Objective: To identify the efficacy of Wolbachia-based intervention by reviewing community-based trials through meta-analysis and systematic review methods.
Methods: Studies about Wolbachia-infected mosquito intervention were collected through a screening process. Records underwent data extraction and quality assessment independently by the authors. The primary outcome of the study was protective efficacy. Quantitative analysis was conducted through meta-analysis and multivariate meta-regression using Rstudio Ver.2024.09.0-375. Qualitative analysis was done by summarizing records’ findings.
Results: 10 out of the 10 660 records met the criteria. The evidence was moderate in quality and highly heterogeneous. Intervention consisted of releasing Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti in densely populated settlements. The combined protective efficacy of Wolbachia intervention against dengue is highly heterogeneous (79%; 95% CI 70-88; I2=98%). wMel strain is significantly more efficacious compared to wAlbB (protective efficacy 84%; 95% CI 76-93; I2=95%) vs. 64% (95% CI 46-82; I2=85%); P<0.01) in preventing dengue cases. Wolbachia-infected mosquito populations were found to be unstable upon release cessation, which necessitated periodic release and monitoring to maintain desired concentration and protective efficacy.
Conclusions:Wolbachia-based intervention is effective in suppressing the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases, especially dengue, with an excellent safety profile. However, community acceptance and policy remain as significant barriers to implementation.
Objective: To uncover the characteristics of tick-borne viruses in Guizhou Province.
Methods: A total of 414 Rhipicephalus microplus were collected from 5 counties in Guizhou Province, China from August 2022 to October 2023. A group of 12 ticks from each study sites was sequenced by next generation sequencing.
Results: 8 contigs of Wuhan mivirus (Chuviridae, Mivirus) with the length of 2094 bp to 11 580 bp and 4 contigs of Lihan tick virus (Phenuiviridae, Uukuvirus) with the length of 1 401 bp to 7 080 bp were obtained, respectively. The prevalence rate of Wuhan mivirus and Lihan tick virus was 51.98% and 11.30%, respectively. The identities of gene sequences of both Wuhan mivirus and Lihan tick virus were 94%-100% compared with sequences in the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Wuhan mivirus detected in this study was in the same branch with the Wuhan mivirus of Sichuan isolate TIGMIC-27 (NCBI Accession: OP628598) and Zhejiang isolate TIGMIC-45 (NCBI Accession: OP628613). In addition, the Lihan tick virus was in the same branch with the Sichuan Lihan tick virus isolate TIGMIC-46 (NCBI Accession: ON812358).
Conclusions: Both Wuhan mivirus and Lihan tick virus were prevalent in Rhipicephalus microplus in Guizhou Province. More studies are needed to understand the pathogenicity and public health threats of these tick-borne viruses.
Objective: To characterize the pediatric population with cutaneous leishmaniasis treated at a research center and to determine the therapeutic response and safety of the treatment.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed, in which data related to sociodemographic information, history of leishmaniasis, clinical characteristics, treatment, therapeutic response and adverse events were collected from the review of the clinical records.
Results: The analysis was conducted in 156 pediatric patients with median age of 10.5 (6-14) years. Regarding clinical and therapeutic characteristics, the lesions in these patients were mostly single ulcers, primarily located on the upper and lower extremities. A total of 114 patients were managed at Programa de Estudio y Control de Enfermedades Tropicales (PECET), and 26 of them received more than one treatment. Upon administration of the first therapeutic option, intralesional meglumine antimoniate had a cure rate of 43.18% (19/44 patients), followed by systemic meglumine antimoniate with a cure rate of 40% (8/20) and topical investigational medication with a cure rate of 25% (5/20). The most frequent adverse events were: arthralgia and myalgia for systemic meglumine antimoniate; nausea and vomiting for miltefosine; and local pain, edema, erythema and rash for topical treatment.
Conclusions: Although more prospective studies are needed to generate evidence-based recommendations and management protocols, miltefosine appears to be a favorable, safe and well- tolerated therapeutic option for the pediatric population. Despite the high percentage of loss to follow-up, the success achieved in pediatric patients with local treatments suggests that local therapies could also be considered for managing this condition in this population.
Objective: To examine the change in COVID-19 booster vaccine hesitancy according to descriptive characteristics, characteristics related to COVID-19, health literacy (HL) skills related to booster dose.
Methods: The inclusion criterion was the completion of the primary scheme as two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. The study was conducted in January 2022 by applying face-to-face interview technique. Questions regarding HL were used to question the ability of individuals to access, understand, interpret and use information regarding the COVID-19 booster dose in their decisions.
Results: A total of 1 210 people were included in this study with an mean age of (41.3±16.6) years, and 51.4% were women. In multivariate analysis, hesitation increased in the “moderately concerned” (aOR 2.65, 95% CI 1.09-6.45), “slightly concerned” (aOR 3.1, 95% CI 1.26-7.19), “not concerned at all” (aOR 5.69, 95% CI 2.27-14.28) groups compared to the group “extremely concerned” about COVID-19 transmission. Those with Sinovac-CoronaVac as their most recent vaccine had increased hesitation compared to those with Pfizer-BioNTech (aOR 3.68, 95% CI 2.05-6.61). The effect of HL skills including “accessing”, “understanding”, and “appraising” information on hesitation was not statistically significant (P>0.05). HL skill of “applying” was assessed with ability of information to help decision making. Whether the information is helpful for decision-making, the risk of hesitancy increased for those who stated that it “sometimes helps” (aOR 2.55; 95% CI 1.31-4.99) and “never helps” (aOR 11.62; 95% CI 3.03-44.58) compared to those who stated that it “always helps”.
Conclusions: The increased propability of hesitation in those less concerned about COVID-19 transmission shows the importance of appropriately guiding individuals’ concern levels with a health communication strategy based on risk communication. The fact that the only HL skill with a significant effect in the multivariate model was “applying”, shows the critical role of this skill in influencing behavioral changes.
Rationale: Australia is the only inhabited continent, which is not endemic to leishmaniasis. There are some published articles reporting cutaneous leishmaniasis in travellers, immigrants and refugees. However, mucocutaneous leishmaniasis has not been reported previously from the continent.
Patient concerns: Lesions were present over the nasal septum and the oropharynx of a 34-year-old healthy non-indigenous male. Diagnosis was delayed as it took multiple biopsies as well as extensive discussions in a multidisciplinary team.
Diagnosis: Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis.
Interventions: Liposomal Amphotericin for 20 days.
Outcomes: The patient was symptomatically improved after 3 weeks’ treatment.
Lessons: With international travel resuming after the pandemic, it becomes imperative that physicians in Australia are aware of this imported disease and its various presentations.