Seasonal influenza is recognized to be a significant public health problem and a cause of death, especially in fragile persons. In nursing homes (NHs), vaccination for both residents and staff is the best preventive strategy. However, professionals' immunization rates are far from reaching the international recommended values. This study aims to describe the adherence and attitudes of NH staff towards flu vaccination and to explore staff hesitancy. A questionnaire was developed based on a literature review and on the 3Cs (confidence, complacency, convenience) of the WHO framework and administered among the staff of four NHs of a province in the northeast of Italy. Results demonstrated a low adherence towards annual vaccination (i.e., only 3% declared getting the flu vaccination each year). Complacency, confidence and convenience all showed a significant impact on the attitude towards vaccination both in univariate and multivariable analysis, with complacency being the most strongly associated area. The area of confidence resulted in strongly challenging factors. Only 24.8% of interviewees appeared trustful towards the efficacy of receiving immunization and 34% declared safety issues. Insights from the study can support the implementation of effective interventions to improve vaccination adherence in NHs. Specifically, increasing complacency by raising awareness related to the risks of influenza appears to be an essential strategy to effectively promote vaccination uptake.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17061851 | DOI Listing |
Mol Oncol
January 2025
Molecular Carcinogenesis Group, Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
Rejuvenation of elementary immune system components has emerged as a promising strategy to deal with increased susceptibility to infections, cancers, autoimmune disorders, and low efficacy to vaccines, frequently accompanying aging. In this context, the thymus has gained significant attention. A recent study by Santamaria et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
SKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology (SAINT), Department of Nano Engineering, Department of Nano Science and Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Institute for Convergence at SKKU, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 16419, Republic of Korea.
Despite their safety and widespread use, conventional protein antigen-based subunit vaccines face significant challenges such as low immunogenicity, insufficient long-term immunity, poor CD8 T-cell activation, and poor adaptation to viral variants. To address these issues, an infection-mimicking gel (IM-Gel) is developed that is designed to emulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of immune stimulation in acute viral infections through in situ supramolecular self-assembly of nanoparticulate-TLR7/8a (NP-TLR7/8a) and an antigen with tannic acid (TA). Through collagen-binding properties of TA, the IM-Gel enables sustained delivery and enhanced retention of NP-TLR7/8a and protein antigen in the lymph node subcapsular sinus of mice for over 7 days, prolonging the exposure of vaccine components in both B cell and T cell zones, leading to robust humoral and cellular responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States of America.
Rabies is a zoonotic infectious disease of global distribution that impacts human and animal health. In rural Latin America, rabies negatively impacts food security and the economy due to losses in livestock production. The common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus, is the main reservoir and transmitter of rabies virus (RABV) to domestic animals in Latin America.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Natural Energy Research Center Co., Ltd (NERC), Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
We have carried out spectral analysis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) notifications in all 47 prefectures in Japan. The results confirm that the power spectral densities (PSDs) of the data from each prefecture show exponential characteristics, which are universally observed in the PSDs of time series generated by nonlinear dynamical systems, such as the susceptible/exposed/infectious/recovered (SEIR) epidemic model. The exponential gradient increases with the population size.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States of America.
Introduction: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of hospitalization among US infants. Characterizing service utilization during infant RSV hospitalizations may provide important information for prioritizing resources and interventions.
Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the procedures and services received by infants hospitalized during their first RSV episode in their first RSV season, in addition to what proportion of infants died during this hospitalization.
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