INTRODUCTION The HIV sentinel surveillance [HSS] conducted in 2010-11 among female sex workers [FSW] in the state of Maharashtra, India provided an opportunity to assess characteristics of different types of FSWs and their HIV risk. It is important for India's National AIDS Control Program, to understand the differences in vulnerability among these FSW, in order to define more specific and effe...

We conducted a case-control study to estimate the 2010/2011 trivalent influenza vaccine effectiveness (TIVE) using the Irish general practitioners' influenza sentinel surveillance scheme. Cases were influenza-like illness (ILI) patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza. Controls were ILI patients who tested negative for influenza. Participating sentinel general practitioners (GP) collected s...

The emergence of a novel strain of influenza virus A (H1N1) in April 2009 focused attention on influenza surveillance capabilities worldwide. In consultations before the 2009 outbreak of influenza subtype H1N1, the World Health Organization had concluded that the world was unprepared to respond to an influenza pandemic, due in part to inadequate global surveillance and response capacity. We des...

The U.S. Government has pledged to spend $15 billion in Africa and the Caribbean on AIDS. A central focus of this plan is to provide antiretroviral treatment (ART) to millions. Here, we evaluate whether the plan to rollout ART in Africa is likely to generate an epidemic of drug-resistant strains of HIV. We review what has occurred as a result of high usage of ART in developed countries in terms...

The explosive character of the HIV epidemic in eastern Europe demands the introduction of a more sensitive and more flexible system of surveillance. This should be capable of monitoring the ways in which the virus is transmitted and the factors that facilitate it, and offer the possibility of predicting new ways of transmission, new vulnerable population groups, and new areas of HIV spread. WHO...

Introduction Influenza is viral illness that affects mainly the nose, throat, bronchi and occasionally, the lungs. Influenza viruses have been an under-appreciated contributor to morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. They are a substantial contributor to respiratory disease burden in Nigeria and other developing countries. Nigeria started influenza sentinel surveillance in 2008 to inform disease ...

BACKGROUND An external evaluation was conducted to assess the performance of the national HIV sentinel surveillance system (HSS), identify operational challenges at national and local levels and provide recommendations for improvement. METHODS The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Updated Guidelines for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance Systems were followed...

Men who have sex with men (MSM) in India are mostly hidden due to stigma and discrimination and are at a higher risk of acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS) reported an increased HIV burden in Chhattisgarh, an important state in central India. This state has the distinction of having the highest HIV prevalence among MSM in India; therefore, it warrants s...

BACKGROUND Influenza has an important public health impact worldwide with its considerable annual morbidity among persons with or without risk factors and its serious complications among persons in high-risk groups. The seasonal influenza vaccine is essential for preventing the burden of influenza in a population. Since the vaccine is reformulated each season according to the virus serotypes in...

OBJECTIVE To observe recent trends in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence in antenatal clinic attendees to determine if previously noted falls in HIV prevalence are occurring on both sides of the Kenyan-Ugandan border. Design An ecologic study was conducted at the district level comparing HIV prevalence rates over time using data available through reports published by the Kenyan and U...