Author Archives: davidrcurry

Uptake of hepatitis B vaccination and its determinants among health care workers in a tertiary health facility in Enugu, South-East, Nigeria

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BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 30 Jun 2018)

Research article
Uptake of hepatitis B vaccination and its determinants among health care workers in a tertiary health facility in Enugu, South-East, Nigeria
Hepatitis B vaccination is the most effective method of prevention for hepatitis B virus infection. It is a major public health problem in Nigeria, and health workers are at increased risk. This study determined the uptake of hepatitis B vaccination and assessed its determinants among health care workers (HCWs).
Authors: I. B. Omotowo, I. A. Meka, U. N. Ijoma, V. E. Okoli, O. Obienu, T. Nwagha, A. C. Ndu, D. O. Onodugo, L. C. Onyekonwu and E. O. Ugwu
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2018 18:288
Published on: 28 June 2018

Cross-border movement, economic development and malaria elimination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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BMC Medicine
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/content
(Accessed 30 Jun 2018)

Correspondence
|   26 June 2018
Cross-border movement, economic development and malaria elimination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Malaria at international borders presents particular challenges with regards to elimination. International borders share common malaria ecologies, yet neighboring countries are often at different stages of the control-to-elimination pathway. Herein, we present a case study on malaria, and its control, at the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Authors: Mohammed H. Al Zahrani, Abdiasiis I. Omar, Abdelmohsin M. O. Abdoon, Ali Adam Ibrahim, Abdullah Alhogail, Mohamed Elmubarak, Yousif Eldirdiry Elamin, Mohammed A. AlHelal, Ali M. Alshahrani, Tarig M. Abdelgader, Ibrahim Saeed, Tageddin B. El Gamri, Mohammed S. Alattas, Abdu A. Dahlan, Abdullah M. Assiri, Joseph Maina…

The role of severity perceptions and beliefs in natural infections in Shanghai parents’ vaccine decision-making: a qualitative study

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BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 30 Jun 2018)

Research article
The role of severity perceptions and beliefs in natural infections in Shanghai parents’ vaccine decision-making: a qualitative study
China has reduced incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases through its Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Vaccines outside of the EPI are not provided for free by the government, however. This study expl…
Authors: Xiaodong Sun, Zhuoying Huang, Abram L. Wagner, Lisa A. Prosser, Erzhan Xu, Jia Ren, Bei Wang, Wenlu Yan and Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher
Citation: BMC Public Health 2018 18:813
Published on: 28 June 2018

A postpartum vaccination promotion intervention using motivational interviewing techniques improves short-term vaccine coverage: PromoVac study

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BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 30 Jun 2018)

Research article
A postpartum vaccination promotion intervention using motivational interviewing techniques improves short-term vaccine coverage: PromoVac study
Due to the increasing number of vaccine-hesitant parents, new effective immunization promotion strategies need to be developed to improve the vaccine coverage (VC) of infants. This study aimed to assess the im…
Authors: Arnaud Gagneur, Thomas Lemaître, Virginie Gosselin, Anne Farrands, Nathalie Carrier, Geneviève Petit, Louis Valiquette and Philippe De Wals
Citation: BMC Public Health 2018 18:811
Published on: 28 June 2018

 

Evaluation of the impact of immunization policies, including the addition of pharmacists as immunizers, on influenza vaccination coverage in Nova Scotia, Canada: 2006 to 2016

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BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 30 Jun 2018)

Research article
Evaluation of the impact of immunization policies, including the addition of pharmacists as immunizers, on influenza vaccination coverage in Nova Scotia, Canada: 2006 to 2016
Influenza is a serious public health concern, resulting in morbidity, mortality and significant expense to healthcare systems worldwide. Annual vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza. The N…
Authors: Jennifer E. Isenor, Beth A. O’Reilly and Susan K. Bowles
Citation: BMC Public Health 2018 18:787
Published on: 26 June 2018
 
 

Planning for large epidemics and pandemics: challenges from a policy perspective

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Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
August 2018 – Volume 31 – Issue 4
http://journals.lww.com/co-infectiousdiseases/pages/currenttoc.aspx

NOSOCOMIAL AND HEALTHCARE RELATED INFECTIONS
Edited by Trish M. Perl
Planning for large epidemics and pandemics: challenges from a policy perspective
Jain, Vageesh; Duse, Adriano; Bausch, Daniel G.
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases. 31(4):316-324, August 2018.

