Looking Upstream: Findings from Focus Groups on Public Perceptions of Source Water Quality in British Columbia, Canada.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Henrich N
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4634978 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundTo control the COVID-19 pandemic high vaccine acceptability and uptake will be needed. Teachers represent a priority population to minimize social disruption and ensure continuity in education, which is vital for the well-being and healthy development of youth during the pandemic. The objective of this analysis was to measure public school teachers' intentions to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in British Columbia (BC), Canada.MethodsA population-wide cross-sectional online survey from August to November 2020 asked all BC public school teachers with an available email address how likely they were to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Two multivariable logistic regression models explored separately sociodemographic and vaccine hesitancy predictors for intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.ResultsA total of 5,076 teachers participated. The majority, 89.7%, reported they were likely or very likely to accept a COVID-19 vaccine. In multivariable regression, sociodemographic predictors of intention to be vaccinated included being male, having an educational background in science or engineering, and using reliable information sources on vaccination such as public health and health care providers. Teachers who reported lower levels of vaccine hesitancy, higher general vaccine knowledge, and belief that COVID-19 was a serious illness were more likely to intend to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.ConclusionA high proportion of public-school teachers in BC intend to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Continued monitoring of vaccine intentions will be important to inform public health vaccine implementation.
| S-EPMC8240436 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Legionella spp. present in some human-made water systems can cause Legionnaires' disease in susceptible individuals. Although legionellae have been isolated from the natural environment, variations in the organism's abundance over time and its relationship to aquatic microbiota are poorly understood. Here, we investigated the presence and diversity of legionellae through 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing of DNA from isolates collected from seven sites in three watersheds with varied land uses over a period of 1 year. Legionella spp. were found in all watersheds and sampling sites, comprising up to 2.1% of the bacterial community composition. The relative abundance of Legionella tended to be higher in pristine sites than in sites affected by agricultural activity. The relative abundance levels of Amoebozoa, some of which are natural hosts of legionellae, were similarly higher in pristine sites. Compared to other bacterial genera detected, Legionella had both the highest richness and highest alpha diversity. Our findings indicate that a highly diverse population of legionellae may be found in a variety of natural aquatic sources. Further characterization of these diverse natural populations of Legionella will help inform prevention and control efforts aimed at reducing the risk of Legionella colonization of built environments, which could ultimately decrease the risk of human disease. IMPORTANCE Many species of Legionella can cause Legionnaires' disease, a significant cause of bacterial pneumonia. Legionella in human-made water systems such as cooling towers and building plumbing systems are the primary sources of Legionnaires' disease outbreaks. In this temporal study of natural aquatic environments, Legionella relative abundance was shown to vary in watersheds associated with different land uses. Analysis of the Legionella sequences detected at these sites revealed highly diverse populations that included potentially novel Legionella species. These findings have important implications for understanding the ecology of Legionella and control measures for this pathogen that are aimed at reducing human disease.
| S-EPMC5541159 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Oil and gas well leakage is of public concern primarily due to the perceived risks of aquifer contamination and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study examined well leakage data from the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission (BC OGC) to identify leakage pathways and initially quantify incident rates of leakage and GHG emissions from leaking wells. Three types of leakage are distinguished: "surface casing vent flow" (SCVF), "outside the surface casing leakage" (OSCL), and "cap leakage" (CL). In British Columbia (BC), the majority of reported incidents involve SCVF of gases, which does not pose a risk of aquifer contamination but does contribute to GHG emissions. Reported liquid leakage of brines and hydrocarbons is rarer. OSCL and CL of gas are more serious problems due to the risk of long-term leakage from abandoned wells; some were reported to be leaking gas several decades after they were permanently abandoned. According to the requirements of provincial regulation, 21,525 have been tested for leakage. In total, 2,329 wells in BC have had reported leakage during the lifetime of the well. This represents 10.8% of all wells in the assumed test population. However, it seems likely that wells drilled and/or abandoned before 2010 have unreported leakage. In BC, the total GHG emission from gas SCVF is estimated to reach about 75,000 t/y based on the existing inventory calculation; however, this number is likely higher due to underreporting.
| S-EPMC6969542 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionThis study aimed to quantify the total cost of violent firearm-related offenses in British Columbia in 2016 Canadian dollars over a five-year period, 2012 to 2016. The purposes of this study were to estimate the direct costs to the health care system and indirect costs to society for violent firearm injuries and deaths; and to estimate criminal justice system costs pertaining to firearm incidents.MethodsHuman and economic costs to the health care system and productivity losses were calculated using health administrative datasets such as B.C. Vital Statistics and Discharge Abstract Database. Criminal justice system costs pertaining to firearm incidents were estimated by applying weighted average costs to aggregate expenditures using methodology consistent with that used by Statistics Canada.ResultsThere was a total of 108 deaths and 245 hospitalizations resulting from violent firearm injuries. The total estimated cost of all violent firearm crime averaged $294,378,985 per year; human costs averaged $188,416,841 per year, where health care costs averaged $3,910,317 per year, productivity losses from workforce and household averaged $17,299,054 and $4,559,470 per year, respectively, and loss of life averaged $162,648,000; and $105,021,145 in criminal justice system costs, and $941,000 in programming costs.ConclusionThis study clearly demonstrates the significant cost of violent firearm injury in British Columbia and the impacts on the health care system, criminal justice system, and to society at large, particularly within the criminal justice system where the costs were significantly higher than health care.
