Publications by authors named "I O Okike"
Background: An increase in acute severe hepatitis of unknown aetiology in previously healthy children in the UK in March, 2022, triggered global case-finding. We aimed to describe UK epidemiological investigations of cases and their possible causes.
Methods: We actively surveilled unexplained paediatric acute hepatitis (transaminase >500 international units per litre) in children younger than 16 years presenting since Jan 1, 2022, through notifications from paediatricians, microbiologists, and paediatric liver units; we collected demographic, clinical, and exposure information.
Repeated coronavirus infections in childhood drive progressive maturation of systemic immune responses into adulthood. Analyses of immune responses in children have focused primarily upon systemic assessment but the importance of mucosal immunity is increasingly recognised. We studied virus-specific antibody responses in contemporaneous nasal swabs and blood samples from 99 children (4-15 years) and 28 adults (22-56 years), all of whom had prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: 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.
Article Synopsis
- Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 are the most prevalent worldwide, causing high infection rates in children aged 6-14 years, whose immune responses were examined post-infection.
- Initial Omicron infections in children lead to a weak antibody response; however, reinfections or vaccinations significantly boost antibody production and improve neutralization against various Omicron subvariants.
- Prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (pre-Omicron) enhances antibody responses after Omicron infections, although these antibodies mainly target the original virus strain, while strong cellular immune responses provide protection against severe disease across different variants.
Background: Antibodies are a measure of immunity after primary infection, which may help protect against further SARS-CoV-2 infections. They may also provide some cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants. There are limited data on antibody persistence and, especially, cross-reactivity against different SARS-CoV-2 variants after primary infection in children.
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