Research suggests that racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 in the US are largely driven by higher rates of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among Hispanic/Latino and Black populations. Occupational exposures play a large role in structuring risk of exposure, and essential workers are at elevated risk of COVID-19 infection. At a national-level, workers categorized as “essential” and “high-risk” are disproportionately Hispanic/Latino, but we lack analysis examining local-level racial/ethnic disparities in potential occupational exposures.
A Viewpoint on Europe's response to climate change, in the context of SDGs 12, 13, and 17, focusing specifically on the use of region-specific indicators to address the main challenges and opportunities of Europe's response in the context of public and planetary health.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused by zoonotic SARS-CoV-2, has important links to biodiversity loss and ecosystem health. These links range from anthropogenic activities driving zoonotic disease emergence and extend to the pandemic affecting biodiversity conservation, environmental policy, ecosystem services, and multiple conservation facets. Crucially, such effects can exacerbate the initial drivers, resulting in feedback loops that are likely to promote future zoonotic disease outbreaks.
Viral diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, known as arboviruses, pose a significant threat to human life and are a major burden on many health systems around the world. Currently, arbovirus control strategies rely on insecticides or vector source reduction and, in the absence of effective, accessible and affordable vaccines, mainly on symptomatic based, non-specific treatments. However, insecticides have the potential to interfere with non-target organisms, cause environmental toxicity and insecticide resistance reduces their effectiveness as a sustainable control method.
This study supports SDGs 3 and 6 by suggesting that current methods of cholera control are insufficient at achieving zero transmission of Vibrio cholerae in Haiti, and that large-scale cholera vaccination campaigns are needed alongside improvements in water and sanitation for long-term cholera elimination.
Background: Hepatitis B causes more than 800 000 deaths globally each year. Perinatal infections are a major driver of this burden but can be prevented by vaccination within 24 h of birth. Currently, only 44% of newborn babies in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) receive a timely birth dose. We investigated the effects and cost-effectiveness of implementing ambient storage of hepatitis B vaccines under a controlled temperature chain (CTC) protocol and the use of compact prefilled auto-disable (CPAD) devices for community births.
Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) worldwide. Previous reviews investigating the role of circumcision in preventing HIV and other STIs among MSM were inconclusive. Many new studies have emerged in the past decade. To inform global prevention strategies for HIV and other STIs among MSM, we reviewed all available evidence on the associations between circumcision and HIV and other STIs among MSM.
This study supports SDGs 3 and 6 by showing that elementary WASH interventions alone were insufficient in reducing the prevalence of stunting, anaemia, and diarrhoea in children in rural Zimbabwe; these findings call for greater investment into, and scale-up of, WASH programmes in rural settings, in order to achieve more meaningful improvements in child health outcomes.
