Current World Health Organization (WHO) reports claim a decline in COVID-19 testing and reporting of new infections. To discuss the consequences of ignoring severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the endemic characteristics of the disease in 2023 with the ones estimated before using 2022 data sets are compared. The accumulated numbers of cases and deaths reported to the WHO by the 10 most infected countries and global figures were used to calculate the average daily numbers of cases DCC and deaths DDC per capita and case fatality rates (CFRs = DDC/DCC) for two periods in 2023. In some countries, the DDC values can be higher than the upper 2022 limit and exceed the seasonal influenza mortality. The increase in CFR in 2023 shows that SARS-CoV-2 infection is still dangerous. The numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths per capita in 2022 and 2023 do not demonstrate downward trends with the increase in the percentages of fully vaccinated people and boosters. The reasons may be both rapid mutations of the coronavirus, which reduced the effectiveness of vaccines and led to a large number of re-infections, and inappropriate management.

1. When fleas bit through films of Tuberculin, Vaccine Lymph, and Staphylococcus Emulsion lying upon the human skin, no inoculation was observed in 188 instances out of 195. In six of the experiments with Tuberculin, inoculation followed, which possibly was not due to the flea-bites. Controls gave positive results.

2. When the same materials were rubbed over recent flea-bites, no inoculations followed. Controls were positive.

3. A very minute dose of Tuberculin, such as might be conveyed by a flea's proboscis, will produce a recognisable reaction in a susceptible person.

4. The bearing of the results on the question of plague transmission is discussed.

Gaseous insecticides, such as methyl bromide and methallyl chloride, are being used on an increasing scale against insects attacking stored products such as grain, tobacco, etc. Their use involves two possible dangers. In the first place, the worker may be poisoned either during the actual gassing operation or during the preparatory period. Secondly, there is the possible danger to consumers through the absorption of these furnigants into the stored product.

Salmonella typhimurium strain 1566 administered to mice by the intraperitoneal route was considerably more lethal than the same dose administered subcutane-ously. This could be measured hi terms of mortality, infectivity and mean survival time of those mice that died.

Subacute and chronic meningitis (SCM) presents significant diagnostic challenges, with numerous infectious and non-infectious inflammatory causes. This study examined patients aged 16 and older with SCM admitted to referral centers for neuroinfections and neuroinflammations in Mashhad, Iran, between March 2015 and October 2022. Among 183 episodes, tuberculous meningitis was the most common infectious cause (46.5%), followed by Brucella meningitis (24.6%). The cause of SCM was definitively proven in 40.4%, presumptive in 35.0%, and unknown in 24.6% of cases. In-hospital mortality was 14.4%, and 30.5% of survivors experienced unfavorable outcomes (Glasgow Outcome Scale 2–4). Patients with unknown causes had a significantly higher risk of death compared to those with presumptive or proven diagnoses (risk ratio 4.18). This study emphasizes the diagnostic difficulties of SCM, with one-quarter of cases remaining undiagnosed and over one-third having only a presumptive diagnosis. Improving diagnostic methods could potentially enhance prognosis and reduce mortality.

We analysed the transmission of the human mpox virus in Spain by estimating the effective reproduction number of the disease from official surveillance data. Our computations show that this decreased steadily after an initial burst phase, dropping below 1 on July 12, and thus the outbreak was expected to reduce in the following weeks. Differences in trends were found across geographical regions of the country and across MSM and heterosexual populations.

The risk factors specific to the elderly population for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the Omicron variant of concern (VOC) are not yet clear. We performed an exploratory analysis using logistic regression to identify risk factors for severe COVID-19 illness among 4,868 older adults with a positive severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) test result who were admitted to a healthcare facility between 1 January 2022 and 16 May 2022. We then conducted one-to-one propensity score (PS) matching for three factors – dementia, admission from a long-term care facility and poor physical activity status – and used Fisher's exact test to compare the proportion of severe COVID-19 cases in the matched data. We also estimated the average treatment effect on treated (ATT) in each PS matching analysis. Of the 4,868 cases analysed, 1,380 were severe. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, male sex, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic lung disease, renal failure and/or dialysis, physician-diagnosed obesity, admission from a long-term care facility and poor physical activity status were risk factors for severe disease. Vaccination and dementia were identified as factors associated with non-severe illness. The ATT for dementia, admission from a long-term care facility and poor physical activity status was −0.04 (95% confidence interval −0.07 to −0.01), 0.09 (0.06 to 0.12) and 0.17 (0.14 to 0.19), respectively. Our results suggest that poor physical activity status and living in a long-term care facility have a substantial association with the risk of severe COVID-19 caused by the Omicron VOC, while dementia may be associated with non-severe illness.

