Communicable Diseases - Science topic

Background: Environmental pollution poses serious threats to public health and contributes significantly to the spread of infectious diseases. This study examined the effects of air, water, and soil pollution on the incidence of infectious diseases while proposing preventive measures and relevant public policies. Methods: This systematic review was...

Infectious diseases are marked by recovering time distributions which can be far from the exponential one associated with Markovian/Poisson processes, broadly applied in epidemic models. In the present work, we tackled this problem by investigating a susceptible-infected-recovered-susceptible model on networks with η independent infectious compartm...

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including lockdown measures, by governments around the world has been informed by mathematical modelling. Broadly, these models look to gauge how well NPIs control disease transmission. Here we present a model that not only forecasts the effectiveness of NPIs in r...

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of social distancing to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. However, enforcing social distancing in public spaces with traditional methods, such as hiring workers or using robots to remind people, can be unwelcome. In this paper, we propose a new technique to help maintain social distancin...

Introduction Understanding sex and gender differences during outbreaks is critical to delivering an effective response. Although recommendations and minimum requirements exist, the incorporation of sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis into outbreak analytics and response for informed decision-making remains infrequent. A scoping review was co...

The circadian clock is an internal timekeeper system that regulates biological processes through a central circadian clock and peripheral clocks controlling various genes. Basic helix–loop–helix ARNT-like 1 (BMAL1), also known as aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like protein 1 (ARNTL1), is a key component of the circadian clock. The d...

On 14–15 November 2023, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) organized a workshop entitled “Systematic Approaches for ESKAPE Bacteria Antigen Discovery”. The goal of the workshop was to engage scientists from diverse relevant backgrounds to explore novel technologies that can be harnessed to identify and address current...

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant global health concern. In Afghanistan, the epidemiology of HCV is not well understood due to the prolonged conflict and a fragmented healthcare system. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of HCV among patients at the Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Kabul and analyze the demographic f...

Effective public health measures for communicable diseases rely on the ability to identify infectious individuals and prevent transmission from those individuals. For SARS-CoV-2, the presence of replication-competent virus in specimens from an individual is the gold standard for confirming infectiousness. However, viral culture from clinical specim...

The Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused massive changes in the medical field across the globe. As the whole world moved from in-person to remote activities, students found themselves in a predicament where they were compelled towards schooling and work online from home. This would mean that all projects, research, tests,...

Researchers are focusing on improving time series forecasting methods to address real-world problems like COVID-19. Current methods show decreased accuracy due to unpredictable seasonality, and enhancing models to handle long-term dependencies is crucial for better forecasting accuracy. This paper presents a Transformer self-attention based novel a...

The Post COVID-19 condition (PCC) is a complex disease affecting health and everyday functioning. This is well reflected by a patient’s inability to work (ITW). In this study, we aimed to investigate factors associated with ITW (1) and to design a machine learning-based model for predicting ITW (2) twelve months after baseline. We selected patients...

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and amodiaquine is recommended by the World Health Organization since 2012 for clinical malaria prevention in children in the Sahelian region of Africa. In Senegal, SMC implementation began in 2013 and is given to children under 10 years old. This study aimed to describe clinical...

This paper introduces a kinetic model of crowd evacuation from a bounded domain, integrating social behavior and contagion dynamics. The model describes the spatial movement of individuals in a crowd, taking into account interactions with other people and the geometry of the environment. Interactions between healthy and infectious individuals can l...

This paper delves into the application and prospects of bio-antibiotics and mRNA vaccines in preventing and treating bacterial infections and infectious diseases. Against the backdrop of the increasingly serious antibiotic resistance issue, the effectiveness of traditional antibiotic treatments is challenged, while bio-antibiotics and mRNA vaccines...

Background: Italy, particularly the northern region of Lombardy, has experienced very high rates of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Several indicators, i.e., the number of new positive cases, deaths and hospitalizations, have been used to monitor virus spread, but all suffer from biases. The aim of this study was to evaluate an alternative data source f...

Africa faces a significant burden of infectious diseases, yet existing disease surveillance systems are often inadequate in detecting and responding to outbreaks effectively. These systems, heavily reliant on manual processes and limited data collection methods, frequently result in delayed responses, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Su...

In biology and life sciences, fractal theory and fractional calculus have significant applications in simulating and understanding complex problems. In this paper, a compartmental model employing Caputo-type fractional and fractal-fractional operators is presented to analyze Nipah virus (NiV) dynamics and transmission. Initially, the model includes...

Background Infectious diseases, particularly parasitic infections such as toxoplasmosis, contribute significantly to the morbidity and mortality of hemodialysis patients. Toxoplasma gondii infection poses serious risks, especially to immunocompromised individuals. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis in dialysis patient...

Background Point of need diagnostics provide efficient testing capability for remote or austere locations, decreasing the time to answer by minimizing travel or sample transport requirements. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is an appealing technology for point-of-need diagnostics due to its rapid analysis time and minimal instrumentat...

From the Black Death to SARS to influenza A (H1N1), communicable diseases have always been among the uppermost problem endangering human health and have caused crises all over the world countless times. Practical relevance of a thorough knowledge of the transmission pathways and related mechanisms of infectious diseases are complex. Investigating t...

