Fatal Rodentborne Leptospirosis in Prison Inmates, South Africa, 2015.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Naidoo K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7181914 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Fatal Rodentborne Leptospirosis in Prison Inmates, South Africa, 2015.
Naidoo Kovashnee K Moseley Mark M McCarthy Kerrigan K Chingonzoh Ruvimbo R Lawrence Charlene C Setshedi Grace M GM Frean John J Rossouw Jennifer J
Emerging infectious diseases 20200501 5
Leptospirosis is a neglected zoonotic disease. In 2015, leptospirosis was diagnosed in 2 prison inmates in South Africa. Using real-time PCR and DNA sequencing, we identified Leptospira interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae in rodents and water samples within the prison. Leptospirosis might be frequently underdiagnosed in South Africa. ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundPositive attitudes towards prisoners are important in securing the effectiveness of various correctional rehabilitation programs and the successful reintegration of prisoners after release. We wanted to investigate the attitudes towards prisoners among prison inmates, prison employees and college students.MethodsThe Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale was completed by 298 inmates in 4 Norwegian prisons, 387 employees working in the same prisons, and 183 college students. In addition, all respondents were asked a number of general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment.ResultsThe study groups differed significantly in their attitudes towards prisoners, as measured by the Attitudes Toward Prisoners scale, with prison inmates holding the most positive attitudes. Prison officers held more negative attitudes than other prison employees. Prison employees working in female-only facilities held more positive attitudes than those working in male-only facilities. Students differed significantly in their attitudes, with those studying business economics holding more negative attitudes than those studying nursing. A number of strong correlations emerged between negative attitudes towards prisoners and more pessimistic and punitive answers on general questions about prisoners, crime and punishment.ConclusionThe attitudes towards prisoners differed markedly among the groups investigated. The findings could have important implications, particularly for the preventive work carried out in our prisons. Whether attitudes toward prisoners can be influenced by educational programs and the dispersion of factual information needs to be investigated.
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Project description:This paper investigates whether there is a connection between psychopathy and certain manifestations of social and economic behavior, measured in a lab-in-the-field experiment with prison inmates. In order to test this main hypothesis, we let inmates play four games that have often been used to measure prosocial and antisocial behavior in previous experimental economics literature. Specifically, they play a prisoner's dilemma, a trust game, the equality equivalence test that elicits distributional preferences, and a corruption game. Psychopathy is measured by means of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP) questionnaire, which inmates filled out after having made their decisions in the four games. We find that higher scores in the LSRP are significantly correlated with anti-social behavior in the form of weaker reciprocity, lower cooperation, lower benevolence and more bribe-oriented decisions in the corruption game. In particular, not cooperating and bribe-maximizing decisions are associated with significantly higher LSRP primary and LSRP secondary scores. Not reciprocating is associated with higher LSRP primary and being spiteful with higher LSRP secondary scores.
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Project description:IntroductionPrisoners in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are at a high risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection due to overcrowding and poor ventilation. Consequently, TB is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in prison, and many inmates face a number of barriers to TB control and had limited information in the region. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to estimate the overall pooled prevalence of pulmonary TB and predictors among prison inmates in SSA.MethodsFrom 2006 to 2019, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted using various databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. The data were extracted in Microsoft Excel using a standardized data extraction format, and the analysis was carried out with STATA version 14. To detect heterogeneity across studies, the I2 and the Cochrane Q test statistics were computed. To determine the overall prevalence of TB and predictors among prison populations, a random effect meta-analysis model was used.ResultsOf the 3,479 retrieved articles, 37studies comprising 72,844 inmates met the inclusion criteria. The pooled prevalence of pulmonary TB among prison inmates in SSA was 7.74% (95% CI: 6.46-8.47). In the subgroup analysis, the highest prevalence was found in the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) (19.72%) followed by Zambia (11.68%) and then Ethiopia (9.22%). TB/HIV coinfection (OR 4.99 (95% CI: 2.60-9.58)), Body mass index (BMI < 18.5) (OR 3.62 (95% CI: 2.65-6.49)), incarceration (OR 4.52 (95% CI: 2.31-5.68)), and previous TB exposure (OR 2.43 (95% CI: 1.61-3.56)) had higher odds of pulmonary TB among inmates.ConclusionThe prevalence of pulmonary TB among SSA prison inmates was found to be high as compared to total population. TB/HIV coinfection, BMI, incarceration duration, and TB exposure were all predictors with pulmonary tuberculosis in prison inmates. As a result, emphasizing early screening for prisoners at risk of pulmonary TB is an important point to achieving global TB commitments in resource-limited settings.