Compared with 20, or even 10, years ago our present knowledge of food poisoning outbreaks is extensive and in certain directions fairly complete. In spite of this greatly extended knowledge there are some aspects in regard to which we are yet lacking in fundamental information. This is particularly the case as to the precise sources of infection. It may be accepted as a demonstrated fact that most outbreaks of food poisoning are due to infection of the food eaten with one or other member of the Gaertner group of bacilli. The present paper is only concerned with the outbreaks associated with this group of organisms. A study of the individual outbreaks usually supplies evidence which definitely incriminates a certain article of food, and for most of the recent outbreaks further evidence is forthcoming that this has been infected with one or other member of the Gaertner group of bacilli. Tracing the matter a step further back it is only in a quite small minority of outbreaks that the recorded facts show how the food has become so infected. In a proportion of cases, perhaps more than half for continental recorded outbreaks but in only a small fraction of the British outbreaks, it is true that definite evidence is forthcoming showing that the meat was derived from an animal itself suffering from general or local disease caused by Gaertner group bacilli. Even, however, for these cases our recorded knowledge ceases with this information, and we do not know how these animals became infected or whether they represent isolated cases or are part of widespread epidemics amongst the animals affected.

The spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 new variants increased the number of subjects in home isolation and quarantine. The aim of this study was to assess the compliance with coronavirus disease 2019 home isolation rules for 32 subjects in home care in Marche Region, Italy. The results showed that subjects in home isolation were better informed about isolation rules (P = 0.007) than those who were in quarantine. They had lower educational level (P < 0.001) and none/single income (P < 0.001) and higher rate of clinical manifestation. The education for a safe quarantine should be strengthened widely, especially among disadvantaged subjects.

Accurately predicting neurosyphilis prior to a lumbar puncture (LP) is critical for the prompt management of neurosyphilis. However, a valid and reliable model for this purpose is still lacking. This study aimed to develop a nomogram for the accurate identification of neurosyphilis in patients with syphilis. The training cohort included 9,504 syphilis patients who underwent initial neurosyphilis evaluation between 2009 and 2020, while the validation cohort comprised 526 patients whose data were prospectively collected from January 2021 to September 2021. Neurosyphilis was observed in 35.8% (3,400/9,504) of the training cohort and 37.6% (198/526) of the validation cohort. The nomogram incorporated factors such as age, male gender, neurological and psychiatric symptoms, serum RPR, a mucous plaque of the larynx and nose, a history of other STD infections, and co-diabetes. The model exhibited good performance with concordance indexes of 0.84 (95% CI, 0.83–0.85) and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.78–0.86) in the training and validation cohorts, respectively, along with well-fitted calibration curves. This study developed a precise nomogram to predict neurosyphilis risk in syphilis patients, with potential implications for early detection prior to an LP.

IN view of a previous failure1 to produce a skin infection with Ankylostoma, it seems worth while to put on record the present successful case. Dr J. B. Leathes very kindly offered himself as the subject of experiment. It is important to note that he has never, either before or during the course of the experiment, had anything to do with any Ankylosotoma material except that deliberately applied to his person for the purpose of this experiment, nor has he been to any infected place or even worked in the part of the Institute where the cultures of Ankylosotoma larvae have been kept. On March 21st a small quantity of water containing encapsuled larvae of A. duodenale, hatched artificially from infected faeces from Cornwall, and 13 days old, was applied to the forearm. After five minutes the arm was bandaged up and left for two hours, at the end of which time the wrappings were removed and the arm throughly cleansed. The purpose of the experiment and the precautions necessary were fully appreciated by the subject, and there is no doubt that there was not the slightest possibility of a mouth infection.

