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Spatiotemporal Epidemiology Of Cryptosporidiosis In The Republic Of Ireland, 2008–2017: Development Of A Space–Time “Cluster Recurrence” Index, Martin Boudou

Articles

Approximately 1.5 million individuals in Ontario are supplied by private water wells (private groundwater supplies). Unlike municipal supplies, private well water quality remains unregulated, with owners responsible for testing, treating, and maintaining their own water supplies. The COVID-19 global pandemic and associated non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have impacted many environmental (e.g., surface water and air quality) and human (e.g., healthcare, transportation) systems over the past 15-months (January 2020 to March 2021). To date, the impact of these interventions on private groundwater systems remains largely unknown. Accordingly, the current study aimed to investigate the impact of a province-wide COVID-19 lockdown (late-March 2020) …

Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Sporadic Shiga Toxin–Producing Escherichia Coli Enteritis, Ireland, 2013–2017, Eiimear Cleary, Patricia Garvey, Paul Mckeown, Jean O'Dwyer, Coilin Oh Aiseadha, Paul Mckeown, Paul Hynds

Articles

The Republic of Ireland regularly reports the highest annual crude incidence rates of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) enteritis in the European Union, ≈10 times the average. We investigated spatiotemporal patterns of STEC enteritis in Ireland using multiple statistical tools. Overall, we georeferenced 2,755 cases of infection during January 2013–December 2017; we found >1 case notified in 2,340 (12.6%) of 18,641 Census Small Areas. We encountered the highest case numbers in children 0–5 years of age (n = 1,101, 39.6%) and associated with serogroups O26 (n = 800, 29%) and O157 (n = 638, 23.2%). Overall, we identified 17 space-time …

Genetic Background Of Antimicrobial Resistance In Multiantimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia Coli Isolates From Feces Of Healthy Broiler Chickens In Tunisia, Mohamed Salah Abbassi, Hajer Kilani, Islem Abid, Yolanda Sáenz, Paul Hynds, Sana Lengliz, Noureddine Ben Chehida, Ilhem Boutiba-Ben Boubaker

Articles

Multiantimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli isolates are a global human health problem causing increasing morbidity and mortality. Genes encoding antimicrobial resistance are mainly harbored on mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as transposons and plasmids as well as integrons, which enhance their rapid spread. The aim of this study was to characterize 83 multiantimicrobial-resistant E. coli isolates recovered from healthy broiler chickens. Among 78 tetracycline-resistant isolates, the tetA, tetB, and tetC genes were detected in 59 (75.6%), 14 (17.9%), and one (1.2%) isolates, respectively. The sul1, sul2, and sul3 genes were detected 31 (46.2%), 16 (23.8%), and 6 (8.9%) isolates, respectively, among 67 …

The Pharmaceutical Industry Contributes To Public Health, Karl E. Peace, Mario Keko

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 And The Urgency For Advancements In Health Equity, Ifeoluwa Kayode, Gulzar H. Shah

Eagles Talking About the Public’s Health

No abstract provided.

Jiann-Ping Hsu College Of Public Health Magazine, Georgia Southern University

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Social Media Self-Regulation And The Rise Of Vaccine Misinformation, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

This essay examines the main characteristics and shortcomings of mainstream social media responses to vaccine misinformation and disinformation. Parts I and II contextualize the recent expansion of vaccine information and disinformation in the online environment. Part III provides a survey and taxonomy of ongoing responses to vaccine misinformation adopted by mainstream social media. It further notes the limitations of current self-regulatory modes and illustrates these limitations by presenting a short case study on Facebook—the largest social media vehicle for vaccine-specific misinformation, currently estimated to harbor approximately half of the social media accounts linked to vaccine misinformation. Part IV examines potential …

Leadership, Quality Improvement, Team Functionality, And Hiv Viral Load Suppression In Uganda, Esther Karungi Karamagi Nkolo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low viral load suppression rate is a significant public health issue in Uganda and similar countries. A nationwide quality improvement (QI) initiative was implemented from January 2019 to improve viral load suppression. Although QI team characteristics have been shown to influence the success of such QI initiatives, no studies have been found to understand how they influence the success of QI efforts to improve HIV viral load suppression in Uganda. The purpose of this cross-sectional, quantitative study was to determine whether there is a significant association between HIV clinic leader involvement in QI teams, QI team functionality, QI team diversity, …

