A questionnaire survey on the attitude of healthcare workers towards pandemic influenza vaccination showed low acceptance (17%) of the pandemic vaccine. Factors associated with vaccine uptake were acceptance of seasonal influenza vaccination, medical profession and age. The main reason for refusal of vaccination was fear of side effects, which was stronger in those who received information on t...

A mass immunization campaign for 18-month to 19-year-olds was undertaken in Spain in 1996-1997 because of an epidemic of serogroup C meningococcal disease associated with a C:2b:P1.2,5 strain belonging to the A4 lineage. Surveillance for the "capsule-switching" phenomenon producing B:2b:P1.2,5 isolates was undertaken. Of 2,975 meningococci characterized, B:2b:P1.2,5 and B:2b:P1.2 antigenic comb...

BACKGROUND A prolonged measles epidemic occurred in Wenzhou City, China after a nationwide measles mass immunization campaign (MMIC) in 2010. We conducted an investigation to identify factors contributing to this epidemic and to provide evidence-based recommendations for measles elimination strategies in China. METHODS Measles was diagnosed using the national standard case-definitions. We est...

The uncertainty of the theoretical prediction of the B̄ → Xsγ branching ratio at NLL level is dominated by the charm mass renormalization scheme ambiguity. In this paper we calculate those NNLL terms which are related to the renormalization of mc, in order to get an estimate of the corresponding uncertainty at the NNLL level. We find that these terms significantly reduce (by typically a factor o...

In this work we propose a mathematical approach to estimate the dengue force of infection, the average age of dengue first infection, the optimum age to vaccinate children against dengue in a routine fashion and the optimum age interval to introduce the dengue vaccine in a mass vaccination campaign. The model is based on previously published models for vaccination against other childhood infect...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the potential economic benefits of keeping a meningitis A vaccine at or near ambient temperature for up to 4 days during a mass vaccination campaign. METHODS During a 10-day mass vaccination campaign against meningitis A in three regions of Chad in 2011, the costs associated with storage and transport of the vaccine in a traditional cold chain system were evaluated. A ma...

Small-scale patches (locations of 50 cm × 50 cm at a feeding station level) in a bahia grass ( Paspalum notatum ) pasture under cattle grazing were investigated in terms of herbage mass, quality and utilisation during a grazing season (May–November), to characterise the quantityquality relationship of patches and relate this to spatially heterogeneous grazing by animals. Nitrogen concentration ...

We investigated the effectiveness of the mass measles vaccination campaign in Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran, by examining the measles IgG seroprevalence and antibody response from paired data before and after the campaign. The overall seropositive rate of 624 subjects aged 5-25 years increased 1 year after the mass vaccination (from 53.0% to 72.3%). A rise in antibody titre occurred in all ag...

This article presents a new probabilistic model for the prevention of second-generation infections by different vaccination strategies in the event of a smallpox bioterror attack. The main results are independent of the reproductive number R0 (the number of secondary infections transmitted per index infected individual) and population mixing patterns. General expressions are derived for the fra...

BACKGROUND Routine vaccination supplemented by planned campaigns occurring at 2-5 y intervals is the core of current measles control and elimination efforts. Yet, large, unexpected outbreaks still occur, even when control measures appear effective. Supplementing these activities with mass vaccination campaigns triggered when low levels of measles immunity are observed in a sample of the populat...