Hybrid Approach to Estimation of Underreporting of Tuberculosis Case Notification in High-Burden Settings With Weak Surveillance Infrastructure: Design and Implementation of an Inventory Study

BackgroundThe greatest risk of infectious disease undernotification occurs in settings with limited capacity to detect it reliably. World Health Organization guidance on the measurement of misreporting is paradoxical, requiring robust, independent systems to assess surveillance rigor. Methods are needed to estimate undernotification in settings with incomplete, flawed, or weak surveillance systems. This study attempted to design a tuberculosis (TB) inventory study that balanced rigor with feasibility for high-need settings.ObjectiveThis study aims to design a hybrid TB inventory study for contexts without World Health Organization preconditions. We estimated the proportion of TB cases that were not reported to the Ministry of Health in 2015. The study sought to describe TB surveillance coverage and quality at different levels of TB care provision. Finally, we aimed to identify structural-, facility-, and provider-level barriers to notification and reasons for underreporting, nonreporting, and overreporting.MethodsRetrospective partial digitalization of paper-based surveillance and facility records preceded deterministic and probabilistic record linkage; a hybrid of health facilities and laboratory census with a stratified sampling of HFs with no capacity to notify leveraged a priori knowledge. Distinct extrapolation methods were applied to the sampled health facilities to estimate bacteriologically confirmed versus clinical TB. In-depth interviews and focus groups were used to identify causal factors responsible for undernotification and test the acceptability of remedies.ResultsThe hybrid approach proved viable and instructive. High-specificity verification of paper-based records in the field was efficient and had minimal errors. Limiting extrapolation to clinical cases improved precision. Probabilistic record linkage is computationally intensive, and the choice of software influences estimates. Record absence, decay, and overestimation of the private sector TB treatment behavior threaten validity, meriting mitigation. Data management demands were underestimated. Treatment success was modest in all sectors (R=37.9%–72.0%) and did not align with treatment success reported by the state (6665/8770, 75.99%). One-fifth of TB providers (36/178, 20%) were doubtful that the low volume of patients with TB treated in their facility merited mastery of the extensive TB notification forms and procedures.ConclusionsSubnational inventory studies can be rigorous, relevant, and efficient in countries that need them even in the absence of World Health Organization preconditions, if precautions are taken. The use of triangulation techniques, with minimal recourse to sampling and extrapolation, and the privileging of practical information needs of local decision makers yield reasonable misreporting estimates and viable policy recommendations.     

Confirmed Cases of Ophidiomycosis in Museum Specimens from as Early as 1945, United States

Ophidiomycosis represents a conservation threat to wild snake populations. The disease was reported in North America early in the 21st century, but the history of ophidiomycosis has not been investigated. We examined museum specimens and confirmed cases of ophidiomycosis >50 years before the disease’s reported emergence.     

2015—2020年湖南省感染性腹泻病原学及分子流行病学特征分析

目的 了解湖南省感染性腹泻的病原谱,追踪其分子流行病学演变趋势,为感染性腹泻的综合防治提供科学依据。 方法 通过哨点监测结合暴发疫情监测的方法,收集2015—2020年湖南省感染性腹泻标本,对细菌病原采用细菌培养、生化鉴定进行检测;对病毒病原采用分子生物学方法进行分型鉴定,并对部分PCR阳性标本进行序列测定。 结果 哨点医院主动监测的总阳性率为35.61%,病毒检出率20.26%高于细菌检出率11.26%,混合病原感染检出率为4.09%。细菌病原谱以沙门菌O∶4群鼠伤寒型为主,病毒病原谱以轮状病毒A组G9P[8]型和诺如病毒GⅡ.4Sydney[P31]型感染为主。不同监测、不同年份的病原谱构成及其基因型变迁规律各不相同:哨点医院监测细菌阳性率低而病毒阳性率高时,诺如暴发疫情随之增加;暴发疫情中诺如病毒感染为86.78%,其中69.43%为GⅡ型感染,12.42%为GⅠ型感染,混合感染占3.03%。诺如病毒暴发疫情具有明显季节性,优势基因型为GⅡ.2[P16]占42.97%。 结论 2015—2020年湖南省感染性腹泻病毒类病原体高于细菌类,鼠伤寒沙门菌、A组轮状病毒G9P[8]和诺如病毒GⅡ.4 Sydney [P31]是最主要的病原体和优势血清/基因型;GⅡ.2 [P16]是诺如病毒暴发流行的优势基因型;通过连续哨点监测的数据支持,提前为暴发疫情做好了防控,促成了湖南省感染性腹泻发病率的平稳下降。     

Genomic Analysis of Novel Poxvirus Brazilian Porcupinepox Virus,Brazil, 2019

We obtained the complete sequence of a novel poxvirus, tentatively named Brazilian porcupinepox virus, from a wild porcupine (Coendou prehensilis) in Brazil that had skin and internal lesions characteristic of poxvirus infection. The impact of this lethal poxvirus on the survival of this species and its potential zoonotic importance remain to be investigated.     

