Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Cheryl Cohen, Jackie Kleynhans, Jocelyn Moyes, Meredith L. McMorrow, Florette K. Treurnicht, Orienka Hellferscee, Azwifarwi Mathunjwa, Anne von Gottberg, Nicole Wolter, Neil A. Martinson, Kathleen Kahn, Limakatso Lebina, Katlego Mothlaoleng, Floidy Wafawanaka, Francesc Xavier Gomez-Olive, Thulisa Mkhencele, Angela Mathee, Stuart Piketh, Brigitte Language, Stefano Tempia
Summary: This study evaluated the burden and transmission of influenza in rural and urban settings in South Africa, finding that children, individuals with mild symptoms, and individuals with severe symptoms were more likely to transmit influenza.
LANCET GLOBAL HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Daniel Ammann, Jana Bilger, Matthew M. Loiacono, Susanne G. Oberle, Andreas Dounas, Oriol Manuel, Mark Pletscher
Summary: The burden of influenza in Switzerland is significant, particularly among the elderly population. Policy interventions, such as increasing vaccination rates and promoting the use of more effective vaccines, are needed to reduce the burden of influenza.
INFLUENZA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Clara Mazagatos, Concepcion Delgado-Sanz, Ana Milagro, Maria Liebana-Rodriguez, Amparo Larrauri
Summary: Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for the elderly in most countries to prevent hospitalizations and deaths associated with seasonal influenza. Studies have shown the benefits of vaccination, preventing a significant number of cases and severe outcomes. This study estimated the burden of severe influenza disease in Spain and measured the impact of vaccination in the elderly. The findings demonstrated the effectiveness of the influenza vaccination program in preventing hospitalizations and ICU admissions in the elderly.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Juan Miguel Pascale, Danilo Franco, Raghavendra Devadiga, Rodrigo DeAntonio, Elidia Lourdes Dominguez-Salazar, Gael dos Santos, Patricia Juliao
Summary: The study analyzed laboratory-confirmed influenza cases in Panama from 2011 to 2017, finding that influenza A was predominant, with high circulation rates among children and residents of Panama City, over 50% of cases required hospitalization, and a mismatch between the circulating influenza subtype and the recommended vaccine was detected in 2017. Continuous monitoring of influenza cases is crucial for establishing future vaccination recommendations.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND THERAPY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Yung-wai Chan, Miu-ling Wong, Fong-yuen Kwok, Albert Ka-Wing Au, Emily Chi-mei Leung, Shuk-kwan Chuang
Summary: The effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccine (SIV) varies with the degree of matching with the vaccine and circulating viruses. SIV showed moderate effectiveness against medically-attended influenza-like illness (ILI) in both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, especially against cases caused by influenza A/B. However, the effectiveness of SIV against the main circulating subtype, influenza A (H1), was lower in the 2019/20 season compared to the 2018/19 season.
Article
Immunology
Susan Meiring, Stefano Tempia, Emanuel M. Dominic, Linda de Gouveia, Jo McAnerney, Anne von Gottberg, Cheryl Cohen
Summary: This study reveals a lag time between seasonal influenza and invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), with a potential link between the two. Influenza co-circulation may contribute to some IMD cases, and vaccination against influenza could have a preventive effect on both influenza and IMD.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Md Moyazzem Hossain, Sabina Yeasmin, Faruq Abdulla, Azizur Rahman
Summary: The study explored significant determinants of vitamin A deficiency among preschool children in rural and urban areas of Bangladesh. Results showed that 73.9% of children in urban areas and 73.2% of children in rural areas had received vitamin A supplementation. Factors such as parents' education, child's age, regional variation, and wealth index were found to be contributing factors for vitamin A deficiency in Bangladesh.
Article
Entomology
Vincent Zaninotto, Adrien Perrard, Olivier Babiar, Amandine Hansart, Cecile Hignard, Isabelle Dajoz
Summary: Urbanization filters out certain life history traits of insect pollinators, leading to a lower diversity in urban areas compared to rural grasslands. Bees in the city tend to be larger and fewer in species, with a dominance of generalist species. The altered seasonal patterns and reduced evenness in the urban environment could have implications on pollination networks and efficiency.
Article
Immunology
Kiyoshi Tadakuma, Takashi Maruyama, Koji Mori, Nobuhiro Fujiki
Summary: This study estimated the vaccine effectiveness against influenza in adult workers at a Japanese company. The results showed that the vaccine had a moderate and significant effectiveness in the 2019-20 season, but low or negative effectiveness in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Self-reported data from worker records can be useful in determining vaccine effectiveness against influenza.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Heather Fraser, Winfrida Tombe-Mdewa, Ciaran Kohli-Lynch, Karen Hofnnan, Stefano Tennpia, Meredith McMorrow, Philipp Lambach, Wayne Ramkrishna, Cheryl Cohen, Raymond Hutubessy, Ijeoma Edoka
Summary: The South African National Department of Health introduced a trivalent inactivated influenza vaccination programme in 2010 to address the burden of influenza. By estimating the costs and conducting scenario analyses, we provide estimates of the total costs of the programme, which can serve as a basis for future programme expansion and cost-effectiveness analyses.
INFLUENZA AND OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Nonzuzo Mbokazi, Myrna Van Pinxteren, Katherine Murphy, Frances S. Mair, Carl R. May, Naomi S. Levitt
Summary: In economically precarious areas of South Africa, Ubuntu, traditional values, and social networks play a crucial mediating role in helping people with HIV/NCD multimorbidity to self-manage their conditions. Despite facing economic hardship, patients actively cope with their workload by utilizing family relations and external networks, leading to better management of chronic diseases.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonathan P. Smith, John E. Oeltmann, Andrew N. Hill, James L. Tobias, Rosanna Boyd, Eleanor S. Click, Alyssa Finlay, Chawangwa Mondongo, Nicola M. Zetola, Patrick K. Moonan
Summary: This study investigated the transmission dynamics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in urban and rural settings in Botswana, and found that individual heterogeneity plays a critical role in transmission. The impact of individual heterogeneity was greater in the rural population, with a small proportion of infectious cases responsible for the majority of secondary transmission. These findings highlight the importance of individual heterogeneity in shaping local tuberculosis epidemiology.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shobhit Srivastava, Snigdha Banerjee, Solomon Debbarma, Pradeep Kumar, Debashree Sinha
Summary: This study aims to explore the prevalence of diarrhoea among older adults in India and its correlates. The study finds significant differences in the prevalence of diarrhoea between rural and urban areas, with higher rates in rural areas. Factors such as age, gender, sanitation facilities, and drinking water sources are also associated with diarrhoea among older adults.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Pyry Mattila, Justine Davies, Denny Mabetha, Stephen Tollman, Lucia D'Ambruoso
Summary: Community knowledge is a critical input to understand local health risks. There is a substantial proportion of deaths that are linked to community-nominated risk factors, with alcohol abuse being the most common attributable cause.
GLOBAL HEALTH ACTION
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Abdullah A. Alalwan
Summary: Variation in influenza vaccine use between rural and urban areas: This study examined the difference in influenza vaccine use between rural and urban counties in Florida. It found no significant difference in influenza vaccine use between rural and urban areas. However, increasing age, higher education, and having health care insurance were positively associated with influenza vaccine use.
