7,418 results match your criteria: "Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute[Affiliation]"

Article Synopsis
  • * Out of 1,032 participants, 3.3% died during treatment and 8.7% after, with a median death time of 21 months post-TB treatment, particularly within the first 3 years.
  • * Those with HIV co-infection had a significantly higher risk of post-TB mortality (almost four times higher) compared to those without HIV, highlighting the need for better care for TB patients with comorbidities.
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Respiratory and allergic outcomes among farmworkers exposed to pesticides in Costa Rica.

Sci Total Environ

December 2024

Center for Environmental Research and Community Health (CERCH), School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.

Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted among 299 farmworkers in Costa Rica to investigate the impact of pesticide exposure on respiratory and allergic health outcomes.
  • Researchers used questionnaires and urine samples to measure pesticide biomarkers and assess symptoms over the past year, employing complex statistical models.
  • Results indicated that specific pesticide metabolites, particularly those from organophosphates and fungicides, were linked to higher risks of asthma and rhinitis, with some herbicides showing negative associations, suggesting a complex relationship between pesticide exposure and health.
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Assessing different next-generation sequencing technologies for wastewater-based epidemiology.

Water Res

December 2024

Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland; SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • * The study evaluated different sequencing methods (Illumina Novaseq 6000, Element Aviti, ONT R9.4.1 MinION, and ONT R9.4.1 Flongle) using wastewater samples to determine which technology provides the best data for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variants.
  • * Results indicated that while ONT Nanopore sequencing has higher error rates which can affect accuracy, all sequencing methods are suitable for tracking variants, each presenting unique advantages related to cost, speed, and precision.
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Article Synopsis
  • Malaria is a significant health threat, especially to young children in sub-Saharan Africa, and developing predictive models using empirical dynamic modeling (EDM) can help address resource allocation and planning challenges.
  • The study utilized data from 2008 to 2022, applying convergent cross-mapping to analyze the effects of climatic factors and intervention strategies (like bed net use) on malaria incidence at a hospital in Kenya.
  • Results showed that higher land surface temperature and wind speed, along with increased bed net usage, were linked to lower malaria cases, while higher rainfall and humidity contributed to increased incidence, demonstrating the importance of specific climatic conditions in forecasting malaria outbreaks.
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Trichuris trichiura is one of four soil-transmitted helminth species that, collectively, are responsible for a considerable public health burden. The World Health Organization recommends preventive chemotherapy as the main intervention to eliminate soil-transmitted helminthiasis as a public health problem. Clinical trials estimated the efficacy of different drugs and treatment regimen against T.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how daily rainfall characteristics—like intensity, duration, and frequency—affect mortality rates from all causes, cardiovascular issues, and respiratory problems across 34 countries from 1980 to 2020.
  • It utilizes a time series analysis to evaluate the association between daily mortality and rainfall events that occur at different return periods (one, two, and five years), including the effects of extreme rainfall with a 14-day lag.
  • The results indicate that extreme rainfall events (five-year return period) correlate with increased mortality rates, particularly for respiratory cases, while moderate rainfall shows protective effects, and the impact varies based on climate and vegetation.
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Persistent depression in pregnant refugee and migrant women living along the Thai-Myanmar Border: a secondary qualitative analysis.

Wellcome Open Res

March 2024

Shoklo Malaria Research Unit, Oxford Tropical Medical Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Mae Sot, 63100, Thailand.

Article Synopsis
  • Antepartum depression affects 15% of pregnant women globally and can negatively impact their children's development, with refugee and migrant women, particularly those on the Thai-Myanmar border, facing unique barriers to diagnosis and care.
  • This study analyzed interviews from 32 women diagnosed with persistent antepartum depression to identify factors that contribute to or protect against their mental health challenges.
  • Key contributing factors included financial issues, interpersonal violence, and poor health, while protective factors revolved around social support, accessible healthcare, and distractions, emphasizing the importance of addressing these areas in resource-limited settings.
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Article Synopsis
  • Schistosomiasis is a significant public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, linked to poverty and environmental conditions; this study aimed to assess the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni and how water-related activities impact disease spread.
  • The cross-sectional study conducted in western Côte d'Ivoire involved 1602 stool samples and 1729 urine samples from children aged 5-14, alongside observations of water activities and interviews with local leaders and health workers.
  • Results showed a 27.4% prevalence of S. mansoni, with higher rates found in certain health districts; children aged 9-14 were at greater risk, particularly in environments where water-related activities occurred, such as washing clothes near contamination sources.
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We discovered medium-ring keto bislactams as a new antischistosomal chemotype. The ketone functional group and isoindolinone substructure were required for high antischistosomal activity. Aryl substitution with EWG functional groups decreased the chemical stability.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Recent efforts to stop smoking haven't been put into action yet, and it’s important to see what could happen if smoking rates stay the same or improve.
  • * Researchers used models to predict health outcomes by 2050 based on different scenarios of smoking rates, showing that cutting smoking could greatly improve health and life expectancy.
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Schistosomiasis mekongi is endemic in a restricted area in Northern Cambodia and the Southern Lao People's Democratic Republic. Severe hepatobiliary morbidity is associated with chronic untreated S. mekongi infection.

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Inhibition of the lactate transporter PfFNT is a valid novel mode of action against malaria parasites. Current pyridine-substituted pentafluoro-3-hydroxy-pent-2-en-1-ones act as substrate analogs with submicromolar EC in vitro, and >99.7% activity in mice.

