Since 2011, cohorts of schoolchildren in regions bordering Lake Victoria in Kenya and Tanzania have been investigated for morbidity caused by Schistosoma mansoni infection. Despite being neighbouring countries with similar lifestyles and ecological environments, Tanzanian schoolchildren had lower S. mansoni prevalence and intensity and they were taller and heavier, fewer were wasted and anaemic, and more were physical fit compared to their Kenyan peers.

The goal of the global lymphatic filariasis (LF) program is to eliminate the disease as a public health problem by the year 2020. The WHO mapping protocol that is used to identify endemic areas in need of mass drug administration (MDA) uses convenience-based sampling. This rapid mapping has allowed the global program to dramatically scale up treatment, but as the program approaches its elimination goal, it is important to ensure that all endemic areas have been identified and have received MDA.

Antenatal exposure to Zika virus (ZIKV) is related to severe neurological manifestations. A previous study in Brazil reported an increased incidence of non-severe congenital heart defects in infants with diagnosis of congenital Zika syndrome but without laboratory confirmation of ZIKV infection in the mother or infant. The objective of this study is to report echocardiographic (ECHO) findings in infants with laboratory confirmed antenatal exposure to ZIKV.

The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) is generating important and often nonintuitive information about the prevalence, incidence, morbidity, and mortality of the world’s major communicable and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). An emerging narrative from the GBD is the gradual ascendency of the NCDs, especially among the world’s large low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). But with regards to the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), we have also seen how these chronic and debilitating infections of poverty might also account for a high percentage of the global disease burden.

In the recent 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, non-hospitalized cases were an important component of the chain of transmission. However, non-hospitalized cases are at increased risk of going unreported because of barriers to access to healthcare.

The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) project is designed to channel fresh water from the Yangtze River north to more industrialized parts of China. An important question is whether future climate change and dispersal via the SNWD may synergistically favor a northward expansion of species involved in hosting and transmitting schistosomiasis in China, specifically the intermediate host, Oncomelania hupensis.

Original Source

Zika spread in urban environments is characterized by complicated spatio-temporal patterns, likely linked not only to mosquito density but also to human activity patterns. We conducted a survey on Miami-Dade County residents on time spent outdoors. We then analyzed the Miami-Dade survey data and previously published activity data on the entire U.S. population. Our findings indicate high variability in the amount of time spent outdoors by individual residents.

The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is a remarkable, far-reaching project in China. This study was conducted to assess the impact of TGD on changes in the ecological environment, snail distribution and schistosomiasis transmission in Dongting Lake area.

Original Source

Snakebite is a major problem affecting the rural poor in many of the poorest countries in the tropics. However, the scale of the socio-economic burden has rarely been studied. We undertook a comprehensive assessment of the burden in Sri Lanka.

Original Source

Contact tracing is one of the key response actions necessary for controlling spread of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).