Hepatitis A surveillance using commercial laboratory data

SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine, 2020

Historically, outbreaks of hepatitis A virus (HAV) have been associated with contaminated food. Through vaccination and sanitation, the annual incidence of HAV had plummeted until the recent outbreak. We investigated the demographic features and clinical course of HAV cases during 2017-2018 in West Virginia. We performed a retrospective chart review on 482 patients confirmed with HAV. We found them to be predominantly Caucasian males with a mean age of 42. Forty-nine percent were intravenous drug users with methamphetamine being the substance of choice (52%). There was evidence of geographic clustering. Two patients with chronic liver disease died of hepatic failure secondary to HAV, and a third patient died of lone HAV. Our data shows a strong association of HAV with illicit substance use, specifically methamphetamine. These persons at risk should be targeted for vaccination. The increased transmission of HAV in drug users warrants investigation.

Hepatitis Monthly, 2012

Continuous monitoring on HAV seroepidemiology represent a major tool to assess the risk of HAV infection and to identify appropriate preventive measures in different societies. Being familiar with HAV epidemiology, can help health policy makers to choose the more effective and tailored measures to control the risk of infection. Background: Continuous assessment of hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroepidemiology is a useful tool to control the risk of infection. Objectives:This study aimed to evaluate the changing patterns of anti-HAV seroprevalence in a population,which isgenerally considered to be anarea of high endemicity. Patients and Methods: Overall, the results of 3349 sera collected during the period 2005-2008 from patients attending the University Hospital of Cagliari, Italy were studied; their mean age was 52.7 years, (s + 16.22). Patients with liver disease were excluded from the study. Age specific seroprevalence results were compared with those observed in similar previous studies carried out in the same area. Results: The overall prevalence of anti-HAV was 74.6% with consistently lower values in subjects younger than 40 years (17.5%; P < 0.0001) particularly in those under 30 years of age (8.9%, CI 5.8-11.9). A significant declining trend in age specific seroprevalence has been foundin people under 30 years;

Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2021

Her research interests include hepatitis surveillance, outbreak response, public health technical assistance, and strategic partnerships.

2000

Context. Hepatitis A is a common vac- cine-preventable disease in the United States. Most cases occur during community-wide outbreaks, which can be difficult to control. Many case-patients have no identi- fied source. Objective. To identify foodborne and household sources of hepatitis A during a community-wide out- break. Design. Serologic and descriptive survey. Setting. Salt Lake County, Utah. Participants. A total

Archives of Internal Medicine, 2010

Background: The incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) disease is the lowest ever in the United States. We describe recent incidence and characteristics of cases of HAV disease from 6 US sites conducting hepatitis surveillance in the Emerging Infections Program.

Archives of internal medicine

The incidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) disease is the lowest ever in the United States. We describe recent incidence and characteristics of cases of HAV disease from 6 US sites conducting hepatitis surveillance in the Emerging Infections Program. Health departments conducted enhanced, population-based surveillance for HAV from 2005 through 2007. Demographic and risk factor data were collected on suspected cases (persons with a positive IgM anti-HAV result) using a standard form. Remnant serum specimens from a convenience sample of cases were tested by polymerase chain reaction, followed by sequencing the 315-nucleotide segment of the VP1-P2B junction. There were 1156 HAV cases reported during 2005 through 2007. The combined population under surveillance was 29.8 million in 2007. The overall annual incidence rate was 1.3 per 100 000 population (range by site, 0.7-2.3). Of reported cases, 53.4% were male, 42.4% were white, 44.7% were aged 15 to 39 years, and 91.4% resided in urban a...

