Challenges and opportunities during the COVID-19 vaccination efforts in long-term care.

From December 2020 through March 2023, the COVID-19 vaccination efforts in long-term care (LTC) settings, identified many gaps and opportunities to improve public health capacity to support vaccine distribution, education, and documentation of COVID-19 vaccines administered to LTC residents and staff. Partner engagement at the local, state, and federal levels helped establish pathways for dissemination of information, improve access and delivery of vaccines, and expand reporting of vaccine administration data to monitor the impact of COVID-19 vaccination in LTC settings. Sustaining the improvements to the vaccine infrastructure in LTC settings that were created or enhanced during the COVID-19 vaccination efforts is critical for the protection of residents and staff against COVID-19 and other vaccine preventable respiratory outbreaks in the future.

Vital Signs: Health Disparities in Hemodialysis-Associated Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections - United States, 2017-2020.

INTRODUCTION: Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). ESKD patients on dialysis are at increased risk for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, but racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities associated with this outcome are not well described. METHODS: Surveillance data from the 2020 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the 2017-2020 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) were used to describe bloodstream infections among patients on hemodialysis (hemodialysis patients) and were linked to population-based data sources (CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [ATSDR] Social Vulnerability Index [SVI], United States Renal Data System [USRDS], and U.S. Census Bureau) to examine associations with race, ethnicity, and social determinants of health. RESULTS: In 2020, 4,840 dialysis facilities reported 14,822 bloodstream infections to NHSN; 34.2% were attributable to S. aureus . Among seven EIP sites, the S. aureus bloodstream infection rate during 2017-2020 was 100 times higher among hemodialysis patients (4,248 of 100,000 person-years) than among adults not on hemodialysis (42 of 100,000 person-years). Unadjusted S. aureus bloodstream infection rates were highest among non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black) and Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) hemodialysis patients. Vascular access via central venous catheter was strongly associated with S. aureus bloodstream infections (NHSN: adjusted rate ratio [aRR] = 6.2; 95% CI = 5.7-6.7 versus fistula; EIP: aRR = 4.3; 95% CI = 3.9-4.8 versus fistula or graft). Adjusting for EIP site of residence, sex, and vascular access type, S. aureus bloodstream infection risk in EIP was highest in Hispanic patients (aRR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.2-1.7 versus non-Hispanic White [White] patients), and patients aged 18-49 years (aRR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.5-1.9 versus patients aged ≥65 years). Areas with higher poverty levels, crowding, and lower education levels accounted for disproportionately higher proportions of hemodialysis-associated S. aureus bloodstream infections. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE: Disparities exist in hemodialysis-associated S. aureus infections. Health care providers and public health professionals should prioritize prevention and optimized treatment of ESKD, identify and address barriers to lower-risk vascular access placement, and implement established best practices to prevent bloodstream infections.

Vital Signs: Health Disparities in Hemodialysis-Associated Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Infections - United States, 2017-2020.

Introduction: Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). ESKD patients on dialysis are at increased risk for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, but racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities associated with this outcome are not well described. Methods: Surveillance data from the 2020 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the 2017-2020 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) were used to describe bloodstream infections among patients on hemodialysis (hemodialysis patients) and were linked to population-based data sources (CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [ATSDR] Social Vulnerability Index [SVI], United States Renal Data System [USRDS], and U.S. Census Bureau) to examine associations with race, ethnicity, and social determinants of health. Results: In 2020, 4,840 dialysis facilities reported 14,822 bloodstream infections to NHSN; 34.2% were attributable to S. aureus. Among seven EIP sites, the S. aureus bloodstream infection rate during 2017-2020 was 100 times higher among hemodialysis patients (4,248 of 100,000 person-years) than among adults not on hemodialysis (42 of 100,000 person-years). Unadjusted S. aureus bloodstream infection rates were highest among non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black) and Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) hemodialysis patients. Vascular access via central venous catheter was strongly associated with S. aureus bloodstream infections (NHSN: adjusted rate ratio [aRR] = 6.2; 95% CI = 5.7-6.7 versus fistula; EIP: aRR = 4.3; 95% CI = 3.9-4.8 versus fistula or graft). Adjusting for EIP site of residence, sex, and vascular access type, S. aureus bloodstream infection risk in EIP was highest in Hispanic patients (aRR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.2-1.7 versus non-Hispanic White [White] patients), and patients aged 18-49 years (aRR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.5-1.9 versus patients aged ≥65 years). Areas with higher poverty levels, crowding, and lower education levels accounted for disproportionately higher proportions of hemodialysis-associated S. aureus bloodstream infections. Conclusions and implications for public health practice: Disparities exist in hemodialysis-associated S. aureus infections. Health care providers and public health professionals should prioritize prevention and optimized treatment of ESKD, identify and address barriers to lower-risk vascular access placement, and implement established best practices to prevent bloodstream infections.

Recommendations for the role of social science research in One Health.

The social environment has changed rapidly as technology has facilitated communication among individuals and groups in ways not imagined 20 years ago. Communication technology increasingly plays a role in decision-making about health and environmental behaviors and is being leveraged to influence that process. But at its root is the fundamental need to understand human cognition, communication, and behavior. The concept of 'One Health' has emerged as a framework for interdisciplinary work that cuts across human, animal, and ecosystem health in recognition of their interdependence and the value of an integrated perspective. Yet, the science of communication, information studies, social psychology, and other social sciences have remained marginalized in this emergence. Based on an interdisciplinary collaboration, this paper reports on a nascent conceptual framework for the role of social science in 'One Health' issues and identifies a series of recommendations for research directions that bear additional scrutiny and development.

Ferritin is used for iron storage in bloom-forming marine pennate diatoms.

Primary productivity in 30-40% of the world's oceans is limited by availability of the micronutrient iron. Regions with chronically low iron concentrations are sporadically pulsed with new iron inputs by way of dust or lateral advection from continental margins. Addition of iron to surface waters in these areas induces massive phytoplankton blooms dominated primarily by pennate diatoms. Here we provide evidence that the bloom-forming pennate diatoms Pseudo-nitzschia and Fragilariopsis use the iron-concentrating protein, ferritin, to safely store iron. Ferritin has not been reported previously in any member of the Stramenopiles, a diverse eukaryotic lineage that includes unicellular algae, macroalgae and plant parasites. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that ferritin may have arisen in this small subset of diatoms through a lateral gene transfer. The crystal structure and functional assays of recombinant ferritin derived from Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries reveal a maxi-ferritin that exhibits ferroxidase activity and binds iron. The protein is predicted to be targeted to the chloroplast to control the distribution and storage of iron for proper functioning of the photosynthetic machinery. Abundance of Pseudo-nitzschia ferritin transcripts is regulated by iron nutritional status, and is closely tied to the loss and recovery of photosynthetic competence. Enhanced iron storage with ferritin allows the oceanic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia granii to undergo several more cell divisions in the absence of iron than the comparably sized, oceanic centric diatom Thalassiosira oceanica. Ferritin in pennate diatoms probably contributes to their success in chronically low-iron regions that receive intermittent iron inputs, and provides an explanation for the importance of these organisms in regulating oceanic CO(2) over geological timescales.