Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is currently one of the most relevant arboviruses to public health. It is a member of the Togaviridae family and alphavirus genus and causes an arthritogenic
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disease known as chikungunya fever (CHIKF). It is characterized by a multifaceted disease, which is distinguished from other arbovirus infections by the intense and debilitating arthralgia that can last for months or years in some individuals. Despite the great social and economic burden caused by CHIKV infection, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral drugs currently available. Recent outbreaks have shown a change in the severity profile of the disease in which atypical and severe manifestation lead to hundreds of deaths, reinforcing the necessity to understand the replication and pathogenesis processes. CHIKF is a complex disease resultant from the infection of a plethora of cell types. Although there are several in vivo models for studying CHIKV infection, none of them reproduces integrally the disease signature observed in humans, which is a challenge for vaccine and drug development. Therefore, understanding the potentials and limitations of the state-of-the-art experimental models is imperative to advance in the field. In this context, the present review outlines the present knowledge on CHIKV epidemiology, replication, pathogenesis, and immunity and also brings a critical perspective on the current in vitro and in vivo state-of-the-art experimental models of CHIKF.
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Effective malaria prevention is threatened by widespread and increasing vector insecticide resistance. Failure to mitigate this threat will likely result in an increased burden of
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disease, with significant cost implications. This new framework provides support for the development of a national insecticide resistance monitoring and management plan as part of a national malaria strategic plan.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental health as ‘a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work p
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roductively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community’. Mental illness refers to all of the diagnosable mental disorders, which are characterised by abnormalities in thinking, feelings or behaviours. Mental illness is closely related to vulnerability, both in its causes and in its effects. Globally, 14 per cent of the global burden of disease is attributed to mental illness – with 75 per cent of those affected being found in low-income countries – which includes a broad spectrum of diagnoses, from common mental illnesses such as anxiety and
substance abuse, to severe illnesses like psychosis.
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In 2015, 5.9 million children under age five died (1). The major causes of child deaths globally are pneumonia, prematurity, intrapartum-related complications, neonatal sepsis, congenital anomalies, diarrhoea, injuries and malaria (2). Most
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of these diseases and conditions are at least partially caused by the environment. It was estimated in 2012 that 26% of childhood deaths and 25% of the total disease burden in children under five could be prevented through the reduction of environmental risks such as air pollution, unsafe water, sanitation and inadequate hygiene or chemicals.
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ajtmh.20-1538 Volume 104, 6. Mapping is a prerequisite for effective implementation of interventions against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Before the accelerated World Health Organization (WHO)/Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) NTD Mapping Pr
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oject was initiated in 2014, mapping efforts in many countries were frequently carried out in an ad hoc and nonstandardized fashion. In 2013, there were at least 2,200 different districts (of the 4,851 districts in the WHO African region) that still required mapping, and in many of these districts, more than one disease needed to be mapped. During its 3-year duration from January 2014 through the end of 2016, the project carried out mapping surveysfor one ormore NTDs in at least 2,500 districts in 37 African countries. At the end of 2016, most (90%) of the 4,851 districts had completed the WHO-required mapping surveys for the five targeted Preventive Chemotherapy (PC)-NTDs, and the impact of this accelerated WHO/AFRO NTD Mapping Project proved to be much greater than just the detailed mapping results themselves. Indeed, the AFRO Mapping
Project dramatically energized and empowered national NTD programs, attracted donor support for expanding these programs, and developed both a robust NTD mapping database and data portal. By clarifying the prevalence and burden
of NTDs, the project provided not only the metrics and technical framework for guiding and tracking program implementation and success but also the research opportunities for developing improved diagnostic and epidemiologic sampling tools for all 5 PC-NTDs—lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and trachoma.
