Scabicide sales before and during the COVID-19 epidemic in Israel.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Mumcuoglu KY
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9780635 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Scabicide sales before and during the COVID-19 epidemic in Israel.
Mumcuoglu Kosta Y KY Hoffman Tomer T Schwartz Eli E
New microbes and new infections 20221223
Similar Datasets
Project description:Head louse infestations caused by Pediculus humanus capitis (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) are a public health problem in developing and developed countries worldwide. Head to head contact is by far the most common mode of lice transmission. In March 2020, WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Starting from March 2020, the Israeli government established mandatory isolation for extensive periods including closure of school systems for very long time. The aim of the project was to compare the pediculicide sale numbers before the COVID-19 epidemic with those starting of the epidemic in 2020, as a possible marker for changing epidemiology of head lice during the COVID pandemic. Data were collected from a large pharmacy chain in Israel, which provided the actual sales of pediculicides during the years 2010-2020. During the period 2010-2019 a significant increase of pediculicide sales from 281,986 - 498,107 was observed, the highest number being from 2019. In 2020, this number dropped to 294,477, a significant drop compared to previous years and to 2019. The results of this study suggest that head louse infestations are increasing in the last years, while the extended isolation of children due to COVID-19 influenced significantly the infestation rate of children with head lice.
| S-EPMC9124160 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of e-commerce among Peruvian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), prompting a sudden shift from traditional physical marketplaces to online sales. Before the pandemic, many businesses were beginning to adopt ICTs but only 8.1 % were selling their products and services online. The study aims to analyze the determinants of online sales in Peruvian SMEs in 2019, and the factors that contributed to the rise in online sales during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Peruvian National Enterprise Survey 2019 was used to evaluate the e-commerce adoption behavior of SMEs during 2019 and 2020. To analyze the determinants and factors, Heckman two step model was employed. The findings revealed that digital readiness was crucial for adopting online sales, but not significant for scaling sales during the pandemic; the rise in sales during the social lock-down period necessitated the implementation of a unique product delivery approach many times using own vehicle and bearing in mind informal competition. In essence, digital readiness played a critical role in enabling Peruvian SMEs to adopt online sales, but its impact was limited when it came to scaling sales during the pandemic. This research contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the unique challenges and opportunities faced by SMEs in a developing economy during a global crisis. The implication of this study highlights the need for CEOs at SMEs to prioritize digital readiness, as well as rebuild from the economic impacts of any crisis.
| S-EPMC11626776 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This cross-sectional study uses electronic health record data to compare monthly incidence rates of spontaneous abortion in Israel before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
| S-EPMC9945079 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundWe assessed the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in India on the consumption of antibiotics and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the private sector in 2020 compared to the expected level of use had the epidemic not occurred.Methods and findingsWe performed interrupted time series (ITS) analyses of sales volumes reported in standard units (i.e., doses), collected at regular monthly intervals from January 2018 to December 2020 and obtained from IQVIA, India. As children are less prone to develop symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, we hypothesized a predominant increase in non-child-appropriate formulation (non-CAF) sales. COVID-19-attributable changes in the level and trend of monthly sales of total antibiotics, azithromycin, and HCQ were estimated, accounting for seasonality and lockdown period where appropriate. A total of 16,290 million doses of antibiotics were sold in India in 2020, which is slightly less than the amount in 2018 and 2019. However, the proportion of non-CAF antibiotics increased from 72.5% (95% CI: 71.8% to 73.1%) in 2019 to 76.8% (95% CI: 76.2% to 77.5%) in 2020. Our ITS analyses estimated that COVID-19 likely contributed to 216.4 million (95% CI: 68.0 to 364.8 million; P = 0.008) excess doses of non-CAF antibiotics and 38.0 million (95% CI: 26.4 to 49.2 million; P < 0.001) excess doses of non-CAF azithromycin (equivalent to a minimum of 6.2 million azithromycin treatment courses) between June and September 2020, i.e., until the peak of the first epidemic wave, after which a negative change in trend was identified. In March 2020, we estimated a COVID-19-attributable change in level of +11.1 million doses (95% CI: 9.2 to 13.0 million; P < 0.001) for HCQ sales, whereas a weak negative change in monthly trend was found for this drug. Study limitations include the lack of coverage of the public healthcare sector, the inability to distinguish antibiotic and HCQ sales in inpatient versus outpatient care, and the suboptimal number of pre- and post-epidemic data points, which could have prevented an accurate adjustment for seasonal trends despite the robustness of our statistical approaches.ConclusionsA significant increase in non-CAF antibiotic sales, and particularly azithromycin, occurred during the peak phase of the first COVID-19 epidemic wave in India, indicating the need for urgent antibiotic stewardship measures.
