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Pertussis is an under-recognized cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. To review information on the epidemiology and disease burden of neonatal pertussis in South and Southeast Asian countries, a systematic literature review of three bibliographic databases was undertaken. Peer-reviewed original studies on neonatal pertussis epidemiology and burden published since 2000, with a geographical scope limited to South and Southeast Asian countries, were included. Data were systematically extracted based on parameters defined a priori. Our findings show that the burden of neonatal pertussis and its complications is substantial. An increase in the number of pertussis cases has been noted since early 2000, ranging from 61 to 92.9% in infants 0–3 months old. The most common symptoms an infant is likely to present with are cough with or without paroxysms, cyanosis, apnea, tachypnea, difficulty in breathing and leukocytosis. In addition, it can lead to hospitalization (length of stay: 5–7 days), complications (e.g., pneumonia, seizures) and mortality ranging from 5.6 to 14.7%. Other observations indicate that diagnosis is challenging because of non-specific clinical symptoms. Specifically, for obstetricians and gynecologists, the information available for making informed decisions on the prevention of neonatal pertussis is unreliable. Maternal immunization against pertussis during late stages of pregnancy has proven to be efficacious and well tolerated. A high burden of neonatal pertussis, as well as its complications, is observed in South and Southeast Asian countries. There is a need to intensify efforts to protect this vulnerable population with maternal vaccination. Funding: GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA Plain Language Summary: Plain language summary available for this article. Please see Fig. 1 and the following link: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.7951187 .

Infants too young to be fully immunized are the most vulnerable to severe pertussis disease. To close this susceptibility gap, passive infant immunization through vaccination of pregnant women against pertussis was first introduced in 2011 in the United States and has been extended since then to more than 40 countries. We conducted two systematic literature searches to describe the worldwide burden of pertussis disease in infants

Pertussis (whooping cough) is a vaccine-preventable disease; however, neither natural- nor vaccine-induced protection is life-long. Although generally not severe in adults, pertussis can be associated with complications in patients with chronic conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and can be readily transmitted to more vulnerable populations, including neonates before they complete their primary vaccination. Furthermore, as the global population ages, the health and economic burden of the disease is expected to rise. Areas covered: A systematic literature review was conducted to ascertain the current epidemiological and financial burden of pertussis in older adults and to discuss the potential value of a booster vaccination in this population. Expert commentary: Our review indicates a considerable underestimation of the pertussis burden amongst older adults. Seroprevalence studies consistently demonstrate that the reported incidence may be much lower than the actual incidence. Tetanus toxoid-reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccines are immunogenic in older adults, induce high booster responses and are well-tolerated. There is therefore a good rationale for the advocacy of booster pertussis vaccination throughout life to prevent pertussis infection and its transmission, especially in adults aged ≥50 years.

Mohamed Khalil,1 Esam Azhar,2,3 Moujahed Kao,3 Noura Al-Kaiedi,3 Hatim Alhani,4 Ibrahim Al Olayan,5 Robert Pawinski,6,7 Kusuma Gopala,8 Walid Kandeil,7 Sameh Anis,7,9 Leen Jan Van Doorn,10 Rodrigo DeAntonio7 1Public Health and Research Development, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, 3Special Infectious Agents Unit, Bio-Safety Level 3, King Fahad Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 4Maternity and Children’s Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia; 5Maternity and Children’s Hospital, Qassim, Saudi Arabia; 6Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, Slough, UK; 7GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines, Wavre, Belgium; 8GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Bangalore, Karnataka, India; 9AbbVie Biopharmaceuticals GmbH, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 10DDL Diagnostic Laboratory, Rijswijk, the Netherlands Purpose: Rotavirus (RV) is a leading cause of severe gastroenteritis (GE) in children across the world. As there is a lack of epidemiological data for RV gastroenteritis (RVGE) in Saudi Arabia, this hospital-based study was designed to estimate the disease burden of RVGE and assess the prevalent RV types in Saudi children younger than 5 years of age.Patients and methods: Children hospitalized for acute GE were enrolled at four pediatric referral hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted from February 2007 to March 2008 and used the World Health Organization's generic protocol for RVGE surveillance. The Vesikari severity scale was used to assess the severity of RVGE. Stool samples were tested for RV using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Samples were further typed by reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction and hybridization assay for determining the G and P types.Results: A total of 1,007 children were enrolled; the final analysis included 970 children, of whom 395 were RV positive, 568 were RV negative, and seven had unknown RV status. The proportion of RVGE among GE hospitalizations was 40.7% (95% confidence interval: 37.6–43.9). The highest percentage of RVGE hospitalizations (83.1%) was seen in children younger than 2 years of age. The highest proportion of RV among GE hospitalizations was in June 2007 with 57.1%. The most common RV types detected were G1P[8] (49.3%), G1G9P[8] (13.2%), and G9P[8] (9.6%). Before hospitalization, severe GE episodes occurred in 88.1% RV-positive and 79.6% RV-negative children. Overall, 94% children had recovered by the time they were discharged. Two children (one RV positive and one RV negative) died due to GE complications.Conclusion: RVGE is responsible for a high proportion of hospitalizations in Saudi children younger than 5 years of age. Routine RV vaccination has therefore been introduced into the national immunization program and may help reduce the morbidity, mortality, and disease burden associated with RVGE in Saudi Arabia. Keywords: disease burden, Saudi Arabia, rotavirus, RVGE, epidemiology

