关键词： COVID-19   Adolescents   Youth   South Africa   Health equity   ADOLESCENT HEALTH   FUTURE  

摘要： Background In South Africa, pervasive age and gender inequities have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and public health response. We aimed to explore experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic among youth in eThekwini district, South Africa. Methods Between December 2021-May 2022 we explored experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth aged 16-24 residing in eThekwini, South Africa. We collated responses to the open-ended question "Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you in any other way you want to tell us about?" in an online survey focused on understanding the pandemic's multi-levelled health and social effects. We used a thematic analysis to summarise the responses. Results Of 2,068 respondents, 256 (12.4%, median age = 22, 60.9% women) completed the open-ended survey question (11% in isiZulu). Results were organized into three main themes encompassing (1) COVID-19-related loss, fear, grief, and exacerbated mental and physical health concerns; (2) COVID-19-related intensified hardships, which contributed to financial, employment, food, education, and relationship insecurities for individuals and households; and (3) positive effects of the pandemic response, including the benefits of government policies and silver linings to government restrictions. Conclusions We found that South African youth experienced significant grief and multiple losses (e.g., death, income, job, and educational) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trauma-aware interventions that provide economic and educational opportunities must be included in post-COVID recovery efforts.

关键词： COVID-19   lockdown   publishing  

摘要： During the initial months of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, mBio experienced a large increase in the number of submissions, a phenomenon that was also observed for journals of different fields. Since most research laboratories were closed, this increase cannot reflect increased research activity. In this editorial, we propose that the increase in submissions reflected the release of a backlog of unpublished work following a reduction in work-related engagements including scientific travel, which in turn provides an estimate of the productivity costs of such activities on research output.

摘要： A significant proportion of COVID-19 survivors still experience a reduced diffusion capacity three and twelve months after discharge. We aimed to compare pulmonary function trajectories between hospitalized COVID-19 patients with pre-existing respiratory disease (PRD) and patients without pre-existing respiratory disease (Non-PRD) at three and twelve months after hospital discharge. This single-centre retrospective cohort study included COVID-19 patients admitted to the VieCuri Medical Centre (Venlo, the Netherlands) between February and December 2020 that were invited to the outpatient clinic at three and twelve months after discharge. During this visit, pulmonary function tests were performed and impairments were based on lower limit of normal. Data of 239 patients were analysed (65% male, 66 +/- 10 years, and 26% with a history of respiratory disease). Three months after discharge, 49% and 64% of the Non-PRD patients (n = 177) and PRD patients (n = 62) had a low diffusion capacity, respectively. This improved over time in Non-PRD patients (p = 0.003), but not in PRD patients (p = 0.250). A low diffusion capacity was still observed in 34% and 57% of the Non-PRD and PRD group, respectively, twelve months after discharge. Pulmonary function impairments, mainly a reduced diffusion capacity, are observed among hospitalized COVID-19 patients with PRD and Non-PRD, at three and twelve months follow-up. Although diffusion capacity impairments restore over time in Non-PRD patients, poor recovery was observed among PRD patients.

关键词： COVID-19   Diabetes   Fractal-fractional operator   Mittg-Leffler kernel  

摘要： COVID-19 is linked to diabetes, increasing the likelihood and severity of outcomes due to hyperglycemia, immune system impairment, vascular problems, and comorbidities like hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, which can lead to catastrophic outcomes. The study presents a novel COVID-19 management approach for diabetic patients using a fractal fractional operator and Mittag-Leffler kernel. It uses the Lipschitz criterion and linear growth to identify the solution singularity and analyzes the global derivative impact, confirming unique solutions and demonstrating the bounded nature of the proposed system. The study examines the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with diabetes, using global stability analysis and quantitative examination of equilibrium states. Sensitivity analysis is conducted using reproductive numbers to determine the disease's status in society and the impact of control strategies, highlighting the importance of understanding epidemic problems and their properties. This study uses two-step Lagrange polynomial to analyze the impact of the fractional operator on a proposed model. Numerical simulations using MATLAB validate the effects of COVID-19 on diabetic patients and allow predictions based on the established theoretical framework, supporting the theoretical findings. This study will help to observe and understand how COVID-19 affects people with diabetes. This will help with control plans in the future to lessen the effects of COVID-19.

关键词： SARS-CoV-2   COVID-19   Household transmission   Community health workers   Infection mitigation   CHALLENGES   MORTALITY  

