Estimation of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against infections and severe outcomes using routine surveillance data in Kosovo, July-September 2021.

Background: COVID-19 vaccines have proven effective against severe outcomes in many settings, yet vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates remain lacking for Kosovo. We aimed to estimate VE against COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations, and deaths for one and two vaccine doses during the fourth pandemic wave in July-September 2021, the period when vaccination initially became widely available.

Methods: We analysed routine surveillance data to define cases and vaccination status as partially (one dose) or completely (two doses) vaccinated.

Methodological issues of retrospective surveys for measuring mortality of highly clustered diseases: case study of the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in Bo District, Sierra Leone.

Background: There is a lack of empirical data on design effects (DEFF) for mortality rate for highly clustered data such as with Ebola virus disease (EVD), along with a lack of documentation of methodological limitations and operational utility of mortality estimated from cluster-sampled studies when the DEFF is high.

Objectives: The objectives of this paper are to report EVD mortality rate and DEFF estimates, and discuss the methodological limitations of cluster surveys when data are highly clustered such as during an EVD outbreak.

Methods: We analysed the outputs of two independent population-based surveys conducted at the end of the 2014-2016 EVD outbreak in Bo District, Sierra Leone, in urban and rural areas.

New perspectives on respiratory syncytial virus surveillance at the national level: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://bit.ly/40TsO0G

Association of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions During the COVID-19 Pandemic With Invasive Pneumococcal Disease, Pneumococcal Carriage, and Respiratory Viral Infections Among Children in France.

Importance: An association between pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) has been previously established. However, it is unclear whether the decrease in IPD incidence observed after implementation of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with concomitant changes in pneumococcal carriage and respiratory viral infections.

Objective: To assess changes in IPD incidence after the implementation of NPIs during the COVID-19 pandemic and examine their temporal association with changes in pneumococcal carriage rate and respiratory viral infections (specifically respiratory syncytial virus [RSV] and influenza cases) among children in France.

Effectiveness of 10 and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines against invasive pneumococcal disease in European children: SpIDnet observational multicentre study.

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines covering 10 (PCV10) and 13 (PCV13) serotypes have been introduced in the infant immunization schedule of most European countries in 2010-11. To provide additional real-life data, we measured the effectiveness of PCV10 and PCV13 against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children of 12 European sites (SpIDnet).

Methods: We compared the vaccination status of PCV10 and PCV13 serotype IPD (cases) to that of nonPCV13 serotype IPD (controls) reported in 2012-2018.

Serotype Replacement after Introduction of 10-Valent and 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines in 10 Countries, Europe.

We evaluated invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) during 8 years of infant pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) programs using 10-valent (PCV10) and 13-valent (PCV13) vaccines in 10 countries in Europe. IPD incidence declined during 2011-2014 but increased during 2015-2018 in all age groups. From the 7-valent PCV period to 2018, IPD incidence declined by 42% in children <5 years of age, 32% in persons 5-64 years of age, and 7% in persons >65 years of age; non-PCV13 serotype incidence increased by 111%, 63%, and 84%, respectively, for these groups.

Impact of COVID-19 social distancing on viral infection in France: A delayed outbreak of RSV.

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures have deeply modified the natural course of seasonal viral infections, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Methods: We analyzed French national data from three networks: emergency departments (ED) of French hospitals, general practitioners (GP), and hospital laboratories. We compared the number of ED or GP visits for bronchiolitis in children <2 years of age, and the percentage of RSV positive tests in the 2020 to 2021 season with those of the two previous seasons (2018-2019 and 2019-2020).

Coronavirus Disease 2019 in French Residential Care Facilities: A Nationwide Study.

Objectives: The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a considerable mortality in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), including residential care setting and nursing homes. This study aimed to estimate COVID-19 incidence and mortality in residential care facilities and to compare them with those recorded in nursing homes.

Design: Nationwide observational study conducted by French health authorities.

Emergence of Kawasaki disease related to SARS-CoV-2 infection in an epicentre of the French COVID-19 epidemic: a time-series analysis.

Background: Kawasaki disease is an acute febrile systemic childhood vasculitis, which is suspected to be triggered by respiratory viral infections. We aimed to examine whether the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is associated with an increase in the incidence of Kawasaki disease.

