Snakebite incidence and healthcare-seeking behaviors in Eastern Province, Rwanda: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Snakebite envenoming (SBE) is a potentially life-threatening event that can lead to severe physical, mental, and economic hardships, particularly in under-resourced regions like sub-Saharan Africa. In Rwanda, there have been no epidemiological assessments of SBE to guide the Ministry of Health in its efforts to reduce the burden. This study had two main objectives: first, to estimate the incidence of snakebites across districts, and second, to describe formal versus informal healthcare seeking behaviors among snakebite victims in Eastern Province, Rwanda in 2020.

"I sold my towel and shoes to pay the traditional healer": Care-seeking costs and productivity losses among snakebite victims in Eastern Province, Rwanda.

Snakebite envenomation (SBE) is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and generally over-represented in rural, remote, and impoverished agricultural communities. While poverty is an established risk factor, little research has been done to investigate the economic consequences of SBE. This cross-sectional, quantitative study aimed to measure out-of-pocket spending and lost income when a household member was bitten by a snake.

The World Health Organization's public health intelligence activities during the COVID-19 pandemic response, December 2019 to December 2021.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) presented a unique opportunity for the World Health Organization (WHO) to utilise public health intelligence (PHI) for pandemic response. WHO systematically captured mainly unstructured information (e.g.

Routine HIV testing in acute care hospitals: Changing practice to curb a local HIV epidemic in Vancouver, BC.

Early treatment of HIV infection increases life expectancy and reduces infectivity; however, delayed HIV diagnosis remains common. Implementation and sustainability of hospital-based routine HIV testing in Vancouver, British Columbia, was evaluated to address a local HIV epidemic by facilitating earlier diagnosis and treatment. Public health issued a recommendation in 2011 to offer HIV testing to all patients presenting to three Vancouver hospitals as part of routine care, including all patients admitted to medical/surgical units with expansion to emergency departments (ED).

Community Participatory Interventions to Improve Farmer Knowledge and Practices of Household Biogas Unit Operation in Ha Nam Province, Vietnam.

Context: The use of biogas systems to treat livestock waste is a common practice in Vietnam. However, farmers' knowledge and practices of the safe and appropriate use of household biogas units (HBUs) are still limited and could negatively impact human, animal, and environmental health.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of an intervention to improve knowledge and practices of biogas operation among farmers in 2 communes of Ha Nam Province, Vietnam.

Turning poop into profit: Cost-effectiveness and soil transmitted helminth infection risk associated with human excreta reuse in Vietnam.

Human excreta is a low cost source of nutrients vital to plant growth, but also a source of pathogens transmissible to people and animals. We investigated the cost-savings and infection risk of soil transmitted helminths (STHs) in four scenarios where farmers used either inorganic fertilizer or fresh/composted human excreta supplemented by inorganic fertilizer to meet the nutrient requirements of rice paddies in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Our study included two main components: 1) a risk estimate of STH infection for farmers who handle fresh excreta, determined by systematic review and meta-analysis; and 2) a cost estimate of fertilizing rice paddies, determined by nutrient assessment of excreta, a retailer survey of inorganic fertilizer costs, and a literature review to identify region-specific inputs.

Household Exposure to Livestock and Health in the CHILILAB HDSS Cohort, Vietnam.

In Vietnam, pigs and poultry are predominantly produced by small-scale farmers, creating challenges for zoonotic disease management. The objective of this study was to characterize practices related to livestock and manure management and to measure association with 3 self-reported health symptoms (coughing, fever, and diarrhea/nausea/vomiting) in a region currently undergoing health transitions. We analyzed cross-sectional survey data collected from a subset (N = 5520) of the Chi Linh Health and Demographic Surveillance System cohort in Chi Linh district, Vietnam.

Hypoxemia-induced leptin secretion: a mechanism for the control of food intake in diseased fish.

Leptin is a potent anorexigen, but little is known about the physiological conditions under which this cytokine regulates food intake in fish. In this study, we characterized the relationships between food intake, O2-carrying capacity, liver leptin-A1 (lep-a1) gene expression, and plasma leptin-A1 in rainbow trout infected with a pathogenic hemoflagellate, Cryptobia salmositica. As lep gene expression is hypoxia-sensitive and Cryptobia-infected fish are anemic, we hypothesized that Cryptobia-induced anorexia is mediated by leptin.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of pasteurization on milk vitamins, and evidence for raw milk consumption and other health-related outcomes.

Pasteurization of milk ensures safety for human consumption by reducing the number of viable pathogenic bacteria. Although the public health benefits of pasteurization are well established, pro-raw milk advocate organizations continue to promote raw milk as "nature's perfect food." Advocacy groups' claims include statements that pasteurization destroys important vitamins and that raw milk consumption can prevent and treat allergies, cancer, and lactose intolerance.