Prioritizing COVID-19 vaccine allocation in resource poor settings: Towards an Artificial Intelligence-enabled and Geospatial-assisted decision support framework.

Objectives: To propose a novel framework for COVID-19 vaccine allocation based on three components of Vulnerability, Vaccination, and Values (3Vs).

Methods: A combination of geospatial data analysis and artificial intelligence methods for evaluating vulnerability factors at the local level and allocate vaccines according to a dynamic mechanism for updating vulnerability and vaccine uptake.

Results: A novel approach is introduced including (I) Vulnerability data collection (including country-specific data on demographic, socioeconomic, epidemiological, healthcare, and environmental factors), (II) Vaccination prioritization through estimation of a unique Vulnerability Index composed of a range of factors selected and weighed through an Artificial Intelligence (AI-enabled) expert elicitation survey and scientific literature screening, and (III) Values consideration by identification of the most effective GIS-assisted allocation of vaccines at the local level, considering context-specific constraints and objectives.

Determinants of influenza and pneumococcal vaccine uptake among preschool children in Singapore.

Young children are at increased risk of severe illness from influenza and pneumococcal infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends vaccination with influenza and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). However, in Singapore, vaccine uptake remains suboptimal relative to other routine childhood immunisations.

Adolescent girls' recommendations for the design of a human papillomavirus vaccination program in Sindh, Pakistan: a qualitative study.

Purpose: Vaccination of adolescent girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) significantly reduces the incidence of cervical cancer. HPV vaccines are available in Pakistan but plans to develop HPV vaccination program are at a nascent stage. We conducted a formative study to explore adolescent girls' knowledge and perspectives on HPV and cervical cancer and collect their recommendations for implementing an HPV vaccination program in their community.

Population anxiety and positive behaviour change during the COVID-19 epidemic: Cross-sectional surveys in Singapore, China and Italy.

Background: On 31 December 2019, an epidemic of pneumonia of unknown aetiology was first reported in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, People's Republic of China. A rapidly progressing epidemic of COVID-19 ensued within China, with multiple exportations to other countries. We aimed to measure perceptions and responses towards COVID-19 in three countries to understand how population-level anxiety can be mitigated in the early phases of a pandemic.

Acceptance and feasibility of school-based seasonal influenza vaccination in Singapore: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Influenza is a major cause of disease in children. School-based seasonal influenza vaccination can be a cost-effective tool to improve vaccine uptake among children, and can bring substantial health and economic benefits to the broader community. The acceptance and feasibility of school-based influenza vaccination are likely to be highly context-specific, but limited data exist from tropical settings with year-round influenza transmission.

Coverage and determinants of influenza vaccine among pregnant women: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Pregnant women are at increased risk of influenza-related complications. The World Health Organisation recommends influenza vaccination to this high-risk population as highest priority. However, achieving high influenza vaccine coverage among pregnant women remains challenging.

Association between semi-quantitative microbial load and respiratory symptoms among Thai military recruits: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction assays have improved diagnostic sensitivity for a wide range of pathogens. However, co-detection of multiple agents and bacterial colonization make it difficult to distinguish between asymptomatic infection or illness aetiology. We assessed whether semi-quantitative microbial load data can differentiate between symptomatic and asymptomatic states for common respiratory pathogens.

Epidemiology and Transmission of Respiratory Infections in Thai Army Recruits: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Military recruits are at high risk of respiratory infections. However, limited data exist on military populations in tropical settings, where the epidemiology of respiratory infections differs substantially from temperate settings. We enrolled recruits undertaking a 10-week military training at two Royal Thai Army barracks between May 2014 and July 2015.

Effectiveness of Masks and Respirators Against Respiratory Infections in Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis quantified the protective effect of facemasks and respirators against respiratory infections among healthcare workers. Relevant articles were retrieved from Pubmed, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Meta-analyses were conducted to calculate pooled estimates.

High Sporozoite Antibody Titers in Conjunction with Microscopically Detectable Blood Infection Display Signatures of Protection from Clinical Malaria.

Immunoepidemiological studies typically reveal slow, age-dependent acquisition of immune responses against sporozoites. Naturally acquired immunity against preerythrocytic stages is considered inadequate to confer protection against clinical malaria. To explore previously unrecognized antisporozoite responses, we measured serum levels of naturally acquired antibodies to whole sporozoites (spz) and the immunodominant (NANP) repeats of the major sporozoite surface protein, circumsporozoite protein, in a well-characterized Kenyan cohort.

Interventions in live poultry markets for the control of avian influenza: a systematic review.

Background: Live poultry markets (LPMs) pose a threat to public health by promoting the amplification and dissemination of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) and by providing the ideal setting for zoonotic influenza transmission.

Objective: This review assessed the impact of different interventions implemented in LPMs to control the emergence of zoonotic influenza.

Methods: Publications were identified through a systematic literature search in the PubMed, MEDLINE and Web of Science databases.

The Plasmodium protein P113 supports efficient sporozoite to liver stage conversion in vivo.

Invasive stages of Plasmodium parasites possess distinct integral and peripheral membrane proteins that mediate host cell attachment and invasion. P113 is an abundant protein in detergent-resistant high molecular weight complexes in Plasmodium schizonts, but is unusual since expression extends to gametocytes and sporozoites. In this study, we tested whether P113 performs important functions for parasite propagation in Plasmodium berghei.

A protocol for the identification of protein-protein interactions based on 15N metabolic labeling, immunoprecipitation, quantitative mass spectrometry and affinity modulation.

Protein-protein interactions are fundamental for many biological processes in the cell. Therefore, their characterization plays an important role in current research and a plethora of methods for their investigation is available. Protein-protein interactions often are highly dynamic and may depend on subcellular localization, post-translational modifications and the local protein environment.

Naturally acquired immune responses against Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites and liver infection.

Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by infection with eukaryotic pathogens termed Plasmodium. Epidemiological hallmarks of Plasmodium falciparum malaria are continuous re-infections, over which time the human host may experience several clinical malaria episodes, slow acquisition of partial protection against infection, and its partial decay upon migration away from endemic regions. To overcome the exposure-dependence of naturally acquired immunity and rapidly elicit robust long-term protection are ultimate goals of malaria vaccine development.