SARS-CoV-2 and Other Respiratory Viruses in Human Olfactory Pathophysiology.

Acute respiratory viruses (ARVs) are the leading cause of diseases in humans worldwide. High-risk individuals, including children and the elderly, could potentially develop severe illnesses that could result in hospitalization or death in the worst case. The most common ARVs are the Human respiratory syncytial virus, Human Metapneumovirus, Human Parainfluenza Virus, rhinovirus, coronaviruses (including SARS and MERS CoV), adenoviruses, Human Bocavirus, enterovirus (-D68 and 71), and influenza viruses. The olfactory deficits due to ARV infection are a common symptom among patients. This review provides an overview of the role of SARS-CoV-2 and other common ARVs in the development of human olfactory pathophysiology. We highlight the critical need to understand the signaling underlying the olfactory dysfunction and the development of therapeutics for this wide-ranging category of AVRs to restore the altered or loss of smell in affected patients.

Improving data use in trachomatous trichiasis programmes: operationalisation of the TT Tracker.

Trachoma is a disease of the eye and the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide. Years of repeated infections can cause in-turning of the lashes so that they rub against the eyeball, causing pain, discomfort and, if left untreated, blindness. This is known as trachomatous trichiasis (TT) and can be remedied by surgery. To improve oversight and reporting of TT outreach, Sightsavers developed a mobile phone application called the TT Tracker so that TT surgeons, assistants and supervisors can collect and analyse information about surgical outcomes and performance and determine when and where follow-up appointments are required. The TT Tracker is being used by seven national programmes. Examples of use and programme improvements from Nigeria, Benin and Senegal are discussed here.

Mapping the effect of antimicrobial resistance in poultry production in Senegal: an integrated system dynamics and network analysis approach.

The impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) extends beyond the farm-level to other stakeholders warranting the need for a collaborative approach to combat AMR while optimising production objectives and safeguarding human health. This study maps out the effect of AMR originating from poultry production in Senegal and highlights the entry points for interventions from stakeholders' perspectives. A causal loop diagram (CLD) was developed following a group model building procedure with 20 stakeholders and integrated with network analysis by translating the CLD into an unweighted directed network. Results indicate that with an eigenvector centrality of 1, 0.85, and 0.74, the production cost, on-farm profit, and on-farm productivity, respectively are the most ranked influential variables driving the complexity of AMR in the poultry production system. Two reinforcing feedback loops highlight the dual benefits of improving on-farm productivity and increasing on-farm profit. However, one balancing feedback loop that revolves around the causal link between producers' investment in qualified human resource personnel to ensure good farm management practices underline the financial implication of producers' investment decisions. The findings provide precursory groundings for the development of a quantitative SD model, the formulation of intervention scenarios and ex-ante impact assessment of the cost-effectiveness of the interventions.

Drivers of Antibiotic Use in Semi-Intensive Poultry Farms: Evidence from a Survey in Senegal.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the capacity of microbial pathogens to survive in the presence of antimicrobials, is considered one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide and is growing rapidly in importance. AMR is thought to be driven in part by the use of antimicrobials (AMU) in livestock production. AMU reduction in agriculture is therefore important, but doing so may endanger farmers' livelihoods and hamper broader food security. Understanding the drivers for farmers' antibiotics use is essential for designing interventions which avoid harming agricultural output and to safeguard farmers' economic security. In this study, we analyse AMUSE survey data from poultry farmers in Senegal to explore the effects of vaccination, attitudes towards AMR, and biosecurity practices on: AMU, animal mortality, and farm productivity. We found that farmers with more "AMR-aware" attitudes may be less likely to use antibiotics in healthy birds. Stronger on-farm biosecurity was associated with less use of antibiotics in healthy birds, and in some specifications was linked to higher broiler productivity. Vaccination and AMU were both higher in farms with a higher disease prevalence, and both factors appeared conducive to higher broiler productivity. Overall, there is evidence that awareness raising and biosecurity improvements could encourage prudent use of antibiotics, and that biosecurity and vaccination could to some extent replace antibiotic use as productivity-enhancing and disease management tools in broiler farms. Finally, issues of farm antimicrobial stewardship must be considered at the structural level, with farm behaviours contingent on interaction with state and private stakeholders.

The future of data management for pediatric cataract.

Cataract is a leading cause of blindness in children worldwide. Blindness can be treated with effective surgery, but in low-resource settings this treatment can be difficult to access. In addition, positive outcomes of the surgery are heavily dependent on comprehensive postoperative care. To date in Nigeria and many other low-resource countries, robust electronic data-management systems that help facility teams to manage their patient data, especially when it comes to tracking children for follow-up visits after surgery, have either yet to be put into place or are in place but have yet to be refined to respond to the specific needs of eye care programs. Sightsavers has worked with multiple state ministries in Nigeria to set up and test a system that responds to those needs.

Correction to: Development and application of lateral flow test strip technology for detection of infectious agents and chemical contaminants: a review.

The authors would like to call the reader's attention to the fact that unfortunately in the original article Steptococcus suis was introduced as gram-negative bacteria. Steptococcus suis is gram positive. The authors apologize for the mistake.

Utilizing three monoclonal antibodies in the development of an immunochromatographic assay for simultaneous detection of sulfamethazine, sulfadiazine, and sulfaquinoxaline residues in egg and chicken muscle.

A rapid and sensitive immunochromatographic assay (ICA) based on competitive format was developed and validated for simultaneous detection of sulfamethazine (SM(2)), sulfadiazine (SDZ), and sulfaquinoxaline (SQX) in chicken breast muscle and egg samples. For this purpose, three monoclonal antibodies raised against those three sulfonamides were conjugated to colloidal gold particles and applied to the conjugate pads of the test strip. The competitors of the sulfonamides (SM(2)/SDZ/SQX-bovine serum albumin conjugates) were immobilized onto a nitrocellulose membrane at three detection zones to form T(1), T(2), and T(3), respectively. With this method, the cutoff values for the three test lines were achieved at 80 µg/kg, which is lower than the maximum residue levels (MRLs) established for sulfonamides. The recoveries in negative samples spiked at concentrations of 10, 50, and 100 µg/kg ranged from 75% to 82% for egg samples and from 78% to 81% for chicken samples. The method was compared with the HPLC method by testing 180 eggs and chicken breast samples from local markets, and an agreement rate of 99.7% was obtained between the two methods.

Development and application of lateral flow test strip technology for detection of infectious agents and chemical contaminants: a review.

Recent progress in the laboratory has been a result of improvements in rapid analytical techniques. An update of the applications of lateral flow tests (also called immunochromatographic assay or test strip) is presented in this review manuscript. We emphasized the description of this technology in the detection of a variety of biological agents and chemical contaminants (e.g. veterinary drugs, toxins and pesticides). It includes outstanding data, such as sample treatment, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and reproducibility. Lateral flow tests provide advantages in simplicity and rapidity when compared to the conventional detection methods.