Parental thoughts after the Codroipo case: the other side of the story.

BACKGROUND: To address vaccine hesitancy and to build public trust, many factors need to be considered in the process of planning consistent public health interventions. After uncertain vaccinations of the Codroipo case, hesitant parents were surveyed about own beliefs and trusted sources of information. METHODS: A semi-structured phone survey was conducted between December 2017 and February 2018, collecting also age and educational level of respondents. RESULTS: The most trusted sources of information of the 258 surveyed parents were pediatricians (27.2%), general practitioners (25.4%) and institutional channels (12.1%). Highly educated parents trusted self-study of the scientific literature and expressed doubts about vaccine effectiveness more than others (p=0.0018). CONCLUSION: Despite the underlying improper vaccination issue undermined public trust, healthcare professionals and institutional channels maintained their role as trusted sources of information. Educational patterns emerged among doubtful parents should be considered by public health policies to effectively tackle vaccine hesitancy.

Ticks and Lyme borreliosis in an alpine area in northeast Italy.

A 2-year study was conducted in a mountainous area of northeast Italy to evaluate the occurrence and distribution of ticks, as well as to assess the prevalence of the spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. All ticks collected were Ixodes ricinus L. (Parasitiformes: Ixodidae). In general, most nymphs and adult ticks were collected from April to July. Tick density was highly variable among sites; however, two areas with different infestation levels were recognized. Prevalences of B. burgdorferi s.l. in nymphal stages were rather variable between sites; overall the prevalence of infected nymphs in the whole area was slightly higher than 20%. The prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in nymphs does not seem to be correlated with nymph density. The correlation between the incidence of Lyme borreliosis (reported human cases/1000 inhabitants/year) and Borrelia prevalence in nymphs was not significant, although a significant correlation was found between borreliosis incidence and nymph density.

Prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis virus in Ixodes ricinus from a novel endemic area of North Eastern Italy.

In Alpine area of extreme North Eastern Italy the first autochthonous case of TBE was reported in 1998 and was followed by 45 cases during the period 2001-2007, thus defining this area as definitely endemic. An ecological survey evaluated the tick density and the Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infection prevalence in tick collected in selected sites. In addition, TBE strains were characterized by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Overall, 2,361 ticks (2,198 nymphs and 163 adults) of the Ixodes ricinus L. species collected during 2005 and 2006 were examined. Five samples were positive for TBEV, corresponding to an overall prevalence rate of 0.21%. When analyzed by place, TBEV was discovered in three sites where the highest tick density was found. The difference of prevalence between high and low density areas tested to be statistically significant (P = 0.028). Phylogenetic analysis showed that four sequences clustered with the Neudoerfl prototype, while the other clustered with the Isosaari 17 strain and with a number of Slovenian isolates. In addition, a sequence detected in archival samples from one human case segregated with another variant, namely the Swedish Torö strain.

Emergence of fox rabies in north-eastern Italy.

Italy has been classified as rabies-free since 1997. In October 2008, two foxes have been diagnosed with rabies in the Province of Udine, north-east Italy. One case of human exposure caused by a bite from one of the foxes has occurred and was properly treated.

Evidence of increased clinical protection of an MF59-adjuvant influenza vaccine compared to a non-adjuvant vaccine among elderly residents of long-term care facilities in Italy.

We evaluated whether the increased immunogenicity provided by an MF59-adjuvant influenza vaccine translates into increased protection among the elderly. Residents of 25 long-term care facilities received either the adjuvant or a non-adjuvant vaccine. The odds ratios (OR) of influenza-like illness were calculated for non-adjuvant vs. adjuvant vaccine recipients, also stratifying for chronic cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal diseases. The risk was higher for the non-adjuvant vaccine recipients and highest for those with respiratory disease (OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.09-4.82) and cardiovascular disease (OR 1.88; 95% CI 1.31-2.72). In this study the MF59-adjuvant vaccine provided superior clinical protection among the elderly, especially those with chronic diseases.