Human viral pathogens are a major public health threat. Reliable information that accurately describes and characterizes the global occurrence and transmission of human viruses is essential to support national and global priority setting, public health actions, and treatment decisions. However, large areas of the globe are currently without surveillance due to limited health care infrastructure and lack of international cooperation. We propose a novel surveillance strategy, using metagenomic analysis of toilet material from international air flights as a method for worldwide viral disease surveillance. The aim of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a method for viral analysis of airplane toilet waste enabling simultaneous detection and quantification of a wide range of human viral pathogens. Toilet waste from 19 international airplanes was analyzed for viral content, using viral capture probes followed by high-throughput sequencing. Numerous human pathogens were detected including enteric and respiratory viruses. Several geographic trends were observed with samples originating from South Asia having significantly higher viral species richness as well as higher abundances of salivirus A, aichivirus A and enterovirus B, compared to samples originating from North Asia and North America. In addition, certain city specific trends were observed, including high numbers of rotaviruses in airplanes departing from Islamabad. Based on this study we believe that central sampling and analysis at international airports could be a useful supplement for global viral surveillance, valuable for outbreak detection and for guiding public health resources.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6331095 | PMC |
| http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0210368 | PLOS |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Improving Access to Hygiene, Sanitation, and Drinking Water in King County and Beyond: Success Factors and Costs.
J Public Health Manag Pract
October 2024
Author Affiliations: Public Health - Seattle and King County, Washington.
Context: Most major urban areas in the US, including Seattle and King County, have a long-standing lack of public restrooms, handwashing stations, and drinking water, presenting public health risks.
Objective: To aid decision-makers in expanding access, we review available information regarding successful hygiene programs in urban settings to identify shared characteristics and costs.
Design: We reviewed 10 journal articles, 49 news articles, and 54 pieces of gray literature including reports, white papers, and online resources describing real-world hygiene, sanitation, and drinking water programs in US and global urban settings.
Surveillance of public health pathogens in Lagos wastewater canals: a cross-sectional study.
BMC Public Health
December 2024
Center for Human Virology and Genomics, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Background: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is already being adopted for the surveillance of health conditions of communities and shows great potential for the monitoring of infectious pathogens of public health importance. There is however paucity of robust data to support extensive WBE in Nigeria. This study evaluated the prevalence of clinically relevant infectious pathogens and provided antimicrobial resistance profiles of bacteria pathogens in wastewater canals in Lagos State at a single point in time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiarrhea and associated factors among under-five children in open defecation free and open defecation rural households of Degem district, Oromia, Ethiopia.
Front Public Health
December 2024
Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Salale University, Fitche, Ethiopia.
Introduction: Diarrheal diseases are the top cause of preventable death, particularly among children under the age of five in developing countries like Ethiopia. Despite the national level of latrine coverage being 61%, diarrhea is responsible for the deaths of half a million children under 5 years annually. Therefore, this study aimed to assess diarrhea and its associated factors among children in open defecation free (ODF) and open defecation (OD) households of Degem district, Oromia, Ethiopia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater, sanitation, and hygiene in selected health facilities in Ethiopia: risks for healthcare acquired antimicrobial-resistant infections.
Front Public Health
December 2024
Center for Food Science and Nutrition, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Background: Inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in health facilities, and the low adherence to infection control protocols can increase the risk of hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections (HAIs). The risk for HAIs can increase morbidity, and mortality, health care cost, but also contribute to increased microbial resistance.
Objectives: The study aimed to assess WASH facilities and practices, and levels of nosocomial pathogens in selected health facilities in Oromia Region and Southern, Nations and Nationalities and Peoples (SNNPs) Region.
Proteinase K impact on anaerobic co-digestion of modified biodegradable plastic and food waste: Step-by-step analysis with microorganism.
Bioresour Technol
December 2024
Institute of New Rural Development, School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China; Key Laboratory of Rural Toilet and Sewage Treatment Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai 201804, PR China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, PR China. Electronic address:
This study was designed to explore the key impact of Proteinase K (PK) on every step of anaerobic co-digestion. The results of step-by-step experiments indicated that PK promoted the hydrolysis of biodegradable plastic by initiating self-hydrolysis reactions, directly promoting the hydrolysis step of anaerobic co-digestion. Subsequently, PK indirectly promoted the acidogenesis and acetogenesis steps by impacting the proliferation of acid-producing bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!