Environmental Surveillance System Research Articles

Evaluation of the environmental polio surveillance system-Northern Region, Ghana, 2021.

Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance is the gold standard in the polio eradication initiative. The environmental component of polio surveillance can detect circulating Polioviruses from sewage without relying on clinical presentation. The effectiveness of the Environmental Surveillance (ES) is crucial to global polio eradication. We assessed the usefulness and attributes of the ES system in the Northern region and determined if the system is meeting its objectives. We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional evaluation in the Northern region from 2019 to 2020 using the updated US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline. We interviewed stakeholders, reviewed records, and observed surveillance activities from 29th March to 7th May, 2021. Quantitative data were analyzed manually as frequencies and proportions whiles thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. One of 48 (2.1%) samples collected tested positive for circulating vaccine-derived Poliovirus (cVDPV). The cVDPV detection triggered enhanced AFP surveillance that resulted in the identification of a case of AFP. Three rounds of polio vaccination campaigns were organized. All surveillance officers interviewed were willing to continue providing their services for the ES. Reporting form has few variables and is easy to complete. The completeness of forms was 97.9% (47/48). Samples collected were dispatched on the same day to the testing laboratory. The system's data was managed manually. The system was useful in detecting polio outbreaks. Data quality was good, the system was simple, flexible, acceptable, representative, and fairly stable. Sensitivity was high but predictive value positive was low. Timeliness in reporting was good but feedback from the national level could not be assessed. There is a need to improve on the feedback system and ensure that, the surveillance data is managed electronically.

Improved reptile search algorithm with sequential assignment routing based false packet forwarding scheme for source location privacy protection on wireless sensor networks

Source Location Privacy (SLP) in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) refers to a set of techniques and strategies used to safeguard the anonymity and confidentiality of the locations of sensor nodes (SNs) that are the source of transmitted data within the network. This protection is important in different WSN application areas like environmental monitoring, surveillance, and healthcare systems, where the revelation of the accurate location of SNs can pose security and privacy risks. Therefore, this study presents metaheuristics with sequential assignment routing based false packet forwarding scheme (MSAR-FPFS) for source location privacy protection (SLPP) on WSN. The contributions of the MSAR-FPFS method revolve around enhancing SLP protection in WSNs through the introduction of dual-routing, SAR technique with phantom nodes (PNs), and an optimization algorithm. In the presented MSAR-FPFS method, PNs are used for the rotation of dummy packets using the SAR technique, which helps to prevent the adversary from original data transmission. Next, the MSAR-FPFS technique uses an improved reptile search algorithm (IRSA) for the optimal selection of routes for real packet transmission. Moreover, the IRSA technique computes a fitness function (FF) comprising three parameters namely residual energy (RE), distance to BS (DBS), and node degree (ND). The experimental evaluation of the MSAR-FPFS system was investigated under different factors and the outputs show the promising achievement of the MSAR-FPFS system compared to other existing models.

Development of a real-time tritium-in-water monitor

In this paper, we report the development and performance of a detector module envisaging a tritium-in-water real-time activity monitor. The monitor is based on modular detection units whose number can be chosen according to the required sensitivity. The full system is being designed to achieve a Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA) of 100 Bq/L of tritium-in-water activity which is the limit established by the E.U. Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom for water intended for human consumption. The same system can be used as a real-time pre-alert system for nuclear power plant regarding tritium-in water environmental surveillance. The first detector module was characterized, commissioned and installed immediately after the discharge channel of the Arrocampo dam (Almaraz nuclear power plant, Spain) on the Tagus river. Due to the high sensitivity of the single detection modules, the system requires radioactive background mitigation techniques through the use of active and passive shielding. We have extrapolated a MDA of 3.6 kBq/L for a single module being this value limited by the cosmic background. The obtained value for a single module is already compatible with a real-time environmental surveillance and pre-alert system. Further optimization of the single-module sensitivity will imply the reduction of the number of modules and the cost of the detector system.

