Virus Diseases Commons^™

A Roundtable On Cross-Sector Collaboration And Resource Alignment For Health Equity: Meeting Summary, Onyemaechi Nweke

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Cross-sector collaboration is a highly recommended strategy to eliminate health inequities nationally and globally. In the federal sector, it is evolving into an important approach for solving complex social problems, as evidenced by its steady proliferation the past few decades. Despite the increased adoption of cross-sector collaboration, it is still not a default strategy or preeminent option for managing complex social problems. In September 2015, the Federal Interagency Health Equity Team (FIHET) hosted a Roundtable event to discuss opportunities and strategies to foster widespread adoption of cross-sector collaboration and resource alignment. The Roundtable featured several expert panelists and participants from ...

An Assessment Of Funding And Other Capacity Needs For Health Equity Programming Within State-Level Chronic Disease Programs, Tiffany Pertillar, Ann Pobutsky, Phd, Gail Brandt, Edd, Mph, Marisa New, Otr, Mph, Jamielou Delavan, Ba, Robyn Taylor, Mba, Amishi Shah, Mpa, Ma, Folasaya Adunola, Dds, Mph, Onyemaechi Nweke

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: Chronic diseases are an important contributor to morbidity and mortality among racial/ethnic minority, low-income, and other under-resourced populations. Given that state health departments (and their chronic disease programs) play a significant role in providing population and preventive health services, their capacity to promote health equity is an important consideration in national efforts to address chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine capacity needs of state chronic disease programs with respect to promoting health equity.

Methods: In 2015, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) conducted a survey of its members that work within a ...

Achieving Health Equity For Indian Country, Jamie Ishcomer

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The essence of health equity is giving resources where they are needed most. American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) continue to have the worst health outcomes, live in some of the most desperate of conditions, and lack access to even basic amenities that many other Americans could not survive without. Although Tribes have been plagued with social, economic and political injustice for centuries, there is an opportunity to put a stop to the systematic oppression and build up the first peoples of this country. A partnership between the National Indian Health Board (NIHB) and the National Partnership for Action ...

Rhode Island’S Health Equity Zones: Addressing Local Problems With Local Solutions, Nicole Alexander-Scott, Md, Mph, Ana P. Novais, Ma, Carol Hall-Walker, Mpa, Angela B. Ankoma, Mph, Msw, John P. Fulton, Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) describes the strategies and infrastructure it has developed to fund its placed-based initiatives to address the social determinants of health to eliminate health disparities. Using a data driven and community-led approach, RIDOH funded 10 local collaboratives, each with its own, geographically-defined “Health Equity Zone,” or “HEZ,” and, to support the collaboratives, created a new “Health Equity Institute,” a “HEZ Team” of 9 seasoned project managers, and direct lines of communications between these assets and the Office of the Director of Health.

Implementation Of The National Partnership For Action To End Health Disparities: A Three-Year Retrospective, Oscar Espinosa, Onyemaechi Nweke

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) launched the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA) to increase the effectiveness of efforts to eliminate health disparities by coordinating partners, leaders, and stakeholders committed to action. At its core, the NPA is an experiment in collaboration that relies heavily on those on the front line who are actively engaged in minority health work at multiple levels. It gives them the responsibility of identifying and helping to define core actions, new approaches, and new partnerships that ultimately will help ...

The Guide To Community Preventive Services Review Of Interventions To Promote Health Equity In The United States, Robert Hahn, Jonathan E. Fielding, M.D., M.P.H., M.A., M.B.A, Robert L. Johnson, M.D., Carles Muntaner, M.D., Ph.D., M.H.S., Benedict I. Truman, M.D., M.P.H., Tracy Orleans

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The optimal approach to eliminating health inequities is through evidence-based interventions. In 2009, the non-federal Community Preventive Services Task Force launched a series of systematic reviews of interventions to promote health equity. Topics to be considered include education, employment, housing, and transportation. Thus far, reviews have focused on educational interventions: center-based early childhood education, full-day kindergarten programs, out-of-school time academic programs, high school completion programs, and school-based health centers. These reviews demonstrate the benefits of diverse educational interventions in advancing health equity. Here, we summarize the strategy of Community Guide health equity reviews, first findings and challenges.

