. info:eu-repo/semantics/review article 2022-02-02 The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy, vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 290-302 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1460-2091 urn:issn:0305-7453 <![CDATA[The long-acting antiretroviral cabotegravir and rilpivirine combination has just received FDA, EMA and Health Canada approval. This novel drug delivery approach is about to revolutionize the therapy of people living with HIV, decreasing the 365 daily pill burden to only six intramuscular injections per year. In addition, islatravir, a first-in-class nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, is intended to be formulated as an implant with a dosing interval of 1 year or more. At present, long-acting antiretroviral therapies (LA-ARTs) are given at fixed standard doses, irrespectively of the patient's weight and BMI, and without consideration for host genetic and non-genetic factors likely influencing their systemic disposition. Despite a few remaining challenges related to administration (e.g. pain, dedicated medical procedure), the development and implementation of LA-ARTs can overcome long-term adherence issues by improving patients' privacy and reducing social stigma associated with the daily oral intake of anti-HIV treatments. Yet, the current 'one-size-fits-all' approach does not account for the recognized significant inter-individual variability in LA-ART pharmacokinetics. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), an important tool for precision medicine, may provide physicians with valuable information on actual drug exposure in patients, contributing to improve their management in real life. The present review aims to update the current state of knowledge on these novel promising LA-ARTs and discusses their implications, particularly from a clinical pharmacokinetics perspective, for the future management and prevention of HIV infection, issues of ongoing importance in the absence of curative treatment or an effective vaccine

Avancées sur la source, la taille et la nature des particules microbiennes aéroportées présentes dans l'environnement intérieur

L'exposition à certaines particules fongiques et bactéries présentes dans les aérosols de l'environnement intérieur a été associée au développement ou à l'exacerbation d'affections respiratoires telles que l'asthme, la rhinite allergique ou encore l'aspergillose (1-4). Le réservoir principal identifié dans cet environnement pour les bactéries aéroportées est constitué par les habitants eux-mêmes, alors que celui des particules fongiques est l'environnement extérieur, ou, lorsque les conditions sont réunies, l'environnement intérieur (5-7). Néanmoins, la nature et la taille de ces particules fongiques, ainsi que l'impact de l'occupation humaine sur ces paramètres n'ont été que peu explorés. Les articles de cette note s'intéressent justement à ces aspects et illustrent l'importance de leur prise en compte dans l'évaluation du risque d'exposition aux microorganismes dans l'environnement intérieur. L'étude de Hospodsky et coll. (2014) apporte une information quantitative sur le niveau d'émission de bactéries et particules fongiques résultant d'une occupation humaine dans des environnements intérieurs sains. Alors que l'étude de Afanou et coll. (2014) montre la complexité des particules fongiques qui peuvent être générées dans l'environnement intérieur, différentes espèces de moisissures pouvant participer en proportions différentes au nombre de particules submicroniques1 grâce à leurs fragments de spores ou hyphes

Latest Trends in Pollutant Accumulations at Threatening Levels in Energy-Efficient Residential Buildings with and without Mechanical Ventilation: A Review

Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is a major target in developed countries toward decreasing their energy consumption and CO2 emissions. To meet this target, a large number of countries have established energy codes that require buildings to be airtight. While such a retrofitting approach has improved health outcomes in areas with heavy traffic, it has worsened the health outcomes in Nordic countries and increased the risk of lung cancer in areas with high levels of radon emissions. This review highlights the importance of adapting the characteristics of energy-efficient residential buildings to the location, age, and health of inhabitants to guarantee healthy indoor pollutant levels. The implementation of mechanical ventilation in new energy-efficient buildings has solved some of these problems; however, for others, a decrease in the level of outdoor pollutants was still required in order to achieve a good indoor air quality. A good balance between the air exchange rate and the air humidity level (adapted to the location) is key to ensuring that exposure to the various pollutants that accumulate inside energy-efficient buildings is low enough to avoid affecting inhabitants′ health. Evidence of the protective effect of mechanical ventilation should be sought in dwellings where natural ventilation allows pollutants to accumulate to threatening levels. More studies should be carried out in African and Asian countries, which, due to their rapid urbanization, use massive volumes of unproven/unrated building materials for fast-track construction, which are frequent sources of formaldehyde and VOC emissions

Immune responses to airborne fungi and non-invasive airway diseases.