Evidence-Based Programs, Yes—But What About More Program-Based Evidence?

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Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP)
June 2018 | Volume 6 | Number 2
http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/current

EDITORIALS
Evidence-Based Programs, Yes—But What About More Program-Based Evidence?
Global Health: Science and Practice June 2018, 6(2):247-248; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-18-00192
Policy makers and program managers are better enabled to draw relevant lessons from implementation research and program experience elsewhere when there is richer documentation on what was done and what key contextual factors may have influenced outcomes. Newly developed Program Reporting Standards from WHO provide helpful guidance on what is needed for optimally useful documentation

Eliminating Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV by 2030: 5 Strategies to Ensure Continued Progress

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Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP)
June 2018 | Volume 6 | Number 2
http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/current

VIEWPOINTS
Open Access
Eliminating Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV by 2030: 5 Strategies to Ensure Continued Progress
Alexandra C. Vrazo, David Sullivan and Benjamin Ryan Phelps
Global Health: Science and Practice June 2018, 6(2):249-256; https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-17-00097
To keep up momentum in preventing mother-to-child transmission we propose: (1) advocating for greater political and financial commitment; (2) targeting high-risk populations such as adolescent girls and young women; (3) implementing novel service delivery models such as community treatment groups; (4) performing regular viral load monitoring during pregnancy and postpartum to ensure suppression before delivery and during breastfeeding; and (5) harnessing technology in monitoring and evaluation and HIV diagnostics.

Humanitarian response in urban areas

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Humanitarian Exchange Magazine
Number 71  March 2018
https://odihpn.org/magazine/humanitarian-response-urban-areas/

Humanitarian response in urban areas
Humanitarian crises are increasingly affecting urban areas either directly, through civil conflict, hazards such as flooding or earthquakes, urban violence or outbreaks of disease, or indirectly, through hosting people fleeing these threats. The humanitarian sector has been slow to understand how the challenges and opportunities of working in urban spaces necessitate changes in how they operate. For agencies used to working in rural contexts, the dynamism of the city, with its reliance on markets, complex systems and intricate logistics, can be a daunting challenge. Huge, diverse and mobile populations complicate needs assessments, and close coordination with other, often unfamiliar, actors is necessary.

[Reviewed earlier]

 

Cost-effectiveness analysis of different seasonal influenza vaccines in the elderly Italian population

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Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 14, Issue 6 2018
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article
Cost-effectiveness analysis of different seasonal influenza vaccines in the elderly Italian population
Stefano Capri, Marco Barbieri, Chiara de Waure, Sara Boccalini & Donatella Panatto
Pages: 1331-1341
Published online: 26 Feb 2018

Cost-effectiveness analysis of routine 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccinations in Chinese infants

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Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 14, Issue 6 2018
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article
Cost-effectiveness analysis of routine 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccinations in Chinese infants
Hua Zhou, Jinchun He, Bin Wu & Datian Che
Pages: 1444-1452
Published online: 09 Apr 2018

 

Immune response to the hepatitis B antigen in the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, and co-administration with pneumococcal conjugate and rotavirus vaccines in African children: A randomized controlled trial

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Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 14, Issue 6 2018
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article
Immune response to the hepatitis B antigen in the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine, and co-administration with pneumococcal conjugate and rotavirus vaccines in African children: A randomized controlled trial
Innocent Valéa, Samuel Adjei, Effua Usuf, Ousmane Traore, Daniel Ansong, Halidou Tinto, Harry Owusu Boateng, Amanda Leach, Athanase Mwinessobaonfou Some, Patrick Buabeng, Johan Vekemans, Louis Arnaud Nana, Amos Kotey, Pascale Vandoolaeghe, Florence Ouedraogo, David Sambian, Marc Lievens, Marc Christian Tahita, Theresa Rettig, Erik Jongert, Palpouguini Lompo, Ali Idriss, Dorota Borys, Sayouba Ouedraogo, Frank Prempeh, Md Ahsan Habib, Lode Schuerman, Hermann Sorgho & Tsiri Agbenyega
Pages: 1489-1500
Published online: 13 Apr 2018

The need for sustainability and alignment of future support for National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) in low and middle-income countries

