COVID-19 Preparedness and the Anxiety of Thai Citizens

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought sickness and fatality to Thai citizens. In addition, it left a tremendous psychological impact on mental health as they experienced panic and anxiety about controlling situations and preserving their physical and mental well-being. This study aimed to analyze the factors influencing COVID-19 preparedness and anxiety based on groups of Thai citizens. Online questionnaires were employed to collect data from 2,768 respondents selected through convenience sampling and snowball sampling on Facebook, having shared questionnaires with 190 other users. Data were collected from March 29 to April 3, 2020. The acquired data were analyzed using percentage and logistic regression analyses. It found that the influencing factors of preparedness included citizens’ sex, residing province, and work or off-house conditions. In contrast, the influencing factors of anxiety included their sex, age, residing province, and income adequacy. The results conveyed that Thai citizens were anxious about the pandemic and had been attempting to cope. In addition, issued policies should respond to the public promptly to prevent unnecessary panic and to maximize public cooperation against future situations put forth by the pandemic

Exploratory, Phase II Controlled Trial of Shiunko Ointment Local Application Twice a Day for 4 Weeks in Ethiopian Patients with Localized Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

The clinical efficacy and safety of Shiunko ointment (phase II clinical trial) was investigated in 40 Ethiopian patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis. Patients were randomized to receive treatment with Shiunko ointment or placebo (n=20, each), applied on the lesion twice a day for 4 weeks. Clinicoparasitological assessments were performed before treatment, weekly for 4 weeks, and then 4, 8, and 12 weeks after the end of treatment. A marked reduction in lesion size was observed on week 16 of treatment in the Shiunko compared with placebo group (69% and 22% reduction, resp.). The overall rate of lesion reduction during the four weeks of treatment was significantly faster in the Shiunko group. Shiunko provided significant effect on wound closure in patients with ulcerated lesion. The clinical efficacy and tolerability of Shiunko were comparable to placebo with regard to its clinicoparasitological response (cure rate and parasitological clearance). Results of this preliminary study may suggest that Shiunko could be useful as adjuvant or as complementary treatment, not as alternatives to current treatment. Its attractive action includes fast lesion healing with a significantly smaller lesion at week 16 of treatment compared with placebo. In addition, its action was promoted in ulcerative lesions