Population response to the risk of vector-borne diseases: lessons learned from socio-behavioural research during large-scale outbreaks

Vector-borne infectious diseases, such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, and West Nile fevers are increasingly identified as major global human health threats in developing and developed countries. The success or failure of vector control rests mainly on the nature and scale of the behavioural response of exposed populations. Large-scale adoption of recommended protective behaviour represents a critical challenge that cannot be addressed without a better understanding of how individuals perceive and react to the risk of infection. Recently, French overseas territories faced large-scale outbreaks: an epidemic of chikungunya fever in La Re′ union and Mayotte (2005–2006) and four successive outbreaks of dengue fever in one Caribbean island, Martinique (1995–2007). To assess how these populations perceived and responded to the risk, and how the nature and scale of protection affected their clinical status, socio-epidemiological surveys were conducted on each island during the outbreaks. These surveys address three crucial and interconnected questions relevant to the period after persons infected by the virus were identified: which factors shape the risk of acquiring disease? Which socio- demographic characteristics and living conditions induce a higher likelihood of infection? What is the impact of risk perception on protective behaviours adopted against mosquito bites? Grounded on the results of these surveys, a general framework is proposed to help draw out the knowledge needed to reveal the factors associated with higher probability of infection as an outbreak emerges. The lessons learnt can inform health authorities’ efforts to improve risk communication programmes, both in terms of the target and content of messages, so as to explore new strategies for ensuring sustainable protective behaviour. The authors compare three epidemics of vector-borne diseases to elucidate psychosocial factors that determine how populations perceive and respond to the risk of infectious disease

La palatalisation des consonnes vélaires en breton et britto-roman

En matière de palatalisation, les consonnes vélaires forment un champ d’investigation homogène mais déjà complexe. L’exposé suivant ne vise pas à être exhaustif, mais à explorer quelques voies de recherche en écartant un certain nombre d’erreurs plus ou moins répandues. Il étudie les faits de palatalisation de trois séries distinctes : 1. celle des groupes consonantiques /rx/, /lx/ (avec étude du cas de /x/) ; 2. celle de /g-k/ et /gw-kw/ (et le cas particulier de /g>y/) ; 3. celle de /sk/ en /š/. Les conclusions de cette étude appellent à une critique des théories fondées sur la supposée palatalisation vannetaise, telle que la théorie du substrat gaulois.In terms of palatalization, velar consonants form a homogeneous but already complex field of investigation. The following presentation does not aim to be exhaustive, but to explore a few avenues of research by ruling out a certain number of more or less widespread errors. It studies the palatalization facts of three distinct series: 1. that of the consonantal groups /rx/, /lx/ (with a study of the case of /x/); 2. that of /g-k/ and /gw-kw/ (and the particular case of /g>y/); 3. that of /sk/ into /š/. The conclusions of this study call for a critique of theories based on the supposed Vannet palatalization, such as the Gallic substrate theory

La fonction énonciative

Le terme énonciatif est emprunté à la grammaire gasconne, alors qu’en grammaire bretonne nous sommes habitués au terme de particule verbale. C’est de la fonction de ces particules qu’il est ici question, et non pas de propositions énonciatives. On peut définir l’énonciatif comme un mot-outil qui a pour fonction d’introduire une forme verbale dans des conditions déterminées. Ainsi l’énonciatif gascon que se rencontre dans les mêmes conditions que la particule brittonique a : lo roment que madura = ar gwinizh a zarew [le froment mûrit] ; yo que tribalhi = me a labour [je travaille]. Suivent cet exposé deux réflexions sur les contributions de Michèle Noailly et Hervé Cadiou.The term enunciative is borrowed from Gascon grammar, whereas in Breton grammar we are used to the term verbal particle. It is the function of these particles that we are talking about here, and not enunciative propositions. The enunciative can be defined as a tool-word whose function is to introduce a verbal form under certain conditions. Thus, the Gascon enunciative que is found in the same conditions as the Brittonic particle a: lo roment que madura = ar gwinizh a zarew, ‘the wheat ripens’; yo que tribalhi = me a labour, ‘I work’. This presentation is followed by two reflections on the contributions of Michèle Noailly and Hervé Cadiou

