Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on infectious diseases reporting.

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic had impacted the reporting of notifiable communicable diseases. Since the beginning of the pandemic and the introduction of relate public health measures, notifications for most notifiable diseases have declined compared to previous years. In this study, we aim to quantify the changes in the incidences of notifiable infectious diseases during and after the pandemic in Siracusa Local Health Authority, Italy.

Guardians under Siege: Exploring Pollution's Effects on Human Immunity.

Chemical pollution poses a significant threat to human health, with detrimental effects on various physiological systems, including the respiratory, cardiovascular, mental, and perinatal domains. While the impact of pollution on these systems has been extensively studied, the intricate relationship between chemical pollution and immunity remains a critical area of investigation. The focus of this study is to elucidate the relationship between chemical pollution and human immunity.

Effectiveness of a vaccine recovery plan after the COVID-19 pandemic in the Siracusa Local Health Authority, Italy. Results of one year follow-up.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has strongly impacted on the immunization services around the world, threatening the gains made in the control of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Methods: A vaccination recovery plan of missed vaccinations has been put in place in the LHA of Siracusa after the pandemic. We compared 2021 and 2020 vaccination coverage by age group and vaccine type after one year of follow-up of the recovery plan.

Childhood immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic in the province of Siracusa, Italy.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted routine immunization activities and a decline in vaccination coverage has been documented around the world. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccination coverage in the Province of Siracusa, Italy.

Methods: We compared 2020 and 2019 vaccination coverage by age group and vaccine type.

Cancer incidence in Priolo, Sicily: a spatial approach for estimation of industrial air pollution impact.

The territory around the industrial Sicilian area of Priolo, Italy, has been defined as a contaminated site (CS) of national priority for remediation because of diffuse environmental contamination caused by large industrial settlements. The present study investigates the spatial distribution of cancer into the CS territory (period 1999-2006). Different geographical methods used for the evaluation of the impact of industrial air pollutants were adopted.

Survival after cancer in Italian persons with AIDS, 1986-2005: a population-based estimation.

Background: Cancer survival in persons with AIDS (PWA) after introduction of antiretroviral therapies remains poorly characterized. The aim is to provide population-based estimates of cancer survival, overall and for the most important cancer types in PWA, and a comparison with persons without AIDS (non-PWA) affected by the same cancer.

Methods: PWA with cancer at AIDS diagnosis or thereafter were individually matched with non-PWA by type of cancer, sex, age, year of diagnosis, area of living, and, for lymphomas, histological subtype.

Estimates of cancer burden in Sicily.

Aims And Background: Estimates are complementary epidemiological measures which allow to present data on cancer burden, especially in geographical areas where measurements of cancer occurrence are not supported by exhaustive statistics on incidence, mortality and survival. The aim of this paper is to provide cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence estimates and projections for the major cancers in the period 1970-2015 for the entire region of Sicily.

Methods: The estimates were computed by applying the MIAMOD method, a statistical back-calculation approach to derive incidence and prevalence figures starting from mortality and relative survival data.

Cancer incidence in people with AIDS in Italy.

People with HIV/AIDS (PWHA) have increased risk of some cancers. The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies (HAART) has improved their life expectancy, exposing them to the combined consequences of aging and of a prolonged exposure to cancer risk factors. The aim of this study was to estimate incidence rates (IR) in PWHA in Italy, before and after the introduction of HAART, after adjusting for sex and age through direct standardization.