Chiu SS, Kwan MYW, Feng S, Wong JSC, Leung CW, Chan ELY, Chan KH, Ng TK, To WK, Cowling BJ, Peiris JSM. J Infect Dis. 2018 Apr 11;217(9):1365-1371. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy027. Read on PubMed Abstract: BACKGROUND: Influenza A(H3N2) viruses circulated for 12 consecutive months in Hong Kong in 2016-2017, peaking in late June and July 2017. The objective of our study was to estimate the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in preventing hospitalizations in children in Hong Kong. METHODS: We conducted a test-negative study…
The impact of serotype-specific vaccination on phylodynamic parameters of Streptococcus pneumoniae and the pneumococcal pan-genome. PLoS Pathog.
Azarian T, Grant LR, Arnold BJ, Hammitt LL, Reid R, Santosham M, Weatherholtz R, Goklish N, Thompson CM, Bentley SD, O’Brien KL, Hanage WP, Lipsitch M. PLoS Pathog. 2018 Apr 4;14(4):e1006966. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006966. Read publication here. Abstract: In the United States, the introduction of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) largely eliminated vaccine serotypes (VT); non-vaccine serotypes (NVT) subsequently increased in carriage and disease. Vaccination also disrupts the composition of the pneumococcal pangenome, which includes mobile genetic elements and polymorphic non-capsular antigens important for virulence, transmission, and pneumococcal ecology. Antigenic proteins…
Preprints: An underutilized mechanism to accelerate outbreak science. PLoS Med.
Johansson MA, Reich NG, Meyers LA, Lipsitch M. PLoS Med. 2018 Apr 3;15(4):e1002549. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002549. eCollection 2018 Apr. Read article here. Abstract: In an Essay, Michael Johansson and colleagues advocate the posting of research studies addressing infectious disease outbreaks as preprints.
Vaccine waning and mumps re-emergence in the United States. Sci Transl Med.
Lewnard, JA, Grad YH. Science Translational Medicine. 21 Mar 2018. Vol. 10, Issue 433, eaao5945 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aao5945 Read article here. Abstract: After decades of declining mumps incidence amid widespread vaccination, the United States and other developed countries have experienced a resurgence in mumps cases over the last decade. Outbreaks affecting vaccinated individuals and communities with high vaccine coverage have prompted concerns about the effectiveness of the live attenuated vaccine currently in…
Continue reading “Vaccine waning and mumps re-emergence in the United States. Sci Transl Med.”
Antigenic Variation in Streptococcus pneumoniae PspC Promotes Immune Escape in the Presence of Variant-Specific Immunity. MBio.
Georgieva M, Kagedan L, Lu YJ, Thompson CM, Lipsitch M. MBio. 2018 Mar 13;9(2). pii: e00264-18. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00264-18. Read on PubMed Abstract: Genomic analysis reveals extensive sequence variation and hot spots of recombination in surface proteins of Streptococcus pneumoniaeWhile this phenomenon is commonly attributed to diversifying selection by host immune responses, there is little mechanistic evidence for the hypothesis that diversification of surface protein antigens produces an immune escape benefit during infection with S. pneumoniae Here, we investigate the biological significance…
Competing Effects Of Indirect Protection And Clustering On The Power Of Cluster-Randomized Controlled Vaccine Trials. Am J Epidemiol.
Hitchings MDT, Lipsitch M, Wang R, Bellan SE. Am J Epidemiol. 2018 Mar 7. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwy047. [Epub ahead of print] Read on PubMed
Prolonging herd immunity to cholera via vaccination: Accounting for human mobility and waning vaccine effects. PLoS Negl Trop Dis.
Peak CM, Reilly AL, Azman AS, Buckee CO. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018 Feb 28;12(2):e0006257. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006257. Read on PubMed Abstract: BACKGROUND: Oral cholera vaccination is an approach to preventing outbreaks in at-risk settings and controlling cholera in endemic settings. However, vaccine-derived herd immunity may be short-lived due to interactions between human mobility and imperfect or waning vaccine efficacy. As the supply and utilization of oral cholera vaccines grows, critical questions related…
Interim estimate of influenza vaccine effectiveness in hospitalised children, Hong Kong, 2017/18. Euro Surveill.
Chiu SS, Kwan MYW, Feng S, Wong JSC, Leung CW, Chan ELY, Peiris JSM, Cowling BJ. Euro Surveill. 2018 Feb;23(8). doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2018.23.8.18-00062. Read on PubMed Abstract: We conducted a hospital-based test-negative study in Hong Kong to estimate influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) for the winter of 2017/18. The interim analysis included data on 1,078 children admitted between 4 December 2017 and 31 January 2018 with febrile acute respiratory illness and tested for influenza. We estimated influenza VE at 66% (95%…
Use of Genome Sequencing to Define Institutional Influenza Outbreaks, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2014-15. Emerg Infect Dis.
MacFadden DR, McGeer A, Athey T, Perusini S, Olsha R, Li A, Eshaghi A, Gubbay JB, Hanage WP. Emerg Infect Dis. 2018 Mar;24(3):492-497. doi: 10.3201/eid2403.171499. Read on PubMed Abstract: Adequacy of the current clinical definition of institutional influenza outbreaks is unclear. We performed a retrospective genome sequencing and epidemiologic analysis of institutional influenza outbreaks that occurred during the 2014-15 influenza season in Toronto, Canada. We sequenced the 2 earliest submitted samples positive for influenza A(H3N2) from each of 38 reported institutional…
Productive disruption: opportunities and challenges for innovation in infectious disease surveillance. BMJ Glob Health.
Buckee CO, Cardenas MIE, Corpuz J, Ghosh A, Haque F, Karim J, Mahmud AS, Maude RJ, Mensah K, Motaze NV, Nabaggala M, Metcalf CJE, Mioramalala SA, Mubiru F, Peak CM, Pramanik S, Rakotondramanga JM, Remera E, Sinha I, Sovannaroth S, Tatem AJ, Zaw W. BMJ Glob Health. 2018 Feb 19;3(1):e000538. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000538. eCollection 2018. Read on PubMed