U.S. Preparedness and Response to Increasing Clade I Mpox Cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - United States, 2024.

Clade I monkeypox virus (MPXV), which can cause severe illness in more people than clade II MPXVs, is endemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but the country has experienced an increase in suspected cases during 2023-2024. In light of the 2022 global outbreak of clade II mpox, the increase in suspected clade I cases in DRC raises concerns that the virus could spread to other countries and underscores the importance of coordinated, urgent global action to support DRC's efforts to contain the virus. To date, no cases of clade I mpox have been detected outside of countries in Central Africa where the virus is endemic.

Determining Gaps in Publicly Shared SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Surveillance Data by Analysis of Global Submissions.

Viral genomic surveillance has been a critical source of information during the COVID-19 pandemic, but publicly available data can be sparse, concentrated in wealthy countries, and often made public weeks or months after collection. We used publicly available viral genomic surveillance data submitted to GISAID and GenBank to examine sequencing coverage and lag time to submission during 2020-2021. We compared publicly submitted sequences by country with reported infection rates and population and also examined data based on country-level World Bank income status and World Health Organization region.

Trends in Percentages of the US Population Covered by State-Issued COVID-19 Nonpharmaceutical Interventions, March 1, 2020-August 15, 2021.

Trends in the percentages of the US population covered by state-issued nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including restaurant and bar restrictions, stay-at-home orders, gathering limits, and mask mandates, were examined by using county-specific data sets on state-issued orders for NPIs from March 1, 2020, to August 15, 2021. Most of the population was covered by multiple NPIs early in the pandemic. Most state-issued orders were lifted or relaxed as COVID-19 cases decreased during summer 2020.

Mitigation Policies and COVID-19-Associated Mortality - 37 European Countries, January 23-June 30, 2020.

As cases and deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Europe rose sharply in late March, most European countries implemented strict mitigation policies, including closure of nonessential businesses and mandatory stay-at-home orders. These policies were largely successful at curbing transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 (1), but they came with social and economic costs, including increases in unemployment, interrupted education, social isolation, and related psychosocial outcomes (2,3). A better understanding of when and how these policies were effective is needed.

Observations of the global epidemiology of COVID-19 from the prepandemic period using web-based surveillance: a cross-sectional analysis.

Unlabelled: Background Scant data are available about global patterns of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread and global epidemiology of early confirmed cases of COVID-19 outside mainland China. We describe the global spread of SARS-CoV-2 and characteristics of COVID-19 cases and clusters before the characterisation of COVID-19 as a pandemic.

Methods: Cases of COVID-19 reported between Dec 31, 2019, and March 10, 2020 (ie, the prepandemic period), were identified daily from official websites, press releases, press conference transcripts, and social media feeds of national ministries of health or other government agencies.

Building Laboratory-Based Arbovirus Sentinel Surveillance Capacity During an Ongoing Dengue Outbreak, Burkina Faso, 2017.

In West Africa, identification of nonmalarial acute febrile illness (AFI) etiologic pathogens is challenging, given limited epidemiologic surveillance and laboratory testing, including for AFI caused by arboviruses. Consequently, public health action to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks is constrained, as experienced during dengue outbreaks in several African countries. We describe the successful implementation of laboratory-based arbovirus sentinel surveillance during a dengue outbreak in Burkina Faso during fall 2017.

West Nile Virus Lineage 2 in Horses and Other Animals with Neurologic Disease, South Africa, 2008-2015.

During 2008-2015 in South Africa, we conducted West Nile virus surveillance in 1,407 animals with neurologic disease and identified mostly lineage 2 cases in horses (7.4%, 79/1,069), livestock (1.5%, 2/132), and wildlife (0.

Herd Protection from Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Interventions.

Herd immunity arises when a communicable disease is less able to propagate because a substantial portion of the population is immune. Nonimmunizing interventions, such as insecticide-treated bednets and deworming drugs, have shown similar herd-protective effects. Less is known about the herd protection from drinking water, sanitation, and hand hygiene (WASH) interventions.

I get height with a little help from my friends: herd protection from sanitation on child growth in rural Ecuador.

Background: Infectious disease interventions, such as vaccines and bed nets, have the potential to provide herd protection to non-recipients. Similarly, improved sanitation in one household may provide community-wide benefits if it reduces contamination in the shared environment. Sanitation at the household level is an important predictor of child growth, but less is known about the effect of sanitation coverage in the community.

Tracking progress towards global drinking water and sanitation targets: A within and among country analysis.

Introduction: Global access to safe drinking water and sanitation has improved dramatically during the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) period. However, there is substantial heterogeneity in progress between countries and inequality within countries.

Methods: We assessed countries' temporal patterns in access to drinking water and sanitation using publicly available data.

The joint effects of water and sanitation on diarrhoeal disease: a multicountry analysis of the Demographic and Health Surveys.

Objectives: To assess whether the joint effects of water and sanitation infrastructure, are acting antagonistically (redundant services preventing the same cases of diarrhoeal disease), independently, or synergistically; and to assess how these effects vary by country and over time.

Methods: We used data from 217 Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 74 countries between 1986 and 2013. We used modified Poisson regression to assess the impact of water and sanitation infrastructure on the prevalence of diarrhoea among children under 5.

Shared sanitation and the prevalence of diarrhea in young children: evidence from 51 countries, 2001-2011.

Shared sanitation is defined as unimproved because of concerns that it creates unsanitary conditions; this policy is being reconsidered. We assessed whether sharing a toilet facility was associated with an increased prevalence of diarrhea among children < 5 years of age. We use data from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in 51 countries.

Estimation of the national disease burden of influenza-associated severe acute respiratory illness in Kenya and Guatemala: a novel methodology.

Background: Knowing the national disease burden of severe influenza in low-income countries can inform policy decisions around influenza treatment and prevention. We present a novel methodology using locally generated data for estimating this burden.

Methods And Findings: This method begins with calculating the hospitalized severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) incidence for children <5 years old and persons ≥5 years old from population-based surveillance in one province.

The population-based burden of influenza-associated hospitalization in rural western Kenya, 2007-2009.

Objective: To estimate the burden and age-specific rates of influenza-associated hospitalization in rural western Kenya.

Methods: All 3924 patients with respiratory illness (defined as acute cough, difficulty in breathing or pleuritic chest pain) who were hospitalized between June 2007 and May 2009 in any inpatient health facility in the Kenyan district of Bondo were enrolled. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected and tested for influenza viruses using real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).