Drug-Resistant Neisseria Gonorrhoeae; Identification Of At-Risk Groups In Florida By Regional Variation, Scott August Herber

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been on the rise in the State of Florida since 2013. Florida currently follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for identifying those at-risk for gonorrhea and drug resistant gonorrhea infections. These groups are narrowly defined and do not consider the different population dynamics throughout the State. This study examined the question of who is at-risk for contracting drug resistant strains of gonorrhea in the eight different regions of Florida based on the prescribed use of last-line-of-antibiotic-defense. Florida’s Surveillance Tools and Reporting System provided 12 years of secondary data from 2007 to 2018. The data …

The Combined Impact Of Race And Education On Obesity Among U.S. Adults By Fidelis Okoye, Fidelis Chidi Okoye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Walden University

College of Health Professions

This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by

Fidelis Okoye

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made.

Review Committee Dr. Vasileios Margaritis, Committee Chairperson, Public Health Faculty Dr. Srikanta Banerjee, Committee Member, Public Health Faculty Dr. James Rohrer, University Reviewer, Public Health Faculty

Chief Academic Officer and ProvostSue Subocz, Ph.D.

Walden University2021

AbstractThe Combined Impact of Race and Education on Obesity Among U.S. Adults by Fidelis Okoye

MA, Walden University, 2009BS, Marygrove College, 2001

Dissertation …

Effects Of Hepatitis On Human Immunodeficiency Virus Viral Suppression, Andrenita Checoby West

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis leads to unfavorable health outcomes, making treatment of HIV difficult and increasing the odds of HIV transmission. The purpose of this study is to assess whether viral hepatitis (B and C) hinders HIV viral suppression and impacts the white blood cell count (CD4) when a person is concurrently infected with both viruses. The syndemics theory guided this study. Two research questions tested whether there was an association between coinfection with viral hepatitis and HIV viral load suppression. The research design was quantitative case-control with secondary data from 65,626 reports of HIV, …

Risk Factors Associated With Childhood Vaccination Coverage In Afghanistan, Iqbal Mawani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Globally, vaccination is among the most successful and cost-effective public health practices in the prevention of infectious diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine the child, parental, and geographical risk factors that influence childhood vaccination coverage in Afghanistan. The health belief model and socio-ecological model was used in this study as the theoretical framework to examine the effects of these risk factors on vaccination coverage among children in Afghanistan. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate tests were conducted within the secondary data analysis of the 2015 Afghanistan national Demographic and Health Survey dataset. Of the 32,420 children aged 0 to …

Insecticide Treated Nets And Malaria Control Strategy In Sierra Leone, Henry Nk Biayemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMalaria is a deadly disease and endemic in Sierra Leone. It is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality amongst children younger than five years in Sierra Leone. Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) are not used widely despite free distribution, low health risks, and proven ability to reduce malaria. The purpose of this quantitative crosssectional study was to investigate the association between a set of independent variables (parental education, parents' economic status, household size, and residence) and the use of ITNs among children under five years of age in Sierra Leone. The study used a secondary dataset from the Ministry of …

The Power Of Exogenous Variables In Predicting West Nile Virus In South Carolina, Christopher Lee Glaze

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the availability of medical data, environmental surveillance tools, and heightened public awareness, West Nile Virus (WNv) remains a global health hazard. Reliable methods for predicting WNv outbreaks remain elusive, and environmental health managers must take preventive actions without the benefit of simple predictive tools. The purpose of this ex post facto research was to examine the accuracy and timeliness of exogenous data in predicting outbreaks of WNv in South Carolina. Decision theory, the CYNEFIN construct, and systems theory provided the theoretical framework for this study, allowing the researcher to broaden traditional decision theory concepts with powerful system-level precepts. Using …

A Quality Improvement Evaluation Of A Hospitalist Telemedicine Program, Kelly Marie Awes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Critical access hospitals (CAHs) encounter unique challenges in terms of providingquality resources to their community, often lacking quality measures and continuity comparable to larger regional and tertiary hospitals. One CAH in rural Minnesota implemented an overnight hospitalist telemedicine service to address concerns with provider resources and quality practice. An evaluation of quality improvement implementation was completed to address data regarding ER transfers and inpatient length of stay (LOS). Following the triple aim framework to improve patient care, population health, and decrease costs, Donabedian’s model of quality improvement was utilized. Three months of pre and postimplementation data were collected one year …

Relationship Between Cultural And Religious Practices And Ebola Virus In Freetown, Sierra Leone, Richmond Samuel Kpange

