Effectiveness of Point of Entry Health Screening Measures among Travelers in the Detection and Containment of the International Spread of COVID-19: A Review of the Evidence.

COVID-19 remains a communicable disease with the capacity to cause substantial damage to health and health systems. Enhanced health screening at points of entry (POEs) is a public health measure implemented to support early detection, prevention and response to communicable diseases, such as COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to review the available evidence on the effectiveness of POE health screening in the detection and containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was registered under PROSPERO and followed PRISMA guidelines in which the literature between 2019 and 2022 was retrieved from Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Global Health, CINAHL, Embase, Google Scholar and international organizations. A total of 33,744 articles were screened for eligibility, from which 43 met the inclusion criteria. The modeling studies predicted POE screening able to detect COVID-19 in a range of 8.8% to 99.6%, while observational studies indicated a detection rate of 2% to 77.9%, including variants of concern depending on the screening method employed. The literature also indicated these measures can delay onset of the epidemic by 7 to 32 days. Based on our review findings, if POE screening measures are implemented in combination with other public health interventions such as rapid tests, they may help detect and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Development of a practical framework for sustainable surveillance and control of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Africa.

A workshop on ticks and tick-borne diseases (T&TBDs) was held on June 25 and 26, 2019, at the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute, Division of Livestock and Human Diseases Vector Control, Arusha, Tanzania. The objectives of the workshop were to discuss the current situation and to formulate actionable strategies to improve surveillance and control of T&TBDs in Africa. The workshop was funded by the National Research Foundation and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and attended by livestock health providers, farmers, and researchers from East, West, and Southern African countries. During the workshop, experts presented recent surveillance data focused on T&TBDs; participants discussed research opportunities and community engagement. The primary outcome of the workshop was the creation of a new research consortium known as The African Consortium for T&TBDs. The consortium is intended to function as a community for researchers, students, farmers, policymakers, extension workers, and community members who are interested in the advancement of T&TBD control. The consortium will engage in research activities that focus on comprehensive surveillance of T&TBDs, developing tick acaricide resistance, alternative tick control programs, and policy development and education. These areas were identified as top priorities to be developed to improve T&TBD control on the continent.