Journal Watch
Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review continues its weekly scanning of key peer-reviewed journals to identify and cite articles, commentary and editorials, books reviews and other content supporting our focus on vaccine ethics and policy. Journal Watch is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicative of themes and issues the Center is actively tracking. We selectively provide full text of some editorial and comment articles that are specifically relevant to our work. Successful access to some of the links provided may require subscription or other access arrangement unique to the publisher.
If you would like to suggest other journal titles to include in this service, please contact David Curry at: david.r.curry@centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.org

BMJ Global Health
May 2019 – Volume 4 – Suppl 4
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/Suppl_4

Measurement of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition
Editorial
Advancing measurement and monitoring of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition: global and country perspectives (24 June, 2019)
Tanya Marchant, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Robert Black, John Grove, Catherine Kyobutungi, Stefan Peterson
Introduction
Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016–2030) represents an essential shift in prioritisation for actions designed to help families live healthy, secure lives and fulfil their economic potential.¹ The reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH-N) agenda is now both broader and more complex than was the case during the Millennium Development Goal era, creating a need for new data. To contribute to this need, Countdown to 2030 for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (Countdown), a multi-institutional network of academics from institutions around the world and representatives from United Nations agencies and civil society, aims to enhance monitoring and measurement of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health globally and in countries.² In 2018, Countdown organised a measurement conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa, that brought together 100 experts in multiple areas of RMNCAH-N, which resulted in the six papers in this supplement and an overall research agenda.
The manuscripts in this collection represent the first developments of Countdown’s work to enhance measurement. They identify some of the persistent measurement and monitoring gaps in RMNCAH-N, for example, by reviewing the evidence on methods for generating effective coverage estimates and presenting actionable analytical methods to identify inequalities within and between countries. The collection also considers measurement advances for early childhood development and for nutrition. Further, it expands to analyse new priority issues, including using national surveys to analyse the impact of armed conflicts on RMNCAH-N;³ and describing the new data needed to better understand the social, political and contextual complexity of health system governance.
Countdown will continue to extend this measurement improvement agenda. In some aspects, however, the measurement and monitoring of RMNCAH-N is more advanced than other health areas, such as infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, injuries and mental health…

BMJ Global Health
May 2019 – Volume 4 – Suppl 4
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/Suppl_4

Armed conflicts and national trends in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in sub-Saharan Africa: what can national health surveys tell us? (24 June, 2019)
Ties Boerma, Hannah Tappis, Ghada Saad-Haddad, Jai Das, Dessalegn Y Melesse, Jocelyn DeJong, Paul Spiegel, Robert Black, Cesar Victora, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Aluisio J D Barros

BMJ Global Health
May 2019 – Volume 4 – Suppl 4
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/Suppl_4

Early childhood development: an imperative for action and measurement at scale (24 June, 2019)
Linda Richter, Maureen Black, Pia Britto, Bernadette Daelmans, Chris Desmond, Amanda Devercelli, Tarun Dua, Günther Fink, Jody Heymann, Joan Lombardi, Chunling Lu, Sara Naicker, Emily Vargas-Barón

BMJ Global Health
May 2019 – Volume 4 – Suppl 4
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/Suppl_4

Lenses and levels: the why, what and how of measuring health system drivers of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health with a governance focus (24 June, 2019)
Asha George, Amnesty Elizabeth LeFevre, Tanya Jacobs, Mary Kinney, Kent Buse, Mickey Chopra, Bernadette Daelmans, Annie Haakenstad, Luis Huicho, Rajat Khosla, Kumanan Rasanathan, David Sanders, Neha S Singh, Nicki Tiffin, Rajani Ved, Shehla Abbas Zaidi, Helen Schneider

BMJ Global Health
May 2019 – Volume 4 – Suppl 4
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/Suppl_4

