School-Based Surveillance of Respiratory Pathogens on "High-Touch" Surfaces.

In order to assess the presence of respiratory pathogens on "high-touch" surfaces and inform sanitation practices at schools, pre-selected surfaces in elementary schools in Seattle, WA, USA were sampled weekly and tested by RT-PCR for 25 viral respiratory pathogens (including SARS-CoV-2 retrospectively) and S. pneumoniae during 2019-2020 winter respiratory illness season. Viral pathogens (rhinovirus, adenovirus, influenza) known to cause respiratory illness were detected on commonly touched surfaces, especially wooden surfaces, and matched the patterns of circulating virus in the community.

Infant Pneumococcal Carriage During Influenza, RSV, and hMPV Respiratory Illness Within a Maternal Influenza Immunization Trial.

In this post-hoc analysis of midnasal pneumococcal carriage in a community-based, randomized prenatal influenza vaccination trial in Nepal with weekly infant respiratory illness surveillance, 457 of 605 (75.5%) infants with influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), or human metapneumovirus (hMPV) illness had pneumococcus detected. Pneumococcal carriage did not impact rates of lower respiratory tract disease for these 3 viruses. Influenza-positive infants born to mothers given influenza vaccine had lower pneumococcal carriage rates compared to influenza-positive infants born to mothers receiving placebo (58.1% versus 71.6%, P = 0.03). Maternal influenza immunization may impact infant acquisition of pneumococcus during influenza infection. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT01034254.

Measles and Rubella Seroprevalence in Mother-Infant Pairs in Rural Nepal and the United States: Pre- and Post-Elimination Populations.

We sought to compare seroprevalence of protective measles and rubella-specific antibody in mother-infant pairs across two populations: a pre-disease elimination Nepal population with recently introduced rubella vaccine and post-disease elimination U.S. population. Qualitative measles and rubella immunoglobulin G was assessed in maternal serum and cord blood from 258 pairs in Nepal, 2012-2013 and 49 pairs in Seattle, WA, 2014-2015. High rates of protective antibody were observed in both populations. Two hundred and forty-four (95%) pregnant women in Nepal had protective measles antibody versus 44 (92%) in Seattle (P = 0.42). Ninety-six percent of infants in Nepal (N = 246) and Seattle (N = 43) had protective measles antibody (P = 0.75). Ninety-four percentage of pregnant women in Nepal (N = 242) and Seattle (N = 45) had protective rubella antibody (P = 0.23). Two hundred and thirty-eight (93%) infants in Nepal had protective rubella antibody versus 44 (98%) in Seattle (P = 0.12). Continued surveillance will be necessary to ensure protective immunity, inform progress toward disease elimination in Nepal and avoid reemergence in the United States.