Image from India showing wealth dispariities in housing in Mumbai

Higher relative income rank is linked to increased life satisfaction in India.

A recent study by One Health Trust researcher Dr. Srikanth Reddy Umenthala investigated life satisfaction in India in relation to wealth and income rank. Using data from the Longitudinal Ageing Survey of India, the study found that a higher relative income rank was associated with greater life satisfaction and other positive well-being outcomes. This association was stronger in areas with greater wealth inequality, possibly due to an increased perceived significance of rising to the top social ranks. These results highlight the potential effect of social comparison as a pathway by which inequality affects individual well-being in a non-Western context. [SSM – Population Health]

Challenges and opportunities for wastewater metagenomics in Africa

In Africa, wastewater metagenomics can be a powerful tool for early detection of disease outbreaks, tracking priority pathogens, and monitoring patterns of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Wastewater metagenomics can also allow medical and public health systems to set up specific and timely interventions to mitigate potential epidemics and pandemics and their burden on unprepared healthcare systems. While limited infrastructure and a lack of sustainable funding hinder the widespread use of wastewater metagenomics in Africa, capacity-building efforts and international collaboration can help establish this technique for regular pathogen and AMR monitoring. [PLOS Global Public Health]

Mobile handwashing stations in urban hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo are contaminated with priority pathogens.

A study of mobile handwashing stations in hospitals in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, revealed that over one-third were highly contaminated with clinically relevant bacteria, including Enterobacterales and other Gram-negative bacteria. Nearly one-third of the Enterobacterales isolates collected from water and soap were multidrug-resistant. More than half of the studied handwashing stations were used by patients and healthcare workers, raising concerns about the risk of healthcare-associated bacterial infections in these two cities. [Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control]

Widespread availability and use of antibiotics in the Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon

An ethnographic study of the longstanding Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon demonstrated the widespread availability and consumption of antibiotics, a process known as “antibioticalization.” Amoxicillin, third-generation cephalosporins, clindamycin, and metronidazole, among others, were sold in formal and informal settings without a prescription in the camp. Furthermore, antibiotics were taken for several reasons, including pain relief, and were often used interchangeably with paracetamol, highlighting the pervasive lack of awareness of the utility of antibiotics and their use as a general remedy for health issues among camp residents. [Social Science & Medicine]

A call for research on climate-induced effects on medication access and quality

While research has begun to outline the climate-induced changes in infectious disease dynamics, little work has been done to explore the impact of climate change on medication access and quality. The stability and therapeutic effects of certain drugs may diminish under extreme heat, disrupting the medication supply chain and worsening outcomes among patients with communicable and non-communicable diseases. Understanding the effects of climate change on medication procurement, distribution, access, and use, as well as the subsequent impact on AMR, is essential to developing relevant One Health plans to improve health and well-being. [One Health]

Vaccination reminders improved childhood immunization rates in low- and middle-income countries.

A systematic review and meta-analysis found that information and communication technology (ICT) can substantially enhance vaccine delivery systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Vaccination-slot reminders were shown to increase the odds of full immunization at one year of age (odds ratio: 2.61) and of coverage of the third dose of the childhood pentavalent vaccine (OR: 2.32). ICT can add value to several aspects of the vaccine delivery pipeline in LMICs, from streamlining vaccine supply chains to ensuring the timely administration of vaccines; however, it will require a standardized framework for systematic evaluation and application. [eBioMedicine]

Measuring BCG vaccine effectiveness by protection against M. tuberculosis infection

A meta-analysis of individual participant data revealed that the protection of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, measured as QuantiFERON conversion (IFN-γ release assay), was consistent when tested among household contacts with recent exposure. Tuberculin skin tests (TST), however, did not offer any definitive signal of the vaccine’s ability to prevent disease, raising questions about the utility of TST as a proxy for disease in tuberculosis vaccine trials. [The Lancet Microbe]

Meteorological drivers of small mammal-associated microbes’ ecological niches in China

The findings of a systematic review and spatial modeling analysis highlighted the high degree of overlap between small mammals and microbes with pathogenic potential in humans in China. Temperature seasonality and annual mean temperature were identified as key drivers of the ecological niches chosen by the majority of the small mammal-associated microbes included in the study. Risk maps, such as those generated in the study, can be used to monitor and predict future hotspots of small mammal-associated microbes, cross-species rodent-based disease transmission risk, and zoonotic spillover events. [The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific]

Bat surveillance can strengthen Kerala’s response to recurrent Nipah virus outbreaks.

Since 2018, the Indian state of Kerala has seen six outbreaks of the Nipah virus, an RNA-based virus with a reservoir in Pteropus bats found across south and eastern Asian regions. Multiple bat roosts were found in areas of reported spillover, all of which tested positive for Nipah virus. Subsequent state-wide messaging was immediately distributed to advise residents to avoid eating fallen or bitten fruit and bat meat and to practice thorough hand and food hygiene. Surveillance of Pteropus bat populations across south and eastern Asia will be crucial to preventing future pandemics of the Nipah virus, strengthening Kerala’s public health response capacities. [PLOS Global Public Health]

High burden of cervical cancer among Indigenous women living in Latin America

A systematic review found high rates of cervical cancer and poor prognoses worsened by late diagnoses among Indigenous women living in Latin America. Limited access to timely diagnostics and treatment appeared to be linked to fragile local healthcare systems in the areas where Indigenous women live. The prevalence of precursor lesions was higher in women who were more geographically isolated and in those who had had more recent contact with non-Indigenous people. Future interventions should prioritize providing access to screenings and treatment of precursor lesions to mitigate the burden of cervical cancer among Indigenous women in Latin America. [Preventive Medicine Reports]

 

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