Rotavirus vaccine effectiveness and impact in Uzbekistan, the first country to introduce in central Asia.

Uzbekistan, the most populous country in central Asia, was the first in the region to introduce rotavirus vaccine into its national immunization program. Rotarix (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, RV1) was introduced in June 2014, with doses recommended at age 2 and 3 months. To evaluate vaccine impact, active surveillance for rotavirus diarrhea was reestablished in 2014 at 2 hospitals in Tashkent and Bukhara which had also performed surveillance during the pre-vaccine period 2005-2009.

IL28B polymorphisms and clinical implications for hepatitis C virus infection in Uzbekistan.

Aims: Genome-wide association studies highlighted single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the IFNL3/IL28B locus predict the treatment outcome for patients with HCV. Furthermore, SNPs in newly discovered IFNL4 are shown to have population-specific correlation with spontaneous clearance of HCV. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and clinical significance of the outlined SNPs in a population from Central Asia, a multi-ethnic region with a developing economy and a high prevalence of HCV infection.