The Influence of Environmental Issues on Health Promotion: A Historical Journey and Contemporary Challenges

In this editorial, we address the relationship between environmental issues and health promotion, highlighting how these topics are of great global relevance. Over the past decades, understanding of the complex links between health and the environment has progressed, with solid evidence on the adverse effects of air pollution, water contamination, inadequate waste management, biodiversity loss and climate change on human health. These environmental problems can cause a variety of diseases, including respiratory, cardiovascular, cancer and neurological disorders. Despite scientific advances in the field, challenges are persistent. Air pollution and ecosystem degradation continue to affect people's quality of life, compromising the availability of essential resources such as drinking water and food. Climate change also becomes a growing threat, leading to extreme weather events and the spread of vector-borne diseases. As such, integrated and sustainable approaches that protect both human health and the environment are needed. This requires coordinated action at local, national, and global levels, involving governments, the private sector, civil society, and individuals. It reinforces the need to strengthen environmental health surveillance systems, universalize access to basic sanitation and promote environmental education to raise awareness about the importance of health and the environment. We trace the historical evolution of the relationship between health and the environment, highlighting the influence of ancient thinkers such as Hippocrates, passing through moments of greater and lesser attention to environmental issues in public health. Events such as the Stockholm Conference in 1972, Eco-92 in 1992 and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 are significant milestones in the promotion of environmental and health policies. Human health and the health of the planet are intrinsically linked, hence the need to rethink the development model and adopt effective measures to achieve global environmental goals, aiming to build a healthier, sustainable, and resilient world for present and future generations.

Sistema de vigilancia epidemiológica y ambiental de un Centro de Salud, Perú 2022

Sistema de vigilancia epidemiológica y ambiental de un Centro de Salud, Perú 2022

Rapid genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in a dense urban community of Kathmandu Valley using sewage samples.

Understanding disease burden and transmission dynamics in resource-limited, low-income countries like Nepal are often challenging due to inadequate surveillance systems. These issues are exacerbated by limited access to diagnostic and research facilities throughout the country. Nepal has one of the highest COVID-19 case rates (915 cases per 100,000 people) in South Asia, with densely-populated Kathmandu experiencing the highest number of cases. Swiftly identifying case clusters (hotspots) and introducing effective intervention programs is crucial to mounting an effective containment strategy. The rapid identification of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants can also provide important information on viral evolution and epidemiology. Genomic-based environmental surveillance can help in the early detection of outbreaks before clinical cases are recognized and identify viral micro-diversity that can be used for designing real-time risk-based interventions. This research aimed to develop a genomic-based environmental surveillance system by detecting and characterizing SARS-CoV-2 in sewage samples of Kathmandu using portable next-generation DNA sequencing devices. Out of 22 sites in the Kathmandu Valley from June to August 2020, sewage samples from 16 (80%) sites had detectable SARS-CoV-2. A heatmap was created to visualize the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the community based on viral load intensity and corresponding geospatial data. Further, 47 mutations were observed in the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Some detected mutations (n = 9, 22%) were novel at the time of data analysis and yet to be reported in the global database, with one indicating a frameshift deletion in the spike gene. SNP analysis revealed possibility of assessing circulating major/minor variant diversity on environmental samples based on key mutations. Our study demonstrated the feasibility of rapidly obtaining vital information on community transmission and disease dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 using genomic-based environmental surveillance.

Monitoring Enteroviruses and SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater Using the Polio Environmental Surveillance System in Japan.

In the global strategy for polio eradication, environmental surveillance (ES) has been established worldwide to monitor polioviruses. In addition, nonpolio enteroviruses are simultaneously isolated from wastewater under this ES program. Hence, ES can be used to monitor enteroviruses in sewage to supplement clinical surveillance. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we also monitored severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in sewage using the polio ES system in Japan. Enterovirus and SARS-CoV-2 were detected in sewage from January 2019 to December 2021 and from August 2020 to November 2021, respectively. Enterovirus species such as echoviruses and coxsackieviruses were frequently detected by ES in 2019, indicating the circulation of these viruses. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, sewage enterovirus detection and related patient reports were notably reduced in 2020 to 2021, suggesting changes in the hygiene behaviors of the human population in response to the pandemic. Our comparative experiment with a total of 520 reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection demonstrated that the solid-based method had a significantly higher detection rate than that of the liquid-based method (24.6% and 15.9%, respectively). Moreover, the resulting RNA concentrations were correlated with the number of new COVID-19 cases (Spearman's r = 0.61). These findings indicate that the existing polio ES system can be effectively used for enterovirus and SARS-CoV-2 sewage monitoring using different procedures such as virus isolation and molecular-based detection. IMPORTANCE Long-term efforts are required to implement surveillance programs for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and they will be required even in the postpandemic era. We adopted the existing polio environmental surveillance (ES) system for SARS-CoV-2 sewage monitoring in Japan as a practical and cost-effective approach. Moreover, the ES system routinely detects enteroviruses from wastewater and, therefore, can be used for enterovirus monitoring. The liquid fraction of the sewage sample is used for poliovirus and enterovirus detection, and the solid fraction can be used for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection. The present study demonstrates how the existing ES system can be used for monitoring enteroviruses and SARS-CoV-2 in sewage.

