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The Lancet. Infectious Diseases Dec 2021Migrant populations are one of several underimmunised groups in the EU or European Economic Area (EU/EEA), yet little is known about their involvement in outbreaks of...
Migrant populations are one of several underimmunised groups in the EU or European Economic Area (EU/EEA), yet little is known about their involvement in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This information is vital to develop targeted strategies to improve the health of diverse migrant communities. We did a systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42019157473; Jan 1, 2000, to May 22, 2020) adhering to PRISMA guidelines, to identify studies on vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks (measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, hepatitis A, varicella, Neisseria meningitidis, and Haemophilus influenzae) involving migrants residing in the EU/EEA and Switzerland. We identified 45 studies, reporting on 47 distinct vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks across 13 countries. Most reported outbreaks involving migrants were of measles (n=24; 6496 cases), followed by varicella (n=11; 505 cases), hepatitis A (n=7; 1356 cases), rubella (n=3; 487 cases), and mumps (n=2; 293 cases). 19 (40%) outbreaks, predominantly varicella and measles, were reported in temporary refugee camps or shelters. Of 11 varicella outbreaks, nine (82%) were associated with adult migrants. Half of measles outbreaks (n=11) were associated with migrants from eastern European countries. In conclusion, migrants are involved in vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in Europe, with adult and child refugees residing in shelters or temporary camps at particular risk, alongside specific nationality groups. Vulnerability varies by disease, setting, and demographics, highlighting the importance of tailoring catch-up vaccination interventions to specific groups in order to meet regional and global vaccination targets as recommended by the new Immunisation Agenda 2030 framework for action. A better understanding of vaccine access and intent in migrant groups and a greater focus on co-designing interventions is urgently needed, with direct implications for COVID-19 vaccine delivery.
Topics: Adult; Child; Disease Outbreaks; Europe; Humans; Immunization Programs; Refugee Camps; Refugees; Transients and Migrants; Vaccination; Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
PubMed: 34626552
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00193-6 -
Journal of Travel Medicine Dec 2023Pregnant women and their babies face significant risks from three vaccine-preventable diseases: COVID-19, influenza and pertussis. However, despite these vaccines'... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Pregnant women and their babies face significant risks from three vaccine-preventable diseases: COVID-19, influenza and pertussis. However, despite these vaccines' proven safety and effectiveness, uptake during pregnancy remains low.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review (PROSPERO CRD42023399488; January 2012-December 2022 following PRISMA guidelines) of interventions to increase COVID-19/influenza/pertussis vaccination in pregnancy. We searched nine databases, including grey literature. Two independent investigators extracted data; discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Meta-analyses were conducted using random-effects models to estimate pooled effect sizes. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistics.
RESULTS
From 2681 articles, we identified 39 relevant studies (n = 168 262 participants) across nine countries. Fifteen studies (39%) were randomized controlled trials (RCTs); the remainder were observational cohort, quality-improvement or cross-sectional studies. The quality of 18% (7/39) was strong. Pooled results of interventions to increase influenza vaccine uptake (18 effect estimates from 12 RCTs) showed the interventions were effective but had a small effect (risk ratio = 1.07, 95% CI 1.03, 1.13). However, pooled results of interventions to increase pertussis vaccine uptake (10 effect estimates from six RCTs) showed no clear benefit (risk ratio = 0.98, 95% CI 0.94, 1.03). There were no relevant RCTs for COVID-19. Interventions addressed the 'three Ps': patient-, provider- and policy-level strategies. At the patient level, clear recommendations from healthcare professionals backed by text reminders/written information were strongly associated with increased vaccine uptake, especially tailored face-to-face interventions, which addressed women's concerns, dispelled myths and highlighted benefits. Provider-level interventions included educating healthcare professionals about vaccines' safety and effectiveness and reminders to offer vaccinations routinely. Policy-level interventions included financial incentives, mandatory vaccination data fields in electronic health records and ensuring easy availability of vaccinations.
CONCLUSIONS
Interventions had a small effect on increasing influenza vaccination. Training healthcare providers to promote vaccinations during pregnancy is crucial and could be enhanced by utilizing mobile health technologies.
