Invasive Pneumococcal Diseases in People over 65 in Veneto Region Surveillance.

Background: Elderly individuals over 65, along with children under 5, are the most affected by invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPDs). Monitoring vaccination coverage and conducting surveillance are essential for guiding evidence-based prevention campaigns and public health measures.

Methods: Since 2007, the Veneto Region has relied on three sources for surveillance of invasive bacterial infections, contributing to an increase in reported IPD cases.

Quality of Life in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients and Care Burden of Caregivers in Sardinia during COVID-19 Pandemic.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a rare neurogenerative disorder whose median survival ranges from 2 to 4 years after symptomatic onset. Therefore, the global Quality of Life (QoL) assessment in these patients should be carefully evaluated to guarantee an adequate care level, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic period, given the increased social isolation and the pressure on healthcare services. Caregiving has been recognized as an important source of physical and psychological burden, with a possible QoL impairment.

Improving the Quality of Healthcare Provision Regarding HPV Immunization for Women with CIN2+ Lesions: The Experience of the Veneto Region in Italy.

HPV is the most common cause of sexually-transmitted infections the world over. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a healthcare quality improvement strategy designed to increase the rate of vaccination against HPV in women diagnosed with cervical lesions graded as CIN2 or higher (CIN2+) during routine screening. The Veneto Regional Health Service developed a 22-item questionnaire to measure the gap between ideal procedure and real practice regarding the offer of vaccination against HPV for women undergoing routine cervical screening.

Cervical Screening in North Sardinia (Italy): Genotype Distribution and Prevalence of HPV among Women with ASC-US Cytology.

The assessment of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype dynamics could support the adoption of more tailored preventive actions against cervical cancer. The aim of the study was to describe the prevalence of HPV infection, HPV genotype distribution, and the epidemiological characteristics of women with ASC-US cytology since the introduction of HPV-DNA testing in Sardinia (Italy), (March 2016-December 2020). Specimens were tested by RT-PCR for 14 high-risk HPV genotypes.

SARS-CoV-2 Epidemics in Retirement and Nursing Homes in Italy: A New Preparedness Assessment Model after the First Epidemic Wave.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the preparedness of retirement and nursing homes in the city of Sassari at the end of the first wave of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic, first by investigating the risk perception of epidemic outbreaks by the facility managers and subsequently by carrying out a field assessment of these facilities. To perform the field assessment, a checklist developed by the CDC (Infection Prevention and Control Assessment Tool for Nursing Homes Preparing for COVID-19) and adapted to the Italian context was used. Fourteen facilities took part in the survey (87.

Flu Vaccination Attitudes, Behaviours, and Knowledge among Health Workers.

The aim of this work is to evaluate the attitudes, behaviours, and knowledge of health workers employed at an Italian University Hospital on the topic of vaccinations and in regard to flu vaccination. To this end, the study provided for the articulation of a computerised questionnaire on the digital platform EUSurvey which was administered online via e-mail to a sample of 457 health workers, in the period between November 2018 and March 2019. The data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.

[From the traces in the wells of the urban aqueduct network to the subsequent prohibition of the use of glyphosate: the case of an area of high-intensity wine production in the province of Treviso, Veneto].

Glyphosate is the best-selling herbicide in the world and in 2015 the International Agency for Research on Cancer listed it among the "probable carcinogens for humans", opening a scientific debate that is still going on. On these premises, in 2016, extraordinary samplings of glyphosate, its metabolite AMPA, and a similar compound, ammonium glufosinate, were carried out in 12 wells of the water network intended for domestic consumption in the territory of the Local Health Unit 2 - District of Pieve di Soligo, Province of Treviso, Veneto region, Italy. The area includes 13 municipalities at high-intensity "Prosecco d.

Impact of Communication Measures Implemented During a School Tuberculosis Outbreak on Risk Perception among Parents and School Staff, Italy, 2019.

Risk perception has a significant impact on decisions people make when facing a threat: a mismatch between actual hazard and perceived risk can lead to inappropriate behaviours and suboptimal compliance to recommended public health measures. The present study was conducted in the aftermath of a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak that occurred in 2019 in a primary school in Italy. The aim was to evaluate the impact of communication measures implemented by local health authorities (including face-to-face meetings between LHAs and the local population, weekly press announcements, implementation of a telephone hotline and of an information desk, and social media communication), on risk perception among parents of schoolchildren and school staff, and to identify factors related to a change in risk perception before and after the said activities.

High rate of transmission in a pulmonary tuberculosis outbreak in a primary school, north-eastern Italy, 2019.

Italy is a low-incidence country for tuberculosis (TB). We describe a TB outbreak in a primary school in north-eastern Italy, involving 10 cases of active pulmonary disease and 42 cases of latent infection. The index case was detected in March 2019, while the primary case, an Italian-born schoolteacher, was likely infectious since January 2018.