Tuberculous And Cryptococcal Meningitis In A Setting With High Tb And Low Hiv Prevalence, Afrasyab Khan, Bushra Jamil, Rahmat Ali, Sana Sultan

Bushra Jamil

OBJECTIVE: To compare the differences in presentation and outcome of patients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM) and cryptococcal meningitis (CCM). STUDY DESIGN: Case series. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from December 1995 to December 2005. METHODOLOGY: Patients with a confirmed diagnosis of TBM or CCM were included in this study. The signs and symptoms, laboratory findings and other variables of patients were entered and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software version 14. RESULTS: We compared 16 patients of TBM with 11 of CCM. None of the patients with TBM were Human Immunodeficiency ...

A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis On Herpes Zoster And The Risk Of Cardiac And Cerebrovascular Events, Nathaniel Erskine, Hoang Tran, Len L. Levin, Christine M. Ulbricht, Joyce D. Fingeroth, Catarina I. Kiefe, Robert J. Goldberg, Sonal Singh

Len Levin

BACKGROUND: Patients who develop herpes zoster or herpes zoster ophthalmicus may be at risk for cerebrovascular and cardiac complications. We systematically reviewed the published literature to determine the association between herpes zoster and its subtypes with the occurrence of cerebrovascular and cardiac events.

METHODS/RESULTS: Systematic searches of PubMed (MEDLINE), SCOPUS (Embase) and Google Scholar were performed in December 2016. Eligible studies were cohort, case-control, and self-controlled case-series examining the association between herpes zoster or subtypes of herpes zoster with the occurrence of cerebrovascular and cardiac events including stroke, transient ischemic attack, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction. Data on ...

Finding Human Proteins That Bind To A Lassa Virus Protein, Maria Alejandra Pardo Ruge, Veronica J. Heintz, Douglas J. Lacount

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Viral hemorrhagic fevers are severe illnesses caused by many different viruses. Lassa Virus is one of these important pathogens in Western Africa, causing hemorrhagic fever and eventually death without early medical treatment. There is no vaccine and there is little information on host-pathogen interactions. Therefore, the interaction between viral proteins and host targets is useful to understand Lassa virus’s lifecycle and pathology, and to develop ways to prevent infection. In this project, we study the nucleoprotein of Lassa virus (NP), which has been reported to have anti-interferon (IFN) activity through elimination of double stranded RNA (dsRNA). These features could ...

Advances In Developing Therapies To Combat Zika Virus: Current Knowledge And Future Perspectives, Ashok Munjal, Rekha Khandia, Kuldeep Dharma, Swati Sachan, Kumaragurubaran Karthik, Ruchi Tiwari, Yashpal S. Malik, Deepak Kumar, Raj K. Singh, Hafiz M. N. Iqbal, Sunil K. Joshi

Bioelectrics Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) remained largely quiescent for nearly six decades after its first appearance in 1947. ZIKV reappeared after 2007, resulting in a declaration of an international “public health emergency” in 2016 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Until this time, ZIKV was considered to induce only mild illness, but it has now been established as the cause of severe clinical manifestations, including fetal anomalies, neurological problems, and autoimmune disorders. Infection during pregnancy can cause congenital brain abnormalities, including microcephaly and neurological degeneration, and in other cases, Guillain-Barré syndrome, making infections with ZIKV a substantial public health concern. Genomic and ...

A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis On Herpes Zoster And The Risk Of Cardiac And Cerebrovascular Events, Nathaniel Erskine, Hoang Tran, Len L. Levin, Christine M. Ulbricht, Joyce D. Fingeroth, Catarina I. Kiefe, Robert J. Goldberg, Sonal Singh

Library Publications and Presentations

BACKGROUND: Patients who develop herpes zoster or herpes zoster ophthalmicus may be at risk for cerebrovascular and cardiac complications. We systematically reviewed the published literature to determine the association between herpes zoster and its subtypes with the occurrence of cerebrovascular and cardiac events.

