BACKGROUND Failure to convert (persistent sputum and/or culture positivity) while on antituberculosis (anti-TB) treatment at the end of the second month of anti-TB therapy has been reported to be a predictor of treatment failure. Factors that could be associated with persistent bacillary positivity at the end of the second month after initiation of anti-TB treatment were assessed. METHODS A p...

Marek's disease (MD), caused by Marek's disease virus (MDV), is a highly contagious neoplastic disease of chicken that can be prevented by vaccination. However, in recent years many cases of vaccine failure have been reported worldwide as chickens develop symptoms of MD in spite of proper vaccination. Distinct polymorphism and point mutations in Meq gene of MDV have been reported to be associat...

Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID -19) is still a menacing pandemic, especially in vulnerable patients with co- morbidities as old age, Diabetes Mellitus, immunosuppression and kidney failure on dialysis. Vaccination against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) seems to offer protection these by boosting both humoral cellular immunity

CONTEXT Childhood vaccination has reduced rubella disease to low levels in the United States, but outbreaks continue to occur. The largest outbreak in the past 5 years occurred in Nebraska in 1999. OBJECTIVES To examine risk factors for disease, susceptibility of the risk population, role of vaccine failure, and the need for new vaccination strategies in response to the Nebraska rubella outbr...

BACKGROUND Measles virus, member of the genus Morbillivirus in the family Paramyxoviridae, is a highly contagious human pathogen. An effective live-attenuated vaccine is available and its use has the potential to eradicate the disease from the human population. Although the vaccine was introduced in national vaccination schedules, several measles outbreaks have occurred because of insufficient ...

BACKGROUND Despite recommendations for annual vaccination against influenza, more than half of elderly Americans do not receive this vaccine. In a serial cohort study, we assessed the efficacy and cost effectiveness of influenza vaccine administered to older persons living in the community. METHODS Using administrative data bases, we studied men and women over 64 years of age who were enrolle...

AIM To evaluate pretreatment hepatitis B virus (HBV) testing, vaccination, and antiviral treatment rates in Veterans Affairs patients receiving anti-CD20 Ab for quality improvement. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study using a national repository of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic health record data. We identified all patients receiving anti-CD20 Ab treatment (200...

A sthma appears to be a diathesis for morbidity related to influenza infection. Children and adults with asthma are at higher risk for influenza-related adverse health outcomes, including pneumonia, hospitalization for acute respiratory disease, and death.1–3 Because 5 to 10% of the US population has asthma, the potential public health impact of influenza infection on this vulnerable subgroup i...

AIMS Octogenarians have the highest incidence of heart failure (HF) that is not fully explained by traditional risk factors. We explored whether lack of pneumococcal vaccination is associated with higher risk of incident HF among octogenarians. METHODS AND RESULTS In the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), 5290 community-dwelling adults, ≥65 years of age, were free of baseline HF and had data ...

CONTEXT Although large-scale observational studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of influenza vaccination, no large studies have systematically addressed the clinical benefit of annual revaccinations. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of annual influenza revaccination on mortality in community-dwelling elderly persons. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A population-based cohort stud...