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Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 14, Issue 6 2018
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

article commentary
The need for sustainability and alignment of future support for National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) in low and middle-income countries
Natasha Howard, Sadie Bell, Helen Walls, Laurence Blanchard, Logan Brenzel, Mark Jit & Sandra Mounier-Jack
Pages: 1539-1541
Published online: 26 Mar 2018

Impact of mass drug administration campaigns depends on interaction with seasonal human movement

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International Health
Volume 10, Issue 4, 1 July 2018
http://inthealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Impact of mass drug administration campaigns depends on interaction with seasonal human movement
Mass drug administration (MDA) is a control and elimination tool for treating infectious diseases. For malaria, it is widely accepted that conducting MDA during the dry season results in the best outcomes. However, seasonal movement of populations into and out of MDA target areas is common in many places and could potentially fundamentally limit the ability of MDA campaigns to achieve elimination.
Jaline Gerardin; Amelia Bertozzi-Villa; Philip A Eckhoff; Edward A Wenger
International Health, Volume 10, Issue 4, 1 July 2018, Pages 252–257, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihy025

Effectiveness of influenza vaccine in children

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International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 5, No 7 (2018)  July 2018
http://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/40

Review Articles
Effectiveness of influenza vaccine in children
Nof Saadi AlQarni, Alzain Mohammid Abdulla, Reham Hassan Abdulaziz Abdu, Basim Faiqe Noor Khan, Ahmed Hussain D. Alherz, Mohamed Ahmed M. Waznah, Mariam Naif W. Alotaibi, Wed Ziyad Alnajjar, Khaled Abdulaziz Alasous, Ahmed Khaled Almarri
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20182492

 

 

 

Knowledge and practice of polio vaccination among mothers of infants attending community health centre of northern Kerala

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International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 5, No 7 (2018)  July 2018
http://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/40

Knowledge and practice of polio vaccination among mothers of infants attending community health centre of northern Kerala
Nivya Noonhiyil Kaithery, Jayasree Anandabhavan Kumaran
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20182621

Measles rubella campaign: coverage among slum children of Udupi municipality area in Karnataka

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International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 5, No 7 (2018)  July 2018
http://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/40

Measles rubella campaign: coverage among slum children of Udupi municipality area in Karnataka
Ashwini Kumar, Divya V. Pai, Aparna Sen Chaudhary, Mahathi Ramireddy, Asha Kamath
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20182638

Compliance of post exposure rabies vaccination among patients attending anti-rabies OPD in the Government Medical College, Nagpur

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International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 5, No 7 (2018)  July 2018
http://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/40

Compliance of post exposure rabies vaccination among patients attending anti-rabies OPD in the Government Medical College, Nagpur
Rushali Rajan Lilare, Neeta Rathod, Uday W. Narlawar
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20182646

QALYs in 2018—Advantages and Concerns

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JAMA
June 26, 2018, Vol 319, No. 24, Pages 2453-2566
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

Viewpoint
QALYs in 2018—Advantages and Concerns
Peter J. Neumann, ScD; Joshua T. Cohen, PhD
JAMA. 2018;319(24):2473-2474. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.6072
This Viewpoint reviews the rationale for measuring health outcomes using quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and discusses the advantages and limitations of the measure and its role in attempts to define and promote the practice of high-value medicine.

Accelerate progress—sexual and reproductive health and rights for all: report of the Guttmacher–Lancet Commission

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The Lancet
Jun 30, 2018 Volume 391 Number 10140 p2575-2692
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

The Lancet Commissions
Accelerate progress—sexual and reproductive health and rights for all: report of the Guttmacher–Lancet Commission
Ann M Starrs, Alex C Ezeh, Gary Barker, Alaka Basu, Jane T Bertrand, Robert Blum, Awa M Coll-Seck, Anand Grover, Laura Laski, Monica Roa, Zeba A Sathar, Lale Say, Gamal I Serour, Susheela Singh, Karin Stenberg, Marleen Temmerman, Ann Biddlecom, Anna Popinchalk, Cynthia Summers, Lori S Ashford
Key messages
:: Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are essential for sustainable development because of their links to gender equality and women’s wellbeing, their impact on maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health, and their roles in shaping future economic development and environmental sustainability.
:: Everyone has a right to make decisions that govern their bodies, free of stigma, discrimination, and coercion. These decisions include those related to sexuality, reproduction, and the use of sexual and reproductive health services.
:: SRHR information and services should be accessible and affordable to all individuals who need them regardless of their age, marital status, socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
:: The necessary investments in SRHR per capita are modest and are affordable for most low-income and middle-income countries. Less-developed countries will face funding gaps, however, and will continue to need external assistance.
:: Countries should incorporate the essential services defined in this report into universal health coverage, paying special attention to the poorest and most vulnerable people.
:: Countries must also take actions beyond the health sector to change social norms, laws, and policies to uphold human rights. The most crucial reforms are those that promote gender equality and give women greater control over their bodies and lives.

