Journal of Health Sciences and Surveillance System
Volume:9 Issue: 4, Oct 2021

Rickettsialinfections occur worldwide. Rickettsia spp. are mandatory intracellular Gram-negative bacteria that can cause mild to severe disease.

Recently, with increasing international travel to high-risk areas, the risk of rickettsia transmission has increased. These infections are also important because of their possible use as bioterrorism agents. In this study, we investigated arthropod-borne rickettsial diseases.

This systematic review study was performed based on PRISMA guidelines. All Persian and English language articles published until the end of 2019 were extracted during the search in the scientific databases of Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Medlib, Irandoc, Magiran, and SID.

 A total of 62 studies related to the field of arthropod-borne rickettsial diseases between 1940 and 2020 were included in the systematic review. Rickettsiae are related to arthropods which will act as vectors and reservoirs within the bacteria life cycle. To date, ticks (Acari: Ixodidae), lice (Phtiraptera), and fleas (Siphonaptera) have been identified as the main suitable vectors of rickettsiae. Recently, mosquitoes have been suggested as potential vectors for R. felis.

One of the most important rickettsial diseases in Iran has been typhus. Historically, typhus has been one of the main health problems with a financial effect in Iran; be that as it may, there are constrained data on the prevalence of typhus within the past centuries. In Iran, there were both epidemic and endemic typhus. Health care officials and physicians should always consider the potential risk of typhus outbreaks under certain conditions. Natural disasters, famines, and overcrowded camps increase the risk of transmission of these infectious diseases

Lice are obligate parasites that bring about some mild infestation or severe diseases on different parts of the human body. Head lice can easily spread in an overcrowded community with inadequate hygienic conditions. Also, it affects children’s well-being and education programs.

This study is a narrative review.  To carry out this comprehensive research about pediculosis in Iran, all published data on scientific research resources were included i.e.  Google scholar, Springer, ProQuest, JSTOR, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, Bioline, BioOne, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, PubMed, Sage, Wiley Online Library, World Scientific, and SID.  

Overall, 52,342 students (from primary and secondary schools) and around 20,000 adult persons were infested with P. capitis in Iran during 3 decades (1990-2020) as reported by published documents but the actual number may statistically be higher. The variation of results implies that risk factors are linked with numerous cultural, geographical, economic, and personal habits.  In general, the infestation rate of Pediculosis capitis in the south and southeast was higher than in other parts of Iran.

Family members shouldavoid sharing hair tools particularly hairbrushes. Authors believe that not only economic situations but also some behaviors originating from personality traits influenced children's health. In this regard, children in higher grades might tend to conceal

In Nigeria, over 600,000 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) as of 2020. Defaulters after commencing ART range between 10-36%. This study identified the factors associated with default from ART and quality of life among PLWHA.
An unmatched case-control study was conducted among 102 cases and 204 controls at the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. Cases were adults on ART who had defaulted from care and missed at least two consecutive appointments in the last year, while controls were adults on ART who had been consistent with clinic attendance for at least one year. Chi-square test, t-test, and binary logistic regressions were used to identify the predictors of default at a 95% confidence interval. 
Respondent’s mean age was 41.4±10.3 years while 61.4% of the respondents were females. ART role in reducing viral load was described correctly by 66 (64.7%) cases and 155 (76.0%) controls (p=0.04). The quality of life in the physical domain was 15.3± 3.4 among cases and 16.6±3.0 among controls (p=0.001). Defaulting from treatment was associated with non-disclosure of status to a partner (AOR: 2.8; CI 95%: 1.6-4.9), receiving fewer counseling sessions (AOR: 2.3; CI 95%: 1.3-4.2), poor perception of the quality of health care services (AOR: 2.6; CI 95%: 1.4-4.7), suboptimal quality of life (AOR: 2.7; CI 95%: 1.5- 4.8) and the richer wealth index (AOR: 1.8; CI 95%: 1.01-3.18).
Inclusion of discussions on disclosure during counseling sessions was recommended to reduce default.

