Case Ascertainment of Measles during a Large Outbreak-Laboratory Compared to Epidemiological Confirmation.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease, and hence, sufficient herd immunity is obligatory to prevent infection transmission. Measles is still a cause of considerable disease burden globally, mainly in children. During a national measles outbreak in Israel in 2018-2019, the peak incidence rates occurred in the Jerusalem district.

SARS-CoV-2 infection characteristics among students and staff in a large high school COVID-19 outbreak and secondary transmission in households.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 clinical presentation is associated with the patients' age group. Overall, young individuals present higher proportions of asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 infection, compared to adults. Data on secondary COVID-19 transmission in households, according to the cases' age group, are accumulating.

Invasive Disease Due to : Surveillance and Trends in Israel Prior to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a devastating disease with significant mortality and long-term morbidity. The COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures have affected the epidemiology of infectious pathogens. This study's aim was to assess IMD trends in Israel prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pertussis outbreak mainly in unvaccinated young children in ultra-orthodox Jewish groups, Jerusalem, Israel 2023.

Despite being a vaccine-preventable disease for decades, pertussis control is still a public health challenge. A pertussis outbreak emerged in Jerusalem ( = 257 cases, January to June 2023). Most cases were young children (median age 1.

Hospitalizations and Clinical Severity of COVID-19 Among Infants Under 1-Year-old.

This study evaluated COVID-19 hospitalizations and clinical severity in infants (<1-year-old, n = 2,667), March 2020-March 2021. Hospitalizations were associated with younger age [OR (95%CI): <1 month, 26.3 (16.

Measles clinical presentation, hospitalization and vaccination status among children in a community-wide outbreak.

Background: In 2018-2019, a measles outbreak emerged in Israel (4158 notified cases). We aimed to evaluate the measles characteristics and the vaccination status among children during the outbreak.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of measles cases in children under 18 years, residing in the Jerusalem district (2254 notified measles cases, June 2018-May 2019).

The Hidden Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Routine Childhood Immunization Coverage in Cameroon.

: The third round of the global pulse survey demonstrated that the abrupt and rapid progression of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted childhood immunization in many countries. Although Cameroon has reported over 120,000 COVID-19 cases, the reported national childhood vaccination coverage during the pandemic seems to have increased compared to that during the pre-COVID-19 period. Indeed, the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP-1) coverage increased from 85.

The Use of the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) as a Diagnostic Scale for Infants with Autism.

Unlabelled: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of developmental disabilities presenting difficulties in social interaction and language and an increased occurrence of cognitive, sensory, and motor gaps. Early intervention has been reported to improve the function of children with ASD. However, motor screening for children with ASD is difficult, as there are no specific tools for identifying this specific population.

Factors Associated with Zero-Dose Childhood Vaccination Status in a Remote Fishing Community in Cameroon: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study.

: Cameroon's suboptimal access to childhood vaccinations poses a significant challenge to achieving the Immunization Agenda 2030 goal-ranking among the top 15 countries with a high proportion of zero-dose (unvaccinated) children worldwide. There are clusters of zero-dose children in pockets of communities that traditionally miss essential healthcare services, including vaccination. The Manoka Health District (MHD) is home to such settlements with consistently low vaccination coverages (DPT-HepB-Hib-1: 19.

Are Healthcare Workers Infected with SARS-CoV-2 at Home or at Work? A Comparative Prevalence Study.

Prior to the widespread use of vaccinations, healthcare workers (HCWs) faced the double burden of caring for unprecedented numbers of critically ill COVID-19 patients while also facing the risk of becoming infected themselves either in healthcare facilities or at home. In order to assess whether SARS-CoV-2-positivity rates in HCWs reflected or differed from those in their residential areas, we compared the SARS-CoV-2-positivity rates during 2020 among HCWs in Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Centers (HHUMC), a tertiary medical center in Jerusalem, Israel, to those of the general population in Jerusalem, stratified by neighborhood. Additionally, we compared the demographic and professional parameters in every group.

Breastfeeding challenges and support in a high initiation population.

Background: The breastfeeding initiation rate in Israel is approximately 90%, yet exclusive breastfeeding drops sharply in the early postnatal period. The study objective was to assess early postpartum professional breastfeeding support, its association with breastfeeding success and identification of risk factors for early breastfeeding discontinuation.

Methods: As part of a post-discharge newborn follow-up study, a convenience sample of 868 mothers attending Maternal and Child Health Centers (MCHCs) up to three months post-partum were interviewed using a 26-item questionnaire.

Adherence to referrals from preschool vision screening and identification of barriers for non-adherence in Israel.

Clinical Relevance: Preschool vision screening is essential for the early detection and treatment of eye and vision problems.