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The 2014 Ebola virus epidemic in the West Coast of Africa was a historically unprecedented epidemic with a sustained spread in multiple West African nations, including Sierra Leone. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified Sierra Leone as a high Ebola-affected country as it reported the highest number of deaths (14,124) during the last Ebola outbreak compared to other Ebola-affected countries. Public health experts have given little attention to the impact of sociocultural factors on infectious diseases, especially Ebola. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether there is a relationship between the spread of EVD and a patient’s gender, …

Associations Between The Use Of Bed Nets And Malaria Infection On The School Performance Of Juveniles In Ghana, Ans Bumbokuri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Millions of malaria cases are reported yearly in sub-Saharan Africa, events which adversely influence children’s school performance. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to investigate the effectiveness of major malaria control policies in reducing malaria cases as a means of improving academic performance among school children in the greater Accra region of Ghana. A secondary data set was obtained from the 2014-2016 data from the Ghana Malaria Indicator Survey (GMIS). Findings indicated that bed net use and malarial episodes in children of participant recorded a p-value of 0.43 which is a significant association between the variables. The likelihood …

Human Immunodeficiency Virus And Homelessness Among U.S.-Born And Foreign-Born Tuberculosis Cases In Georgia, Semra Ramosevac

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by bacteria and can easily spread in the U.S. and worldwide. TB infections in the U.S. have been much lower compared to other countries around the world in the last 40 years, but with the recent increase in an immigrant foreign-born population, there is a serious risk of the spread of TB. The goal of the study was to look into U.S.-born vs. foreign-born populations among TB/HIV/homeless cases in the state of GA from 2014 to 2018. The quantitative study was performed using secondary …

Relationship Between Media Coverage And Child Measles Vaccination Uptake, Tanika Ward

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Childhood vaccines have been a source of heated debates between both opponents and proponents of vaccination. Childhood immunizations have proven to be effective and save lives, but antivaccine movements continue. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional quantitative study was to determine if there was a significant difference in child measles vaccine uptake based on provider facility type and census region, after adjusting for age and education of mother, for the years 2003–2012, pre-and-post 2007 media coverage deeming vaccines unsafe, and for the years 2013–2017, pre-and-post exposure to measles at Disneyland in 2014–2015 for children aged 19–35 months. The social ecological …

Sociodemographic And Psychosocial Factors And Wellbeing Among Adults 65 And Older In England, Dainelle Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increased number of older adults living longer parallels with the growth of public health concerns regarding the impact of sociodemographic and psychosocial factors (e.g., loneliness and social isolation) on older adults' wellbeing. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the association between loneliness, social isolation, the combined model of loneliness, and social isolation on wellbeing among older adults when accounting for age, gender, ethnicity, and social support. The socioecological model (SEM) was used to evaluate the multiple levels of environmental determinants for loneliness, social isolation, and wellbeing. The target population included older adults 65 years and older …

Association Between Food Insecurity And Influenza Outcome In The United States., Sabrina Fiona Pink

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe influenza virus is one of the most commonly occurring respiratory viral infections in the world. The outer capsule of the virus contains 18H proteins and 11N proteins, which allows the virus to reform in over 100 different strands and outperform the vaccine. Despite efforts to improve access to care and reduce vaccine inequities; the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 9-45 million documented influenza-related illnesses, 140,000 to 810,000 hospitalization, and 64,000 deaths yearly. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether food insecurity, access to care and other social determinants of health such as age, race, and …

Risk Factors For Foodborne Illness Outbreaks In Retail Food Establishments, Brendalee Viveiros

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite policies and interventions over the last two decades, foodborne illness remains a significant public health concern. According to the CDC’s Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System, 60% of reported foodborne illness outbreaks involved food that was prepared at a restaurant. Reducing foodborne illness outbreaks that occur at restaurants would have a significant impact on the overall number of foodborne illnesses that occur each year. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively analyze the differences in risk factors in food establishments that have had a foodborne illness outbreak compared to food establishments that have not. This study used Reckwitz’s theory …

Molecular Identification Of Parasites In An Intestinal Coprolite From A Mummified Religious Dignitary Of The Piraino Mother Church Crypt, Sicily, Amanda Rollins, Krystiana Krupa, Georgia Millward, Dario Piombino-Mascali, Karl Reinhard, Frederika Kaestle