METHODS/RESULTS: Systematic searches of PubMed (MEDLINE), SCOPUS (Embase) and Google Scholar were performed in December 2016. Eligible studies were cohort, case-control, and self-controlled case-series examining the association between herpes zoster or subtypes of herpes zoster with the occurrence of cerebrovascular and cardiac events including stroke, transient ischemic attack, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction. Data on ...

Adenovirus Prime, Env Protein Boost Vaccine Protects Against Neutralization-Resistant Sivsme660 Variants In Rhesus Monkeys, Brandon F. Keele, Wenjun Li, Erica N. Borducchi, Joseph P. Nkolola, Peter Abbink, Bing Chen, Michael S. Seaman, Dan H. Barouch

Wenjun Li

Previous studies have shown that DNA prime, Ad5 boost vaccines protect against neutralization-sensitive but not neutralization-resistant virus variants within the SIVsmE660 swarm. Here we show that Ad prime, Env protein boost vaccines protect against neutralization-resistant SIVsmE660 variants. We perform two studies in rhesus monkeys with Ad35/Ad26 vectors expressing SIVmac239 Gag/Pol/Env with or without an AS01B-adjuvanted SIVmac32H gp140 protein boost. In a repetitive, low-dose challenge study, we observe robust protection against acquisition of infection by both Ad Alone and Ad/Env vaccines. In a single, high-dose challenge study, only the Ad/Env vaccine affords significant protection against acquisition ...

Risk For Cardiovascular Disease In Blacks With Hiv/Aids In America: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Calvin Odhiambo, Jessica Davis, Bernard Omolo

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) related to HIV infection is becoming a major public health concern in the United Stated. Epidemiologic studies show that prolonged use of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, HIV/AIDS itself, and a combination of traditional vascular risk factors increase the risk for CVD among people with HIV/AIDS. However, little is known about any racial disparities in the risk for CVD in the HIV/AIDS population. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of literature on HIV/AIDS and CVD (June 1, 2010-July 31, 2014) through MEDLINE to examine whether and how HIV-positive African Americans are disproportionately affected ...

Dengue Virus Ns2b/Ns3 Protease Inhibitors Exploiting The Prime Side, Kuan-Hung Lin, Akbar Ali, Linah Rusere, Djade I. Soumana, Nese Kurt Yilmaz, Celia A. Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

The mosquito-transmitted dengue virus (DENV) infects millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions. Maturation of DENV particles requires proper cleavage of the viral polyprotein, including processing of 8 of the 13 substrate cleavage sites by dengue virus NS2B/NS3 protease. With no available direct-acting antiviral targeting DENV, NS2/NS3 protease is a promising target for inhibitor design. Current design efforts focus on the nonprime side of the DENV protease active site, resulting in highly hydrophilic and nonspecific scaffolds. However, the prime side also significantly modulates DENV protease binding affinity, as revealed by engineering the binding loop of aprotinin, a ...

Optimizing Linkage To Care And Initiation And Retention On Treatment Of Adolescents With Newly Diagnosed Hiv Infection., Eva Caroline Ruria, Rose Masaba, Judith Kose, Godfrey Woelk, Eliud Mwangi, Lucy Matu, Hillary Ng'eno, Beatrice Bikeri, Natella Rakhmanina

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Objective: Unsuccessful linkage to care and treatment increases adolescent HIV-related morbidity and mortality. This study evaluated the effect of a novel adolescent and youth Red Carpet Program (RCP) on the timing and outcomes of linkage to care.

Design: A prepost implementation evaluation of the pilot RCP program.

Settings: Healthcare facilities (HCFs) and schools in Homa Bay County, Kenya.

Study participants: HIV-infected adolescents (15–19 years) and youth (20–21 years).

Interventions: RCP provided fast-track peer-navigated services, peer counseling, and psychosocial support at HCFs and schools in six Homa Bay subcounties in 2016. RCP training and sensitization was implemented in 50 ...