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Tree growth and longevity trade-offs fundamentally shape the terrestrial carbon balance. Yet, we lack a unified understanding of how such trade-offs vary across the world's forests. By mapping life history traits for a wide range of species across the Americas, we reveal considerable variation in life expectancies from 10 centimeters in diameter (ranging from 1.

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Improving access to essential health services requires the development of innovative health service delivery models and their scientific assessment in often large-scale pragmatic trials. In many low- and middle-income countries, lay Community Health Workers (CHWs) play an important role in delivering essential health services. As trusted members of their communities with basic medical training, they may also contribute to health data collection.

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PfSPZ Vaccine induces focused humoral immune response in HIV positive and negative Tanzanian adults.

EBioMedicine

October 2024

Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • The PfSPZ Vaccine shows promise as a malaria vaccine, effectively providing sterile protection in both malaria-naïve and exposed adults, relying on immune responses to early liver-stage parasites.
  • A study involving 21 Tanzanian adults analyzed their immune responses to the vaccine and subsequent malaria infection, revealing robust IgG and IgM reactions to specific protein targets, regardless of HIV infection status.
  • The findings highlight PfMSP5 as a significant target for vaccine-induced immunity, indicating that protecting against malaria might be possible without interference from HIV, and underscoring the need for further exploration of this immunogen.
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Article Synopsis
  • Botryomycosis of the tongue is a rare chronic bacterial infection that appears as nodular masses and can resemble other diseases like mycetoma.
  • An 80-year-old male presented with painless swelling on the side of his tongue, and subsequent tests identified it as botryomycosis.
  • The case underscores the need for healthcare providers to be diligent in diagnosing unusual bacterial infections, especially in regions where similar diseases are common, to promote better patient outcomes.
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Recent advances in data science and urban environmental health research utilise large-scale databases (100s-1000s of cities) to explore the complex interplay of urban characteristics such as city form and size, climate, mobility, exposure, and environmental health impacts. Cities are still hotspots of air pollution and noise, suffer urban heat island effects and lack of green space, which leads to disease and mortality burdens preventable with better knowledge. Better understanding through harmonising and analysing data in large numbers of cities is essential to identifying the most effective means of disease prevention and understanding context dependencies important for policy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Elevated mammographic density (MD) is a significant risk factor for breast cancer, and this study investigates how factors like childbirth, age at first birth, and breastfeeding relate to MD in a large group of women across different countries.
  • The research analyzed data from 11,755 women aged 35-85 years, focusing on how factors such as the number of births and the timing of the first birth influence measurements of MD.
  • The findings suggest that having more children decreases MD, while older age at first birth is linked to higher MD, particularly in post-menopausal women, highlighting the complex relationships between reproductive factors and breast density.
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Contrasting genomic epidemiology between sympatric Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax populations.

Nat Commun

September 2024

Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

The malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax differ in key biological processes and associated clinical effects, but consequences on population-level transmission dynamics are difficult to predict. This co-endemic malaria study from Guyana details important epidemiological contrasts between the species by coupling population genomics (1396 spatiotemporally matched parasite genomes, primarily from 2020-21) with sociodemographic analysis (nationwide patient census from 2019). We describe how P.

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Total Synthesis of Tosyl-Samroiyotmycin A and Its Biological Profiling.

Chemistry

December 2024

Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 55, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany.

A total synthesis of the enantiopure syn,syn-tosyl-samroiyotmycin A, a C-symmetric 20-membered antimalarial macrodiolide with syn,syn-configuration of the 8,24-dihydroxy-9,25-dimethyl units and it's enantiopure anti,anti-derivative is described. The synthesis was accomplished utilizing a linear approach in 7 steps and 3 % overall yield via a sequence of diastereoselective methylation of SuperQuat oxazolidinone auxiliary, cross metathesis and Yamaguchi macrolactonization of fully functionalized seco-acids. By a similar approach we gained access to several samroiyotmycin analogues and precursors.

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In Lesotho, the hypertension and diabetes care cascades are unknown. We measured awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension and diabetes among adults ≥18 years and identified factors associated with each step of the cascade, based on data from a population-based, cross-sectional survey in 120 randomly sampled clusters in the districts of Butha-Buthe and Mokhotlong from 1st November 2021 to 31st August 2022. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess associations.

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Using human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in controlled temperature chain (CTC): A solution looking for a problem? Or a solution to problems that are not systematically documented?

Vaccine

January 2025

Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Department, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Centre for International Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address:

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Article Synopsis
  • Scrub typhus (ST) is a prevalent vector-borne disease in South Korea that shows changes in seasonality and sex distribution, highlighting the importance of understanding these patterns for effective health interventions.
  • An analysis of ST cases from 2003 to 2019 revealed a significant increase in incidence until 2012, followed by a substantial decrease, with a dual seasonal pattern showing more cases in autumn and fewer in spring.
  • The male-to-female ratio of ST cases increased slightly over the years, but there were notable variations across different age groups, indicating diverse demographic impacts that warrant further monitoring and research.
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Article Synopsis
  • A study in Pará, Northern Brazil, identified a unique strain of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) called SIT2517/T1, with a focus on its transmission dynamics.
  • Researchers utilized various genetic testing methods, including whole-genome sequencing, to analyze 28 isolates, confirming their distinct sublineage and highlighting discrepancies in drug resistance testing for some antibiotics.
  • The findings indicated a high probability of direct transmission among these isolates in urban areas, emphasizing the necessity for increased tuberculosis genomic surveillance in the Brazilian Amazon.
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