| S-EPMC8248656 | biostudies-literature
Project description:During the so-called "second wave of the pandemic" in Europe, the authors conducted a cross-sectional online survey that aimed to examine changes in dietary habits and associated practices, as well as physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and before the onset of lockdowns in three European countries: Poland, Austria and the United Kingdom. The online observational study, both prospective and retrospective, conducted with the use of social media for the distribution of an anonymous online questionnaire, was completed from 1 October to 30 October 2020, during the second wave of the pandemic in Europe. The study encompassed a total of 1071 adults from Poland (n = 407), Austria (n = 353) and the United Kingdom (n = 311). The results of this study indicate that the COVID-19 confinement period influenced eating behavior and the level of physical activity in a group of adult residents of Poland, Austria and the United Kingdom. The general shopping frequency decreased, regardless of the place and manner. However, there was an increased interest in online grocery shopping. The resulting data revealed an increased frequency of the daily consumption of food products such as dairy, grains, fats, vegetables and sweets (p < 0.05). A rise in the frequency of purchasing frozen goods and food with long shelf life has also been observed. The changed workplace and working conditions or unemployment probably affected a perceptible rise in alcohol consumption (p = 0.02). In turn, physical activity levels markedly decreased, which reflected the body mass changes. The dietary habits in the studied countries have changed as a result of the pandemic situation. They contribute to the aggravation of the problem of excess body weight and its health consequences.
| S-EPMC8156782 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC8076960 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Public transport disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had wide-ranging impacts on the ability of individuals to access health care. Individuals with opioid use disorder represent an especially vulnerable population due to the necessity of frequent, supervised doses of opioid agonists. Focused on Toronto, a major Canadian city suffering from the opioid epidemic, this analysis uses novel realistic routing methodologies to quantify how travel times to individuals\220 nearest clinics changed due to public transport disruptions from 2019 to 2020. Individuals seeking opioid agonist treatment face very constrained windows of access due to the need to manage work and other essential activities. We find that thousands of households in the most materially and socially deprived neighbourhoods crossed 30 and 20-minute travel time thresholds to their nearest clinic. As even small changes to travel times can lead to missed appointments and heighten the chances of overdose and death, understanding the distribution of those most impacted can help inform future policy measures to ensure adequate access to care.
| S-EPMC10130333 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: The infectious disease Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbroke in 2019 spread to multiple countries. The quick spread of the virus and isolation strategies may trigger psychological problems. Our aim was to explore the dynamic network structure of the psychological state before and during the epidemic. Methods: A web-based survey was conducted in two stages: the T1 stage (1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019) and the T2 stage (1 February 2020 to 8 March 2020). In both stages, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety Disorder-7, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to assess depression, anxiety, and sleep, respectively. Results: We matched the data based on IP addresses. We included 1,978, 1,547, and 2,061 individuals who completed the depression, anxiety, and sleep assessments, respectively, at both stages. During epidemics, psychomotor agitation/retardation, inability to relax, restless behavior, and the frequency of using medicine had high centrality. Meanwhile, the network structure of psychological symptoms becomes stronger than before the epidemic. Conclusion: Symptoms of psychomotor agitation/retardation, inability to relax, and restless behavior should be treated preferentially. It is necessary to provide mental health services, including timely and effective early psychological intervention. In addition, we should also pay attention to the way patients use medicines to promote sleep quality.
| S-EPMC7952988 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPopulation mortality is an important metric that sums information from different public health risk factors into a single indicator of health. However, the impact of COVID-19 on population mortality in low-income and crisis-affected countries like Sudan remains difficult to measure. Using a community-led approach, we estimated excess mortality during the COVID-19 epidemic in two Sudanese communities.MethodsThree sets of key informants in two study locations, identified by community-based research teams, were administered a standardised questionnaire to list all known decedents from January 2017 to February 2021. Based on key variables, we linked the records before analysing the data using a capture-recapture statistical technique that models the overlap among lists to estimate the true number of deaths.ResultsWe estimated that deaths per day were 5.5 times higher between March 2020 and February 2021 compared to the pre-pandemic period in East Gezira, while in El Obeid City, the rate was 1.6 times higher.ConclusionThis study suggests that using a community-led capture-recapture methodology to measure excess mortality is a feasible approach in Sudan and similar settings. Deploying similar community-led estimation methodologies should be considered wherever crises and weak health infrastructure prevent an accurate and timely real-time understanding of epidemics' mortality impact in real-time.
| S-EPMC10916139 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC9857347 | biostudies-literature