Adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with fractional one-fifth and one-half doses of yellow fever vaccine compared to full dose in children 9-23 months old in Uganda, 2019-2020 - Preliminary report.

Background: In 2016, the World Health Organization recommended that a fractional dose of yellow fever (YF) vaccine could be used in persons 2 years of age or older in response to an emergency that resulted in a global shortage of available YF vaccine. However, this recommendation did not extend to the youngest age group licensed for YF vaccine because there were no published data on the use or safety of fractional dose YF vaccination in children aged 9-23 months. We conducted a single-blind randomized controlled trial, comparing the immunogenicity and safety of fractional one-fifth and one-half doses of Bio-Manguinhos 17DD YF vaccine with full dose in children aged 9-23 months old in Uganda.

Ancillary benefits of seasonal influenza vaccination in middle-income countries.

While seasonal influenza vaccines (SIV) remain the best method to prevent influenza-associated illnesses, implementing SIV programs may benefit countries beyond disease reduction, strengthening health systems and national immunization programs, or conversely, introduce new challenges. Few studies have examined perceived impacts of SIV introduction beyond disease reduction on health systems; understanding such impacts will be particularly salient in the context of COVID-19 vaccine introduction. We collected qualitative data from key informants-Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI) contacts in six middle-income PIVI vaccine recipient countries-to understand perceptions of ancillary benefits and challenges from SIV implementation.

A case study of an influenza vaccination program for health care workers in Vietnam.

Background: In 2017, the Vietnam Ministry of Health conducted a demonstration project to introduce seasonal influenza vaccination to health care workers. A total of 11,000 doses of influenza vaccine, single-dose prefilled syringes, were provided free to HCWs at 29 selected hospitals, clinics, and research institutes in four provinces: Hanoi, Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak and Ho Chi Minh City.

Methods: Before the campaign, a workshop was organized to discuss an implementation plan including technical requirements, cold chain, uptake reporting, and surveillance for adverse events following immunization.

Seasonal influenza vaccination in middle-income countries: Assessment of immunization practices in Belarus, Morocco, and Thailand.

Background: Vaccines for the control of seasonal influenza are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for use in specific risk groups, but their use requires operational considerations that may challenge immunization programs. Several middle-income countries have recently implemented seasonal influenza vaccination. Early program evaluation following vaccine introduction can help ascertain positive lessons learned and areas for improvement.

The partnership for influenza vaccine introduction (PIVI): Supporting influenza vaccine program development in low and middle-income countries through public-private partnerships.

Influenza vaccination remains the most effective tool for reducing seasonal influenza disease burden. Few Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) have robust, sustainable annual influenza national vaccination programs. The Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI) was developed as a public-private partnership to support LMICs to develop and sustain national vaccination programs through time-limited vaccine donations and technical support.

Immunogenicity and safety of measles-rubella vaccine co-administered with attenuated Japanese encephalitis SA 14-14-2 vaccine in infants aged 8 months in China: a non-inferiority randomised controlled trial.

Background: In China, measles-rubella vaccine and live attenuated SA 14-14-2 Japanese encephalitis vaccine (LJEV) are recommended for simultaneous administration at 8 months of age, which is the youngest recommended age for these vaccines worldwide. We aimed to assess the effect of the co-administration of these vaccines at 8 months of age on the immunogenicity of measles-rubella vaccine.

Methods: We did a multicentre, open-label, non-inferiority, two-group randomised controlled trial in eight counties or districts in China.

Japanese Encephalitis Surveillance and Immunization - Asia and Western Pacific Regions, 2016.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is the most important vaccine-preventable cause of encephalitis in the Asia-Pacific region. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends integration of JE vaccination into national immunization schedules in all areas where the disease is a public health priority (1). This report updates a previous summary of JE surveillance and immunization programs in Asia and the Western Pacific in 2012 (2).

Pathogen-Specific Burden of Outpatient Diarrhea in Infants in Nepal: A Multisite Prospective Case-Control Study.

