Modelling the West Nile virus force of infection in the European human population

West Nile virus (WNV) is among the most recent emerging mosquito-borne pathogens in Europe where each year hundreds of human cases are recorded. We developed a relatively simple technique to model the WNV force of infection (FOI) in the human population to assess its dependence on environmental and human demographic factors. To this aim, we collated WNV human case-based data reported to the European Surveillance System from 15 European Countries during the period 2010–2021. We modelled the regional WNV FOI for each year through normal distributions and calibrated the constituent parameters, namely average (peak timing), variance and overall intensity, to observed cases. Finally, we investigated through regression models how these parameters are associated to a set of climatic, environmental and human demographic covariates. Our modelling approach shows good agreement between expected and observed epidemiological curves. We found that FOI magnitude is positively associated with spring temperature and larger in more anthropogenic semi-natural areas, while FOI peak timing is negatively related to summer temperature. Unsurprisingly, FOI is estimated to be greater in regions with a larger fraction of elderly people, who are more likely to contract severe infections. Our results confirm that temperature plays a key role in shaping WNV transmission in Europe and provide some interesting hints on how human presence and demography might affect WNV burden. This simple yet reliable approach could be easily adopted for early warning and to address epidemiological investigations of other vector-borne diseases, especially where eco-epidemiological data are scarc

Diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering education: an exploration of European higher education institutions’ strategic frameworks, resources, and initiatives

Significant efforts have been made to promote gender equality in higher education (HE) in Europe. Examples include the establishment of the Athena Swan Charter in the UK in 2005 and the 2019 launch of the Irène Curie Fellowship scheme by Eindhoven University of Technology. But which initiatives address broader diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) challenges in HE? And which are specifically focused on engineering education? This exploratory study aims to improve our understanding of the ways in which a set of European HE Institutions engaged in engineering education address DEI at an organisation level, and how this is communicated within the public domain. The analysis of online data provided by a purposive sample of institutions is guided by the following research questions (RQ): 1. How is DEI addressed and defined in institution-wide strategic frameworks? 2. How many institutions describe having an institution-wide DEI organization? 3. What specific policies around DEI are being developed, and what areas are mentioned, defined, and prioritized? 4. What structures and resources noted as part of their DEI activities are specific to engineering faculties and departments? 5. What engineering-specific DEI initiatives exist that are not available in the public domain or are not written in English? Our sample is composed of the host institutions of the authors of the paper, and represent different European countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, and the UK. The findings of this exploratory study will be used to inform the design of a large-scale survey to identify DEI practices across the SEFI community

High habitat richness limits the risk of tick-borne encephalitis in Europe: a multi-scale study

The natural transmission cycle of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is enhanced by complex interactions between ticks and key hosts strongly connected to habitat characteristics. The diversity of wildlife host species and their relative abundance is known to affect transmission of tick-borne diseases (such as, for example, Lyme disease). In the current context of global biodiversity loss, we explored the relationship between the habitat richness index (HRI) and the pattern of human TBE cases in Europe to assess the role of HRI in disease risk mitigation. Methods: We assessed human TBE case distribution across 879 European regions using official epidemiological data reported to the European Surveillance System (TESSy) between 2017 and 2021 from 15 countries. We statistically explored the relationship between TBE presence and a novel variable - the habitat richness index (HRI) - describing the diversity of European ecosystem types. We also validated our findings at local scale using data collected between 2017 and 2021 in 227 municipalities located in Trento and Belluno provinces, two known TBE foci in northern Italy. Findings: Our results showed a significant parabolic effect of HRI on the probability of presence of human TBE cases in the European regions included in our dataset, and a significant, negative effect of HRI on the local presence of TBE in northern Italy. At both spatial scales, TBE risk decreases in areas with higher values of HRI. Interpretation: To our knowledge, no efforts have yet been made to explore the relationship between habitat richness and TBE risk, both in local and in large scale geographical contexts, probably due to the scarcity of high-resolution, large-scale data about the abundance or density of critical host species, such as rodents and ungulates. To overcome this lack o f data, in this study we considered habitat richness as proxy of vertebrate host biodiversity to disentangle its role in driving TBE European occurrence at different spatial scales. The results suggest that biodiversity loss could considerably enhance disease risk for both humans and wildlife, which may influence biodiversity conservation policies within a One Health context approach

Ecological and environmental factors affecting the risk of tick-borne encephalitis in Europe, 2017 to 2021

Background: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a disease which can lead to severe neurological symptoms, caused by the TBE virus (TBEV). The natural transmission cycle occurs in foci and involves ticks as vectors and several key hosts that act as reservoirs and amplifiers of the infection spread. Recently, the incidence of TBE in Europe has been rising in both endemic and new regions. Aim: In this study we want to provide comprehensive understanding of the main ecological and environmental factors that affect TBE spread across Europe. Methods: We searched available literature on covariates linked with the circulation of TBEV in Europe. We then assessed the best predictors for TBE incidence in 11 European countries by means of statistical regression, using data on human infections provided by the European Surveillance System (TESSy), averaged between 2017 and 2021. Results: We retrieved data from 62 full-text articles and identified 31 different covariates associated with TBE occurrence. Finally, we selected eight variables from the best model, including factors linked to vegetation cover, climate, and the presence of tick hosts. Discussion: The existing literature is heterogeneous, both in study design and covariate types. Here, we summarised and statistically validated the covariates affecting the variability of TBEV across Europe. The analysis of the factors enhancing disease emergence is a fundamental step towards the identification of potential hotspots of viral circulation. Hence, our results can support modelling efforts to estimate the risk of TBEV infections and help decision-makers implement surveillance and prevention campaigns

