| 1. |
- Ahlm, Clas, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of serum IgG antibodies to Puumala virus (haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome) in northern Sweden.
- 1994
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 113:1, s. 129-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A stratified and randomly-selected population sample was identified in 1990 in order to study the seroprevalence of nephropathia epidemica (haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome) in Northern Sweden. Sera from 1538 subjects (750 men, 788 women), 25-64 years of age, were analysed for the presence of Puumala virus (PUV) specific-IgG by the indirect immunofluorescence antibody test. Specific IgG was detected in sera from 83 subjects (5.4%). Men and women had similar seroprevalence rates. The highest seroprevalences were found in subjects 55 years or older (8.0%) and among farmers and forestry workers (15.9%). The geographic distribution of seropositive individuals was uneven and there were significantly more seropositive persons in rural than in urban areas (P < 0.05).
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| 2. |
- Ahlm, Clas, et al.
(författare)
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Seroprevalence of Sindbis virus and associated risk factors in northern Sweden
- 2014
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 142:7, s. 1559-1565
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mosquito-borne Sindbis virus (SINV) cause disease characterized by rash, fever and arthritis which often leads to long-lasting arthralgia. To determine the seroprevalence of SINV and associated risk factors in northern Sweden, a randomly selected population aged between 25 and 74 years were invited to join the MONICA study. Serum from 1611 samples were analysed for specific IgG antibodies. Overall, 2·9% had IgG against SINV. More men (3·7%) than women (2·0%) were SINV seropositive (P = 0·047) and it was more common in subjects with a lower educational level (P = 0·013) and living in small, rural communities (P < 0·001). Seropositivity was associated with higher waist circumference (P = 0·1), elevated diastolic blood pressure (P = 0·037), and history of a previous stroke (P = 0·011). In a multiple logistic regression analysis, adjusting for known risk factors for stroke, seropositivity for SINV was an independent predictor of having had a stroke (odds ratio 4·3, 95% confidence interval 1·4–13·0,P = 0·011).
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| 3. |
- Alqahtani, F. Y., et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of comorbidities in cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus : a retrospective study
- 2019
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 147
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a life-threatening respiratory disease with a high case fatality rate; however, its risk factors remain unclear. We aimed to explore the influence of demographic factors, clinical manifestations and underlying comorbidities on mortality in MERS-CoV patients. Retrospective chart reviews were performed to identify all laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS-COV infection in Saudi Arabia that were reported to the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia between 23 April 2014 and 7 June 2016. Statistical analyses were conducted to assess the effect of sex, age, clinical presentation and comorbidities on mortality from MERS-CoV. A total of 281 confirmed MERS-CoV cases were identified: 167 (59.4%) patients were male and 55 (20%) died. Mortality predominantly occurred among Saudi nationals and older patients and was significantly associated with respiratory failure and shortness of breath. Of the 281 confirmed cases, 160 (56.9%) involved comorbidities, wherein diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease and chronic kidney disease were significantly associated with mortality from MERS-CoV and two or three comorbidities significantly affected the fatality rates from MERS-CoV. The findings of this study show that old age and the existence of underlying comorbidities significantly increase mortality from MERS-CoV.
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| 4. |
- Amaku, M, et al.
(författare)
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Magnitude and frequency variations of vector-borne infection outbreaks using the Ross-Macdonald model : explaining and predicting outbreaks of dengue fever
- 2016
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 144:16, s. 3435-3450
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The classical Ross-Macdonald model is often utilized to model vector-borne infections; however, this model fails on several fronts. First, using measured (or estimated) parameters, which values are accepted from the literature, the model predicts a much greater number of cases than what is usually observed. Second, the model predicts a single large outbreak that is followed by decades of much smaller outbreaks, which is not consistent with what is observed. Usually towns or cities report a number of recurrences for many years, even when environmental changes cannot explain the disappearance of the infection between the peaks. In this paper, we continue to examine the pitfalls in modelling this class of infections, and explain that, if properly used, the Ross-Macdonald model works and can be used to understand the patterns of epidemics and even, to some extent, be used to make predictions. We model several outbreaks of dengue fever and show that the variable pattern of yearly recurrence (or its absence) can be understood and explained by a simple Ross-Macdonald model modified to take into account human movement across a range of neighbourhoods within a city. In addition, we analyse the effect of seasonal variations in the parameters that determine the number, longevity and biting behaviour of mosquitoes. Based on the size of the first outbreak, we show that it is possible to estimate the proportion of the remaining susceptible individuals and to predict the likelihood and magnitude of the eventual subsequent outbreaks. This approach is described based on actual dengue outbreaks with different recurrence patterns from some Brazilian regions.
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| 5. |
- Andersson, T, et al.
(författare)
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Syndromic surveillance for local outbreak detection and awareness : evaluating outbreak signals of acute gastroenteritis in telephone triage, web-based queries and over-the-counter pharmacy sales
- 2014
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 142:2, s. 303-313
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For the purpose of developing a national system for outbreak surveillance, local outbreak signals were compared in three sources of syndromic data - telephone triage of acute gastroenteritis, web queries about symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, and over-the-counter (OTC) pharmacy sales of antidiarrhoeal medication. The data sources were compared against nine known waterborne and foodborne outbreaks in Sweden in 2007-2011. Outbreak signals were identified for the four largest outbreaks in the telephone triage data and the two largest outbreaks in the data on OTC sales of antidiarrhoeal medication. No signals could be identified in the data on web queries. The signal magnitude for the fourth largest outbreak indicated a tenfold larger outbreak than officially reported, supporting the use of telephone triage data for situational awareness. For the two largest outbreaks, telephone triage data on adult diarrhoea provided outbreak signals at an early stage, weeks and months in advance, respectively, potentially serving the purpose of early event detection. In conclusion, telephone triage data provided the most promising source for surveillance of point-source outbreaks.
