Suchergebnisse

•A high epilepsy prevalence in the Aketi health zone was observed despite 14 years of community-directed treatment with ivermectin.•The high prevalence of OV16 antibodies in children is indicative of high ongoing onchocerciasis transmission.•High onchocerciasis transmission is the consequence of high exposure to blackflies and low intake of ivermectin.•Head nodding seizures were observed in 13.8% of the persons with epilepsy.•Ivermectin coverage needs to be increased and bi-annual distribution should be considered.

AbstractSusceptibility to infection such as SARS-CoV-2 may be influenced by host genotype. TwinsUK volunteers (n = 3261) completing the C-19 COVID-19 symptom tracker app allowed classical twin studies of COVID-19 symptoms, including predicted COVID-19, a symptom-based algorithm to predict true infection, derived from app users tested for SARS-CoV-2. We found heritability of 49% (32−64%) for delirium; 34% (20−47%) for diarrhea; 31% (8−52%) for fatigue; 19% (0−38%) for anosmia; 46% (31−60%) for skipped meals and 31% (11−48%) for predicted COVID-19. Heritability estimates were not affected by cohabiting or by social deprivation. The results suggest the importance of host genetics in the risk of clinical manifestations of COVID-19 and provide grounds for planning genome-wide association studies to establish specific genes involved in viral infectivity and the host immune response.