Publications by authors named "Andreas M Jensen"
Background: The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is recommended at birth in Guinea-Bissau but often given with delay. Delays are not evident in routine coverage estimates since coverage is measured by 12 months of age. Studies show that BCG protects against other infections than tuberculosis and lowers neonatal mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFacemasks have been employed to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The community effect of providing cloth facemasks on COVID-19 morbidity and mortality is unknown. In a cluster randomised trial in urban Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, clusters (geographical areas with an average of 19 houses), were randomised to an intervention or control arm using computer-generated random numbers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Child mortality and stillbirth rates (SBR) remain high in low-income countries but may be underestimated due to incomplete reporting of child deaths in retrospective pregnancy/birth histories. The aim of this study is to compare stillbirth and mortality estimates derived using two different methods: the method assuming full information and the prospective method.
Methods: Bandim Health Project's Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) follows women of reproductive age and children under five through routine home visits every 1, 2 or 6 months.
Article Synopsis
- A study in Guinea-Bissau tested whether the oral polio vaccine (OPV) could lower illness and death rates during the early COVID-19 pandemic among individuals aged 50 and older.
- Out of 3726 participants, OPV did not significantly reduce overall risks of mortality or hospital admissions, but showed a protective effect for males and participants with certain previous vaccinations.
- While OPV did not lower overall infection-related consultations or serious outcomes, individuals in the OPV group reported more mild infection symptoms, suggesting a complex impact of the vaccine.
Article Synopsis
- Guinea-Bissau has low measles vaccination rates, with less than 80% of children vaccinated before 12 months, which contributes to ongoing measles control challenges and poorer health outcomes for unvaccinated children.
- The Bandim Health Project will conduct a randomized trial with 5400 children aged 9-59 months to see if administering the measles vaccine during hospital discharge reduces early admission and mortality rates by 25%.
- Utilizing healthcare visits for mild illnesses as vaccination opportunities could potentially improve vaccination rates and child health, but more evidence on the vaccine's safety and benefits is needed to encourage its use in these contexts.
Background: There are worrying indications that diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine has negative non-specific effects for females. We previously found, in a trial of early-Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to low weight (LW) neonates, that receiving early-DTP (before 2 months of age), was associated with increased female mortality compared with no-DTP/delayed-DTP. Within a subsequent LW trial, we aimed to retest this observation.
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