Background Cervical cancer (CC) is caused by persistent infection with high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) types. In Saudi Arabia which has a population of 6.5 million women over the age of 15 years, approximately 152 new cases of CC are diagnosed and 55 women die from the disease annually. Nevertheless current epidemiological data for HPV in this population are limited. This study evaluated the prevalence and type distribution of HPV and documented the awareness of HPV infection and health-related behavior among Saudi and non-Saudi women attending routine examination. Methods This was an observational, epidemiological cross-sectional study conducted between April 2010 and December 2011 at three hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Cervical samples from women aged ≥15 years, who were attending routine gynecological examinations were collected and tested for HPV-DNA by polymerase chain reaction and typed using the SPF10 DEIA/LiPA25 system. Two questionnaires on health-related behavior and awareness of HPV infection were completed. Results A total of 417 women, mean age (standard deviation) 41.9 (±10.4) years, were included in the final analysis, of whom 77% (321/417) were Saudi nationals. HPV-DNA was detected in 9.8% women (41/417, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.1-13.1). The prevalence of any HR-HPV by age was: 25–34 years: 3.0%; 35–44 years: 4.5%; 45–54 years: 3.2%; >55 years: 10.9%. The most prevalent HR-HPV-types were: HPV-68/73 (5 cases); HPV-18 (4 cases); HPV-16 (3 cases). The most prevalent low risk (LR) types were HPV-6 (4 cases); HPV-42, HPV-53 and HPV-54 (2 cases each). The prevalence of HPV was higher among non-Saudi nationals vs. Saudi nationals (16.7% vs. 7.8%, P = 0.0234). No statistically significant risk factors were identified: 32.2% (101/314) women were aware of HPV and 89.9% (285/317) showed an interest in HPV vaccination. Conclusion The overall prevalence of HPV was 9.8% in Saudi Arabia, but was higher in women over 55 years, as well as in non-Saudi nationals. These data provide a reference for public health authorities and may also help in determining future policies for the prevention of CC. Clinical trial registration NCT01213459 Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0643-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This study evaluated the incidence, serotype distribution, and antimicrobial susceptibility of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Saudi Arabian children. This multicenter, prospective, clinical surveillance study included children under 5years of age, residents of one of the seven study health areas, who were brought to a study hospital with suspicion of IPD. Bacterial isolates from sterile site samples, collected less than 24h after hospital visit/admission, were identified, serotyped, and tested for antibiotic susceptibility. Between June 2007 and January 2009, 631 episodes of suspected IPD were recorded, and 623 were included in the analysis. One child (0.2%) had previously received one dose of a pneumococcal vaccine. Forty-seven episodes were positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae and three for Haemophilus influenzae. The incidence of confirmed IPD cases was estimated to be 2.5–21.6 per 100,000 children (