Methods: We did a quasi-experimental interrupted time series analysis over the past 15 years in a tertiary paediatric centre in the Paris region, a French epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Clinical and epidemiological performance of WHO Ebola case definitions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Ebola virus disease case definition is a crucial surveillance tool to detect suspected cases for referral and as a screening tool for clinicians to support admission and laboratory testing decisions at Ebola health facilities. We aimed to assess the performance of the WHO Ebola virus disease case definitions and other screening scores.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science for studies published in English between June 13, 1978, and Jan 14, 2020.

Are vaccinated measles cases protected against severe disease?

Objectives: We aimed to estimate vaccine effectiveness against severe measles based on the number of vaccine doses administered and the time since last vaccination.

Patients And Methods: We included measles cases aged at least 2 years and born since 1980 who were notified in France between 2006 and mid-2019. We considered two severity levels (moderate, severe) and calculated adjusted relative risks (aRR) using multinomial logistic regression.

Cluster of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the French Alps, February 2020.

Background: On 7 February 2020, French Health authorities were informed of a confirmed case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in an Englishman infected in Singapore who had recently stayed in a chalet in the French Alps. We conducted an investigation to identify secondary cases and interrupt transmission.

Methods: We defined as a confirmed case a person linked to the chalet with a positive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction sample for SARS-CoV-2.

Outbreak of pneumococcal pneumonia among shipyard workers in Marseille, France, January to February 2020.

We report the third outbreak of pneumococcal pneumonia within one year among workers in European shipyards. During January and February 2020, 37 cases of pneumonia were identified in a shipyard in Marseille, south-eastern France. Outbreak control measures were implemented, including a mass vaccination campaign with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine targeting all shipyard workers.

Factors Associated With Severe Nonmeningitis Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in Adults in France.

Background: In France, pneumococcal vaccination in adults is recommended for risk groups (chronic conditions/immunosuppression). We conducted a study on invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in adults to identify factors associated with disease severity and death.

Methods: We included IPD cases, excluding meningitis, from 25 acute care hospitals in 6 regions.

Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics of the Novel Non-Bile Acid FXR Agonist Tropifexor (LJN452) in Healthy Volunteers.

Tropifexor (LJN452) is a potent, orally available, non-bile acid farnesoid X receptor agonist under clinical development for chronic liver diseases. Here, we present results from a first-in-human study of tropifexor following single- and multiple-ascending doses (SAD/MAD) and food effect substudy in healthy volunteers. The SAD study included 6 fasted cohorts receiving 10- to 3000-µg tropifexor or placebo and 1 cohort receiving 300-µg tropifexor with a high-fat meal.

Maternal health after Ebola: unmet needs and barriers to healthcare in rural Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone has the world's highest estimated maternal mortality. Following the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak, we described health outcomes and health-seeking behaviour amongst pregnant women to inform health policy. In October 2016-January 2017, we conducted a sequential mixed-methods study in urban and rural areas of Tonkolili District comprising: household survey targeting women who had given birth since onset of the Ebola outbreak; structured interviews at rural sites investigating maternal deaths and reporting; and in-depth interviews (IDIs) targeting mothers, community leaders and health workers.

Mapping of control measures to prevent secondary transmission of STEC infections in Europe during 2016 and revision of the national guidelines in Norway.

In 2016, we reviewed preventive control measures for secondary transmission of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in humans in European Union (EU)/European Free Trade Association (EEA) countries to inform the revision of the respective Norwegian guidelines which at that time did not accommodate for the varying pathogenic potential of STEC. We interviewed public health experts from EU/EEA institutes, using a semi-structured questionnaire. We revised the Norwegian guidelines using a risk-based approach informed by the new scientific evidence on risk factors for HUS and the survey results.

Identifying and Managing Malnourished Hospitalized Patients Utilizing the Malnutrition Quality Improvement Initiative: The UPMC Experience.

Registered dietitian nutritionists at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a group of 40 academic, community, and specialty hospitals in Pittsburgh, PA, recognized the need to improve the identification and management of malnourished adult patients at their institutions. It was decided to pilot the Malnutrition Quality Improvement Initiative (MQii) at two institutions within their health care system. The MQii is based on the dual-pronged approach of malnutrition-focused electronic clinical quality measures and a quality improvement toolkit (MQii Toolkit), to help identify and manage malnourished adult patients.