Publications by authors named "Hooiveld M"

Article Synopsis
  • Symptom-only definitions for COVID-like illnesses fail to differentiate between COVID-19, influenza, and other respiratory infections due to overlapping symptoms.
  • A new statistical method was developed to attribute cases of acute respiratory infections (ARI) to either influenza or SARS-CoV-2 without relying solely on symptom definitions, using data from the Netherlands in early 2022.
  • The model estimated that during the analysis period, 35.4% of ARI cases were attributable to influenza and 27.0% to SARS-CoV-2, highlighting its potential for use in other countries with similar surveillance systems.
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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant health challenges worldwide, prompting measures to reduce infections that had unintended negative effects on public health, particularly among youth.
  • This study aimed to utilize an existing syndromic surveillance system in the Netherlands to monitor health issues in young people related to the pandemic, analyzing data quarterly since August 2021.
  • Results indicated a notable increase in youth consultations for mental health issues, such as depression and suicide attempts, which correlated with periods of stricter COVID-19 restrictions, indicating the importance of ongoing health monitoring during crisis situations.
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  • After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in 2022, the incidence of invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) infections increased among children and adults, linked to a rise in other viral infections like influenza and varicella.
  • A study in the Netherlands aimed to quantify how much skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) and pneumonia/sepsis cases in children and adults were connected to these viral infections.
  • Findings showed that from 2010-2023, varicella was responsible for a significant portion of GAS SSTI cases, while influenza A was the main viral contributor to pneumonia/sepsis, indicating the need for public health interventions like vaccinations to mitigate iGAS infection rates.
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We aimed to estimate the impact of influenza vaccination in the Netherlands using general practitioner medical records for 2011-2020. We found that vaccinees had higher consultation rates for influenza-like-illness, acute respiratory infections, and pneumonia, as well as antibiotic use, hospitalisations, and several control diagnoses (i.e.

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Importance: In the context of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants or lineages and new vaccines, it is key to accurately monitor COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (CVE) to inform vaccination campaigns.

Objective: To estimate the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines administered in autumn and winter 2022 to 2023 against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (with all circulating viruses and XBB lineage in particular) among people aged 60 years or older in Europe, and to compare different CVE approaches across the exposed and reference groups used.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This case-control study obtained data from VEBIS (Vaccine Effectiveness, Burden and Impact Studies), a multicenter study that collects COVID-19 and influenza data from 11 European sites: Croatia; France; Germany; Hungary; Ireland; Portugal; the Netherlands; Romania; Spain, national; Spain, Navarre region; and Sweden.

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Background: Within influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies at primary care level with a laboratory-confirmed outcome, clinical case definitions for recruitment of patients can vary. We used the 2022-23 VEBIS primary care European multicentre study end-of-season data to evaluate whether the clinical case definition affected IVE estimates.

Methods: We estimated VE using a multicentre test-negative case-control design.

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BackgroundScarce European data in early 2021 suggested lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineages than previous variants.AimWe aimed to estimate primary series (PS) and first booster VE against symptomatic BA.1/BA.

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Influenza A viruses circulated in Europe from September 2023 to January 2024, with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 predominance. We provide interim 2023/24 influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) estimates from two European studies, covering 10 countries across primary care (EU-PC) and hospital (EU-H) settings. Interim IVE was higher against A(H1N1)pdm09 than A(H3N2): EU-PC influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 IVE was 53% (95% CI: 41 to 63) and 30% (95% CI: -3 to 54) against influenza A(H3N2).

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Article Synopsis
  • * The study included 38,058 patients and found that VE against A(H3N2) was 36%, while VE was higher against A(H1N1)pdm09 at 46% and even higher against influenza B at 76%, with varying effectiveness based on age group and target population.
  • * Overall, results showed high vaccine effectiveness particularly among children and against influenza B, but lower effectiveness rates were reported for the A(H1N1)pdm09
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Background: Despite the known relatively high disease burden of influenza, data are lacking regarding a critical epidemiological indicator, the case-fatality ratio. Our objective was to infer age-group and influenza (sub)type specific values by combining modelled estimates of symptomatic incidence and influenza-attributable mortality.

Methods: The setting was the Netherlands, 2011/2012 through 2019/2020 seasons.

