INTRODUCTION Data on the burden and risk groups for influenza-associated mortality from Africa are limited. We aimed to estimate the incidence and risk-factors for in-hospital influenza-associated severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) deaths. METHODS Hospitalised patients with SARI were enrolled prospectively in four provinces of South Africa from 2009-2013. Using polymerase chain reaction,...

BACKGROUND The Binational Border Infectious Disease Surveillance program began surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) on the US-Mexico border in 2009. Here, we describe patients in Southern Arizona. METHODS Patients admitted to five acute care hospitals that met the SARI case definition (temperature ≥37·8°C or reported fever or chills with history of cough, sore throat, o...

Acanthamoeba, a free-living amoeba, is widely distributed in the environment, water sources, soil, dust, and air. It can cause keratitis in contact lens wearers with poor hygiene and also fatal granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE) in immunocompromised hosts. The aim of this study was to gain some insights into the distribution and genotypes of the potentially pathogenic species of Acanthamoe...

BACKGROUND Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) have been recognised as pathogens that cause a broad spectrum of diseases. The studies on HAdV infection among children with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) are limited. OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence, epidemiology, and genotype of HAdV among children with SARI in China. STUDY DESIGN Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) or induced sputum (...

INTRODUCTION Difficult airway management is associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Several preoperative risk factors associated with airway management difficulties have been proposed; however, no clear guideline for airway assessments exists. We therefore hypothesised that Danish airway assessment was lacking uniformity. We aimed to examine whether multivariable risk asse...

BACKGROUND Mongolia's Health Service began to conduct surveillance for influenza in the 1970s. This surveillance has become more comprehensive over time and now includes 155 sentinel sites in Mongolia. In this study, we analyzed the epidemiological characteristics and impact of influenza using data from influenza surveillance in Mongolia. MATERIALS AND METHODS The data were collected by the N...

BACKGROUND In Kenya, detailed data on the age-specific burden of influenza and RSV are essential to inform use of limited vaccination and treatment resources. METHODS We analyzed surveillance data from August 2009 to July 2012 for hospitalized severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) and outpatient influenza-like illness (ILI) at two health facilities in western Kenya to estimate the burden of...

Since 2009 pandemic, international health authorities recommended monitoring severe and complicated cases of respiratory disease, that is, severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We evaluated the proportion of SARI/ARDS cases and deaths due to influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection and the impact of other respiratory viruses during pandemic and postpa...

We have examined longitudinally an ICT for development project in rural India, closely watching activities and surveying users at as many as 100 Internet facilities in more than 50 different villages. The Sustainable Access in Rural India (SARI) project in Tamil Nadu, India, enjoyed many successes, including palpable—albeit localized—social and economic development impacts as well as the incuba...

This paper presents two metaheuristic algorithms, namely taboo search and simulated annealing, applied to the control of a flow rack automated storage retrieval system (AS/RS). These metaheuristic algorithms are developed to control the retrieval machine of the AS/RS in order to minimize the retrieval cycle time. Results of these metaheuristic algorithms are compared to classical heuristics and...