Effectiveness of Seasonal Influenza Vaccine against Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus, Australia, 2010

To estimate effectiveness of seasonal trivalent and monovalent influenza vaccines against pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus, we conducted a test-negative case–control study in Victoria, Australia, in 2010. Patients seen for influenza-like illness by general practitioners in a sentinel surveillance network during 2010 were tested for influenza; vaccination status was recorded. Case-patients had positive PCRs for pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus, and controls had negative influenza test results. Of 319 eligible patients, test results for 139 (44%) were pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus positive. Adjusted effectiveness of seasonal vaccine against pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus was 79% (95% confidence interval 33%–93%); effectiveness of monovalent vaccine was 47% and not statistically significant. Vaccine effectiveness was higher among adults. Despite some limitations, this study indicates that the first seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine to include the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus strain provided significant protection against laboratory-confirmed pandemic (H1N1) 2009 infection

Decreased varicella and increased herpes zoster incidence at a sentinel medical deputising service in a setting of increasing varicella vaccine coverage in Victoria, Australia, 1998 to 2012

We performed an ecological study using sentinel consultation data from a medical deputising service to assess the impact of increasing coverage with childhood varicella vaccine on the incidence risk of varicella and zoster in the population served by th

The significance of increased influenza notifications during spring and summer of 2010-11 in Australia

Background & objective During the temperate out-of-season months in Australia in late 2010 and early 2011, an unprecedented high number of influenza notifications were recorded. We aimed to assess the significance of these notifications. Methods For Aust

Higher proportion of older influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 cases in Victoria, 2011

The influenza surveillance system in Victoria is comprised of several components, including a general practitioner sentinel surveillance system, surveillance for influenza-like illness (ILI) in consultations made by the Melbourne Medical Deputising Service, laboratory confirmed influenza notified to the Victorian Department of Health and strain typing performed by the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza. As measured by ILI from both the MMDS and GPSS, the 2011 influenza season in Victoria was mild compared to previous seasons and was not dominated by any type or subtype of influenza. There were 13 laboratory confirmed influenza outbreaks in 2011, nearly all of which were in aged care facilities. GPs continue to swab more patients, a trend started in 2009, with a significantly lower percent of these testing positive for influenza than previous years. The proportion of ILI and swabbed patients who were vaccinated was also significantly lower in 2011 than previously. Strain analysis undertaken by the WHO Collaborating Centre indicated a good antigenic match between the 2011 vaccine and circulating strains. The Victorian influenza surveillance system continues to provide a reliable, consistent system for monitoring the epidemiology of ILI and laboratory confirmed influenza in Victoria.VIDRL receives support for its influenza surveillance program from the Victorian Government Department of Health. The Melbourne WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza is supported by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing

Drilling operations for the South Pole Ice Core (SPICEcore) project

Over the course of the 2014/15 and 2015/16 austral summer seasons, the South Pole Ice Core project recovered a 1751 m deep ice core at the South Pole. This core provided a high-resolution record of paleoclimate conditions in East Antarctica during the Holocene and late Pleistocene. The drilling and core processing were completed using the new US Intermediate Depth Drill system, which was designed and built by the US Ice Drilling Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In this paper, we present and discuss the setup, operation, and performance of the drill system

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza community transmission was established in one Australian state when the virus was first identified in North America

