📄 Category

infectious diseases

191 papers

Drivers of antimicrobial prescriptions in hospitals from Asian low, middle and high income countries and implications for antibiotic stewardship

This qualitative study across ten hospitals in Singapore, Nepal, and Thailand identifies structural deficiencies such as limited laboratory capabilities and weak guidelines, alongside clinician prioritization of short-term patient safety, as key drivers of broad-spectrum antibiotic overuse, highlighting the need for systemic improvements to support effective antimicrobial stewardship.

Chhabra, S., Nair, S., Bramley, A. + 11 more2026-04-08📄 infectious diseases

Local habitual movement as a mechanism for Schistosoma mansoni transmission resurgence - a causal analysis

This study demonstrates that habitual short-range travel from low-prevalence inland villages to highly endemic Lake Victoria sustains *Schistosoma mansoni* transmission in Uganda, indicating that achieving transmission interruption requires integrated control strategies addressing human mobility and local transmission ecology rather than focusing solely on high-risk villages or individual behaviors.

Lim, R. M. M., Arinaitwe, M., Babayan, S. A. + 8 more2026-04-07📄 infectious diseases

DYNAMICS OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN IN THE EARLY POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD AS A PREDICTOR OF INFECTIOUS COMPLICATIONS AND A TOOL FOR OPTIMIZING ANTIBIOTIC THERAPY

This study demonstrates that monitoring C-reactive protein (CRP) dynamics, specifically a day 3 threshold exceeding 106 mg/L or an increase between days 3 and 5, serves as an effective predictor for early surgical site infection detection and guides the optimization of antibiotic therapy.

Ochakovskaya, I. N., Onopriev, V. V., Dovlatbekyan, N. M. + 3 more2026-04-07📄 infectious diseases

Development and Evaluation of an ARTIC-Based Amplicon Sequencing Assay for Whole-Genome Characterization of Respiratory Syncytial Virus

The Georgia Public Health Laboratory developed and validated a highly accurate, sensitive, and specific ARTIC-based amplicon sequencing assay using a modified Illumina protocol and custom bioinformatics pipeline to enable near real-time whole-genome surveillance of circulating Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) strains.

Smith, K., Martinez, J., Yu, H. + 8 more2026-04-07📄 infectious diseases

Spatio-temporal analysis of spotted fever cases reported to a tertiary care hospital in Southern India

This 18-year retrospective study of a tertiary care hospital in Southern India reveals that spotted fever cases are concentrated in specific districts, peak between September and March (with a January high), and predominantly affect children under 10 and housewives, underscoring the need for heightened clinical suspicion in these demographics and regions following the monsoon season.

Thomas, T. M., D Cruz, S., Perumalla, S. K. + 2 more2026-04-07📄 infectious diseases

Antibiotic Seeking Pathways and Patterns of Usage among Patients with Productive Coughs Attending Selected Chest Clinics in Nairobi County, Kenya

This study reveals that antibiotic use among adults with productive coughs in Nairobi, Kenya, is widespread and largely empirical, driven by diverse seeking pathways including over-the-counter access and self-medication, which are significantly influenced by gender, income, and medical history, thereby highlighting an urgent need for stricter prescription enforcement and stewardship programs to combat antimicrobial resistance.

MWABU, A. K., Mutai, W. C., Jaoko, W. + 2 more2026-04-06📄 infectious diseases

Seroprevalence of chikungunya virus in Colombo, Sri Lanka before the 2025 outbreak and implications for population susceptibility

A 2024 seroprevalence study in Colombo, Sri Lanka, revealed that minimal chikungunya transmission occurred over the preceding 16 years, leaving a largely susceptible population with significantly higher immunity in urban areas driven by density and overcrowding, thereby highlighting the critical need for targeted vaccine strategies.

Danasekara, S., Jeewandara, C., Jayamali, J. + 27 more2026-04-06📄 infectious diseases

From multiplicity of infection to force of infection in sparsely sampled high-transmission Plasmodium falciparum populations

This paper applies queuing theory to estimate the force of infection (FOI) from multiplicity of infection (MOI) data in high-transmission *Plasmodium falciparum* populations, demonstrating through simulations and a study in Ghana that these methods can reliably detect significant reductions in transmission following interventions despite sparse sampling.

