Background

COVID-19 is a highly contagious infectious disease that emerged in 2019. This disease is causing devastating health, socio-economic, and economic crises. More specifically COVID-19 is affecting both the quality and length of human life. The overall health impact of this disease is measured by the disability-adjusted life years which is the sum of the life years lost due to disability (the effect on the health quality) and the years life lost due to premature death (effect on the length of life). The purpose of this review is to summarise DALYs-based health impact publications and produce compiled and informative literature that can aid the health regulators to make evidence-based decisions on mitigating COVID-19.

Methods

The review will be conducted using the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The DALYs-based original observational and cross-sectional studies will be collected for assessing the health impact of COVID-19. Both the life quality and length impacts of COVID-19 will be reviewed. The life quality impact of COVID-19 will be measured using the life years lost due to disability (pre-recovery illness, pre-death illness, and post-acute consequences), and its impact on the length of life will be measured with years of life lost due to premature death (shortening of life expectancy). The combined health impact of COVID-19 on the quality and length of life will be measured in disability-adjusted life years.

Discussion

The impacts of COVID-19 on the two health outcomes (quality and length of life) will indicate the level of COVID-19 health burden. The increase or decrease of COVID-19 health impact might be due to the sample size differences of different studies and the omission of years lost due to post-acute consequences in some studies. After having a summarized systematic review health decision-makers will apply an impact-based response to COVID-19.

Apart from its nutritive value, meat is one of the substances for the transmission of pathogenic micro-organisms to consumers and the raw beef eating habit of Ethiopians can create a favourable condition for the transmission of pathogens from contaminated meat to raw beef consumers. The face-to-face interview of raw beef consumers was done using a structured questionnaire and 570 total samples were collected. A considerable number (74%) of raw beef consumers had favourable food choice; 85% of the raw beef consumers had favourable intentions to stop their raw beef eating habit, and 67% of them had an unfavourable perception of the safety of raw beef-eating. In conclusion, the study showed that raw beef consumers were not aware of the health risks of raw beef-eating. As a result, urgent sensitization intervention is required to shift the raw beef consumers from unhealthy eating habits to prudent (processed) eating practices.

Antimicrobial resistance is the failure of antimicrobial's effect against the growth and multiplication of microorganisms. Imprudent and over antimicrobial use (AMU) aggravates antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antimicrobials are massively used in animal production as compared with AMU in human health sectors. This research was done with the objective of assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) status of animal producers towards AMU and AMR. A Cross-sectional study design and questionnaire were conducted and both qualitative and quantitative data analyses were used. The logistic regression was used to test the effect of each predictor variable on the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the participants. Out of 571 animal producers, the majority (80.2%) of them were not knowledgeable and 85.3% of the animal producers had a negative attitude towards the AMU and AMR. Likewise, the practice of 78.5% of the animal producers were practice improperly towards AMU and AMR. All the questions that were designed to assess the KAP of the animal producers were significantly associated (P<0.05) with each respective category of KAP. The educational status of animal producers was negatively correlated (OR = 0.38) with all their knowledge, attitude, and practice of AMU and AMR, but sex has a positive correlation (OR = 2.89) with both the knowledge and practice of animal producers. In conclusion, the animal producers in the Oromia zone had unsatisfactory knowledge regarding AMU and AMR. The animal producer's attitude and their practices were negative and improper respectively. As a result, consecutive awareness creation on both AMU and AMR is recommended and integrated AMU governance in animal production is recommended to be applied.

Objectives:The degree of One-Healthiness of a system relates to the effectiveness of an institution to operate within the six main dimensions which identify to what extent it complies with One Health concept. This paper evaluates institutional compliance with One Health concept in 14 institutions from eight African countries.

Methods:We utilised the adapted Network for the Evaluation of One Health (NEOH) tool. The institutions included six national One Health platforms and eight other institutions utilizing One Health approaches. Semi-quantitative evaluation of One Health platforms' competencies in six aspects/dimensions concerning One Health operations and infrastructure: Systems Thinking, Planning, Transdisciplinary working, Sharing, Learning and Systemic Organization, was conducted.

Results:The evaluation revealed that although all aspects of One Health scored above average, systemic organization and working in One Health were the strongest areas where tremendous gains had been made across the evaluated countries. The aspects of planning, sharing, learning, and thinking should be optimized to achieve gains emanating from One Health approaches in Africa. Cultural and social balance, and integrated health approach were the strongest areas under working and thinking respectively. Thinking was particularly challenged in areas of dimensions coverage and balance, while planning was challenged in the areas of capacity for detection, identification, monitoring of infectious diseases" biosafety and quality management" skills through taught and distance-learning programmes" information and communication technologies to support learning and skills through research apprenticeships.

