1
|
Staub K, Ballouz T, Puhan M. An Unwanted but Long-Known Company: Post-Viral Symptoms in the Context of Past Pandemics in Switzerland (and Beyond). Public Health Rev 2024; 45:1606966. [PMID: 38651133 PMCID: PMC11033310 DOI: 10.3389/phrs.2024.1606966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Objectives: Some people do not fully recover from an acute viral infection and experience persistent symptoms or incomplete recovery for months or even years. This is not unique to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and history shows that post-viral conditions like post COVID-19 condition, also referred to as Long Covid, are not new. In particular, during and after pandemics caused by respiratory viruses in which large parts of the population were infected or exposed, professional and public attention was increased, not least because of the large number of people affected. Methods: Given the current relevance of the topic, this article aims to narratively review and summarize the literature on post-viral symptoms during past pandemics and to supplement and illustrate it with Swiss examples from the pandemics of 1890, 1918-1920 and later. Results: Post-viral diseases were an increasingly emphasised health topic during and after past pandemics triggered by respiratory infections over the last 150 years. Conclusion: In the next pandemic, it should not be surprising that post-viral conditions will again play a role, and pandemic plans should reflect this.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kaspar Staub
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Swiss School of Public Health, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Tala Ballouz
- Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Milo Puhan
- Swiss School of Public Health, Zurich, Switzerland
- Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ryan M, Gibbs LM, Sehgal SR. Health Support for At-Risk Older Adults during COVID-19. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:1856. [PMID: 37444693 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11131856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Older adults are highly susceptible to COVID-19 infection and at the highest risk for severe disease and death. Yet, older adults lacked access to accurate and easy-to-use COVID-19 information and support early in the pandemic. This prospective, experimental cohort study sought to examine whether older adults could be engaged during the pandemic through a community partner and if a low-touch intervention, designed with health literacy best practices, could positively impact COVID-19 knowledge, mitigation behaviors, telehealth/doctor visits, exercise, and loneliness. A senior resource kit was distributed to older adults sheltering at home through food assistance program agents from October 2020 to February 2021; the kit was developed using health literacy best practices. Simple random assignment was used to divide program participants into treatment and control groups. Both groups received senior kits, but the treatment group also received telephonic health coaching. The primary outcome was COVID-19 knowledge and mitigation behaviors as derived from self-reported surveys at baseline and after four months. Secondary outcomes included a telehealth or doctor visit, exercise frequency, and a loneliness score (3-Item Loneliness Scale). Health literacy was assessed using the BRIEF screening tool. Ninety-eight older adults consented to participate in the study and 87 completed the study (88.7% completion rate). Participants had moderate clinical risk, one-third preferred the Spanish language, and 52% were categorized as having inadequate or marginal health literacy. Significant changes were found for increasing COVID-19 mitigation behaviors and the frequency of exercise across the cohort, but not for COVID-19 knowledge, telehealth visits, or decreasing loneliness. Conclusions: Partnering with a trusted entity in the community is a feasible and important strategy to reach older adults during a lockdown and provide them with easy-to-read health information and resources. If the time horizon had been longer, improvements in other outcome variables may have been achieved.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marian Ryan
- Institute for Healthcare Advancement, La Habra, CA 90631, USA
| | - Lisa M Gibbs
- Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Irvine (UCI), Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Sonia R Sehgal
- Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Department of Family Medicine, University of California, Irvine (UCI), Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Chen J, Wang X, Li J, Sun L, Chen X, Chu Z, Zhang Z, Wu H, Zhao X, Li H, Zhang X. Influenza A Virus Weakens the Immune Response of Mice to Toxoplasma gondii, Thereby Aggravating T. gondii Infection. Vet Sci 2023; 10:vetsci10050354. [PMID: 37235437 DOI: 10.3390/vetsci10050354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the T. gondii type II strain (Pru) and respiratory viral infections, specifically focusing on the co-infection with PR8 (influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34). In this study, we found that the number of T. gondii (Pru) in the lungs of co-infected mice was significantly higher and lesions were more severe than those in the group infected with T. gondii (Pru) alone, whereas IAV (influenza A virus) copy numbers of co-infected and PR8 alone infected groups were negligible, suggesting that infection with IAV increased the pathogenicity of T. gondii (Pru) in mice. The invasion and proliferation assays demonstrated no significant effect of co-infection on T. gondii (Pru) infection or replication in vitro. To further explore the factors causing the altered pathogenicity of T. gondii (Pru) caused by co-infection, we found that decreased expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-12 in the co-infected group were associated with the early immune responses against T. gondii (Pru), which affected the division of T. gondii (Pru). Moreover, the significant decrease in the CD4+/CD8+ ratio indicated a weakened long-term immune killing ability of the host against T. gondii (Pru) following IAV infection. In conclusion, a T. gondii type II strain (Pru) could not be properly cleared by the host immune system after IAV infection, resulting in toxoplasmosis and even death in mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junpeng Chen
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Xiaoli Wang
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Jinxuan Li
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Lingyu Sun
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Xiao Chen
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Ziyu Chu
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Zhenzhao Zhang
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Hongxia Wu
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Xiaomin Zhao
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology and Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
- Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Hongmei Li
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology and Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
- Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| | - Xiao Zhang
- Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology and Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
- Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271002, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Abstract
The World Health Organisation has reported that the viral disease known as COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is the leading cause of death by a single infectious agent. This narrative review examines certain components of the pandemic: its origins, early clinical data, global and UK-focussed epidemiology, vaccination, variants, and long COVID.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A. D. Blann
- School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield Queensgate, Huddersfield, United Kingdom
| | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Herren DB, Verstreken F, Lluch A, Naqui Z, van der Heijden B. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on hand surgery: a FESSH perspective. J Hand Surg Eur Vol 2022; 47:562-567. [PMID: 35414270 DOI: 10.1177/17531934221093925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 has affected us all. The following collection of short essays highlights various aspects of the pandemic and how it has impacted hand surgery and lessons learned, from the perspective of the Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand (FESSH) Executive Committee members. A range of topics were individually chosen by each of the five committee members and presented.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel B Herren
- Department of Hand Surgery, Schulthess Klinik, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Alex Lluch
- Hand & Wrist Unit, Vall d'Hebron Hospital and Institut Kaplan, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Zaf Naqui
- Department of Trauma, Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Brigitte van der Heijden
- Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Jeroen Bosch Hospital's, Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|