Pediatric Respiratory Hospitalizations in the Pre-COVID-19 Era: The Contribution of Viral Pathogens and Comorbidities to Clinical Outcomes, Valencia, Spain.

Viral respiratory diseases place a heavy burden on the healthcare system, with children making up a significant portion of related hospitalizations. While comorbidities increase the risk of complications and poor outcomes, many hospitalized children lack clear risk factors. As new vaccines for respiratory viral diseases emerge, this study examined pediatric respiratory hospitalizations, focusing on viral etiology, complication rates, and the impact of comorbidities to guide future policy.

Seasonality and Co-Detection of Respiratory Viral Infections Among Hospitalised Patients Admitted With Acute Respiratory Illness-Valencia Region, Spain, 2010-2021.

Background: Respiratory viruses are known to represent a high burden in winter, yet the seasonality of many viruses remains poorly understood. Better knowledge of co-circulation and interaction between viruses is critical to prevention and management. We use > 10-year active surveillance in the Valencia Region to assess seasonality and co-circulation.

Omicron XBB.1.16-Adapted Vaccine for COVID-19: Interim Immunogenicity and Safety Clinical Trial Results.

(1) Background: The global coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination adapts to protect populations from emerging variants. This communication presents interim findings from the new Omicron XBB.1.

Enterovirus D68 disease burden and epidemiology in hospital-admitted influenza-like illness, Valencia region of Spain, 2014-2020 influenza seasons.

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is an emerging agent for which data on the susceptible adult population is scarce. We performed a 6-year analysis of respiratory samples from influenza-like illness (ILI) admitted during 2014-2020 in 4-10 hospitals in the Valencia Region, Spain. EV-D68 was identified in 68 (3.

Cellular Immunity of SARS-CoV-2 in the Borriana COVID-19 Cohort: A Nested Case-Control Study.

Our goal was to determine the cellular immune response (CIR) in a sample of the Borriana COVID-19 cohort (Spain) to identify associated factors and their relationship with infection, reinfection and sequelae. We conducted a nested case-control study using a randomly selected sample of 225 individuals aged 18 and older, including 36 individuals naïve to the SARS-CoV-2 infection and 189 infected patients. We employed flow-cytometry-based immunoassays for intracellular cytokine staining, using Wuhan and BA.

Relative Effectiveness of the MF59®-Adjuvanted Influenza Vaccine Versus High-Dose and Non-Adjuvanted Influenza Vaccines in Preventing Cardiorespiratory Hospitalizations During the 2019-2020 US Influenza Season.

Background: Adults ≥ 65 years of age have suboptimal influenza vaccination responses compared to younger adults due to age-related immunosenescence. Two vaccines were specifically developed to enhance protection: MF59-adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aIIV3) and high-dose egg-based trivalent influenza vaccine (HD-IIV3e).

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study conducted using US electronic medical records linked to claims data during the 2019-2020 influenza season, we compared the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of aIIV3 with HD-IIV3e and a standard-dose non-adjuvanted egg-based quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV4e) for the prevention of cardiorespiratory hospitalizations, including influenza hospitalizations.

Real world evidence for public health decision-making on vaccination policies: perspectives from an expert roundtable.

Introduction: Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality, but influenza vaccine uptake remains below most countries' targets. Vaccine policy recommendations vary, as do procedures for reviewing and appraising the evidence.

Areas Covered: During a series of roundtable discussions, we reviewed procedures and methodologies used by health ministries in four European countries to inform vaccine recommendations.

Long COVID Prevalence and the Impact of the Third SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Dose: A Cross-Sectional Analysis from the Third Follow-Up of the Borriana Cohort, Valencia, Spain (2020-2022).

Background: In March 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak linked to mass gathering dinners at the Falles Festival in Borriana, Spain, resulted in an estimated attack rate of 42.6% among attendees.

Methods: In June 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional follow-up study of 473 adults aged 18 to 64 who attended the dinners at the Falles Festival in 2020, examining the cumulative experience after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination responses.

