Publications by authors named "Lana Childs"

Background: In October 2013, Burkina Faso introduced 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) into the routine childhood immunization program using 3 primary doses with no booster. Previous pneumococcal carriage studies showed reductions in vaccine-type (VT) carriage in children aged <5 years but not in older age groups.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, age-stratified pneumococcal carriage study among healthy persons aged ≥1 month in Bobo-Dioulasso in March 2020.

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Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) prevent nasopharyngeal colonization with vaccine serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae, leading to reduced transmission of pneumococci and stronger population-level impact of PCVs. In 2017 we conducted a cross-sectional pneumococcal carriage study in Indonesia among children aged <5 years before 13-valent PCV (PCV13) introduction. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected during visits to community integrated health service posts at one peri-urban and one rural study site.

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Article Synopsis
  • New pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV15 and PCV20) have been approved for adults in the U.S., showing safety and immune response benefits over the older PCV13 and PPSV23 vaccines.
  • A systematic review of literature assessed the efficacy and effectiveness of PCV13 and PPSV23 against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and pneumococcal pneumonia (PP) in adults, with a total of 19 studies included from a larger search of over 5,000 titles.
  • Results indicated that PCV13 had varying effectiveness of 47%-68% against PCV13-type IPD and 38%-68% against PP, while PPSV23 showed 45
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Background: Food fortification is the addition of 1 or more micronutrients to commonly consumed foods and is utilized by many countries as a public health intervention to prevent and control micronutrient deficiencies. As iodine deficiency was a major public health issue globally, the WHO developed evidence-based guidelines for the fortification of salt with iodine. The implementation of salt iodization has been highly successful in reducing iodine deficiency disorders worldwide and is recommended as the main strategy to prevent iodine deficiency.

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In 2021, 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) (PCV20) (Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc.) and 15-valent PCV (PCV15) (Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.) were licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for adults aged ≥18 years, based on studies that compared antibody responses to PCV20 and PCV15 with those to 13-valent PCV (PCV13) (Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc.

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Article Synopsis
  • Food fortification aims to enhance diet quality by adding essential nutrients to commonly consumed foods like maize flour, rice, salt, oil, and wheat flour across 153 countries.
  • The research evaluated two scenarios: a maximum scenario (assuming full industrial processing and fortification) and a realistic scenario (considering actual processing levels), noting different potentials for nutrient contributions.
  • In the maximum scenario, up to 75% of nutrient needs were met for various vitamins and minerals, while in the realistic scenario, iodine needs were exceeded while other nutrients remained below 35%, with no country exceeding safe intake limits for any nutrient.
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In Haiti, measles, rubella, and maternal and neonatal tetanus have been eliminated, but a diphtheria outbreak is ongoing as of 2019. We conducted a nationally representative, household-based, two-stage cluster survey among children aged 5-7 years in 2017 to assess progress toward maintenance of control and elimination of selected vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). We stratified Haiti into West region (West department, including the capital city) and non-West region (all other departments).

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Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is associated with a high fatality rate among pregnant women, and gestational complications have been reported among pregnant women infected with hepatitis A virus (HAV). The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HAV and HEV infections among pregnant women in Haiti. We stratified the population ( = 1,307) between West and non-West regions.

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In 2016, the World Health Assembly endorsed the Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis, which calls for elimination of hepatitis B virus (HBV) by 2030 (definition: ≤ 0.1% hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg] prevalence among children aged 5 years). The burden of chronic HBV infection among children in Haiti is unknown.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region has approximately 100 million people with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. This review describes the status of hepatitis B control in the Region. We present hepatitis B vaccine (HepB) coverage data and from available data in the published literature, the impact of HepB vaccination on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence, a marker of chronic infection, among children, HBsAg prevalence in pregnant women, and risk of perinatal transmission.

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In 2016, the Immunization Technical Advisory Group of the South-East Asia Region (SEAR) endorsed a regional goal to achieve ≤1% prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among 5-year-old children by 2020. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is largely preventable with a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine (HepB-BD) followed by two to three additional doses. We reviewed the progress towards hepatitis B control through vaccination in SEAR during 1992-2015.

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Background: Despite high pertussis-containing vaccine coverage in the United States, children who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated remain susceptible to pertussis. Over multiple birth cohorts of incomplete vaccination, the number of children not immune to pertussis will accumulate because of factors such as age-specific vaccination status and dose-specific vaccine effectiveness. The total number of pertussis-susceptible children 0-23 months of age in the United States is unknown.

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In 2013, the Government of Haiti implemented its first oral cholera vaccine (OCV) campaign in Petite Anse, an urban setting, and Cerca Carvajal, a rural commune. We conducted and compared responses to two independent cross-sectional knowledge and practices household surveys pre- (N = 297) and post- (N = 302) OCV campaign in Petite Anse. No significant differences in knowledge about causes, symptoms, and prevention of cholera were noted.

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