COVID-19 reinfection in pregnancy: assessment of Severity and pregnancy outcomes in England.

Background: Disease severity and pregnancy outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 reinfections in pregnancy are not well understood.

Methods: We linked women aged 18 to 50 years testing positive in the community for COVID-19 between April 2021 and March 2022 to hospital, vaccine and maternal services databases. We compared hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) admission rates following infection and reinfection in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and low birthweight, prematurity and stillbirth in women infected and reinfected during pregnancy.

Improving outcomes for very preterm babies in England: does place of birth matter? Findings from OPTI-PREM, a national cohort study.

Objective: Babies born between 27 and 31 weeks of gestation contribute substantially towards infant mortality and morbidity. In England, their care is delivered in maternity services colocated with highly specialised neonatal intensive care units (NICU) or less specialised local neonatal units (LNU). We investigated whether birth setting offered survival and/or morbidity advantages to inform National Health Service delivery.

Real-world experience of paediatric acute promyelocytic leukaemia in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL), defined by the t(15;17)(q24;q21) translocation, accounts for 5%-10% of paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia cases. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) are key treatments, though ATO access varies. We evaluated treatment, complications and survival in 50 UK paediatric APL patients diagnosed between 2014 and 2021.

COVID-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnancy, A Nested Case-Control Study in Births From April 2021 to March 2022, England.

Objective: Assessment of COVID-19 vaccine safety in pregnancy using population-based data.

Design: Matched case-control study nested in a retrospective cohort.

Setting: April 2021-March 2022, England.

Frequency-Domain Low-Wavenumber Hyperspectral Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy.

In recent years, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy has experienced rapid technological advancements and has found widespread applications in chemical analysis. Hyperspectral SRS (hSRS) microscopy further enhances the chemical selectivity in imaging by providing a Raman spectrum for each pixel. Time-domain hSRS techniques often require interferometry and ultrashort femtosecond laser pulses.

Serogroup B Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Older Adults Identified by Genomic Surveillance, England, 2022-2023.

We report a cluster of serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease identified via genomic surveillance in older adults in England and describe the public health responses. Genomic surveillance is critical for supporting public health investigations and detecting the growing threat of serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis infections in older adults.

Risk of Invasive Meningococcal Disease in Preterm Infants.

Background: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is most common in the first year of life. We hypothesized that preterm infants may have a higher risk of IMD and more severe disease than term infants. We compared the incidence, demographics, clinical presentation, and outcomes of IMD in preterm compared with term infants during the first 5 years after implementation of a national meningococcal group B vaccine (4CMenB) for infants in England.

Use of a meningococcal group B vaccine (4CMenB) in populations at high risk of gonorrhoea in the UK.

The meningococcal group B vaccine, 4CMenB, is a broad-spectrum, recombinant protein vaccine that is licensed for protection against meningococcal group B disease in children and adults. Over the past decade, several observational studies supported by laboratory studies have reported protection by 4CMenB against gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Gonorrhoea is a major global public health problem, with rising numbers of diagnoses and increasing resistance to multiple antibiotics.

PARC: a phase I/II study evaluating the safety and activity of pegylated recombinant human arginase BCT-100 in relapsed/refractory cancers of children and young adults.

Background: The survival for many children with relapsed/refractory cancers remains poor despite advances in therapies. Arginine metabolism plays a key role in the pathophysiology of a number of pediatric cancers. We report the first in child study of a recombinant human arginase, BCT-100, in children with relapsed/refractory hematological, solid or CNS cancers.

Detection and Control of Pregnancy Hypertension Using Self-Monitoring of Blood Pressure With Automated Telemonitoring: Cost Analyses of the BUMP Randomized Trials.

Background: Pregnancy hypertension continues to cause maternal and perinatal morbidity. Two linked UK randomized trials showed adding self-monitoring of blood pressure (SMBP) with automated telemonitoring to usual antenatal care did not result in earlier detection or better control of pregnancy hypertension. This article reports the trials' integrated cost analyses.

Mixture modelling of serology samples to evaluate anti-pertussis toxin immunoglobulin G titre thresholds for positivity: England 2008-2022.

Antibody testing for evidence of a recent infection by estimating anti-pertussis toxin immunoglobulin G (anti-PT-IgG) titres by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays is often recommended for those with a cough lasting more than 14 days. Interpreting results varies, with studies recommending different anti-PT-IgG titre thresholds for assigning positivity. In England, early work looking at antibody titre distributions for samples submitted from April 2010 to July 2012 found an optimal threshold of greater than 70 IU ml for good sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value.

Pertussis immunisation strategies to optimise infant pertussis control: A narrative systematic review.

