Exploring the Role of the Environment as a Reservoir of Antimicrobial-Resistant : Insights from Wild Birds and Surface Waters.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health challenge, compromising bacterial infection treatments and necessitating robust surveillance and mitigation strategies. The overuse of antimicrobials in humans and farm animals has made them hotspots for AMR. However, the spread of AMR genes in wildlife and the environment represents an additional challenge, turning these areas into new AMR hotspots.

Evaluating Scope and Bias of Population-Level Measles Serosurveys: A Systematized Review and Bias Assessment.

Background: Measles seroprevalence data have potential to be a useful tool for understanding transmission dynamics and for decision making efforts to strengthen immunization programs. In this study, we conducted a systematized review and bias assessment of all primary data on measles seroprevalence in low- and middle-income countries (as defined by World Bank 2021 income classifications) published from 1962 to 2021.

Methods: On 9 March 2022, we searched PubMed for all available data.

High-resolution mapping of essential maternal and child health service coverage in Nigeria: a machine learning approach.

Background: National-level coverage estimates of maternal and child health (MCH) services mask district-level and community-level geographical inequities. The purpose of this study is to estimate grid-level coverage of essential MCH services in Nigeria using machine learning techniques.

Methods: Essential MCH services in this study included antenatal care, facility-based delivery, childhood vaccinations and treatments of childhood illnesses.

Investigating the Spatial Accessibility and Coverage of the Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccine: An Ecologic Study of Regional Health Data.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented the unique challenge of having to deliver novel vaccines during a public health crisis. For pediatric patients, it was further complicated by the delayed timeline for authorizing the vaccine and the differences in dosing/products depending on the patient's age. This paper investigates the relationship between the spatial accessibility and uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in King County, WA, USA.

Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization.

Background: WHO, as requested by its member states, launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 1974 to make life-saving vaccines available to all globally. To mark the 50-year anniversary of EPI, we sought to quantify the public health impact of vaccination globally since the programme's inception.

Methods: In this modelling study, we used a suite of mathematical and statistical models to estimate the global and regional public health impact of 50 years of vaccination against 14 pathogens in EPI.

The Burden of Chagas Disease in the Contemporary World: The RAISE Study.

Chagas disease (ChD), a Neglected Tropical Disease, has witnessed a transformative epidemiological landscape characterized by a trend of reduction in prevalence, shifting modes of transmission, urbanization, and globalization. Historically a vector-borne disease in rural areas of Latin America, effective control measures have reduced the incidence in many countries, leading to a demographic shift where most affected individuals are now adults. However, challenges persist in regions like the Gran Chaco, and emerging oral transmission in the Amazon basin adds complexity.

Population-Level Risk Factors Related to Measles Case Fatality: A Conceptual Framework Based on Expert Consultation and Literature Review.

A better understanding of population-level factors related to measles case fatality is needed to estimate measles mortality burden and impact of interventions such as vaccination. This study aimed to develop a conceptual framework of mechanisms associated with measles case fatality ratios (CFRs) and assess the scope of evidence available for related indicators. Using expert consultation, we developed a conceptual framework of mechanisms associated with measles CFR and identified population-level indicators potentially associated with each mechanism.

Estimating vaccine coverage in conflict settings using geospatial methods: a case study in Borno state, Nigeria.

Reliable estimates of subnational vaccination coverage are critical to track progress towards global immunisation targets and ensure equitable health outcomes for all children. However, conflict can limit the reliability of coverage estimates from traditional household-based surveys due to an inability to sample in unsafe and insecure areas and increased uncertainty in underlying population estimates. In these situations, model-based geostatistical (MBG) approaches offer alternative coverage estimates for administrative units affected by conflict.

Assessing Geographic Overlap between Zero-Dose Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccination Prevalence and Other Health Indicators.

The integration of immunization with other essential health services is among the strategic priorities of the Immunization Agenda 2030 and has the potential to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of health service delivery. This study aims to evaluate the degree of spatial overlap between the prevalence of children who have never received a dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-containing vaccine (no-DTP) and other health-related indicators, to provide insight into the potential for joint geographic targeting of integrated service delivery efforts. Using geospatially modeled estimates of vaccine coverage and comparator indicators, we develop a framework to delineate and compare areas of high overlap across indicators, both within and between countries, and based upon both counts and prevalence.

Estimating national-level measles case-fatality ratios in low-income and middle-income countries: an updated systematic review and modelling study.

Background: To understand the current measles mortality burden, and to mitigate the future burden, it is crucial to have robust estimates of measles case fatalities. Estimates of measles case-fatality ratios (CFRs) that are specific to age, location, and time are essential to capture variations in underlying population-level factors, such as vaccination coverage and measles incidence, which contribute to increases or decreases in CFRs. In this study, we updated estimates of measles CFRs by expanding upon previous systematic reviews and implementing a meta-regression model.

Meningococcal A conjugate vaccine coverage in the meningitis belt of Africa from 2010 to 2021: a modelling study.

Background: As of the end of 2021, twenty-four countries in the African meningitis belt have rolled out mass campaigns of MenAfriVac®, a meningococcal A conjugate vaccine (MACV) first introduced in 2010. Twelve have completed introduction of MACV into routine immunisation (RI) schedules. Although select post-campaign coverage data are published, no study currently comprehensively estimates MACV coverage from both routine and campaign sources in the meningitis belt across age, country, and time.

Factors consistently associated with utilisation of essential maternal and child health services in Nigeria: analysis of the five Nigerian national household surveys (2003-2018).

Objective: This study aims to identify the individual and contextual factors consistently associated with utilisation of essential maternal and child health services in Nigeria across time and household geolocation.

Design, Setting And Participants: Secondary data from five nationally representative household surveys conducted in Nigeria from 2003 to 2018 were used in this study. The study participants are women and children depending on essential maternal and child health (MCH) services.

A Novel Pseudogene Methylation Signature to Predict Temozolomide Outcome in Non-G-CIMP Glioblastomas.

Objective: Alterations in the methylation state of pseudogenes may serve as clinically useful biomarkers of glioblastomas (GBMs) that do not have glioma-CpG island methylator phenotype (G-CIMP).

Methods: Non-G-CIMP GBM datasets were included for evaluation, and a RISK-score signature was determined from the methylation state of pseudogene loci. Both bioinformatic and experimental analyses were performed for biological validation.

Aberrant DNA methylation impacts HOX genes expression in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells of myelodysplastic syndromes and de novo acute myeloid leukemia.

DNA methylation, a major biological process regulating the transcription, contributes to the pathophysiology of hematologic malignancies, and hypomethylating agents are commonly used to treat myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemias (AML). In these diseases, bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) play a key supportive role through the production of various signals and interactions. The DNA methylation status of MSCs, likely to reflect their functionality, might be relevant to understand their contribution to the pathophysiology of these diseases.

Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen routine immunization systems.

Kate Causey and Jonathan F Mosser discuss what can be learnt from the observed impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunisation systems.

A case series of giant molluscum contagiosum in an immigrant African pediatric population.

Giant molluscum contagiosum (MC) has a well-known association with human immunodeficiency virus and other immune deficiency states. Although rare, it can be seen in healthy immunocompetent children. We describe eight cases of giant MC in healthy, immunocompetent African immigrant children in the Columbus, Ohio area.