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Interim 2023/24 influenza A vaccine effectiveness: VEBIS European primary care and hospital multicentre studies, September 2023 to January 2024 

Influenza A viruses circulated in Europe from September 2023 to January 2024, with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 predominance. We provide interim 2023/24 influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) estimates from two European studies, covering 10 countries across primary care (EU-PC) and hospital (EU-H) setting...

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccination Recommendations for Adults Aged 60 Years and Older: The NeumoExperts Prevention Group Position Paper 

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory tract infections in adults, particularly older adults and those with underlying medical conditions. Vaccination has emerged as a potential key strategy to prevent RSV-related morbidity and mortality. This Neumoexperts Prevention (NEP...

Vaccine effectiveness against influenza hospitalisation in adults during the 2022/2023 mixed season of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and B circulation, Europe: VEBIS SARI VE hospital network 

We conducted a multicentre hospital-based test-negative case-control study to measure vaccine effectiveness (VE) against PCR-confirmed influenza in adult patients with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) during the 2022/2023 influenza season in Europe. Among 5547 SARI patients ≥18 years, 2963...

Influenza vaccine effectiveness in Europe: Results from the 2022-2023 VEBIS (Vaccine Effectiveness, Burden and Impact Studies) primary care multicentre study 

Background: Influenza A(H3N2) viruses dominated early in the 2022-2023 influenza season in Europe, followed by higher circulation of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and B viruses. The VEBIS primary care network estimated the influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) using a multicentre test-negative study. Mater...

Incipient functional SARS-CoV-2 diversification identified through neural network haplotype maps 

Since its introduction in the human population, SARS-CoV-2 has evolved into multiple clades, but the events in its intrahost diversification are not well understood. Here, we compare three-dimensional (3D) self-organized neural haplotype maps (SOMs) of SARS-CoV-2 from thirty individual nasopharynge...

Genomic Surveillance Uncovers a 10-Year Persistence of an OXA-24/40 Acinetobacter baumannii Clone in a Tertiary Hospital in Northern Spain 

Infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii are a global threat causing a high number of fatal infections. This microorganism can also easily acquire antibiotic resistance determinants, making the treatment of infections a big challenge, and has the ability to persist in the h...

Detection and Molecular Diversity of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis in the Endangered Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus), Spain 

Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia duodenalis are the main non-viral causes of diarrhoea in humans and domestic animals globally. Comparatively, much less information is currently available in free-ranging carnivore species in general and in the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) in particular. ...

Clinical, microbiological, and molecular characterization of pediatric invasive infections by Streptococcus pyogenes in Spain in a context of global outbreak 

In December 2022, an alert was published in the UK and other European countries reporting an unusual increase in the incidence of Streptococcus pyogenes infections. Our aim was to describe the clinical, microbiological, and molecular characteristics of group A Streptococcus invasive infections (iGA...

Effectiveness of the adapted bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against hospitalisation in individuals aged ≥ 60 years during the Omicron XBB lineage-predominant period: VEBIS SARI VE network, Europe, February to August, 2023 

We conducted a multicentre hospital-based test-negative case-control study to measure the effectiveness of adapted bivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccines against PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during the Omicron XBB lineage-predominant period in patients aged ≥ 60 years with severe acute respiratory i...

Exposure to residential traffic and trajectories of unhealthy ageing: results from a nationally-representative cohort of older adults 

Background: Traffic exposure has been associated with biomarkers of increased biological ageing, age-related chronic morbidities, and increased respiratory, cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality. Whether it is associated with functional impairments and unhealthy ageing trajectories is unknown. Me...

Effectiveness and safety of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide in HIV late presenters 

Objectives: The efficacy of BIC/FTC/TAF in HIV late presenters initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) has not been sufficiently evaluated. Methods: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of BIC/FTC/TAF compared to other first-line antiretroviral regimens in treatmen...

Circadian rhythm disruption and retinal dysfunction: a bidirectional link in Alzheimer's disease? 

Dysfunction in circadian rhythms is a common occurrence in patients with Alzheimer's disease. A predominant function of the retina is circadian synchronization, carrying information to the brain through the retinohypothalamic tract, which projects to the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Notably, Alzheimer'...

Relative vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 hospitalisation in persons aged ≥ 65 years: results from a VEBIS network, Europe, October 2021 to July 2023 

To monitor relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) against COVID-19-related hospitalisation of the first, second and third COVID-19 booster (vs complete primary vaccination), we performed monthly Cox regression models using retrospective cohorts constructed from electronic health registries in eight E...

Estimation of Improvements in Mortality in Spectrum Among Adults With HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in High-Income Countries 

Introduction: Mortality rates for people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in high-income countries continue to decline. We compared mortality rates among PLHIV on ART in Europe for 2016-2020 with Spectrum's estimates. Methods: The AIDS Impact Module in Spectrum is a compartme...

The Challenges of Vaccine Trial Participation among Underserved and Hard-to-Reach Communities: An Internal Expert Consultation of the VACCELERATE Consortium 

Underserved and hard-to-reach population groups are under-represented in vaccine trials. Thus, we aimed to identify the challenges of vaccine trial participation of these groups in member countries of the VACCELERATE network. Seventeen National Coordinators (NC), each representing their respective ...

Changes in Group A Streptococcus emm Types Associated with Invasive Infections in Adults, Spain, 2023 

An increase in invasive group A Streptococcus infection was detected in the northeast of Spain in November 2022. A postpandemic decline in the diversity of circulating emm types involved in invasive group A Streptococcus was observed, along with the emergence of emm49 in this geographic area.

Antibiotic Utilization in Hospitalized Children with Bronchiolitis: A Prospective Study Investigating Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics at a Secondary Hospital in Madrid (2004-2022) 

Bronchiolitis is a viral respiratory infection, with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) being the most frequent agent, requiring hospitalization in 1% of affected children. However, there continues to be a noteworthy incidence of antibiotic prescription in this setting, further exacerbating the glob...