COVID-19 vaccination up-take in three districts of Nepal.

Vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be an issue in terms of global efforts to decrease transmission rates. Despite high demand for the vaccines in Nepal, the country still contends with challenges related to vaccine accessibility, equitable vaccine distribution, and vaccine hesitancy. Study objectives were to identify: 1) up-take and intention for use of COVID-19 vaccines, 2) factors associated with vaccine up-take, and 3) trusted communication strategies about COVID-19 and the vaccines.

Spatial clustering of cholera cases in the Kathmandu Valley: implications for a ring vaccination strategy.

Background: In mid-2016, a cholera outbreak occurred in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. This retrospective study aims to determine if a reactive, ring vaccination strategy would have been useful in preventing cholera transmission during that outbreak.

Methods: Data on cholera cases were collected as part of hospital-based surveillance in the Kathmandu Valley in 2016.

Cholera prevention and control in Asian countries.

Cholera remains a major public health problem in many countries. Poor sanitation and inappropriate clean water supply, insufficient health literacy and community mobilization, absence of national plans and cross-border collaborations are major factors impeding optimal control of cholera in endemic countries. In March 2017, a group of experts from 10 Asian cholera-prone countries that belong to the Initiative against Diarrheal and Enteric Diseases in Africa and Asia (IDEA), together with representatives from the World Health Organization, the US National Institutes of Health, International Vaccine Institute, Agence de médecine préventive, NGOs (Save the Children) and UNICEF, met in Hanoi (Vietnam) to share progress in terms of prevention and control interventions on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), surveillance and oral cholera vaccine use.

Updated estimation of the impact of a Japanese encephalitis immunization program with live, attenuated SA 14-14-2 vaccine in Nepal.

Background: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a mosquito-borne disease that is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality in many Asian countries. The objective of this study was to describe the impact of the JE immunization program using SA 14-14-2 JE vaccine implemented in Nepal during 2006 through 2011. A previous assessment after the initial program implementation phase described a significantly lower post-campaign JE incidence compared to expected incidence; however, the previous evaluation had limited post-campaign data for some districts.

Typhoid vaccine introduction: An evidence-based pilot implementation project in Nepal and Pakistan.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 recommended the use of currently licensed typhoid vaccines using a high risk or targeted approach. The epidemiology of disease and the vaccine characteristics make school-based vaccination most feasible in reducing typhoid disease burden in many settings. To assess feasibility of school-based typhoid vaccination, two districts in Kathmandu, Nepal and two towns in Karachi, Pakistan were selected for pilot program.

Comparison of two-dose priming plus 9-month booster with a standard three-dose priming schedule for a ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Nepalese infants: a randomised, controlled, open-label, non-inferiority trial.

Background: Use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in resource-poor countries has focused on early infant immunisation with little emphasis on protection in late infancy and beyond. Boosting of the immune response later in infancy might provide improved persistence of immunogenicity into early childhood, however data are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate if a two-dose prime with booster at age 9 months compared with a three-dose prime-only PCV schedule provided non-inferior immunogenicity in early infancy and superior persistence of antibody responses in early childhood.

Prevalence of chronic hepatitis B virus infection before and after implementation of a hepatitis B vaccination program among children in Nepal.

Background: In Nepal, an estimated 2-4% of the population has chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. To combat this problem, from 2002 to 2004, a national three dose hepatitis B vaccination program was implemented to decrease infection rates among children. The program does not currently include a birth dose to prevent perinatal HBV transmission.

Chlorhexidine for umbilical cord care: game-changer for newborn survival?

A simple technology with potential to prevent 500,000 global neonatal deaths annually.

Estimation of the impact of a Japanese encephalitis immunization program with live, attenuated SA 14-14-2 vaccine in Nepal.

Wider availability of the live, attenuated SA 14-14-2 Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine has facilitated introduction or expansion of immunization programs in many countries. However, information on their impact is limited. In 2006, Nepal launched a JE immunization program, and by 2009, mass campaigns had been implemented in 23 districts.

Newborn survival in Nepal: a decade of change and future implications.

Nepal is on target to meet the Millennium Development Goals for maternal and child health despite high levels of poverty, poor infrastructure, difficult terrain and recent conflict. Each year, nearly 35,000 Nepali children die before their fifth birthday, with almost two-thirds of these deaths occurring in the first month of life, the neonatal period. As part of a multi-country analysis, we examined changes for newborn survival between 2000 and 2010 in terms of mortality, coverage and health system indicators as well as national and donor funding.

Developing rubella vaccination policy in Nepal--results from rubella surveillance and seroprevalence and congenital rubella syndrome studies.

Background: The Government of Nepal is interested in preventing congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Surveillance data were analyzed and studies conducted to assess the burden of rubella and CRS and aid in developing a rubella vaccination strategy.

Methods: (1) Analysis of rubella cases reported through measles surveillance, 2004-2009; (2) in 2008, rubella seroprevalence among women 15 to 39 years of age was evaluated; and (3) in 2009, children attending a school for the deaf were examined for ocular defects associated with CRS.