Asian Journal of Research in Infectious Diseases

COVID 19 can be considered as the most devastating pandemics that happened in the 21^st century. Many researches on its virology, epidemiology, transmission, diagnosis, and treatments are ongoing. Studies on the causative virus of COVID 19 has been successfully carried out. Its genome has been sequenced, analyzed and compared with other corona viruses in those studies. Some studies on disease transmission also been carried out and as an outcome of those studies, information about the stability of the virus in different conditions and sources of disease transmission are available. Symptoms of the disease also been successfully identified and diagnosis methods to identify infected patients are also been developed. Preventive measures for the disease also been published and implemented in many countries. However, at the time of writing, there is no permanent cure for this viral infection and it would take time to develop a vaccine and/or other medicine for this disease.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the association between HIV/AIDS knowledge and risk behaviors relating to HIV infection among African American undergraduate students at a Historically Black University.

Methods:  A cross-sectional study method was used. A total of 400 participants were randomly selected from Jackson State University undergraduate students. This study utilized a self-administered questionnaire on HIV/AIDS knowledge and their risk behaviors.

Results: Majority of the students (96.5%) had good knowledge about the disease, some respondents had some misconceptions about HIV infection. This study found no significant difference between male and female participants of this study on HIV/AIDS knowledge (χ2 = 3.05; P = 0.08). About 75.8% of respondents in this study have had at least one HIV risk behavior. HIV risk behaviors of these students were not varied by gender (χ2 = 2.76; P = 0.1). However, some students engaged in various HIV risk behaviors such as having unprotected sexual intercourse, multiple sexual partners, low and inconsistent condom use. There was an association between HIV/AIDS knowledge and risk behaviors relating to the disease (p= 0.03, Pearson’s χ2 = 5.237).

Conclusions:  Majority of the students demonstrated good knowledge of the disease and practiced at least one risk behavior predisposing them to HIV infection. There was an association between HIV/AIDS knowledge and risk behaviors relating to the disease infection. This study finding has shown that good knowledge about HIV/AIDS may not translate into positive behavior change. Hence, this study calls for sustained effective youth friendly programs geared toward addressing gaps in HIV/AIDS knowledge, misconceptions of the disease and eliminating various risk behaviors identified in this study.

Aims: Knowing the risk factors for tuberculosis (TB) opens up avenues for identifying target groups for intensified case finding. We aimed to identify the risk factors for pulmonary TB (PTB) incidence in a rural district in northern Ghana.

Study Design: A matched case-control study.

Place and Duration of Study: The Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region of Ghana, between February 2019 and March 2019.

Methodology: This study was conducted in 4 public health facilities. Cases were newly confirmed PTB patients aged 15 years or over, controls were age and sex matched outpatients. A pre-tested questionnaire collected information on a range of possible risk factors from participants. Conditional logistic regression identified independent risk factors for PTB incidence in a multivariable model at 95% confidence level.

Results: The analysis included 174 cases and controls. Multivariable analysis showed that the risk of PTB was increased with low household monthly income (AOR=3.45; 95% CI: 1.08-10.97; P=.03), smoking (AOR=2.69; 95% CI: 1.13-6.43; P=.02) as well as household exposure to a known TB case (AOR=2.57; 95% CI: 1.08-6.10; P=.03).

Conclusion: Low household monthly income, smoking, and household exposure to a known TB case were independent risk factors for PTB incidence. These factors can be used to actively screen for PTB in the population.

Aims: To characterize the frequency and clinical characteristics of venomous animals’ accidents in Mâncio Lima, Acre.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study took place in Mâncio Lima, Acre, Brazil, between 2013 and 2015.

Methodology: We included a cohort of 350 households (estimated to be 1,500 people of all ages) in the urban area of Mâncio Lima. The following questionnaires were applied: I. Occurrence of accidents by venomous animals and clinical characterization of accidents; II. The detailed description of households.

Results: There were 111 (8%) accidents with snakes, 138 (9.9%) accidents with scorpions, 108 (7.8%) accidents with spiders and 99 (7.1%) accidents with stingrays. Bothrops jararaca was the most cited snake, being edema (local and systemic) and muscular pain the main symptoms. In relation to scorpionism and arachnidism, the hands were the body site of the greatest number of injuries, with local pain/tingling and pain/blistering being the main symptoms, respectively. Accidents by stingrays occurred mostly in the shallow part of the river; feet and legs were the main body sites affected and local pain/bleeding were the main symptoms.

Conclusion: In Mâncio Lima, there was a severe frequency of envenomation in the population, specifically in low-income brown/black male rural workers with low educational level. A counter action is required with public health measures that protects the inhabitants of the region, offering greater hospital care and wide application of serum for everyone who needs it. It is also important to educate rural workers on venomous animals and preventive measures to avoid accidents.

This paper examined the demographic, temporal and spatial distribution of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic in Vietnam. COVID-19 data abstracted from the official website of Vietnam Ministry of Health, which provides details of each new, infected case, including age, sex, place of residence, and travel history. Vietnam has only had 268 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no reported fatality as of April 19, 2020. Of those who tested positive, 223 (83.2%) have recovered and discharged from hospitals. Younger age and men were significantly associated with a history of international travel. Women were more likely to get infection inside the country. Vietnam’s early and aggressive responses including a locally developed diagnostic test, a rapid rollout of  suspected cases, tracing of contacts and self-isolation of contacts and communities in which there had been a positive case was effective in limiting spread and keeping the incidence of Covid-19 low. The Vietnamese response could serve as a model for other countries.