ABO Blood Groups and Incidence of COVID-19 in the Mass Gathering Events in Borriana (Spain), March 2020: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Our objective was to estimate the incidence of COVID-19 and the ABO blood Groups in the mass-gathering events (MGEs) during the Falles Festival in Borriana (Spain) from 6-10 March 2020. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study and measured anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and the ABO of participants. We performed laboratory COVID-19 tests and obtained the ABO in 775 subjects (72.

Complications Post-COVID-19 and Risk Factors among Patients after Six Months of a SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study.

In October 2020, we conducted a population-based prospective cohort study to determine post-COVID-19 complications, recovery, return to usual health, and associated risk factors in 536 cases of COVID-19 outbreak in Borriana (Spain) by administering an epidemiological questionnaire via phone interviews. A total of 484 patients participated (90.3%), age mean 37.

Relative Vaccine Effectiveness of Adjuvanted Trivalent Influenza Vaccine over Three Consecutive Influenza Seasons in the United States.

Traditional influenza vaccines may be less immunogenic in adults ≥65 years of age due to immunosenescence. Two influenza vaccines-MF59®-adjuvanted trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (aIIV3) and high-dose influenza vaccine (HD-IIV3)-were developed to overcome this problem. We summarize estimates of the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of aIIV3 vs.

Addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.

Immunization programmes have been globally recognized as one of the most successful medical interventions against infectious diseases. Despite the proven efficacy and safety profiles of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, there are still a substantial number of people who express vaccine hesitancy. Factors that influence vaccine decision-making are heterogenous, complex, and context specific and may be caused or amplified by uncontrolled online information or misinformation.

Review of Analyses Estimating Relative Vaccine Effectiveness of Cell-Based Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine in Three Consecutive US Influenza Seasons.

The adaptation of influenza seed viruses in egg culture can result in a variable antigenic vaccine match each season. The cell-based quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV4c) contains viruses grown in mammalian cell lines rather than eggs. IIV4c is not subject to egg-adaptive changes and therefore may offer improved protection relative to egg-based vaccines, depending on the degree of match with circulating influenza viruses.

National influenza surveillance systems in five European countries: a qualitative comparative framework based on WHO guidance.

Background: Influenza surveillance systems vary widely between countries and there is no framework to evaluate national surveillance systems in terms of data generation and dissemination. This study aimed to develop and test a comparative framework for European influenza surveillance.

Methods: Surveillance systems were evaluated qualitatively in five European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom) by a panel of influenza experts and researchers from each country.

Relative Effectiveness of MF59 Adjuvanted Trivalent Influenza Vaccine vs Nonadjuvanted Vaccines During the 2019-2020 Influenza Season.

Background: Age-related immunosenescence may impair the immune response to vaccination in older adults. Adjuvanted influenza vaccines are designed to overcome immune senescence in older adults. This study estimated the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of MF59-adjuvanted trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (aIIV3) vs egg-derived quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV4e) and high-dose trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (HD-IIV3) in preventing influenza-related medical encounters in the 2019-2020 US season.

Relative Effectiveness of Cell-Cultured versus Egg-Based Seasonal Influenza Vaccines in Preventing Influenza-Related Outcomes in Subjects 18 Years Old or Older: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Avian mutations in vaccine strains obtained from embryonated eggs could impair vaccine effectiveness. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the adjusted relative vaccine effectiveness (arVE) of seed cell-cultured influenza vaccines (ccIV) compared to egg-based influenza vaccines (eIV) in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza related outcomes (IRO) or IRO by clinical codes, in subjects 18 and over. We completed the literature search in January 2021; applied exclusion criteria, evaluated risk of bias of the evidence, and performed heterogeneity, publication bias, qualitative, quantitative and sensitivity analyses.

A comparison of coronavirus disease 2019 and seasonal influenza surveillance in five European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Background: In response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak that unfolded across Europe in 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) called for repurposing existing influenza surveillance systems to monitor COVID-19. This analysis aimed to compare descriptively the extent to which influenza surveillance systems were adapted and enhanced and how COVID-19 surveillance could ultimately benefit or disrupt routine influenza surveillance.