Safer at school early alert: an observational study of wastewater and surface monitoring to detect COVID-19 in elementary schools

Schools are high-risk settings for SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but necessary for children's educational and social-emotional wellbeing. Previous research suggests that wastewater monitoring can detect SARS-CoV-2 infections in controlled residential settings with high levels of accuracy. However, its effective accuracy, cost, and feasibility in non-residential community settings is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness and accuracy of community-based passive wastewater and surface (environmental) surveillance to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in neighborhood schools compared to weekly diagnostic (PCR) testing. We implemented an environmental surveillance system in nine elementary schools with 1700 regularly present staff and students in southern California. The system was validated from November 2020 to March2021. In 447 data collection days across the nine sites 89 individuals tested positive for COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 374 surface samples and 133 wastewater samples. Ninety-three percent of identified cases were associated with an environmental sample (95% CI: 88%-98%); 67% were associated with a positive wastewater sample (95% CI: 57%-77%), and 40% were associated with a positive surface sample (95% CI: 29%-52%). The techniques we utilized allowed for near-complete genomic sequencing of wastewater and surface samples. Passive environmental surveillance can detect the presence of COVID-19 cases in non-residential community school settings with a high degree of accuracy. County of San Diego, Health and Human Services Agency, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Centers for Disease Control.

Disruption to water supply and waterborne communicable diseases in northeast Syria: a spatiotemporal analysis

BackgroundIn Syria, disruption to water and sanitation systems, together with poor access to vaccination, forced displacement and overcrowding contribute to increases in waterborne diseases (WBDs). The aim of this study is to perform a spatiotemporal analysis to investigate potential associations between interruptions to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and WBDs in northeast Syria using data collected by the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN) from Deir-ez-Zor, Raqqa, Hassakeh and parts of Aleppo governorates.MethodsWe reviewed the literature databases of MEDLINE and Google Scholar and the updates of ReliefWeb to obtain information on acute disruptions and attacks against water infrastructure in northeast Syria between January 2015 and June 2021. The EWARN weekly trends of five syndromes representing waterborne diseases were plotted and analysed to identify time trends and the influence of these disruptions. To investigate a potential relationship, the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare districts with and without disruptions. Time series analyses were carried out on major disruptions to analyse their effect on WBD incidence.ResultsThe literature review found several instances where water infrastructure was attacked or disrupted, suggesting that water has been deliberately targeted by both state and non-state actors in northeast Syria throughout the conflict. Over time, there was an overall upwards trend of other acute diarrhoea (OAD, p < 0.001), but downwards trends for acute jaundice syndrome, suspected typhoid fever and acute bloody diarrhoea. For the major disruption of the Alouk water plant, an interrupted time series analysis did not find a strong correlation between the disruption and changes in disease incidence in the weeks following the incident, but long-term increases in WBD were observed.ConclusionsWhile no strong immediate correlation could be established between disruptions to WASH and WBDs in northeast Syria, further research is essential to explore the impact of conflict-associated damage to civil infrastructure including WASH. This is vital though challenging given confounding factors which affect both WASH and WBDs in contexts like northeast Syria. As such, research which includes exploration of mitigation after damage to WASH is essential to improve understanding of impacts on quantity and quality of WASH. More granular research which explores the origin of cases of WBDs and how such communities are affected by challenges to WASH is needed. One step towards research on this, is the implementation of adequate reporting mechanisms for real time tracking of the WASH attacks, damages, direct effects, and likely impact in conjunction with environmental and public health bodies and surveillance systems.

Community Dynamics and Engagement Strategies in Establishing Demographic Development and Environmental Surveillance Systems: A Multi-Site Report from India.

