The COVID-19 pandemic\'s profound impacts on global health, driven by preparedness gaps and systemic risks, underscore the need to enhance societies\' ability to manage both predictable risks and uncertainties inherent in disasters. While disaster research emphasises risk management for predictable threats and adaptive capacity for unexpected challenges, there is a lack of empirical examination of the impact of adaptive capacity on disaster resilience. This study addresses this gap by identifying three key adaptive capacities - quality of institutions, collaborative governance, and social capital - and examining their effects on COVID-19 resilience outcomes, measured by the ability to reduce excess mortality. Analysing secondary data from 129 nations using partial least squares structural equation modelling, the research finds significant positive effects of institutional quality and social capital on resilience outcomes. Conversely, collaborative governance shows a significant negative association, suggesting potentially intricate impacts beyond initial expectations. The findings highlight the need to enhance institutional quality and social capital to address preparedness gaps and unexpected challenges posed by biological hazards such as COVID-19. Future research should explore collaborative governance using a disaggregated approach that considers the roles of different stakeholders in various disaster phases.
UNASSIGNED: This study advances disaster research by presenting practical methodologies for operationalising adaptive capacities and empirically examining their effects on disaster resilience. For practitioners and policymakers, it highlights the need to adopt a long-term perspective in building disaster resilience, focussing on improving institutional quality and social capital to manage the uncertainties and complexities inherent in disaster scenarios effectively.

Consumers can be exposed to many foodborne biological hazards that cause diseases with varying outcomes and incidence and, therefore, represent different levels of public health burden. To help the French risk managers to rank these hazards and to prioritize food safety actions, we have developed a three-step approach. The first step was to develop a list of foodborne hazards of health concern in mainland France. From an initial list of 335 human pathogenic biological agents, the final list of \"retained hazards\" consists of 24 hazards, including 12 bacteria (including bacterial toxins and metabolites), 3 viruses and 9 parasites. The second step was to collect data to estimate the disease burden (incidence, Disability Adjusted Life Years) associated with these hazards through food during two time periods: 2008-2013 and 2014-2019. The ranks of the different hazards changed slightly according to the considered period. The third step was the ranking of hazards according to a multicriteria decision support model using the ELECTRE III method. Three ranking criteria were used, where two reflect the severity of the effects (Years of life lost and Years lost due to disability) and one reflects the likelihood (incidence) of the disease. The multicriteria decision analysis approach takes into account the preferences of the risk managers through different sets of weights and the uncertainties associated with the data. The method and the data collected allowed to estimate the health burden of foodborne biological hazards in mainland France and to define a prioritization list for the health authorities.

The aim of this study was to explore occupational safety in pregnant Croatian healthcare workers (HCWs) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To this end we composed an anonymous questionnaire that included pregnancy data, risk assessment and mitigation, and workplace intervention and distributed it to HCWs through social media of their groups and associations. The study includes a total of 173 respondents (71.1 % physicians, 19.7 % nurses, 9.2 % other HCWs) diagnosed with pregnancy in 2020 and 2021. Employers were notified about HCWs\' pregnancy at the eighth (IQR 7.0-11.0) week of pregnancy, which delayed workplace risk assessment and mitigation beyond the first trimester. Only 19.6 % of the participants had the risk assessed and mitigated, mostly on their own initiative (76.5 %). After notifying employers about pregnancy, 37.0 % of participants opted for temporary work incapacity (TWI) due to \"pregnancy complications\" despite healthy pregnancy, 16.8 % were granted a pregnant worker\'s paid leave at the expense of the employer, while 5.8 % continued to work at the same workplace. Nurses used the TWI benefit more frequently than physicians (58.8 % vs 30.1 %, P=0.004). Our findings suggest that occupational safety of pregnant HCWs in Croatia lacks clear-cut and transparent strategies to protect pregnant HCWs, forcing them to misuse the healthcare system.
Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je istražiti zaštitu na radu trudnih hrvatskih zdravstvenih radnica (ZR) tijekom pandemije koronovirusne bolesti 2019 (COVID-19). U tu smo svrhu sastavili anonimni upitnik koji je uključivao podatke o trudnoći, procjeni i smanjenju rizika te o intervencijama na radnom mjestu i distribuirali ga ZR putem društvenih medija njihovih grupa i udruženja. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo ukupno 173 sudionice (71,1 % liječnice, 19,7 % medicinske sestre, 9,2 % ostale ZR) kojima je dijagnosticirana trudnoća 2020. i 2021. Poslodavci su o trudnoći ZR obaviješteni u osmom (IQR 7,0–11,0) tjednu trudnoće, što je odgodilo procjenu i smanjenje rizika na radnom mjestu nakon prvog tromjesečja. Postupak procjene i smanjenja rizika proveden je u samo 19,6 % sudionica, uglavnom na njihovu inicijativu (76,5 %). Nakon što su poslodavca obavijestile o trudnoći, 37,0 % sudionica koristilo je privremenu nesposobnost za rad (PNR) zbog „komplikacija u trudnoći” unatoč zdravoj trudnoći, 16,8 % odobren je plaćeni dopust trudne radnice na teret poslodavca, dok je 5,8 % nastavilo raditi na istom radnom mjestu. Medicinske sestre koristile su PNR češće nego liječnice (58,8 % prema 30,1 %, P=0,004). Naši rezultati upućuju na nedostatak jasnih i transparentnih strategija zaštite trudnih ZR u Hrvatskoj, što ih prisiljava na zlouporabu zdravstvenog sustava.