Healthcare workers’ (HCWs) safety and availability to care for patients are critical during a pandemic such as the one caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Among providers of different specialities, it is critical to protect those working in hospital settings with a high risk of infection. Using an agent-based simulation model, various staffing policies were developed and simulated for 90 days using data from the largest health systems in South Carolina. The model considers staffing policies that include geographic segregation, interpersonal contact limits, and a combination of factors, including the patient census, transmission rates, vaccination status of providers, hospital capacity, incubation time, quarantine period, and interactions between patients and providers. Comparing the existing practices to various risk-adjusted staffing policies, model predictions show that restricted teaming and rotating schedules significantly (p-value <0.01) reduced weekly HCW unavailability and the number of infected HCWs by 22% and 38%, respectively, when the vaccination rates among HCWs were lower (<75%). However, as the vaccination rate increases, the benefits of risk-adjusted policies diminish; and when 90% of HCWs were vaccinated, there were no significant (p-value = 0.09) benefits. Although these simulated outcomes are specific to one health system, our findings can be generalised to other health systems with multiple locations.

This study examined relationships between foodborne outbreak investigation characteristics, such as the epidemiological methods used, and the success of the investigation, as determined by whether the investigation identified an outbreak agent (i.e. pathogen), food item and contributing factor. This study used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Outbreak Reporting System and National Environmental Assessment Reporting System to identify outbreak investigation characteristics associated with outbreak investigation success. We identified investigation characteristics that increase the probability of successful outbreak investigations: a rigorous epidemiology investigation method; a thorough environmental assessment, as measured by number of visits to complete the assessment; and the collection of clinical samples. This research highlights the importance of a comprehensive outbreak investigation, which includes epidemiology, environmental health and laboratory personnel working together to solve the outbreak.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a zoonotic disease transmitted from dromedary camels to people, which can result in outbreaks with human-to-human transmission. Because it is a subclinical infection in camels, epidemiological measures other than prevalence are challenging to assess. This study estimated the force of infection (FOI) of MERS-CoV in camel populations from age-stratified serological data. A cross-sectional study of MERS-CoV was conducted in Kenya from July 2016 to July 2017. Seroprevalence was stratified into four age groups: <1, 1–2, 2–3 and >3 years old. Age-independent and age-dependent linear and quadratic generalised linear models were used to estimate FOI in pastoral and ranching camel herds. Models were compared based on computed AIC values. Among pastoral herds, the age-dependent quadratic FOI was the best fit model, while the age-independent FOI was the best fit for the ranching herd data. FOI provides an indirect estimate of infection risk, which is especially valuable where direct estimates of incidence and other measures of infection are challenging to obtain. The FOIs estimated in this study provide important insight about MERS-CoV dynamics in the reservoir species, and contribute to our understanding of the zoonotic risks of this important public health threat.

Legionellosis is a respiratory infection caused by Legionella sp. that is found in water and soil. Infection may cause pneumonia (Legionnaires’ Disease) and a milder form (Pontiac Fever). Legionella colonizes water systems and results in exposure by inhalation of aerosolized bacteria. The incubation period ranges from 2 to 14 days. Precipitation and humidity may be associated with increased risk. We used Medicare records from 1999 to 2020 to identify hospitalizations for legionellosis. Precipitation, temperature, and relative humidity were obtained from the PRISM Climate Group for the zip code of residence. We used a time-stratified bi-directional case-crossover design with lags of 20 days. Data were analyzed using conditional logistic regression and distributed lag non-linear models. A total of 37 883 hospitalizations were identified. Precipitation and relative humidity at lags 8 through 13 days were associated with an increased risk of legionellosis. The strongest association was precipitation at day 10 lag (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.05–1.11 per 1 cm). Over 20 days, 3 cm of precipitation increased the odds of legionellosis over four times. The association was strongest in the Northeast and Midwest and during summer and fall. Precipitation and humidity were associated with hospitalization among Medicare recipients for legionellosis at lags consistent with the incubation period for infection.