BACKGROUND Despite the current global trend of reduction in the morbidity and mortality of neglected diseases, dengue’s incidence has increased and occurrence areas have expanded. Dengue also persists as a scientific and technological challenge since there is no effective treatment, vaccine, vector control or public health intervention. Combining bibliometrics and social network analysis methods can support the mapping of dengue research and development (R&D) activities worldwide.OBJECTIVES The aim of this paper is to map the scientific scenario related to dengue research worldwide.METHODS We use scientific publication data from Web of Science Core Collection - articles indexed in Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) - and combine bibliometrics and social network analysis techniques to identify the most relevant journals, scientific references, research areas, countries and research organisations in the dengue scientific landscape. FINDINGSOur results show a significant increase of dengue publications over time; tropical medicine and virology as the most frequent research areas and biochemistry and molecular biology as the most central area in the network; USA and Brazil as the most productive countries; and Mahidol University and Fundação Oswaldo Cruz as the main research organisations and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention as the most central organisation in the collaboration network.MAIN CONCLUSIONS Our findings can be used to strengthen a global knowledge platform guiding policy, planning and funding decisions as well as to providing directions to researchers and institutions. So that, by offering to the scientific community, policy makers and public health practitioners a mapping of the dengue scientific landscape, this paper has aimed to contribute to upcoming debates, decision-making and planning on dengue R&D and public health strategies worldwide.
BACKGROUND The five BRICS (Brazil, Russian, Indian, China, and South Africa) countries bear 49% of the world's tuberculosis (TB) burden and they are committed to ending tuberculosis. OBJECTIVES The aim of this paper is to map the scientific landscape related to TB research in BRICS countries. METHODS Were combined bibliometrics and social network analysis techniques to map the scientific publications related to TB produced by the BRICS. Was made a descriptive statistical data covering the full period of analysis (1993-2016) and the research networks were made for 2007-2016 (8,366 records). The bubble charts were generated by VantagePoint and the networks by the Gephi 0.9.1 software (Gephi Consortium 2010) from co-occurrence matrices produced in VantagePoint. The Fruchterman-Reingold algorithm provided the networks' layout. FINDINGS During the period 1993-2016, there were 38,315 peer-reviewed, among them, there were 11,018 (28.7%) articles related by one or more authors in a BRICS: India 38.7%; China 23.8%; South Africa 21.1%; Brazil 13.0%; and Russia 4.5% (The total was greater than 100% because our criterion was all papers with at least one author in a BRICS). Among the BRICS, there was greater interaction between India and South Africa and organisations in India and China had the highest productivity; however, South African organisations had more interaction with countries outside the BRICS. Publications by and about BRICS generally covered all research areas, especially those in India and China covered all research areas, although Brazil and South Africa prioritised infectious diseases, microbiology, and the respiratory system. MAIN CONCLUSIONS An overview of BRICS scientific publications and interactions highlighted the necessity to develop a BRICS TB research plan to increase efforts and funding to ensure that basic science research successfully translates into products and policies to help end the TB epidemic.
In the present study, tuberculosis specialists were surveyed to rate the most effective strategies to eliminate TB as a public health problem by 2050. Then were investigated the most promising emerging technologies for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) expected to reach the market by 2035. This Technology Foresight study was specifically carried out by means of a web survey closed questionnaire, which was sent to 29,988 TB specialists worldwide. Of these, 2,657 answers were obtained and analysed. Respondents had demonstrated a high level of academic training (PhD), more than 10 years of professional experience, and a great diversity of both areas of knowledge and geographic reach. In the view of experts, the strategies with the greatest potential impact on epidemic TB were a) shorter time between diagnosis and start of treatment of DS and MDR-TB; b) strengthening tuberculosis control actions in the most vulnerable populations; c) shorter and less expensive regimens for drug resistant MDR/XDR-TB. Regarding the strategies with the highest potential for eliminating TB, our data suggests that the biomedical paradigm is the strongest among the specialists. The most promising technologies expected to reach the market by 2035 selected by the specialists were: (1) new drugs of known chemical classes or new chemical classes; (2) new point-of-care diagnostic tests for DS-TB, drug resistant or multidrug resistant (MDR/XDR)-TB and TB Infection (TBI). We contribute by discussing the most promising technologies and strategies for the elimination of TB in light of social determinants of health models and forecasting studies. We conclude by suggesting that the expected emerging technologies ongoing development will not suffice to end TB by 2050.
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