Objective: To conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of a universal childhood hepatitis A vaccination program in Brazil.
Methods: An age and time-dependent dynamic model was developed to estimate the incidence of hepatitis A for 24 years. The analysis was run separately according to the pattern of regional endemicity, one for South+Southeast (low endemicity) and one for the North+Northeast+Midwest (intermediate endemicity). The decision analysis model compared universal childhood vaccination with current program of vaccinating high risk individuals. Epidemiologic and cost estimates were based on data from a nationwide seroprevalence survey of viral hepatitis, primary data collection, National Health Information Systems and literature. The analysis was conducted from both the health system and societal perspectives. Costs are expressed in 2008 Brazilian currency (Real).
Results: A universal immunization program would have a significant impact on disease epidemiology in all regions, resulting in 64% reduction in the number of cases of icteric hepatitis, 59% reduction in deaths for the disease and a 62% decrease of life years lost, in a national perspective. With a vaccine price of R$16.89 (US$7.23) per dose, vaccination against hepatitis A was a cost-saving strategy in the low and intermediate endemicity regions and in Brazil as a whole from both health system and society perspective. Results were most sensitive to the frequency of icteric hepatitis, ambulatory care and vaccine costs.
Conclusions: Universal childhood vaccination program against hepatitis A could be a cost-saving strategy in all regions of Brazil. These results are useful for the Brazilian government for vaccine related decisions and for monitoring population impact if the vaccine is included in the National Immunization Program.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.10.056 | DOI Listing |
Child Abuse Negl
January 2025
Centre of Methods and Policy Applications in the Social Sciences (COMPASS), The School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, 1010, New Zealand.
Background: Child abuse and neglect is recorded at higher rates in families with low incomes, and in contexts with lower public spending on families. However, it is not clear whether modest cash transfers could reduce rates.
Objective: To estimate the effects of unconditional cash transfers to mothers with children under 3 years of age on child abuse and neglect.
J Clin Med
January 2025
Young Leaders Advocacy Group, Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, Hollywood, FL 33021, USA.
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a progressive autoimmune disease often identified in childhood or adolescence, with early stages detectable through pre-diabetic markers such as autoantibodies and subclinical beta-cell dysfunction. The identification of the pre-T1D stage is critical for preventing complications, such as diabetic ketoacidosis, and for enabling timely interventions that may alter disease progression. This review examines the multifaceted approach to managing T1D risk in adolescents and teens, emphasizing early detection, nutritional interventions, beta-cell preservation strategies, and psychosocial support.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlob Health Res Policy
January 2025
California State University, Long Beach, USA.
There has been a rising call to decolonize global health so that it more fully includes the concerns, knowledge, and research from people all over the world. This endeavor can only succeed, we argue, if we also recognize that much of established global health doctrine is rooted in Euro-American beliefs, values, and practice rather than being culturally neutral. This paper examines the cultural biases of child feeding recommendations as a case in point.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObstet Gynecol
January 2025
Medical Practice Evaluation Center, the Division of Infectious Disease, and the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; the Department of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York.
The purpose of this review is to serve as an update on congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) evaluation and management for obstetrician-gynecologists and to provide a framework for counseling birthing people at risk for or diagnosed with a primary CMV infection or reactivation or reinfection during pregnancy. A DNA virus, CMV is the most common congenital viral infection and the most common cause of nongenetic childhood hearing loss in the United States. The risk of congenital CMV infection from transplacental viral transfer depends on the gestational age at the time of maternal infection and whether the infection is primary or nonprimary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenet Med
January 2025
Newborn Screening Ontario, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa. Electronic address:
Purpose: Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) programs using audiometric techniques alone are limited in ability to detect non-congenital childhood permanent hearing loss (PHL). In 2019, Ontario launched universal newborn screening (NBS) for PHL risk factors: congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) and 22 common variants in GJB2 and SLC26A4. Here we describe our experience with genetic risk factor screening.
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