HIghlights March '24 from EID, Eurosurveillance & Nature Communications

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Hello, and welcome to our selected article summaries from the March 2024 issue of the CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, February Eurosurveillance, and Nature Communications.

First up, we explore a significant study published in the March issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases journal,by Pablo I. Plaza and colleagues, revealing a worrying trend of increased species and geographic spread of H5N1, hinting at the virus's adaptability towards mammals and the heightened risk of a global pandemic. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-1098_article

Next, we turn to Amy Paterson's systematic review of scales for measuring infectious disease-related stigma. This crucial work, also featured in the March 2023 Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, addresses the urgent need for methodologically sound, transferable scales to assess stigma during outbreaks. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-0934_article

Following that, we delve into a study by Cheng-Yi Lee and colleagues on the effectiveness of various COVID-19 vaccine platforms in Taiwan. The research provides compelling evidence of the high protection mRNA and protein subunit vaccines offer against infection, severe illness, and death. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-0893_article

We then examine a multimodal surveillance model for Enterovirus D68 respiratory disease among children in Colorado, USA, by Kevin Messacar and colleagues. This innovative approach, integrating clinical, syndromic, and wastewater surveillance, successfully detected an outbreak early, demonstrating the value of such integrated systems in public health practice.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-1223_article

Quan M. Vu's study on the incidence and predictors of fatiguing illness after SARS-CoV-2 infection presents alarming findings on the significant increase in fatigue and chronic fatigue among COVID-19 patients, reinforcing the need for preventive public health measures. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-1194_article

Additionally, we cover Brendan Mullen's investigation into the epidemiology of nontuberculous mycobacteria in Virginia, USA. This study highlights the geographic clustering of infections and their association with climate factors, pointing to the potential impact of climate change on these mycobacterial diseases. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-1162_article

Ivan Lam's research from Nature Communications offers insights into the long-term health consequences after SARS-CoV-2 infection and the mitigating effects of vaccination. With over 1 million cases analysed, the study provides convincing evidence of protection from long term sequelae by COVID-19 vaccines. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45953-1

We also share updates on influenza vaccine effectiveness from the February issue of Eurosurveillance, including studies on the interim effectiveness of the 2023/24 influenza A vaccine https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.8.2400089

and the examination of waning protection from seasonal influenza vaccination over nine seasons in Ontario, Canada. https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.8.2300239

Lastly, Shogo Miyazawa's study on wastewater-based reproduction numbers for COVID-19 in Japan demonstrates the potential of wastewater surveillance to accurately monitor and project disease trends, offering a novel approach to public health monitoring. https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.8.2300277

This episode, we would also like to draw our listener’s attention to an excellent source of long form expert reviews in the Nature Reviews Disease Primer Series, including recent reviews on Strongyloidiasis, typhoid fever, hepatitis A, cryptococcal meningitis and HIV. These are state of the art reviews by international experts, find them at: https://www.nature.com/nrdp/reviews-and-analysis

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