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Parasites & Vectors volume 11, Article number: 264 (2018)
Dengue creates a staggering epidemiological and economic burden for endemic countries. Without a specific therapy and with a commercial vaccine that presents some problems relative to it
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s full effectiveness, initiatives to improve vector control strategies, early disease diagnostics and the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs are priorities. In this study, we present the probable origins of dengue in America and the trajectories of its spread. Overall, dengue diagnostics are costly, making the monitoring of dengue epidemiology more difficult and affecting physicians’ therapeutic decisions regarding dengue patients, especially in developing countries. This review also highlights some recent and important findings regarding dengue in Brazil and the Americas. We also summarize the existing DENV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests to provide an improved reference since these tests are useful and accurate at discriminating DENV from other flaviviruses that co-circulate in the Americas. Additionally, these DENV PCR assays ensure virus serotyping, enabling epidemiologic monitoring.
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Immunizations are an essential health service that protect susceptible individuals from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD).2 By providing timely immunizations, individuals and communities remain protected and the likelihood of
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a VPD outbreak decreases, Preventing a VPD outbreak not only saves lives but requires fewer resources than responding to the outbreak and helps reduce burden on a health system already strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, While committing to sustaining immunization systems, countries should use approaches that respect the principle of do-no-harm and limit transmission of COVID-19 while providing immunization activities, Immunization visits can also be used as opportunities to disseminate messages to encourage behaviours to reduce transmission risk of the COVID-19 virus, to identify signs and symptoms of COVID-19 disease, and to provide guidance on what to do if symptoms emerge
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Prior research has considered donor funding for developing world health by recipient and donor country but not by disease. Examining funding by disease is critical since diseases may be in competiti
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on with one another for priority and donors may be making allocation decisions in ways that do not correspond to developing world need. In this study I calculate donor funding for 20 historically high-burden communicable diseases for the years 1996 to 2003 and examine factors that may explain variance in priority levels among diseases. I consider funding for developing world health from 42 major donors, classifying grants according to the communicable disease targeted. Data show that funding does not correspond closely with burden. Acute respiratory infections comprise more than a quarter of the burden among these diseases but receive less than 3% of direct aid. Malaria also stands out as a high-burden neglected disease.
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Current evidence indicates that the COVID-19 virus is transmitted through respiratory droplets or contact. Contact transmission occurs when contaminated hands touch the mucosa of the mouth, nose, or eyes; the virus can also be transferred from one
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surface to another by contaminated hands, which facilitates indirect contact transmission. Consequently, hand hygiene is extremely important to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It also interrupts transmission of other viruses and bacteria causing common colds, flu and pneumonia, thus reducing the general burden of disease.
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Hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and disability globally. In low- and middle-income countries hypertension has a major social impact, increasing the disease b
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urden and costs for national health systems. The present call to action aims to stimulate all African countries to adopt several solutions to achieve better hypertension management. The following 3 goals should be achieved in Africa by 2030: (1) 80% of adults with high blood pressure in Africa are diagnosed; (2) 80% of diagnosed hypertensives, that is, 64% of all hypertensives, are treated; and (3) 80% of treated hypertensive patients are controlled. To achieve these aims, we call on individuals and organizations from government, private sector, health care, and civil society in Africa and indeed on all Africans to undertake a few specific high priority actions. The aim is to improve the detection, diagnosis, management, and control of hypertension, now considered to be the leading preventable killer in Africa.
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This regional summary draws on the WHO Global oral health status report (2), published in 2022, which provides a comprehensive overview of the global oral disease
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burden, the global health importance of oral health and the impact of oral diseases over the life course.
The summary focuses on the oral health status in the Western Pacific Region and is split into four sections: (a) oral diseases are global and regional health problems; (b) the burden of the main oral diseases; (c) key challenges and opportunities towards oral health for all in the Western Pacific Region; and (d) road map towards UHC for oral health 2030. This regional summary is based on the 27 Member States in the Region.
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We, the participants at the first-ever International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa (ICPPA), held on 23– 25 April 2024 in Dar Es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, recognize the urgency of the
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rising burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) across our Region. We are alarmed by the implications for social and economic development across Africa, considering that rising numbers of people under the age of 40 die unnecessarily.