Penile Anaerobic Dysbiosis As A Risk Factor For Hiv Infection, Cindy Liu, Jessica Prodger, Aaron Tobian, Alison Abraham, Godfrey Kigozi, Lance B. Price, +Several Additional Authors

Environmental and Occupational Health Faculty Publications

Sexual transmission of HIV requires exposure to the virus and infection of activated mucosal immune cells, specifically CD4⁺ T cells or dendritic cells. The foreskin is a major site of viral entry in heterosexual transmission of HIV. Although the probability of acquiring HIV from a sexual encounter is low, the risk varies even after adjusting for known HIV risk factors. The genital microbiome may account for some of the variability in risk by interacting with the host immune system to trigger inflammatory responses that mediate the infection of mucosal immune cells. We conducted a case-control study of uncircumcised participants nested ...

Induction And Suppression Of Antiviral Rna Silencing By Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus, Sergio M. Gabriel Peralta

Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research in Agronomy and Horticulture

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is an emerging pathogen with wide host range and one of the most important viruses of plants. Information regarding processing of negative single stranded RNA viruses such as TSWV in the RNA silencing pathway remains limited. In nature TSWV is only transmitted by thrips as vectors and since infection occurs in both thrips and plants, an experimental system to transmit using thrips and the detection of TSWV were established. In order to understand the processing of TSWV in the RNA silencing pathway, Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant was used in the genetic analysis against ...

Impact Of Neuraminidase Inhibitors On Influenza A(H1n1)Pdm09-Related Pneumonia: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis, Stella G Muthuri, Sudhir Venkatesan, Puja R Myles, Jo Leonardi-Bee, Wei Shen Lim, Abdullah Al Mamun, Ashish P Anovadiya, Wildo N Araújo, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Clarisa Báez, Carlos Bantar, Mazen M Barhoush, Matteo Bassetti, Bojana Beovic, Roland Bingisser, Isabelle Bonmarin, Victor H Borja-Aburto, Bin Cao, Jordi Carratala, María R Cuezzo, Justin T Denholm, Samuel R Dominguez, Pericles A D Duarte, Gal Dubnov-Raz, Marcela Echavarria, Sergio Fanella, James Fraser, Zhancheng Gao, Patrick Gérardin, Maddalena Giannella, Sophie Gubbels, Jethro Herberg, Anjarath L Higuera Iglesias, Peter H Hoeger, Matthias Hoffmann, Xiaoyun Hu, Quazi T Islam, Mirela F Jiménez, Amr Kandeel, Gerben Keijzers, Hossein Khalili, Gulam Khandaker, Marian Knight, Gabriela Kusznierz, Ilija Kuzman, Arthur M C Kwan, Idriss Lahlou Amine, Eduard Langenegger, Kamran B Lankarani, Yee-Sin Leo, Rita Linko, Pei Liu, Faris Madanat, Toshie Manabe, Elga Mayo-Montero, Allison Mcgeer, Ziad A Memish, Gokhan Metan, Dragan Mikić, Kristin G I Mohn, Ahmadreza Moradi, Pagbajabyn Nymadawa, Bulent Ozbay, Mehpare Ozkan, Dhruv Parekh, Mical Paul, Wolfgang Poeppl, Fernando P Polack, Barbara A Rath, Alejandro H Rodríguez, Marilda M Siqueira, Joanna Skręt-Magierło, Ewa Talarek, Julian W Tang, Antoni Torres, Selda H Törün, Dat Tran, Timothy M Uyeki, Annelies Van Zwol, Wendy Vaudry, Daiva Velyvyte, Tjasa Vidmar, Paul Zarogoulidis, Jonathan S Nguyen-Van-Tam

Gerben Keijzers

BACKGROUND:

The impact of neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) on influenza-related pneumonia (IRP) is not established. Our objective was to investigate the association between NAI treatment and IRP incidence and outcomes in patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection.

METHODS:

A worldwide meta-analysis of individual participant data from 20 634 hospitalised patients with laboratory-confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 (n = 20 021) or clinically diagnosed (n = 613) 'pandemic influenza'. The primary outcome was radiologically confirmed IRP. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using generalised linear mixed modelling, adjusting for NAI treatment propensity, antibiotics and corticosteroids.

