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Seasonal influenza is a preventable, often underestimated infectious disease. In Switzerland, it causes between 1,000 and 5,000 hospitalizations and about 400-1,500 deaths annually. Vaccination is the most effective strategy to reduce virus transmission and decreases the severity of influenza, number of complications and deaths. Yet, public confidence of influenza vaccines is decreasing which leads to reductions in vaccination rates thereby limiting its effectiveness. Community variation in attitudes, beliefs and behaviours about influenza vaccination have been identified as an important issue, as well as the lack of comprehensive assessment of community opinions and behaviours related to vaccination. For this study, which is part of a large interdisciplinary project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, we distributed 30,000 questionnaires (return rate 27.2%) in ten urban quarters of Basel, making this the largest survey on influenza undertaken so far in Switzerland. We aimed to understand (1) the spatial patterns of influenza-like illness (ILI) and vaccinated individuals within an urban context, and to determine which factors influence an individual’s likelihood of getting an ILI or being vaccinated, and (2) which factors may determine an individual’s willingness to be vaccinated and in what ways vaccination behaviour varies among different population groups. This study could show that there is high spatial variability of vaccinated and sick individuals. The main barriers towards an influenza vaccination seem to be false ideas about the vaccination, how the immune system works and many feel the flu is not dangerous enough to vaccinate against it. Studying influenza is useful as it can also help to understand other pandemics, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) in children remains rare and difficult to diagnose before the onset of complications. We report on a case of a 12-month child with perforated duodenal ulcer, association with malaria. The severity of the febrile presentation and the positive laboratory confirmation of malaria delayed the diagnosis of PUD. Surgical intervention was successful and without significant sequelae. An awareness of the possibility, and a lower threshold for considering PUD in children may help prevent complications.Pan African Medical Journal 2012; 12:1

Introduction Urban transmission patterns of influenza viruses are complex and poorly understood, and multiple factors may play a critical role in modifying transmission. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) allows the description of patient-to-patient transmissions at highest resolution. The aim of this study is to explore urban transmission patterns of influenza viruses in high detail by combining geographical, epidemiological and immunological data with WGS data. Methods and analysis The study is performed at the University Hospital Basel, University Children’s Hospital Basel and a network of paediatricians and family doctors in the Canton of Basel-City, Switzerland. The retrospective study part includes an analysis of PCR-confirmed influenza cases from 2013 to 2018. The prospective study parts include (1) a household survey regarding influenza-like illness (ILI) and vaccination against influenza during the 2015/2016 season; (2) an analysis of influenza viruses collected during the 2016/2017 season using WGS—viral genomic sequences are compared with determine genetic relatedness and transmissions; and (3) measurement of influenza-specific antibody titres against all vaccinated and circulated strains during the 2016/2017 season from healthy individuals, allowing to monitor herd immunity across urban quarters. Survey data and PCR-confirmed cases are linked to data from the Statistics Office of the Canton Basel-City and visualised using geo-information system mapping. WGS data will be analysed in the context of patient epidemiological data using phylodynamic analyses, and the obtained herd immunity for each quarter. Profound knowledge on the key geographical, epidemiological and immunological factors influencing urban influenza transmission will help to develop effective counter measurements. Ethics and dissemination The study is registered and approved by the regional ethics committee as an observational study (EKNZ project ID 2015–363 and 2016–01735). It is planned to present the results at conferences and publish the data in scientific journals., BMJ Open, 9 (8), ISSN:2044-6055