Description Suppose you buy a new washing machine. The manual tells you that the new machine is covered by a warranty for the first year. The manual also says that, on average, 10% of machines will need service in the first year. So, the absolute risk of the machine needing service in the first year is 10%. The risk of needing service in the first...

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency has represented a profound upheaval in the dynamics of infectious diseases transmission worldwide. This phenomenon has been at least in part driven by the introduction of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), implemented to counteract viral transmission. Our study aimed to assess the m...

Background and Objectives: Effective communicable disease notification is crucial for public health, enabling timely responses to outbreaks and control measures. At District General Hospital Gampaha (DGHG), delays in the notification process hinder effective surveillance. This study aimed to identify the root causes of these delays and recommend in...

This Special Issue focuses on the development of innovative drug delivery systems (DDSs) and pharmaceutical formulations to optimize the treatment of infectious diseases, with an emphasis on bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. It highlights advanced DDS technologies, including polymer-based systems, nanocarriers, and emerging platforms, aim...

Integrating prior epidemiological knowledge embedded within mechanistic models with the data-mining capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) offers transformative potential for epidemiological modeling. While the fusion of AI and traditional mechanistic approaches is rapidly advancing, efforts remain fragmented. This scoping review provides a c...

On 12 January 2024, Cabo Verde was officially certified by the WHO as a malaria-free country after six consecutive years without local transmission. This study analysed the malaria history of Cabo Verde from 1953 to certification in 2024, highlighted the valuable lessons learned, and discussed challenges for prevention reintroduction. Malaria data...

On February 6, 2023, a strong earthquake (7.8 Richter scale) shook southwestern Türkiye, and also affected areas in northwest Syria, resulting in over 50 000 fatalities and more than 100 000 injured in Türkiye, in addition to the displacement of approximately 3 million people. In response to an international request for assistance from the Turkish...

Background Preeclampsia is a severe, multisystem complication that affects 2%–5% of pregnancies, and is a leading cause of fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Preeclampsia may have devastating results on maternal health and may affect offspring's immediate and long‐term health. Previous studies have examined the impact of maternal...

Background Tropical cyclones pose significant health risks and can trigger outbreaks of diarrheal diseases in affected populations. Although the effects of individual hazards, such as rainfall and flooding, on diarrheal diseases are well-documented, the complex multihazard nature of tropical cyclones is less thoroughly explored. To date, no dedicat...

Background A growing body of research suggests a connection between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and prior infections, although the mechanisms are not well understood. We recently reported a significant association between a history of adult infections and smaller brain hippocampal volume (HV), a major biomarker of neurodegeneration, in female particip...

Background Prior to formulating an effective national dementia plan in Vietnam, reliable information on current situation of dementia care, treatment and support in Vietnam was needed. This study was conducted to describe Vietnam’s response to dementia at three levels: individual (consumers and providers); health and social care organisations; and...

Purpose of Review Agent-based modelling (ABM) is a robust computational tool for investigating the dynamics of infectious disease spread and evaluating intervention strategies. This review paper gives an overview of the recent literature on ABM applications in predicting and simulating the spread of infectious diseases in populations. Recent Findi...

The comprehensive adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) offers numerous benefits but also introduces risks of privacy leakage, particularly for patients with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) who need protection from social secondary harm. Despite advancements in privacy protection research, the effectiveness of these strategies in real...

This text is a Spanish translation of the following article: "Assessing the Incidence of Symptomatic Respiratory Syncytial Virus Illness Within a Prospective Birth Cohort in Managua, Nicaragua." It was published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America on July 29, 2019: https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciz585 Encontramos...

The outbreak of novel infectious diseases presents major public health challenges, highlighting the urgency of accelerating vaccination efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality. Vaccine allocation has become a crucial societal concern. This paper introduces a dynamic vaccine allocation model that considers demand uncertainty and vaccination willin...

Background The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is a disease with diverse effects on multiple organ systems, leading to varying presentations and severe complications. As the pandemic progresses, the challenges faced by those who recovered from the disease evolved as various coping strategies were adopted post recovery. Aim This study investigated t...

Biosensors have revolutionized the diagnosis of infectious diseases in livestock by offering sensitive and rapid detection methods for important pathogens. These devices, particularly luciferase-based biosensors, convert biological responses into quantifiable signals, enabling the real-time, non-invasive monitoring of critical biomarkers. This revi...

Introduction In the pediatric setting, overprescribing of antibiotics contributes to the rise of multidrug-resistant organisms. Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are recommended to optimize antibiotic use and combat resistance. However, the implementation of ASPs in low- and middle-income countries faces several challenges. This study aimed...

Introduction Multiplex antigen near-patient tests (NPTs) can detect multiple virus-specific antigens during acute infection. This project aimed to provide an overview of evidence on the effectiveness, advantages and disadvantages, and feasibility of multiplex antigen NPTs to identify common respiratory pathogens (including SARS-CoV-2 and one or bot...