BMC Infectious Diseases

Background: The frequency of mild forms of hepatitis A, especially in children, could lead to underreporting. The objective of the study was to investigate the sensitivity of two surveillance systems, mandatory Statutory Disease Reports and the Microbiological Reporting System of Catalonia, using capture-recapture techniques. Methods: The study was conducted in Catalonia between 2011 and 2015. Hepatitis A cases reported to two independent surveillance systems were included: Statutory Disease Reports (SDR) and Microbiological Reporting System of Catalonia (MRS). The variables collected were: age, sex, year of declaration, size of municipality (< 10,000 and ≥ 10,000), country of birth (Spain or abroad), reporting centre (primary care/hospital) and notification method (electronic or paper). The capture-recapture analysis and the estimate of 95% confidence intervals were made using the Chapman formula for comparison of two sources, both for the estimate of the total number of cases and the stratification according to variables. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to obtain an adjusted estimate. Results: The SDR had a greater overall sensitivity than the MRS (48.8%; 43.5-55.6 vs. 19.3%; 17.2-21.9). In cases aged < 15 years the sensitivity of both systems was higher (76.6%; 72.7-81 vs. 25.2%; 20.9-29.5) than in cases aged > 15 years (25.5%; 22.8-28.3 vs. 12.1%; 10-14.2). For those born in Spain, the sensitivity was 57.2% (49.6-67.4) in the SDR and 27.1% (23.5-31.9) in the MRS, lower than that for foreign-born patients (58%; 51.2-66.8 vs. 49.1%; 43.4-56.6). In electronically-reported cases, the sensitivity was much higher in the SDR than in the MRS (47.2%; 42.3-52.1 vs. 9.4%; 6.5-12.3). No differences were observed according to sex, size of municipality, and year of declaration or reporting centre. The estimated total number of cases using the Chapman formula was very similar to the adjusted estimate (1121; 985-1258 vs. 1120; 876-1525), indicating the robustness of the results. Conclusions: The sensitivity of the SDR was greater than that of MRS, especially in patients aged < 15 years, although for patients born abroad the difference in sensitivity was lower. Reinforced surveillance combining the SDR and MRS improves the efficiency in the detection of cases.

Global Biosecurity, 2021

Hepatitis A (Hep A) can cause sporadic or epidemic disease and has been frequently linked to contamination of the global food chain. Global surveillance data on Hep A is unavailable, and in some countries, reporting is incomplete or not timely, either because of the lack of human resources or sensitivities around reporting. The use of vast opensource data such as news-feeds and social media however can overcome barriers to surveillance and provide timely data on global epidemics. In this study we use EpiWATCH, a semi-automated outbreak scanning service, to review the global epidemiology of Hep A reports from 2016-2018. We reviewed the EpiWATCH Outbreak Alerts database for reports on Hep A dated between August 1, 2016, to April 31, 2018, which was then analysed by outbreak clusters, location, and time. Of 5098 total entries in the database, a total of 169 non-duplicate Hep A outbreak reports were found and included for descriptive analysis. The majority of outbreak reports (68.6%; N=116/169) originated from the United States of America (USA). The largest Hep A outbreaks were multi-country outbreaks in the European region, and multistate outbreaks in USA and Australia. Homelessness (mainly in USA outbreaks) was the predominant risk factor (40.2%), followed by foodborne outbreaks (26.6%) and outbreaks in men who have sex with men (6.5%). Using EpiWATCH, we found that the emergence of outbreaks in homeless people has dominated the epidemiology of Hep A in the USA and this appears a relatively new phenomenon over the study period. Epidemic intelligence systems such as EpiWATCH are a useful proxy for global surveillance of Hep A outbreaks and using opensource data can provide epidemic intelligence and outbreak alerts where global data is unavailable.

2024

Il volume propone un approccio metodologico innovativo per lo studio delle miscele leganti antiche, un materiale da costruzione fino a pochi anni fa poco considerato negli studi sull'architettura classica, e ne sottolinea il potenziale informativo per la ricerca archeologica. Attraverso il campionamento e l'analisi con tecniche avanzate di laboratorio di oltre 370 campioni di malte e calcestruzzi da strutture di età romana e tardo antica dal sito archeologico di Aquileia (Friuli Venezia Giulia) è stato possibile svelare le tecnologie produttive, la provenienza delle materie prime e le dinamiche economico-commerciali e sociali del passato celate nelle "ricette" di uno tra i più antichi geomateriali prodotti dall'Uomo. Simone Dilaria è ricercatore in Archeologia Classica presso il Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali dell'Università di Padova. I suoi ambiti di ricerca riguardano prevalentemente lo studio dei materiali da costruzione antichi attraverso approcci che integrano metodologie archeologiche tradizionali con tecniche archeometriche di analisi laboratoriale. Ha pubblicato numerosi articoli scientifici e partecipato a conferenze internazionali inerenti tematiche di archeologia della costruzione e scienza dei materiali. È inoltre revisore negli ambiti di competenza per riviste scientifiche specializzate del settore archeologico e archeometrico.

Criminal Justice in the Prism of Human Rights, 2022

The paper aims to assess the impact of international human rights law on national policies to combat domestic and sexual violence. After a theoretical framing of the issue, the author highlights how international law has contributed to the fight against violence against women. Then, it turns to examine a few problems arising from the use of criminal law as a means to protect fundamental rights. Finally, the author offers some general reflections about the role of international human rights law in combating violence against women.