In this pilot study, we compared the metagenomic profiles of different types of artisanal fermented meat products collected in Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Morocco to investigate their taxonomic profile, also in relation to the presence of foodborne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes. In addition, technical replicates of the same biological sample were tested to estimate the reproducibility of shotgun metagenomics. The taxonomic analysis showed a high level of variability between different fermented meat products at both the phylum and genus levels. Staphylococcus aureus was identified with the highest abundance in Italian fermented meat; Escherichia coli in fermented meat from Morocco; Salmonella enterica in fermented meat from Greece; Klebsiella pneumoniae and Yersinia enterocolitica in fermented meat from Portugal. The fungi Aspergillus, Neosartoria, Emericella, Penicillum and Debaryomyces showed a negative correlation with Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus. The resistome analysis indicated that genes conferring resistance to aminoglycoside, macrolide, and tetracycline were widely spread in all samples. Our results showed that the reproducibility between technical replicates tested by shotgun metagenomic was very high under the same conditions of analysis (either DNA extraction, library preparation, sequencing analysis, and bioinformatic analysis), considering both the degree of overlapping and the pairwise correlation.

BACKGROUND: In the development of eye and face protection standards against biological hazards, it is important to consider that the eye and face protectors may be used in the outdoor environment, where ultraviolet (UV) exposure from the sun is much higher than indoors. Workers affected include paramedics, ambulance officers and clinical testing personnel.
METHODS: Spectral transmittances (280-780 nm) were measured on eight face shields and one goggle of the types used in hospital and clinical environments, three overhead projector sheets and an occupational impact protective goggle. The UV and luminous transmittances were calculated according to the international and two national sunglass standards, and compared with the compliance requirements.
RESULTS: All the face shields and goggle lenses were made of variants of the same material. All the samples, including the overhead projector sheets, complied with the requirements of the sunglass standards (for normal conditions, in the case of the American standard).
CONCLUSIONS: Since all the lenses complied with the sunglass standards for UV protection, and there appears to be uniformity in the choice of materials in this product type, there is no need to make provision, as is the case for occupational eye and face protection standards, for protectors that do not provide UV protection. This makes labelling and advice to end users from eyecare and safety professionals much simpler.

