RESUMO
Understanding disparities in salmonellosis burden is critical for developing effective, equitable prevention programs. Past efforts to characterize disparities were limited in scope and by the analytical methods available when the study was conducted. We aim to address this gap by identifying disparities in salmonellosis incidence between counties with different determinants of health (DOH) profiles. Using national U.S. Laboratory-based Enteric Disease Surveillance (LEDS) data for 1997-2019, age-adjusted county-level salmonellosis incidence/100,000 persons was calculated and linked to publicly available DOH data. We used hurdle counterfactual random forest (CFRF) to quantify, for each DOH, the risk that (i) ≥1 versus no cases were reported by a county, and (ii) when ≥1 case was reported, whether a high (≥16 cases/100,000 persons) or low incidence (≥1 & <4 cases/100,000 persons) was reported. Risk in both models was significantly associated with demographic DOH, suggesting a disparity between counties with different demographic profiles. Risk was also significantly associated with food, healthcare, physical, and socioeconomic environment. The risk was generally greater for counties with more negative food resources, and for under-resourced counties (e.g., fewer healthcare and social services, fewer grocery stores). Risk was also significantly higher if any extreme weather event occurred. The study also found that underreporting and underascertainment appeared to result in underestimation of salmonellosis incidence in economically marginalized and under-resourced communities. Overall, our analyses indicated that, regardless of other county characteristics, extreme weather was associated with increased salmonellosis incidence, and that certain communities were differentially disadvantaged toward a higher incidence. This information can facilitate the development of community-specific prevention efforts.
RESUMO
Despite extensive global efforts, sub-Saharan Africa remains disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. This generalized epidemic can be seen in Lesotho which in 2014 the HIV prevalence rate of those aged 15-49 years was 24.6%, with and incidence of 1.9 new infections per 100-person-year exposures. To better understand the impact of Lesotho's national HIV response and significant predictors associated with HIV infection, the Lesotho Population-based HIV Impact Assessment was conducted. This survey provided a nationally representative sample of individuals aged 15-59 years old in which participants were tested for HIV and given an individual questionnaire that included socio-demographic and behavioral risk questions. The association of factors between survey questions and HIV incident was assessed using logistic regression. Multivariate logistic regression models for men and women were constructed for each outcome using variables known to be or plausibly associated with recent or chronic infection. Overall annualized incidence among people aged 15-49 was 1.19% (95% CI 0.73-1.65) per year. The overall prevalence of HIV was 25.6% with women having significantly higher prevalence. Multiple variables, including decreased wealth status, lower education levels, marital status, condom use at first sex, and circumcision (men only) were identified as being significantly associated with HIV infection for both men and women. In combination with improving the awareness of HIV status, an increased focus is needed on AGYW and men 35-49 years old to prevent new infections. HIV education and prevention programs should focus heavily on younger age groups prior to and soon after sexual debut to prevent HIV transmission. The findings of the survey showed significant room for improvement in increasing awareness of HIV status and reinforcing the need for continued HIV prevention and treatment efforts in Lesotho to prevent new infections.