An exploratory study on rabies exposure through contact tracing in a rural area near Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
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ABSTRACT: Need for study
Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease. Given the low incidence, apart from the existing reporting syst, there is a need to look for other means of case detection strategies for rabies. Contact tracing is one such method to efficiently capture information.Objectives
To find out the rabid status of biting animal through contact tracing and to determine health seeking behavior of the bite victims.Materials and methods
An exploratory study using contact tracing was conducted during the first quarter of 2017 in villages coming under three Public Health Centers. The households of the bite victims were visited and details of rabies exposure obtained from the bite victim/ adult responsible respondent using a standardized questionnaire.Results
A total of 69 dog/cat bite cases were identified. 69.5% of bites were by stray dogs. 97.1% bite victims had Category III bites. Only 4.5% bite victims had taken PEP. 70.1% of animal bite cases were administered ARV. Only 7.2% bite victims had exposure to probable rabid animals. All dog bite victims were alive after 3 months of follow up.Conclusion
Contact tracing was successful in case detection of probable rabid animal exposures and suitable for a period of one year.
SUBMITTER: Masthi NRR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6095631 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
An exploratory study on rabies exposure through contact tracing in a rural area near Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Masthi N R Ramesh NRR S Pruthvi P
PLoS neglected tropical diseases 20180806 8
<h4>Need for study</h4>Rabies is a neglected zoonotic disease. Given the low incidence, apart from the existing reporting syst, there is a need to look for other means of case detection strategies for rabies. Contact tracing is one such method to efficiently capture information.<h4>Objectives</h4>To find out the rabid status of biting animal through contact tracing and to determine health seeking behavior of the bite victims.<h4>Materials and methods</h4>An exploratory study using contact tracin ...[more]
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| S-EPMC6796433 | biostudies-literature
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| S-EPMC4943492 | biostudies-literature
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| S-EPMC3390317 | biostudies-other
Project description:Contact tracing is currently one of the most effective measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to identify persons that would otherwise not be known or remembered and to keep the time delay when reporting an infection and when contacting people as short as possible, digital contact tracing using smartphones seems to be a reasonable measure additional to manual contact tracing. Although first modelling studies predicted a positive effect in terms of prompt contact tracing, no empirically reliable data are as yet available, neither on the population-wide benefit nor on the potential risks of contact tracing apps. Risk-benefit assessment of such an app includes investigating whether such an app fulfils its purpose, as also research on the effectiveness, risks and side effects, and implementation processes (e.?g. planning and inclusion of different participants). The aim of this article was to give an overview of possible public health benefits as well as technical, social, legal and ethical aspects of a contact-tracing app in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, conditions for the widest possible use of the app are presented.
| S-EPMC7536383 | biostudies-literature
Project description:SummaryThe emergence of human and animal rabies in Bali since November 2008 has attracted local, national and international interest. The potential origin and time of introduction of rabies virus to Bali is described. The nucleoprotein (N) gene of rabies virus from dog brain and human clinical specimens was sequenced using an automated DNA sequencer. Phylogenetic inference with Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis using the Bayesian Evolutionary Analysis by Sampling Trees (BEAST) v. 1.7.5 software confirmed that the outbreak of rabies in Bali was caused by an Indonesian lineage virus following a single introduction. The ancestor of Bali viruses was the descendant of a virus from Kalimantan. Contact tracing showed that the event most likely occurred in early 2008. The introduction of rabies into a large unvaccinated dog population in Bali clearly demonstrates the risk of disease transmission for government agencies and should lead to an increased preparedness and efforts for sustained risk reduction to prevent such events from occurring in future.
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Project description:Since the 1970s sociologists have explored the best means for measuring social networks, although few name generator analyses have used sociocentric data or data from developing countries, partly because sociocentric studies in developing countries have been scant. Here, we analyze 12 different name generators used in a sociocentric network study conducted in 75 villages in rural Karnataka, India. Having unusual sociocentric data from a non-Western context allowed us to extend previous name generator research through the unique analyses of network structural measures, an extensive consideration of homophily, and investigation of status difference between egos and alters. We found that domestic interaction questions generated networks that were highly clustered and highly centralized. Similarity between respondents and their nominated contacts was strongest for gender, caste, and religion. We also found that domestic interaction name generators yielded the most homogeneous ties, while advice questions yielded the most heterogeneous. Participants were generally more likely to nominate those of higher social status, although certain questions, such as who participants talk to uncovered more egalitarian relationships, while other name generators elicited the names of social contacts distinctly higher or lower in status than the respondent. Some questions also seemed to uncover networks that were specific to the cultural context, suggesting that network researchers should balance local relevance with global generalizability when choosing name generators.
| S-EPMC5571897 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ContextMore than 78 countries have developed COVID contact-tracing apps to limit the spread of coronavirus. However, many experts and scientists cast doubt on the effectiveness of those apps. For each app, a large number of reviews have been entered by end-users in app stores.ObjectiveOur goal is to gain insights into the user reviews of those apps, and to find out the main problems that users have reported. Our focus is to assess the "software in society" aspects of the apps, based on user reviews.MethodWe selected nine European national apps for our analysis and used a commercial app-review analytics tool to extract and mine the user reviews. For all the apps combined, our dataset includes 39,425 user reviews.ResultsResults show that users are generally dissatisfied with the nine apps under study, except the Scottish ("Protect Scotland") app. Some of the major issues that users have complained about are high battery drainage and doubts on whether apps are really working.ConclusionOur results show that more work is needed by the stakeholders behind the apps (e.g., app developers, decision-makers, public health experts) to improve the public adoption, software quality and public perception of these apps.
| S-EPMC8566091 | biostudies-literature