Nurses have insufficient physical activity due to occupational conditions. This study investigated occupational factors affecting their physical activity based on PRECEDE-PROCEED Model. This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 161 nurses working at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The data were collected by simple randomization. Researcher-made tools included demographic, attitude, and PRECEDE-PROCEED constructs questionnaires. Self-Efficacy for Exercise (SEE) Scale, General Health Questionnaire(GHQ), and Beck Physical Activity questionnaire were standard tools used in the present investigation. Data were analyzed by Linear Regression and descriptive analysis. The findings showed that attitude score of 96.4% of the studied nurses and self-efficacy scores of 50.9% of these nurses were higher than the overall mean scores. But they achieved scores lower than the overall mean scores in Enabling (44.1%), Reinforcing (44.7%) and Management-Organizational (29.2%) factors.Less than half of the nurses could attain scores higher than the overall mean scores of   physical activity (49.1%) and general health (48.4%) .There were no any significant correlations between attitude(.922), self-efficacy(.134), Enabling factors (.224), Reinforcing factors (.950), and Management-Organizational factor (.627) with their physical activity level. But direct correlations were found among Enabling, Reinforcing, and Management-organizational factors. Although nurses owned enough Predisposing factors, insufficient Enabling, Reinforcing and Management-Organizational factors led them to do insufficient physical activity. Consequently, occupational factors should be provided in the workplace for nurses.

The National Campaign of Blood Pressure Control began for all people over 30 years old throughout Iran in June 2019. The authors conducted the present study to explain the experiences of service recipients about the blood pressure campaign in Iran.

This study that isa qualitative one was conducted in 2019. The statistical population involved the people whose blood pressure was monitored during the campaign.  Researchers applied purposive sampling using snowball technique until data saturation. They used content analysis to analyze the data.

41 service recipients in comprehensive urban and rural health service centers under the coverage of Zaums entered the study. After analyzing the interviews, the researchers, in coding stage, extracted 29 initial concepts, nine sub-categories, and three main categories.

Considering various opinions expressed by service recipients in the National Campaign of Blood Pressure Control and according to the analysis of obtained themes and codes, the researchers concluded that hypertension is one of the main concerns of young people, and it is highly significant to provide preventive services in this area, such as screening healthy people in terms of blood pressure and identifying patients.

Readability is one of the critical factors in choosing a suitable text to teach the students or ordinary people. Studies have shown that the readability of a text depends on the number of citations, type of article, journal impact factor, and journal scope. This study aimed at determining the readability in the most widely cited original English articles published in Iranian Medical Journals in 2018 and comparing them with the same type of articles in British and American Medical Journals; we also sought to determine the association between the level of readability of articles with the journal’s impact factor (IF) and the total number of citations.

In this cross-sectional study, according to the search conducted in the database of the Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, we searched different databases of ISI journals, and the results showed us 80 journals. We selected one American and one British journal for each Iranian journal, which was similar in terms of the journal’s scope and impact factor. Then, the most cited original article in the latest issue of 2018 in each journal was extracted for review. Afterwards, we recorded five indicators of Iranian, American, or English journals, Impact Factor, number of citations to the article, journal’s scope, and GFI score in a data collection form. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. 

Comparison of mean Impact Factor, number of citations to articles, and GFI score between the three Iranian, English,  and American Journal groups was statistically significant (p-value <0.05). Iranian journals' low GFI score of articles has caused the articles to be less cited (p-value = 0.022).

The mean readability score of articles published in Iranian journals seems to be lower than that of American and British journals. The low level of readability score has a direct correlation with the low number of citations to articles.

Human head lice is one of the most invincible neglected skin diseases. The use of pyrethroid insecticides is a standard method of treating the disease, which leads to lice population resistance in the long run. The main aim of the current survey was to screen the biomarkers of permethrin-associated kdr (knockdown resistance) point mutations through molecular analysis of the human head lice populations in primary school children in the south of Iran.   In an experimental study, Field-collected head lice from infested students were fixed in ethanol, identified using valid taxonomic keys, and processed by PCR for kdr mutant studies. Sequencing partial voltage-sensitive sodium channel gene in different head lice populations was subsequently implemented and compared with the permethrin-resistant diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) as the gold standard.   Human head lice appeared to reflect kdr point mutations in specimens from the city of Shiraz. At least three amino acid mutations at designated sites of D820E, L840F, and N874G, corresponding to replacements of aspartic acid to glutamic acid, leucine to phenylalanine, and asparagine to glycine, are clear in this representative population, respectively. At the same time, only L840F is reported as a new mutant in this survey.   The ongoing treatment of head lice infested in school children harboring kdr-mutated or permethrin-resistant mutants in Shiraz is risky, illogical, and contrary to the One Health initiative of the World Health Organization. Health executives should thus immediately take the indispensable steps to prohibit further procurement of permethrin.

