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Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is widely used for the detection of disease biomarkers. However, it utilizes time-consuming procedures and expensive instruments, making it infeasible for point-of-care (POC) analysis especially in resource-limited settings. In this work, a multicolorimetric ELISA biosensor integrated on a paper/polymer hybrid microfluidic device was developed for rapid visual detection of disease biomarkers at point of care, without using costly equipment. This multicolormetric ELISA platform was built on multiple distinct color variants resulted from the catalytic oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and the etching of gold nanorods (AuNRs). The vivid color changes could be easily distinguished by the naked eye, and their red mean values allowed quantitative biomarker detection, without using any sophisticated instruments. When this multicolorimetric ELISA was integrated on a paper/polymer hybrid analytical device, it not only provided integrated processing and high portability but also enabled fast assays in about 50 min due to the unique advantages of paper/polymer hybrid devices. The limit of detection of 9.1 ng/μL of the hepatitis C virus core antigen, a biomarker for hepatitis C, was achieved using this multicolorimetric ELISA platform. This multicolor ELISA analytical device provides a new versatile, user-friendly, affordable, and portable immunosensing platform with high potential for on-site detections of various viruses, proteins, and biomarkers for low-resource settings such as at home, public venues, rural areas, and developing nations.

Point-of-care testing (POCT) can be the method of choice for detecting infectious pathogens; these pathogens are responsible for not only infectious diseases such as COVID-19, but also for certain types of cancers. For example, infections by human papillomavirus (HPV) or Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) are the main cause of cervical and stomach cancers, respectively. COVID-19 and many cancers are treatable with early diagnoses using POCT. A variety of nucleic acid testing have been developed for use in resource-limited environments. However, questions like unintegrated nucleic acid extraction, open detection systems increase the risk of cross-contamination, and dependence on expensive equipment and alternating current (AC) power supply, significantly limit the application of POCT, especially for on-site testing. In this paper, a simple portable platform is reported capable of rapid sample-to-answer testing within 30 min based on recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) at a lower temperature, to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus and H. pylori bacteria with a limit of detection as low as 4 × 10 2 copies mL -1 . The platform used a battery-powered portable reader for on-chip one-pot amplification and fluorescence detection, and can test for multiple (up to four) infectious pathogens simultaneously. This platform can provide an alternative method for fast and reliable on-site diagnostic testing., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Infectious diseases are among the leading causes of mortality worldwide. A new coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in Wuhan, China in 2019, and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared its outbreak, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), as a global pandemic in 2020. COVID-19 can spread quickly from person to person. One of the most challenging issues is to identify the infected individuals and prevent potential spread of SARS-CoV-2. Recently, anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody tests using immunochromatographic methods have been used as a complement to current detection methods and have provided information of the approximate course of COVID-19 infection. However, blood sampling causes pain and poses risks of infection at the needle puncture site. In this study, a novel patch sensor integrating porous microneedles and an immunochromatographic assay (PMNIA) was developed for the rapid detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG in dermal interstitial fluid (ISF), which is a rich source of protein biomarkers, such as antibodies. Biodegradable porous microneedles (MNs) made of polylactic acid were fabricated to extract ISF from human skin by capillary effect. The extracted ISF was vertically transported and flowed into the affixed immunoassay biosensor, where specific antibodies could be detected colorimetrically on-site. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG antibodies were simultaneously detected within 3 min in vitro. Moreover, the limit of detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG concentrations was as low as 3 and 7 ng/mL, respectively. The developed device integrating porous MNs and immunochromatographic biosensors is expected to enable minimally invasive, simple, and rapid anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG antibody testing. Furthermore, the compact size of the MN and biosensor-integrated device is advantageous for its widespread use. The proposed device has great potential for rapid screening of various infectious diseases in addition to COVID-19 as an effective complementary method with other diagnostic tests., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In this study, we introduce a paper microdevice fully integrating DNA extraction, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and Safranin O-based colorimetric detection of two major infectious pathogens, namely SARS-CoV-2 and Enterococcus faecium. The paper microdevice is composed of two parts: sample and reaction chambers. A sealing film acted as a bottom layer to allow foldable motion for transferring DNA from sample chamber to reaction chamber in a seamless manner. An FTA card was employed in the sample chamber for DNA extraction and purification from bacteria-spiked milk. After LAMP reaction at 65 °C for 30 min, a novel aggregation-based DNA detection was obtained by Safranin O polymerization in the reaction chamber. Specifically, Safranin O underwent polymerization by addition of oxidant to form Safranin O oligomers. The electrostatic interaction between the positively charged Safranin O oligomers and the negatively charged DNA comprising LAMP amplicons resulted in the aggregation with a dark red color. Meanwhile, in the absence of LAMP amplicons, Safranin O oligomers were well dispersed and displayed their original red color. By using Safranin O-based detection, SARS-CoV-2 and E. faecium were successfully identified by naked eye within 60 min, and the limits of detection were 10 -4  ng/μL and 10 2  CFU/mL, respectively. These results indicate that a fully integrated paper microdevice plays an important role in sample-in-answer-out format in the genetic analyses of infectious disease and serves as a rapid tool for controlling the spread of diseases., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Climate change is a challenge for the sustainable development of an international economy and society. The impact of climate change on infectious diseases has been regarded as one of the most urgent research topics. In this paper, an analysis of the bibliometrics, co-word biclustering, and strategic diagram was performed to evaluate global scientific production, hotspots, and developing trends regarding climate change and infectious diseases, based on the data of two decades (1999-2008 and 2009-2018) from PubMed. According to the search strategy and inclusion criteria, a total of 1443 publications were found on the topic of climate change and infectious diseases. There has been increasing research productivity in this field, which has been supported by a wide range of subject categories. The top highly-frequent major MeSH (medical subject headings)/subheading combination terms could be divided into four clusters for the first decade and five for the second decade using a biclustering analysis. At present, some significant public health challenges (global health, and travel and tropical climate, etc.) are at the center of the whole target research network. In the last ten years, "Statistical model", "Diarrhea", "Dengue", "Ecosystem and biodiversity", and "Zoonoses" have been considered as emerging hotspots, but they still need more attention for further development.

Paper currency and coins may be a public health risk when associated with the simultaneous handling of food and could lead to the spread of nosocomial infections. Banknotes recovered from hospitals may be highly contaminated by Staphylococcus aureus. Salmonella species, Escherichia coli and S. aureus are commonly isolated from banknotes from food outlets. Laboratory simulations revealed that methicillin-resistant S. aureus can easily survive on coins, whereas E. coli, Salmonella species and viruses, including human influenza virus, Norovirus, Rhinovirus, hepatitis A virus, and Rotavirus, can be transmitted through hand contact. Large-scale, 16S rRNA, metagenomic studies and culturomics have the capacity to dramatically expand the known diversity of bacteria and viruses on money and fomites. This review summarizes the latest research on the potential of paper currency and coins to serve as sources of pathogenic agents.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock Early Management Bundle (SEP-1) measure has appropriately established sepsis as a national priority. However, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA and five additional endorsing societies) is concerned about SEP-1's potential to drive antibiotic overuse because it does not account for the high rate of sepsis overdiagnosis and encourages aggressive antibiotics for all patients with possible sepsis, regardless of the certainty of diagnosis or severity of illness. IDSA is also concerned that SEP-1's complex "time zero" definition is not evidence-based and is prone to inter-observer variation. In this position paper, IDSA outlines several recommendations aimed at reducing the risk of unintended consequences of SEP-1 while maintaining focus on its evidence-based elements. IDSA's core recommendation is to limit SEP-1 to septic shock, for which the evidence supporting the benefit of immediate antibiotics is greatest. Prompt empiric antibiotics are often appropriate for suspected sepsis without shock, but IDSA believes there is too much heterogeneity and difficulty defining this population, uncertainty about the presence of infection, and insufficient data on the necessity of immediate antibiotics to support a mandatory treatment standard for all patients in this category. IDSA believes guidance on managing possible sepsis without shock is more appropriate for guidelines that can delineate the strengths and limitations of supporting evidence and allow clinicians discretion in applying specific recommendations to individual patients. Removing sepsis without shock from SEP-1 will mitigate the risk of unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for noninfectious syndromes, simplify data abstraction, increase measure reliability, and focus attention on the population most likely to benefit from immediate empiric broad-spectrum antibiotics.

Using the epidemiologic triangle framework (i.e., agent, host, environment), this early-semester activity was designed to help students both understand the multifaceted nature of COVID-19 and relax their tendency to compartmentalize knowledge. Specifically, the activity asked students to categorize the titles of 24 COVID-related research papers into the three categories (agent, host, environment) and 12 arbitrary subcategories. Instead of giving lectures and making students read research papers, we engaged them in reviewing and categorizing the titles to better understand the epidemiologic triangle. Students' content knowledge about COVID-related jargon was significantly improved and their attitude toward reading research papers was improved in some cases. Their responses toward the activity were overwhelmingly positive. Therefore, in this paper, we also provide additional suggestions for applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is power? What is knowledge? What is the link between power and knowledge? This paper interrogates the relationship between knowledge and power in the context of Guinea's epidemic crises and political events. It draws on observational data collected during the Ebola epidemic (2013-2016), the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022), and the ongoing military transition in the country since September 2021. The article first looks at the conception of the relationship between power and knowledge in decolonial literature and the writings of Amadou Hampâté Bâ. The text then describes this relationship in the context of the Ebola and COVID-19 epidemics, and in the ongoing political transition. Finally, the analysis provides an epistemological reflection on knowledge-situated in Guinea to rethink the conceptual and empirical research perspective on the production and circulation of (academic) knowledge in the country's knowledge ecology.

Clinical expertise in infectious diseases is crucial in treating patients with infectious complications. The new board certification in infectious diseases will establish this expertise in Germany. The role of the specialty of infectious diseases in German hospitals and the definition for clinical services in hospitals (levels 2 and 3) are outlined here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, the incidence of herpes zoster has risen steeply, the exact pathogenesis of the acute pain and the transformation into postherpetic neuralgia are still obscure, and the absence of effective management remains a major therapeutic challenge. The purpose of this study was to perform a qualitative and quantitative bibliometric analysis of the 100 most cited papers on herpes zoster. Materials and methods: Related literature were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Excel and VOSviewer software were applied to quantitatively analyze, and construct the bibliometric network charts. Results: The Top 100 most-cited papers published between 2000 and 2018 showed a fluctuating downward trend. The most studies were published in the year of 2000 (n = 12). The article entitled "A vaccine to prevent herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in older adults" from Oxman MN, was the most-cited publication. The United States was the most contributing country, followed by the United Kingdom, and Italy. Finland occupied the highest citations per publication (CPP). The University of Colorado topped the list of institutions with the most publications with 18 articles and also had the most citations (average citations: 281.78 per article). Myron J Levin from the University of Colorado School of Medicine is the most published and most cited researcher overall, whereas Duke University's John W Gnann tops the list in terms of average CPP. Conclusion: In terms of the quantity of T100 articles, researchers, and organizations, the US is the predominant country. The most T100 papers were published in the special journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The most academic focus remain the remedies for postherpetic neuralgia and vaccine development for individualized groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic reminded us that the pathogen evolution still has a serious effect on human societies. States, however, can prepare themselves for the emergence of a novel pathogen with unknown characteristics by analysing potential scenarios. Game theory offers such an appropriate tool. In our game-theoretical framework, the state is playing against a pathogen by introducing non-pharmaceutical interventions to fulfil its socio-political goals, such as guaranteeing hospital care to all needed patients, keeping the country functioning, while the applied social restrictions should be as soft as possible. With the inclusion of activity and economic sector dependent transmission rate, optimal control of lockdowns and health care capacity management is calculated. We identify the presence and length of a pre-symptomatic infectious stage of the disease to have the greatest effect on the probability to cause a pandemic. Here we show that contrary to intuition, the state should not strive for the great expansion of its health care capacities even if its goal is to provide care for all requiring it and minimize the cost of lockdowns., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Lateral flow assay (LFA) is emerging as one of the most popular paper-based biosensors in the field of the diagnostic industry. LFA fills all the gaps between diagnosis and treatment as it provides beneficial qualities to users such as quick response, Point-of-care appeal, early detection, low cost, and effective and sensitive detections of various infectious diseases. These benefits increase LFA's dependability for disease management because rapid and accurate disease diagnosis is a prerequisite for effective medication. Only 2% of overall healthcare expenditures, according to Roche Molecular Diagnostics, are spent on in vitro diagnostics, even though 60% of treatment choices are based on this data. To make LFA more innovative, futuristic plans have been outlined in many reports. Thus, this review reports on very knowledgeable literature discussing LFA and its development along with recent futuristic plans for LFA-based biosensors that cover all the novel features of the improvement of LFA. LFA might therefore pose a very significant economic success and have a significant influence on medical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, over one thousand papers were published on "Susceptible- Exposed-Infectious-Removed" (SEIR) epidemic computational models. The English word "exposed" in its vernacular and public health usage means a state of having been in contact with an infectious individual, but not necessarily infected. In contrast, the term "exposed" in SEIR modeling usage typically stands for a state of already being infected but not yet being infectious to others, a state more properly termed "latently infected." In public health language, "exposed" means possibly infected, yet in SEIR modeling language, "exposed" means already infected. This paper retraces the conceptual and mathematical origins of this terminological disconnect and concludes that epidemic modelers should consider using the "SLIR" notational short-hand (L for Latent) instead of SEIR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is changing: both a conventional and a vaccine passport are now needed to travel internationally. Mask mandates, and social distancing are the new norm in a rapidly changing society. These measures were put in place to control the spread of the highly infectious and often fatal COVID-19, caused by a viral agent, a microorganism, a zoonosis, and the cause of death for over 6 million people around the world. Considering this, maintaining biosecurity is important around the world to ensure public health. Biosecurity in New Zealand supposes that people including young people understand different pests and diseases that can harm public health. This qualitative study was conducted to gauge the biosecurity knowledge of 171 young people (14-15-year-olds). Young people were tested on their knowledge about biosecurity related plants, animals, and microorganisms. This paper reports specifically on the results of knowledge of microorganisms of young people. Results show that negative anthropocentric views dominate adolescents understanding of microorganisms and anthropomorphism is widely used to explain microorganism activity. An educational programme, targeted at developing a conceptual understanding about microorganisms starting at primary education may help develop a more educated global citizen, one versed in understanding the biology of microorganisms.

The paper presents a analysis of quantitative and qualitative dimensions of global research output (3488 records) on "Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Adolescents", based on indexed publications in Scopus database. The global publications on this theme averaged 8.31 citations per paper. About 1.49% share of its total publications in this area received external funding support. The 145 countries partcipitated in global research output on "Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Adults", of which the top 10 countries accounted for 85.21% and more than 100% share of global publications and citations. The USA, U.K. and Italy leads in global publications ranking and productivity as against China (3.16), U.K (1.28) and USA (1.27) leading in terms of relative of relative citation index. The 412 organizations and 661 authors participated in global research on this theme, with top 15 most productive organizations and authors contributing 21.07% and 4.30% global publications share and 38.05% and 12.98% global citations share. Harvard Medical School, USA, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China and Tongji Medical College, China leads the world as the most productive organizatons (with 480, 67 and 63 publications) and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China (31.97 and 3.85), Tongji Medical College, China (19.92 and 2.40) and Children Hospital of Philadelphia, USA (19.30 and 2.32) leading as the most impactful organizations in the world in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. D.Buonsensov, C.Calvo and X. Lu were the most productive authors (with 15, 12 and 12 papers) and X.Lu (103.83 and 12.49), A. Licari ( 40.11 and 4.83) and G.L. Marseglia( 34.09 and 4.1) were the most impactful authors. JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics Infectious Disease Journal and Acta Paediatrica International Journal of Pediatrics were the most productive journals (with 71, 60 and 58 papers) and Pediatrics (36.59, JAMA Pediatrics (19.49) and Acta Paediatrica International Journal of Pediatrics (14.93) were the most impactful journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss challenges associated with implementing a policy for Ancillary Care (AC) for related and unrelated (serious) adverse events during an Ebola vaccine trial conducted in a remote area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Conducting clinical trials in resource-constrained settings can raise context-related challenges that have implications for study participants' health and wellbeing. During the Ebola vaccine study, three participants were injured in road traffic accidents, but there were unexpected difficulties when trying to apply the AC policy. First, because of the nature of the adverse events, the insurer refused to cover the costs. Second, the AC policy did not address treatments by traditional medicine, even though traditional medicines are frequently used and highly trusted in the study community. This highlighted a contrast between the researchers' well-intentioned AC approach and the participants' legitimate preferences. The way in which researchers should address their responsibility to provide AC is not straightforward; it requires contextualization. Our experience highlights the importance of involving community representatives and the local ethics committee to ensure development of an AC policy that is culturally and ethically appropriate. Additionally, the insurance contract should clearly stipulate which adverse events are linked to the trial participation, and thus eligible for coverage, to avoid controversies when claims are made.

The faculty at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) recognized the potential benefits for collaborative teaching and learning across disciplines. Research and development of an Interprofessional Case Learning Project (ICLP) laid the foundation for the creation and implementation of a problem-based learning course. This course, Interdisciplinary Perspectives of an Infectious Disease--Malaria, introduced innovative interdisciplinary pedagogy into the curriculum of the MCPHS School of Arts & Sciences. Designed by biologists, chemists, historians, and public health faculty, this course introduced senior pre-medicine majors to varied methods and theories as they worked in groups to solve problems related to the incidence, prevention, and treatment of an infectious disease. Students' deliverables included journal-quality research papers and posters presented at the MCPHS School of Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference.

In developing countries as in developed countries, the COVID-19 crisis has led to near universal school closures that will affect children's ability to learn, especially in countries with limited infrastructure for distance learning. While most children are likely to return to school when they reopen, quite a few may drop out. In addition, the economic recession generated by the crisis will affect livelihoods, leading to higher rates of poverty and food insecurity. This also may have negative impacts on both Catholic schools and their students. This paper, the second in a set of two, looks at likely impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Catholic Schools in developing countries, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa, a vulnerable region given the comparatively weak performance of its education systems and the limited availability of resources for governments to protect education budgets (acknowledging that many Catholic schools in the region are public schools). How Catholic schools will be able to respond to the twin challenges of school closures and the economic downturn may affect their comparative advantage for the medium term. A key aim of the paper is to make Catholic school teachers and leaders aware of some of the discussions on how to respond to the crisis, and provide links to resources online that may be useful. [For Part I of the series, see EJ1278497.]

The COVID-19 crisis has led to widespread temporary school closures and a deep economic recession. School closures have threatened children's ability to learn and later return to school well prepared. The impact of the economic recession is going to be even more devastating: first for students, but also for the ability of some Catholic schools to maintain their enrollment and remain sustainable financially in countries where they do not benefit from government support. This paper, the first in a set of two, looks at some of the likely impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Catholic Schools in developed countries with a particular focus on the United States, a country not only hard hit by the crisis but also where Catholic schools are especially vulnerable to downturns. While Catholic schools may be able to respond to the immediate challenge of school closures among others through distance learning options, their ability to maintain enrollment during the economic downturn is less clear. How schools will respond to the twin challenges of ensuring learning during school closures and beyond, and remaining affordable for families at a time of economic stress, may affect whether they are able to maintain their comparative advantage. A key aim of the paper is to make Catholic school teachers and leaders aware of some of the discussions on how to respond to the crisis, and provide links to online resources that may be useful. [For Part II of the series, see EJ1278501.]

• Central lines are essential vascular access devices that can be associated with bloodstream infections. • This position paper overviews the techniques relevent to the insertion of these devices and procedures to maintain the catheter. • The paper also underscores the differences in management problems between high and middle to low income countries and between adults and children. • This paper also overviews the diagnosis and choice of antimicrobials in the treatment of central line-associated bloodstream infections. A panel of experts was convened by the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) to overview recommendations on managing and preventing vascular catheter infections, specifically for the prevention and management of central line-associated bloodstream infections. These recommendations are intended to provide insight for healthcare professionals regarding the prevention of infection in the placement and maintenance of the catheter and diagnosis as well as treatment of catheter infection. Aspects of this area in pediatrics and in limited-resource situations and a discussion regarding the selection of empiric or targeted antimicrobial therapy are particular strengths of this position paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is escalating all over the world and has higher morbidities and mortalities in certain vulnerable populations. People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) are a marginalized and stigmatized group with weaker immunity responses, vulnerability to stress, poor health conditions, high-risk behaviors, and lower access to health care services. These conditions put them at a higher risk of COVID-19 infection and its complications. In this paper, an international group of experts on addiction medicine, infectious diseases, and disaster psychiatry explore the possible raised concerns in this issue and provide recommendations to manage the comorbidity of COVID-19 and Substance Use Disorder (SUD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background and aim The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) aims to further develop its role in international medical and scientific guidance in the field of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, where many types of guidance documents exist. The ESCMID Executive Committee and the Clinical Microbiology and Infection (CMI) editorial board wish to clarify the terminology and format to be used in ESCMID guidance documents submitted for publication in CMI , and to highlight the principles behind ESCMID guidance documents. Types of guidance documents There are five types of ESCMID guidance documents: White Papers, Clinical Practice Guidelines, Consensus Statements, State-of-the-Science Statements, and Position Papers. They differ in scope, methods of development, drafting group composition and preferred publication format. Guidance documents can be proposed, developed and published by ESCMID Study Groups, Committees and individual members; often, other scientific societies are involved. The full disclosure of potential conflicts of interest of all drafting group members is a requirement. Final remarks Guidance documents constitute a common cultural and scientific background to people in the same and related professions. Also, they are an important educational and training tool. Developing a guidance document is a scientific endeavour, where a sound and transparent development process is needed, requiring multidisciplinary and personal skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveillance of meningococcal disease (MD) is crucial after the implementation of vaccination strategies to monitor their impact on disease burden. Adolescent vaccination could provide direct and indirect protection. Argentina, Brazil, and Chile have introduced meningococcal conjugate vaccines (MCV) into their National Immunization Programs (NIP), while Uruguay has not. Here, we analyze the epidemiology of MD and vaccination experience from these four South American countries to identify needs and plans to improve the current vaccination programs. Methodology: Descriptive study of MD incidence rates, serogroup distribution, case fatality rates (CFR), and MCV uptakes during the period 2010–2021 in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. Data were extracted from national surveillance programs, reference laboratories, NIPs, and Pubmed. Results: MD overall incidence from 2010 to 2021 have a decreasing trend in Argentina (0.37 [IQR = 0.20–0.61]), Brazil (0.59 [IQR = 0.54–1.22]), and Chile (0.45 [IQR = 0.40–0.77]), while a significant increase in Uruguay (0.47 [IQR = 0.33–0.69]) was found from 2016 to 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, all countries sharply reduced their MD incidence. The highest incidence rates were observed among infants, followed by children 1–4 years of age. No second peak was evident in adolescents. A reduction in serogroup C, W, and Y cases has occurred in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile after introduction of MCV, serogroup B becoming predominant in all four countries. Median CFR was 9.0%, 21%, 19.9%, and 17.9% in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay, respectively. Median uptake of MCV for Argentina and Brazil were 66.6% and 91.0% for priming in infants; 54.7% and 84.5% for booster in toddlers; and 47.5% and 53% for adolescents; while for Chile, 95.6% for toddlers. Conclusions: Experience after the implementation of MCV programs in South America was successful, reducing the burden of MD due to the vaccine serogroups. High vaccine uptake and the inclusion of adolescents will be crucial in the post-pandemic period to maintain the protection of the population. The increase in the proportion of serogroup B cases emphasizes the importance of continuous surveillance to guide future vaccination strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has become pandemic, reaching almost one million death worldwide. At present standard treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is not well defined because the evidence, either from randomized or observational studies, with conflicting results, has led to rapid changes in treatment guidelines. Our aim was to narratively summarize the available literature on the management of COVID-19 in order to combine current evidence and interpretation of the data by experts who are treating patients in the frontline setting. The panel conducted a detailed review of the literature and eventual press releases from randomized clinical trials for each possible available treatment. Inductive PubMed search waws performed for publications relevant to the topic, including all clinical trials conducted. The result was a flowchart with treatment indications for patients with COVID-19. After 6 months of a pandemic situation and before a possible second coronavirus wave descends on Europe, it is important to evaluate which drugs proved to be effective while also considering that results from many randomized clinical trials are still awaited. Indeed, among treatments for COVID-19, only glucocorticoids have resulted in an association with a significant decrease in mortality in published randomized controlled trials. New therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clostridioides difficile infection is an increasing presence worldwide. Prevention is multipronged, reflecting a complex and evolving epidemiology. Multiple guidelines exist regarding the prevention of C. difficile infection in healthcare settings; however, existing guidelines do not address C. difficile in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Nevertheless, the prevalence of C. difficile in LMIC likely parallels, if not exceeds, that of high-income countries, and LMIC may experience additional challenges in C. difficile diagnosis and control. A panel of experts was convened by the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) to review the current state of C. difficile infections globally and make evidence-based recommendations for infection prevention that are broadly applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 has once again brought into focus our limited preparedness to deal with epidemics. Most nations, across the globe, have responded with a resolve to come stronger out of this crisis and leaderships across the world have shown great commitment to protecting its people from Covid-19. Covid-19 has also taught us a few things for the future. One such learning has been that a strong shift in focus towards non-communicable diseases driving health infrastructure across the globe for the last few decades has come at neglect of communicable diseases. In that sense, therefore, the current pandemic has been a wake-up call. Organised Medicine Academic Guild (OMAG), an umbrella organization of professional associations gathered a group of health experts to develop a policy document on epidemic preparedness to limit the influence of epidemics like Covid-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]