Measuring the coverage of nutrition interventions along the continuum of care: time to act at scale (24 June, 2019)
Stuart Gillespie, Purnima Menon, Rebecca Heidkamp, Ellen Piwoz, Rahul Rawat, Melinda Munos, Robert Black, Chika Hayashi, Kuntal Kumar Saha, Jennifer Requejo

BMJ Global Health
May 2019 – Volume 4 – Suppl 4
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/Suppl_4

Analyses of inequalities in RMNCH: rising to the challenge of the SDGs (24 June, 2019)
Cesar Victora, Ties Boerma, Jennifer Requejo, Marilia Arndt Mesenburg, Gary Joseph, Janaína Calu Costa, Luis Paulo Vidaletti, Leonardo Zanini Ferreira, Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor, Aluisio J D Barros

BMJ Global Health
May 2019 – Volume 4 – Suppl 4
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/Suppl_4

Analysis papers
Advances in the measurement of coverage for RMNCH and nutrition: from contact to effective coverage (24 June, 2019)
Agbessi Amouzou, Hannah Hogan Leslie, Malathi Ram, Monica Fox, Safia S Jiwani, Jennifer Requejo, Tanya Marchant, Melinda Kay Munos, Lara M E Vaz, William Weiss, Chika Hayashi, Ties Boerma

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 6 Jul 2019)

Research article
Seroprevalence of Transplacentally acquired Measles antibodies in unvaccinated infants at nine months of age and its relation to the feeding practices
In recent years Pakistan has faced frequent measles outbreaks killing hundreds of children despite the availability of vaccine for decades. This study was undertaken to determine the persistence of maternal tr…
Authors: Najma Javed, Muhammad Arif Nadeem Saqib, Mir. Muhammad Hassan Bullo and Rana Jawad Asghar
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:587
Published on: 5 July 2019

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 6 Jul 2019)

Research article
Influenza vaccination effectiveness for people aged under 65 years in Japan, 2013/2014 season: application of a doubly robust method to a large-scale, real-world dataset
Influenza vaccination is recognized as a primary public health intervention which prevents the illness of patients and relieves the societal burdens of influenza for medical community as well as the economy. T…
Authors: Natsumi Shibata, Shinya Kimura, Takahiro Hoshino and Hisashi Urushihara
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2019 19:586
Published on: 5 July 2019

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 6 Jul 2019)

Research article
The challenge of community engagement and informed consent in rural Zambia: an example from a pilot study
There is a need for empirically based research on social and ethical challenges related to informed consent processes, particularly in studies focusing on adolescent sexual and reproductive health. In a pilot …
Authors: Joseph Mumba Zulu, Ingvild Fossgard Sandøy, Karen Marie Moland, Patrick Musonda, Ecloss Munsaka and Astrid Blystad
Citation: BMC Medical Ethics 2019 20:45
Published on: 4 July 2019

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 6 Jul 2019)

Debate
Bioethical reflexivity and requirements of valid consent: conceptual tools
Despite existing international, regional and national guidance on how to obtain valid consent to health-related research, valid consent remains both a practical and normative challenge. This challenge persists…
Authors: John Barugahare
Citation: BMC Medical Ethics 2019 20:44
Published on: 4 July 2019

BMC Medicine
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/content
(Accessed 6 Jul 2019)

Research article
The global impact and cost-effectiveness of a melioidosis vaccine
Every year, 90,000 people may die from melioidosis. Vaccine candidates have not proceeded past animal studies, partly due to uncertainty around the potential market size. This study aims to estimate the potent…
Authors: Nantasit Luangasanatip, Stefan Flasche, David A. B. Dance, Direk Limmathurotsakul, Bart J. Currie, Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay, Tim Atkins, Richard Titball and Mark Jit
Citation: BMC Medicine 2019 17:129
Published on: 5 July 2019

BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 6 Jul 2019)