Objective: Countries routinely offering acellular pertussis vaccine, where long-term protection is not sustained, have the challenge of selecting an optimal schedule to minimise disease among young infants. We conducted a narrative systematic review and synthesis of information to evaluate different pertussis immunisation strategies at controlling pertussis disease, hospitalisation, deaths, and vaccine effectiveness among young infants.

Methods: We conducted a review of the literature on studies about the primary, booster, and/or maternal vaccination series and synthesised findings narratively.

Trends in laboratory-confirmed bacterial meningitis (2012-2019): national observational study, England.

Background: Bacterial meningitis is associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, aetiology, trends over time and outcomes of laboratory-confirmed bacterial meningitis in England during 2012-2019.

Methods: UK Health Security Agency routinely receives electronic notifications of confirmed infections from National Health Service hospital laboratories in England.

Granulocyte transfusion during cord blood transplant for relapsed, refractory AML is associated with massive CD8 T-cell expansion, significant cytokine release syndrome and induction of disease remission.

In high-risk myeloid malignancy, relapse is reduced using cord blood transplant (CBT) but remains the principal cause of treatment failure. We previously described T-cell expansion in CBT recipients receiving granulocyte transfusions. We now report the safety and tolerability of such transfusions, T-cell expansion data, immunophenotype, cytokine profiles and clinical response in children with post-transplant relapsed acute leukaemia who received T-replete, HLA-mismatched CBT and pooled granulocytes within a phase I/II trial (ClinicalTrials.

Neonatal health care costs of very preterm babies in England: a retrospective analysis of a national birth cohort.

Objectives: Babies born between 27 and 31 weeks of gestation represent the largest group of very preterm babies requiring National Health Service (NHS) care; however, up-to-date, cost figures for the UK are not currently available. This study estimates neonatal costs to hospital discharge for this group of very preterm babies in England.

Design: Retrospective analysis of resource use data recorded within the National Neonatal Research Database.

Monitoring the safety of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy in the UK: A national study using the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS), UK Teratology Information Service (UKTIS) and Vaccination in Pregnancy (VIP) safety monitoring systems.

Background: COVID-19 vaccines are protective against disease. Pregnant women benefit from vaccination as they are at higher risk of poor maternal and neonatal outcomes following infection.

Methods: Following regulatory approval of two COVID-19 vaccines in the United Kingdom, a rapid national study of vaccination in pregnancy was instituted using three existing safety surveillance platforms: UKOSS, UKTIS and VIP.

Outcomes of meningococcal serogroup B disease in children after implementation of routine infant 4CMenB vaccination in England: an active, prospective, national surveillance study.

Background: In 2015, the UK included 4CMenB, a multi-component, recombinant protein-based vaccine against meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) disease, in the national infant immunisation programme. We aimed to assess the effect of 4CMenB vaccination on the severity of MenB disease presentation and outcomes.

Methods: In this active, prospective, national surveillance study, we used data from the UK Health Security Agency national surveillance of meningococcal disease.

A Re-emergence of Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis in the United Kingdom.

New pediatric and adult subacute sclerosing panencephalitis cases between 1996 and 2020 were reported based on an established UK registry with no evidence of under-ascertainment using a separate pediatric surveillance system. After 15 years with no pediatric UK-acquired cases, 3 cases arose from 2017 after increased measles. Modeling suggested this was in line with measles notifications, underreporting of laboratory-confirmed measles or increased subacute sclerosing panencephalitis risk.

Optimization of Timing of Maternal Pertussis Immunization From 6 Years of Postimplementation Surveillance Data in England.

Background: England's third-trimester maternal pertussis vaccination, introduced in October 2012, was extended to the second trimester in 2016. Maternal vaccination provides high protection against infant disease, but routine second-trimester vaccination has not previously been assessed.

Methods: National laboratory-confirmed pertussis case surveillance determined vaccination history, maternal vaccination history and hospitalization.

An analysis of Neisseria meningitidis strains causing meningococcal septic arthritis in England and Wales: 2010-2020.

Objectives: To analyze clinical meningococcal strains associated with meningococcal septic arthritis cases in England and Wales, and to identify associations between patient age, the synovial joint affected and strain characteristics.

Methods: IMD cases confirmed by the Meningococcal Reference Unit (UK Health Security Agency) between January 2010 and December 2020 were included in the analysis. Septic arthritis cases were defined as those featuring detection and/or isolation of N.

Protective effect of a first SARS-CoV-2 infection from reinfection: a matched retrospective cohort study using PCR testing data in England.

The duration of immunity after first severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and the extent to which prior immunity prevents reinfection is uncertain and remains an important question within the context of new variants. This is a retrospective population-based matched observational study where we identified the first polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive of primary SARS-CoV-2 infection case tests between 1 March 2020 and 30 September 2020. Each case was matched by age, sex, upper tier local authority of residence and testing route to one individual testing negative in the same week (controls) by PCR.