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BACKGROUND: COVID‐19 screening testing (ST) can detect asymptomatic or pre‐symptomatic cases, allowing for prompt identification of cases and close contacts. This study examined parents' and school staffs' knowledge and attitudes toward to a pilot school‐based ST program in a school district in southern Arizona. METHODS: In May 2021, online surveys to parents and school staff were administered to examine attitudes toward ST and impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Unweighted percent estimates were calculated, and bivariate differences were examined by demographics. Associations were assessed using chi‐square tests and logistic regression. RESULTS: The survey had response rates of 10% (606/6085) and 22% (187/849) among parents and staff, respectively. Approximately one‐third of responding parents (35%) would or already allow their child to participate in school‐based ST, 37% would not participate; 28% were unsure. Among responding staff, 46% would or already participate in ST, 33% would not; 21% were unsure. The top concern (38%) among responding staff was taking job‐related leave if testing positive. CONCLUSION: Schools work to balance the needs of students, families, and staff by implementing supportive and flexible policies and practices founded on buy‐in and acceptance from their communities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In January 2014, 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol spilled into the Elk River near Charleston, West Virginia, contaminating the water supply for about 120000 households. The West Virginia American Water Company (WVAWC) issued a "do not use" water order for 9 counties. After the order was lifted (10 days after the spill), the communities' use of public water systems, information sources, alternative sources of water, and perceived impact of the spill on households were unclear to public health officials. To assist in recovery efforts, the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER). Methods: We used the CASPER 2-stage cluster sampling design to select a representative sample of households to interview, and we conducted interviews in 171 households in April 2014. We used a weighted cluster analysis to generate population estimates in the sampling frame. Results: Before the spill, 74.4% of households did not have a 3-day alternative water supply for each household member and pet. Although 83.6% of households obtained an alternative water source within 1 day of the "do not use" order, 37.4% of households reportedly used WVAWC water for any purpose. Nearly 3 months after the spill, 36.1% of households believed that their WVAWC water was safe, and 33.5% reported using their household water for drinking. Conclusions: CASPER results identified the need to focus on basic public health messaging and household preparedness efforts. Recommendations included (1) encouraging households to maintain a 3-day emergency water supply, (2) identifying additional alternative sources of water for future emergencies, and (3) increasing community education to address ongoing concerns about water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Globally, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected how children learn. We evaluated the impact of Test to Stay (TTS) on secondary and tertiary transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and potential impact on in-person learning in 4 school districts in the United States from September 13 to November 19, 2021. METHODS: Implementation of TTS varied across school districts. Data on index cases, schoolbased close contacts, TTS participation, and testing results were obtained from 4 school districts in diverse geographic regions. Descriptive statistics, secondary and tertiary attack risk, and a theoretical estimate of impact on in-person learning were calculated. RESULTS: Fifty-one schools in 4 school districts reported 374 coronavirus disease COVID-19 index cases and 2520 school-based close contacts eligible for TTS. The proportion participating in TTS ranged from 22% to 79%. By district, the secondary attack risk and tertiary attack risk among TTS participants ranged between 2.2% to 11.1% and 0% to 17.6%, respectively. Nine clusters were identified among secondary cases and 2 among tertiary cases. The theoretical maximum number of days of in-person learning saved by using TTS was 976 to 4650 days across jurisdictions. CONCLUSIONS: TTS preserves in-person learning. Decisions to participate in TTS may have been influenced by ease of access to testing, communication between schools and families, testing logistics, and school resources. Tertiary attack risk determination became more complicated when numbers of close contacts increased. Minimizing exposure through continued layered prevention strategies is imperative. To ensure adequate resources for TTS, community transmission levels should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The kala-azar elimination programme has resulted in a significant reduction in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases across the Indian Subcontinent. To detect any resurgence of transmission, a sensitive cost-effective surveillance system is required. Molecular xenomonitoring (MX), detection of pathogen DNA/RNA in vectors, provides a proxy of human infection in the lymphatic filariasis elimination programme. To determine whether MX can be used for VL surveillance in a low transmission setting, large numbers of the sand fly vector Phlebotomus argentipes are required. This study will determine the best method for capturing P. argentipes females for MX., Methodology/principal Findings: The field study was performed in two programmatic and two non-programmatic villages in Bihar, India. A total of 48 households (12/village) were recruited. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention light traps (CDC-LTs) were compared with Improved Prokopack (PKP) and mechanical vacuum aspirators (MVA) using standardised methods. Four 12x12 Latin squares, 576 collections, were attempted (12/house, 144/village,192/method). Molecular analyses of collections were conducted to confirm identification of P. argentipes and to detect human and Leishmania DNA. Operational factors, such as time burden, acceptance to householders and RNA preservation, were also considered. A total of 562 collections (97.7%) were completed with 6,809 sand flies captured. Females comprised 49.0% of captures, of which 1,934 (57.9%) were identified as P. argentipes. CDC-LTs collected 4.04 times more P. argentipes females than MVA and 3.62 times more than PKP (p<0.0001 for each). Of 21,735 mosquitoes in the same collections, no significant differences between collection methods were observed. CDC-LTs took less time to install and collect than to perform aspirations and their greater yield compensated for increased sorting time. No significant differences in Leishmania RNA detection and quantitation between methods were observed in experimentally infected sand flies maintained in conditions simulating field conditions. CDC-LTs were favoured by householders., Conclusions/significance: CDC-LTs are the most useful collection tool of those tested for MX surveillance since they collected higher numbers of P. argentipes females without compromising mosquito captures or the preservation of RNA. However, capture rates are still low., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2023 McIntyre-Nolan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Improving ventilation has been one of several COVID-19 prevention strategies implemented by kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools to stay open for safe in-person learning. Because transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs through inhalation of infectious viral particles, it is important to reduce the concentration of and exposure time to infectious aerosols (1-3). CDC examined reported ventilation improvement strategies among U.S. K-12 public school districts using telephone survey data collected during August-December 2022. Maintaining continuous airflow through school buildings during active hours was the most frequently reported strategy by school districts (50.7%); 33.9% of school districts reported replacement or upgrade of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; 28.0% reported installation or use of in-room air cleaners with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters; and 8.2% reported installation of ultraviolet (UV) germicidal irradiation (UVGI) devices, which use UV light to kill airborne pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. School districts in National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) city locales, the West U.S. Census Bureau region, and those designated by U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) as high-poverty districts reported the highest percentages of HVAC system upgrades and HEPA-filtered in-room air cleaner use, although 28%-60% of all responses were unknown or missing. Federal funding remains available to school districts to support ventilation improvements. Public health departments can encourage K-12 school officials to use available funding to improve ventilation and help reduce transmission of respiratory diseases in K-12 settings., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.