Browsing by Author "Nishiura, Hiroshi"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Early SNS-based monitoring system for the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan: a population-level observational study
    (Japan Epidemiological Association, 2020-05-30) Yoneoka, Daisuke; Kawashima, Takayuki; Tanoue, Yuta; Nomura, Shuhei; Ejima, Keisuke; Shi, Shoi; Eguchi, Akifumi; Taniguchi, Toshibumi; Sakamoto, Haruka; Kunishima, Hiroyuki; Gilmour, Stuart; Nishiura, Hiroshi; Miyata, Hiroaki; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Background: The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) to be a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Large-scale monitoring for capturing the current epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in Japan would improve preparation for and prevention of a massive outbreak. Methods: A chatbot-based healthcare system named COOPERA (COvid-19: Operation for Personalized Empowerment to Render smart prevention And care seeking) was developed using the LINE app to evaluate the current Japanese epidemiological situation. LINE users could participate in the system either though a QR code page in the prefecture’s website, or a banner at the top of the LINE app screen. COOPERA asked participants questions regarding personal information, preventive actions, and non-specific symptoms related to COVID-19 and their duration. We calculated daily cross correlation functions between the reported number of infected cases confirmed by PCR and the symptom-positive group captured by COOPERA. Results: We analyzed 206,218 participants from three prefectures reported between March 5 and 30, 2020. The mean (standard deviation) age of participants was 44.2 (13.2). No symptoms were reported by 96.93% of participants, but there was a significantly positive correlation between the reported number of COVID-19 cases and self-reported fevers, suggesting that massive monitoring of fever might help to estimate the scale of the COVID-19 epidemic in real time. Conclusions: COOPERA is the first real-time system being used to monitor trends in COVID-19 in Japan, and provides useful insights to assist political decisions to tackle the epidemic.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Human monkeypox disease (MPX)
    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Salern, 2022-09-01) Farahat, Ramadan Abdelmoez; Sah, Ranjit; El-Sakka, Amro A.; Benmelouka, Amira Yasmine; Kundu, Mrinmoy; Labieb, Fatma; Shaheen, Rahma Sameh; Abdelaal, Abdelaziz; Abdelazeem, Basel; Bonilla-Aldana, D. Katterine; Franco-Paredes, Carlos; Henao-Martinez, Andres F.; Garout, Mohammed A.; León-Figueroa, Darwin A.; Pachar, Monica; Suárez, José Antonio; Ramirez, Juan David; Paniz-Mondolfi, Alberto; Rabaan, Ali A.; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Nishiura, Hiroshi; Ortiz-Martínez, Yeimer; Garcia-Robledo, Juan Esteban; Cimerman, Sergio; Barbosa, Alexandre Naime; Pagliano, Pasquale; Zambrano-Sanchez, Gabriela; Cardona-Ospina, Jaime A.; Bížová, Beatrice; Rodriguez-Morales, Alfonso J.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Monkeypox is a rare viral infection, endemic in many central and western African countries. The last international outbreak of monkeypox reported outside Africa occurred back in 2003. However, monkeypox has reemerged at a global scale with numerous confirmed cases across the globe in 2022. The rapid spread of cases through different countries has raised serious concerns among public health officials worldwide prompting accelerated investigations aimed to identify the origins and cause of the rapid expansion of cases. The current situation is reminiscent of the very early stages of the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Overlapping features between these, two seemingly alike viral entities include the possibility for airborne transmission and the currently unexplained and rapid spread across borders. Early recognition of cases and timely intervention of potential transmission chains are necessary to contain further outbreaks. Measures should include rapid and accurate diagnosis of cases meeting case definitions, active surveillance efforts, and appropriate containment of confirmed cases. Governments and health policymakers must apply lessons learned from previous outbreaks and start taking active steps toward limiting the recent global spread of monkeypox. Herein, we discuss the status of the current monkeypox outbreaks worldwide, the epidemiological and public health situation at a global scale and what can be done to keep at bay its further expansion and future global implications.