Methods: We used a previously developed framework in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom to describe COVID-19 surveillance and its impact on influenza surveillance.

Role of age and birth month in infants hospitalized with RSV-confirmed disease in the Valencia Region, Spain.

Background: RSV is the leading cause of hospital admissions in infants and the principal cause of bronchiolitis in young children. There is a lack of granular data on RSV-associated hospitalization per season using laboratory confirmed results. Our current study addresses this issue and intends to fill this gap.

ABO Blood Groups and the Incidence of Complications in COVID-19 Patients: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study.

After a COVID-19 outbreak in the Falles festival of Borriana (Spain) during March 2020, a cohort of patients were followed until October 2020 to estimate complications post-COVID-19, considering ABO blood groups (ABO). From 536 laboratory-confirmed cases, 483 completed the study (90.1%) carried by the Public Health Center of Castelló and the Emergency and Microbiology and Clinical Analysis of Hospital de la Plana Vila-real.

Retrospective screening for SARS-CoV-2 among influenza-like illness hospitalizations: 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons, Valencia region, Spain.

On 9 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Influenza Programme (GIP) asked participant sites on the Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network (GIHSN) to contribute to data collection concerning severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We re-analysed 5833 viral RNA archived samples collected prospectively from hospital admissions for influenza-like illness (ILI) in the Valencia Region of Spain by the Valencia Hospital Surveillance Network for the Study of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses (VAHNSI) network (four hospitals, catchment area population 1 118 732) during the pre-pandemic 2018/2019 (n = 4010) and pandemic 2019/2020 (n = 1823) influenza seasons for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. We did not find evidence for community-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospital admissions for ILI in our region before early March 2020.

Seroprevalence Study and Cross-Sectional Survey on COVID-19 for a Plan to Reopen the University of Alicante (Spain).

The implementation of strategies to mitigate possible cases of COVID-19 were addressed at the University of Alicante for the safe reopening of the 2020/2021 academic year. To discover the prevalence of immunity against SARS-CoV-2, a study was designed using a rapid immunoassay test (carried out between 6 and 22 July 2020), and in addition a cross-sectional survey was conducted on risk factors, symptoms, predisposition for becoming vaccinated, and sources of information about COVID-19. A random sample, stratified by students, faculty, and administrative staff, was selected.

Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness and Waning Effect in Hospitalized Older Adults. Valencia Region, Spain, 2018/2019 Season.

Influenza vaccination is annually recommended for specific populations at risk, such as older adults. We estimated the 2018/2019 influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) overall, by influenza subtype, type of vaccine, and by time elapsed since vaccination among subjects 65 years old or over in a multicenter prospective study in the Valencia Hospital Surveillance Network for the Study of Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses (VAHNSI, Spain). Information about potential confounders was obtained from clinical registries and/or by interviewing patients and vaccination details were only ascertained by registries.

Production of Vegetables and Artichokes Is Associated with Lower Cardiovascular Mortality: An Ecological Study.

Mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD), including cerebrovascular disease (CED) and ischaemic heart disease (IHD), was considerably different in eight municipalities of the province of Castellón, Community of Valencia (Spain) during the period of 1991-2011. In addition, these villages showed differences in agricultural practices and production. Since high vegetable consumption has been linked to decreased all-cause, CVD, and CED mortalities, we hypothesized that the diversity in vegetable and artichoke production, used as proxies for their consumption, could be associated with the diversity of mortality rates.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness against laboratory-confirmed influenza in hospitalised adults aged 60 years or older, Valencia Region, Spain, 2017/18 influenza season.

IntroductionInfluenza immunisation is recommended for elderly people each season. The influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) varies annually due to influenza viruses evolving and the vaccine composition.AimTo estimate, in inpatients ≥ 60 years old, the 2017/18 trivalent IVE, overall, by vaccine type and by strain.