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Infectious Disease Reports
Special Issues
Viral Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention through Vaccination
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Viral Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention through Vaccination

A special issue of Infectious Disease Reports (ISSN 2036-7449). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Infections".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 1781

Special Issue Editor

Dr. George Rachiotis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, University of Thessaly, 41222 Larissa, Greece
Interests: epidemiology; occupational medicine; social determinants of health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Viral diseases represent some of the complex interactions between the three components of the causal epidemiologic triad: agent, host, and environment. Viral agents have been characterized by a substantial degree of heterogeneity. In particular, certain viral agents (e.g., measles, rubella) seem to have evolved to a stable state with relatively little genetic variation over time at the population level, and diseases due to these biological agents have proved highly controllable through vaccination. On the contrary, several RNA viruses (e.g., influenza and coronaviruses, including SARS CoV-2) are more prone to mutations than many DNA viruses. Past and current experience indicate that certain viral agents of this group have been proved as considerable health hazards and socio-economic disruptors (Great Flu of 1918 and COVID-19 pandemics). Furthermore, for several viral-related diseases, there are effective and safe vaccines available, but there is a need for seroprevalence studies and also for the continuous monitoring of vaccination coverage. Moreover, vaccine hesitancy is an important obstacle to the vaccination against viral diseases.

Therefore, this Special Issue of Infectious Disease Reports entitled “Viral Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention through Vaccination” is being launched, and we look forward to receiving your submissions (case reports, original papers, and systematic reviews/meta-analyses). You are welcome to send short proposals for submissions of feature papers to our Editorial Office for evaluation.

Dr. George Rachiotis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Infectious Disease Reports is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • viral infectious diseases
  • epidemiology
  • molecular epidemiology
  • seroprevalence
  • vaccination coverage
  • vaccine hesitancy

Published Papers (2 papers)

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12 pages, 875 KiB  
Article
Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG Antibodies in Healthcare Personnel in El Salvador Prior to Vaccination Campaigns
by José Elías Aguilar Ramírez, Adrianna Maliga, Allison Stewart, Allison Lino, José Eduardo Oliva, Xochitl Sandoval, Emily Zielinski-Gutierrez, Rafael Chacon-Fuentes, Parminder S. Suchdev, Susana Zelaya, Mario Sánchez, Delmy Lisseth Recinos, Beatriz López, Ella Hawes, Julie Liu, Shannon E. Ronca, Sarah M. Gunter, Kristy O. Murray and Rhina Domínguez
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2024, 16(3), 531-542; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr16030040 - 7 Jun 2024
Viewed by 897
Abstract
COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is a highly pathogenic emerging infectious disease. Healthcare personnel (HCP) are presumably at higher risk of acquiring emerging infections because of occupational exposure. The prevalence of COVID-19 in HCP is unknown, particularly in low- to middle-income countries [...] Read more.
COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is a highly pathogenic emerging infectious disease. Healthcare personnel (HCP) are presumably at higher risk of acquiring emerging infections because of occupational exposure. The prevalence of COVID-19 in HCP is unknown, particularly in low- to middle-income countries like El Salvador. The goal of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among HCP in El Salvador just prior to vaccine rollout in March 2021. We evaluated 2176 participants from a nationally representative sample of national healthcare institutions. We found 40.4% (n = 880) of the study participants were seropositive for anti-spike protein antibodies. Significant factors associated with infection included younger age; living within the central, more populated zone of the country; living in a larger household (≥7 members); household members with COVID-19 or compatible symptoms; and those who worked in auxiliary services (i.e., housekeeping and food services). These findings provide insight into opportunities to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 risk and other emerging respiratory pathogens in HCP in El Salvador. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention through Vaccination)
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8 pages, 583 KiB  
Brief Report
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Hospitalizations in the Elderly in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Southern Italy as a Useful Proxy for Targeting Vaccine Preventive Strategies
by Francesca Centrone, Daniela Loconsole, Alfredo Marziani, Valentina Annachiara Orlando, Arianna delle Fontane, Martina Minelli and Maria Chironna
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2024, 16(3), 491-498; https://doi.org/10.3390/idr16030037 - 31 May 2024
Viewed by 575
Abstract
RSV infection causes severe respiratory illness and mortality in the elderly, especially in the presence of comorbidities. Early identification of infection would result in appropriate clinical-therapeutic management, avoiding hospitalizations, the risk of healthcare-associated infections, and inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions, thus reducing healthcare costs and [...] Read more.
RSV infection causes severe respiratory illness and mortality in the elderly, especially in the presence of comorbidities. Early identification of infection would result in appropriate clinical-therapeutic management, avoiding hospitalizations, the risk of healthcare-associated infections, and inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions, thus reducing healthcare costs and fighting antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to assess RSV hospitalizations in subjects >64 years hospitalized in a large tertiary care hospital in Southern Italy, in order to assess their usefulness as a proxy for targeting a potential vaccination strategy. Fifty-two RSV-positive patients were identified from the 2014–2015 to the 2022–2023 seasons. RSV type B was found in 71.2% of cases. The median age was 78 years (IQR: 72–84) and 40.4% of the subjects had at least one comorbidity; 5.8% needed intensive care. The use of combined rapid tests for SARS-CoV-2/influenza/RSV identification in primary care settings may contribute to an improved definition of the burden of RSV in the elderly. The implementation of an anti-RSV vaccination strategy in the elderly population would reduce direct and indirect infection costs. More robust epidemiological data in Italy are needed for targeted preventive strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Viral Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention through Vaccination)
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