Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/news-scan-apr-09-2020
News Scan for Apr 09, 2020
MERS in Saudi Arabia; Flu vaccine effectiveness
Filed Under:
MERS-CoV; Influenza Vaccines
WHO profiles recent Saudi MERS cases
In a snapshot of MERS-CoV cases in Saudi Arabia in February, the country reported 18 cases, 5 of them fatal, from 9 different cities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.
Four of the patients had a history of contact with camels. None were healthcare workers, and none had any known contact with earlier MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) patients. Seven patients were from Riyadh, and Hafr Albatin, Najran, and Eastern each had two cases. Five cities each had one case: Al-Jawf, Mecca, Hail, Taif, and Jeddah.
All were adults, ages 34 to 81 years old, and all but two were men. All but one had an underlying health condition.
The WHO said that, as of Feb 29, it has received 2,538 MERS-CoV illness reports since 2012, with at least 871 deaths. The vast majority have been in Saudi Arabia.
Apr 8 WHO MERS-CoV update
Flu vaccine protection against hospitalization low across 3 seasons
Flu vaccine was 31% effective among outpatients and 36% effective among inpatients during three recent flu seasons, according to a study led by researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published today in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The investigators tested adults who had acute respiratory illness (ARI) for flu in two vaccine effectiveness (VE) networks at three sites from 2015 to 2018. They estimated VE using logistic regression, adjusting for site, age, sex, race and ethnicity, peak influenza activity, time to testing from emergence of symptoms, season (overall VE), and underlying conditions.
They found overall VE of 31% among 14,573 (4,144 flu-positive) outpatients (95% confidence interval [CI], 26% to 37%) and 36% among 6,769 (1,452 flu-positive) inpatients (95% CI, 27% to 44%).
VE against the 2009 H1N1 strain was 37% (95% CI, 25% to 47%) among outpatients and 53% (95% CI, 37% to 64%) among inpatients. VE against H3N2 was 19% (95% CI, 9% to 27%) among outpatients and 23% (95% CI, 8% to 35%) among inpatients. VE against B viruses was 46% (95% CI, 38% to 53%) among outpatients and 46% (95% CI, 31% to 58%) among inpatients. VE differences were not significant for any comparison across sites.
Hospitalized patients were older (median age, 62 vs. 49 years) and had more predisposing conditions (median, 4 vs. 1) than outpatients.
"Inpatients and outpatients with ARI represent distinct populations," the authors wrote. "Despite comparatively poor health status among inpatients, influenza vaccination was effective in preventing hospitalizations associated with influenza." Flu-related hospitalizations are associated with poor clinical outcomes, high costs, and heavy healthcare resource burdens.
The authors said that suboptimal VE in recent years and the perception that flu is a mild illness lead some people to decide against vaccination. "Establishing VE against hospitalized influenza is important for policymakers, and may influence peoples' decisions on whether to get vaccinated," they wrote.
Apr 9 Clin Infect Dis abstract
News Scan for Apr 09, 2020
MERS in Saudi Arabia; Flu vaccine effectiveness
Filed Under:
MERS-CoV; Influenza Vaccines
WHO profiles recent Saudi MERS cases
In a snapshot of MERS-CoV cases in Saudi Arabia in February, the country reported 18 cases, 5 of them fatal, from 9 different cities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.
Four of the patients had a history of contact with camels. None were healthcare workers, and none had any known contact with earlier MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) patients. Seven patients were from Riyadh, and Hafr Albatin, Najran, and Eastern each had two cases. Five cities each had one case: Al-Jawf, Mecca, Hail, Taif, and Jeddah.
All were adults, ages 34 to 81 years old, and all but two were men. All but one had an underlying health condition.
The WHO said that, as of Feb 29, it has received 2,538 MERS-CoV illness reports since 2012, with at least 871 deaths. The vast majority have been in Saudi Arabia.
Apr 8 WHO MERS-CoV update
Flu vaccine protection against hospitalization low across 3 seasons
Flu vaccine was 31% effective among outpatients and 36% effective among inpatients during three recent flu seasons, according to a study led by researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published today in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
The investigators tested adults who had acute respiratory illness (ARI) for flu in two vaccine effectiveness (VE) networks at three sites from 2015 to 2018. They estimated VE using logistic regression, adjusting for site, age, sex, race and ethnicity, peak influenza activity, time to testing from emergence of symptoms, season (overall VE), and underlying conditions.
They found overall VE of 31% among 14,573 (4,144 flu-positive) outpatients (95% confidence interval [CI], 26% to 37%) and 36% among 6,769 (1,452 flu-positive) inpatients (95% CI, 27% to 44%).
VE against the 2009 H1N1 strain was 37% (95% CI, 25% to 47%) among outpatients and 53% (95% CI, 37% to 64%) among inpatients. VE against H3N2 was 19% (95% CI, 9% to 27%) among outpatients and 23% (95% CI, 8% to 35%) among inpatients. VE against B viruses was 46% (95% CI, 38% to 53%) among outpatients and 46% (95% CI, 31% to 58%) among inpatients. VE differences were not significant for any comparison across sites.
Hospitalized patients were older (median age, 62 vs. 49 years) and had more predisposing conditions (median, 4 vs. 1) than outpatients.
"Inpatients and outpatients with ARI represent distinct populations," the authors wrote. "Despite comparatively poor health status among inpatients, influenza vaccination was effective in preventing hospitalizations associated with influenza." Flu-related hospitalizations are associated with poor clinical outcomes, high costs, and heavy healthcare resource burdens.
The authors said that suboptimal VE in recent years and the perception that flu is a mild illness lead some people to decide against vaccination. "Establishing VE against hospitalized influenza is important for policymakers, and may influence peoples' decisions on whether to get vaccinated," they wrote.
Apr 9 Clin Infect Dis abstract