Environmental sampling for SARS-CoV-2 at a reference laboratory and provincial hospital in central Viet Nam, 2020.

Objective: To determine whether environmental surface contamination with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) occurred at a provincial hospital in Viet Nam that admitted patients with novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and at the regional reference laboratory responsible for confirmatory testing for SARS-CoV-2 in 2020.

Methods: Environmental samples were collected from patient and staff areas at the hospital and various operational and staff areas at the laboratory. Specimens from frequently touched surfaces in all rooms were collected using a moistened swab rubbed over a 25 cm area for each surface.

A Neighbor-Based Approach to Identify Tuberculosis Exposure, the Kopanyo Study.

Contact investigation is one public health measure used to prevent tuberculosis by identifying and treating persons exposed to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Contact investigations are a major tenet of global tuberculosis elimination efforts, but for many reasons remain ineffective. We describe a novel neighbor-based approach to reframe contact investigations.

Free mass distribution of long lasting insecticidal nets lead to high levels of LLIN access and use in Madagascar, 2010: A cross-sectional observational study.

Background: Madagascar conducted the first two phases of a national free mass distribution campaign of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) during a political crisis in 2009 aiming to achieve coverage of two LLINs per household as part of the National Malaria Control Strategy. The campaign targeted households in 19 out of 91 total health districts.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional household survey using a three-stage cluster sample design was conducted four months post campaign to assess LLIN ownership, access and use.