Publications by authors named "Lilit Kazazian"
A toolkit for planning and implementing acute febrile illness (AFI) surveillance.
PLOS Glob Public Health
April 2024
Acute febrile illness (AFI) is a broad clinical syndrome with a wide range of potential infectious etiologies. The lack of accessible, standardized approaches to conducting AFI etiologic investigations has contributed to significant global gaps in data on the epidemiology of AFI. Based on lessons learned from years of supporting AFI sentinel surveillance worldwide, the U.
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- Existing acute febrile illness (AFI) surveillance systems can be adapted to identify new diseases like COVID-19 by testing patients who show symptoms.
- The CDC worked with health ministries in five countries (Belize, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, and Peru) to integrate COVID-19 testing into their AFI systems from March 2020 to October 2021, enrolling over 5,500 patients.
- Testing results showed varying positivity rates for SARS-CoV-2 across countries, demonstrating that AFI surveillance can effectively enhance monitoring and response to emerging infectious diseases.
Article Synopsis
- Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a serious disease found in Kazakhstan, with a previously estimated 1.2% infection rate among livestock owners in certain regions.
- A study tested for the presence of CCHF virus in 521 sheep and 454 cattle across various villages, revealing seroprevalence rates of 5.7% in sheep and 22.5% in cattle, indicating higher risk in endemic areas.
- The findings suggest that the areas previously identified as nonendemic still pose a risk for CCHF transmission, highlighting the need for enhanced public health measures even in these regions.
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) spreads rapidly amongst residents of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The rapid transmission dynamics and high morbidity and mortality that occur in SNFs emphasize the need for early detection of cases. We hypothesized that residents of SNFs infected with SARS-CoV-2 would demonstrate an acute change in either temperature or oxygen saturation (SpO ) prior to symptom onset.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mosquito-borne viruses dengue (DENV), Zika (ZIKV), and chikungunya (CHIKV), now co-endemic in the Americas, pose growing threats to health worldwide. However, it remains unclear whether there exist interactions between these viruses that could shape their epidemiology. This study advances knowledge by assessing the transmission dynamics of co-circulating DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), can spread rapidly in high-risk congregate settings such as skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) (1). In Minnesota, SNF-associated cases accounted for 3,950 (8%) of 48,711 COVID-19 cases reported through July 21, 2020; 35% of SNF-associated cases involved health care personnel (HCP*), including six deaths. Facility-wide, serial testing in SNFs has been used to identify residents with asymptomatic and presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection to inform mitigation efforts, including cohorting of residents with positive test results and exclusion of infected HCP from the workplace (2,3).
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