B J Cowling

..Influenza is, however, strongly influenced by age-dependent transmission dynamics, and the effectiveness of age-specific travel restrictions, such as the selective restriction of travel by children, has yet to be examined...

..40; 95% confidence interval: 1.31-14.8). Being protected against influenza, TIV recipients may lack temporary non-specific immunity that protected against other respiratory viruses...

..We reviewed national influenza surveillance websites from around the world to describe the main features of surveillance data dissemination...

..However, implementation of the method may be difficult due to lack of statistical expertise. No dedicated tool is available to perform and guide analyses...

..To understand differential patterns of national target groups for influenza vaccination before, during and after the 2009 influenza pandemic, we reviewed and analyzed the country-specific policies in the corresponding time periods...

..The aim of this study is to identify similarities and differences in SARS epidemiology in three populations with similar host and viral genotype...

....

..We estimate the serial interval of laboratory-confirmed influenza transmission in households...

..We examined prospective influenza surveillance data before, during, and after the closure. We did not find a substantial effect on community transmission...

..Further studies in controlled settings and studies of natural infections in healthcare and community settings are required to better define the effectiveness of face masks and respirators in preventing influenza virus transmission...

..Few data are available about the effectiveness of nonpharmaceutical interventions for preventing influenza virus transmission...

..After the WHO issued the global alert for 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1), many national health agencies began to screen travelers on entry in airports, ports and border crossings to try to delay local transmission...

..There are few data on the comparative epidemiology and virology of the pandemic 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus and cocirculating seasonal influenza A viruses in community settings...

..Accurate and precise estimates of the incubation distribution of novel, emerging infectious diseases are vital to inform public health policy and to parameterize mathematical models...

..We evaluated three alternative statistical approaches where alert thresholds are based on recent data in both temperate and subtropical regions...

..Little is known about the community psychological and behavioral responses to influenza pandemics...

..Methods: Individual patient data were available on 1,265 patients from a meta-analysis of five trials. The outcome measure was time to first seizure after randomization, adjusted for background variables and baseline seizure rate...

..Timely estimation of the transmissibility of a novel pandemic influenza virus was a public health priority in 2009...

..Our results provide a quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of public health control measures. More generally, our results illustrate how changes in Rt will reflect changes in the epidemic curve...

..The relationship between seasonal influenza vaccine and susceptibility to 2009 pandemic A/H1N1 virus infection is not fully understood...

..Despite the presence of DDT and other persistent organic pollutants in human breast milk, breastfeeding should continue to be strongly supported for its life-long benefits to infants...

..We studied the association of birth weight and cardiovascular risk, using birth rank as an instrumental variable, in Southern China...

..Whether the current epidemic of diabetes is a long-standing effect of such mismatch or a "first-generation through effect" generated by rapid economic development causing disproportionate growth remains to be determined...

..It was hypothesised that in transitioning populations better childhood conditions may bring forward puberty and thus decrease leg length, counteracting the overall positive effect of a favourable childhood environment on leg growth...

..The estimates of excess deaths were more than twofold higher than the reported fatal cases with laboratory-confirmed pH1N1 infection...

..Given the potentially long latency period of TB infection, an investigation was undertaken to determine the extent to which TB incidence rates reflect the population history and the impact of public health interventions...

..The extent to which influenza vaccination protects older people from serious morbidity and mortality needs to be confirmed in appropriately designed studies, so that scarce health care resources can be used effectively..

..2. The results of this study suggest that more concentrated surveillance networks are required in Guangzhou compared with other regions, such as Thailand and Europe, as long-distance travel is less frequent...

..4. Evidence in support of swine vaccination as a human health intervention was not found...

....

..Secondary schools closed for summer vacation shortly afterwards. By fitting a model of reporting and transmission to case data, we estimated that transmission was reduced approximately 25% when secondary schools closed...

..Serial cross-sectional data on antibody levels to the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus from a population can be used to estimate the infection attack rates and immunity against future infection in the community...

..As such, passive immunotherapy deserves more consideration by clinical researchers regarding its safety and efficacy as a treatment for severe cases of pandemic influenza...

..Birth cohort patterns were unclear for nasopharyngeal, stomach and liver cancers. Mortality rates for cancers related to early infections may depend on population history, with delayed reductions for some infection-related cancers...

..The larger difference between the two measurements after using the new TEF system warrants further investigation...

..The authors estimated the cost effectiveness of biennial mammography in Hong Kong Chinese women to inform evidence-based screening policies...

..877 and 0.892 in the derivation and validation cohorts, respectively. CONCLUSION: The model performs well and could be useful in assessing prognosis for patients who are infected with re-emergent SARS...

..We implemented a study of the feasibility and efficacy of face masks and hand hygiene to reduce influenza transmission among Hong Kong household members...

..The QuickVue Influenza A + B test has similar sensitivity in point-of-care community settings to more controlled conditions...

..Our study demonstrates that simultaneous monitoring of multiple streams of influenza surveillance data can improve the accuracy and timeliness of alerts compared with monitoring of aggregate data or of any single stream alone...

..There are no comparable quantitative data to our knowledge on naturally acquired infections...

..We assessed the indirect effectiveness of oseltamivir in reducing secondary household transmission in an incident cohort of influenza index patients and their household members...

..This could most likely be attributed to Hong Kong's socioeconomic developmental history and continuing adoption of westernized lifestyle changes...

..Age and sex specific z scores were calculated relative to the WHO growth standards for term singletons...

..Most HCWs had low antibody titres following the first pandemic wave...

..In those with poor health status, obesity is associated with better outcome, whereas in those with initially good health status, obesity is associated with worse outcome...

..The full population health consequences of these changes are unlikely to manifest until persons who have spent their early lives in such environments reach an age at which they become vulnerable to chronic diseases...

..To estimate the proportion of and characterize women who had received cervical and breast screening and to quantify the associated preventable burden of disease and potential iatrogenic harm...

..We tested for but did not find any statistical interaction between these three income-related exposures. These findings suggest that neighbourhood income inequality is not an important predictor of individual health status in Hong Kong...

..Although the harms of smoking are well established, it is unclear how they extend into old age in the Chinese...

..22) in chickens. Combining 1 rest-day with the removal of quails further reduced virus isolation in chickens but not in minor poultry. However, an additional rest-day each month did not appear to affect isolation rates for either species...

..We sought to determine the relation between age of menarche and the metabolic syndrome in a rapidly developing Chinese population...

..We assessed if environment during growth had sex-specific associations with lipids and body shape, but not diabetes...

..We assessed the effectiveness of ribavirin and corticosteroids as the initial treatment for severe acute respiratory syndrome using propensity score analysis...

..The authors examined whether childhood BMI was associated with family or neighbourhood socio-economic characteristics in a recently and rapidly developed Chinese population...

..Traditional cardiac risk factors play an important role in determining AtD risk status...

..These issues are investigated here for non-parametric estimators of F(1) and F(2). The ideas are illustrated on case fatality data for individuals infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2003...

....