RESULTS:

Of 20 634 included participants, 5978 (29·0 ...

Impact Of Neuraminidase Inhibitors On Influenza A(H1n1)Pdm09-Related Pneumonia: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis, Stella G Muthuri, Sudhir Venkatesan, Puja R Myles, Jo Leonardi-Bee, Wei Shen Lim, Abdullah Al Mamun, Ashish P Anovadiya, Wildo N Araújo, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Clarisa Báez, Carlos Bantar, Mazen M Barhoush, Matteo Bassetti, Bojana Beovic, Roland Bingisser, Isabelle Bonmarin, Victor H Borja-Aburto, Bin Cao, Jordi Carratala, María R Cuezzo, Justin T Denholm, Samuel R Dominguez, Pericles A D Duarte, Gal Dubnov-Raz, Marcela Echavarria, Sergio Fanella, James Fraser, Zhancheng Gao, Patrick Gérardin, Maddalena Giannella, Sophie Gubbels, Jethro Herberg, Anjarath L Higuera Iglesias, Peter H Hoeger, Matthias Hoffmann, Xiaoyun Hu, Quazi T Islam, Mirela F Jiménez, Amr Kandeel, Gerben Keijzers, Hossein Khalili, Gulam Khandaker, Marian Knight, Gabriela Kusznierz, Ilija Kuzman, Arthur M C Kwan, Idriss Lahlou Amine, Eduard Langenegger, Kamran B Lankarani, Yee-Sin Leo, Rita Linko, Pei Liu, Faris Madanat, Toshie Manabe, Elga Mayo-Montero, Allison Mcgeer, Ziad A Memish, Gokhan Metan, Dragan Mikić, Kristin G I Mohn, Ahmadreza Moradi, Pagbajabyn Nymadawa, Bulent Ozbay, Mehpare Ozkan, Dhruv Parekh, Mical Paul, Wolfgang Poeppl, Fernando P Polack, Barbara A Rath, Alejandro H Rodríguez, Marilda M Siqueira, Joanna Skręt-Magierło, Ewa Talarek, Julian W Tang, Antoni Torres, Selda H Törün, Dat Tran, Timothy M Uyeki, Annelies Van Zwol, Wendy Vaudry, Daiva Velyvyte, Tjasa Vidmar, Paul Zarogoulidis, Jonathan S Nguyen-Van-Tam

Gerben Keijzers

BACKGROUND:

The impact of neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) on influenza-related pneumonia (IRP) is not established. Our objective was to investigate the association between NAI treatment and IRP incidence and outcomes in patients hospitalised with A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection.

METHODS:

A worldwide meta-analysis of individual participant data from 20 634 hospitalised patients with laboratory-confirmed A(H1N1)pdm09 (n = 20 021) or clinically diagnosed (n = 613) 'pandemic influenza'. The primary outcome was radiologically confirmed IRP. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using generalised linear mixed modelling, adjusting for NAI treatment propensity, antibiotics and corticosteroids.

RESULTS:

Of 20 634 included participants, 5978 (29·0 ...

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Antimicrobial Activity Of [R4w4k]-Levofloxacin And [R4w4k]-Levofloxacin-Q Conjugates, Neda Riahifard, Kathy Tavakoli, Jason Yamaki, Keykavous Parang, Rakesh Tiwari

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

The development of a new class of antibiotics to fight bacterial resistance is a time-consuming effort associated with high-cost and commercial risks. Thus, modification, conjugation or combination of existing antibiotics to enhance their efficacy is a suitable strategy. We have previously reported that the amphiphilic cyclic peptide [R4W4] had antibacterial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2.97 g/mL against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Herein, we hypothesized that conjugation or combination of the amphiphilic cyclic peptide [R4W4] with levofloxacin or levofloxacin-Q could improve the antibacterial activity of levofloxacin and levofloxacin-Q. Fmoc/tBu solid-phase chemistry was employed to ...