How to be ready for the next influenza pandemic

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Lancet Infectious Diseases
Jul 2018 Volume 18 Number 7 p697-812  e183-e227
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

Editorial
How to be ready for the next influenza pandemic
The Lancet Infectious Diseases
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic, the worst acute infectious disease outbreak in modern history. The pandemic was caused by influenza virus H1N1 and emerged in the final stages of World War 1. It is estimated that between 20 million and 50 million people died during this pandemic, with a uniquely high mortality in young adults aged between 20 and 40 years. Low-income countries were hit particularly hard (17 million people are thought to have died in India alone) because of their poor health systems. Why the 1918 pandemic was so severe is still a matter of debate, but immunological factors and secondary bacterial infections were major contributors to the heavy death toll. Other influenza pandemics, albeit less severe, have then occurred in 1957, 1968, and 2009, so a new one appears inevitable at some point in the future. Thus, on the centenary of the 1918 pandemic, it is timely to ask ourselves whether the world would be prepared now for such an event.

The answer sadly is no: we do not know what virus will cause the next pandemic, there is no way to rapidly develop and deploy an effective vaccine against a pandemic virus, differences in quality of health systems hamper a prompt response, and surveillance data on influenza have major gaps. At the Massachusetts Medical Society’s annual meeting on April 27, American philanthropist Bill Gates presented a simulation by the Institute for Disease Modeling that found that a new influenza virus like the one that caused the 1918 pandemic would now most likely kill 30 million people within 6 months. Thus, an influenza pandemic represents a real threat that could only be managed with a rapid and effective response from both national governments and the international health community, something that was not seen for the most recent major oubreak of a deadly infectious disease, the emergence of Ebola virus disease in west Africa in 2014-16.

In order to improve the preparedness of the global health community to a pandemic, three areas are crucial: vaccination, surveillance, and building response capacity. As discussed in our May Editorial, the development of a universal influenza vaccine, the holy grail of influenza research, would enhance the capacity to protect people from infection. Gates’ announcement of a US$12 million donation to contribute to the development of such a vaccine is therefore welcome news. However, the development of an effective vaccine is expected to take at least 5–10 years.

Surveillance for influenza is of crucial importance but is also complex because it needs to cover two key populations: animals and humans. It is expected that the next pandemic influenza virus will originate from a spillover from birds, the natural reservoir of all influenza viruses, or pigs, in which avian and human viruses can coexist, thus favouring recombination. At the recent ECCMID meeting, Colin Russell presented the results of a study that mapped areas in the world at highest risk of spillover of avian and swine influenza virus into humans. Particularly ominous was the observation that surveillance for viruses circulating in birds and pigs in such areas is often very limited, so the rapid spread of an influenza virus of pandemic potential could easily go undetected. Equally patchy is the surveillance of human cases of influenza, which is essential to recognise unusual severity or incidence of cases which can be a prodrome for a pandemic. WHO has conducted monitoring through the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System for over half a century, relying on collection and preliminary analysis of virus specimens from national influenza centres. Not all countries have such centres (for example, only 18 African countries have one) so the reporting of influenza cases remains suboptimum.

In case of an influenza pandemic, the capacity to respond promptly will play a key part because of airborne transmission. Antivirals and antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infections will be important, while awaiting development of an effective vaccine, but stockpiles of these are currently insufficient. Moreover, there is need to invest in strengthening health systems and microbiological capacities on the ground to enhance the rapid response to any outbreak.

Influenza is the infectious disease with a proven record of causing pandemics, so it is essential that it remains at the centre of efforts for pandemic preparedness. The next influenza pandemic will be a real test for the international health community. We should not find ourselves unprepared—to be so could cost millions of lives.

