In China, there is increasing concern because of the rapid increase in HIV infection recorded over recent years. Migrant workers are recognized as one of the groups most affected. In this study, HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behavior among unmarried migrant workers in Shanghai are investigated, with the aim of providing critical information for policy makers and sex educators to reinforce sexual health services and sex health education targeting the behavior and sexual health of unmarried male migrants.
This study examined the prevalence and the determinants of risky sexual behavior (defined as having multiple sex partners and paying for sex) among male rural-to-urban migrants in China. An anonymous questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographics, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior associated with increased risk of risky sexual behavior from 4,069 subjects. In total 1,132 (27.8%) participants reported two or more sex partners and 802 (19.7%) participants paid for sex. A considerable proportion (29.6%–41.5%) did not use a condom during risky sexual behavior. Logistic regression analysis revealed that unmarried status (OR: 0.62, CI: 0.42–0.85 for married), earlier age at first sexual experience (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.31–0.91 for ≥22 years old), poor perception of risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.33–1.96 for unlikely; OR: 2.38, 95% CI: 1.61–3.70 for impossible), frequent exposure to pornography (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.60–0.81 for sometimes; OR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.11–0.43 for never), attitudes toward legalization of commercial sex (OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.21–0.59 for no), peer influence (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.27–0.88 for no), and not knowing someone who had/had died from HIV/AIDS (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.20–0.53 for yes) were all significantly associated with having multiple sex partners. Those who paid for sex showed similar findings.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plus nimotuzumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy (CCT) for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). Patients and methods: A total of 50 newly diagnosed patients with LA-NPC treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University between November 2011 and January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received the combined treatment modality of nimotuzumab plus IMRT. Nimotuzumab was administered concurrently with IMRT at a weekly dose of 200 mg. Neoadjuvant, concurrent or adjuvant chemotherapy with the doublet regimen of taxanes (docetaxel or paclitaxel) plus platinum (cisplatin or nedaplatin) were administered. Among the 50 patients, 43 (86.0%) received ≥6 cycles of nimotuzumab (median 7 cycles, range 2–14 cycles) and 29 (58.0%) received two cycles of CCT with docetaxel plus nedaplatin. Results: With a median follow-up of 28.0 months, the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 83.29% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 67.93%–91.72%) and 97.67% (95% CI: 84.62%–99.67%), respectively. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that cycles of nimotuzumab were significantly associated with PFS. Patients who received ≥6 cycles of nimotuzumab showed a better PFS than those receiving <6 cycles (P=0.006), whereas the addition of CCT failed to improve PFS. Oral mucositis was the most common adverse event, which was recorded as grade 3–4 in 18 (36.0%) patients. Besides, two (4.0%) patients experienced nimotuzumab-related anaphylaxis, and no skin rash was found in any patient. Subgroup analysis revealed that the patients who received CCT had more grade 3–4 adverse events as compared to those who did not receive CCT (62.1% vs 33.3%, P=0.045). Conclusion: The regime of nimotuzumab plus IMRT for the treatment of LA-NPC was well tolerated, with encouraging survival data, and it could be an effective treatment alternative for patients with LA-NPC. Further clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.
27 August 2022 in Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology
Outbreaks/epidemics caused by coxsackievirus A6 (CVA6) have been reported continuously since 2008. However, outbreaks of ocular conjunctival hemorrhage caused by CVA6 in adults in a collective unit have not been reported. Methods. The epidemiological investigations were carried out according to the monitoring program, and the clinical data were collected from the treated hospitals. The nasopharyngeal swab specimens were collected to extract the total nucleic acid (DNA/RNA). The pathogen was determined using nucleic acid detection kits for 22 respiratory pathogens. The VP1 gene of this pathogen was amplified and sequenced. Sequence alignment and analysis were performed using BioEdit 7.0. The gene phylogenetic tree was constructed with MEGA4.0. Results. The factory emerged patients in succession from February 14 and reached the peak on the 18th. A total of 19 workers had symptoms in this factory up to March 31, 2019, giving an attack rate of 8.26. The main symptoms were rash, ocular conjunctival hemorrhage, fever, and sore throat. The laboratory results showed that coxsackievirus A6 was the main pathogen causing this outbreak. The risk of taking a bath in the bathroom was 7.37 times higher than that of not taking a bath (95 confidence interval (CI): 1.6732.79). Conclusion. This manuscript further enriched the infection-related information of CVA6, which was helpful to better identify and deal with the epidemic in the future.
To date, malaria is still a major public health issue in the world. Africa remains the most affected continent with the highest number of malaria cases and deaths. Since more than one thousand Chinese citizens are living in Nigeria, an examination of their knowledge, attitude, and practice compared with those of the local people may be essential for malaria prevention. This study adopted cross-sectional research. A total of 137 Chinese people and 299 local people residing in Kano State, Nigeria constituted the study subjects. A questionnaire was used for the collection of data on socio-demography and predictors of attitudes. The Cronbach alpha statistic was used to analyze these data. Insecticide spraying, mosquito repellents, and wearing protective clothing at night are the malaria preventive measures by both the local and Chinese people living in Kano state, Nigeria. However, there is a significant difference (P0.05) between the two groups, with the duration of stay in Nigeria, the use of mosquitoes, attitude, and practices playing impactful roles among the Chinese people. Hence, Chinese people demonstrated better knowledge and control of malaria transmission and prevention than the local people living in Kano State. In conclusion, attitudes and practices toward malaria diseases are the major causes of the high rate of malaria in Nigeria, particularly in Kano State.