Topics: Pregnancy; Female; Humans; Influenza, Human; Influenza Vaccines; Whooping Cough; COVID-19; Vaccination
PubMed: 37934788
DOI: 10.1093/jtm/taad138 -
Vaccine Sep 2023Countries routinely offering acellular pertussis vaccine, where long-term protection is not sustained, have the challenge of selecting an optimal schedule to minimise... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
Countries routinely offering acellular pertussis vaccine, where long-term protection is not sustained, have the challenge of selecting an optimal schedule to minimise disease among young infants. We conducted a narrative systematic review and synthesis of information to evaluate different pertussis immunisation strategies at controlling pertussis disease, hospitalisation, deaths, and vaccine effectiveness among young infants.
METHODS
We conducted a review of the literature on studies about the primary, booster, and/or maternal vaccination series and synthesised findings narratively. Countries offering the first three doses of vaccine within six-months of life and a booster on or before the second year or life were defined as accelerated primary and booster schedules, respectively. Countries offering primary and booster doses later were defined as extended primary and booster schedules. All search results were screened, and articles reviewed and reconciled, by two authors. The Risk of Bias in Non-randomised Studies of Intervention tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias.
FINDINGS
A total of 98 studies were included in the analyses and the following recurring themes were described: timing of vaccination, vaccine coverage, waning immunity/vaccine effectiveness, direct and indirect effectiveness, switching from an accelerated to extended schedule, impact of changes in testing. The risk of bias was generally low to moderate for most studies.
CONCLUSION
Comparing schedules is challenging and there was insufficient evidence to that one schedule was superior to another. Countries must select a schedule that maintains high vaccine coverage and reduced the risk of delaying the delivery vaccines to protect infants.
Topics: Humans; Infant; Whooping Cough; Vaccination; Evidence Gaps; Family; Hospitalization
PubMed: 37658001
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.08.073 -
Expert Review of Vaccines Aug 2019Pertussis in Latin America continues to cause periodic epidemics with substantial morbidity particularly among young children. The disease has persisted despite...
Pertussis in Latin America continues to cause periodic epidemics with substantial morbidity particularly among young children. The disease has persisted despite long-standing vaccination programs in the region. We conducted a systematic review to characterize the recent epidemiology of pertussis in Latin America and Hispanic Caribbean. We undertook a holistic approach and attempted to include all available data concerning pertussis that may explain the changing dynamics of the disease. There are wide disparities in the reported annual incidence rates of pertussis both within and between countries in the region. General trends in pertussis incidence are difficult to ascertain due to the heterogeneity in the epidemiological data. Available data suggests that the disease burden has changed over the years such that now it predominantly affects those <1 year. Coverage with three doses of the pertussis vaccine has been highly variable, and very few countries have consistently achieved ≥90% coverage annually since 2000. There remain inequalities in vaccination coverage in some regions/localities and specific groups, which sustains the risk of pertussis dissemination. The WHO considers that maternal pertussis immunization provides protection to infants too young to be vaccinated; >10 Latin American countries currently recommend vaccination of pregnant women.
Topics: Caribbean Region; Female; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Latin America; Pertussis Vaccine; Pregnancy; Vaccination; Vaccination Coverage; Whooping Cough
PubMed: 31317794
DOI: 10.1080/14760584.2019.1643241 -
BMC Infectious Diseases Feb 2020Infants < 3 months of age are at highest risk for developing severe complications after pertussis. The majority of pregnant women has low concentrations of...
BACKGROUND
Infants < 3 months of age are at highest risk for developing severe complications after pertussis. The majority of pregnant women has low concentrations of pertussis-specific antibodies and thus newborns are insufficiently protected by maternally transferred antibodies. Acellular pertussis vaccination during pregnancy was recently implemented in various countries. Here, we assessed the evidence for safety and effectiveness of pertussis vaccination during pregnancy.
METHODS
We searched Medline, Embase, and ClinicalTrials.gov from January 1st 2010 to January 10th 2019. We assessed risk of bias (ROB) using the Cochrane ROB tool and ROBINS-I. We evaluated the quality of evidence using the GRADE approach.
RESULTS
We identified 1273 articles and included 22 studies (14 for safety; 8 for effectiveness), comprising 1.4 million pregnant women in safety studies and 855,546 mother-infant-pairs in effectiveness studies. No significant differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated women and their infants were observed for safety outcomes with the exception of fever and chorioamnionitis. Compared to no vaccination, three studies showed a significantly increased relative risk for the presence of the ICD-9 code for chorioamnionitis in electronic patient data after pertussis vaccination. However, no study reported an increased risk for clinical sequelae of chorioamnionitis after vaccination during pregnancy, such as preterm birth or neonatal intensive care unit admission. Vaccine effectiveness against pertussis in infants of immunized mothers ranged from 69 to 91% for pertussis prevention, from 91 to 94% for prevention of hospitalization and was 95% for prevention of death due to pertussis. Risk of bias was serious to critical for safety outcomes and moderate to serious for effectiveness outcomes. GRADE evidence quality was moderate to very low, depending on outcome.