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The uneven distribution of HIV risks and burdens across populations is a well-substantiated fact, though seldom publicly acknowledged. Gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, and transgender women are 24,
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24, 13.5, and 49 times more likely to acquire HIV, respectively, than other reproductive aged adults (15 years old and older). Globally, new infections among these key populations account for 45% of all new HIV infections. This figure is likely to be an underestimate, given the intense stigma associated with disclosing and reporting acquisition risks for HIV among gay men, people who use drugs, sex workers, and transgender people. In addition, HIV epidemics in the majority of low- and middle-income countries (90 of 120) have concentrated epidemics among key populations. In countries with more broadly generalized epidemics, risks are still not evenly distributed and key populations still shoulder disease burden that is markedly disproportionate.
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The Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders presents a comprehensive overview of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm and policy responses as well as
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treatment capacities for alcohol and drug use disorders worldwide. The report is based on data collected by WHO from Member States and organized in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals health target 3.5 which calls on countries to strengthen “the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol”. The chapter on alcohol and health continues the series of WHO global status reports on alcohol and health and presents the latest available data on the status of, and trends in, alcohol consumption, as well as estimates of the alcohol-attributable disease burden and descriptions of policy responses worldwide. On the basis of data collected from countries on the treatment of substance use disorders the report describes the status of key components of treatment responses to alcohol and drug use disorders and proposes a new service capacity index for these disorders as an additional contextual indicator for monitoring progress in this domain of SDG health target 3.5. The report concludes with broad directions for international action to accelerate progress towards achievement of SDG health target 3.5.
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Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have collectively remained the leading causes of death worldwide and substantially contribute to loss of health and excess health system costs. The Global
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Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) Study has tracked trends in death and disability since 1990 and has provided an updated perspective on the status of cardiovascular health globally, regionally, and nationally.
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The Public Health Burden of Commercial Tobacco Use
The burden of
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disease and death from commercial tobacco* use in the United States is
overwhelmingly caused by cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products.
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The article investigates the effectiveness and challenges of remote monitoring systems for chronic respiratory diseases, focusing on COPD and asthma. It reviews various technologies and their potential to improve patient outcomes through better symp
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tom tracking, medication adherence, and early detection of exacerbations. The study highlights that while remote monitoring has significant potential, challenges such as data accuracy, patient compliance, and integration with existing healthcare systems remain. The authors call for further research to standardize and validate remote monitoring tools and emphasize the need for patient-centric approaches to enhance engagement and adherence.
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The guide aims to provide health and DRM practitioners, planners and policymakers across sectors with targeted information to help them strengthen national health systems and integrate the risks of disease
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outbreaks in national DRR strategies
The following are some of the principles and approaches that have been based on lessons learned to date and may be considered to ensure effective all-hazards health EDRM, including prevention and preparedness for disease outbreaks, are addressed as part of the multihazard, multisectoral approach to developing or updating DRR strategies
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Tanzania, like other developing countries, is facing a higher burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The country is experiencing rapid growth of
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modifiable and intermediate risk factors that accelerate CVD mortality and morbidity rates. In rural and urban settings, cardiovascular risk factors such as tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, overweight, and obesity, are documented to be higher in this review. Increased urbanization, lifestyle changes, lack of awareness and rural to urban movement have been found to increase CVD risk factors in Tanzania. Despite the identification of modifiable risk factors for CVDs, there is still limited information on physical inactivity and eating habits among Tanzanian population that needs to be addressed. Conclusively, primary prevention, improved healthcare system, which include affordable health services, availability of trained health care providers, improved screening and diagnostic equipment, adequate guidelines, and essential drugs for CVDs are the key actions that need to be implemented for cost effective control and management of CVDs. Effective policy for control and management of CVDs should also properly be employed to ensure fruitful implementation of different interventions.
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Mental health problems represent the greatest global burden of disease among children and adolescents. There is, however, lack
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of policy development and implementation for child and adolescent mental health (CAMH), particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where children and adolescents represent up to 50% of populations. South Africa, an upper-middle income country is often regarded as advanced in health and social policy-making and implementation in comparison to other LMICs. It is, however, not clear whether this is the case for CAMH.
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