Karl Reinhard Publications

Intestinal contents were sampled from a spontaneously enhanced mummy from the Sepulcher of the Priests of the Piraino Mother Church in the Province of Messina, Sicily. This adult male mummy, Piraino 1, is an unidentified religious dignitary dating from the late-18th to mid-19th centuries. Immunological and molecular diagnostics were used to test for common and clinically significant parasites. A morphological diagnosis of Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) was confirmed genetically. A previously undetected Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) infection was also identified genetically. These data indicate that the Piraino 1 individual was simultaneously infected with multiple intestinal parasite species indicative of poor hygiene. This …

Utility Of Repeat Testing For Covid-19: Laboratory Stewardship When The Stakes Are High, Lindsey M. Rearigh, Angela L. Hewlett, Paul D. Fey, M. Jana Broadhurst, David Brett-Major, Mark Rupp, Trevor Van Schooneveld

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to circulate, testing strategies are of the utmost importance. Given national shortages of testing supplies, personal protective equipment, and other hospital resources, diagnostic stewardship is necessary to aid in resource management. We report the low utility of serial testing in a low-prevalence setting.

Recommended Reporting Items For Epidemic Forecasting And Prediction Research: The Epiforge 2020 Guidelines, Simon Pollett, Michael A. Johansson, Nicholas G. Reich, David Brett-Major, Sara Y. Del Valle, Srinivasan Venkatramanan, Rachel Lowe, Travis Porco, Irina Maljkovic Berry, Alina Deshpande, Moritz U. G. Kraemer, David L. Blazes, Wirichada Pan-Ngum, Alessandro Vespigiani, Suzanne E. Mate, Sheetal P. Silal, Sasikiran Kandula, Rachel Sippy, Talia M. Quandelacy, Jeffrey J. Morgan, Jacob Ball, Lindsay C. Morton, Benjamin M. Althouse, Julie Pavlin, Wilbert Van Panhuis, Steven Riley, Matthew Biggerstaff, Cecile Viboud, Oliver Brady, Caitlin Rivers

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

BACKGROUND: The importance of infectious disease epidemic forecasting and prediction research is underscored by decades of communicable disease outbreaks, including COVID-19. Unlike other fields of medical research, such as clinical trials and systematic reviews, no reporting guidelines exist for reporting epidemic forecasting and prediction research despite their utility. We therefore developed the EPIFORGE checklist, a guideline for standardized reporting of epidemic forecasting research.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We developed this checklist using a best-practice process for development of reporting guidelines, involving a Delphi process and broad consultation with an international panel of infectious disease modelers and model end users. The objectives …

Long-Term Assessment Of The Effects Of Covid-19 And Isolation Care On Survivor Disability And Anxiety, David Brett-Major, David S. Cates, James V. Lawler, Chad Vokoun, Angela L. Hewlett, Daniel W. Johnson, Elizabeth R. Schnaubelt, Michael C. Wadman, Christopher J. Kratochvil, M. Jana Broadhurst

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

We conducted an assessment of disability, anxiety, and other life impacts of COVID-19 and isolation care in a unique cohort of individuals. These included both community admissions to a university hospital as well as some of the earliest international aeromedical evacuees. Among an initial 16 COVID-19 survivors that were interviewed 6-12 months following their admission into isolation care, perception of their isolation care experience was related to their reporting of long-term consequences. However, anxiety and disability assessed with standard scores had no relationship with each other. Both capture of the isolation care experience and caution relying on single scoring systems …

Assessment Of A Program For Sars-Cov-2 Screening And Environmental Monitoring In An Urban Public School District, John Crowe, Andy T. Schnaubelt, Scott Schmidtbonne, Kathleen Angell, Julia Bai, Teresa Eske, Molly Nicklin, Catherine Pratt, Bailey White, Brodie Crotts-Hannibal, Nicholas Staffend, Vicki L. Herrera, Jeramie Cobb, Jennifer Conner, Julie Carstens, Jonell Tempero, Lori Bouda, Matthew Ray, James V. Lawler, Walter S. Campbell, John-Martin Lowe, Joshua L. Santarpia, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, Michael R. Wiley, David Brett-Major, Cheryl Logan, M. Jana Broadhurst

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Importance: Scalable programs for school-based SARS-CoV-2 testing and surveillance are needed to guide in-person learning practices and inform risk assessments in kindergarten through 12th grade settings.