Inhalation of fungal particles is a ubiquitous way of exposure to microorganisms during human life; however, this exposure may promote or exacerbate respiratory diseases only in particular exposure conditions and human genetic background. Depending on the fungal species and form, fungal particles can induce symptoms in the lung by acting as irritants, aeroallergens or pathogens causing infection. Some thermophilic species can even act in all these three ways (e.g. Aspergillus, Penicillium), mesophilic species being only involved in allergic and/or non-allergic airway diseases (e.g. Cladosporium, Alternaria, Fusarium). The goal of the present review is to present the current knowledge on the interaction between airborne fungal particles and the host immune system, to illustrate the differences of immune sensing of different fungal species and to emphasise the importance of conducting research on non-conventional mesophilic fungal species. Indeed, the diversity of fungal species we inhale and the complexity of their composition have a direct impact on fungal particle recognition and immune system decision to tolerate or respond to those particles, eventually leading to collateral damages promoting airway pathologies

Sudden Changes and Their Associations with Quality of Life during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Study in the French-Speaking Part of Switzerland.

The lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to various sudden changes in a large number of individuals. In response, the question of how individuals from different social and economic strata cope with those changes has arisen, as well as how much they have affected their mental well-being. Choosing strategies that cope with both the pandemic and the well-being of the population has also been a challenge for different governments. While a large number of studies have investigated the mental health of people from different populations during the COVID-19 pandemic, few have explored the number and type of changes experienced during lockdown by the general population, alongside their relationships with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). To fill this research gap, an observational cross-sectional study on those associations was conducted in the French-speaking part of the Swiss general population. Data were collected from 431 participants during the first four weeks of lockdown due to COVID-19. Multivariate regressions were used to identify the sociodemographic profile of the population that experienced different types and numbers of changes during this period, the association of those changes with the HRQoL-mental and physical-and infection beliefs, and the perception of the governmental measures. We show that the more changes people experienced, the lower their mental HRQoL; however, adherence to governmental measures has helped people to cope with the imposed changes, even though the number of unexpected and unwished changes have strained their mental HRQoL. The low-income population experienced financial difficulties and changes in their food intake more frequently, while dual-citizenship or non-Swiss individuals declared conflictual situations more frequently. Sport practice had a positive association with mental HRQoL; nevertheless, a decrease in sport practice was frequently reported, which correlated with a lower mental HRQoL. Risk perception of COVID-19 increased with lower physical HRQoL score, which supports the efficiency of governmental communication regarding the pandemic. Our results support that government measures should be accompanied by effective and targeted communication about the risk of infection, in order to encourage all strata of the general population to follow such measures and adapt to the changes without unduly affecting their mental health. The usage of such tools might help to reduce the impact of policy-imposed changes on the mental HRQoL of the general population, by inducing voluntary changes in informed and engaged populations

Isolation and characterization of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II B genes in the Barn owl (Aves: Tyto alba )

We isolated major histocompatibility complex class II B (MHCIIB) genes in the Barn owl (Tyto alba). A PCR-based approach combined with primer walking on genomic and complementary DNA as well as Southern blot analyses revealed the presence of two MHCIIB genes, both being expressed in spleen, liver, and blood. Characteristic structural features of MHCIIB genes as well as their expression and high non-synonymous substitution rates in the region involved in antigen binding suggest that both genes are functional. MHC organization in the Barn owl is simple compared to passerine species that show multiple duplications, and resembles the minimal essential MHC of chicke

Le soufflage systématique des poussières urbaines = Exposition chronique aux microorganismes et au bruit