| S-EPMC9880035 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Tenacibaculum is a genus of Gram-negative filamentous bacteria with a cosmopolitan distribution. The research describing Tenacibaculum genomes stems primarily from Norway and Chile due to their impacts on salmon aquaculture. Canadian salmon aquaculture also experiences mortality events related to the presence of Tenacibaculum spp., yet no Canadian Tenacibaculum genomes are publicly available. Ribosomal DNA sequencing of 16S and four species-specific 16S quantitative-PCR assays were used to select isolates cultured from Atlantic salmon with mouthrot in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Ten isolates representing four known and two unknown species of Tenacibaculum were selected for shotgun whole genome sequencing using the Oxford Nanopore's MinION platform. The genome assemblies achieved closed circular chromosomes for seven isolates and long contigs for the remaining three isolates. Average nucleotide identity analysis identified T. ovolyticum, T. maritimum, T. dicentrarchi, two genomovars of T. finnmarkense, and two proposed novel species T. pacificus sp. nov. type strain 18-2881-AT and T. retecalamus sp. nov. type strain 18-3228-7BT. Annotation in most of the isolates predicted putative virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes, most-notably toxins (i.e., hemolysins), type-IX secretion systems, and oxytetracycline resistance. Comparative analysis with the T. maritimum type-strain predicted additional toxins and numerous C-terminal secretion proteins, including an M12B family metalloprotease in the T. maritimum isolates from BC. The genomic prediction of virulence-associated genes provides important targets for studies of mouthrot disease, and the annotation of the antimicrobial resistance genes provides targets for surveillance and diagnosis in veterinary medicine.
| S-EPMC9864904 | biostudies-literature
Project description:AbstractLiver disease etiology and transplantation outcomes may vary by ethnicity. We aimed to determine if disparities exist in our province.We reviewed the provincial database for liver transplant referrals. We stratified cohorts by ethnicity and analyzed disease etiology and outcomes.Four thousand nine hundred sixteen referrals included 220 South Asians, 413 Asians, 235 First Nations (Indigenous), and 2725 Caucasians. Predominant etiologies by ethnicity included alcohol (27.4%) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) (8.8%) in South Asians, hepatitis B (45.5%) and malignancy (13.9%) in Asians, primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) (33.2%) and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) (10.8%) in First Nations, and hepatitis C (35.9%) in Caucasians. First Nations had lowest rate of transplantation (30.6%, P = .01) and highest rate of waitlist death (10.6%, P = .03). Median time from referral to transplantation (268 days) did not differ between ethnicities (P = .47). Likelihood of transplantation increased with lower body mass index (BMI) (hazard ratio [HR] 0.99, P = .03), higher model for end stage liver disease (MELD) (HR 1.02, P < .01), or fulminant liver failure (HR 9.47, P < .01). Median time from referral to ineligibility status was 170 days, and shorter time was associated with increased MELD (HR 1.01, P < .01), increased age (HR 1.01, P < .01), fulminant liver failure (HR 2.56, P < .01) or South Asian ethnicity (HR 2.54, P < .01). Competing risks analysis revealed no differences in time to transplant (P = .66) or time to ineligibility (P = .91) but confirmed increased waitlist death for First Nations (P = .04).We have noted emerging trends such as alcohol related liver disease and PSC in South Asians. First Nations have increased autoimmune liver disease, lower transplantation rates and higher waitlist deaths. These data have significance for designing ethnicity specific interventions.
| S-EPMC8542110 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE: This study examined the rates and distribution of serious work-related injuries by demographic, work and injury characteristics in British Columbia, Canada from 2002-2008, using population-based data. METHODS: Claims for workers with a serious injury were extracted from workers' compensation data. Serious injuries were defined by long duration, high cost, serious medical diagnosis, or fatality. Workforce estimates were used to calculate stratum-specific rates. Rate-ratios (RR) and 95% CIs were calculated using negative binomial regression for the comparison of rates, adjusting for gender, age and occupation. RESULTS: Women had a lower overall serious injury rate compared to men (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.87-0.99). The 35-44 age group had the highest overall rate compared to the youngest age group. The rate for severe strains/sprains was similarly high for men and women in the 35-44 age group, although there was a differential pattern by gender for other injury types: the rate of fracture was similar across age groups for men, but increased with age for women (RR: 2.7, 95% CI: 2.2-3.3); and the rate of severe falls increased with age for men and women, with a larger three-fold increase for older women (men: RR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.7-2.1; women: RR: 3.2, 95% CI: 2.7-3.7). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of serious injuries is higher among specific age groups with different patterns emerging for men and women. Variations persisted within similar injury types and occupation groups in our adjusted models. These results provide evidence for the burden of serious injuries and a basis for future analytic research. Given projected demographic shifts and increasing workforce participation of older workers, intervention programs should be carefully implemented with consideration to demographic groups at risk for serious injuries in the workplace.