Anaemia is a major public health problem in developing countries, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age. About 43.0% of children under five years are anaemic worldwide, and two-third are residing in sub-Saharan Africa. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and risk of anaemia, age and sex-related prevalence among the children aged  0-5 years in Gwagwalada area Council, Abuja. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted between February 2018 and October 2019 in four selected operating Clinics (Township; Angwan-Dodo Primary Health; Dagiri Primary Health and Paiko Primary Health Clinics);  one hundred and fifty blood samples were collected using cluster random sampling from 0-5 year old children to determine the prevalence of anemia among them, using the standard Cyanmethaemoglobin method, with a view to establishing the age and sex mostly affected. Statistical analysis was done using Odds ratio (OR), Chi-square, and simple percentages. Out of the 150 children with the mean standard deviation of 2.9 ± 1.09 years screened for anemia, 88(58.7%)  had anemia, while the age-related prevalence was higher in 2-3 year old age group with 26(70.3%; OR= 2.03) followed by those within the age range of 3-4 years with 24 subjects (64.9%; OR = 1.59). The sex-related prevalence was higher in females with 48 subjects (61.5%); economic status, educational and job status of the children’s parents had a significant effect on the prevalence of anemia. The total prevalence rate of 58.7% of anemia among the children demands urgent attention to prevent anaemia associated complications among them. Continuous public health education programs for the mothers and caretakers of the children are suggested to upgrade their knowledge on anemia, higlighting the need and importance of proper nutrition with iron-supplement.

The lack of knowledge about menopausal care in couples and inappropriate coping with menopause symptoms can reduce the couples' quality of the marital relationship. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the knowledge and ability of men to prevent menopause destructive effects on marital relations and the well-being of the couples. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of men's menopausal care education on their marital satisfaction.
This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2019 among 80 men in Shiraz, Iran. The samples were randomly selected using cluster random sampling method; they were equally divided into control and intervention groups. Four training sessions were held for the intervention group. The data were collected using a questionnaire on the menopausal knowledge and the ENRICH-10 questionnaire at the beginning and two months after the intervention and analyzed using SPSS v. 25 and Amos v. 21.
Based on the results, at the beginning of the study, there was no significant difference in the mean score of the menopausal knowledge and marital satisfaction between the intervention and control groups (p<0.0001). However, men's menopausal knowledge and their marital satisfaction in the intervention group significantly increased. No significant increase was found in  men's menopausal knowledge or their marital satisfaction in the control group.
Education can increase the men's ability to cope with menopausal symptoms. Therefore, providing family health counseling services in health centers and family counseling is recommended.

Given the chronic pain management complexities, achieving a model for managing chronic pain psychological dimensions is very important. Hence, the current study aimed to design a psychological empowerment model in chronic pain management.
This qualitative method was conducted using a grounded theory approach; the main method of data collection was semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The participants were 15 members of the treatment team and six patients with chronic pain, selected via theoretical and purposive sampling from 2018 to 2020. Data analysis was performed concurrently with data gathering based on Corbin and Strauss’s proposed method. Data validity was confirmed via Lincoln and Guba’s criteria.
The developed psychological empowerment model in chronic pain management consists of six constructs including  “pain reasoning”, “vulnerability”, “pain interactions”, “ailment”, “facing pain”, and “self-empowerment”. Among them “self-empowerment” was identified as the major concept or core category. The themes of pain reasoning and vulnerability were identified as the cause and background  , respectively, which affected the phenomenon of ailment.   In this regard, the themes pain interactions and facing pain were also recognized as the interferers and approaches which lead to self-empowerment like the consequences, if implemented properly.
The developed model in this study, as a caring model, can be used for compensating the lack of attention to chronic pain psychological dimensions in chronic pain management. Its use in clinical settings requires further studies on testing the above model on patients with chronic pain.

drug utilization studies are necessary to evaluate the rational use and associated risks of anticoagulants. This study aimed to identify drug utilization pattern and possible drug interactions with the use of anticoagulants in a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore.

This prospective, observational study was conducted on 100 patients and anticoagulants utilization was assessed from Medicine ward of Bannerghatta Apollo hospital in Bangalore, India, during six months.

The most common indication for anticoagulants administration was ischemic heart disease (IHD) + acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with 47% and IHD alone with 22%. Most of the patients received single drug therapy, and parenteral drugs were more preferred than oral ones (91% vs. 6%). Among the medications, heparin (49%) followed by enoxaparin (29%) and fondaparinux (13%) were the most commonly prescribed drugs. Regarding laboratory tests, 29% of the patients were evaluated for the international normalized ratio (INR) and prothrombin time(PT). The finding showed that anticoagulants might interact with corticosteroids, some antibiotics such as piperacillin, azithromycin or other drugs such as tirofiban and losartan.

Anticoagulant drug utilization pattern followed very commonly American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) guidelines. The inappropriate utilization patterns of anticoagulants may compromise the patient’s  safety.