CONCLUSION
Although an increased risk for a diagnosis of fever and chorioamnionitis was detected in pregnant women after pertussis vaccination, there was no association with a higher frequency of clinically relevant sequelae. Vaccine effectiveness for prevention of infant pertussis, hospitalization and death is high. Pertussis vaccination during pregnancy has an overall positive benefit-risk ratio. In view of the overall quality of available evidence ongoing surveillance of chorioamnionitis and its potential sequelae is recommended when pertussis vaccination in pregnancy is implemented.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
PROSPERO CRD42018087814, CRD42018090357.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Bordetella pertussis; Child; Chorioamnionitis; Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines; Female; Fever; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Middle Aged; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women; Premature Birth; Risk; Treatment Outcome; Vaccination; Whooping Cough; Young Adult
PubMed: 32054444
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-4824-3 -
The Patient Dec 2017Discrete choice experiments are increasingly used to assess preferences for vaccines and vaccine service delivery. (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Discrete choice experiments are increasingly used to assess preferences for vaccines and vaccine service delivery.
OBJECTIVES
To synthesize and critically assess the application of discrete choice experiments in childhood/adolescent vaccines, to describe how discrete choice experiments have been applied to understand preferences, and to evaluate the use of discrete choice experiment data to inform estimates of vaccine uptake.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of six electronic databases. Included studies were discrete choice experiments and conjoint analyses published from 2000 to 2016 related to childhood/adolescent vaccines where respondents were parents, children/adolescents, or service providers. Validity assessment was used to assess study quality and risk of bias.
RESULTS
In total, 27 articles were included, representing 21 different studies. A majority of articles were published between 2011 and 2016. Vaccines studied included human papillomavirus (24%), influenza (19%), meningococcal vaccines (14%), childhood vaccines (14%), hypothetical vaccines (10%), hepatitis B (5%), and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, poliomyelitis, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (5%). Most studies assessed parent preferences (67%). The most common attributes were risk (24%), degree/duration of protection (21%), and cost (15%). Commonly reported outcome measures were estimates of uptake (33%), willingness-to-pay (22%), and other marginal rates of substitution (14%). Validity assessments yielded high scores overall. Areas of weakness included low response rates, inefficient experimental design, and failure to conduct formative qualitative work and a pilot of the discrete choice experiment.
CONCLUSION
This is the first systematic review of childhood/adolescent vaccine-related discrete choice experiments. In future, special attention should be paid to ensuring that choice context and discrete choice experiment design are compatible to generate reliable estimates of uptake.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; Choice Behavior; Decision Support Techniques; Female; Health Expenditures; Humans; Infant; Male; Parents; Patient Preference; Qualitative Research; Reproducibility of Results; Risk Assessment; Vaccines
PubMed: 28474295
DOI: 10.1007/s40271-017-0244-x -
PloS One 2014We assessed the knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer, HPV and HPV vaccine, and willingness and acceptability to vaccinate in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
OBJECTIVES
We assessed the knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer, HPV and HPV vaccine, and willingness and acceptability to vaccinate in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. We further identified countries that fulfill the two GAVI Alliance eligibility criteria to support nationwide HPV vaccination.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies on the knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer, HPV and HPV vaccine, and willingness and acceptability to vaccinate. Trends in Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine coverage in SSA countries from 1990-2011 were extracted from the World Health Organization database.
FINDINGS
The review revealed high levels of willingness and acceptability of HPV vaccine but low levels of knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer, HPV or HPV vaccine. We identified only six countries to have met the two GAVI Alliance requirements for supporting introduction of HPV vaccine: 1) the ability to deliver multi-dose vaccines for no less than 50% of the target vaccination cohort in an average size district, and 2) achieving over 70% coverage of DTP3 vaccine nationally. From 2008 through 2011 all SSA countries, with the exception of Mauritania and Nigeria, have reached or maintained DTP3 coverage at 70% or above.