Background Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat to public health. Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT®) is a language model tool based on artificial intelligence. ChatGPT® could analyze data from antimicrobial susceptibility tests in real time, especially in places where infectious diseases (ID) specialists are not available. We...

North-western Nigeria is a climate-vulnerable area characterized by seasonal rainfall and hot weather. The region is faced with various challenges, including inadequate water supply, making sanitation practice the topic of discussion among various stakeholders in the environmental and public health sectors. The aim of this paper is to review the...

Yersinia pestis, a Gram-negative bacterium is the causative agent of the fatal communicable disease plague. The disease had a profound impact on human history. Plague bacteria are usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected rat flea. Earlier studies have indicated that Y. pestis can survive in environmental matrices e.g. water and...

Background. Clesrovimab is an investigational monoclonal antibody with an extended half-life targeting site IV of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) fusion protein for the prevention of RSV disease in infants. Methods. In this phase 1b/2a, double-blind study, 183 healthy preterm and full-term infants 2 weeks to 8 months of age were randomized 4:...

Objective The artificial liver support system (ALSS) has been recruited as an available method for patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), but its impact on the outcome of ACLF remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the association between ALSS treatment and short-term prognosis of hepatitis B-related ACLF (HBV-ACLF)....

Medscape Now! Hot Topics in Infectious Disease December 2024

Bullous type 2 lepra reactions are a rare initial presentation in leprosy that can complicate the disease with vesiculo‐bullous lesions. Early recognition and differentiation from other bullous disorders are critical for timely corticosteroid and multidrug therapy initiation to improve patient outcomes.

Background The practical application of infectious disease emergency plans in mental health institutions during the ongoing pandemic has revealed significant shortcomings. These manifest as chaotic management of mental health care, a lack of hospital infection prevention and control (IPC) knowledge among medical staff, and unskilled practical opera...

Reviewer Certificate This certificate is awarded to in recognition of their contribution to Dr. Wadhah Edrees 1 manuscript in 2025 for BMC Infectious Diseases.

Reviewer Certificate This certificate is awarded to in recognition of their contribution to Dr. Wadhah Edrees 2 manuscript in 2025 for BMC Infectious Diseases.

Objectives Microbial threats pose a growing concern worldwide. This paper reports the analysis of Iran’s policy process against microbial threats. Design This is a qualitative study. Participants We interviewed 16 purposefully identified key informants selected through snowball sampling. Setting Through the lens of stages heuristic framework, we...

Background: In Cox's Bazar’s Rohingya camps, pregnant Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs) face severe health challenges due to overcrowding, poor sanitation, and limited healthcare access. These issues, exacerbated by poor mental health, contribute significantly to the spread of communicable diseases, making the situation critical for preg...

Immune events such as infection, vaccination, and a combination of the two result in distinct time-dependent antibody responses in affected individuals. These responses and event prevalence combine non-trivially to govern antibody levels sampled from a population. Time-dependence and disease prevalence pose considerable modeling challenges that nee...

Introduction Vaccination is an important way to prevent disease, but vaccine hesitancy will impact vaccine coverage and indirectly affect health. This study aims to survey the status of vaccine hesitancy among adults in Jinan. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using the vaccine hesitancy scale among the parents of children and teenager...

There is a growing tendency in global discourse to describe a health issue as a security issue. But why is this health security language and framing necessary during times of crisis? Why is the term “health security” used when perhaps simply saying “public health” would do? As reference to ‘health security’ grows in contemporary discourse, research...

Inter-city interactions are critical for the transmission of infectious diseases, yet their effects on the scaling of disease cases remain largely underexplored. Here, we use the commuting network as a proxy for inter-city interactions, integrating it with a general scaling framework to describe the incidence of seven infectious diseases across Bra...

Polymorphisms in the MBL2 gene exon 1 can decrease serum levels of mannose-binding lectin (MBL), increasing the risk of infection in immunocompromised individuals. This study evaluated the association between the polymorphism in exon 1 of the MBL2 gene, genotypes, serum MBL levels, and infection in 122 patients with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL). T...

Helicobacter pylori, a type 1 carcinogen that causes human gastric ulcers and cancer, is a priority target of the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID). These efforts include determining the structures of potential H. pylori therapeutic targets. Here, the purification, crystallization and X-ray structure of one such tar...

About 13.7 million people died worldwide from infectious diseases in 2019 which accounts for one fifth of all annual deaths. Infectious diseases are caused by microbes (i.e. bacteria, fungi, viruses)...

Introduction: Palestine is facing an epidemiological transformation that affects its health to the major health diseases of Non communicable diseases (NCDs) and the majority of mortality rates. The aim to know the contextualize the research requirements and prevention for Non communicable diseases (NCDs) Method: using both systematic and other lite...

Plasmodium vivax , a significant contributor to global malaria cases, poses an escalating health burden on a substantial portion of the world's population. The increasing spread of P. vivax because of climate change underscores the development of new and rational drug-discovery approaches. The Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disea...

Introduction: antimicrobial resistance is a serious public health problem in many countries around the world and one of the greatest threats to current medicine, and the “One Health” approach is a key piece to address this problem. Objective: to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational strategy to raise awareness about antimicrobial resistance...