Background: The rate of parental adherence to referrals for comprehensive examination was assessed and factors and potential barriers associated with adherence were identified.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study design, parents were offered to bring their 3-6 year old aged children to free-of-charge vision screening tests at community-based Mother Child Health Centers.

Enhancing the primary care pediatrician's role in managing psychosocial issues: a cross sectional study of pediatricians and parents in Israel.

Background: Psychosocial issues are an integral part of children's health and well-being, and it is widely acknowledged that pediatricians should be involved in their management. We examined the current perception of the pediatrician's role in the management of psychosocial problems in Israel from the perspective of parents and pediatricians, and identified possible barriers.

Methods: We assessed parents' and pediatricians' perspectives through a cross sectional survey.

Access to Vaccination among Disadvantaged, Isolated and Difficult-to-Reach Communities in the WHO European Region: A Systematic Review.

Vaccination has a significant impact on morbidity and mortality. High vaccination coverage rates are required to achieve herd protection against vaccine-preventable diseases. However, limited vaccine access and hesitancy among specific communities represent significant obstacles to this goal.

The Burden of COVID-19 in Children and Its Prevention by Vaccination: A Joint Statement of the Israeli Pediatric Association and the Israeli Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

As of October 2021, SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported among 512,613 children and adolescents in Israel (~33% of all COVID-19 cases). The 5-11-year age group accounted for about 43% (223,850) of affected children and adolescents. In light of the availability of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine against COVID-19 for children aged 5-11 years, we aimed to write a position paper for pediatricians, policymakers and families regarding the clinical aspects of COVID-19 and the vaccination of children against COVID-19.

Academic activism on behalf of children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel; beyond public health advocacy.

Among the challenges presented by the SARS-CoV2 pandemic are those related to balancing societal priorities with averting threats to population health. In this exceptional context a group of Israeli physicians and public health scholars (multidisciplinary academic group on children and coronavirus [MACC]) coalesced, examining the role of children in viral transmission and assessing the necessity and consequences of restricted in-class education. Combining critical appraisal and analytical skills with public health experience, MACC advocated for safe and monitored school re-opening, stressing the importance of education as a determinant of health, continuously weighing this stance against evolving COVID-19-risk data.

Eligibility for growth hormone therapy in children born small for gestational age is substantially lower than expected.

Background: Growth hormone therapy is indicated for children who are both born 'small for gestational age' (SGA) and do not achieve adequate catch-up growth (ACUG).

Objective: To evaluate the actual incidence of infants born SGA and their actual ACUG.

Methods: Birth weight data from the newborn registry at two hospitals were analysed during four consecutive years.

The National Immunization Technical Advisory Group in Israel.

National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) are defined by the World Health Organization as multidisciplinary groups of health experts who are involved in the development of a national immunization policy. The NITAG has the responsibility to provide independent, evidence-informed advice to the policy makers and national programme managers, on policy issues and questions related to immunization and vaccines.This paper aims to describe the NITAG in Israel.

The measles outbreak in Israel in 2018-19: lessons for COVID-19 pandemic.

During 2018-2019 Israel saw some 4300 measles cases in a country-wide epidemic. Increased measles incidence rates and considerable disease burden have been observed in under-vaccinated communities, predominantly Jewish ultraorthodox. The measles epidemic, despite proper public health handling, revealed susceptible population subgroups as well as gaps and lacking resources in the Israeli public health systems.

Utilization of the Public Health Ordinance to prevent nosocomial spread in a case of acute measles-associated psychosis.

Measles is a highly contagious disease. A 24 years old patient, recently exposed to measles (unvaccinated), presented in the emergency department with severe agitation, compatible with an acute psychotic episode, during the measles epidemic which spread in Israel in 2018-2019. Upon hospital admission, strict isolation was instructed, yet, without compliance, probably due to the patient's status.

Vaccination timeliness and completeness among preterm and low birthweight infants: a national cohort study.

Vaccinating premature and low birthweight (LBW) infants according to chronological age has been found safe and effective. Although these infants are susceptible to infections, vaccinations are often delayed. We estimated vaccination coverage (VC) in preterm and LBW infants compared to term infants in a cohort study (2016 Israel birth cohort, n = 181,543) using the National Immunization Registry.

A large COVID-19 outbreak in a high school 10 days after schools' reopening, Israel, May 2020.

On 13 March 2020, Israel's government declared closure of all schools. Schools fully reopened on 17 May 2020. Ten days later, a major outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in a high school.

Pre-conceptional folic acid supplementation: A possible cause for the increasing rates of ankyloglossia.

Background: There is an increasing awareness to ankyloglossia (tongue-tie) in infants, with marked increase in its report in the medical literature. Some reports indicate increase in prevalence. Whether the increase ankyloglossia rate is a real phenomenon or merely reflects increased awareness and reports has to be determined.