Reemergence of Human Monkeypox and Declining Population Immunity in the Context of Urbanization, Nigeria, 2017-2020.

A monkeypox outbreak in Nigeria during 2017-2020 provides an illustrative case study for emerging zoonoses. We built a statistical model to simulate declining immunity from monkeypox at 2 levels: At the individual level, we used a constant rate of decline in immunity of 1.29% per year as smallpox vaccination rates fell. At the population level, the cohort of vaccinated residents decreased over time because of deaths and births. By 2016, only 10.1% of the total population in Nigeria was vaccinated against smallpox; the serologic immunity level was 25.7% among vaccinated persons and 2.6% in the overall population. The substantial resurgence of monkeypox in Nigeria in 2017 appears to have been driven by a combination of population growth, accumulation of unvaccinated cohorts, and decline in smallpox vaccine immunity. The expanding unvaccinated population means that entire households, not just children, are now more susceptible to monkeypox, increasing risk of human-to-human transmission.

Phylogenetic Analysis of Bird-Virulent West Nile Virus Strain, Greece.

We report the full polyprotein genomic sequence of a West Nile virus strain isolated from Eurasian magpies dying with neurologic signs in Greece. Our findings demonstrate the local genetic evolution of the West Nile virus strain responsible for a human disease outbreak in the country that began in 2010.

Dengue Fever in Burkina Faso, 2016.

We report 1,327 probable cases of dengue in Burkina Faso in 2016. Of 35 serum samples tested by a trioplex test, 19 were confirmed dengue virus (DENV)‒positive: 11 DENV-2, 6 DENV-3, 2 nontypeable, and 1 DENV-2/DENV-3 co-infection. Molecular testing should be conducted to correctly identify causative agents in this complex infectious disease landscape.

A Survey of Potentially Pathogenic-Incriminated Arthropod Vectors of Health Concern in Botswana.

Arthropod vectors play a crucial role in the transmission of many debilitating infections, causing significant morbidity and mortality globally. Despite the economic significance of arthropods to public health, public knowledge on vector biology, ecology and taxonomic status remains anecdotal and largely unexplored. The present study surveyed knowledge gaps regarding the biology and ecology of arthropod vectors in communities of Botswana, across all districts. Results showed that communities are largely aware of individual arthropod vectors; however, their 'potential contribution' in disease transmission in humans, livestock and wildlife could not be fully attested. As such, their knowledge was largely limited with regards to some aspects of vector biology, ecology and control. Communities were strongly concerned about the burden of mosquitoes, cockroaches, flies and ticks, with the least concerns about fleas, bedbugs and lice, although the same communities did not know of specific diseases potentially vectored by these arthropods. Knowledge on arthropod vector control was mainly limited to synthetic chemical pesticides for most respondents, regardless of their location. The limited knowledge on potentially pathogen-incriminated arthropod vectors reported here has large implications for bridging knowledge gaps on the bio-ecology of these vectors countrywide. This is potentially useful in reducing the local burden of associated diseases and preventing the risk of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases under global change.

Emerging and Reemerging Diseases in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region-Progress, Challenges, and WHO Initiatives.

The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to be a hotspot for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases and the need to prevent, detect, and respond to any infectious diseases that pose a threat to global health security remains a priority. Many risk factors contribute in the emergence and rapid spread of epidemic diseases in the Region including acute and protracted humanitarian emergencies, resulting in fragile health systems, increased population mobility, rapid urbanization, climate change, weak surveillance and limited laboratory diagnostic capacity, and increased human-animal interaction. In EMR, several infectious disease outbreaks were detected, investigated, and rapidly contained over the past 5 years including: yellow fever in Sudan, Middle East respiratory syndrome in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, cholera in Iraq, avian influenza A (H5N1) infection in Egypt, and dengue fever in Yemen, Sudan, and Pakistan. Dengue fever remains an important public health concern, with at least eight countries in the region being endemic for the disease. The emergence of MERS-CoV in the region in 2012 and its continued transmission currently poses one of the greatest threats. In response to the growing frequency, duration, and scale of disease outbreaks, WHO has worked closely with member states in the areas of improving public health preparedness, surveillance systems, outbreak response, and addressing critical knowledge gaps. A Regional network for experts and technical institutions has been established to facilitate support for international outbreak response. Major challenges are faced as a result of protracted humanitarian crises in the region. Funding gaps, lack of integrated approaches, weak surveillance systems, and absence of comprehensive response plans are other areas of concern. Accelerated efforts are needed by Regional countries, with the continuous support of WHO, to build and maintain a resilient public health system for detection and response to all acute public health events.

Larvicide potential of genus CrotonL. (Euphorbiaceae)inbiological control of Aedes aegyptiL. (Diptera: Culicidae)

The reemerging diseases caused by Aedes aegyptiare one of the main public health problems in the world. The control of mosquitoes using larvicidal compounds from products of plant origin is anexcellent alternative. This study aims to evaluate the larvicidal potential of fractions in hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and hydromethanol from the ethanolicleaf extract of two species of the genus CrotonL. (Euphorbiaceae) against larval forms of A. aegypti, as an alternative tool to control this vector. Dry leaves of Croton betaceusBaill. and Croton lundianus(Didr.) Müll.Arg. were used for biological tests. The compounds were extracted with ethanol (99.8%). The ethanolic extracts of the leaves were suspended in a methanol / water solution and were successively subjected to the liquid-liquid division process with solvents of different polarities: hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate, giving rise to the four fractions. Larvicidal tests were performed with the ethanol extract and fractions resulting from the partition. In the study, the crude extract and the fractions showed larvicidal potential, being hexane fractionthe one with greatest activity.Mortality in C. betaceusfractions was up to 40%. Croton lundianuspresented mortality of up to 93.33% of the larvaesubmitted to the test. Data analysis showed larvicidal activity in the crude extract and fractions. The hexane fraction was more effective, especially in C. lundianus.

Biossegurança, Proteção Ambiental e Saúde: compondo o mosaico / Biosafety, Environmental Protection and Health: completing the puzzle

O presente trabalho faz uma reflexão sobre a construção do campo da Biossegurança, apresenta sua abrangência, os complexos temas tratados e sua perspectiva interdisciplinar. O objetivo desse campo é propor ações capazes de prevenir e controlar riscos de agravos à saúde ambiental e humana, respondendo aos desafios teóricos e práticos impostos pelas constantes mudanças no mundo, decorrentes das intervenções humanas sobre a natureza, mediadas pelos avanços científicos e tecnológicos. São abordadas questões que inserem a Biossegurança como ferramenta na busca de um modelo de desenvolvimento sustentável, resgatando a relação entre degradação ambiental, condições precárias de saúde e controle do surgimento e ressurgimento de doenças nas populações.

This work reflects on the development of the field of Biosafety. The scope of this field is presented, as well as its complex themes and its interdisciplinary perspective. The scope of this field is to propose actions capable of preventing and controlling the risk of worsening human and environmental health. This is done in order to provide alternatives to the theoretical and practical challenges posed by the rapid changes in the world, resulting from human intervention in nature and mediated by scientific and technological advances. We address questions that place Biosafety as a tool in the search for a model of sustainable development, establishing the relationship between environmental degradation, precarious health conditions, and control of the emergence and reemergence of diseases in populations.