Background: Nonsevere diarrheal disease in Nepal represents a large burden of illness. Identification of the specific disease-causing pathogens will help target the appropriate control measures.

Methods: Infants aged 6 weeks to 12 months were recruited from 5 health facilities in eastern, central, and western Nepal between August 2012 and August 2013.

Status of New Vaccine Introduction - Worldwide, September 2016.

Since the global Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) was launched in 1974, vaccination against six diseases (tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and measles) has prevented millions of deaths and disabilities (1). Significant advances have been made in the development and introduction of vaccines, and licensed vaccines are now available to prevent 25 diseases (2,3). Historically, new vaccines only became available in low-income and middle-income countries decades after being introduced in high-income countries.

Assessing the Potential Cost-Effectiveness of Microneedle Patches in Childhood Measles Vaccination Programs: The Case for Further Research and Development.

Objective: Currently available measles vaccines are administered by subcutaneous injections and require reconstitution with a diluent and a cold chain, which is resource intensive and challenging to maintain. To overcome these challenges and potentially increase vaccination coverage, microneedle patches are being developed to deliver the measles vaccine. This study compares the cost-effectiveness of using microneedle patches with traditional vaccine delivery by syringe-and-needle (subcutaneous vaccination) in children's measles vaccination programs.

The effect of diarrheal disease on bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) immune response in infants in Nepal.

Background: A globally-coordinated phase out of all type 2 containing oral polio vaccine (OPV) is planned for April 2016 during which bivalent 1+3 OPV (bOPV) will replace trivalent OPV (tOPV) in routine immunization schedules and campaigns. Diarrhea impairs the immune response to tOPV, but the effect of diarrhea on bOPV is unknown.

Methods: Infants aged 6 weeks to 11 months, who had received <3 doses of OPV and had mild-moderate diarrhea or no diarrhea, were recruited at five health facilities in Nepal.

Immunogenicity of three doses of bivalent, trivalent, or type 1 monovalent oral poliovirus vaccines with a 2 week interval between doses in Bangladesh: an open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, controlled trial.

Background: The provision of several doses of monovalent type 1 oral poliovirus vaccine (mOPV1) and bivalent OPV1 and 3 (bOPV) vaccines through campaigns is essential to stop the circulation of remaining wild polioviruses. Our study aimed to assess the shortening of intervals between campaigns with bOPV and mOPV1 and to assess the immunogenicity of bOPV in routine immunisation schedules.

Methods: We did an open-label, non-inferiority, five-arm, randomised controlled trial in Bangladesh.

Prevalence of asymptomatic poliovirus infection in older children and adults in northern India: analysis of contact and enhanced community surveillance, 2009.

Background: In 2009, enhanced poliovirus surveillance was established in polio-endemic areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India, to assess poliovirus infection in older individuals.

Methods: In Uttar Pradesh, stool specimens from asymptomatic household and neighborhood contacts of patients with laboratory-confirmed polio were tested for polioviruses. In Bihar, in community-based surveillance, children and adults from 250 randomly selected households in the Kosi River area provided stool and pharyngeal swab samples that were tested for polioviruses.

Maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes associated with measles during pregnancy: Namibia, 2009-2010.

Background: Previous studies of maternal, fetal, and neonatal complications of measles during pregnancy suggest the possibility of increased risk for morbidity and mortality. In 2009-2011, a nationwide laboratory-confirmed measles outbreak occurred in Namibia, with 38% of reported cases among adults. This outbreak provided an opportunity to describe clinical features of measles in pregnant women and assess the relative risk for adverse maternal, fetal, and neonatal outcomes.

Investigation of elevated case-fatality rate in poliomyelitis outbreak in Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo, 2010.

Background: Multiple cases of paralysis, often resulting in death, occurred among young adults during a wild poliovirus (WPV) type 1 outbreak in Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo, in 2010. We conducted an investigation to identify factors associated with fatal outcomes among persons with poliomyelitis in Pointe Noire.

Methods: Polio cases were defined as acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases reported from 7 October to 7 December 2010 with either a stool specimen positive for WPV or clinically classified as polio-compatible.