Conclusion:We conclude that although One Health has gained momentum in Africa, there still exists room for improvement. The revealed strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and gaps in One Health implementation provide an opportunity for prioritization and refocusing of efforts and resources to strengthen the identified weak areas.

The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of indirect positive health outcomes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a systematic review. Articles were identified from four online databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and Google Scholar) using predetermined search terms. After studies were systematically identified, the results were summarised narratively. The indirect positive health outcomes associated with the emergence of COVID-19 and measures taken for its prevention were categorised into four health dimensions (physical, mental, social and digital). After initial screening, 44 articles were assessed for eligibility, and 33 were included in the final sample. Of the included studies, 72.73% noted a benefit from COVID-19 prevention measures in the physical health dimension. In addition, 12.12%, 9.09%, 3.03% and 3.03% of articles reported a positive impact in the digital, mental, social and combined digital and mental health dimensions, respectively. Despite the catastrophic health, socio-economic and political crises associated with the COVID-19 emergency, it has also resulted in some positive health outcomes. Reduced air pollutants, improved disease prevention practices, increased digital health delivery and improved mental and social health dimensions were reported during the pandemic. Integrated and collaborative activities for the persistence of these health benefits are recommended.

Background Since its emergence, the COVID-19 pandemic has compromised the food security both directly by impacting food supply chain and indirectly by overwhelming the individual health and/or personal financial situation. The overarching aim of the current study is to assess aspects of the food security crisis that have arisen due to COVID-19 and to identify which, if any, food security dimensions were specifically compromised.

Methods Primary research articles were initially identified through four online databases (Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science), with the references of each paper then also reviewed for additional article. The food security status of individuals and the wider community, both before and after the emergence of COVID-19, were examined.

Results Of the 2,057 studies initially identified, a total of ten were included in the final review. The included studies confirmed that COVID-19 had substantially impacted food security, with individuals, households and the wider community experiencing food insecurity. Nine of the included studies aruged that the food accessibility dimension was the most compromised.

Conclusion To address the identified direct and indirect food security issues associated with COVID-19, it is proposed that a combination of prevention practices and proactive food security activities is required. Integrating food security interventions, supporting and facilitating food security resilience, and conducting further studies on the food security of COVID-19 are also recommended.

Background: Meat is rich in essential proteins and valuable nutrients for human health. Despite these benefts, it is a favorable medium for microbial growth and transmission to humans unless recommended safety procedures are followed. This research aimed to assess the level of knowledge and practice of the abattoir and butcher shop workers who were working in the meat value chain.

Methods: The cross-sectional study design, using structured questionnaire interviews was used to assess the knowledge and practice of abattoir and butcher shop workers. A total of 226 randomly selected workers were participated in this study and bivariate logistic regression was used for data analysis.

Results: Of 226 total participants, 46% were abattoir workers and 54% were butcher shop workers. Majority (88.9%) of the participants did not know about meat safety and 74.3% of the participants had insufcient practices. The cumulative knowledge of both abattoir and butcher shop workers was signifcantly associated (p=0.001) with their knowledge of the presence of diseases causing agents in meat, the source of meat contamination, and the common critical points of meat contamination along the meat value chain. The cumulative practice of abattoir workers was signifcantly associated with their practices on daily meat transporting vehicle washing (p=0.007), reducing meat contamination (p=0.001), duration of animal fasting before slaughter (p=0.039), cleaning of the animal body before slaughter (p=0.002), cleaning material used in the abattoir (p=0.003), disposal of abattoir waste (p=0.002), and type of biosecurity measures used (p=0.013). Similarly, the cumulative practice of butcher shop workers was associated (p=0.001) with their practices of attracting customers, storing remaining meat from daily sales, and measures on contaminated food. Employment of the participants was signifcantly associated with both the cumulative knowledge (p=0.007) and practice (p=0.001) of the participants while the age of the participants was associated (p=0.001) with only their cumulative practices.

Conclusions: In general, the participants' food safety knowledge and practice were unsatisfactory. As a result, the integrated food safety policy formulation in a One Health framework, and collaborative awareness creation among diferent food safety stakeholders were recommended.

Background

Food security is substantially affected directly by COVID-19 and/or indirectly by the measures adopted for the prevention of COVID-19 transmission. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the impact of COVID-19 on food security and identify the most compromised food security dimension to ease the food security regulators and actors' intervention prioritisation.