The commercialization of processed fish products is rising in restaurants and small to medium enterprises. However, there is a lack of data related to the microbiological safety of such products. In this study total aerobic colony count and Enterobacteriaceae, as proxy of process hygiene criteria, and detection of Listeria monocytogenes and concentration of histamine, as food safety criteria, were investigated in Salmo salar (salmon), Xiphias gladius (swordfish) and Thunnus albacares (yellowfin tuna), before, during, and at the end of a dry-curing process, performed in a dedicated cabinet, at controlled temperature, relative humidity and ventilation, up to 240 h. The microbiological parameters were investigated in the tested fish products by culture methods and shotgun metagenomic, while the presence of histamine, and other biogenic amines, was quantified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. In the raw material, and up to the end of the dry curing process, the concentration of Enterobacteriaceae was always lower than 10 CFU/g, while total aerobic colony counts ranged between 3.9 and 5.4 Log CFU/g in salmon; 5.5 and 5.9 Log CFU/g in swordfish; 4.4 and 4.8 Log CFU/g in tuna. The pH values were significantly different between fish species, in the raw materials and during processing except for T4, occurring 70 h after the start of the process for salmon and after 114 h for swordfish and tuna. Water activity was different at specific sampling points and at the end of processing. Overall, 79 % of the sequences identified in the tested fish samples were assigned to y bacteria. The most abundant phyla were Pseudomonadota, Bacillota and Mycoplasmatota. The microbial populations identified by shotgun metagenomic in the tested fish species clustered well separated one from the other. Moreover, the microbial richness was significantly higher in salmon and tuna in comparison to swordfish. Listeria monocytogenes was not detected in the raw material by using the reference cultural method and very few reads (relative abundance <0.007) were detected in swordfish and tuna by shotgun metagenomic. Histamine producing bacteria, belonging to the genera Vibrio, Morganella, Photobacterium and Klebsiella, were identified primarily in swordfish. However, histamine and other biogenic amines were not detected in any sample. To the best of our knowledge this is the first paper reporting time point determinations of microbiological quality and safety parameters in salmon, swordfish and tuna, before, during and at the end of a dry-curing process. The data collected in this paper can help to predict the risk profile of ready to eat dry-cured fish products during storage before consumption.

Vegetables, especially those eaten raw, have been implicated in several foodborne disease outbreaks. Since multiple vegetable matrices and hazards are involved, risk managers have to prioritize those with the greatest impact on public health to design control strategies. In this study, a scientific-based risk ranking of foodborne pathogens transmitted by leafy green vegetables in Argentina was performed. The prioritization process included hazard identification, evaluation criteria identification and definition, criteria weighting, expert survey design and selection and call for experts, hazard score calculation, hazard ranking and variation coefficient, and result analysis. Regression tree analysis determined four risk clusters: high (Cryptosporidum spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Norovirus), moderate (Giardia spp., Listeria spp., Shigella sonnei), low (Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Ascaris spp., Entamoeba histolytica, Salmonella spp., Rotavirus, Enterovirus) and very low (Campylobacter jejuni, hepatitis A virus and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis). Diseases caused by Norovirus, Cryptosporidium spp. and T. gondii do not require mandatory notification. Neither viruses nor parasites are included as microbiological criteria for foodstuff. The lack of outbreak studies did not allow to accurately identify vegetables as a source of Norovirus disease. Information on listeriosis cases or outbreaks due to vegetable consumption was not available. Shigella spp. was the main responsible for bacterial diarrhea, but it has not been epidemiologically associated with vegetable consumption. The quality of the available information for all hazards studied was very low and low. The implementation of good practice guidelines throughout the entire vegetable production chain could prevent the presence of the identified hazards. The current study allowed the identification of vacancy areas and could help reinforce the need for performing epidemiological studies on foodborne diseases potentially associated with vegetable consumption in Argentina.

