June 14, 2023
Experts discussed the growing and neglected threat of fungal infections.
For OHT’s Conversation Series on One Health, OHT hosted a webinar discussion between leading global experts in fungal infections, including Professor Malini R Capoor of Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, India; Professor David Denning of The University of Manchester and Global Action For Fungal Infections (GAFFI); Dr. Ana Alastruey Izquierdo of Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain; and Dr. Hatim Sati of the World Health Organization. The researchers discussed important issues, including the mucormycosis outbreak during the COVID-19 pandemic in India, unmet needs in the clinic and diagnostic challenges, antifungal resistance, and policy implications for the WHO’s Fungal Priority Pathogen List. [One Health Trust]
Novel Streptomyces strain produces antimicrobial metabolites.
A novel actinobacterial strain, SMC 277T, was derived from clay soil in paddy fields in Thailand and exhibited antimicrobial activity against drug-resistant bacteria associated with nosocomial infections. Genomic and chemotaxonomic analyses of SMC 277T showed several similarities with members of the Streptomyces genus but confirmed that this strain was likely novel. The SMC 277T extract was able to inhibit growth of several drug-resistant bacterial strains, including Staphylococcus aureus and ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae. The researchers propose naming SMC 277T Streptomyces antimicrobicus sp. nov. to distinguish it from previously published Streptomyces strains and highlight its antimicrobial features. [PLOS One]
Limited WASH access is linked to undernutrition in under-five children in Bangladesh.
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional study of children less than five years old in Bangladesh using two family health surveys to assess the association between access to water, sanitation, and handwashing (WASH) facilities and child undernutrition. Of 30,514 children aged 0 to 59 months, the prevalence of stunting was 28 and 30.8 percent in the different surveys. Children from households lacking WASH access experienced the highest rates of undernutrition. A lack of access to improved water sources was associated with 36 percent greater odds of wasting. A lack of handwashing facilities was associated with 27 percent greater odds of stunting and 10 percent greater odds of being underweight. [BMJ Open]
Human-bird interfaces in Nigeria increase exposure to avian flu.
Researchers assessed poultry farmers’ knowledge, perceptions, and biosecurity practices towards a resurgence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 and used a One Health lens to identify the zoonotic transmission risks associated with two poultry production systems in Nigeria. Smallholder commercial farmers were generally more knowledgeable about avian flu than backyard poultry farmers. Consumption of undercooked poultry meat, contact with infected birds, and shared living spaces with both humans and birds were associated with a significantly higher zoonotic risk during the HPAI H5N1 resurgence. Efforts to mitigate the H5N1 resurgence must target One Health interfaces between humans, animals, and the environment to break the zoonotic transmission cycle. [One Health]
Sub-Saharan African children from low household wealth quintiles are at greater risk of malaria infection.
Children under the age of five bear the greatest burden of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A new study measured the pooled prevalence of malaria among children 6 to 59 months old in 13 SSA countries to be 27.41 percent, ranging from 5.04 percent in Senegal to 62.57 percent in Sierra Leone. Factors such as older child age, having a mother who did not attend primary school, living in rural areas, and coming from lower household wealth quintiles were correlated with a greater risk of malaria infection. [PLOS One]
School closures and breaks reduced COVID-19 transmission in families.
Smart thermometers and an accompanying mobile app were distributed among a large cohort of participants in the US between 2019 and 2022 to assess the role of children in household viral transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of 38,787 transmission events in households with adults and children, a median of 70.4 percent had a pediatric index case. The occurrence of a pediatric index case was 0.6 to 0.8 times less likely during school breaks, indicating the importance of school closures and social distancing among children in reducing household viral transmission. These findings also demonstrate the effectiveness of smart thermometer-based symptomatic surveillance to monitor infectious disease dynamics on a large scale. [JAMA Network Open]
Global prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis increased between 2020 and 2021.
Between 2020 and 2021, the incidence of multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) increased by 3.1 percent, with India, Russia, and Pakistan being the most affected countries. TB is primarily a respiratory disease and is more prevalent in men and people with comorbidities such as human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV), diabetes, or Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The spread of MDR-TB is associated with poverty, crowded living conditions, poor hygiene, and unhealthy lifestyles. The increasing prevalence of MDR-TB points to the need for treatment with a combination of antimicrobials and poses a grave threat to the health outcomes of TB patients. [Infectious Diseases of Poverty]
Measles seropositivity in monkeys is associated with human-monkey contact in Bangladesh.
An epidemiological study of Macaca mulatta monkeys in Bangladesh found that the level of measles seropositivity in monkeys was strongly associated with their level of human contact. The endemicity of measles in human populations and circulation within populations of monkeys has important repercussions for zoonotic transmission. The highest rate of seropositivity in macaques was found in performing environments (50 percent), followed by urban areas (5.88 percent), shrines (4.76 percent), and wild areas (0 percent). A One Health approach to measles control should consider both humans and monkeys and include improving vaccine coverage and reducing human-monkey contact. [One Health]
Domesticated animal ownership affects the prevalence of malaria in the DRC.
A cross-sectional study conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) revealed that chicken ownership was associated with 3.9 more infections per 100 people with the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, whereas cattle ownership was associated with 9.6 fewer infections per 100 people. Analysis of Anopheles gambiae, the most prominent mosquito vector in the DRC, found almost no chicken DNA in their blood meals compared to cattle DNA, indicating that cattle provide a zooprophylactic effect by drawing An. gambiae away from humans when they are kept in close proximity to the home. As these associations differ between geographic areas and Anopheles species, further study of mosquito feeding habits and animal husbandry practices could support a One Health malaria control strategy. [The Lancet Microbe]
Image from Canva