摘要： BackgroundSouth Africa's first SARS-CoV-2 case was identified 5th March 2020 and national lockdown followed March 26th. Households are an important location for secondary SARS-CoV-2 infection. Physical distancing and sanitation - infection mitigation recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the time - are difficult to implement in limited-resource settings because of overcrowded living *** study (*** NCT05119348) was conducted from August 2020 to September 2021 in two densely populated, low socioeconomic Cape Town community sub-districts. New COVID-19 index cases (ICs) identified at public clinics were randomised to an infection mitigation intervention (STOPCOV) delivered by lay community health workers (CHWs) or standard of care group. STOPCOV mitigation measures included one initial household assessment conducted by a CHW in which face masks, sanitiser, bleach and written information on managing and preventing spread were provided. This was followed by regular telephonic follow-up from CHWs. SARS-CoV-2 PCR and IgM/IgG serology was performed at baseline, weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4 of *** study randomised 81 ICs with 245 HHCs. At baseline, no HHCs in the control and 7 (5%) in the intervention group had prevalent SARS-CoV-2. The secondary infection rate (SIR) based on SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing was 1.9% (n = 2) in control and 2.9% (n = 4) in intervention HHCs (p = 0.598). At baseline, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were present in 15% (16/108) of control and 38% (52/137) of intervention participants. At study end incidence was 8.3% (9/108) and 8.03% (11/137) in the intervention and control groups respectively. Antibodies were present in 23% (25/108) of control HHCs over the course of the study vs. 46% (63/137) in the intervention arm. CHWs made twelve clinic and 47 food parcel referrals for individuals in intervention households in *** had significant exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infections prior to the st

关键词： IL-9   COVID-19   cytokine storms   Trichinella sprialis   IMMUNITY  

摘要： A recent study published in mBio by Cao et al. demonstrated that the helminth Trichinella sprialis (Ts) alleviates COVID-19-related cytokine storms in an IL-9-dependent way (Z. Cao, J. Wang, X. Liu, Y. Liu, et al., mBio 15:e00905-24, 2024, https://***/10.1128/mbio.00905-24). A cytokine storm is a severe immune response characterized by the overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma, leading to tissue damage and mortality in COVID-19 patients. This study indicated that IL-9 is crucial in protecting against cytokine storm syndromes associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and proposed that anti-inflammatory molecules from Ts excretory/secretory (TsES) products could be a novel source for treating such illnesses.

摘要： Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has underscored how ill-prepared healthcare systems are for mass casualty events (MCEs,) especially as MCEs increase worldwide. We hypothesized that resident physicians (RPs) across multiple specialties are underprepared for MCE. Two similar surveys were conducted to assess awareness of disaster plans (DPs) and individual’s roles and responsibilities therein. Initially, we surveyed exclusively trainees who are trauma team members (TTMs,) including physician assistants (PAs), residents from emergency medicine (EMRs) and general surgery (GSRs.) Subsequently, we surveyed multi-specialty RPs, except GSRs and EMRs, and their program directors/associate program directors (PDs/APDs.) RPs’ awareness, knowledge of, and confidence in hospital MCE response plans were assessed, and barriers encountered were queried. Data were consolidated except with respect to PDs/APDs, who were queried only in the second survey. The Fisher exact test for multiple-group comparisons was used. Alpha = 0.05. For the first survey, the response rate was 74% (123/166), whereas 34% (129/380) responded to the second survey. Combined, the response rate was 46% (252/546.) Considering the RPs only for the two surveys combined, 103 (53%) respondents reported no awareness of institutional MCE response plans, 73% (n = 143) did not know/were unsure whether they were expected to contact someone, and 68% (n = 134) reported no formal MCE/disaster management (DM) training over the prior year. Additionally, the median response reported for level of knowledge of the MCE response plan among all RPs was “not at all,” with a significant difference observed between those aware of the plan and those who were not (p < 0.001). The median response reported for confidence level of RPs in MCE/DM training, excluding GSRs and EMRs (TTMs,) was “not at all,” with significant differences between surgical and non-surgical specialty RPs (p = 0.031), and between junior and senior RPs (p = 0.02

关键词： Dental service utilization   COVID-19   Emergency dental treatment   Fear   Dental setting   Mass media  

摘要： Background Nigeria, like many other countries, faced challenges in dental care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating limited care to emergencies only. However, the impact of restricted access to dental services on oral health remains a concern, particularly with preventive maintenance care. This study aims to identify the factors associated with dental service utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic among patients attending dental clinics in Nigeria, and their sources of information about COVID-19. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited 500 participants who had visited dental clinics before and during the pandemic. Data were collected through telephone interviews and online questionnaires between September and December 2021. Inferential analyses were conducted using ordered logistic regression models to assess the association between the independent (awareness of emergency dental treatments, knowledge of COVID-19 transmission routes in dentistry, awareness of required preparations in dental practice settings, fear of COVID-19 infection in dental settings), and dependent (utilization of dental services during the pandemic) variables after adjusting for confounding variables (age, sex, educational status, COVID-19 vaccinations status and COVID-19 status of live-in residents). The sources of COVID-19 information by dental patients was also identified. Statistical significance was established at 95% confidence level with a p value < 0.05. Results Many participants were males (51.2%) and had tertiary education (61.6%). Fear of COVID-19 infection in dental settings was significantly associated with lower odds of utilizing dental care services during the pandemic (Adjusted Odds Ratio: -0.06, 95% Confidence Interval: -0.08, -0.01). The main sources of COVID-19 information were mass media and social networks, with only 42% receiving information from dental professionals. Conclusion Fear of COVID-19 infection in dental settings significantly influenced