Emerging Trends in the Epidemiology of COVID-19: The Croatian 'One Health' Perspective.
Tatjana Vilibić-ČavlekVladimir StevanovicDiana Brlek-GorskiIvana FerenčakThomas FerencMagdalena Ujevic-BosnjakIrena TabainNataša Janev HolcerIvana PerkovicMario AnticevicBarbara BekavacBernard KaicAnna MrzljakMarin GanjtoLjiljana ZmakMaja Maurić MaljkovićPavle JelicicLovro BucicLjubo BarbicPublished in: Viruses (2021)
During the four pandemic waves, a total of 560,504 cases and 10,178 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in Croatia. The Alpha variant, dominant from March 2021 (>50% of positive samples), was rapidly replaced by Delta variants (>90%) by August 2021. Several seroprevalence studies were conducted in different populations (general population, children/adolescents, professional athletes, healthcare workers, veterinarians) and in immunocompromised patients (hemodialysis patients, liver/kidney transplant recipients). After the first pandemic wave, seroprevalence rates of neutralizing (NT) antibodies were reported to be 0.2-5.5%. Significantly higher seropositivity was detected during/after the second wave, 2.6-18.7%. Two studies conducted in pet animals (February-June 2020/July-December 2020) reported SARS-CoV-2 NT antibodies in 0.76% of cats and 0.31-14.69% of dogs, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 NT antibodies were not detected in wildlife. Environmental samples taken in the households of COVID-19 patients showed high-touch personal objects as most frequently contaminated (17.3%), followed by surfaces in patients' rooms (14.6%), kitchens (13.3%) and bathrooms (8.3%). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was also detected in 96.8% affluent water samples, while all effluent water samples tested negative. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in humans, animals and the environment suggests that the 'One Health' approach is critical to controlling COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- end stage renal disease
- coronavirus disease
- healthcare
- chronic kidney disease
- public health
- young adults
- ejection fraction
- mental health
- prognostic factors
- computed tomography
- peritoneal dialysis
- physical activity
- patient reported outcomes
- heavy metals
- risk assessment
- gene expression
- staphylococcus aureus
- cystic fibrosis
- health information
- dna methylation
- genome wide
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- genetic diversity
- mechanical ventilation