Real-Time Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Oklahoma Wastewater through Allele-Specific RT-qPCR.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance was used to monitor community transmission of SARS-CoV-2. As new genetic variants emerged, the need for timely identification of these variants in wastewater became an important focus. In response to increased reports of Omicron transmission across the United States, the Oklahoma Wastewater Surveillance team utilized allele-specific RT-qPCR assays to detect and differentiate variants, such as Omicron, from other variants found in wastewater in Oklahoma.

The Impact of COVID-19 Fear on Mental Health of Community Behavioral Health Providers.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted communities worldwide. Behavioral health providers are at the forefront providing services and are thus vulnerable to psychological sequalae. This study hypothesizes that the fear of COVID-19 predicts depression and anxiety among these providers.

Determinants of Sporadic Shiga Toxin-Producing (STEC) Infection in Denmark, 2018-2020: A Matched Case-Control Study.

Infections with Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) are increasing in Denmark and elsewhere. STEC is also the most frequent cause of haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in Danish children. Most cases are considered sporadic, while approximately one-third can be attributed to a known source of infection.

Indirect Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Routine Childhood Vaccination in Low-Income Countries: A Systematic Review to Set the Scope for Future Pandemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic halted progress in global vaccine coverage and disrupted routine childhood vaccination practices worldwide. While there is ample evidence of the vaccination decline experienced during the pandemic, it is less clear how low-income countries were affected. We executed a systematic review to synthesize the current literature on the impacts of routine childhood vaccinations in low-income countries from 1 January 2020 to 8 February 2023.

Using Wastewater Surveillance to Monitor Gastrointestinal Pathogen Infections in the State of Oklahoma.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance was widely used to monitor temporal and geographical infection trends. Using this as a foundation, a statewide program for routine wastewater monitoring of gastrointestinal pathogens was established in Oklahoma. The results from 18 months of surveillance showed that wastewater concentrations of , and norovirus exhibit similar seasonal patterns to those observed in reported human cases (F = 4-29, < 0.

Fear of COVID-19 among nonsmokers and smokers/former smokers: Implications for health promotion practice.

Introduction: Fear of COVID-19 may differ for individuals with compromised health and those with unhealthy behaviors, placing them at greater risk. Based on previous analysis of academic medical center faculty and staff, the authors predicted that workers who were smokers/previous smokers would express the greater fear of COVID-19 relative to nonsmokers.

Methods: The present study used the Fear of COVID-19 Scale to assess fear among nonsmokers (n = 1,489) and smokers/previous smokers (n = 272) from a larger population of academic medical center members (N = 1,761).

Sex Differences between Medical Students in the Assessment of the Fear of COVID-19.

Background: Differing expressions of the fear of COVID-19 between men and women can potentially increase both immediate and long-term physical health risks. We predicted that women students would express greater fear of COVID-19. Methods: We used an Internet-delivered Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) to assess fear among men (n = 100) and women (n = 272) from a larger population of academic medical center members (n = 1761).

Characterization of persons with reported SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Oklahoma City tri-county area: Evidence from the first 12 months of transmission.

Background: To describe characteristics, hospitalization, and death for reported cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Oklahoma City tri-county area.

Methods: We extracted notified cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection for our study area and used descriptive statistics and modeling to examine case characteristics and calculate the odds of hospitalization and death in relation to a range of explanatory variables.

Results: Between March 12th, 2020 and February 28th, 2021, 124,925 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported from the study region.

Fear of COVID-19 among nonsmokers and smokers/former smokers: Implications for health promotion practice.

Introduction: Fear of COVID-19 may differ for individuals with compromised health and those with unhealthy behaviors, placing them at greater risk. Based on previous analysis of academic medical center faculty and staff, the authors predicted that workers who were smokers/previous smokers would express the greater fear of COVID-19 relative to nonsmokers.

Methods: The present study used the Fear of COVID-19 Scale to assess fear among nonsmokers (n = 1,489) and smokers/previous smokers (n = 272) from a larger population of academic medical center members (N = 1,761).

Antecedent Metabolic Health and Metformin (ANTHEM) Aging Study: Rationale and Study Design for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The antidiabetic medication metformin has been proposed to be the first drug tested to target aging and extend healthspan in humans. While there is extensive epidemiological support for the health benefits of metformin in patient populations, it is not clear if these protective effects apply to those free of age-related disease. Our previous data in older adults without diabetes suggest a dichotomous change in insulin sensitivity and skeletal muscle mitochondrial adaptations after metformin treatment when co-prescribed with exercise.

Predicting COVID-19 cases in diverse population groups using SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring across Oklahoma City.

SARS-CoV-2 was discovered among humans in late 2019 and rapidly spread across the world. Although the virus is transmitted by respiratory droplets, most infected persons also excrete viral particles in their feces. This fact prompted a range of studies assessing the usefulness of wastewater surveillance to determine levels of infection and transmission and produce early warnings of outbreaks in local communities, independently of human testing.

Standardizing data reporting in the research community to enhance the utility of open data for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance.

SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in wastewater is being rapidly developed and adopted as a public health monitoring tool worldwide. With wastewater surveillance programs being implemented across many different scales and by many different stakeholders, it is critical that data collected and shared are accompanied by an appropriate minimal amount of metainformation to enable meaningful interpretation and use of this new information source and intercomparison across datasets. While some databases are being developed for specific surveillance programs locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, common globally-adopted data standards have not yet been established within the research community.

Sexual Contact as Risk Factor for Campylobacter Infection, Denmark.

Campylobacteriosis is a disease of worldwide importance, but aspects of its transmission dynamics, particularly risk factors, are still poorly understood. We used data from a matched case-control study of 4,269 men who have sex with men (MSM) and 26,215 controls, combined with national surveillance data on Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp.

Investigating Outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium Using Case-Control Studies, with a Reference to the One Health Approach.

An outbreak is defined as the occurrence of disease cases in excess of normal expectancy within a particular area and a given time. Foodborne outbreaks caused by gastrointestinal bacteria such as Salmonella Typhimurium are among the most commonly reported and most extensively investigated. The classic outbreak investigation follows a series of well-defined steps which lead to a faster confirmation of the source and hopefully preventing of further cases.

Campylobacter infections expected to increase due to climate change in Northern Europe.

Global climate change is predicted to alter precipitation and temperature patterns across the world, affecting a range of infectious diseases and particularly foodborne infections such as Campylobacter. In this study, we used national surveillance data to analyse the relationship between climate and campylobacteriosis in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and estimate the impact of climate changes on future disease patterns. We show that Campylobacter incidences are linked to increases in temperature and especially precipitation in the week before illness, suggesting a non-food transmission route.

Season of Birth Impacts the Neonatal Nasopharyngeal Microbiota.

: Pathogenic airway bacteria colonizing the neonatal airway increase the risk of childhood asthma, but little is known about the determinants of the establishment and dynamics of the airway microbiota in early life. We studied associations between perinatal risk factors and bacterial richness of the commensal milieu in the neonatal respiratory tract. : Three hundred and twenty-eight children from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in the Childhood2000 (COPSAC2000) at-risk birth cohort were included in this study.

Whole-Genome Sequencing to Detect Numerous Campylobacter jejuni Outbreaks and Match Patient Isolates to Sources, Denmark, 2015-2017.

In industrialized countries, the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis is Campylobacter jejuni. However, outbreaks are rarely reported, which may reflect limitations of surveillance, for which molecular typing is not routinely performed. To determine the frequency of genetic clusters among patients and to find links to concurrent isolates from poultry meat, broiler chickens, cattle, pigs, and dogs, we performed whole-genome sequencing on 1,509 C.

Campylobacteriosis in the Nordic countries from 2000 to 2015: Trends in time and space.

This study aimed to describe the demographic and geographic patterns of campylobacteriosis in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden during 2000-2015. All infections notified to national authorities in the four countries during the study period were included. Background data for each notification consisted of patient age, sex, geographical location, presumed origin of infection and date of sample taken or date of sample received in the laboratory.

Determinants of sporadic infections in Denmark: a nationwide case-control study among children and young adults.

Background: Each year more than 4,000 cases of campylobacteriosis are reported in Denmark, making it the most common bacterial gastrointestinal infection. Here we describe a case-control study to identify sources of infection with a focus on environmental factors.

Methods: From January to December 2016, we conducted a prospective case-control study among Danish persons aged 1-30 years.

Fecal carriage of extended-spectrum and AmpC β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in surgical patients before and after antibiotic prophylaxis.

The impact of antibiotic prophylaxis on fecal carriage of ESBL-/AmpC-/carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) was investigated. Patients admitted for elective surgery or diagnostic procedure in a Department of Surgical Gastroenterology (SG) (n= 450) and Orthopedic Surgery (OS) (n= 300) provided a fecal swab at admission and responded to a questionnaire on possible exposures. SG patients received gentamicin/penicillin G (±metronidazole); OS patients received cefuroxime.

High consumption of tetracyclines for acne treatment among young Danish adults.

Background: Tetracyclines are used as acne treatment in adolescents worldwide. A large increase in the consumption of antimicrobial agents in Danish primary health care was recently linked to high levels of tetracycline use in adolescents.

Methods: Here we closely examine how demographic factors influenced tetracycline use from 2005 to 2014 using consumption data from primary health care expressed as defined daily doses (DDDs) per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID) and number of persons treated per 1000 inhabitants.

Detecting non-typhoid Salmonella in humans by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs): practical and epidemiological aspects.

Salmonellosis caused by non-typhoid Salmonella serotypes is one of the most common causes of food-borne illness throughout the world. The diagnosis is primarily by culture and more recently molecular methods, whereas the use of serological methods for diagnosis of Salmonella infections is limited by high running costs as well as low sensitivity and specificity. Fast and reliable immunoassays for detection of S.

Gastrointestinal illness among triathletes swimming in non-polluted versus polluted seawater affected by heavy rainfall, Denmark, 2010-2011.

Recent years have seen an increase in the frequency of extreme rainfall and subsequent flooding across the world. Climate change models predict that such flooding will become more common, triggering sewer overflows, potentially with increased risks to human health. In August 2010, a triathlon sports competition was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, shortly after an extreme rainfall.