Six diverse Demographic Development and Environmental Surveillance System (DDESS) sites were established in urban slum, urban resettlement, peri-urban, rural, and tribal areas located in Northern, North-East, Eastern, and Southern regions of India from June 2020 to March 2022. Understanding the community dynamics and engaging people in the community is critically important in the process of establishing DDESS. We ascertained the barriers, challenges, and facilitators during the establishment of multiple DDESS sites across India. This was a cross-sectional descriptive mixed-methods study. Multiple barriers and challenges encountered were reported in the process of community engagement (CE), such as geographical inaccessibility, language barriers, adverse weather, non-responsiveness due to perceived lack of individual benefit or financial gain, fear of contracting COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, etc. Facilitators in the CE process were pre-existing links with the community, constitution of community advisory boards, community need assessment, concomitant delivery of outreach health services, and skill-building facilities. Most community barriers in the development of DDESS sites in resource-limited settings can be overcome through a multipronged approach, including effective community engagement by focusing on demonstrating trust at the local level, enlisting community mobilization and support, utilizing pre-existing community linkages, initiating community diagnosis, and meeting perceived community health needs.

Parasites Associated with Open Markets Vegetables: Implication for Public Health Interventions in Ethiope East, Southern Nigeria

Objectives: Vegetables have been reported to be a mechanical means of transmission of human intestinal parasites. This study is aimed to ascertain the association between parasites and vegetables sold in Ethiope East, Delta State, Nigeria.&#x0D; Methods: Two hundred and seventy (270) vegetables were subjected to sedimentation and zinc sulphate floatation techniques for parasitic investigations.&#x0D; Results: Of the 270 vegetables examined, 184(68.15%) were infected. Talinium occidentalis had the highest prevalence (9.26%), closely followed by Brassica oleracea and Daucus carota with a value of 8.89% and 8.15% respectively. The highest parasite prevalence was observed in Abraka (78.89%), followed by Eku (72.22%) and Okpara water-side (53.33%). Abraka had its highest prevalence in D. carota and Cucumis sativum with a prevalence of 11.11 and 10.00% respectively. Statistically, there was no significant difference in the contaminated vegetable (p &gt; 0.05) but a considerable significant difference was noted in the market locations (p &lt; 0.05). The highest percentage occurrence of parasites was Ascaris lumbricoides with a percentage occurrence of 23.49. The most prevalent parasites in Abraka were A. lumbricoides (45.56%) and Entamoeba histolytica (30.00%). There was significant effect (p &lt; 0.05) in the prevalence of parasites (p = 0.0003; df = 6; F = 11.07) and markets locations (p = 0.0019; df = 2; F = 11.01). The Principal Component Analysis showed that the study locations positively influence the occurrence of parasites with Abraka location accounting for 95.99% of the total variance. The analysis further showed that A. lumbricoides, Trichuris trichura, and hookworm prevalence were strongly correlated to Abraka and Okpara water-side locations.&#x0D; Conclusion: Given the public health importance of the parasites isolated, there is a need for improved environmental sanitation, personal hygiene and surveillance systems in vegetable transportation, storage and means of displays in Ethiope East and Delta State at large.

Estimates of the cost to build a stand-alone environmental surveillance system for typhoid in low- and middle-income countries.

The typhoid conjugate vaccine is a safe and effective method for preventing Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (typhoid) and the WHO's guidance supports its use in locations with ongoing transmission. However, many countries lack a robust clinical surveillance system, making it challenging to determine where to use the vaccine. Environmental surveillance is one alternative approach to identify ongoing transmission, but the cost to implement such a strategy is previously unknown. This paper estimated the cost of setting up and operating an environmental surveillance program for thirteen protocols that are in development, including thirteen cost components and twenty-seven pieces of equipment. Unit costs were obtained from research labs involved in protocol development and equipment information was obtained from manufacturers and the expert opinion of individuals in participating labs. We used Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the costs and the input parameters were modeled as distributions to incorporate the uncertainty. Total costs per sample including setup, overhead, and operational costs, range from $357-794 at a scale of 25 sites to $116-532 at 125 sites. Operational costs (ongoing expenditures) range from $218-584 per sample at a scale of 25 sites to $74-421 at 125 sites. Eleven of the thirteen protocols have operational costs below $200, at this higher scale. Protocols with higher up-front equipment costs benefit more from scale efficiencies and sensitivity analyses show that laboratory labor, processes, and consumables are the primary drivers of uncertainty. At scale, environmental surveillance for typhoid may be affordable (depending on the protocol, scale, and geographic context), though cost will need to be considered alongside future evaluations of test sensitivity. Opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure and multi-disease platforms may be necessary to further reduce costs.

