The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
-
The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the multidimensional and inseparable connection between human health and environmental systems. COVID-19, similar to other emerging zoonotic diseases, has had a devastating impact on our planet. ⋯ This piece further explores other critical components of a planetary health approach to societal response, such as the seasonality of disease patterns, the impact of climate change on infectious disease, and the built environment, which can increase population vulnerabilities to pandemics. To address planetary health threats that cross international borders, such as COVID-19, societies must practice interdependence sovereignty and direct resources to organizations that facilitate shared global governance, and thus can enable us to adapt and ultimately build a more resilient world.
-
Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. · Jul 2020
COVID-19 Mitigation Steps Provide a Blueprint for Malaria Control and Elimination.
Most countries around the world have responded promptly to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) challenge by adopting considered and scientifically guided strategies for its containment. However, the situation is more complex for nations where malaria is endemic, as they now have the additional burden of COVID-19. In such nations, the healthcare systems are either in the preparatory or containment phase of the current pandemic. ⋯ Nonetheless, we feel that the best facets of COVID-19 public health management can become new guiding principles in malaria-endemic countries to improve malaria control and hasten malaria elimination. Redirection against malaria of the best public health initiatives used in COVID-19 containment could fast-track the global goal of a malaria-free world. Such public health advancement could be one positive outcome from the scourge of COVID-19.
-
Because of the pandemic of COVID-19, the federal government of Nigeria has instituted a mandatory policy requiring everyone going out in public to wear face masks. Unfortunately, the Nigeria media is awash with images of misuse and abuse of face masks by the public, government officials, and healthcare workers. Medical masks are used widely in community settings amid reported scarcity within healthcare facilities. ⋯ Inappropriate use and disposal of face masks in Nigeria could promote the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country and negate the country's efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. In the implementation of the universal masking policy in Nigeria, federal and state governments ought to consider local applicability, feasibility, and sustainability, as well as identify and mitigate all potential risks and unintended consequences. Also critical is the need for intensive public sensitization and education on appropriate use and disposal of face masks in the country.
-
Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. · Jul 2020
Concealment of Potential Exposure to COVID-19 and Its Impact on Outbreak Control: Lessons from the HIV Response.
Globally, more than 4 million people have been infected with COVID-19, and more than 300,000 deaths have been reported across 188 countries. Concealment of one's potential exposure to the virus has negative implications for the spread of COVID-19 across the socio-ecological spectrum, including the futility of contact-tracing efforts, exposure of frontline staff, and the spread of COVID-19 in the community. We draw lessons learned from HIV to discuss stigma and the attribution of blame surrounding the phenomenon of concealment of one's potential exposure to COVID-19 using a socio-ecological perspective. This article also illustrates the psychosocial aspect of the disease, and the negative repercussions of concealment of potential exposure on transmission in the community and to front-liners, healthcare resources, and outbreak containment.
-
Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. · Jul 2020
Precision Physical Distancing for COVID-19: An Important Tool in Unlocking the Lockdown.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the more routine public health measures, many countries have implemented "lockdowns"-closing borders, restricting international travel, and placing severe limitations on individual movement and group gatherings. While lockdowns may be an important tool to limit transmission, they come at a potentially great cost with regard to economic impact, mental health consequences, and increased morbidity and mortality from non-COVID-19 diseases. ⋯ It has the advantages of being low cost, adaptable to diverse sociocultural and economic settings through community ownership and local action, and more easily monitored and potentially enforced than less precise measures. Precision physical distancing can be one important component of a sustainable long-term solution that is proportionate to the risk yet does not have a disproportionate impact on society and the economy, allowing a partial return to normal activities, with the community as an essential partner.