The holistic view of food and feed safety, including animal health and environmental conditions, is an important pillar of the One Health approach. The terminology thus clearly goes beyond the prevention of spreading microbiological diseases, in which context it is often understood, and highlights that humans, animals, and the environment as well as their interaction should be considered in a transdisciplinary context.In terms of One Health, this discussion paper focuses less on microbiological risks, but rather on the connection to chemical risks in the food chain. This is illustrated by concrete examples of chemical contaminants (metals, persistent organic contaminants, natural toxins). The mechanisms of input and transfer along the food chain are presented.Minimizing the presence of contaminants and thus exposure requires international and interdisciplinary cooperation in the spirit of the One Health approach. Climate change, pandemics, shortages of raw materials, energy deficiencies, political crises, and environmental disasters can affect the entire food chain from primary production of plant and animal foods to further processing and provision of products to consumers. In addition to changing availability, this can also have an impact on the composition, quality, and safety of food and feed. Based on the effect on global commodity chains, vulnerable and resilient areas along the food chain become visible. In terms of the One Health approach, the aim is to increase safety and resilience along the food chain and to minimize its vulnerability.
UNASSIGNED: Die ganzheitliche Betrachtung der Lebens- und Futtermittelsicherheit unter Einbeziehung der Tiergesundheit und der Umweltbedingungen ist eine wichtige Säule des One-Health-Ansatzes. Die Begrifflichkeit geht damit deutlich über die häufig darunter verstandene Vermeidung der Verbreitung von übertragbaren mikrobiologischen Krankheiten hinaus und verdeutlicht, dass Mensch, Tiere und Umwelt sowie ihre Interaktionen in einem transdisziplinären Kontext betrachtet werden sollten.In dem vorliegenden Diskussionsbeitrag zum One-Health-Ansatz liegt der Fokus weniger auf mikrobiologischen Risiken, sondern es wird insbesondere der Zusammenhang zu chemischen Risiken in der Nahrungskette hergestellt. Dieser wird an konkreten Beispielen chemischer Kontaminanten (Metalle, persistente organische Kontaminanten und natürliche Toxine) verdeutlicht und die Mechanismen von Eintrag und Weitergabe entlang der Nahrungsketten werden vorgestellt.Die Minimierung des Vorkommens chemischer Kontaminanten und somit der Exposition erfordert internationale und interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit. Klimawandel, Pandemien, Rohstoffknappheit, Energiemangel, politische Krisen und Umweltkatastrophen können die gesamte Kette der Primärproduktion pflanzlicher und tierischer Lebensmittel sowie die Weiterverarbeitung und Bereitstellung der Produkte für Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher beeinträchtigen. Neben der sich verändernden Verfügbarkeit kann dies auch einen Einfluss auf die Zusammensetzung, Qualität und Sicherheit der Lebens- und Futtermittel haben. Anhand der Effekte auf globalen Warenketten werden vulnerable und resiliente Bereiche sichtbar. Im Sinne des One-Health-Ansatzes gilt es, die Sicherheit und Resilienz entlang der Nahrungskette zu erhöhen und deren Vulnerabilität zu minimieren.

Wastewater handling has been associated with an increased risk of developing adverse health effects, including respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses. However, there is a paucity of information in the literature, and occupational health risks are not well quantified. Grab influent samples were analysed using Illumina Miseq 16S amplicon sequencing to assess potential worker exposure to bacterial pathogens occurring in five municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The most predominant phyla were Bacteroidota, Campilobacterota, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Desulfobacterota, accounting for 85.4% of the total bacterial community. Taxonomic analysis showed a relatively low diversity of bacterial composition of the predominant genera across all WWTPs, indicating a high degree of bacterial community stability in the influent source. Pathogenic bacterial genera of human health concern included Mycobacterium, Coxiella, Escherichia/Shigella, Arcobacter, Acinetobacter, Streptococcus, Treponema, and Aeromonas. Furthermore, WHO-listed inherently resistant opportunistic bacterial genera were identified. These results suggest that WWTP workers may be occupationally exposed to several bacterial genera classified as hazardous biological agents for humans. Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive risk assessments to ascertain the actual risks and health outcomes among WWTP workers and inform effective intervention strategies to reduce worker exposure.

Given the increased deployment of working dogs to settings with pathogenic biological agents, a safe, effective, and logistically feasible surface decontamination protocol is essential to protect both the animals and their human handlers. Our group previously found that superficial contamination on surfaces relevant to the working dog community, including leashes and toys, could be significantly reduced using a standardized wiping protocol with various cleansing products. To expand upon this work, we analyzed the ability of this protocol to decontaminate surface-deposited bovine coronavirus, which was used as a BSL2 surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. Unsurprisingly, the physical characteristics of a given surface, including porosity and texture, had a significant effect on the ability to recover viable virus remaining on the surface post treatment. After correcting for these differences, however, wiping with 70% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and 0.5% chlorhexidine performed best, reducing viral titers by >3 log on plastic bumper toys and nylon collars, and by >2 log on rubber toys and tennis balls. Leather leashes and Velcro proved more difficult to decontaminate, but both still showed significant loss of viral contamination following wiping with IPA or chlorhexidine. This work (i) validates the utility of a simple protocol for the neutralization of viruses on several surfaces, (ii) identifies materials that are more difficult to decontaminate, which should, thus, be considered for removal from field use, and (iii) highlights the need for further development of protocols testing porous or textured surfaces.