Publications by authors named "Nicole M Roth"

Background: The Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Pregnant People and Infants Network (SET-NET) collects data abstracted from medical records and birth defects registries on pregnant people and their infants to understand outcomes associated with prenatal exposures. We developed an automated process to categorize possible birth defects for prenatal COVID-19, hepatitis C, and syphilis surveillance. By employing keyword searches, fuzzy matching, natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning (ML), we aimed to decrease the number of cases needing manual clinician review.

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Background: To characterize neurodevelopmental abnormalities in children up to 36 months of age with congenital Zika virus exposure.

Methods: From the U.S.

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Monkeypox (mpox) cases in the 2022 outbreak have primarily occurred among adult gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM); however, other populations have also been affected (1). To date, data on mpox in cisgender women and pregnant persons have been limited. Understanding transmission in these populations is critical for mpox prevention.

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Article Synopsis
  • As of November 2022, over 28,000 monkeypox cases were reported in the U.S., primarily among adult cisgender men engaging in male-to-male sexual contact.
  • Transgender and gender-diverse individuals, who make up about 0.5% of the adult population, were disproportionately affected, with 466 cases (1.7% of adult cases) reported during a specific timeframe.
  • Most mpox cases in this group were among transgender women and gender-diverse persons, highlighting the need for targeted public health strategies to address the unique health disparities they face.
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On May 17, 2022, the Massachusetts Department of Health announced the first suspected case of monkeypox associated with the global outbreak in a U.S. resident.

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To describe prevalence of breast milk feeding among people with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during pregnancy and examine associations between breast milk feeding, timing of maternal infection before delivery, and rooming-in status during delivery hospitalization. We performed a retrospective cohort study using data from Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee of whether people with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy in 2020 initiated breast milk feeding at birth. Among 11 114 (weighted number) people with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy, 86.

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  • During the Zika Virus Response by the CDC, birth defects surveillance was adapted to track issues potentially linked to Zika virus infections in pregnant women from January 2016 to June 2017 across 22 U.S. states and territories.
  • Researchers categorized areas by their level of Zika transmission and calculated the prevalence of brain and eye defects per 10,000 live births, finding significant increases in areas with widespread transmission.
  • Nine specific birth defects showed notably higher prevalence in regions with extensive Zika spread, particularly intracranial calcifications and chorioretinal abnormalities, suggesting that ongoing monitoring of certain defects could be beneficial.
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Background: Multiple reports have described neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection, including likely in utero transmission and early postnatal infection, but published estimates of neonatal infection range by geography and design type.

Objectives: To describe maternal, pregnancy and neonatal characteristics among neonates born to people with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy by neonatal SARS-CoV-2 testing results.

Methods: Using aggregated data from the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET) describing infections from 20 January 2020 to 31 December 2020, we identified neonates who were (1) born to people who were SARS-CoV-2 positive by RT-PCR at any time during their pregnancy, and (2) tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR during the birth hospitalisation.

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Background: The US Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry (USZPIR) monitors infants born to mothers with confirmed or possible Zika virus infection during pregnancy. The surveillance case definition for Zika-associated birth defects includes microcephaly based on head circumference (HC).

Methods: We assessed birth and follow-up data from infants with birth HC measurements <3rd percentile and birthweight ≥10th percentile to determine possible misclassification of microcephaly.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Among 6,799 live-born infants studied from December 2015 to March 2018, 4.6% had Zika-related birth defects, with a higher rate of 6.1% in those with confirmed infection.
  • * Common defects included microcephaly and other brain abnormalities, with many infants showing multiple defects, highlighting the need for targeted surveillance during potential Zika outbreaks.
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Background: Recommended testing for both infants with Zika-associated birth defects (i.e., microcephaly and selected brain or eye anomalies) and infants without birth defects whose mothers had laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy includes nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) testing within days after birth.

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Introduction: Public health responses often lack the infrastructure to capture the impact of public health emergencies on pregnant women and infants, with limited mechanisms for linking pregnant women with their infants nationally to monitor long-term effects. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in close collaboration with state, local, and territorial health departments, began a 5-year initiative to establish population-based mother-baby linked longitudinal surveillance, the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET).

Objectives: The objective of this report is to describe an expanded surveillance approach that leverages and modernizes existing surveillance systems to address the impact of emerging health threats during pregnancy on pregnant women and their infants.

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Article Synopsis
  • In 2016, the CDC began tracking pregnant women infected with Zika virus and their infants across the U.S. to identify Zika-associated birth defects through manual review of medical data.
  • As the number of reported cases increased during the outbreak, the surveillance system faced challenges, leading to the exploration of machine learning as a way to predict case status.
  • Ensemble machine learning models were developed to effectively identify cases with high sensitivity, resulting in significant reductions in the amount of data requiring manual review, indicating a promising approach for future public health emergencies.
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Article Synopsis
  • * From January 2016 to June 2017, the CDC studied over 2 million live births and identified 3,359 cases of birth defects that may be linked to Zika virus, with a prevalence rate of 1.7 per 1,000 live births.
  • * In regions with widespread Zika transmission, birth defects increased significantly, peaking at 5.6 per 1,000 live births in early 2017, indicating a fourfold rise compared to the same period the previous year.
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Introduction: Zika virus infection during pregnancy causes serious birth defects and might be associated with neurodevelopmental abnormalities in children. Early identification of and intervention for neurodevelopmental problems can improve cognitive, social, and behavioral functioning.

Methods: Pregnancies with laboratory evidence of confirmed or possible Zika virus infection and infants resulting from these pregnancies are included in the U.

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Pregnant women living in or traveling to areas with local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission are at risk for Zika virus infection, which can lead to severe fetal and infant brain abnormalities and microcephaly (1). In February 2016, CDC recommended 1) routine testing for Zika virus infection of asymptomatic pregnant women living in areas with ongoing local Zika virus transmission at the first prenatal care visit, 2) retesting during the second trimester for women who initially test negative, and 3) testing of pregnant women with signs or symptoms consistent with Zika virus disease (e.g.

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Background: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is transmitted by Aedes species mosquitoes and is the cause of an acute febrile illness characterized by potentially debilitating arthralgia. After emerging in the Caribbean in late 2013, the first locally-acquired case reported to public health authorities in Puerto Rico occurred in May 2014. During June-August 2014, household-based cluster investigations were conducted to identify factors associated with infection, development of disease, and case reporting.

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Chikungunya and dengue are mosquito-borne, viral, acute febrile illnesses that can be difficult to distinguish clinically. Whereas dengue is endemic in many countries in the Caribbean and the Americas, the first locally acquired chikungunya case in the Western Hemisphere was reported from the Caribbean island of St. Martin in December 2013 and was soon followed by cases in many parts of the region.

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