Digital Commons Network^™

Law And Politics, An Emerging Epidemic: A Call For Evidence-Based Public Health Law, Michael Ulrich

Faculty Scholarship

As Jacobson v. Massachusetts recognized in 1905, the basis of public health law, and its ability to limit constitutional rights, is the use of scientific data and empirical evidence. Far too often, this important fact is lost. Fear, misinformation, and politics frequently take center stage and drive the implementation of public health law. In the recent Ebola scare, political leaders passed unnecessary and unconstitutional quarantine measures that defied scientific understanding of the disease and caused many to have their rights needlessly constrained. Looking at HIV criminalization and exemptions to childhood vaccine requirements, it becomes clear that the blame cannot be …

Cost Effectiveness Analysis Of Year 2 Of An Elementary School-Located Influenza Vaccination Program-Results From A Randomized Controlled Trial., Byung-Kwang Yoo, Sharon Humiston, Peter G. Szilagyi, Stanley J. Schaffer, Christine Long, Maureen Kolasa

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: School-located vaccination against influenza (SLV-I) has the potential to improve current suboptimal influenza immunization coverage for U.S. school-aged children. However, little is known about SLV-I's cost-effectiveness. The objective of this study is to establish the cost-effectiveness of SLV-I based on a two-year community-based randomized controlled trial (Year 1: 2009-2010 vaccination season, an unusual H1N1 pandemic influenza season, and Year 2: 2010-2011, a more typical influenza season).

METHODS: We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis on a two-year randomized controlled trial of a Western New York SLV-I program. SLV-I clinics were offered in 21 intervention elementary schools (Year 1 n = 9,027; …

Risk-Taking Behavior And Its Impact On Treatment, Vaccination And Diagnosing, Daniel Maxin

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

We present results from two recent mathematical biology studies that address the effect of risk-taking behavior on epidemic models. We show that when risk-taking prevails over riskavoidance, it is possible to show a detrimental and counterintuitive effect from increasing vaccination and treatment rates over certain critical time intervals. In addition, when risk-taking has a cumulative effect within the population, a lower transmission rate from diagnosed infected individuals may prevent the intended effect of vaccination.

A Multicenter, Open-Label, Controlled Phase Ii Study To Evaluate Safety And Immunogenicity Of Mva Smallpox Vaccine (Imvamune) In 18-40 Year Old Subjects With Diagnosed Atopic Dermatitis, Richard N. Greenberg, Maria Yadira Hurley, Dinh V. Dinh, Serena Mraz, Javier Gomez Vera, Dorothea Von Bredow, Alfred Von Krempelhuber, Siegfried Roesch, Garth Virgin, Nathaly Arndtz-Wiedemann, Thomas Peter Meyer, Darja Schmidt, Richard Nichols, Philip Young, Paul Chaplin

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Replicating smallpox vaccines can cause severe complications in individuals with atopic dermatitis (AD). Prior studies evaluating Modified Vaccinia Ankara virus (MVA), a non-replicating vaccine in humans, showed a favorable safety and immunogenicity profile in healthy volunteers.

OBJECTIVE: This Phase II study compared the safety and immunogenicity of MVA enrolling groups of 350 subjects with AD (SCORAD ≤ 30) and 282 healthy subjects.

METHODS: Subjects were vaccinated twice with MVA, each dose given subcutaneously 4 weeks apart. Adverse events, cardiac parameters, and the development of vaccinia virus humoral immune responses were monitored.

RESULTS: The overall safety …

An Evolutionary Vaccination Game In The Modified Activity Driven Network By Considering The Closeness, Dun Han, Mei Sun

Publications and Research

In this paper, we explore an evolutionary vaccination game in the modified activity driven network by considering the closeness. We set a closeness parameter p which is used to describe the way of connection between two individuals. The simulation results show that the closeness p may have an active role in weakening both the spreading of epidemic and the vaccination. Besides, when vaccination is not allowed, the final recovered density increases with the value of the ratio of the infection rate to the recovery rate λ/μ. However, when vaccination is allowed the final density of recovered individual first increases and …

The Controversy Of Vaccinations, Nicholas G. Aboreden

The Kabod

Recently vaccination has become a controversial topic. There is a growing number of people who believe that vaccines carry great health risks to patients and therefore refuse to be vaccinated or to vaccinate their children. This ill-informed view of immunizations is beginning to cause serious problems in the United States as growing numbers of disease cases are being seen. A closer look into the science of vaccines and the benefits they have brought, clearly show that not only do vaccines carry very little risk to patients, but they are responsible for the eradication and reduction of multiple debilitating diseases.

Vaccination Policies Of Utah Family Practice Clinics, Levi R. Kohler

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to collect information regarding healthcare worker (HCW) vaccination policies in Utah family practice clinics. Data sources: The study was conducted in Utah family practice clinics in the most densely populated counties in the state and was a cross-sectional descriptive design. Data were collected from 155 family practice clinic managers. Analyses included frequencies and percentages for quantitative items and a content analysis for open-ended items. Conclusions: HCWs are employed in environments where infectious diseases can be easily spread from person to person, thus, vaccinations can be instrumental in protecting the health of HCWs and patients …

Evaluation Of Vaccination Policies Among Outpatient Oncology Clinics In Utah: A Pilot Study, Sarah Louise Stocksdale

