NEW INFORMATION: A fish survey was conducted at 19 sites in the Masai River Basin, which is an urbanised watershed, focusing on river channels that have been straightened or converted into concrete-lined waterways. Additionally, fish surveys were conducted at eight sites in non-urbanised areas for comparison. The survey resulted in the collection of nine orders, 15 families, 28 genera, 32 species and a total of 3,007 individuals. In the urbanised sites, the proportion of native species in the total catch was extremely low, averaging only 10.4% across all sites, with invasive species making up the majority of the individuals captured. This indicates the significant shift in species composition due to urbanisation and the dominance of non-native species in these environments. On the other hand, in the non-urbanised areas, the proportion of native species was high at 88.7%, highlighting the significant impact of urbanisation on the invasion of non-native species. Particularly in the downstream areas of the urbanised watershed, species such as Poeciliasphenops, Mayaherosurophthalmus and Poeciliareticulata were frequently captured. In contrast, at sites in the upstream areas where forested habitats remained intact, native species listed on the IUCN Red List, such as Parambassissiamensis and Clariasbatrachus, were captured. The study revealed that urbanisation and development in the targeted watershed are progressing rapidly, underscoring the urgent need for the conservation and restoration of habitats for these native species.
METHODS: This single-center, cross-sectional study conducted at the Paediatric Emergency Department from 1 October 2022, to 31 January 2023, included children aged 4 years and older with ARTIs symptoms and excluded those who were COVID-19 positive. B. pertussis was detected via quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction on nasopharyngeal swabs and pertussis toxin (PT) IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
RESULTS: Children (n = 298) with a median (Interquartile range, [IQR]) age of 6.0 (5.0, 8.0) years old were recruited, and 98% were vaccinated adequately. Two cases of B. pertussis (n = 2/298, 0.67%) were detected. Both children were also co-infected with Bordetella spp. The majority of the patients (n = 246/296, 83.1%) had low protective antibodies against pertussis (anti-PT IgG <5 IU/ml), and children 5 years and older were more likely to have lower anti-PT Ig G levels of <5 IU/ml (odds ratio 2.02 [95% CI 1.04,3.90]) compared to children 4 years old.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of pertussis was low. However, there is significant waning immunity. Booster doses of pertussis vaccine should be given to all school-aged children.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the current state of disaster preparedness of the Armenian EMS system and the effects of the simultaneous pandemic and war on EMS providers.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted by anonymous survey distributed to physicians still working in the Yerevan EMS system who provided care to war casualties and COVID-19 patients.
RESULTS: Survey response rate was 70.6%. Most participants had been a physician (52.1%) or EMS physician (66.7%) for three or less years. The majority were still in residency (64.6%). Experience in battlefield medicine was limited prior to the war, with the majority reporting no experience in treating mass casualties (52.1%), wounds from explosives (52.1%), or performing surgical procedures (52.1%), and many reporting minimal to no experience in treating gunshot wounds (62.5%), severe burns (64.6%), and severe orthopedic injuries (64.6%). Participants had moderate experience in humanitarian medicine prior to war. Greater experience in battlefield medicine was found in participants with more than three years of experience as a physician (z-score -3.26; P value