Mother to Infant Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus in the Face of Neonatal Immunization Is Not Necessarily Primary Vaccine Failure.

BACKGROUND: Surveillance programs undertaken in infants born to mothers with hepatitis B virus (HBV) provide an opportunity to analyze virological markers from the neonate and early infancy. These data inform on mechanisms of HBV transmission and how available interventions can be better used for control of HBV infections arising at the mother/child interface. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of HBV serological markers was undertaken in dried blood spots collected from infants born to mothers infected with HBV. In addition, molecular analysis was performed in newborn blood spot cards, collected after birth, from infants identified as infected with HBV despite receiving prophylaxis. RESULTS: Perinatal exposure could not account for all transmissions, with at least one-quarter (22%) of infants already infected in utero. All harbored a wild-type hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), with identical sequences noted in the neonatal and early infancy samples. In contrast, in infants infected perinatally (43%), selection of viruses harboring amino acid changes in the HBsAg were common (80% of sequences) and divergent from the linked maternal sample. CONCLUSION: Currently considered to represent vaccine failure, it is likely that a proportion of HBV infections result from in utero acquisition. These infections are unlikely to be susceptible to postnatal prophylaxis, and current recommendations for maternal antiviral treatment may be too late to prevent transmission. Consideration should be given to the earlier use of antivirals during gestation to reduce the risk of intrauterine transmission together with completion of the immunization schedule also to reduce the perinatal risk of HBV transmission.

COVID-19 outbreaks following full reopening of primary and secondary schools in England: Cross-sectional national surveillance, November 2020.

BACKGROUND: The full reopening of schools in September 2020 was associated with an increase in COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in educational settings across England. METHODS: Primary and secondary schools reporting an outbreak (≥2 laboratory-confirmed cases within 14 days) to Public Health England (PHE) between 31 August and 18 October 2020 were contacted in November 2020 to complete an online questionnaire. INTERPRETATION: There were 969 school outbreaks reported to PHE, comprising 2% (n = 450) of primary schools and 10% (n = 519) of secondary schools in England. Of the 369 geographically-representative schools contacted, 179 completed the questionnaire (100 primary schools, 79 secondary schools) and 2,314 cases were reported. Outbreaks were larger and across more year groups in secondary schools than in primary schools. Teaching staff were more likely to be the index case in primary (48/100, 48%) than secondary (25/79, 32%) school outbreaks (P = 0.027). When an outbreak occurred, attack rates were higher in staff (881/17,362; 5.07; 95%CI, 4.75-5.41) than students, especially primary school teaching staff (378/3852; 9.81%; 95%CI, 8.90-10.82%) compared to secondary school teaching staff (284/7146; 3.97%; 95%CI, 3.79-5.69%). Secondary school students (1105/91,919; 1.20%; 95%CI, 1.13-1.28%) had higher attack rates than primary school students (328/39,027; 0.84%; 95%CI, 0.75-0.94%). CONCLUSIONS: A higher proportion of secondary schools than primary schools reported a COVID-19 outbreak and experienced larger outbreaks across multiple school year groups. The higher attack rate among teaching staff during an outbreak, especially in primary schools, suggests that additional protective measures may be needed. FUNDING: PHE.

Impact of COVID-19 vaccination program on seroprevalence in blood donors in England, 2021.

The COVID-19 vaccination programme commenced in England on 8th December 2020 primarily based on age; by 7th March 2021 approximately 93% of the English population aged 70+ years had received at least 1 dose of either the Pfizer BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccines. Using a nucleoprotein assay that detects antibodies following natural infection only and a spike assay that detects infection and vaccine-induced responses, we aim to describe the impact of vaccination on SARS-CoV-2 antibody prevalence in English blood donors.

COVID-19 in children: analysis of the first pandemic peak in England.

OBJECTIVES: To assess disease trends, testing practices, community surveillance, case-fatality and excess deaths in children as compared with adults during the first pandemic peak in England. SETTING: England. PARTICIPANTS: Children with COVID-19 between January and May 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Trends in confirmed COVID-19 cases, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positivity rates in children compared with adults; community prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in children with acute respiratory infection (ARI) compared with adults, case-fatality rate in children with confirmed COVID-19 and excess childhood deaths compared with the previous 5 years. RESULTS: Children represented 1.1% (1,408/129,704) of SARS-CoV-2 positive cases between 16 January 2020 and 3 May 2020. In total, 540 305 people were tested for SARS-COV-2 and 129,704 (24.0%) were positive. In children aged <16 years, 35,200 tests were performed and 1408 (4.0%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2, compared to 19.1%-34.9% adults. Childhood cases increased from mid-March and peaked on 11 April before declining. Among 2,961 individuals presenting with ARI in primary care, 351 were children and 10 (2.8%) were positive compared with 9.3%-45.5% in adults. Eight children died and four (case-fatality rate, 0.3%; 95% CI 0.07% to 0.7%) were due to COVID-19. We found no evidence of excess mortality in children. CONCLUSIONS: Children accounted for a very small proportion of confirmed cases despite the large numbers of children tested. SARS-CoV-2 positivity was low even in children with ARI. Our findings provide further evidence against the role of children in infection and transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Candida auris outbreak: Mortality, interventions and cost of sustaining control.

OBJECTIVE: Candida auris has recently emerged as a global cause of multidrug resistant fungal outbreaks. An outbreak occurred at a tertiary care center in London in 2016. Transmission characteristics, interventions, patient outcomes and cost of resources are described. METHODS: Outbreak interventions included patient isolation, contact screening, single-use equipment, environmental screening and decontamination, staff education, and enhanced surveillance. Risk factors for infection were recorded. Survival probabilities of patients with C. auris and other Candida bloodstream infections (BSI) were calculated. Antifungal susceptibility and epidemiological typing were performed. Actual and opportunity costs of interventions were determined. RESULTS: 34 patients acquired the organism including 8 with BSI. Clinical infection was significantly associated with prolonged hospital stay, haemodialysis and antifungal therapy. Variable susceptibility to amphotericin and the triazoles was seen and isolates clustered with the South Asian strains. No significant difference was detected in the survival probabilities of C. auris BSI compared to other candidemias. Outbreak control cost in excess of £1 million and £58,000/month during the subsequent year. CONCLUSION: C. auris outbreaks can be controlled by a concerted infection control strategy but can be expensive. Transmission maybe prolonged due to patient movements and unidentified transmission mechanisms.

Reassessing standards of vascular access device care: a follow-up audit.

This article reports on the findings of a repeat audit of vascular access devices (VADs) in a district general hospital undertaken 4 years after a previous audit. The first demonstrated poor standards of care and low compliance with evidence-based guidelines, indicating that a change in practice was necessary. A strategy of training, education and standardisation for intravenous devices was introduced, with the goal of transforming practice to raise standards and improve compliance. The findings of the follow-up audit show that the strategy has been successful in raising standards of care and reducing infections.