Objectives: To characterize SARS-CoV-2 infections in staff and students in an urban public school setting and evaluate test-based strategies to support ongoing risk assessment and mitigation for kindergarten through 12th grade in-person learning.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This pilot quality improvement program engaged 3 schools in Omaha, Nebraska, for weekly saliva polymerase chain reaction testing of staff and students participating in in-person learning over a 5-week period from November 9 to December 11, 2020. …

The Future Of Zoonotic Risk Prediction, Colin J. Carlson, Maxwell J. Farrell, Zoe Grange, Barbara A. Han, Nardus Mollentze, Alexandra L. Phelan, Angela L. Rasmussen, Gregory F. Albery, Bernard Bett, David Brett-Major, Lily E. Cohen, Tad Dallas, Evan A. Eskew, Anna C. Fagre, Kristian M. Forbes, Rory Gibb, Sam Halabi, Charlotte C. Hammer, Rebecca Katz, Jason Kindrachuk, Renata L. Muylaert, Felicia B. Nutter, Joseph Ogola, Kevin J. Olival, Michelle Rourke, Sadie J. Ryan, Noam Ross, Stephanie N. Seifert, Tarja Sironen, Claire J. Standley, Kishana Taylor, Marietjie Venter, Paul W. Webala

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

In the light of the urgency raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, global investment in wildlife virology is likely to increase, and new surveillance programmes will identify hundreds of novel viruses that might someday pose a threat to humans. To support the extensive task of laboratory characterization, scientists may increasingly rely on data-driven rubrics or machine learning models that learn from known zoonoses to identify which animal pathogens could someday pose a threat to global health. We synthesize the findings of an interdisciplinary workshop on zoonotic risk technologies to answer the following questions. What are the prerequisites, in terms of open …

Multiplex Qpcr Discriminates Variants Of Concern To Enhance Global Surveillance Of Sars-Cov-2, Chantal B. F. Vogels, Mallery I. Breban, Isabel M. Ott, Tara Alpert, Mary E. Petrone, Anne E. Watkins, Chaney C. Kalinich, Rebecca Earnest, Jessica E. Rothman, Jaqueline Goes De Jesus, Ingra Morales Claro, Giulia Magalhães Ferreira, Myuki A. E. Crispim, Brazil-Uk Cadde Genomic Network, Lavanya Singh, Houriiyah Tegally, Ugochukwu J. Anyaneji, Network For Genomic Surveillance In South Africa, Emma B. Hodcroft, Christopher E. Mason, Gaurav Khullar, Jessica Metti, Joel T. Dudley, Matthew J. Mackay, Megan Nash, Jianhui Wang, Chen Liu, Pei Hui, Steven Murphy, Caleb Neal, Eva Laszlo, Marie L. Landry, Anthony Muyombwe, Randy Downing, Jafar Razeq, Tulio De Oliveira, Nuno R. Faria, Ester C. Sabino, Richard A. Neher, Joseph R. Fauver, Nathan D. Grubaugh

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

With the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants that may increase transmissibility and/or cause escape from immune responses, there is an urgent need for the targeted surveillance of circulating lineages. It was found that the B.1.1.7 (also 501Y.V1) variant, first detected in the United Kingdom, could be serendipitously detected by the Thermo Fisher TaqPath COVID-19 PCR assay because a key deletion in these viruses, spike Δ69-70, would cause a "spike gene target failure" (SGTF) result. However, a SGTF result is not definitive for B.1.1.7, and this assay cannot detect other variants of concern (VOC) that lack …

Isolation And Characterization Of A Novel Bacteriophage Wo From Allonemobius Socius Crickets In Missouri, Jonah Kupritz, John Martin, Kerstin Fischer, Kurt C. Curtis, Joseph R. Fauver, Yuefang Huang, Young-Jun Choi, Wandy L. Beatty, Makedonka Mitreva, Peter U. Fischer

Journal Articles: Epidemiology

Wolbachia are endosymbionts of numerous arthropod and some nematode species, are important for their development and if present can cause distinct phenotypes of their hosts. Prophage DNA has been frequently detected in Wolbachia, but particles of Wolbachia bacteriophages (phage WO) have been only occasionally isolated. Here, we report the characterization and isolation of a phage WO of the southern ground cricket, Allonemobius socius, and provided the first whole-genome sequence of phage WO from this arthropod family outside of Asia. We screened A. socius abdomen DNA extracts from a cricket population in eastern Missouri by quantitative PCR for Wolbachia surface protein …