La signalisation bilingue des noms de communes en Bretagne bretonnante

La manière d’écrire les noms bretons de paroisses a suivi les aléas des graphies en usage à l’époque ducale, puis à l’époque de la monarchie française. Les habitudes de la chancellerie y ont joué un rôle important. L’alphabet utilisé était dès le Moyen-Âge à base romane, suivant un usage breton qui évolua au 16e siècle et suivit ensuite de plus en plus l’usage français. Il n’y a donc pas eu de traitement graphique homogène des noms bretons. Puis se posa dans la pratique la question des panneaux de circulation bilingues. Pour résoudre ces problèmes, la Commission de Linguistique de l’Institut Culturel de Bretagne prenait l’initiative en 1986 de la création d’un groupe de travail sur les noms de lieux et les panneaux indicateurs sous le nom « Commission de Toponymie et de signalisation ».The way Breton parish names were written followed the vagaries of the spellings in use during the ducal period, and then during the French monarchy. The habits of the chancellery played an important role in this. From the Middle Ages onwards, the alphabet used was based on Romanesque, following a Breton usage which evolved in the 16th century and then increasingly followed French usage. There was therefore no homogeneous graphic treatment of Breton names. In practice, the question of bilingual traffic signs arose. In order to solve these problems, the Linguistics Commission of the Cultural Institute of Brittany took the initiative in 1986 to create a working group on place names and signposts under the name ‘Toponymy and Signposting Commission’

Europeans and Traditional Foods: Definition and Image from the Consumers' Perspective

This paper provides a consumer-driven definition of traditional food products (TFP) and investigates the image European consumers have about this food product category. Data were collected from representative consumer samples in six European countries, including Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, Poland and Spain, with a total sample size of 4,828 participants. European consumers define traditional foods as well-know products, products that one can eat very frequently, and products that were already eaten by grandparents. Although positive, association of TFP with naturalness and low processing is less pronounced. Sensory, health- and environment-related attribute perceptions contribute positively to the image of TFP, whereas perceived convenience, price, and availability contribute negatively to the TFP image. Finally, TFP are mainly pictured as foods that agree well with people who love national or regional cuisine, with people living in the countryside, equally so with men and women, though more so with families with children rather than singles or household without children. The empirical findings provide insights with particular relevance for TFP positioning, marketing communications around TFP and further development of the TFP market in Europe.Traditional food, Consumer, Europe, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The Nephrocheck Bedside System for Detecting Stage 3 Acute Kidney Injury After Open Thoracoabdominal Aortic Repair

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after complex aortic procedures and it is associated with relevant mortality and morbidity. Biomarkers for early and specific AKI detection are lacking. The aim of this work is to investigate the reliability of the NephroCheck bedside system for diagnosing stage 3 AKI following open aortic surgery. In this prospective, multicenter, observational study,- https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04087161 -we included 45 patients undergoing open thoracoabdominal aortic repair. AKI risk (AKIRisk-Index) was calculated from urine samples at 5 timepoints: baseline, immediately postoperatively and at 12, 24, 48, and 72 h post-surgery. AKIs were classified according to the KDIGO criteria. Contributing factors were identified in univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Predictive ability was assessed with the area under the receiver operator curve (ROCAUC). Among 31 patients (68.8%) that developed AKIs, 21 (44.9%) developed stage-3 AKIs, which required dialysis. AKIs were correlated with increased in-hospital mortality (p = .006), respiratory complications (p \u3c .001), sepsis (p \u3c .001), and multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (p \u3c .001). The AKIRisk-Index showed reliable diagnostic accuracy starting at 24 h post-surgery (ROCAUC: .8056, p = .001). In conclusion, starting at 24 h after open aortic repair, the NephroCheck system showed adequate diagnostic accuracy for detecting the patients at risk for stage 3 AKIs

Beliefs and Risk Perceptions About COVID-19: Evidence From Two Successive French Representative Surveys During Lockdown

Background: The outbreak of COVID-19 has been a major interrupting event, challenging how societies and individuals deal with risk. An essential determinant of the virus’ spread is a series of individual decisions, such as wearing face masks in public space. Those decisions depend on trade-offs between costs (or benefits) and risks, and beliefs are key to explain these. Methods: We elicit beliefs about the COVID-19 pandemic during lockdown in France by means of surveys asking French citizens about their belief of the infection fatality ratio (IFR) for COVID-19, own risk to catch the disease, risk as perceived by others, and expected prevalence rate. Those self-assessments were measured twice during lockdown: about 2 weeks after lockdown started and about 2 weeks before lockdown ended. We also measured the quality of these beliefs with respect to available evidence at the time of the surveys, allowing us to assess the calibration of beliefs based on risk-related socio-demographics. Finally, comparing own risk to expected prevalence rates in the two successive surveys provides a dynamic view of comparative optimism with respect to the disease. Results: The risk perceptions are rather high in absolute terms and they increased between the two surveys. We found no evidence for an impact of personal experience with COVID-19 on beliefs and lower risk perceptions of the IFR when someone in the respondent’s family has been diagnosed with a disease. Answers to survey 1 confirmed this pattern with a clear indication that respondents were optimistic about their chances to catch COVID-19. However, in survey 2, respondents revealed comparative pessimism. Conclusion: The results show that respondents overestimated the probabilities to catch or die from COVID-19, which is not unusual and does not necessarily reflect a strong deviation from rational behavior. While a rational model explains why the own risk to catch COVID-19 rose between the two surveys, it does not explain why the subjective assessment of the IFR remained stable. The comparative pessimism in survey 2 was likely due to a concomitant increase in the respondents’ perceived chances to catch the disease and a decreased expected prevalence rate

