Project description:This study identified ecological and human health risks exposure of COVID-19 pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in environmental waters. Environmental concentrations in aquatic species were predicted using surface water concentrations of pharmaceutical compounds. Predicted No-Effect Concentrations (PNEC) in aquatic organisms (green algae, daphnia, and fish) was estimated using EC50/LC50 values of pharmaceutical compounds taken from USEPA ECOSAR database. PNEC for human health risks was calculated using the acceptable daily intake values of drugs. Ecological PNEC revealed comparatively high values in algae (Chronic toxicity PNEC values, high to low: ribavirin (2.65 × 105 μg/L) to ritonavir (2.3 × 10-1 μg/L)) than daphnia and fish. Risk quotient (RQ) analysis revealed that algae (Avg. = 2.81 × 104) appeared to be the most sensitive species to pharmaceutical drugs followed by daphnia (Avg.: 1.28 × 104) and fish (Avg.: 1.028 × 103). Amongst the COVID-19 metabolites, lopinavir metabolites posed major risk to aquatic species. Ritonavir (RQ = 6.55) is the major drug responsible for human health risk through consumption of food (in the form fish) grown in pharmaceutically contaminated waters. Mixture toxicity analysis of drugs revealed that algae are the most vulnerable species amongst the three trophic levels. Maximum allowable concentration level for mixture of pharmaceuticals was found to be 0.53 mg/L.
Project description:The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the central role of the One Health (OH) approach, as a multisectoral and multidisciplinary perspective, to tackle health threats at the human-animal-environment interface. This study assessed Brazilian preparedness and response to COVID-19 and zoonoses with a focus on the OH approach and equity dimensions. We conducted an environmental scan using a protocol developed as part of a multi-country study. The article selection process resulted in 45 documents: 79 files and 112 references on OH; 41 files and 81 references on equity. The OH and equity aspects are poorly represented in the official documents regarding the COVID-19 response, either at the federal and state levels. Brazil has a governance infrastructure that allows for the response to infectious diseases, including zoonoses, as well as the fight against antimicrobial resistance through the OH approach. However, the response to the pandemic did not fully utilize the resources of the Brazilian state, due to the lack of central coordination and articulation among the sectors involved. Brazil is considered an area of high risk for emergence of zoonoses mainly due to climate change, large-scale deforestation and urbanization, high wildlife biodiversity, wide dry frontier, and poor control of wild animals' traffic. Therefore, encouraging existing mechanisms for collaboration across sectors and disciplines, with the inclusion of vulnerable populations, is required for making a multisectoral OH approach successful in the country.
Project description:The occurrence of antibiotics and potential health risk of 300 cultured fish samples from 19 provinces in China were investigated. The levels of 28 antibiotics (15 fluoroquinolones, 4 tetracyclines, 8 macrolides and rifampin) in 8 fish species were measured through liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. As a result, 10 antibiotics were detected with an overall detection frequency of 24.3%, and the individual detection frequency of antibiotics ranged from 0.33 to 16.7%. The extremely high concentrations (above 100 µg/kg) of doxycycline and erythromycin were found in the samples. Antibiotics with high detection frequency was noticed in largemouth bass (41.2%), followed by snakehead (34.4%) and bream (31.2%). Specifically, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu presented high detection frequency values of more than 60%. Moreover, the highest mean concentration was observed in Shandong, and the concentration covered from 34.8 µg/kg to 410 µg/kg. Despite the high detection frequency and levels of antibiotics were found in samples, ingestion of cultured fish was not significantly related to human health risks in China, according to the calculated estimated daily intakes and hazard quotients. These results provided us the actual levels of antibiotics in cultured fish and human health risk assessment of consuming fishery products.
Project description:ObjectiveTo compare the predictive value of the quick COVID-19 Severity Index (qCSI) and the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) for 90-day mortality amongst COVID-19 patients.MethodsMulticenter retrospective cohort study conducted in adult patients transferred by ambulance to an emergency department (ED) with suspected COVID-19 infection subsequently confirmed by a SARS-CoV-2 test (polymerase chain reaction). We collected epidemiological data, clinical covariates (respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, level of consciousness and use of supplemental oxygen) and hospital variables. The primary outcome was cumulative all-cause mortality during a 90-day follow-up, with mortality assessment monitoring time points at 1, 2, 7, 14, 30 and 90 days from ED attendance. Comparison of performances for 90-day mortality between both scores was carried out by univariate analysis.ResultsFrom March to November 2020, we included 2,961 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients (median age 79 years, IQR 66-88), with 49.2% females. The qCSI score provided an AUC ranging from 0.769 (1-day mortality) to 0.749 (90-day mortality), whereas AUCs for NEWS ranging from 0.825 for 1-day mortality to 0.777 for 90-day mortality. At all-time points studied, differences between both scores were statistically significant (p < .001).ConclusionPatients with SARS-CoV-2 can rapidly develop bilateral pneumonias with multiorgan disease; in these cases, in which an evacuation by the EMS is required, reliable scores for an early identification of patients with risk of clinical deterioration are critical. The NEWS score provides not only better prognostic results than those offered by qCSI at all the analyzed time points, but it is also better suited for COVID-19 patients.KEY MESSAGESThis work aims to determine whether NEWS is the best score for mortality risk assessment in patients with COVID-19.AUCs for NEWS ranged from 0.825 for 1-day mortality to 0.777 for 90-day mortality and were significantly higher than those for qCSI in these same outcomes.NEWS provides a better prognostic capacity than the qCSI score and allows for long-term (90 days) mortality risk assessment of COVID-19 patients.
