Absence Of Protective Equipment Research Articles

Serological evidence of swine exposure to pandemic H1N1/2009 influenza A virus in Burkina Faso

Despite improvement of human and avian influenza surveillance, swine influenza surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa is scarce and pandemic preparedness is still deemed inadequate, including in Burkina Faso. This cross-sectional study therefore aimed to investigate the (past) exposure of pigs to influenza A viruses. Practices of people with occupational contacts with pigs and their knowledge on influenza A were investigated in order to formulate future prevention guidelines. In 2016–2017, pig nasopharyngeal swabs and sera were collected and screened for the presence of influenza virus by RT-PCR or of anti-influenza antibodies by competitive ELISA. Seropositive samples were further characterized in virus microneutralization assays against human and swine H1N1 virus strains. Nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained from people with occupational contact with pigs and screened similarly. Demographic data as well as practices related to their profession were recorded. No influenza A virus was detected in nasopharyngeal swabs in humans (n = 358) or in pigs (n = 600). Seroprevalence in pigs reached 6.8 % (41/600) and seropositive animals were found in 50.0 % of extensive settings (10/20) and 19.0 % of (semi-)intensive farms (4/21). All positive sera reacted against the pandemic H1N1/2009 strain, while seropositivity against two Eurasian avian-like and one American swine H1N1 strains and individual titers were lower. These results suggested exposure to pandemic H1N1/2009 virus and cross-reactivity to other H1N1 strains. Farmers with higher frequency of contact to pigs, absence of protective equipment and lack of knowledge on zoonoses are likely key players in driving human-to-swine virus transmission.

Increasing meal consumption in individuals with competing protective equipment

Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may engage in self‐injurious behavior that can cause tissue damage. Protective equipment is sometimes used to decrease the severity of tissue damage when self‐injury occurs. However, wearing protective equipment may be incompatible with some forms of adaptive behavior, such as meal consumption. The purpose of the present analysis was to identify a treatment for increasing meal consumption in two adolescent males diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder who wore protective equipment that interfered with self‐feeding. Three interventions were evaluated: modifying the protective equipment, manipulating the reinforcing efficacy of the meal, and arranging additional positive reinforcement for meal consumption in the absence of protective equipment. Modifying protective equipment and manipulating the reinforcing efficacy of the meal were effective for both participants. Additional positive reinforcement was evaluated and effective for one participant.

Road Traffic Injuries and Road Safety Measures-Can We Do Any Better?

Purpose: Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death under 30 years, causing over a million deaths every year. Helmets, seat-belts and child-restraints have an important role in death and injury prevention. Our purpose was to analyze how safety measures relate to pediatric polytrauma severity in road traffic injury. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted, including polytraumatized pediatric patients, hospitalized after road traffic accidents, from January 2011 to December 2015. Comparison groups were classified according to protective equipment use. Logistic regression and generalized liner models describe the probability of safety equipment use, head trauma, higher injury severity score and permanent sequelae. Results: Of a total of 149 inpatients, 63.8% were male with a median age of 11 years. Absence of personal protective equipment was predictive for head trauma (p-value=0.014) and diffuse axonal injury associated with neurologic sequelae and death (p-value<0.01). Multivariate analysis confirmed a higher risk of protective equipment misuse in unsupervised children and in two-wheel accidents (p-value<0.05). Injury Severity Score (ISS) and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) were inversely proportional (p-value<0.001). Sequelae were more frequent with lower GCS (p<0.001) and diffuse axonal lesion (p<0.001). Conclusions: Despite increasing alertness, helmet use in road accidents remains limited, reflecting on head trauma severity and subsequent neurological impairment. Absence of protective equipment on car collisions provoked more severe injury scores and prolonged hospital stay. In the Decade of Action for Road Safety we still find important handicaps in road safety measures, demanding more effective laws and alerting campaigns.

Differential diagnosis between occupational chronic intoxication with organic solvents and ethanol abuse by biological markers. Case report and literature review

Abstract Given the occupational exposure to substances contained in petroleum heated to high temperature, cholestatic liver disease, neurological signs and symptoms can occur. We present a case report of a male patient with no tobacco exposure or alcohol use, but with prolonged occupational exposure to petroleum vapours and natural gases like methane, propane butane who developed liver and neurologic disease, in the absence of protective equipment. Delayed diagnosis was established after 9 years of the first symptoms occurrence. Differential diagnosis with alcoholic etiology was considered and biological biomarkers were useful.

Socio-Environmental Factors Associated with the Risk of Contracting Buruli Ulcer in Tiassalé, South Côte d'Ivoire: A Case-Control Study.

BackgroundBuruli ulcer (BU) is a cutaneous infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. The exact mode of transmission remains elusive; yet, some studies identified environmental, socio-sanitary, and behavioral risk factors. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of such factors to contracting BU in Tiassalé, south Côte d’Ivoire.MethodologyA case-control study was conducted in 2012. Cases were BU patients diagnosed according to clinical definition put forth by the World Health Organization, readily confirmed by IS2404 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis prior to our study and recruited at one of the health centers of the district. Two controls were matched for each control, by age group (to the nearest 5 years), sex, and living community. Participants were interviewed after providing oral witnessed consent, assessing behavioral, environmental, and socio-sanitary factors.Principal FindingsA total of 51 incident and prevalent cases and 102 controls were enrolled. Sex ratio (male:female) was 0.9. Median age was 25 years (range: 5–70 years). Regular contact with unprotected surface water (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 6.5; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.1–19.7) and absence of protective equipment during agricultural activities (aOR = 18.5, 95% CI = 5.2–66.7) were identified as the main factors associated with the risk of contracting BU. Etiologic fractions among exposed to both factors were 84.9% and 94.6%, respectively. Good knowledge about the risks that may result in BU (aOR = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.1–0.8) and perception about the disease causes (aOR = 0.1, 95% CI = 0.02–0.3) showed protection against BU with a respective preventive fraction of 70% and 90%.Conclusions/SignificanceMain risk factors identified in this study were the contact with unprotected water bodies through daily activities and the absence of protective equipment during agricultural activities. An effective strategy to reduce the incidence of BU should involve compliance with protective equipment during agricultural activities and avoidance of contact with surface water and community capacity building through training and sensitization.