Predicting the Lay Preventive Strategies in Response to Avian Influenza from Perceptions of the Threat

Background: The identification of patterns of behaviors that lay people would engage in to protect themselves from the risk of infection in the case of avian influenza outbreak, as well as the lay perceptions of the threat that underlie these risk reduction strategies. Methodology/Principal Findings: A population-based survey (N = 1003) was conducted in 2008 to understand and describe how the French public might respond to a possible outbreak. Factor analyses highlighted three main categories of risk reduction strategies consisting of food quality assurance, food avoidance, and animal avoidance. In combination with the fear of contracting avian influenza, mental representations associated with the manifestation and/or transmission of the disease were found to significantly and systematically shape the behavioral responses to the perceived threat. Conclusions/Significance: This survey provides insight into the nature and predictors of the protective patterns that might be expected from the general public during a novel domestic outbreak of avian influenza

Predictors of the Uptake of A (H1N1) Influenza Vaccine: Findings from a Population-Based Longitudinal Study in Tokyo

BACKGROUND: Overall pandemic A (H1N1) influenza vaccination rates remain low across all nations, including Japan. To increase the rates, it is important to understand the motives and barriers for the acceptance of the vaccine. We conducted this study to determine potential predictors of the uptake of A (H1N1) influenza vaccine in a cohort of Japanese general population. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By using self-administered questionnaires, this population-based longitudinal study was conducted from October 2009 to April 2010 among 428 adults aged 18-65 years randomly selected from each household residing in four wards and one city in Tokyo. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. Of total, 38.1% of participants received seasonal influenza vaccine during the preceding season, 57.0% had willingness to accept A (H1N1) influenza vaccine at baseline, and 12.1% had received A (H1N1) influenza vaccine by the time of follow-up. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, people who had been vaccinated were significantly more likely to be living with an underlying disease (p = 0.001), to perceive high susceptibility to influenza (p = 0.03), to have willingness to pay even if the vaccine costs ≥ US$44 (p = 0.04), to have received seasonal influenza vaccine during the preceding season (p<0.001), and to have willingness to accept A (H1N1) influenza vaccine at baseline (p<0.001) compared to those who had not been vaccinated. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: While studies have reported high rates of willingness to receive A (H1N1) influenza vaccine, these rates may not transpire in the actual practices. The uptake of the vaccine may be determined by several potential factors such as perceived susceptibility to influenza and sensitivity to vaccination cost in general population

Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 2: A bibliographic analysis

The official published version of the article can be found at the link below.Background There are strong arguments for social science and interdisciplinary research in the neglected tropical diseases. These diseases represent a rich and dynamic interplay between vector, host, and pathogen which occurs within social, physical and biological contexts. The overwhelming sense, however, is that neglected tropical diseases research is a biomedical endeavour largely excluding the social sciences. The purpose of this review is to provide a baseline for discussing the quantum and nature of the science that is being conducted, and the extent to which the social sciences are a part of that. Methods A bibliographic analysis was conducted of neglected tropical diseases related research papers published over the past 10 years in biomedical and social sciences. The analysis had textual and bibliometric facets, and focussed on chikungunya, dengue, visceral leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis. Results There is substantial variation in the number of publications associated with each disease. The proportion of the research that is social science based appears remarkably consistent (<4%). A textual analysis, however, reveals a degree of misclassification by the abstracting service where a surprising proportion of the "social sciences" research was pure clinical research. Much of the social sciences research also tends to be "hand maiden" research focused on the implementation of biomedical solutions. Conclusion There is little evidence that scientists pay any attention to the complex social, cultural, biological, and environmental dynamic involved in human pathogenesis. There is little investigator driven social science and a poor presence of interdisciplinary science. The research needs more sophisticated funders and priority setters who are not beguiled by uncritical biomedical promises