Research article
Coverage and determinants of influenza vaccine among pregnant women: a cross-sectional study
Pregnant women are at increased risk of influenza-related complications. The World Health Organisation recommends influenza vaccination to this high-risk population as highest priority. However, achieving high…
Authors: Vittoria Offeddu, Clarence C. Tam, Tze Tein Yong, Lay Kok Tan, Koh Cheng Thoon, Nicole Lee, Thiam Chye Tan, George S. H. Yeo and Chee Fu Yung
Citation: BMC Public Health 2019 19:890
Published on: 5 July 2019

BMJ Open
July 2019 – Volume 9 – 7
http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/current

Infectious diseases
Protocol
Effects of vaccines in protecting against Ebola virus disease: protocol for a systematic review
(3 July, 2019)
Lindi Mathebula, Duduzile Edith Ndwandwe, Elizabeth Pienaar, Charles Shey Wiysonge
Abstract
Introduction
Ebola virus disease is one of the most devastating infectious diseases in the world with up to 90% case fatality observed. There are at least 13 candidate vaccines developed and being tested to prevent the occurrence of the Ebola virus disease. While none of these candidate vaccines has received regulatory approval for use, one candidate vaccine (rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP) has been granted access for emergency use. Two other candidate vaccines (GamEvac-Combi and Ad5-EBOV) have been licensed for emergency use in their countries of origin. The objective of this systematic review is to summarise the effects of the Ebola candidate vaccines in humans.
Methods and analysis
We will search for potentially eligible studies, with no language or date restrictions, in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, Scopus, the WHO International Clinical Trial Registry Platform, and reference lists of relevant publications. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effect (DARE) will be searched for related reviews. Two review authors will independently screen search records, assess study eligibility, perform data extraction, and assess the risk of bias; and reconcile their findings. We will pool data from similar studies using Mantel-Haenszel’s fixed-effect model.
Ethics and dissemination
This study is exempted from ethical consideration since the data collected are publicly available and at no point will confidential information from human participants be used. We will disseminate our results through publications in peer-reviewed journals and relevant conferences.
PROSPERO registration number CRD42018110505.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 97, Number 7, July 2019, 441-512
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/97/7/en/

RESEARCH
Gender balance in WHO panels for guidelines published from 2008 to 2018
— Meghan A Bohren, Dena Javadi & Joshua P Vogel
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.18.226894

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 97, Number 7, July 2019, 441-512
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/97/7/en/

SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS
Available evidence of antibiotic resistance from extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in paediatric patients in 20 countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis
— Yanhong Jessika Hu, Anju Ogyu, Benjamin J Cowling, Keiji Fukuda & Herbert H Pang
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.18.225698

Clinical Therapeutics
July 2019 Volume 41, Issue 7, p1227-1400
http://www.clinicaltherapeutics.com/current

PREVENTION OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: Challenges and Opportunities to Change the Paradigm of Disease Management
Edited by Kevin Dale Deane, Tsang Tommy Cheung

Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
August 2019 – Volume 32 – Issue 4
https://journals.lww.com/co-infectiousdiseases/pages/currenttoc.aspx

NOSOCOMIAL AND HEALTHCARE RELATED INFECTIONS
One hundred years after the 1918 pandemic new concepts for preparing for influenza pandemics
Pavia, Andrew
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases. 32(4):365-371, August 2019.

EMBO Reports
Volume 20 Issue 7 1 July 2019
https://www.embopress.org/toc/14693178/current

Science & Society 26 June 2019 Open Access
Words, images and gender : Lessons from a survey on the public perception of synthetic biology and related disciplines
Manuel Porcar, Adriel Latorre‐Pérez, Esther Molina‐Menor, Martí Domínguez
A large survey of visitors at a science museum about the perception of biotechnology shows that names matter and that gender has an influence on people’s attitude towards new technologies.

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 24 Nov 2018]

Research
|   2 July 2019
The development and reform of public health in China from 1949 to 2019
Authors: Li Wang, Zhihao Wang, Qinglian Ma, Guixia Fang and Jinxia Yang
Public health system plays a vital role in the development of health sector in China and protects the health of Chinese people. However, there are few comprehensive reviews and studies focusing on its evolution and reform. It is worthwhile to pay attention to the public health development in China, given that the history and structure of public health system have their own characteristics in China.