Effectiveness of the DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib vaccine against invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b disease in the Netherlands (2003–16): a case-control study

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Lancet Infectious Diseases
Jul 2018 Volume 18 Number 7 p697-812  e183-e227
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

Articles
Effectiveness of the DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib vaccine against invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b disease in the Netherlands (2003–16): a case-control study
Susana Monge, Susan JM Hahné, Hester E de Melker, Elisabeth AM Sanders, Arie van der Ende, Mirjam J Knol

Tuberculosis: progress and advances in development of new drugs, treatment regimens, and host-directed therapies

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Lancet Infectious Diseases
Jul 2018 Volume 18 Number 7 p697-812  e183-e227
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

Series
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis: progress and advances in development of new drugs, treatment regimens, and host-directed therapies
Simon Tiberi, Nelita du Plessis, Gerhard Walzl, Michael J Vjecha, Martin Rao, Francine Ntoumi, Sayoki Mfinanga, Nathan Kapata, Peter Mwaba, Timothy D McHugh, Giuseppe Ippolito, Giovanni Battista Migliori, Markus J Maeurer, Alimuddin Zumla

Development of vaccines against Zika virus

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Lancet Infectious Diseases
Jul 2018 Volume 18 Number 7 p697-812  e183-e227
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/issue/current

Review
Development of vaccines against Zika virus
Gregory A Poland, Richard B Kennedy, Inna G Ovsyannikova, Ricardo Palacios, Paulo Lee Ho, Jorge Kalil
Summary
Zika virus is an emerging pathogen of substantial public health concern to human beings. Although most infections are asymptomatic or present with benign, self-limited symptoms, a small percentage of patients have complications, such as congenital anomalies in the developing fetus of pregnant women infected with the virus and neurological complications (eg, Guillain-Barré syndrome). To date, there is no vaccine, antiviral drug, or other modality available to prevent or treat Zika virus infection. In this Review, we examine vaccine development efforts for Zika virus to date and research gaps in the development of candidate vaccines against Zika virus. Top research priorities should include development of a better understanding of immunity to Zika virus to establish clear correlates of protection; determination of what effect, if any, Zika vaccine-induced immune responses will have on subsequent dengue virus infection; evaluation of vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy in healthy adults and in the various subpopulations affected by Zika virus infection (children, pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and eldery people); and identification of the molecular mechanisms that underlie birth defects and neurological sequelae related to Zika virus.

Clocking in to immunity

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Nature Reviews Immunology
Volume 18 Issue 7, July 2018
https://www.nature.com/nri/volumes/18/issues/7

Review Article | 16 April 2018
Clocking in to immunity
This Review considers the importance of the core circadian clock for regulating both innate and adaptive immune cell responses. The authors consider the implications for vaccination and other clinical strategies, highlighting the emerging field of chrono-immunotherapy.
Christoph Scheiermann, Julie Gibbs[…] & Andrew Loudon

Lessons Learnt from Epidemiological Investigation of Lassa Fever Outbreak in a Southwest State of Nigeria December 2015 to April 2016

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PLoS Currents: Outbreaks
http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/
[Accessed 30 Jun 2018]

