Journal of travel medicine
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Travellers frequently visit popular destinations like Brazil, India, Peru, Thailand, and Tanzania, each presenting varying malaria risks. The extent to which travellers enter high-risk malaria-endemic areas in destinations with heterogeneous malaria risk remains unclear. We used geo-location via smartphone application to (i) describe where travellers go within countries with heterogeneous malaria risk (Brazil, India, Peru, Thailand), and (ii) compare mosquito bite prevention behaviours between these destinations and Tanzania, considered entirely high-risk for malaria. ⋯ Travellers to Brazil, India, Peru, and Thailand rarely visited high-risk malaria areas, and their adherence to mosquito bite prevention measures was generally low. In Tanzania, adherence was higher but still suboptimal.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Norovirus acute gastroenteritis among US and European travellers to areas of moderate to high risk of travellers' diarrhoea: a prospective cohort study.
Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) is a major medical condition for travellers worldwide, particularly travellers to low- and middle-income countries. Norovirus (NoV) is the most common cause of viral AGE in older children and adults, but data on prevalence and impact amongst travellers is limited. ⋯ AGE is a prevalent disease amongst travellers with a small proportion associated with NoV. Post-travel stool sample collection timing might have influenced the low number of NoV cases detected; however, NoV infections resulted in high clinical severity and impact on travel plans. These results may contribute to targeted vaccine development and the design of future studies on NoV epidemiology.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded phase 1 study investigating a novel inactivated, Vero cell-culture derived Zika virus vaccine.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging public health threat, rendering development of a safe and effective vaccine against the virus a high priority to face this unmet medical need. Our vaccine candidate has been developed on the same platform used for the licensed vaccine IXIARO®, a vaccine against Japanese Encephalitis virus, another closely related member of the Flaviviridae family. ⋯ The rapid development and production of a ZIKV vaccine candidate building on a commercial Vero-cell manufacturing platform resulted in a safe and immunogenic vaccine suitable for further clinical development. To optimize antibody persistence, higher doses and a booster administration might be considered.
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Review
From bench to clinic: the development of VLA1553/IXCHIQ, a live-attenuated chikungunya vaccine.
Over the past 20 years, over 5 million cases of chikungunya, a mosquito-transmitted viral disease, have been reported in over 110 countries. Until recently, preventative strategies for chikungunya were largely ineffective, relying on vector control and individual avoidance of mosquito bites. ⋯ VLA1553 is the first vaccine approved for the prevention of chikungunya disease in adults, following accelerated development based on a serological surrogate marker of protection. VLA1553 adds to strategies to reduce the spread and burden of chikungunya in endemic populations and travellers.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Five accelerated schedules for the tick-borne encephalitis vaccine FSME-Immun® in last-minute travellers: an open-label, single-Centre, randomized controlled pilot trial.
The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate different accelerated tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) vaccine schedules for last-minute travellers. ⋯ The accelerated two-visit ID schedules might offer a better immunological alternative to the recommended classical accelerated IM schedule, but an aluminium-free vaccine would be preferable.