Anti-rubella seroprevalence assessment in an adult sample population in Italy.

Introduction: Despite global immunization efforts, rubella remains a public health concern, particularly in high- and middle-income countries. This study focused on rubella seroprevalence in the province of Florence, Italy, aiming to identify susceptibility clusters, especially among women in their childbearing age.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2018 and December 2019, enrolling 430 adult subjects (age over 18 years).

Is hepatitis B vaccination performed at infant and adolescent age able to provide long-term immunological memory? An observational study on healthcare students and workers in Florence, Italy.

Universal vaccination programmes against Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) have significantly reduced the burden of the disease; nevertheless, HBV infection remains a relevant issue for high-risk subjects, such as healthcare workers (HCWs), who may potentially be exposed to blood or body fluids. Our study evaluates the long-term duration of the immunological memory of HBV vaccination 11-23 years after primary immunization by examining the response to booster doses in HCWs and students of health disciplines at Careggi Teaching Hospital in Florence (Italy). All participants (n = 2,203) had received a complete HBV immunization course in infancy or adolescence.

Do I need training in public health ethics? A survey on Italian residents' beliefs, knowledge and curricula.

Introduction: Ethics is needed to support the decision-making process in public health and to face moral issues during practice. However, professionals are often not adequately trained.

Objectives: In 2015, the National Conference of Public Health Medical Residents of the Italian Society of Public Health started the "Public Health Ethics" workgroup to evaluate how the Italian Schools of Public Health train their residents in ethics, and which are residents' beliefs, knowledge and attitudes about public health ethics.

Hospitalizations for pneumonia, invasive diseases and otitis in Tuscany (Italy), 2002-2014: Which was the impact of universal pneumococcal pediatric vaccination?

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the main causative organism of acute media otitis in children and meningitis and bacterial pneumonia in the community. Since 2008 in Tuscany, central Italy, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7-valent vaccine, switched to 13-valent vaccine in 2010) was actively offered free of charge to all newborns. Aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of pneumococcal pediatric vaccination in the Tuscan population on hospitalizations potentially caused by S.

The "Fluad Case" in Italy: Could it have been dealt differently?

During the influenza vaccination campaign 2014-2015, the reporting of 3 deaths within 48 hours of vaccination with Fluad brought the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) to pronounce the withdrawal of 2 batches of vaccine, based on the precautionary principle. Investigations by the Italian National Institute of Health, and by the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), the committee at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) responsible for monitoring and assessing the safety profiles of human drugs, concluded that there was a lack of causality between the reported deaths and the vaccines administered. However, the media impact of the decision taken by AIFA, resulted in a lower influenza vaccination coverage compared with the previous years.