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| 6. |
- Aspán, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Microarray-based detection of virulence genes in verotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains from Swedish cattle
- 2011
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 139, s. 1088-1096
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) serotype O157:H7 strains from a Swedish cattle prevalence study (n=32), and livestock-derived strains linked to human disease (n=13), were characterized by microarray and PCR detection of virulence genes. The overall aim of the study was to investigate the distribution of known virulence determinants and determine which genes are linked to increased pathogenicity in humans. A core set of 18 genes or gene variants were found in all strains, while seven genes were variably present. This suggests that the majority of VTEC O157:H7 found in Swedish cattle carry a broad repertoire of virulence genes and should be considered potentially harmful to humans. A single virulence gene type was significantly associated with strains linked to human disease cases (P=0.012), but no genetic trait to explain the increased virulence of this genotype could be found.
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| 7. |
- Ayukekbong, James A., et al.
(författare)
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Monitoring of seasonality of norovirus and other enteric viruses in Cameroon by real-time PCR : an exploratory study
- 2014
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - : Cambridge University Press. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 142:7, s. 1393-1402
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the seasonal fluctuation of norovirus and other enteric viruses in Cameroon. Two hundred participants aged between 1 and 69 years were prospectively followed up. Each participant provided monthly faecal samples over a 12-month period. A total of 2484 samples were tested using multiplex real-time PCR assay for the detection of norovirus, rotavirus and enterovirus. The effect of weather variables and risk factors were analysed by Pearson correlation and bivariate analysis. Overall, enterovirus was the most commonly detected virus (216% of specimens), followed by norovirus (39%) and rotavirus (04%). Norovirus and enterovirus were detected throughout the year with a peak of norovirus detection at the beginning of the rainy season and a significant alternation of circulation of norovirus genogroups from one month to the next. Age <5 years and consumption of tap water were risk factors for norovirus infection. Better understanding of factors influencing transmission and seasonality may provide insights into the relationship between physical environment and risk of infection for these viruses.
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| 8. |
- Ayukekbong, James, et al.
(författare)
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Monitoring of seasonality of norovirus and other enteric viruses in Cameroon by real-time PCR: an exploratory study
- 2014
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - : Cambridge University Press (CUP). - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 142:7, s. 1393-1402
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the seasonal fluctuation of norovirus and other enteric viruses in Cameroon. Two hundred participants aged between 1 and 69 years were prospectively followed up. Each participant provided monthly faecal samples over a 12-month period. A total of 2484 samples were tested using multiplex real-time PCR assay for the detection of norovirus, rotavirus and enterovirus. The effect of weather variables and risk factors were analysed by Pearson correlation and bivariate analysis. Overall, enterovirus was the most commonly detected virus (216% of specimens), followed by norovirus (39%) and rotavirus (04%). Norovirus and enterovirus were detected throughout the year with a peak of norovirus detection at the beginning of the rainy season and a significant alternation of circulation of norovirus genogroups from one month to the next. Age <5 years and consumption of tap water were risk factors for norovirus infection. Better understanding of factors influencing transmission and seasonality may provide insights into the relationship between physical environment and risk of infection for these viruses.
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| 9. |
- Backhans, Annette, et al.
(författare)
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Application of multiblock modelling to identify key drivers for antimicrobial use in pig production in four European countries
- 2018
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 146, s. 1003-1014
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antimicrobial use in pig farming is influenced by a range of risk factors, including herd characteristics, biosecurity level, farm performance, occurrence of clinical signs and vaccination scheme, as well as farmers' attitudes and habits towards antimicrobial use. So far, the effect of these risk factors has been explored separately. Using an innovative method called multi-block partial least-squares regression, this study aimed to investigate, in a sample of 207 farrow-to-finish farms from Belgium, France, Germany and Sweden, the relative importance of the six above mentioned categories or 'blocks' of risk factors for antimicrobial use in pig production, Four country separate models were developed; they showed that all six blocks provided useful contribution to explaining antimicrobial use in at least one country. The occurrence of clinical signs, especially of respiratory and nervous diseases in fatteners, was one of the largest contributing blocks in all four countries, whereas the effect of the other Mocks differed between countries. In terms of risk management, it suggests that a holistic and country-specific mitigation strategy is likely to he more effective. However, further research is needed to validate our findings in larger and more representative samples, as well as in other countries.
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| 10. |
- Backhans, Annette, et al.
(författare)
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Occurrence of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in small wild rodents
- 2011
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Ingår i: Epidemiology and Infection. - 0950-2688 .- 1469-4409. ; 139, s. 1230-1238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rodents are a potential source of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis. In order to study this, 190 rodents were captured and sampled on seven pig farms (n = 110), five chicken farms (n = 55) and six other locations (n = 25) in Sweden. Pigs from three of the pig farms were also sampled (n = 60). Pathogenic Y. enterocolitica was detected by TaqMan PCR in about 5% of rodent samples and 18% of pig samples. Only rodents caught on pig farms tested positive for the pathogen. Y. enterocolitica bioserotype 4/O:3 strains isolated from the rodent and pig samples were compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and revealed a high degree of similarity, which was confirmed by random amplified polymorphic DNA. Y. pseudotuberculosis was only detected in one rodent sample. Thus, rodents may be vectors for the transmission of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica to pigs, acting as carriers rather than a reservoir, and should therefore remain an important issue in hygiene control measures on farms.
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