Methodology

Primary research focused on the impact of COVID-19 on food security will be searched from three online databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus), manually using a google scholar search engine, and studies' reference list were also manually searched. The prevalence of food insecurity in each study and the most compromised food security dimension including their associated factors will be identified. The food insecurity before and after COVID-19 emergence and the status of food security dimension before and after COVID-19 will be compared and interpreted.

Discussion

The heterogeneity of the studies and the factors for the variability of outcomes will be discussed. COVID-19 had a negative impact on food security if the food insecurity prevalence before the emergence of COVID-19 is less than during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other confounding factors that can contribute to the high food insecurity prevalence like natural disasters, war, and instability will be considered in addition to COVID-19.

Background The emergence of COVID-19 has resulted in health, socio-economic, and political crises. The overall health impact of this disease can be measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) which is the sum of the life years lost due to disability (YLDs) and the years life lost due to premature death (YLLs). The overarching objective of this systematic review was to identify the health burdens of COVID-19 and summarise the literature that can aid health regulators to make evidence-based decisions on COVID-19 mitigation strategies.

Methods This systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. DALYs-based primary studies were collected from databases, manual searches, and included studies’ references. The primary studies published in English language, conducted since the emergence of COVID-19, and using DALYs or its subsets (years life lost due to disability and/or years life lost due to premature death) as health impact metrics, were the inclusion criteria. The combined disability and mortality health impact of COVID-19 was measured in DALYs. The risk of bias due to literature selection, identification, and reporting processes was assessed using the Joanna Bridges Institute critical appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies, and the certainty of evidence was assessed using the GRADE Pro tool.

Result Of the 1459 identified studies, twelve of them were eligible for inclusion in the review. The years life lost due to COVID-19 related mortality was dominant over the years life lost due to COVID-19 related disability (disability times from the onset of COVID-19 to recovery, from diseases occurrence to mortality, and the long-term consequences of COVID-19) in all included studies. The long-term consequence disability time and the pre-death disability time were not assessed by most of the reviewed articles.

Conclusion The impact of COVID-19 on both the length and quality of life has been substantial and has been causing considerable health crises worldwide. The health burden of COVID-19 was greater than other infectious diseases. Further studies focussing on issues examining increasing preparedness for future pandemics, public sensitization, and multi-sectorial integration are recommended.

All infections are potentially curable as long as the etiological agents are susceptible to antimicrobials. The increased rate at which antimicrobials are becoming ineffective is a global health risk of increasing concern that threatens withdrawal of beneficial antimicrobials for disease control. The increased demand for food of animal origin, in particular eggs, meat and milk has led to intensification and commercial production systems where excessive use and misuse of antimicrobials may prevail. Antimicrobials, handled and used by farmers and animal attendants with no formal education, may be predisposed to incorrect dosages, misuse, incorrect applications and non-adherence to withdrawal periods. This study was conducted to assess the regulatory roles and governance of antimicrobials, establish the pattern and extent of their use, evaluate the antimicrobial residues and resistance in the food animals and crop agriculture value chains, and relate these findings to existing strategies in place for combating the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in Tanzania. A multimethod approach (desk review, field study and interviews) was used. Relevant establishments were also visited. High levels of resistance to penicillin G, chloramphenicol, streptomycin and oxytetracycline have been reported, especially for Actinobacter pyogenes, Staphylococcus hyicus, Staphylococcus intermedius and Staphylococcus aureus from dairy cattle with mastitis and in humans. Similar trends were found in poultry where eggs and meat are contaminated with Escherichia coli strains resistant to amoxicillin + clavulanate, sulphamethoxazole and neomycin. An increasing trend of emerging multidrug resistant E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella was also found in food animals. An increase in methicillin resistant Staphlococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) in the livestock sector in Tanzania have been reported. The pathogens isolated in animals were resistant to ampicillin, augmentin, gentamicin, co-trimoxazole, tetracycline, amoxicillin, streptomycin, nalidixic acid, azithromycin, chloramphenicol, tylosin, erythromycin, cefuroxime, norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin. An increased usage of antimicrobials for prophylaxis, and therapeutics against pathogens and for growth promotion in livestock, aquaculture and crop production were observed. A One Health strategic approach is advocated to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the food and agriculture sectors in Tanzania. Practical recommendations include (a) legislation review and implementation" (b) antimicrobial use (AMU), AMR and antimicrobial residue (AR) awareness and advocacy among stakeholders along the value chain" (c) strengthening of surveillance and monitoring programs for AMU, AMR and AR" (d) enhanced development and use of rapid and innovative diagnostic tests and the promotion of biosecurity principles" and (e) good husbandry practices. The utilization of this information to improve public health policies and reduce the burden of AMR will be beneficial.