Introduction. Les poussières présentes sur la voie publique sont un mélange complexe constituées de la sédimentation de particules contenant des polluants primaires – émis directement par différentes sources présentes dans l’environnement – et de polluants secondaires – formés par des réactions chimiques entre plusieurs polluants primaires ou entre polluants primaire et substrat (sol, route etc.). Une catégorie de ses polluants est représentée par les agents biologiques qui peuvent être irritatifs, allergènes ou infectieux selon leur concentration et leur nature. Ces germes sont naturellement présents dans l’environnement urbain, particulièrement dans les déchets végétaux (par exemple feuilles mortes) et les fèces des animaux. Pour entretenir un environnement urbain « propre », le soufflage est fréquemment utilisé. La question se pose en quelle mesure cette méthode de nettoyage ne remet pas en suspension les poussières urbaines à une concentration telle quelle pourrait être nocive pour la santé des travailleurs effectuant cette tâche. Cette concentration est dépendante des sources potentielles présentes à chaque site nettoyé ainsi que des conditions météorologiques. Matériel et Méthodes. Pour évaluer le risque, des prélèvements personnels en mode actif ont été effectués sur des porteurs de la souffleuse à l’aide d’un échantillonneur IOM équipé d’un filtre polycarbonate relié à une pompe calibrée. Les pics d’exposition ont également été déterminés grâce à des prélèvements actifs ponctuels à proximité des travailleurs avec des collecteurs de bioaerosols à haut débit. La détection et le dénombrement des moisissures a été faite par culture sur milieu Dichloran Glycerol Agar (DG18) et celle des germes aérobes mésophiles sur milieu Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA). Les différents microorganismes présents en culture ont été identifié par voie moléculaire. Lors de l’activité, la réaction des passants a été noté et les travailleurs ont été interrogé sur leur bien-être pendant qu’ils effectuaient cette tâche. Résultats. L’analyse des prélèvement personnels a mis en évidence que les travailleurs étaient exposés à des concentrations en moisissures cultivables supérieures à la valeur recommandée de 103 unités formant colonie (UFC)/m3 avec des pics d’exposition à 106 UFC/m3. Leur exposition aux germes aérobes mésophiles était juste en dessous de la valeur recommandée de 104 UFC/m3. De plus, la diversité des germes remis en suspension par soufflage – bactéries et moisissures – était importante, seul un petit nombre d’espèces correspondant à ceux présents dans l’air ambiant. Le soufflage déclenchait l’agressivité des passants, ce qui affectait directement le bien-être des travailleurs pendant cette tâche. Conclusion. Le soufflage de la voirie remet en suspension les microorganismes présents dans les poussières urbaines à une concentration telle quelle représente un risque pour la santé des travailleurs effectuant cette tâche. L’employeur devrait fournir un équipement de protection individuelle complet et sensibiliser les travailleurs concernés aux risques pour la santé encourus lors de l’activité de soufflage. Il est vivement encouragé à trouver une solution alternative pour le nettoyage de la voirie

Major Differences in the Diversity of Mycobiomes Associated with Wheat Processing and Domestic Environments: Significant Findings from High-Throughput Sequencing of Fungal Barcode ITS1.

Occupational exposure to grain dust is associated with both acute and chronic effects on the airways. However, the aetiology of these effects is not completely understood, mainly due to the complexity and variety of potentially causative agents to which workers are exposed during cereals process. In this study, we characterized the mycobiome during different steps of wheat processing-harvesting, grain unloading and straw handling-and compared it to mycobiomes of domestic environments-rural and urban. To do so, settled dust was collected at a six month interval for six weeks in the close proximity of 142 participants, 74 occupationally exposed to wheat dust-freshly harvested or stored-and 68 not occupationally exposed to it. Fungal community composition was determined in those samples by high-throughput sequencing of the primary fungal barcode marker internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1). The comparison of different mycobiomes revealed that fungal richness, as well as their composition, was much higher in the domestic environment than at the workplace. Furthermore, we found that the fungal community composition strongly differed between workplaces where workers handled freshly harvested wheat and those where they handled stored wheat. Indicator species for each exposed population were identified. Our results emphasize the complexity of exposure of grain workers and farmers and open new perspectives in the identification of the etiological factors responsible for the respiratory pathologies induced by wheat dust exposure