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Invasive group A streptococcal (Strep A) infections occur when Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as beta-hemolytic group A Streptococcus, invades a normally sterile site in the body. This article provides guidelines for establishing surveillance for invasive Strep A infections. The primary objective of invasive Strep A surveillance is to monitor trends in rates of infection and determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with laboratory-confirmed invasive Strep A infection, the age- and sex-specific incidence in the population of a defined geographic area, trends in risk factors, and the mortality rates and rates of nonfatal sequelae caused by invasive Strep A infections.
Vaccine development and implementation decisions need to be guided by accurate and robust burden of disease data. We developed an innovative systematic framework outlining the properties of such data that are needed to advance vaccine development and evaluation, and prioritize research and surveillance activities.
Group A streptococcal (GAS) infections can trigger an immune-mediated response resulting in acute rheumatic fever. The role of social and environmental risk factors for GAS pharyngitis and skin infections are not well understood.
The search for clinically effective antivirals against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is ongoing. Repurposing of drugs licensed for non–coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) indications has been extensively investigated in laboratory models and in clinical studies with mixed results.
The introduction of pathogens originating from Eurasia into the Americas during early European contact has been associated with high mortality rates among Indigenous peoples, likely contributing to their historical and precipitous population decline.
Contemporary data for the global burden of sore throat and group A Streptococcus (Strep A) pharyngitis are required to understand the frequency of disease and develop value propositions for Strep A vaccines.
A population of neutrophils recruited into cystic fibrosis (CF) airways is associated with proteolytic lung damage, exhibiting high expression of primary granule exocytosis marker CD63 and reduced phagocytic receptor CD16. Causative factors for this population are unknown, limiting intervention. Here we present a laboratory model to characterize responses of differentiated airway epithelium and neutrophils following respiratory infection.
Vector mosquito biting intensity is an important measure to understand malaria transmission. Human landing catch (HLC) is an effective but labour-intensive, expensive, and potentially hazardous entomological surveillance tool. The Centres for Disease Control light trap (CDC-LT) and the human decoy trap (HDT) are exposure-free alternatives.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the birthing and postnatal experience of women. This review highlights how policy changes have affected pregnant and breastfeeding women, the evidence for continued breastfeeding and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines, and how the pandemic's unexpected consequences have affected these women's wellbeing.
Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important cause of acute respiratory infection with the most severe disease in the young and elderly. Non-pharmaceutical interventions and travel restrictions for controlling COVID-19 have impacted the circulation of most respiratory viruses including RSV globally, particularly in Australia, where during 2020 the normal winter epidemics were notably absent.