To test the hypothesis that an episode of upper respiratory tract infection or heterologous immunisation is a predisposing factor for the occurrence of meningococcal disease, data from 377 cases of meningococcal disease and their household contacts (n = 1124) were analysed by conditional logistic regression analysis with stratification for household. The odds ratio for a recent upper respirator...

Abstract Aim: We aimed to understand practice nurses’ perceptions about how they engage with parents during consultations concerning the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Background: The incidence of measles is increasing globally. Immunisation recognised as most significant intervention influence global health in modern times, although many factors are known adversely affect immunisati...

The four main approaches to immunisation against hepatitis B are: vaccination of high risk babies; universal adolescent immunisation; universal infant immunisation; and vaccination of everybody. Universal antenatal screening would permit identification of carrier mothers and immunisation oftheir babies. Vaccination of adolescents would provide protection close to the time when risk of exposure ...

This paper presents seven ethical principles associated with the implementation of immunisation programs. For a public health immunisation program to be ethically justifiable, its principles and operation should be based on sound ethical values: the program should benefit the individual and the community; targeted diseases should be sufficiently severe and frequent to justify the risks and expe...

Although the rate of hepatitis B immunisation of patients with chronic renal failure in the United Kingdom has improved in recent years, most renal units still fail to follow current guidance. Partial coverage is the norm, and outmoded regimens are still used. The shared care management of immunisation may be one solution, although this requires good collaboration between primary and specialist...

BACKGROUND Delayed immunisation and vaccine preventable communicable disease remains a significant health issue in Aboriginal children. Strategies to increase immunisation coverage and timeliness can be resource intensive. In a low cost initiative at the Aboriginal Medical Service Western Sydney (AMSWS) in 2008-2009, a trial of personalised calendars to prompt timely childhood immunisation was ...

BACKGROUND As mobile phone access continues to expand globally, opportunities exist to leverage these technologies to support demand for immunisation services and improve vaccine coverage. We aimed to assess whether short message service (SMS) reminders and monetary incentives can improve immunisation uptake in Kenya. METHODS In this cluster-randomised controlled trial, villages were randomly...

Immunisation is offered to all age groups in the UK, but is mainly given to infants and school-age children. Such immunisation is not compulsory, in contrast to other countries, such as the United States. Levels of immunisation are generally very high in the UK, but the rates of immunisation vary with the public perception of the risk of side effects. This article discusses whether compulsory v...

AIM To assess the potential for administering catch up and scheduled immunisations during hospital admission. METHODS Immunisation status according to the child's principal carer was checked against official records for 1000 consecutively admitted preschool age children. Junior doctors were instructed to offer appropriate vaccination before discharge, and consultants were asked to reinforce t...

Complex networks such as the sexual partnership web or the Internet often show a high degree of redundancy and heterogeneity in their connectivity properties. This peculiar connectivity, however, provides an ideal environment for the spreading of biological or digital infective agents. Here we show that the random uniform immunisation of individuals does not lead to the eradication of infection...