Publications by authors named "Heather Colley"
Background: In 2017, a mumps outbreak occurred in a US military barracks. Serum collected at service entry was used to compare pre-exposure with presumptive vaccine-induced antibody levels from persons who developed mumps (cases) and potentially exposed persons who did not develop mumps (non-cases). Sufficient information to determine levels of exposure during the outbreak was not available.
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- Laboratory confirmation of measles via measles-specific IgM detection in serum using ELISA is crucial for accurate surveillance.
- The study compared a CDC-developed IgM capture assay with five commercial ELISA kits, revealing significant variability in their sensitivity (50-83%) and specificity (86.9-98%).
- False-positive and false-negative results were common across the commercial kits, complicating the evaluation process in settings aiming for measles elimination.
Article Synopsis
- A significant measles outbreak in New York City involved cases among vaccinated individuals, revealing insights into vaccine failures and their effects on transmission.
- Researchers measured measles IgG avidity in 62 people, finding that most had high avidity (53), indicating prior immunity, while 9 had low avidity, suggesting potential recent vaccination or lack of immunity.
- The study shows that even with prior vaccination, people can still transmit measles during outbreaks, highlighting the importance of vigilance for measles cases regardless of vaccination history.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluates the reliability of five commercially available tests for measuring measles virus-specific IgG antibodies to determine immunity in individuals with uncertain vaccination status.
- False-negative results can lead to unnecessary quarantine or revaccination, while false-positive results may allow susceptible individuals to inadvertently spread the disease.
- Discrepancies were found mainly in low-positive samples, but overall, the tests performed well for confirming negative IgG status and intermediate to high levels of IgG, with about 11% of low-antibody sera yielding false negatives.
Following the recommendation to introduce critical care outreach, two different models on two hospital sites were introduced within a large teaching Trust. To establish ward nurses' views and opinions of important components of the two outreach models, a questionnaire survey was undertaken involving 134 ward nurses on the awareness of outreach, accessibility of outreach and usage of outreach. The results identified a high level of user satisfaction amongst ward nurses.
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