Anomaly Detection with Artificial Intelligence Methods : An Overview

Nowadays, more and more human activities depend on computer-based automated systems. Fully automated (robotized) production lines, energy distribution infrastructures and other urban services or environmental surveillance systems are just some examples of cyber-physical systems that depend entirely on automated control systems. In these cases a significant challenge is to identify abnormal behaviors of the supervised or controlled systems, in order to avoid malfunction or sometimes catastrophic events. Our main research goal was to evaluate the potential of adapting and using AI techniques in the field of anomaly detection. We also developed a platform, called AutomaticAI, which can help specialists in different domains to identify the best approaches to solve a given anomaly detection problem. The platform can select the best AI algorithm and parameter configuration for a given set of data containing normal and abnormal data. The tool was used successfully in a variety of domains, from cyber-physical systems to the medical domain.

An Ultra-Low Energy Solution for Large-Scale Distributed Audio Monitoring

This paper presents a flexible, low-cost, and ultra-low-energy acoustic sensor network solution. This enables both highly distributed and real-time audio measurements to be employed in a wide variety of scenarios. These types of distributed measurements can be useful in environmental monitoring, healthcare settings, smart cities, and security surveillance systems. However, they are typically inflexible in their applications and require specialized deployment. The proposed solution is nonintrusive and uses long-range radio to enable low-power distributed audio monitoring. The system can recognize and be configured for different types of audio measurement and analysis tasks (such as sound pressure level, annoyance, direction of arrival, and roughness), and is shown to be as accurate r=0.998 as a high-cost measurement system. Remote control, time of day, and grid capture mechanisms can also be realized. The proposed solution provides the ability for an over-the-air configuration, leading to minimal physical access required once deployed. In addition, higher data rates are possible, offering real-time monitoring metrics.

Brazil fosters fossil fuel exploitation despite climate crises and the environmental vulnerabilities

Despite global needs regarding the mitigation of the climatic and biodiversity crisis, Brazilian federal government signalized the bidding of 92 blocks of oil and gas exploitation. The potential production in these marine areas will add to the pre-salt reserves already contracted, multiplying by eight the Brazilian annual fossil fuel emissions by 2030. These potential emissions can reach the double of that currently produced by land uses and other sources. The ongoing governmental actions and omissions regarding deforestation, fostering of thermoelectric generation, and fragilization of the national environmental surveillance system, highlight the need for deeper international and multilateral discussion considering the achievement of global targets, explicit as necessaries in the last IPCC report. Considering the emergency context, the UN should present barriers to exploitation of remaining fossil fuel reserves, and a global orchestration to enable immediate and drastic reductions in our emissions, to avoid further negative impacts on the already fragile sociobiodiversity.

International Network for Public Health and Environmental Tracking (INPHET) and its role to Environmental Epidemiology

Background and aim: INPHET was formed by a community of environmental public health practitioners to address common interests and activities that advance environmental public health surveillance (EPHS) and data systems, and their uses to inform public health actions. Our aim is to show how this has supported environmental epidemiology practice. Methods: A &amp;#x22;Community of Practice”, INPHET main goals focus on sharing experiences and expertise; addressing common challenges to implementation and enhancing the science of EPHS/tracking; improving understanding of the link between the environment and health; and providing the appropriate evidence that informs public policy. Results: The network, initiated in ISEE meetings in 2012-13 and formally launched in Modena, Italy in 2014, has carried out several activities which aim at sharing expertise and learning from different models of environmental and health data integration and surveillance systems that directly inform policy. These include Twinning cooperation with Euro-Asian and Balkan countries and sharing of expertise with African Public Health Agencies. Some experiences are presented in this Symposium (Georgia, Ghana, Zambia), and highlight the EPHS/Tracking (EPHT) model adopted by several national public health agencies. It promotes that such integration and uses of environmental and health data is key for EPHS, including their accessibility and usability for communities of public health researchers, practitioners and policy makers. Conclusions: Environment and health monitoring and information systems are fundamental infrastructure for evidence provision for policy making. INPHET aims to address the vast inequalities across countries and communities in their ability to monitor, assess, inform and mitigate environmental and health issues. Its objectives and work support environmental epidemiology in its role as the pillar science that provides evidence for decision making and intervention aimed at reducing and preventing environmental related diseases, and contributes to an overall vision for public health.

Next-generation sequencing and PCR technologies in monitoring the hospital microbiome and its drug resistance.

