Measles seroprevalence among Dutch travelling families.

Background: While measles vaccination is widely implemented in national immunisation programmes, measles incidence rates are increasing worldwide. Dutch inhabitants who were born between 1965-1975 may have fallen between two stools, lacking protection from a natural infection, and having missed the introduction of the measles vaccination schedule. With this study we aim to find the measles seroprevalence in travellers born between 1965 and 1975, compared to those born before 1965 and after 1975.

Adherence to hepatitis A travel health guidelines: A cross-sectional seroprevalence study in Dutch travelling families - The Dutch travel Vaccination Study (DiVeST).

Background: This Dutch travel Vaccination Study (DiVeST) aimed to study adherence or compliance to Dutch travel health guidelines in travelling families and to identify risk groups to provide better advice and protection for international travellers.

Methods: Between 2016 and 2018, family members who travelled to Eastern Europe or outside Europe during the preceding year were recruited via Dutch secondary schools. The vaccination status of the travellers was assessed using questionnaires and vaccination records and hepatitis A virus antibody concentrations in dried blood spot (DBS) eluates.

Elevated EBNA-1 IgG in MS is associated with genetic MS risk variants.

Objective: To assess whether MS genetic risk polymorphisms (single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP]) contribute to the enhanced humoral immune response against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in patients with MS.

Methods: Serum anti-EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA-1) and early antigen D (EA-D) immunoglobulin γ (IgG) levels were quantitatively determined in 668 genotyped patients with MS and 147 healthy controls. Anti-varicella-zoster virus (VZV) IgG levels were used as a highly prevalent, non-MS-associated control herpesvirus.

Kinetics of hepatitis B surface antigen differ between treatment with peginterferon and entecavir.

Background & Aims: We aimed to investigate serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection during peginterferon (PEG-IFN) and entecavir (ETV) monotherapy.

Methods: HBsAg was quantified (Abbott ARCHITECT) at baseline and during antiviral therapy (weeks 12, 24, 36, 48) in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg-) positive patients treated with ETV (n=33) or PEG-IFN (n=61) and in HBeAg-negative patients treated with ETV (n=37) or PEG-IFN (n=69).

Results: Within the HBeAg-positive population, patients treated with PEG-IFN tended to have a steeper HBsAg decline than ETV-treated patients (mean decline 0.