Lessons Learnt from Epidemiological Investigation of Lassa Fever Outbreak in a Southwest State of Nigeria December 2015 to April 2016
June 29, 2018 · Research Article
Introduction: An outbreak of Lassa Fever (LF) reported and confirmed in Ondo state, Southwest Nigeria in January 2016 was investigated. This paper provides the epidemiology of the LF and lessons learnt from the investigation of the outbreak.
Methods: The incidence management system (IMS) model was used for the outbreak coordination. Cases and deaths were identified through the routine surveillance system using standard definitions for suspected and confirmed cases and deaths respectively. Blood specimens collected from suspect cases were sent for confirmation at a WHO accredited laboratory. Active case search was intensified, and identified contacts of confirmed cases were followed up for the maximum incubation period of the disease. Other public health responses included infection prevention and control, communication and advocacy as well as case management. Data collected were analysed using SPSS 20, by time, place and persons and important lessons drawn were discussed.
Results: We identified 90 suspected LF cases of which 19 were confirmed by the laboratory. More than half (52.6%) of the confirmed cases were females with majority (73.7%) in the age group ≥ 15 years. The Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 63.2% among the laboratory-confirmed positive cases where 9 of 19 cases died, was significantly higher compared to the laboratory confirmed negative cases where 6 of the 65 cases died ( CFR; 8.5%) p ≤ 0.05. Two hundred and eighty-seven contacts of the confirmed cases were identified, out of which 267(93.0%) completed  the follow-up without developing any symptoms and 2 (0.7%) developed symptoms consistent with LF and were confirmed by the laboratory. More than half of the contacts were females (64.5%) with most of them (89.2%) in the age group ≥ 25 years.
Discussion: One key lesson learnt from the investigation was that the confirmed cases were mainly primary cases; hence the needs to focus on measures of breaking the chain of transmission in the animal-man interphase during Lassa fever epidemic preparedness and response. In addition, the high case fatality rate despite early reporting and investigation suggested the need for a review of the case management policy and structure in the State. Key Words: Lassa fever, Outbreak Response, Incident Management System, Nigeria

Choosing the perfect shot – The loaded narrative of imagery in online news coverage of vaccines

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PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 30 Jun 2018]

Research Article
Choosing the perfect shot – The loaded narrative of imagery in online news coverage of vaccines
Andrew G. Wu, Ashish S. Shah, Tara S. Haelle, Scott A. Lunos, Michael B. Pitt
Research Article | published 27 Jun 2018 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199870

Targeting vaccinations for the licensed dengue vaccine: Considerations for serosurvey design

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PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 30 Jun 2018]

Targeting vaccinations for the licensed dengue vaccine: Considerations for serosurvey design
Natsuko Imai, Neil M. Ferguson
Research Article | published 26 Jun 2018 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199450
Abstract
Background
The CYD-TDV vaccine was unusual in that the recommended target population for vaccination was originally defined not only by age, but also by transmission setting as defined by seroprevalence. WHO originally recommended countries consider vaccination against dengue with CYD-TDV vaccine in geographic settings only where prior infection with any dengue serotype, as measured by seroprevalence, was >170% in the target age group. Vaccine was not recommended in settings where seroprevalence was <50%. Test-and-vaccinate strategies suggested following new analysis by Sanofi will still require age-stratified seroprevalence surveys to optimise age-group targeting. Here we address considerations for serosurvey design in the context of vaccination program planning.
Methods
To explore how the design of seroprevalence surveys affects estimates of transmission intensity, 100 age-specific seroprevalence surveys were simulated using a beta-binomial distribution and a simple catalytic model for different combinations of age-range, survey size, transmission setting, and test sensitivity/specificity. We then used a Metropolis-Hastings Markov Chain Monte-Carlo algorithm to estimate the force of infection from each simulated dataset.
Results
Sampling from a wide age-range led to more accurate estimates than merely increasing sample size in a narrow age-range. This finding was consistent across all transmission settings. The optimum test sensitivity and specificity given an imperfect test differed by setting with high sensitivity being important in high transmission settings and high specificity important in low transmission settings.
Conclusions
When assessing vaccination suitability by seroprevalence surveys, countries should ensure an appropriate age-range is sampled, considering epidemiological evidence about the local burden of disease.

Disease outbreak thresholds emerge from interactions between movement behavior, landscape structure, and epidemiology

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PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
of America

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/

[Accessed 30 Jun 2018]

Disease outbreak thresholds emerge from interactions between movement behavior, landscape structure, and epidemiology

Lauren A. White, James D. Forester, and Meggan E. Craft

PNAS June 25, 2018. 201801383; published ahead of print June 25, 2018

Significance

Understanding how emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases spread through space and time is critical for predicting outbreaks and designing interventions; disease models are important tools for realizing these goals. Currently, humans are altering the environment in unprecedented ways through urbanization, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. However, the consequences of increasingly heterogeneous landscapes on pathogen transmission and persistence remain unclear. By synthesizing mathematical modeling and movement ecology approaches, we examined how wildlife movement patterns interact with broad-scale landscape structure to affect population-level disease dynamics. We found that habitat fragmentation could counterintuitively promote disease outbreaks but that, for higher wildlife densities and longer infectious periods, small differences in how hosts navigated their environments could dramatically alter observed disease dynamics.