CONCLUSION
There is an urgent need for more education to inform the public about HPV, HPV vaccine, and cervical cancer, particularly to key demographics, (adolescents, parents and healthcare professionals), to leverage high levels of willingness and acceptability of HPV vaccine towards successful implementation of HPV vaccination programs. There is unpreparedness in most SSA countries to roll out national HPV vaccination as per the GAVI Alliance eligibility criteria for supporting introduction of the vaccine. In countries that have met 70% DTP3 coverage, pilot programs need to be rolled out to identify the best practice and strategies for delivering HPV vaccines to adolescents and also to qualify for GAVI Alliance support.
Topics: Africa South of the Sahara; Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine; Early Detection of Cancer; Epidemiologic Factors; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Papillomavirus Infections; Papillomavirus Vaccines; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Public Health Surveillance; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
PubMed: 24618636
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090912 -
Nature Communications Jan 2024A key goal of pertussis control is to protect infants too young to be vaccinated, the age group most vulnerable to this highly contagious respiratory infection. In the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
A key goal of pertussis control is to protect infants too young to be vaccinated, the age group most vulnerable to this highly contagious respiratory infection. In the last decade, maternal immunization has been deployed in many countries, successfully reducing pertussis in this age group. Because of immunological blunting, however, this strategy may erode the effectiveness of primary vaccination at later ages. Here, we systematically reviewed the literature on the relative risk (RR) of pertussis after primary immunization of infants born to vaccinated vs. unvaccinated mothers. The four studies identified had ≤6 years of follow-up and large statistical uncertainty (meta-analysis weighted mean RR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.38-1.32). To interpret this evidence, we designed a new mathematical model with explicit blunting mechanisms and evaluated maternal immunization's short- and long-term impact on pertussis transmission dynamics. We show that transient dynamics can mask blunting for at least a decade after rolling out maternal immunization. Hence, the current epidemiological evidence may be insufficient to rule out modest reductions in the effectiveness of primary vaccination. Irrespective of this potential collateral cost, we predict that maternal immunization will remain effective at protecting unvaccinated newborns, supporting current public health recommendations.
Topics: Infant; Pregnancy; Female; Infant, Newborn; Humans; Whooping Cough; Vaccination; Parturition; Respiratory Tract Infections; Vaccines; Immunization
PubMed: 38297003
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44943-7 -
Vaccines Feb 2024Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a global public health concern. Pertussis vaccines have demonstrated good protection against infections, but their effectiveness... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a global public health concern. Pertussis vaccines have demonstrated good protection against infections, but their effectiveness against remains debated due to conflicting study outcomes.
METHODS
A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to assess the effectiveness of pertussis vaccines in protecting children against infection. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases was conducted, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that met inclusion criteria were included in the analysis.
RESULTS
The meta-analysis, involving 46,533 participants, revealed no significant protective effect of pertussis vaccination against infection (risk ratio: 1.10, 95% confidence interval: 0.83 to 1.44). Subgroup analyses by vaccine type and study design revealed no significant protection. The dearth of recent data and a limited pool of eligible studies, particularly RCTs, underscore a critical gap that warrants future research in the domain.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings offer crucial insights into the lack of effectiveness of pertussis vaccines against . Given the rising incidence of cases and outbreaks, coupled with the lack of cross-protection by the existing vaccines, there is an urgent need to develop vaccines that include specific antigens to protect against .
PubMed: 38543887
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12030253 -
Clinical Infectious Diseases : An... Jan 2020We conducted a systematic review to describe the frequency of mild, atypical, and asymptomatic infection among household contacts of pertussis cases and to explore the...
We conducted a systematic review to describe the frequency of mild, atypical, and asymptomatic infection among household contacts of pertussis cases and to explore the published literature for evidence of asymptomatic transmission. We included studies that obtained and tested laboratory specimens from household contacts regardless of symptom presentation and reported the proportion of cases with typical, mild/atypical, or asymptomatic infection. After screening 6789 articles, we included 26 studies. Fourteen studies reported household contacts with mild/atypical pertussis. These comprised up to 46.2% of all contacts tested. Twenty-four studies reported asymptomatic contacts with laboratory-confirmed pertussis, comprising up to 55.6% of those tested. Seven studies presented evidence consistent with asymptomatic pertussis transmission between household contacts. Our results demonstrate a high prevalence of subclinical infection in household contacts of pertussis cases, which may play a substantial role in the ongoing transmission of disease. Our review reveals a gap in our understanding of pertussis transmission.
Topics: Asymptomatic Infections; Bordetella pertussis; Family Characteristics; Humans; Infant; Prevalence; Whooping Cough
PubMed: 31257450
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciz531