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Vaccines
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Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Vaccination
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Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Vaccination

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 11312

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Catalina Ciocan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy
Interests: epidemiology; occupational medicine; cancer; COVID-19; biological hazard
Dr. Alessandro Godono

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy
Interests: meta-analysis; occupational medicine; Sars-Cov-2; vaccines; biological hazard
Dr. Marco Clari

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy
Interests: health-care workers; nurses; self-care; epidemiology; meta-analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this Special Issue, we invite you to reflect on the global impact of infectious diseases. Infections are not just a medical problem but a public health concern as they represent a major source of avoidable morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization estimates that there are up to 650,000 flu-related deaths every year worldwide, while an estimated 58 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, of which about 3.2 million are adolescents and children, and approximately 290,000 deaths/year are mostly from cirrhosis and primary liver cancer. In less than 3 years, COVID-19 has determined 6,484,136 deaths globally.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we certainly learned an important lesson: we are stronger and faster when we use the “multidisciplinary” approach. Over the past 3 years, an enormous amount of information has emerged from hospitals, universities, and laboratories, covering every aspect of this deadly pandemic, from the origin of SARS-CoV-2 to the mid–long-term effects of the vaccines. Many researchers and clinicians have converged their knowledge and discoveries and, since January 2020, a remarkable number of articles have been produced. On Pubmed alone, there are 293,092 studies published on this topic.

We strongly believe that this model could be successfully replicated for many infectious diseases, and we emphasize the importance of the multidisciplinary and strategic collaborative effort in hazard identification; in the application of 

prevention and control measures in both occupational and public health settings; and in the control of appropriate use of antibiotics, screening, and active surveillance of infected subjects.

Therefore, authors are invited to submit their latest research regarding emerging infectious agents and the latest developments in vaccines, vaccine technology, and vaccination practices. Additionally, we would like to dedicate a section of this Special Issue to hospital infections and major infective agents regarding healthcare workers.

Dr. Catalina Ciocan
Dr. Alessandro Godono
Dr. Marco Clari
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • vaccination
  • nosocomial
  • COVID-19
  • epidemiology
  • infectious disease
  • vaccine hesitancy
  • epidemic

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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12 pages, 590 KiB  
Article
Nasopharyngeal Carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Tunisian Healthy under-Five Children during a Three-Year Survey Period (2020 to 2022)
by Nourelhouda Ben Ayed, Sonia Ktari, Jihen Jdidi, Omar Gargouri, Fahmi Smaoui, Haifa Hachicha, Boutheina Ksibi, Sonda Mezghani, Basma Mnif, Faouzia Mahjoubi and Adnene Hammami
Vaccines 2024, 12(4), 393; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12040393 - 9 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1109
Abstract
We aimed to assess the prevalence of nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage and to determine serotype distribution, antibiotic susceptibility patterns, and evolutionary dynamics of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in healthy under-five children. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from healthy children over three survey periods between 2020 and [...] Read more.
We aimed to assess the prevalence of nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage and to determine serotype distribution, antibiotic susceptibility patterns, and evolutionary dynamics of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates in healthy under-five children. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected from healthy children over three survey periods between 2020 and 2022. All pneumococcal isolates were serotyped and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. A total of 309 S. pneumoniae isolates were collected, with an overall prevalence of nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage of 24.4% (CI95%: [22–26.8%]). These isolates were classified into 25 different serotypes. The most common serotypes were 14 (14.9%), 19F (12%), 6B (10.4%), and 23F (7.4%), which are covered by the PCV10 vaccine, as well as 19A (8.4%) and 6A (7.8%), which are covered by the PCV13 vaccine. A significant decrease in the proportion of serotype 19F (p = 0.001) and an increase in serotypes 19A (p = 0.034) and 6A (p = 0.029) were observed between the three survey periods. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was noted for 56.6% of the isolates. A significant association with antimicrobial resistance was observed for the most frequent serotypes, mainly serotype 19A. In conclusion, one-quarter of healthy under-five children in Tunisia carried S. pneumoniae in their nasopharynx. A dominance of vaccine serotypes significantly associated with antimicrobial resistance was recorded. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Vaccination)
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16 pages, 4004 KiB  
Article
Risk Factors for COVID-19 and Respiratory Tract Infections during the Coronavirus Pandemic
by Laurynas Mockeliunas, Rob C. van Wijk, Caryn M. Upton, Jonathan Peter, Andreas H. Diacon and Ulrika S. H. Simonsson
Vaccines 2024, 12(3), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12030329 - 19 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1392
Abstract
(1) Background: Some individuals are more susceptible to developing respiratory tract infections (RTIs) or coronavirus disease (COVID-19) than others. The aim of this work was to identify risk factors for symptomatic RTIs including COVID-19 and symptomatic COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic by using [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Some individuals are more susceptible to developing respiratory tract infections (RTIs) or coronavirus disease (COVID-19) than others. The aim of this work was to identify risk factors for symptomatic RTIs including COVID-19 and symptomatic COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic by using infection incidence, participant baseline, and regional COVID-19 burden data. (2) Methods: Data from a prospective study of 1000 frontline healthcare workers randomized to Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccination or placebo, and followed for one year, was analyzed. Parametric time-to-event analysis was performed to identify the risk factors associated with (a) non-specific symptomatic respiratory tract infections including COVID-19 (RTIs+COVID-19) and (b) symptomatic RTIs confirmed as COVID-19 using a polymerase chain reaction or antigen test (COVID-19). (3) Results: Job description of doctor or nurse (median hazard ratio [HR] 1.541 and 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.299–1.822), the reported COVID-19 burden (median HR 1.361 and 95% CI 1.260–1.469 for 1.4 COVID-19 cases per 10,000 capita), or a BMI > 30 kg/m2 (median HR 1.238 and 95% CI 1.132–1.336 for BMI of 35.4 kg/m2) increased the probability of RTIs+COVID-19, while positive SARS-CoV-2 serology at enrollment (median HR 0.583 and 95% CI 0.449–0.764) had the opposite effect. The reported COVID-19 burden (median HR 2.372 and 95% CI 2.116–2.662 for 1.4 COVID-19 cases per 10,000 capita) and a job description of doctor or nurse (median HR 1.679 and 95% CI 1.253–2.256) increased the probability of developing COVID-19, while smoking (median HR 0.428 and 95% CI 0.284–0.648) and positive SARS-CoV-2 serology at enrollment (median HR 0.076 and 95% CI 0.026–0.212) decreased it. (4) Conclusions: Nurses and doctors with obesity had the highest probability of developing RTIs including COVID-19. Non-smoking nurses and doctors had the highest probability of developing COVID-19 specifically. The reported COVID-19 burden increased the event probability, while positive SARS-CoV-2 IgG serology at enrollment decreased the probability of RTIs including COVID-19, and COVID-19 specifically. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Vaccination)
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13 pages, 1836 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Rotavirus Vaccination on Discharges for Pediatric Gastroenteritis in Italy: An Eleven Year (2009–2019) Nationwide Analysis
by Claudia Isonne, Daniele Petrone, Martina Del Manso, Jessica Iera, Alessandra Caramia, Lorenzo Bandini, Giulia Fadda, Adriano Grossi, Valentina Baccolini, Claudio Costantino, Patrizio Pezzotti, Andrea Siddu and Fortunato D’Ancona
Vaccines 2023, 11(6), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11061037 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1928
Abstract
In Italy, despite the documented positive effects of rotavirus (RV) vaccination on reducing the burden of RV disease, an updated national assessment of its impact on clinical outcomes is still lacking. This study aims to analyze the implementation of RV vaccination in Italy, [...] Read more.
In Italy, despite the documented positive effects of rotavirus (RV) vaccination on reducing the burden of RV disease, an updated national assessment of its impact on clinical outcomes is still lacking. This study aims to analyze the implementation of RV vaccination in Italy, evaluating its impact on discharges for acute pediatric gastroenteritis (AGE). A retrospective analysis, including hospital discharge records and data on vaccination coverage for children aged 0–71 months from 2009 to 2019, was conducted. We examined trends in hospital discharge standardized incidence before and after vaccine introduction using a negative binomial mixture model with fixed effects to evaluate the impact of universal vaccination. The percentage of vaccination coverage increased over the years, from <5% between 2009 and 2013 to 26% in 2017, reaching 70% in 2019. The standardized incidence of discharges decreased over the period from 16.6/100,000 inhabitants in 2009–2013 to 9.9/100,000 inhabitants in 2018–2019. In this phase, about 15% of the estimated hospital discharges were avoided compared with those estimated in the first phase. The implementation of RV vaccination reduced AGE incidence discharges in children aged 0–71 months. Further efforts are needed to continue monitoring the vaccination effect over time and to increase vaccination coverage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Vaccination)
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11 pages, 711 KiB  
Article
Knowledge of Human Mpox (Monkeypox) and Attitude towards Mpox Vaccination among Male Sex Workers in China: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Yuanyi Chen, Yuwei Li, Leiwen Fu, Xinyi Zhou, Xinsheng Wu, Bingyi Wang, Xin Peng, Yinghui Sun, Qi Liu, Yi-Fan Lin, Yinguang Fan, Hongbo Jiang, Xiaojun Meng and Huachun Zou
Vaccines 2023, 11(2), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11020285 - 28 Jan 2023
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2821
Abstract
Background: Re-emerging human mpox (previously known as monkeypox) is spreading around the world. According to existing studies, the current mpox pandemic mainly affects men who have sex with men (MSM), including male sex workers (MSW). Our study aimed to assess mpox knowledge and [...] Read more.
Background: Re-emerging human mpox (previously known as monkeypox) is spreading around the world. According to existing studies, the current mpox pandemic mainly affects men who have sex with men (MSM), including male sex workers (MSW). Our study aimed to assess mpox knowledge and attitude towards mpox vaccination among MSW in China. Methods: A web-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2022. We collected participants’ socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge with 15 knowledge items related to mpox. Modified Bloom’s cut-off points of 80% (total score > 12) was used to indicate good knowledge. Multivariable regression analysis was used to assess factors of mpox knowledge and attitude towards mpox vaccination. Results: A total of 154 MSW were recruited (age: median = 22, interquartile range, IQR = 12). Of the 154 MSW, 49.4% had good knowledge of mpox, and 63.0% were willing to be vaccinated against mpox. We found that good knowledge was associated with being single [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.46, 95% confident interval (CI) (1.22–4.87)], being unemployed [5.01, 1.21–20.70] and willingness to be vaccinated [2.51, 1.14–5.54]. Willingness to get vaccinated was related to age [1.06, 1.00–1.12], chronic diseases history [8.53, 1.01–71.68], and agreement with “priority for high-risk groups if mpox vaccine is in short supply” [2.57, 1.01–6.54]. Conclusions: We found that MSW had suboptimal mpox knowledge and a high willingness to be vaccinated against mpox. MSW who are single and willing to be vaccinated may have good knowledge of mpox. These findings underscore the necessity of providing health education on mpox among MSW. When the mpox vaccine is in short supply, priority should be given to high-risk groups, such as MSW. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Vaccination)
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30 pages, 672 KiB  
Systematic Review
Cardiac and Neurological Complications Post COVID-19 Vaccination: A Systematic Review of Case Reports and Case Series
by Kai Wei Lee, Sook Fan Yap, Syafinaz Amin-Nordin and Yun Fong Ngeow
Vaccines 2024, 12(6), 575; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12060575 - 24 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3102
Abstract
Following mass vaccinations for the control of the COVID-19 epidemic, a spectrum of cardiac and neurological disorders was reported among vaccinated individuals. This study examined the range of complications documented and factors related to their occurrence. Three electronic databases were searched for case [...] Read more.
Following mass vaccinations for the control of the COVID-19 epidemic, a spectrum of cardiac and neurological disorders was reported among vaccinated individuals. This study examined the range of complications documented and factors related to their occurrence. Three electronic databases were searched for case reports and case series with descriptions of cardiac and/or neurological complications in COVID-19 vaccine recipients. A total of 698 vaccinees were included in this review, of which 259 (37.1%) had cardiac and 439 (62.9%) had neurological complications. Inflammatory conditions were the commonest among the cardiac complications; while polyneuropathy, demyelinating diseases and cerebrovascular disorders were the more common neurological complications. The mean age of those with cardiac complications (33.8 years) was much younger than those with neurological complications (49.7 years). There was no notable difference in the gender distribution between these two groups of vaccine recipients. mRNA vaccines (all brands) were associated with almost 90.0% of the cardiac complications, whereas viral vector vaccines were associated with slightly over half (52.6%) of the neurological complications. With regard to the dose, cardiac complications were more common after the second (69.1%), whereas neurological complications were more common after the first dose (63.6%). The majority of the cases had an uncomplicated clinical course. Nevertheless, 5.9% of cases with neurological complications and 2.5% of those with cardiac complications were fatal, underscoring the significance of the consistent surveillance and vigilant monitoring of vaccinated individuals to mitigate these occurrences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Infectious Diseases, Epidemiology and Vaccination)
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