The hospital environment significantly contributes to the onset of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which represent one of the most frequent complications occurring in healthcare facilities worldwide. Moreover, the increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR) characterizing HAI-associated microbes is one of the human health’s main concerns, requiring the characterization of the contaminating microbial population in the hospital environment. The monitoring of surface microbiota in hospitals is generally addressed by microbial cultural isolation. However, this has some important limitations mainly relating to the inability to define the whole drug-resistance profile of the contaminating microbiota and to the long time period required to obtain the results. Hence, there is an urgent need to implement environmental surveillance systems using more effective methods. Molecular approaches, including next-generation sequencing and PCR assays, may be useful and effective tools to monitor microbial contamination, especially the growing AMR of HAI-associated pathogens. Herein, we summarize the results of our recent studies using culture-based and molecular analyses in 12 hospitals for adults and children over a 5-year period, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques used.

Genetic Characterization of Novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 Viruses During Initial Use Phase Under Emergency Use Listing - Worldwide, March-October 2021.

The emergence and international spread of neurovirulent circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) across multiple countries in Africa and Asia in recent years pose a major challenge to the goal of eradicating all forms of polioviruses. Approximately 90% of all cVDPV outbreaks are caused by the type 2 strain of the Sabin vaccine, an oral live, attenuated vaccine; cVDPV outbreaks typically occur in areas of persistently low immunization coverage (1). A novel type 2 oral poliovirus vaccine (nOPV2), produced by genetic modification of the type 2 Sabin vaccine virus genome (2), was developed and evaluated through phase I and phase II clinical trials during 2017-2019. nOPV2 was demonstrated to be safe and well-tolerated, have noninferior immunogenicity, and have superior genetic stability compared with Sabin monovalent type 2 (as measured by preservation of the primary attenuation site [domain V in the 5' noncoding region] and significantly lower neurovirulence of fecally shed vaccine virus in transgenic mice) (3-5). These findings indicate that nOPV2 could be an important tool in reducing the risk for generating vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs) and the risk for vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis cases. Based on the favorable preclinical and clinical data, and the public health emergency of international concern generated by ongoing endemic wild poliovirus transmission and cVDPV type 2 outbreaks, the World Health Organization authorized nOPV2 for use under the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) pathway in November 2020, allowing for its first use for outbreak response in March 2021 (6). As required by the EUL process, among other EUL obligations, an extensive plan was developed and deployed for obtaining and monitoring nOPV2 isolates detected during acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, environmental surveillance, adverse events after immunization surveillance, and targeted surveillance for adverse events of special interest (i.e., prespecified events that have the potential to be causally associated with the vaccine product), during outbreak response, as well as through planned field studies. Under this monitoring framework, data generated from whole-genome sequencing of nOPV2 isolates, alongside other virologic data for isolates from AFP and environmental surveillance systems, are reviewed by the genetic characterization subgroup of an nOPV working group of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Global nOPV2 genomic surveillance during March-October 2021 confirmed genetic stability of the primary attenuating site. Sequence data generated through this unprecedented global effort confirm the genetic stability of nOPV2 relative to Sabin 2 and suggest that nOPV2 will be an important tool in the eradication of poliomyelitis. nOPV2 surveillance should continue for the duration of the EUL.

A hybrid network architecture by integrating both 2.4 GHz network and Sub-GHz network and its application in field environment surveillance system

Various networks, many of which are composed of embedded systems, are interconnected to form Internet of Things (IoT), in order to cooperate to provide more intelligent service for people. It can be imagined that the networks integration in IoT will be challenged, because different networks are heterogeneous and differ in terms of topology, coverage, data rate, power consumption, etc. That's to say that the key for networks integration will be focused on how to combine the benefits of various networks effectively. In this paper, a hybrid network architecture aiming at combining the benefits of two commonly used wireless networks, 2.4 GHz network and Sub-GHz network, is proposed. The architecture consists of four parts: 2.4 GHz Network, Sub-GHz Network, Cloud-Based Server and Mobile Application. It should be noted that our design intent is to make full use of the advantages of various networks, while minimizing the new standardization or changes to current network specifications. Then a field surveillance environment system is implemented to present proposed architecture's potentiality of being adaptive to complex scenarios, and how to build a practical system based on proposed architecture. Not only the system overall design is presented, in which the specific protocols used in 2.4 GHz network and Sub-GHz network are chosen according to the field environment surveillance scenario, but also the detailed hardware and software implementation of the system is presented. Finally, the experimental performance evaluation of field environment surveillance system is presented. The experimental results show that the proposed architecture and implemented system are adaptive to complex field environment, and have good agreement with our design intent.

Vaccination

Vaccination