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Project description:Whole blood transcriptional profiling of Brazilian patients with acute leptospirosis to identify mechanisms associated with case fatality
2016-09-23 | GSE72946 | GEO
Project description:We reviewed Corynebacterium spp. infection cases reported in South Africa during 2015-2023. We analyzed 84 isolates from 83 patients with C. diphtheriae, as well as 1 C. belfantii and 3 C. ulcerans isolates. Among C. diphtheriae cases, we observed respiratory diphtheria (26/83 patients [31%]), endocarditis (14/83 [17%]), cutaneous diphtheria (22/83 [27%]), nonspecific respiratory illnesses (5/83 [6%]), and asymptomatic carriage (16/83 [19%]). The median patient age was 19 (range 0-88) years. Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination was incomplete for 26% (5/19) or unknown for 68% (13/19) of children 0-9 years of age. C. diphtheriae was intermediately resistant to penicillin (82/84 [98%] isolates; MIC90 0.5 μg/mL) but susceptible to erythromycin (83/84 [99%] isolates; MIC90 0.25 μg/mL). Eighteen unique sequence types were identified, corroborating C. diphtheriae heterogeneity. Toxin-producing strains were detected among cutaneous and respiratory diphtheria cases, indicating all forms of disease require monitoring and prompt public health action to curb transmission.
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Project description:High rates of both HIV and depression are seen in prison populations; depression has been linked to disease progression in HIV, risky behaviors, and medication non-adherence. Despite this, few studies have examined HIV-infected inmates with depression. We therefore conducted an exploratory study of a sample of HIV-infected inmates in North Carolina prisons (N = 101) to determine what proportion of this sample screened positive for depression and whether depression was associated with different pre-incarceration characteristics or post-release needs. A high proportion of HIV infected inmates (44.5%) screened positive for depression. Depressed inmates were significantly more likely have low coping self-efficacy scores (180 vs. 214), to report having had resource needs (OR = 2.91) prior to incarceration and to anticipate needing income (OR = 2.81), housing (OR = 4.07), transportation (OR = 9.15), and assistance with adherence (OR = 8.67) post-release. We conclude by discussion the implications of our findings for prison based care and effective prison release planning for HIV infected inmates.
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Project description:This study examines the demographic and social factors related to health care utilization in prisons using the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities. The findings show that education and employment, strong predictors of health care in the community, are not associated with health care in prisons. Although female inmates have a higher disease burden than male inmates, there are no sex differences in health care usage. The factors associated with health care, however, vary for women and men. Notably, Black men are significantly more likely to utilize health care compared to White and Latino men. The findings suggest that, given the constitutionally mandated health care for inmates, prisons can potentially minimize racial disparities in care and that prisons, in general, are an important context for health care delivery in the United States.
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Project description:Leptospirosis causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide; however, the role of the host immune response in disease progression and high case fatality (>10-50%) is poorly understood. We conducted a multi-parameter investigation of patients with acute leptospirosis to identify mechanisms associated with case fatality. Whole blood transcriptional profiling of 16 hospitalized Brazilian patients with acute leptospirosis (13 survivors, 3 deceased) revealed fatal cases had lower expression of the antimicrobial peptide, cathelicidin, and chemokines, but more abundant pro-inflammatory cytokine receptors. In contrast, survivors generated strong adaptive immune signatures, including transcripts relevant to antigen presentation and immunoglobulin production. In an independent cohort (23 survivors, 22 deceased), fatal cases had higher bacterial loads (P = 0.0004) and lower anti-Leptospira antibody titers (P = 0.02) at the time of hospitalization, independent of the duration of illness. Low serum cathelicidin and RANTES levels during acute illness were independent risk factors for higher bacterial loads (P = 0.005) and death (P = 0.04), respectively. To investigate the mechanism of cathelicidin in patients surviving acute disease, we administered LL-37, the active peptide of cathelicidin, in a hamster model of lethal leptospirosis and found it significantly decreased bacterial loads and increased survival. Our findings indicate that the host immune response plays a central role in severe leptospirosis disease progression. While drawn from a limited study size, significant conclusions include that poor clinical outcomes are associated with high systemic bacterial loads, and a decreased antibody response. Furthermore, our data identified a key role for the antimicrobial peptide, cathelicidin, in mounting an effective bactericidal response against the pathogen, which represents a valuable new therapeutic approach for leptospirosis.
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