Infectious Diseases of Poverty
http://www.idpjournal.com/content
[Accessed 6 Jul 2019]

Research Article
Compliance among infants exposed to hepatitis B virus in a post-vaccination serological testing program in four provinces in China
Mother to child transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains the most common form of HBV infection in China. Prevention of HBV vertical transmission involves timely administration of the complete hepatitis …
Authors: Hui Zheng, Guo-Min Zhang, Po-Lin Chan, Fu-Zhen Wang, Lance Everett Rodewald, Ning Miao, Xiao-Jin Sun, Zun-Dong Yin, Jeffrey Edwards and Hua-Qing Wang
Citation: Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2019 8:57
Published on: 4 July 2019

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 6, No 7 (2019) July 2019
https://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/52

Original Research Articles
Coverage evaluation of vaccines using 30×7 cluster survey in rural area of Dhule, Maharashtra
Kapil Agrawal, Shashikant N. Nagaonkar, Shweta K. Agrawal

JAMA
July 2, 2019, Vol 322, No. 1, Pages 3-90
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

Editorial
Outbreaks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases – Responding to System Failure With National Vaccination Requirements
Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP; Seema K. Shah, JD
Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases indicate failures in health care and public health systems. One type of failure occurs when a vaccine offers insufficient protection, for instance during an influenza season when the predominant circulating strain is unrelated to antigens included in the flu vaccine for that year. Another type of failure occurs when a safe and effective vaccine is available in wealthier nations, but is not accessible to eligible patients in less wealthy nations because it is prohibitively expensive. A third type of failure occurs when parents choose not to immunize their eligible children with recommended vaccines. This particular form of system failure puts each unvaccinated child at risk for vaccine-preventable illness, and also undermines herd immunity that otherwise protects children from the same illness. From a system perspective, herd immunity is a system redundancy that helps guard, but does not completely protect, against failure.

JAMA
July 2, 2019, Vol 322, No. 1, Pages 3-90
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

Original Investigation
Associations of Statewide Legislative and Administrative Interventions With Vaccination Status Among Kindergartners in California
S. Cassandra Pingali, MPH, MS; Paul L. Delamater, PhD; Alison M. Buttenheim, MBA, PhD; et al.
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JAMA. 2019;322(1):49-56. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.7924
This observational study uses yearly cross-sectional school-entry data to calculate changes in rates of kindergartners attending California schools who were not up to date on required vaccinations before and after legislative and administrative initiatives in 2014-2017 intended to increase vaccine uptake.

Journal of Adolescent Health
June 2019 Volume 64, Issue 6, Supplement, S1-S86
https://www.jahonline.org/issue/S1054-139X(18)X0008-1

Special Issue: Mental Health and Well-Being of Adolescents in Hong Kong
Edited by Daniel Shek

Journal of Community Health
Volume 44, Issue 4, August 2019
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/44/4

Original Paper
HPV Vaccination and Korean American College Women: Cultural Factors, Knowledge, and Attitudes in Cervical Cancer Prevention
Minjin Kim, Haeok Lee, Peter Kiang, Teri Aronowitz…

Journal of Community Health
Volume 44, Issue 4, August 2019
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/44/4

Original Paper
Gender and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Among United States Adults
Christine C. Ekenga, Lan Ziyu

Journal of Community Health
Volume 44, Issue 4, August 2019
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/44/4

Original Paper
Implementation Challenges and Opportunities Related to HPV Vaccination Quality Improvement in Primary Care Clinics in a Rural State
Natoshia M. Askelson, Grace Ryan, Laura Seegmiller

Journal of Community Health
Volume 44, Issue 4, August 2019
https://link.springer.com/journal/10900/44/4

