Increased Mortality Among Persons With Symptomatic Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) During the Period of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B.1.617.2 (Delta Variant) Predominance: Alaska, November 2020-October 2021.

We compared the mortality risk in Alaska among persons with symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the period the Delta variant was predominant to the risk among those with symptomatic COVID-19 before Delta predominance. The Delta period was associated with 2.43-fold higher odds of death.

Trial of Three Rounds of Mass Azithromycin Administration for Yaws Eradication.

Background: subspecies causes yaws. Strategies to better control, eliminate, and eradicate yaws are needed.

Methods: In an open-label, cluster-randomized, community-based trial conducted in a yaws-endemic area of Papua New Guinea, we randomly assigned 38 wards (i.

Airport Traveler Testing Program for SARS-CoV-2 - Alaska, June-November 2020.

Travel can facilitate SARS-CoV-2 introduction. To reduce introduction of SARS-CoV-2 infections, the state of Alaska implemented a program on June 6, 2020, for arriving air, sea, and road travelers that required either molecular testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, or a 14-day self-quarantine after arrival. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) used weekly standardized reports submitted by 10 participating Alaska airports to evaluate air traveler choices to undergo testing or self-quarantine, traveler test results, and airport personnel experiences while implementing the program.

Insights from quantitative and mathematical modelling on the proposed 2030 goals for Yaws.

The World Health Organization is currently developing 2030 goals for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). In these, yaws has been targeted for eradication by 2030, with 50% of member states certified free of yaws transmission by 2023. Here we summarise the yaws modelling literature and discuss the proposed goal and strategy.

Spatial-temporal clustering analysis of yaws on Lihir Island, Papua New Guinea to enhance planning and implementation of eradication programs.

Background: In the global program for the eradication of yaws, assessments of the prevalence of the disease are used to decide where to initiate mass treatment. However, the smallest administrative unit that should be used as the basis for making decisions is not clear. We investigated spatial and temporal clustering of yaws to help inform the choice of implementation unit.

Haemophilus ducreyi DNA is detectable on the skin of asymptomatic children, flies and fomites in villages of Papua New Guinea.

Background: Haemophilus ducreyi and Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue are major causes of leg ulcers in children in Africa and the Pacific Region. We investigated the presence of DNA (PCR positivity) from these bacteria on asymptomatic people, flies, and household linens in an endemic setting.

Novel Ordered Stepped-Wedge Cluster Trial Designs for Detecting Ebola Vaccine Efficacy Using a Spatially Structured Mathematical Model.

Background: During the 2014 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, policy-makers were confronted with difficult decisions on how best to test the efficacy of EVD vaccines. On one hand, many were reluctant to withhold a vaccine that might prevent a fatal disease from study participants randomized to a control arm. On the other, regulatory bodies called for rigorous placebo-controlled trials to permit direct measurement of vaccine efficacy prior to approval of the products.

Time From Infection to Disease and Infectiousness for Ebola Virus Disease, a Systematic Review.

We systematically reviewed the literature to estimate the incubation and latent periods of Ebola virus disease. We found limited epidemiological data from individuals with discrete 1-day exposures. Available data suggest that the incubation and latent periods may differ, and mathematical models may be improved by distinguishing between the two periods.

Association with pathogenic bacteria affects life-history traits and population growth in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Determining the relationship between individual life-history traits and population dynamics is an essential step to understand and predict natural selection. Model organisms that can be conveniently studied experimentally at both levels are invaluable to test the rich body of theoretical literature in this area. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, despite being a well-established workhorse in genetics, has only recently received attention from ecologists and evolutionary biologists, especially with respect to its association with pathogenic bacteria.