Natural Organic Matters (NOMs) react in the presence of residual chlorine in distribution network pipes, producing such byproducts as Trihalomethanes which are carcinogenic and mutagenic. The present study was conducted to investigate the quality of drinking water in Shiraz. In this cross-sectional study, 54 samples were taken from 27 locations in both summer and winter. For each sample, temperature, residual chlorine, pH, and NOM were measured during the two seasons. Residual chlorine and temperature measurement were performed at the sampling sites, but pH and NOM were measured in the laboratory. According to the results, the mean concentrations of Total NOM (TNOM), residual chlorine, pH, and temperature varied from 0.9 to 5 m-1, 0 to 1.2 mg/L, 7.4 to 8 and 18 to 23.5 ᵒC in summer and from 0.3 to 1.5 m-1, 0 to 0.8 mg/L, 7.6 to 8.2 and 9.7 to 10.8 ᵒC in winter, respectively. In addition, the concentrations of all measured parameters, except for pH, were reported to be higher in summer than in winter. As a result, since the amount of NOM in the drinking water distribution network of Shiraz was not zero, regular monitoring of these compounds in the distribution networks is recommended to be done by engineers.

Nowadays, the discharge of effluents containing chemicals through manufacturers or consumer industries causes major environmental problems. In this study, we assessed the effect of sludge reversal of the clarifier unit on enhancing the coagulant performance of Poly-Aluminum chloride in the removal of turbidity/COD/PVC from PVC effluent of Bandar Imam Khomeini petrochemical plant and reduction of the amount of coagulant and costs.

The experiments were carried out by Jar test with poly aluminum chloride (PAC); the returned sludge, as the assisting coagulant, and the amplitude of the differentiates including (5.5-11) pH of coagulant concentration (10-140mg/L) and concentration of returned sludge (2-20 ml) were investigated. To ensure the accuracy and precision, we repeated each stage of the experiment three times.

The results showed that the most optimal conditions for coagulant were at pH=8 and the optimum dose of poly aluminum chloride was 25 mg/L plus 5ml of the clear sludge volume in the clarifier. The removal efficiency of turbidity, COD, and PVC under optimum conditions of Poly-Aluminum chloride were reported 99.71%, 97.19%, and 99.55%, respectively.

The results indicated that the sludge of the clarifier, as the main assisting coagulant,  in addition to increasing the efficiency of  the removal turbidity of COD and PVC reduced the dose of the main coagulant.

The aim of this study is to investigate the epidemiological indicators of brucellosis in Ilam province, west of Iran, during the years 2011 to 2018.
This descriptive cross-sectional analytical study was performed on 1,002 patients with brucellosis in Ilam province, west of Iran. People with a Wright test greater than 1.80 or a positive 2ME test who were diagnosed with brucellosis were  followed up and treated. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21 and Excel 2007.
1002 patients with brucellosis were diagnosed, 566 of whom were male (56.5%) and 436 were female (43.5%). The mean age at the onset of the disease was 38.11 ± 19.61 in men, 41.73 ± 15.67 in women, and39.94 ±17.81 in both sexes. The incidence of brucellosis in 2011 was 20.44 per 100,000 (22.30 per 100,000 in men and 18.53 per 100,000 in women), which dropped to 15.94 per 100,000 in 2018. Regarding the season, most cases of the disease were observed in summer (31%), spring (24.7%), winter (23.6%), and autumn (20.7%), respectively.
The results showed that the age of the onset of the disease was middle age, when individuals are active labor and human capital working in a community. Therefore, improving cross-sectoral and intra-sectoral cooperation and promoting effective education for prevention seem necessary.

Cities, as population centers, face increasingly diverse environmental problems. Hence, there is an urgent need for a healthy environment by eliminating the emission of various life-threatening air pollutants with different origins. The present study aimed to determine the air pollution zones using the AERMOD model and provide a strategic management plan to reduce air pollution in District 2 of Tehran, Iran.

In this study, the air pollutant dispersion was evaluated by the AERMOD model exploiting spatial analysis (interpolation) and field measurements. The samples were collected from 32 places in the North, South, Central, East and West of District 2 of Tehran. Air quality indices, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide were analyzed in the experiments. Zoning and mapping of dispersion maps and spatial analysis were performed by ArcGIS.10 software using inverse distance weighted interpolation methods in the study area.

 According to the results, the highest concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and carbon monoxide pollutants were related to stations 28, 26, 15 and 15 with values of 10.9, 54.6, 32.8, and 31.9 ppb, corresponding to the southern, eastern, southern, and southwestern regions in Sharif, Punak, and Kuy-e Nasr neighborhoods, respectively.

  Based on the statistical tests of correlation coefficient, normalized mean error, and normalized mean bias, all the calculated results confirmed the accuracy of constructed model and that the modeling would not have sufficient accuracy and performance without the implementation of AERMAP.