Original Paper
Implementation Challenges and Opportunities Related to HPV Vaccination Quality Improvement in Primary Care Clinics in a Rural State
Natoshia M. Askelson, Grace Ryan, Laura Seegmiller

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
July 2019 – Volume 73 – 7
https://jech.bmj.com/content/73/7

Essay
Effects of Superblocks on health and health inequities: a proposed evaluation framework (1 April, 2019)
Roshanak Mehdipanah, Ana M Novoa, Brenda Biaani León-Gómez, Maria José López, Laia Palència, Hugo Vasquez, Èlia Díez, Carme Borrell, Katherine Pérez
Abstract
The following essay outlines the intervention and presents a framework that will serve as a guide in the evaluation of the different effects of the Superblocks. Superblocks consist of amalgamations of blocks throughout the city, with the goal of improving the habitability of public spaces, advancing sustainable mobility, increasing urban green, and promoting residents’ participation and coresponsibility, while ultimately influencing residents’ health and health inequities. The evaluation framework considers the following aspects: the interventions implemented in the Superblock strategy, the changes that occur at neighbourhood and individual level and the population turnover as intermediate factors and finally the health outcomes. Inequity dimensions are also considered.

Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 219, Issue 12, 15 June 2019
https://academic.oup.com/jid/issue/219/12

MAJOR ARTICLES AND BRIEF REPORTS
Poliovirus Type 2 Seroprevalence Following Full- or Fractional-Dose Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine in the Period After Sabin Type 2 Withdrawal in Sri Lanka
Deepa Gamage; Ondrej Mach; Samitha Ginige; William C Weldon; M Steven Oberste …
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 219, Issue 12, 15 June 2019, Pages 1887–1892, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiz026
Sri Lankan immunization program in 2016 replaced intramuscular inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) with intradermal fractional-dose IPV. In our study, we demonstrated that seroprevalence of antipolio antibodies did not significantly differ between recipients of full- and fractional-dose IPV.

Journal of Medical Ethics
June 2019 – Volume 45 – 6
http://jme.bmj.com/content/current

Ethical issues raised by cluster randomised trials conducted in low-resource settings: identifying gaps in the Ottawa Statement through an analysis of the PURE Malawi trial (12 June, 2019)
Tiwonge K Mtande, Charles Weijer, Mina C Hosseinipour, Monica Taljaard, Mitch Matoga, Cory E Goldstein, Billy Nyambalo, Nora E Rosenberg

Journal of Medical Ethics
June 2019 – Volume 45 – 6
http://jme.bmj.com/content/current

Original research
Informed consent for early-phase clinical trials: therapeutic misestimation, unrealistic optimism and appreciation (12 June, 2019)
Jodi Halpern, David Paolo, Andrew Huang

Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS)
Volume 8, Issue 3, September 2019
https://academic.oup.com/jpids/issue

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
BCG Vaccination at Birth and Rate of Hospitalization for Infection Until 15 Months of Age in Danish Children: A Randomized Clinical Multicenter Trial
Lone Graff Stensballe; Henrik Ravn; Nina Marie Birk; Jesper Kjærgaard; Thomas Nørrelykke Nissen …
Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, Volume 8, Issue 3, September 2019, Pages 213–220, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpids/piy029
In this large-scale randomized controlled trial that included 4262 Danish infants, vaccination against BCG did not affect the rate of hospitalization for infection up to the age of 15 months. In future studies, the role of maternal vaccination against BCG, premature birth, and cesarean delivery in BCG-vaccinated children needs further exploration.

