Publications by authors named "Keegan McCaffrey"

Article Synopsis
  • Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 cause significant respiratory illness in children, prompting an analysis of hospitalization rates and outcomes among those under 18 years old.
  • The study found that the COVID-19 hospitalization rate (48.2 per 100,000) was higher than influenza rates from previous seasons, especially among adolescents aged 12-17.
  • While more children with COVID-19 required ICU admission compared to those with influenza, pediatric deaths were rare for both illnesses, indicating COVID-19 adds to the existing burden of severe respiratory illness in children.
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Article Synopsis
  • * Hospitalization rates during the Omicron period surged, peaking at 38.4 per 100,000 adults, significantly higher than the rates during Delta predominance, affecting all demographics regardless of vaccination status.
  • * Unvaccinated adults faced 12 times higher hospitalization rates compared to those who received boosters, with non-Hispanic Black adults experiencing nearly four times the hospitalization rates of non-Hispanic White adults, indicating stark racial disparities.
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Objectives: Describe population-based rates and risk factors for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (ie, ICU admission, invasive mechanical ventilation, or death) among hospitalized children.

Methods: During March 2020 to May 2021, the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network identified 3106 children hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in 14 states. Among 2293 children primarily admitted for COVID-19, multivariable generalized estimating equations generated adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the associations between demographic and medical characteristics abstracted from medical records and severe COVID-19.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study investigates the relationship between race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and COVID-19 hospitalization rates using data from the COVID-NET surveillance network during early 2020.
  • Findings show that a significant portion of COVID-19 hospitalizations occurred among racial and ethnic minorities, with the highest rates found in high-poverty areas, particularly among Black and Hispanic populations.
  • The conclusion emphasizes the need for targeted public health strategies and vaccination efforts to support racial and ethnic minorities and those in high-poverty communities effectively.
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COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infection surveillance helps monitor trends in disease incidence and severe outcomes in fully vaccinated persons, including the impact of the highly transmissible B.1.617.

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Article Synopsis
  • COVID-19 can cause serious health issues in children and adolescents, despite adults being more frequently hospitalized or dying from the virus.
  • * As schools reopen for in-person learning during an uptick in cases from the Delta variant, monitoring COVID-19 impacts on younger populations becomes crucial.
  • * Data from March 2020 to August 2021 reveals a significant increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations among children, especially in unvaccinated individuals, highlighting the importance of vaccination and preventative measures in schools to protect this age group.
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The coronavirus disease pandemic has highlighted the key role epidemiologic models play in supporting public health decision-making. In particular, these models provide estimates of outbreak potential when data are scarce and decision-making is critical and urgent. We document the integrated modeling response used in the US state of Utah early in the coronavirus disease pandemic, which brought together a diverse set of technical experts and public health and healthcare officials and led to an evidence-based response to the pandemic.

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Background: In the summer of 2019, e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) was detected in the United States. Multiple agencies reported illicit tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-containing e-cigarette, or vaping, products containing vitamin E acetate (VEA) as a substance of concern.

Methods: As an expansion of the Utah Department of Health's response to EVALI, the Utah Public Health Laboratory and the Utah Department of Public Safety screened 170 products from 96 seizures between October 2018 and January 2020.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a substantial impact on racial and ethnic minority populations and essential workers in the United States, but the role of geographic social and economic inequities (i.e., deprivation) in these disparities has not been examined (1,2).

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Improved understanding of the overall distribution of workplace coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks by industry sector could help direct targeted public health action; however, this has not been described. The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) analyzed COVID-19 surveillance data to describe workplace outbreaks by industry sectors. In this report, workplaces refer to non-health care, noncongregate-living, and noneducational settings.

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On November 7, 2018, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) reported the first confirmed human rabies death in the state since 1944 (1). The case occurred in a person who had been treated over a period of 19 days at four health care facilities and an emergency medical transport service across three counties and two states. Human rabies is preventable through preexposure or postexposure vaccination but is invariably fatal upon symptom onset.

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On November 3, 2018, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) was notified of a suspected human rabies case in a man aged 55 years. The patient's symptoms had begun 18 days earlier, and he was hospitalized for 15 days before rabies was suspected. As his symptoms worsened, he received supportive care, but he died on November 4.

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The 2017-18 U.S. influenza season was notable for its high severity, with approximately 45 million illnesses and 810,000 influenza-associated hospitalizations throughout the United States (1).

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In August 2019, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) received reports from health care providers of several cases of lung injury in persons who reported use of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), or vaping, products (1,2). To describe the characteristics of medical care, potentially related conditions, and exposures among 83 patients in Utah, detailed medical abstractions were completed for 79 (95%) patients. Among patients receiving chart abstractions, 70 (89%) were hospitalized, 39 (49%) required breathing assistance, and many reported preexisting respiratory and mental health conditions.

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On June 26, 2017, a hospital in southern Utah notified the Utah Department of Health of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 infections in two children from a small community on the Arizona-Utah border. Both children developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, characterized by hemolytic anemia, acute kidney failure, and thrombocytopenia and died within a few days of illness onset. Over the next few days, several more STEC-associated illnesses were reported in residents of the community.

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Decades of community ecology research have highlighted the importance of resource availability, habitat heterogeneity, and colonization opportunities in driving biodiversity. Less clear, however, is whether a similar suite of factors explains the diversity of symbionts. Here, we used a hierarchical dataset involving 12,712 freshwater snail hosts representing five species to test the relative importance of potential factors in driving symbiont richness.

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