SARS-CoV-2对生育的影响

近年严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2,SARS-CoV-2）大流行对人类健康造成了威胁。研究表明,SARS-CoV-2对人类生育能力有潜在影响,对男性生育力的影响远大于女性。目前研究表明接种疫苗可能不会对人类的生育能力存在不利影响。感染SARS-CoV-2会不会发生性传播、垂直传播及母婴传播,从而对下一代产生影响,目前暂不清楚。尚需要从生殖医学科、传染病学科角度探讨SARS-CoV-2及其疫苗对生育的影响,并讨论可能存在的性传播、垂直传播和母婴传播,以提高对SARS-CoV-2及其疫苗的认识。     

Surgery for infective endocarditis—analysis of factors affecting outcome

PurposeDespite advances in medical care, infective endocarditis (IE) has high mortality. Surgery for IE though recommended for complications of the disease is still not commonly offered due to conflicting reports in the literature. We reviewed our results of surgery for IE from the last 5 years to assess their outcome.MethodsA retrospective review from a single center of consecutive patients who underwent surgery for infective endocarditis from September 2014 to December 2019 was done. Data was collected from hospital records and follow-up done up to May 2020. Outcomes evaluated were mortality, follow-up survival, and postoperative complications. Factors affecting mortality and survival were analyzed.ResultsNinety-seven patients underwent surgery for IE during this period. Seventy-nine had native valve endocarditis (NVE) and 18 had prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). The overall postoperative mortality was 13%, with mortality for native valve endocarditis being 11% and that for prosthetic valve endocarditis being 22%, which was not statistically significant. Three-year survival for the overall group was 88.7% with 88.1% for NVE and 91.7% for PVE. Multivariate predictors of operative mortality were a high EuroSCORE II, diabetes mellitus, and the presence of Staphylococcus organism.ConclusionSurgery for infective endocarditis has a very acceptable early outcome and intermediate-term survival.     

Cytomegalovirus DNAemia and risk of mortality in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: Analysis from the Spanish Hematopoietic Transplantation and Cell Therapy Group

The net impact of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNAemia on overall mortality (OM) and nonrelapse mortality (NRM) following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains a matter of debate. This was a retrospective, multicenter, noninterventional study finally including 749 patients. CMV DNA monitoring was conducted by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Clinical outcomes of interest were OM and NRM through day 365 after allo-HSCT. The cumulative incidence of CMV DNAemia in this cohort was 52.6%. A total of 306 out of 382 patients with CMV DNAemia received preemptive antiviral therapy (PET). PET use for CMV DNAemia, but not the occurrence of CMV DNAemia, taken as a qualitative variable, was associated with increased OM and NRM in univariate but not in adjusted models. A subcohort analysis including patients monitored by the COBAS Ampliprep/COBAS Taqman CMV Test showed that OM and NRM were comparable in patients in whom either low or high plasma CMV DNA threshold (<500 vs ≥500 IU/mL) was used for PET initiation. In conclusion, CMV DNAemia was not associated with increased OM and NRM in allo-HSCT recipients. The potential impact of PET use on mortality was not proven but merits further research.     

Early steroid withdrawal in HIV-infected kidney transplant recipients: Utilization and outcomes

Kidney transplant (KT) outcomes for HIV-infected (HIV+) persons are excellent, yet acute rejection (AR) is common and optimal immunosuppressive regimens remain unclear. Early steroid withdrawal (ESW) is associated with AR in other populations, but its utilization and impact are unknown in HIV+ KT. Using SRTR, we identified 1225 HIV+ KT recipients between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2017, without AR, graft failure, or mortality during KT admission, and compared those with ESW with those with steroid continuation (SC). We quantified associations between ESW and AR using multivariable logistic regression and interval-censored survival analysis, as well as with graft failure and mortality using Cox regression, adjusting for donor, recipient, and immunologic factors. ESW utilization was 20.4%, with more zero HLA mismatch (8% vs 4%), living donors (26% vs 20%), and lymphodepleting induction (64% vs 46%) compared to the SC group. ESW utilization varied widely across 129 centers, with less use at high- versus moderate-volume centers (6% vs 21%, P < .001). AR was more common with ESW by 1 year (18.4% vs 12.3%; aOR: _1.081.61_2.41, P = .04) and over the study period (aHR: _1.021.39_1.90, P = .03), without difference in death-censored graft failure (aHR _0.600.91_1.36, P = .33) or mortality (aHR: _0.751.15_1.77, P = .45). To reduce AR after HIV+ KT, tailoring of ESW utilization is reasonable.