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Background: In 2021-2022, influenza A viruses dominated in Europe. The I-MOVE primary care network conducted a multicentre test-negative study to measure influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE).

Methods: Primary care practitioners collected information on patients presenting with acute respiratory infection.

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In 2022, a sevenfold increase in the number of notifiable invasive (iGAS) infections among children aged 0-5 years was observed in the Netherlands compared with pre-COVID-19 pandemic years. Of 42 cases in this age group, seven had preceding or coinciding varicella zoster infections, nine were fatal. This increase is not attributable to a specific type.

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In this retrospective observational study, we analysed a community outbreak of impetigo with meticillin-resistant (MRSA), with additional resistance to fusidic acid (first-line treatment). The outbreak occurred between June 2018 and January 2020 in the eastern part of the Netherlands with an epidemiological link to three cases from the north-western part. Forty nine impetigo cases and eight carrier cases were identified, including 47 children.

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Objectives: As clinical presentation and complications of both viruses overlap, it was hypothesised that influenza vaccination was associated with lower general practitioner (GP)-diagnosed COVID-19 rates and lower all-cause mortality rates.

Study Design: From a primary care population-based cohort in the Netherlands, GP-diagnosed COVID-19 (between 10 March and 22 November 2020) and all-cause mortality events (between 30 December 2019 and 22 November 2020) were recorded. 223 580 persons were included, representing the influenza vaccination 2019 target group (all aged ≥60 years, and those <60 years with a medical indication).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examined how primary care influenza surveillance networks in Europe adapted to include COVID-19 monitoring during the early phases of the pandemic, focusing on seven sentinel sites across five countries.
  • - Different levels of adaptations were reported: substantial changes in two sites, moderate in two, and minor in three, mainly involving adjustments to patient referrals, sample collection, and data collection processes.
  • - Key takeaways included the importance of flexibility in establishing new routines, the need for collaborative networks, and a balance between rapid pandemic response needs and regular surveillance goals.
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Introduction: Several Public Health Services and general practitioners in the Netherlands observed an increase in scabies in the Netherlands. Since individual cases of scabies are not notifiable in the Netherlands, the epidemiological situation is mostly unknown. To investigate the scabies incidence in the Netherlands, we described the epidemiology of scabies between 2011 and 2021.

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IntroductionIn July and August 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant dominated in Europe.AimUsing a multicentre test-negative study, we measured COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic infection.MethodsIndividuals with COVID-19 or acute respiratory symptoms at primary care/community level in 10 European countries were tested for SARS-CoV-2.

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Article Synopsis
  • Despite existing vaccination programs for the elderly and high-risk groups, there's still a significant burden from seasonal influenza, prompting an investigation into 27 programs across eight European countries involving over 205 million people.
  • A dynamic-transmission model was used to evaluate vaccination effects on seasonal influenza infections, comparing different vaccine types and strategies for both the elderly and children, particularly focusing on improvements like adjuvanted vaccines and mass vaccinations for kids.
  • Results showed that switching to improved vaccines for the elderly or implementing pediatric vaccination programs significantly reduces infections and healthcare costs, with the best cost-effectiveness coming from combining both strategies at an estimated €35,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY)
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Tinnitus is a heterogeneous condition not only in terms of nature of the sound, but also in co-morbidities such as mental health issues. Prevalence number range widely between 5 and 43%. Even though the etiologic pathway between tinnitus and its comorbidities remains unclear, in this study we aim to assess whether people with tinnitus use more primary health care than people without tinnitus.

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Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the leading causes of acute respiratory tract infections. To optimize control strategies, a better understanding of the global epidemiology of RSV is critical. To this end, we initiated the Global Epidemiology of RSV in Hospitalized and Community care study (GERi).

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Background: A better understanding of the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in primary care is needed for policymakers to make informed decisions regarding new preventive measures and treatments. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a protocol for the standardised measurement of the disease burden of RSV infection in primary care in children aged < 5 years.

Methods: The standardised protocol was evaluated in Italy and the Netherlands during the 2019/20 winter.

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We measured COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection at primary care/outpatient level among adults ≥ 65 years old using a multicentre test-negative design in eight European countries. We included 592 SARS-CoV-2 cases and 4,372 test-negative controls in the main analysis. The VE was 62% (95% CI: 45-74) for one dose only and 89% (95% CI: 79-94) for complete vaccination.

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