Research priorities for global measles and rubella control and eradication.

In 2010, an expert advisory panel convened by the World Health Organization to assess the feasibility of measles eradication concluded that (1) measles can and should be eradicated, (2) eradication by 2020 is feasible if measurable progress is made toward existing 2015 measles mortality reduction targets, (3) measles eradication activities should occur in the context of strengthening routine immunization services, and (4) measles eradication activities should be used to accelerate control and elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). The expert advisory panel also emphasized the critical role of research and innovation in any disease control or eradication program. In May 2011, a meeting was held to identify and prioritize research priorities to support measles and rubella/CRS control and potential eradication activities.

Maternal and child health epidemic-assistance investigations, 1946-2005.

In this article, the authors focus on epidemic-assistance investigations that dealt with maternal and child health problems, including unintended and adolescent pregnancy and family planning; international reproductive health surveys among refugees; pregnancy outcomes, including abortion, maternal mortality, infant mortality, and birth defects; leukemia; and Reye syndrome. During 1946-2005, a total of 1,969 investigations had sufficient data to classify them as possibly related to maternal and child health and were characterized by distinctive periods. Those related to family planning, pregnancy intention, and reproductive health among refugees began in the early 1970s and continued through 2005.

Differentiating cause-of-death terminology for deaths coded as sudden infant death syndrome, accidental suffocation, and unknown cause: an investigation using US death certificates, 2003-2004.

We compared written text on infant death certificates for deaths coded as sudden infant death syndrome (R95), unknown cause (R99), and accidental suffocation (W75). Using US mortality files supplemented with the death certifiers' written text for all infant deaths with International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 assigned codes R95, R99, and W75, we formed cause-of-death subcategories from common themes identified from the written text. Among all infant deaths in 2003-2004, the underlying cause of death was listed as R99 for 2128 deaths, R95 for 4408 deaths, and W75 for 931 deaths.

Impact of maternal immunization on influenza hospitalizations in infants.

We sought to determine whether maternal vaccination during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations in infants <6 months old. Active population-based, laboratory-confirmed influenza surveillance was conducted in children hospitalized with fever and/or respiratory symptoms in 3 US counties from November through April during the 2002 through 2009 influenza seasons. The exposure, influenza vaccination during pregnancy, and the outcome, positive/negative influenza testing among their hospitalized infants, were compared using logistic regression analyses.

The Pregnancy and Influenza Project: design of an observational case-cohort study to evaluate influenza burden and vaccine effectiveness among pregnant women and their infants.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting an observational study of 300-500 women infected with influenza during pregnancy. Women are being recruited from members of the Kaiser Permanente health plan in 2 metropolitan areas before and during the 2010 through 2011 influenza season either following routine prenatal care visits or presentation with an acute respiratory infection. All enrolled mothers and their infants will be followed up through 1 month after delivery.

Preparing for influenza after 2009 H1N1: special considerations for pregnant women and newborns.

Pregnant women and their newborn infants are at increased risk for influenza-associated complications, based on data from seasonal influenza and influenza pandemics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed public health recommendations for these populations in response to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. A review of these recommendations and information that was collected during the pandemic is needed to prepare for future influenza seasons and pandemics.

Deaths from seasonal influenza among pregnant women in the United States, 1998-2005.

Objective: To estimate pregnancy-related mortality caused by seasonal influenza in the United States for comparison with the current 2009 influenza A H1N1 pandemic.

Methods: Pregnancy-related deaths were identified in the U.S.

Severity of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in pregnant women.

Objective: To examine 2009 H1N1 influenza illness severity and the effect of antiviral treatment on the severity of illness among pregnant women.

Methods: We abstracted medical records from hospitalized pregnant (n=62) and nonpregnant (n=74) women with laboratory-confirmed 2009 H1N1 influenza in New York City, May through June 2009. We compared characteristics of pregnant and nonpregnant women and of severe and moderate influenza illness among pregnant women, with severe defined as illness resulting in intensive care admission or death.