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Risk Factors

Description

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne viral zoonosis. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of antibodies to RVF virus (RVFV) in cattle, sheep, and goats in South Africa, near the 2010-2011 outbreak epicenter and identify factors associated with seropositivity.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of antibodies to RVFV in domestic cattle, sheep, and goats in a study area in the central interior of South Africa, and to identify factors associated with seropositivity.

Submitted by elamb on
Description

Public health surveillance relies on surveys and/or self-reported data collection, both of which require manpower, time commitment, and financial resources from public health agencies and participants. The survey results can quickly become outdated due to fast-paced changes in our society. The health habits of Canadians have rapidly evolved with technology and research indicates we are becoming a sedentary society, thus the levels of physical activity (PA) are very important population level health indicators. We will present a novel method to gather data at a granular level in near real-time, with minimal effort from participants. Simple thermostats are found in nearly every house in Canada, and smart thermostats enable efficient temperature adjustment, saving energy costs by adjusting according to human activity. Thermostats are ubiquitous in Canadian homes and the current expansion of smart thermostats make them an ideal data source over traditional methods. Utilizing technology that can be deployed at a population level will enable vast granular data collection beyond capabilities of traditional surveys. In this project UbiLab1 is exploring the use of the zero-effort technology using sensor data collected by smart thermostats and other associated sensors to develop an innovative health surveillance platform and monitor an individual's health at the household level as well as health indicators at population level. Utilizing the smart wi-fi thermostat, we able to report on PA, sedentary behaviour, and sleep patterns at the household level. The thermostat and remote sensors (RS) contain temperature and motion sensors, which can be used to monitor activity in the home (i.e. lack of travel indicates sedentary behaviour), as well as sleep characteristics. This is beneficial as no action is required from participants, allowing individuals to go about their lives unperturbed. This powerful system will be able to deliver real-time health insights to public health professionals.

Objective: The objective of this study is to explore individual, household and population-level health indicators collected in the home via smart thermostats. The study's approach is to (a) identify if it is possible to isolate specific user behaviours using the motion and thermostat sensor data, and (b) develop Remote Monitoring of healthy behaviours at population level. Furthermore, this study is interested in identifying if observed patterns will suffer variations. As a result, it will be possible to understand human behaviours and consequently understand lifestyle habits of a person or a group of people.

Submitted by elamb on
Description

Contact tracing is an important strategy employed in surveillance to aid prompt detection of infectious disease and control outbreaks. It involves the identification of those who have come in contact with an infectious person and following them up for the duration of the incubation period of the disease to promptly detect symptoms and signs and institute treatment thus reducing chances of disease spread to other susceptible individuals. It is a primary means of disease prevention. The importance of cooperation from contacts being traced cannot be overemphasized as they are required to promptly report symptoms, avoid gatherings and travelling until they are cleared by the surveillance team. The follow-up should also link contacts who become symptomatic to designated care centers. In 2014, during the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, the disease spread from Lagos to another State in the country by a contact who travelled out of Lagos to Rivers state. To identify risk factors among contacts of Lassa fever cases which can predispose to disease spread and institute control measures, we interviewed primary contacts of Lassa fever cases during an outbreak response in Kogi State Nigeria, 2016.

Objective: To identify risk factors among contacts of Lassa fever cases which can predispose to disease spread and institute control measures.

Submitted by elamb on