The Lancet
Jul 06, 2019 Volume 394 Number 10192 p1-92
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
G20 Osaka: when will global health commitments be realised?
The Lancet

The Lancet
Jul 06, 2019 Volume 394 Number 10192 p1-92
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Comment
WHO and ITU establish benchmarking process for artificial intelligence in health
Thomas Wiegand, Ramesh Krishnamurthy, Monique Kuglitsch, Naomi Lee, Sameer Pujari,
Marcel Salathé, Markus Wenzel, Shan Xu

Nature
Volume 571 Issue 7763, 4 July 2019
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

World View | 02 July 2019
Why India is striking back against predatory journals
Our foe is determined and adaptable, says Bhushan Patwardhan. A list of credible titles is the latest salvo in the fight against shoddy scholarship.
Bhushan Patwardhan

Nature Biotechnology
Volume 37 Issue 7, July 2019
https://www.nature.com/nbt/volumes/37/issues/7

Editorial | 02 July 2019
Gene therapy’s next installment
Sky-high-priced gene therapies face slow uptake and market failure unless healthcare payers and drug makers can find common ground in ‘pay-for-performance’ reimbursement.

Nature Biotechnology
Volume 37 Issue 7, July 2019
https://www.nature.com/nbt/volumes/37/issues/7

Review Article | 17 June 2019
Synthetic evolution
From unbiased mutagenesis to precision modification, in genes or whole genomes, researchers have a panoply of tools to direct evolution.
Anna J. Simon, Simon d’Oelsnitz & Andrew D. Ellington
Abstract
The combination of modern biotechnologies such as DNA synthesis, λ red recombineering, CRISPR-based editing and next-generation high-throughput sequencing increasingly enables precise manipulation of genes and genomes. Beyond rational design, these technologies also enable the targeted, and potentially continuous, introduction of multiple mutations. While this might seem to be merely a return to natural selection, the ability to target evolution greatly reduces fitness burdens and focuses mutation and selection on those genes and traits that best contribute to a desired phenotype, ultimately throwing evolution into fast forward.

Nature Biotechnology
Volume 37 Issue 7, July 2019
https://www.nature.com/nbt/volumes/37/issues/7

Review Article | 17 June 2019
Breeding crops to feed 10 billion
Development of next-generation crops will be enabled by combining state-of-the-art technologies with speed breeding.
Lee T. Hickey, Amber N. Hafeez[…] & Brande B. H. Wulff
Abstract
Crop improvements can help us to meet the challenge of feeding a population of 10 billion, but can we breed better varieties fast enough? Technologies such as genotyping, marker-assisted selection, high-throughput phenotyping, genome editing, genomic selection and de novo domestication could be galvanized by using speed breeding to enable plant breeders to keep pace with a changing environment and ever-increasing human population.

Nature Genetics
Volume 51 Issue 7, July 2019
https://www.nature.com/ng/volumes/51/issues/7

Editorial | 28 June 2019
Versatile genetics
We are constantly amazed by the power of genetics and its ability to solve complex and seemingly intractable problems. The creative application of genetic and genomic analyses to diverse areas has led to advances across basic biology and human disease. We hope to continue to see technologies develop that expand the genetic and genomic toolkit and that bring new discoveries and insights into basic and applied research.

Nature Genetics
Volume 51 Issue 7, July 2019
https://www.nature.com/ng/volumes/51/issues/7

News & Views | 28 June 2019
Priority index for human genetics and drug discovery
Although human genetics can help identify new drug targets, the best way to prioritize genes as therapeutic targets is uncertain. A new study describes a framework to prioritize potential targets by integrating genome-wide association data with genomic features, disease ontologies and network connectivity.
Robert M. Plenge

Nature Genetics
Volume 51 Issue 7, July 2019
https://www.nature.com/ng/volumes/51/issues/7

