International journal of environmental research and public health
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Prediction of Number of Cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Using Social Media Search Index.
Predicting the number of new suspected or confirmed cases of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is crucial in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 outbreak. Social media search indexes (SMSI) for dry cough, fever, chest distress, coronavirus, and pneumonia were collected from 31 December 2019 to 9 February 2020. The new suspected cases of COVID-19 data were collected from 20 January 2020 to 9 February 2020. ⋯ SMSI findings on lag day 10 were significantly correlated with new confirmed COVID-19 cases. SMSI could be a significant predictor of the number of COVID-19 infections. SMSI could be an effective early predictor, which would enable governments' health departments to locate potential and high-risk outbreak areas.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Quality of Life among Local Residents in Liaoning Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Our study aimed to investigate the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and quality of life among local Chinese residents aged ≥18 years in Liaoning Province, mainland China. An online survey was distributed through a social media platform between January and February 2020. Participants completed a modified validated questionnaire that assessed the Impact of Event Scale (IES), indicators of negative mental health impacts, social and family support, and mental health-related lifestyle changes. ⋯ Additionally, the majority of participants (57.8-77.9%) received increased support from friends and family members, increased shared feeling and caring with family members and others. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with mild stressful impact in our sample, even though the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing. These findings would need to be verified in larger population studies.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Exploring the Determinants of the Severity of Pedestrian Injuries by Pedestrian Age: A Case Study of Daegu Metropolitan City, South Korea.
Pedestrian-vehicle crashes can result in serious injury to pedestrians, who are exposed to danger when in close proximity to moving vehicles. Furthermore, these injuries can be considerably serious and even lead to death in a manner that varies depending on the pedestrian's age. This is because the pedestrian's physical characteristics and behaviors, particularly in relation to roads with moving vehicles, differ depending on the pedestrian's age. ⋯ Elderly pedestrians are likely to suffer fatal injuries in areas with more traffic signals. This study finds that there are differences in the factors of pedestrian injury severity according to the age of pedestrians. Therefore, it is suggested that concrete and efficient policies related to pedestrian age are required to improve pedestrian safety and reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
ReviewThe First 75 Days of Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Outbreak: Recent Advances, Prevention, and Treatment.
The recent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, previously known as 2019-nCoV) outbreak has engulfed an unprepared world amidst a festive season. The zoonotic SARS-CoV-2, believed to have originated from infected bats, is the seventh member of enveloped RNA coronavirus. Specifically, the overall genome sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 is 96.2% identical to that of bat coronavirus termed BatCoV RaTG13. ⋯ Although no vaccines have been discovered yet, a series of containment measures have been implemented by various governments, especially in China, in the effort to prevent further outbreak, whilst various medical treatment approaches have been used to successfully treat infected patients. On the basis of current studies, it would appear that the combined antiviral treatment has shown the highest success rate. This review aims to critically summarize the most recent advances in understanding the coronavirus, as well as the strategies in prevention and treatment.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · Mar 2020
Corona Virus (COVID-19) "Infodemic" and Emerging Issues through a Data Lens: The Case of China.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a humanitarian emergency, which started in Wuhan in China in early December 2019, brought into the notice of the authorities in late December, early January 2020, and, after investigation, was declared as an emergency in the third week of January 2020. The WHO declared this as Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 31th of January 2020, and finally a pandemic on 11th March 2020. As of March 24th, 2020, the virus has caused a casualty of over 16,600 people worldwide with more than 380,000 people confirmed as infected by it, of which more than 10,000 cases are serious. ⋯ Being inviable and non-measurable (unlike radioactive exposure), appropriate and timely information is very important to form the basic foundation of mitigation and curative measures. Infodemic, as it is termed by WHO, is a key word, where different stakeholder's participation, along with stricter regulation, is required to reduce the impact of fake news in this information age and social media. Although different countries will need different approaches, focusing on its humanitarian nature and addressing infodemic issues are the two critical factors for future global mitigation efforts.