Project description:IntroductionEmerging evidence suggests that mental health symptoms in COVID-19 survivors are higher than expected, possibly indicating that such symptoms are more likely to develop post-infection than just persist as a residual component of the acute phase. It is thus imperative to investigate the potential development of a post-COVID mental health syndrome in the longer-term and identify its risk factors.Material and methodsA prospective study investigated mental health symptoms associated with COVID-19 and its determinants over a 12-month period following the disease onset in all consecutive adult inpatients and outpatients with COVID-19 attending a tertiary referral hospital from March to May 2020.ResultsA total of 479 patients (female, 52.6%) were followed-up for 12 months after COVID-19 onset. Of them, 47.2% were still presenting with at least one symptom. While most symptoms subsided as compared to COVID-19 onset (all p < 0.001), a significant increase was observed only for symptoms of psychiatric disorders (10.2%) and lack of concentration and focus (20%; all p < 0.001). Patients presenting with symptoms related to multiple body systems 12 months after contracting COVID-19 (all p ≤ 0.034) were more likely to suffer from mental health domain-related symptoms at follow-up. Also, a higher risk of presenting with lack of concentration and focus 12 months post infection was found in those suffering of psychiatric symptoms at COVID-19 onset (p = 0.005).ConclusionsFindings of this study may have important public health implications, as they underlie the increased need for mental health support in COVID-19 survivors.
Project description:Interface with animals has been responsible for the occurrence of a major proportion of human diseases for the past several decades. Recent outbreaks of respiratory, haemorrhagic, encephalitic, arthropod-borne and other viral diseases have underlined the role of animals in the transmission of pathogens to humans. The on-going coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is one among them and is thought to have originated from bats and jumped to humans through an intermediate animal host. Indeed, the aetiology, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), can infect and cause disease in cats, ferrets and minks, as well as be transmitted from one animal to another. The seriousness of the pandemic along with the zoonotic origin of the virus has been a red alert on the critical need for collaboration and cooperation among human and animal health professionals, as well as stakeholders from various other disciplines that study planetary health parameters and the well-being of the biosphere. It is therefore imminent that One Health principles are applied across the board for human infectious diseases so that we can be better prepared for future zoonotic disease outbreaks and pandemics.
Project description:BackgroundOver the past decade, 70% of new and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks in East Africa have originated from the Congo Basin where Rwanda is located. To respond to these increasing risks of disastrous outbreaks, the government began integrating One Health (OH) into its infectious disease response systems in 2011 to strengthen its preparedness and contain outbreaks. The strong performance of Rwanda in responding to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic makes it an excellent example to understand how the structure and principles of OH were applied during this unprecedented situation.MethodsA rapid environmental scan of published and grey literature was conducted between August and December 2020, to assess Rwanda's OH structure and its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, 132 documents including official government documents, published research, newspaper articles, and policies were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsRwanda's OH structure consists of multidisciplinary teams from sectors responsible for human, animal, and environmental health. The country has developed OH strategic plans and policies outlining its response to zoonotic infections, integrated OH into university curricula to develop a OH workforce, developed multidisciplinary rapid response teams, and created decentralized laboratories in the animal and human health sectors to strengthen surveillance. To address COVID-19, the country created a preparedness and response plan before its onset, and a multisectoral joint task force was set up to coordinate the response to the pandemic. By leveraging its OH structure, Rwanda was able to rapidly implement a OH-informed response to COVID-19.ConclusionRwanda's integration of OH into its response systems to infectious diseases and to COVID-19 demonstrates the importance of applying OH principles into the governance of infectious diseases at all levels. Rwanda exemplifies how preparedness and response to outbreaks and pandemics can be strengthened through multisectoral collaboration mechanisms. We do expect limitations in our findings due to the rapid nature of our environmental scan meant to inform the COVID-19 policy response and would encourage a full situational analysis of OH in Rwanda's Coronavirus response.