High habitat richness reduces the risk of tick-borne encephalitis in Europe: a multi-scale study

Background The natural transmission cycle of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is enhanced by complex interactions between ticks and key hosts strongly connected to habitat characteristics. The diversity of wildlife host species and their relative abundance is known to affect transmission of tick-borne diseases. Therefore, in the current context of global biodiversity loss, we explored the relationship between habitat richness and the pattern of human TBE cases in Europe to assess biodiversity's role in disease risk mitigation. Methods We assessed human TBE case distribution across 879 European regions using official epidemiological data reported to The European Surveillance System (TESSy) between 2017 and 2021 from 15 countries. We explored the relationship between TBE presence and the habitat richness index (HRI1) by means of binomial regression. We validated our findings at local scale using data collected between 2017 and 2021 in 227 municipalities located in Trento and Belluno provinces, two known TBE foci in northern Italy. Findings Our results showed a significant parabolic effect of HRI on the probability of presence of human TBE cases in the European regions included in our dataset, and a significant, negative effect of HRI on the local presence of TBE in northern Italy. At both spatial scales, TBE risk decreases in areas with higher values of HRI. Interpretation To our knowledge, no efforts have yet been made to explore the relationship between biodiversity and TBE risk, probably due to the scarcity of high-resolution, large-scale data about the abundance or density of critical host species. Hence, in this study we considered habitat richness as proxy for vertebrate host diversity. The results suggest that in highly diverse habitats TBE risk decreases. Hence, biodiversity loss could enhance TBE risk for both humans and wildlife. This association is relevant to support the hypothesis that the maintenance of highly diverse ecosystems mitigates disease ris

Multi-disciplinary approach for managing plasmacytoma: a case report

Solitary plasmacytoma (SP) is a tumor with evidence of clonal plasma cells and no other features of multiple myeloma (MM). We report a case of SP which showed multiple recurrences of SP and then evolution into overt MM. A 56-year-old man presented with the 5-month-history of right nasal obstruction and intermittent epistaxis. He had SP (extraosseous) of right nasopharynx (3.5 × 2 × 2.5 cm), with no paraproteinaemia. He received radiotherapy (56 Gy), achieving complete remission. Ten years later, he had recurrence of SP (osseous) in left tibia, presenting with pathological fracture. He received radiotherapy (50 Gy), achieving partial response. Three years later, he had recurrence of SP (osseous) in right tibia, presenting with right leg pain. He received radiotherapy (45 Gy). While receiving treatment, he had progressive swelling in the area around right eye, double vision and headache. Imaging scans showed multiple plasmacytomas. There were presence of monoclonal paraprotein, hypercalcemia and lytic bone lesions. He was diagnosed as MM (at the age of 70 years) and treated with Bortezomib-based therapy. Currently, after one cycle of treatment, clinical improvement is achieved. The importance of multi-disciplinary team approach for managing patients with plasmacytoma is highlighted in order to achieve the holistic approach of management

Using geographically weighted regression to explore the spatially heterogeneous spread of bovine tuberculosis in England and Wales

An understanding of the factors that affect the spread of endemic bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is critical for the development of measures to stop and reverse this spread. Analyses of spatial data need to account for the inherent spatial heterogeneity within the data, or else spatial autocorrelation can lead to an overestimate of the significance of variables. This study used three methods of analysis—least-squares linear regression with a spatial autocorrelation term, geographically weighted regression (GWR) and boosted regression tree (BRT) analysis—to identify the factors that influence the spread of endemic bTB at a local level in England and Wales. The linear regression and GWR methods demonstrated the importance of accounting for spatial differences in risk factors for bTB, and showed some consistency in the identification of certain factors related to flooding, disease history and the presence of multiple genotypes of bTB. This is the first attempt to explore the factors associated with the spread of endemic bTB in England and Wales using GWR. This technique improves on least-squares linear regression approaches by identifying regional differences in the factors associated with bTB spread. However, interpretation of these complex regional differences is difficult and the approach does not lend itself to predictive models which are likely to be of more value to policy makers. Methods such as BRT may be more suited to such a task. Here we have demonstrated that GWR and BRT can produce comparable outputs

Farming on the edge: farmer attitudes to bovine tuberculosis in newly endemic areas

Defra's recent strategy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (bTB) establishes three spatial zones: high-risk areas (HRAs) and low-risk areas, and an area referred to as ‘the edge’, which marks the areas where infection is spreading outwards from the HRA. Little is known about farmers in the edge area, their attitudes towards bTB and their farming practices. This paper examines farmers’ practices and attitudes towards bTB in standardised epidemiologically defined areas. A survey was developed to collect data on farmer attitudes, behaviours, practices and environmental conditions as part of an interdisciplinary analysis of bTB risk factors. Survey items were developed from a literature review and focus groups with vets and farmers in different locations within the edge area. A case-control sampling framework was adopted with farms sampled from areas identified as recently endemic for bTB. 347 farmers participated in the survey including 117 with bTB, representing a 70 percent response rate. Results show that farmers believe they are unable to do anything about bTB but are keen for the government intervention to help control the spread of bTB