| S-EPMC3378608 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundClose-contact rates are thought to be a driving force behind the transmission of many infectious respiratory diseases. Yet, contact rates and their relation to transmission and the impact of control measures, are seldom quantified. We quantify the response of contact rates, reported cases and transmission of COVID-19, to public health contact-restriction orders, and examine the associations among these three variables in the province of British Columbia, Canada.MethodsWe derived time series data for contact rates, daily cases and transmission of COVID-19 from a social contacts survey, reported case counts and by fitting a transmission model to reported cases, respectively. We used segmented regression to investigate impacts of public health orders; Pearson correlation to determine associations between contact rates and transmission; and vector autoregressive modeling to quantify lagged associations between contacts rates, daily cases, and transmission.ResultsDeclines in contact rates and transmission occurred concurrently with the announcement of public health orders, whereas declines in cases showed a reporting delay of about 2 weeks. Contact rates were a significant driver of COVID-19 and explained roughly 19 and 20% of the variation in new cases and transmission, respectively. Interestingly, increases in COVID-19 transmission and cases were followed by reduced contact rates: overall, daily cases explained about 10% of the variation in subsequent contact rates.ConclusionWe showed that close-contact rates were a significant time-series driver of transmission and ultimately of reported cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia, Canada and that they varied in response to public health orders. Our results also suggest possible behavioral feedback, by which increased reported cases lead to reduced subsequent contact rates. Our findings help to explain and validate the commonly assumed, but rarely measured, response of close contact rates to public health guidelines and their impact on the dynamics of infectious diseases.
| S-EPMC9110764 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Spending on cancer drugs has risen dramatically in recent years compared to other areas of health care, due in part to higher prices associated with newly approved drugs and increased demand for these drugs. Addressing this situation requires making difficult trade-offs between cost, harms, and ability to benefit when using public resources, making it important for policy makers to have input from many people affected by the issue, including citizens. METHODS:In September 2014, a deliberative public engagement event was conducted in Vancouver, British Columbia (BC), on the topic of priority setting and costly cancer drugs. The aim of the study was to gain citizens' input on the topic and have them generate recommendations that could inform cancer drug funding decisions in BC. A market research company was engaged to recruit members of the BC general public to deliberate over two weekends (four days) on how best to allocate resources for expensive cancer treatments. Participants were stratified based on the 2006 census data for BC. Participants were asked to discuss disinvestment, intravenous versus oral chemotherapy delivery, and decision governance. All sessions were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were analyzed using NVivo 11 software. RESULTS:Twenty-four individuals participated in the event and generated 30 recommendations. Participants accepted the principle of resource scarcity and the need of governments to make difficult trade-offs when allocating health-care resources. They supported the view that cost-benefit thresholds must be set for high-cost drugs. They also expected reasonable health benefits in return for large expenditures, and supported the view that some drugs do not merit funding. Participants also wanted drug funding decisions to be made in a non-partisan and transparent way. CONCLUSION:The recommendations from the Vancouver deliberation can provide guidance to policy makers in BC and may be useful in challenging pricing by pharmaceutical companies.
| S-EPMC5941483 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background & aimsPublic health measures introduced to limit transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), also disrupted various healthcare services in many regions worldwide, including British Columbia (BC), Canada. We assessed the impact of these measures, first introduced in BC in March 2020, on hepatitis C (HCV) testing and first-time HCV-positive diagnoses within the province.MethodsDe-identified HCV testing data for BC residents were obtained from the provincial Public Health Laboratory. Weekly changes in anti-HCV, HCV RNA and genotype testing episodes and first-time HCV-positive (anti-HCV/RNA/genotype) diagnoses from January 2018 to December 2020 were assessed and associations were determined using segmented regression models examining rates before vs after calendar week 12 of 2020, when measures were introduced.ResultsAverage weekly HCV testing and first-time HCV-positive diagnosis rates fell immediately following the imposition of public health measures by 62.3 per 100 000 population and 2.9 episodes per 1 000 000 population, respectively (P < .0001 for both), and recovered in subsequent weeks to near pre-March 2020 levels. Average weekly anti-HCV positivity rates decreased steadily pre-restrictions and this trend remained unchanged afterwards.ConclusionsReductions in HCV testing and first-time HCV-positive diagnosis rates, key drivers of progression along the HCV care cascade, occurred following the introduction of COVID-19-related public health measures. Further assessment will be required to better understand the full impact of these service disruptions on the HCV care cascade and to inform strategies for the re-engagement of people who may have been lost to care because of these measures.
| S-EPMC8662267 | biostudies-literature