Abstract

Disease models have provided conflicting evidence as to whether spatial heterogeneity promotes or impedes pathogen persistence. Moreover, there has been limited theoretical investigation into how animal movement behavior interacts with the spatial organization of resources (e.g., clustered, random, uniform) across a landscape to affect infectious disease dynamics. Importantly, spatial heterogeneity of resources can sometimes lead to nonlinear or counterintuitive outcomes depending on the host and pathogen system. There is a clear need to develop a general theoretical framework that could be used to create testable predictions for specific host–pathogen systems. Here, we develop an individual-based model integrated with movement ecology approaches to investigate how host movement behaviors interact with landscape heterogeneity (in the form of various levels of resource abundance and clustering) to affect pathogen dynamics. For most of the parameter space, our results support the counterintuitive idea that fragmentation promotes pathogen persistence, but this finding was largely dependent on perceptual range of the host, conspecific density, and recovery rate. For simulations with high conspecific density, slower recovery rates, and larger perceptual ranges, more complex disease dynamics emerged, and the most fragmented landscapes were not necessarily the most conducive to outbreaks or pathogen persistence. These results point to the importance of interactions between landscape structure, individual movement behavior, and pathogen transmission for predicting and understanding disease dynamics.

 

Public Discourses of Ebola Contagion and Courtesy Stigma: The Real Risk to International Health Care Workers Returning Home From the West Africa Ebola Outbreak?

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Qualitative Health Research
Volume 28 Issue 9, July 2018
http://qhr.sagepub.com/content/current

Research Articles
Public Discourses of Ebola Contagion and Courtesy Stigma: The Real Risk to International Health Care Workers Returning Home From the West Africa Ebola Outbreak?
Stephanie Gee, Morten Skovdal
First Published February 27, 2018; pp. 1499–1508
Abstract
This article explores the homecoming experiences of international health care workers who responded to the 2014 to 2016 West African Ebola outbreak. Interviews with 11 frontline international medical staff were undertaken and data thematically analyzed. It was found that international health care workers faced an unforeseen risk of stigmatization upon their return home, related to others’ fears of their infectious status. Media representations of the disease appear to have played a significant role in heightening societal perceptions of the risks associated with the returning health care workers, resulting in public hostility toward them. For participants, these social risks overtook concerns about biological risks during the immediate postmission period. The participants developed different strategies to cope with courtesy stigma, by rationalizing stigmatizing attitudes, educating people, or simply through an avoidance of others.

Individual decisions to vaccinate one’s child or oneself: A discrete choice experiment rejecting free-riding motives

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Social Science & Medicine
Volume 207   Pages 1-116 (June 2018)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/social-science-and-medicine/vol/206/suppl/C

Regular articles
Individual decisions to vaccinate one’s child or oneself: A discrete choice experiment rejecting free-riding motives
Original research article
Pages 106-116
Frederik Verelst, Lander Willem, Roselinde Kessels, Philippe Beutels
Abstract
It is essential for public health to understand what drives people’s hesitance towards vaccination. Theoretical models of vaccination decisions are ubiquitous, often incorporating herd immunity, perceptions of vaccine-related side-effects (VRSE) and of vaccine-preventable burden of disease, but with little to no empirical exploration. Herd immunity is a (usually) positive externality where vaccinated individuals influence others’ risks by their reduced capability to transmit an infectious disease to them. It is often assumed that (rational) individuals incorporate this externality in their strategic vaccination decision, from which free-riding behavior arises. We performed a Bayesian D-efficient discrete choice experiment in February–March 2017 to study vaccination behavior in 1919 Belgian respondents. Choice sets with vaccine profiles were constructed using six attributes: vaccine effectiveness, VRSE, accessibility (in terms of convenience and reimbursement), vaccine-preventable burden of disease, local (respondents’ network of contacts) vaccination coverage, and population (the population at large) vaccination coverage. VRSE and accessibility are the most influential attributes, followed by vaccine effectiveness and burden of disease. Both population and local coverage are less important than the other attributes, but show a significant direct linear relationship with vaccine utility. This supports the existence of peer influence (more incentivized as more and more vaccinate), rather than free-riding on herd immunity. These findings were independent of whether respondents made vaccine choices for themselves or for their child. Around 40% of the respondents indicated accepting vaccination with little or no questioning. These ‘acceptors’ were less sensitive to changes in the vaccine-preventable burden of disease for their child’s vaccination choices (but not for themselves). Public health institutions are critical in stimulating vaccine uptake by making vaccines conveniently available at an affordable price and by communicating pro-actively on perceived VRSEs. The free-riding assumption as a driver of individual vaccine decisions, seems inappropriate, but this observation needs confirming in other populations.