BACKGROUND In mid-June 2009 the State of Victoria in Australia appeared to have the highest notification rate of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza in the world. We hypothesise that this was because community transmission of pandemic influenza was already well established in Victoria at the time testing for the novel virus commenced. In contrast, this was not true for the pandemic in other parts of Australia, including Western Australia (WA). METHODS We used data from detailed case follow-up of patients with confirmed infection in Victoria and WA to demonstrate the difference in the pandemic curve in two Australian states on opposite sides of the continent. We modelled the pandemic in both states, using a susceptible-infected-removed model with Bayesian inference accounting for imported cases. RESULTS Epidemic transmission occurred earlier in Victoria and later in WA. Only 5% of the first 100 Victorian cases were not locally acquired and three of these were brothers in one family. By contrast, 53% of the first 102 cases in WA were associated with importation from Victoria. Using plausible model input data, estimation of the effective reproductive number for the Victorian epidemic required us to invoke an earlier date for commencement of transmission to explain the observed data. This was not required in modelling the epidemic in WA. CONCLUSION Strong circumstantial evidence, supported by modelling, suggests community transmission of pandemic influenza was well established in Victoria, but not in WA, at the time testing for the novel virus commenced in Australia. The virus is likely to have entered Victoria and already become established around the time it was first identified in the US and Mexico

Enhancing Emotional Safety in a Graduate School Setting

In the United States, racial disparities in education can be seen in rates of graduation from high school through doctoral programs, with People of Color reporting rates that are significantly lower than their White peers. Academic success has been significantly predicted in prior research by the support of teaching staff. Our Safety in the Classroom (SITC) program was developed to close the support gap for several different, often-marginalized groups within graduate school classes at a university in southern California. Students within racial, religious, and sexual orientation groups reported stronger perceptions of prejudice when compared to their peers. The SITC program provided all students an additional tool for resolving questions and concerns about any aspect of a particular course, including behaviors or statements of the instructor, and resulted in greater effect sizes on enhanced feelings of safety in the classroom for students of color. These results were achieved without undermining the students’ belief in their own ability to negotiate over or confront problems in the classroom. Expanded use and evaluation of the SITC program could contribute to the growing literature on academic success and achievement among underrepresented groups, providing one possible tool for helping to close the support gap

Distinct tumor necrosis factor alpha receptors dictate stem cell fitness versus lineage output in Dnmt3a-mutant clonal hematopoiesis

UNLABELLED: Clonal hematopoiesis resulting from the enhanced fitness of mutant hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) associates with both favorable and unfavorable health outcomes related to the types of mature mutant blood cells produced, but how this lineage output is regulated is unclear. Using a mouse model of a clonal hematopoiesis-associated mutation, DNMT3AR882/+ (Dnmt3aR878H/+), we found that aging-induced TNFα signaling promoted the selective advantage of mutant HSCs and stimulated the production of mutant B lymphoid cells. The genetic loss of the TNFα receptor TNFR1 ablated the selective advantage of mutant HSCs without altering their lineage output, whereas the loss of TNFR2 resulted in the overproduction of mutant myeloid cells without altering HSC fitness. These results nominate TNFR1 as a target to reduce clonal hematopoiesis and the risk of associated diseases and support a model in which clone size and mature blood lineage production can be independently controlled to modulate favorable and unfavorable clonal hematopoiesis outcomes. SIGNIFICANCE: Through the identification and dissection of TNFα signaling as a key driver of murine Dnmt3a-mutant hematopoiesis, we report the discovery that clone size and production of specific mature blood cell types can be independently regulated. See related commentary by Niño and Pietras, p. 2724. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 2711

Mechanism for microbial population collapse in a fluctuating resource environment.

Managing trade-offs through gene regulation is believed to confer resilience to a microbial community in a fluctuating resource environment. To investigate this hypothesis, we imposed a fluctuating environment that required the sulfate-reduce

Detecting the start of an influenza outbreak using exponentially weighted moving average charts

Background. Influenza viruses cause seasonal outbreaks in temperate climates, usually during winter and early spring, and are endemic in tropical climates. The severity and length of influenza outbreaks vary from year to year. Quick and reliable detection of the start of an outbreak is needed to promote public health measures. Methods. We propose the use of an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart of laboratory confirmed influenza counts to detect the start and end of influenza outbreaks. Results. The chart is shown to provide timely signals in an example application with seven years of data from Victoria, Australia. Conclusions. The EWMA control chart could be applied in other applications to quickly detect influenza outbreaks