Zhan, Q., Tiedje, K., Day, K. P. + 1 more2026-04-05📄 infectious diseases

Host Factors Modulate Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir Efficacy in COVID-19 Patients: A Viral Dynamics Modeling Study

By integrating longitudinal viral load data from over 48,000 BA.2-infected patients with mechanistic viral dynamics modeling, this study quantifies the average 55% antiviral efficacy of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and reveals that treatment response is significantly modulated by host factors, showing enhanced effectiveness in vaccinated individuals and reduced efficacy in older adults.

Liao, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, Y. + 23 more2026-04-05📄 infectious diseases

Quantitative interferon gamma responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a community-based survey of adolescents and adults in Blantyre, Malawi

This study of adolescents and adults in Blantyre, Malawi, demonstrates that analyzing quantitative interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) responses rather than binary results reveals critical age- and sex-specific variations in *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* immunoreactivity and transmission risks that are otherwise obscured, particularly highlighting the impact of HIV and the potential for refined public health strategies in high-burden settings.

Phiri, M. D., Rickman, H. M., Mandalasi, C. + 7 more2026-04-04📄 infectious diseases

Global Burden, Temporal Trends, and Health Inequalities of Early-Onset Group B Streptococcus Infection in Neonates, 1990-2021: A Systematic Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

This study analyzes Global Burden of Disease 2021 data to reveal that while early-onset Group B Streptococcus mortality in neonates has declined by nearly 50% globally since 1990, significant disparities persist with slower progress in low-development regions and a concentration of the relative burden among the poorest populations despite narrowing absolute gaps.

Wen, Q., Wang, X., Wu, Y. + 2 more2026-04-04📄 infectious diseases

2024/25 end-of-season KP.2 vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 hospitalization in older adults: a test-negative study in Quebec, Canada

A test-negative study in Quebec involving nearly 50,000 older adults found that the 2024/25 KP.2 vaccine provided a meaningful but short-lived 34% overall effectiveness against COVID-19 hospitalization, with protection declining from 43% within eight weeks to negligible levels by 32 weeks post-vaccination.

Carazo, S., Skowronski, D. M., Sauvageau, C. + 3 more2026-04-04📄 infectious diseases

Comparative effectiveness of mRNA-1273 versus protein-based NVX-CoV2705 vaccination on COVID-19-related outcomes among US insured adults during 2024--2025: a retrospective matched cohort study

In a retrospective matched cohort study of US insured adults during the 2024–2025 season, the mRNA-based vaccine mRNA-1273 demonstrated significantly greater effectiveness against medically attended COVID-19 and hospitalization compared to the protein-based NVX-CoV2705 vaccine.

Wilson, A., Beck, E., Hensler, H. + 6 more2026-04-04📄 infectious diseases

Molecular surveillance of Falciparum malaria in Rwanda: Shifts in parasite prevalence and risk factors between the 2014/15 and 2019/20 Rwanda Demographics and Health Surveys

By applying ultra-sensitive molecular surveillance to dried blood spots from the 2019/20 Rwanda Demographics and Health Survey, researchers found that despite rising artemisinin resistance markers, national *Plasmodium falciparum* prevalence significantly decreased by 53% compared to 2014/15, with infection risk strongly linked to male sex, lower socioeconomic status, and lower elevation.

Zuromski, J., Wernsman Young, N., Gashema, P. + 13 more2026-04-03📄 infectious diseases

IgG antibody responses against antigenic salivary peptides from subgenus Nyssorhynchus and Anopheles vectors in GrandAnse, Haiti

This study evaluated human exposure to *Anopheles* mosquito vectors in Grand Anse, Haiti, by quantifying IgG antibody responses to subgenus-specific salivary peptides, revealing significant age-related differences, associations with *Plasmodium* infection, and the utility of these biomarkers for characterizing vector exposure dynamics in low-transmission settings.

Schwinn, A., Eaton, W., Harris, S. + 10 more2026-04-03📄 infectious diseases

Methods of adjustment for public health and social measures in post-licensure vaccine studies in children in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

This systematic review of 64 post-licensure vaccine studies in sub-Saharan Africa reveals that none accounted for concurrent public health and social measures, highlighting a critical gap in study design that may compromise the interpretability of vaccine effectiveness estimates, particularly for pathogens like pneumococcus where results showed substantial heterogeneity.

Ndeketa, L., Vaselli, N. M., Pitzer, V. E. + 3 more2026-04-02📄 infectious diseases