 

A systematic review of emerging respiratory viruses at the Hajj and possible coinfection with Streptococcus pneumoniae

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Travel Medicine and Infectious Diseases
May-June, 2018  Volume 23
http://www.travelmedicinejournal.com/

Systematic review
A systematic review of emerging respiratory viruses at the Hajj and possible coinfection with Streptococcus pneumoniae
Jaffar A. Al-Tawfiq, Samir Benkouiten, Ziad A. Memish
Vol. 23, p6–13
Published online: April 16, 2018

Caregiver recall in childhood vaccination surveys: Systematic review of recall quality and use in low- and middle-income settings

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Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 29  Pages 4153-4392 (5 July 2018)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/28

Review
Caregiver recall in childhood vaccination surveys: Systematic review of recall quality and use in low- and middle-income settings
Review article
Pages 4161-4170
Rakesh N. Modi, Carina King, Naor Bar-Zeev, Tim Colbourn

Neighborhood political composition and personal belief exemptions from immunization requirements in California Kindergartens, 2000–2015

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Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 29  Pages 4153-4392 (5 July 2018)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/28

Neighborhood political composition and personal belief exemptions from immunization requirements in California Kindergartens, 2000–2015
Original research article
Pages 4298-4303
Kevin A. Estep

Cost-effectiveness of nonavalent HPV vaccination among males aged 22 through 26 years in the United States

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Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 29  Pages 4153-4392 (5 July 2018)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/28

Cost-effectiveness of nonavalent HPV vaccination among males aged 22 through 26 years in the United States
Original research article
Pages 4362-4368
Harrell W. Chesson, Elissa Meites, Donatus U. Ekwueme, Mona Saraiya, Lauri E. Markowitz

Impact of the addition of new vaccines in the early childhood schedule on vaccine coverage by 24 months of age from 2006 to 2016 in Quebec, Canada

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Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 29  Pages 4153-4392 (5 July 2018)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/28

Impact of the addition of new vaccines in the early childhood schedule on vaccine coverage by 24 months of age from 2006 to 2016 in Quebec, Canada
Original research article
Pages 4383-4391
Marilou Kiely, Nicole Boulianne, Denis Talbot, Manale Ouakki, … Gaston De Serres

Media/Policy Watch

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Media/Policy Watch

This watch section is intended to alert readers to substantive news, analysis and opinion from the general media and selected think tanks and similar organizations on vaccines, immunization, global public health and related themes. Media Watch is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicative of themes and issues CVEP is actively tracking. This section will grow from an initial base of newspapers, magazines and blog sources, and is segregated from Journal Watch above which scans the peer-reviewed journal ecology.
We acknowledge the Western/Northern bias in this initial selection of titles and invite suggestions for expanded coverage. We are conservative in our outlook in adding news sources which largely report on primary content we are already covering above. Many electronic media sources have tiered, fee-based subscription models for access. We will provide full-text where content is published without restriction, but most publications require registration and some subscription level.
 
 
The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]

BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]

Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/home/uk
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]

Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]

Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]

The Guardian
http://www.guardiannews.com/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]

New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
Health  June 29
Vaccination Critic Placed on Probation by Medical Board
A Southern California pediatrician and outspoken critic of mandatory vaccinations has been placed on probation for 35 months by the state’s medical board.

Health  June 28
Ebola Outbreak in Central Africa Is ‘Largely Contained’
The first Ebola outbreak fought with a new vaccine is winding down, according to the World Health Organization. The outbreak lasted just seven weeks.

Africa  June 28
Congo Completes Surveillance of Ebola Contacts, No New Cases
Democratic Republic of Congo moved closer to declaring its Ebola outbreak over when the health ministry said it had completed surveillance of the last people who came into contact with patients and had not found any new cases.

Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/home-page?_wsjregion=na,us&_homepage=/home/us
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]

Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Accessed 30 Jun 2018
[No new, unique, relevant content]