Vaccine
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Coverage of the HCWs as target population is one of the important determinants for the impact of vaccination. To determine the vaccination against the pandemic influenza A/H1N1 among HCWs, we conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey in a public hospital in Istanbul from December 7 to December 22, 2009. Out of total 941 HCWs 718 (76.3%) completed the questionnaires. ⋯ In conclusion vaccination against pandemic influenza A/H1N1 is insufficient among HCWs. Misinformed or inadequately informed HCWs are important barrier to pandemic influenza vaccine coverage of the general public also. Educational campaigns concerning HCWs should include evidence based and comprehensible information about possible adverse effects and their incidence besides the advantages of vaccine.
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Conference proceedings, although an importance source to learn about new interventions, are brief and not subject to external evaluation prior to publication. Studies in human medicine suggest that trial results from conference proceedings may be poorly reported. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate characteristics of veterinary vaccine studies published in conference proceedings. 154 cattle or swine vaccine trials presented at veterinary practitioner conferences held in the United States from 1988 to 2003 were the test base to evaluate the following: abstract-to-publication ratio, positive-outcome ratios, differences between proceeding and subsequent journal articles, and compliance with the CONSORT Statement extension for abstracts. ⋯ Fewer than 10% of conference proceedings included: identification of the trials as randomized in the title, study design as field or challenge; the primary outcome; trial status; results for primary outcome; information about harms and funding source (2/89). When conference proceedings are subsequently published in journals; there is no significant difference in the data, however subsequent publication is uncommon. For many conference proceedings it would be difficult to assess the internal and external validity of the trial based on the information reported.
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Acute respiratory illnesses (ARI), comprising influenza-like illness (ILI) and other wintertime respiratory illnesses (ORI), impose substantial health and economic burdens on the United States. Little is known about the impact of ILI among household members (HHM), particularly children, on employees' productivity. To quantify the impact of employee and HHM-ILI and ARI on employee productivity, a prospective, observational cohort study was conducted among employees from three large US companies. ⋯ HHM illnesses accounted for 17.7% (1389/7868 days) of employee absenteeism, over half of which was due to HHM-ARI. ILI causes a significant amount of employee absence. Household members, particularly children, comprise a sizable proportion of general illness and injury-related employee absences.
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Serum bactericidal activity using human complement is the basis for established correlates of protection against invasive meningococcal disease. During the development of multicomponent protein-based vaccines against meningococcus B, it is necessary to measure antigen-specific bactericidal responses. ⋯ We characterized a large panel of strains and, using a competitive inhibition SBA, we identified four strains that are each specifically killed by bactericidal antibodies to one of the major vaccine components. These strains provide a straightforward approach to demonstrate protective responses to each component of the vaccine and demonstrate that each of the antigens in the vaccine is sufficient to provide a potentially protective level of bactericidal activity.