Letter | 28 June 2019
A genetics-led approach defines the drug target landscape of 30 immune-related traits
A genetics-led translational approach integrating functional genomic predictors, knowledge of network connectivity and immune ontologies defines the drug target prioritization landscape for 30 immune traits at the gene and pathway level.
Hai Fang, Georg Beckmann[…] & Julian C. Knight
Abstract
Most candidate drugs currently fail later-stage clinical trials, largely due to poor prediction of efficacy on early target selection¹. Drug targets with genetic support are more likely to be therapeutically valid^2,3, but the translational use of genome-scale data such as from genome-wide association studies for drug target discovery in complex diseases remains challenging^4,5,6. Here, we show that integration of functional genomic and immune-related annotations, together with knowledge of network connectivity, maximizes the informativeness of genetics for target validation, defining the target prioritization landscape for 30 immune traits at the gene and pathway level. We demonstrate how our genetics-led drug target prioritization approach (the priority index) successfully identifies current therapeutics, predicts activity in high-throughput cellular screens (including L1000, CRISPR, mutagenesis and patient-derived cell assays), enables prioritization of under-explored targets and allows for determination of target-level trait relationships. The priority index is an open-access, scalable system accelerating early-stage drug target selection for immune-mediated disease.

New England Journal of Medicine
July 4, 2019 Vol. 381 No. 1
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Review Article
Frontiers in Medicine: Genetic Variation, Comparative Genomics, and the Diagnosis of Disease
Evan E. Eichler, Ph.D.
The genome is not akin to a string of fixed length. Many large segments of DNA may be present or absent — a major contributor to pathogenic genomic variation. New technologies in DNA sequencing are helping to uncover this type of variation, which often cannot be detected by standard DNA sequencing.

Pediatrics
July 2019, VOLUME 144 / ISSUE 1
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/1?current-issue=y

Articles
Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Effectiveness Over Time
Ousseny Zerbo, Joan Bartlett, Kristin Goddard, Bruce Fireman, Edwin Lewis, Nicola P. Klein
Pediatrics Jul 2019, 144 (1) e20183466; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-3466
Compared with children fully DTaP vaccinated, unvaccinated and undervaccinated children were at a greater risk of pertussis. However, most pertussis cases occurred among age-appropriately vaccinated children.

Pediatrics
July 2019, VOLUME 144 / ISSUE 1
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/1?current-issue=y

Implementing Evidence-Based Strategies to Improve HPV Vaccine Delivery
Melissa B. Gilkey, Michael J. Parks, Marjorie A. Margolis, Annie-Laurie McRee, Jason V. Terk
Pediatrics Jul 2019, 144 (1) e20182500; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-2500
The experience of a large, not-for-profit health care system suggests that local adaptation may be effective in engaging physicians in HPV vaccine–related QI efforts.

Pediatrics
July 2019, VOLUME 144 / ISSUE 1
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/1?current-issue=y

Special Articles
Spread of Measles in Europe and Implications for US Travelers
Kristina M. Angelo, Paul A. Gastañaduy, Allison T. Walker, Manisha Patel, Susan Reef, C. Virginia Lee, Jeffrey Nemhauser
Pediatrics Jul 2019, 144 (1) e20190414; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2019-0414
The record number of measles cases in the WHO European Region puts both international travelers and nontraveling US residents at risk for measles.

Pediatrics
July 2019, VOLUME 144 / ISSUE 1
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/1?current-issue=y

Ethics Rounds
Allowing Adolescents to Weigh Benefits and Burdens of High-stakes Therapies
Kriti Puri, Janet Malek, Caridad Maylin de la Uz, John Lantos, Antonio Gabriel Cabrera, Ernest Frugé
Pediatrics Jul 2019, 144 (1) e20183714; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2018-3714
In this case study, we discuss the ethical considerations when there is discordance between an adolescent close to attaining age of majority and the parent currently responsible for medical decision-making in a high-risk medical setting.

Public Health Reports
Volume 134 Issue 4, July/August 2019
https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/phrg/134/4

Public Health Evaluation
Extending the Reach of Pediatric Emergency Preparedness: A Virtual Tabletop Exercise Targeting Children’s Needs
Marvin So, MPH, Eric J. Dziuban, MD, DTM, CPH, Jessica L. Franks, MPH, Karen Cobham-Owens, MPA, David J. Schonfeld, MD, Aaron H. Gardner, MD, MS, Steven E. Krug, MD, Georgina Peacock, MD, MPH, Sarita Chung, MD
First Published May 16, 2019; pp. 344–353