Publications

Background Higher levels of socioeconomic deprivation have been consistently associated with increased risk of premature mortality, but a detailed analysis by causes of death is lacking in Belgium. We aim to investigate the association between area deprivation and all-cause and cause-specific premature mortality in Belgium over the period 1998-2019.Methods We used the 2001 and 2011 Belgian Indices of Multiple Deprivation to assign statistical ...

ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to describe trends in cervical cancer screening and outcomes for women under 25 years of age in Belgium between 2010 and 2019 in response to a changed reimbursement policy. Materials and methodsWe used the databases of the National Health Insurance Institute (RIZIV/INAMI) and the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR) for a nationwide description of cervical screening, subsequent diagnostic procedures and outcomes for ...

Bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is among the leading global health challenges of the century. Animals and their products are known contributors to the human AMR burden, but the extent of this contribution is not clear. This systematic literature review aimed to identify studies investigating the direct impact of animal sources, defined as livestock, aquaculture, pets, and animal-based food, on human AMR. We searched four scientific ...

The morphological and molecular characterisations of two lance nematode species isolated from the rhizosphere of banana, Hoplolaimus seinhorsti and H. pararobustus, are provided based on an integrative study that includes light and scanning electron microscopy, phylogenetic analysis and two tree-based molecular species delimitation methods (GMYC and bPTP). Nineteen new sequences were obtained, including 5 partial 18S rRNA, 6 D2-D3 of 28S rRNA, 1 ...

Varroa destructor mites and the viruses it vectors are two major factors leading to high losses of honey bees (Apis mellifera) colonies worldwide. However, honey bees in some African countries show resilience to varroa infestation and/or virus infections, although little is known about the mechanisms underlying this resilience. In this study, we investigated the expression profiles of some key molecular markers involved in olfactory sensing and ...

The contamination of water used in post-harvest handling and processing operations of fresh and frozen fruit, vegetables and herbs (ffFVHs) is a global concern. The most relevant microbial hazards associated with this water are: Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., human pathogenic Escherichia coli and enteric viruses, which have been linked to multiple outbreaks associated with ffFVHs in the European Union (EU). Contamination (i.e. the ...

Changes in back muscle function and structure are highly prevalent in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Since large heterogeneity in clinical presentation and back muscle dysfunctions exists within this population, the potential role of back muscle dysfunctions in the persistence of low back pain differs between individuals. Consequently, interventions should be tailored to the individual patient and be based on a thorough clinical ...

We use a multilevel approach to investigate whether a general and robust relationship between weather shocks and (internal and international) migration intentions can be uncovered in Western African countries. We combine individual survey data with measures of localized weather shocks for 13 countries over the 2008–2016 period. A meta-analysis on results from about 51,000 regressions is conducted to identify the specification of weather ...