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International Journal of Public Health Sep 2016Despite the availability of vaccines and the existence of public vaccination recommendations, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable childhood diseases still cause public... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
Despite the availability of vaccines and the existence of public vaccination recommendations, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable childhood diseases still cause public health debate. The objective of this systematic review was to provide an overview of the current epidemiology and economic burden of measles, mumps, pertussis, and varicella in Germany.
METHODS
We systematically reviewed studies published since 2000. The literature search was conducted using PubMed and EMBASE. Also, we used German notification data to give an up-to-date overview of the epidemiology of the four diseases under consideration.
RESULTS
Thirty-six studies were included in our review. Results suggest that there is still considerable morbidity due to childhood diseases in Germany. Studies providing cost estimates are scarce. Comparative analyses of different data sources (notification data vs. claims data) revealed a potential underestimation of incidence estimates when using notification data. Furthermore, several studies showed regional differences in incidence of some of the diseases under consideration.
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings underline the need for improved vaccination and communication strategies targeting all susceptible age and risk groups on a national and local level.
Topics: Chickenpox; Chickenpox Vaccine; Germany; Humans; Incidence; Measles; Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine; Mumps; Vaccines, Combined; Virus Diseases; Whooping Cough
PubMed: 27488917
DOI: 10.1007/s00038-016-0842-8 -
BMC Veterinary Research May 2016Canine distemper virus (CDV) is the etiological agent of one of the most infectious diseases of domestic dogs, also known as a highly prevalent viral infectious disease... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is the etiological agent of one of the most infectious diseases of domestic dogs, also known as a highly prevalent viral infectious disease of carnivores and posing a conservation threat to endangered species around the world. To get a better panorama of CDV infection in different Orders, a retrospective and documental systematic review of the role of CDV in different non-dog hosts was conducted. The bibliographical data were collected from MedLine/PubMed and Scopus databases. Data related to Order, Family, Genus and Species of the infected animals, the presence or absence of clinical signs, mortality, serological, molecular or antigenic confirmation of CDV infection, geographic location, were collected and summarized.
RESULTS
Two hundred seventeen scientific articles were considered eligible which includes reports of serological evaluation, and antigenic or genomic confirmation of CDV infection in non-dog hosts. CDV infects naturally and experimentally different members of the Orders Carnivora (in 12 Families), Rodentia (four Families), Primates (two Families), Artiodactyla (three Families) and Proboscidea (one Family). The Order Carnivora (excluding domestic dogs) accounts for the vast majority (87.5%) of the records. Clinical disease associated with CDV infection was reported in 51.8% of the records and serological evidence of CDV infection in apparently healthy animals was found in 49.5% of the records. High mortality rate was showed in some of the recorded infections in Orders different to Carnivora. In non-dog hosts, CDV has been reported all continents with the exception of Australasia and in 43 different countries.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this systematic review demonstrate that CDV is able to infect a very wide range of host species from many different Orders and emphasizes the potential threat of infection for endangered wild species as well as raising concerns about potential zoonotic threats following the cessation of large-scale measles vaccination campaigns in the human population.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Domestic; Distemper; Distemper Virus, Canine; Endangered Species; Humans; Morbillivirus Infections; Zoonoses
PubMed: 27170307
DOI: 10.1186/s12917-016-0702-z -
Vaccine May 2016Measles is one of the most contagious human diseases. Administration of the live attenuated measles vaccine has substantially reduced childhood mortality and morbidity... (Review)
Review
Measles is one of the most contagious human diseases. Administration of the live attenuated measles vaccine has substantially reduced childhood mortality and morbidity since its licensure in 1963. The live but attenuated form of the vaccine describes a virus poorly adapted to replicating in human tissue, but with a replication yield sufficient to elicit an immune response for long-term protection. Given the high transmissibility of the wild-type virus and that transmission of other live vaccine viruses has been documented, we conducted a systematic review to establish if there is any evidence of human-to-human transmission of the live attenuated measles vaccine virus. We reviewed 773 articles for genotypic confirmation of a vaccine virus transmitted from a recently vaccinated individual to a susceptible close contact. No evidence of human-to-human transmission of the measles vaccine virus has been reported amongst the thousands of clinical samples genotyped during outbreaks or endemic transmission and individual case studies worldwide.
Topics: Genotype; Humans; Measles; Measles Vaccine; Measles virus; Vaccines, Attenuated
PubMed: 27083423
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.03.092 -
American Journal of Epidemiology Nov 2014The serial interval of an infectious disease represents the duration between symptom onset of a primary case and symptom onset of its secondary cases. A good evidence... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
The serial interval of an infectious disease represents the duration between symptom onset of a primary case and symptom onset of its secondary cases. A good evidence base for such values is essential, because they allow investigators to identify epidemiologic links between cases and serve as an important parameter in epidemic transmission models used to design infection control strategies. We reviewed the literature for available data sets containing serial intervals and for reported values of serial intervals. We were able to collect data on outbreaks within households, which we reanalyzed to infer a mean serial interval using a common statistical method. We estimated the mean serial intervals for influenza A(H3N2) (2.2 days), pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 (2.8 days), respiratory syncytial virus (7.5 days), measles (11.7 days), varicella (14.0 days), smallpox (17.7 days), mumps (18.0 days), rubella (18.3 days), and pertussis (22.8 days). For varicella, we found an evidence-based value that deviates substantially from the 21 days commonly used in transmission models. This value of the serial interval for pertussis is, to the best of our knowledge, the first that is based on observations. Our review reveals that, for most infectious diseases, there is very limited evidence to support the serial intervals that are often cited.
Topics: Disease Outbreaks; Family Characteristics; Humans; Influenza, Human; Models, Statistical; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; Virus Diseases
PubMed: 25294601
DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwu209