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Introduction: The language of medicine is constantly evolving, typically to better describe a new understanding of disease, adjust to changing social sensibilities, or simply to reflect a new drug class or category. We address the need for an updated language around monoclonal antibodies, or "mAbs" - a widely used medical term, but one which is now too general to accurately reflect the range of mAb pharmaceuticals, their effects, and the intended patients., Methods: The question of "what should we call a monoclonal antibody immunisation against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to ensure accurate understanding of the product?" was the basis for a virtual advisory panel in May 2022. The panel was convened by Sanofi with the intention of reviewing appropriate language in terminology in the context of mAb-based prophylaxis for RSV. The panel comprised several global experts on RSV and vaccination, a trained linguist specialising in doctor-patient interactions and medical language, and several experts in marketing and communications., Results: We suggest the term "Direct Long-acting Antibody" (DLA) for a specific sub-class of mAbs for use in prevention of RSV disease in infants. This terminology should differentiate from other mAbs, which are generally not used as therapies in infants., Discussion and Conclusions: This change will more accurately convey the specific mode of action of a mAb in infants, and how it could impact the prevention of communicable diseases: this class of mAbs is not an active treatment, but rather will offer direct and rapid protection lasting at least 5 months., Competing Interests: Pier Luigi Lopalco: Advisory Board Participation & Honoraria for Lectures and other Training activities from GSK, Moderna, MSD, Pfizer, Sanofi, Seqirus. Susanna Esposito: Advisory Board Participation & Honoraria for Lectures. GSK, Janssen, Pfizer, Moderna, MSD, Qiagen, Sanofi, Genzyme, Janssen. Federico Martinón-Torres Received honoraria from GSK group of companies, Pfizer Inc, Sanofi Pasteur, MSD, Seqirus, Biofabri and Janssen for taking part in advisory boards and expert meetings and for acting as a speaker in congresses outside the scope of the submitted work. FM-T has also acted as principal investigator in randomised controlled trials of the above-mentioned companies as well as Ablynx, Gilead, Regeneron, Roche, Abbott, Novavax, and MedImmune, with honoraria paid to his institution. Jacqui Thornton Communications Ltd. Received honoraria from Sanofi, Ipsen, Angelini Pharma, PTC Therapeutics, AbbVie and Indivior for moderating events and training work. Todd Wolynn Received honoraria from Merck, Sanofi Pasteur, Mordera, Novavax, Seqirus, Pfizer for speaker events and in a consultant capacity. Giovanni Checcucci Lisi and Kocfa Chung-Delgado are employed by Sanofi and may hold shares and/or stock options in the company, a company that may be affected by the research reported in the enclosed paper. Stephanie Evans, Amit Patel, Claire Fellingham, Ben Pounds, Charlotte Harris and Tapas Mukherjee are employees of Havas Lynx Group, which was paid by Sanofi to facilitate the working group session described herein, and contribute to this manuscript. Brad Davidson is an employee of Havas Health & You, and was a paid consultant to Sanofi in connection with developing new language of mAbs and with the development of this manuscript., (©2024 Pacini Editore SRL, Pisa, Italy.)

Introduction: Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is one of the most severe vaccine-preventable disease not yet under control. In Italy, although different anti-meningococcal vaccines are available, their offer among regions is heterogeneous. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiology of IMD in Italy based on analysis of national surveillance data for 2011-2017 to optimize the vaccination strategy., Methods: IMD surveillance data from the Italian National Health Institute were analysed. Microsoft Excel was used to present trend analysis, stratifying by age and serogroups., Results: In Italy, during the period 2011-2017, the incidence of IMD increased from 0.25 cases/100,000 inhabitants in 2011 to 0.33 cases/100,000 in 2017. Most cases after 2012 were caused by non-B serogroups. The number of cases in subjects aged 25-64 years increased steadily after 2012 (36 cases in 2011, 79 in 2017), mostly due to non-B serogroups, representing more than 65% of cases in those aged 25+ years., Conclusions: In the period from 2011 to 2017, the incidence of IMDs increased in Italy. The increase, probably due also to a better surveillance, highlights the importance of the disease in the adult population and the high level of circulation of non-B serogroups in particular after 2012. Our analysis supports an anti-meningococcal vaccination plan in Italy that should include the highest number of preventable serogroups and be aimed at vaccinating a wider population through a multicohort strategy., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest statement SI, LB, SP and GCL work for Sanofi Pasteur Italia. The other authors declare no conflict of interest., (©2020 Pacini Editore SRL, Pisa, Italy.)

Influenza is a public health priority in Europe. The impact of influenza pandemics on public health is very high, but seasonal influenza also constitutes an important burden in terms of hospitalisation and excess deaths. Influenza vaccination is a fundamental pillar of disease prevention. In the absence of a clear decision-making process for vaccination policies, EU institutions have, in recent years, fostered collaboration among Member States. Such collaboration was closer during the 2009 pandemic, which constituted a clear cross-border threat to EU citizens' health. The EU institutions have been supporting national vaccination programmes by providing evidence of the effectiveness and safety of influenza vaccination. Decision 1082/2013 was a major step toward EU collaboration, in that it highlighted the role of pandemic vaccination in the field of preparedness and emergency response, in which concerted action is clearly valuable.

Background: A geographic analysis of the causes of death is an important tool for assessing the effectiveness of Public Health initiatives. The aim of this study is to analyse the causes of death between 2000 and 2004, to discover any excess mortality from cancer in Province of Taranto, an area at high environmental risk., Methods: Mortality data from cancer were selected from the Puglia Regional Nominative Causes of Death Registry. Crude and standardized rates and Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR) were calculated for the five Provinces of the Puglia Region, their capital cities and in four concentric rings around the industrial area located in Province of Taranto., Results: . Even if the highest death rate for all tumours resulted in the Province of Lecce (24.9 x 10,000), in the cities of Lecce and Bari (29 x 10,000), the distribution of the SMRs in Province of Taranto showed an excess of mortality (+10%) in the ring next to industrial area. For lung cancer the highest rate was reported in city of Taranto (6 x 10,000) and the highest risk (+24%) in the ring next to industrial area. Moreover, in this area 9 (70%) of the 13 considered malignant tumours types presented an excess of mortality., Conclusion: The results uphold the data reported in the published literature. It is fundamental to intensify research into other risk factors (exposure at work and aberrant lifestyles). Moreover, there is an increasing need for a Regional Cancer Register.