Theses and Dissertations

Background: In Utah, all major hospital facilities have employee vaccination policies. However, the presence of health care worker vaccination policies in the Utah outpatient oncology setting was unknown. Objectives: The objectives were to identify Utah oncology outpatient employee vaccination policies and to identify what consequences, if any, were present for unvaccinated employees. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study design in which clinic managers from outpatient oncology clinics in Utah were asked, via questionnaire, to describe the clinic's employee vaccination policy and the consequences for refusing the policy. Findings: Most vaccination policies applied to employees primarily assigned to work in …

Public Health At Risk: The Conscious Choice To Refuse Vaccinations Threatens Public Health

DePaul Magazine

Public health officials declared that measles had been eliminated from the United States after only 15 measles cases were reported between 1998 and 2001 and 90 percent of schoolchildren had been inoculated against the disease. Yet, in 2014, there were more than 660 documented measles cases in the country, the most in 20 years. This uptick started in the late 1990s, when a growing number of parents began refusing to inoculate their children with some or all of the recommended vaccines. Various factors fed their decision: an increase in the number of vaccines given in the first year of life, …

Evaluation Of Vaccination Policies Among Utah Pediatric Clinic Employees, Karlen Beth Luthy, Tia Peterson, Janelle L B Macintosh, Lacey M. Eden, Renea L. Beckstrand, Nathan H. Wiley

Faculty Publications

Introduction: Pediatric health care settings are high risk environments for spreading communicable and vaccine-preventable diseases from health care workers to susceptible patients. Method: All managers of pediatric clinics operating in the state of Utah were included. Participants were invited to complete a two-page questionnaire regarding their clinic vaccination policies. Results: Half (n = 23, 50%) of Utah pediatric outpatient clinic managers recommend employee vaccinations, although employee refusal was allowed without consequence. Of all adult vaccines, influenza was most often included by managers as part of the employee vaccination policy. Some managers required unvaccinated employees to wear masks in the event …

Improving Hpv Vaccinations In Military Women, Sarah Beth Wedel

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Project Purpose: The purpose of the project was to implement Human Papillomavirus (HPV) patient education during every well woman exam (WWE) to improve patient knowledge and HPV vaccination rates in military women aged 18-26 years.

Background: The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has been identified as the biggest risk factor for cervical cancer and, despite the availability of a vaccine; HPV continues to be the most common STI in the U. S. (American Cancer Society, 2013). Approximately 79 million Americans are currently infected with HPV, and 14 million individuals will become infected annually, leading to more than 10,000 cases of cervical cancer …

Nonreplicating, Cyst-Defective Type Ii Toxoplasma Gondii Vaccine Strains Stimulate Protective Immunity Against Acute And Chronic Infection, Barbara Andrea Fox, David J. Bzik

Dartmouth Scholarship

Live attenuated vaccine strains, such as type I nonreplicating uracil auxotroph mutants, are highly effective in eliciting lifelong immunity to virulent acute infection by Toxoplasma gondii. However, it is currently unknown whether vaccine-elicited immunity can provide protection against acute infection and also prevent chronic infection. To address this problem, we developed nonreverting, nonreplicating, live attenuated uracil auxotroph vaccine strains in the type II Δku80 genetic background by targeting the deletion of the orotidine 5′-monophosphate decarboxylase (OMPDC) and uridine phosphorylase (UP) genes. Deletion of OMPDC induced a severe uracil auxotrophy with loss of replication, loss of …

Vaccination Hesitation: Investigation Why Parents Decline Pediatric Influenza Vaccines In Juneau, Alaska, Lindsey Leder

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

The influenza virus is responsible for hundreds of childhood deaths and costs the health care system millions of dollars each year (Hassan, Lewis, Davis, Gebremariam, and Dombkowski, 2009). The influenza vaccine is the most effective intervention for prevention of pediatric influenza, yet many parents decline this vaccine for their children. Studies completed in various geographic locations cite different factors influencing parents who decline pediatric vaccinations. Alaska has the second lowest rate of influenza vaccination in the country (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2012). The purpose of this project was to understand the factors that influence parental decision to refuse influenza …

Impact Of Kentucky Vaccination Exemption Laws On Pertussis Incidence, Katherine Blain

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Purpose: According to CDC statistics, prior to pertussis vaccine development in the 1940’s, about 200,000 children contracted pertussis annually. Today, although this number has decreased drastically, pertussis cases began trending upward again in the 1980’s. There are several proposed contributory factors, including vaccination exemption. In Kentucky, there are both medical and religious exemptions to mandatory school vaccines. The purpose of this study was to examine possible correlations between reported school vaccination exemptions and pertussis incidence in Kentucky counties between the years 2004-2012.

Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed data from 120 Kentucky counties between 2004-2012. The Commonwealth of Kentucky School Annual …

Barriers To Receiving The Influenza Vaccine In Adults 65 Years And Older, Melissa Madalone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vaccination is regarded by many as the most effective means of reducing influenza infection and disease; however, many people in the United States are hospitalized from flu-related illness each year. Adults 65 years and older account for more than half of these hospitalizations and almost all flu-related deaths. This project aimed to identify barriers to receiving the influenza vaccine among the adult population (> 65 years of age) in a community setting. The goal was to develop a teaching tool that would assist practitioners towards improving influenza vaccination rates among this population. The Health Belief Model was the theoretical framework …

Evaluation Of Vaccination Policies Among Utah Pediatric Clinic Employees, Tia Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Pediatric health care settings are high risk environments for spreading communicable and vaccine preventable diseases from health care workers to susceptible patients. Methods: All managers of pediatric clinics operating in the state of Utah were included. Participants were invited to complete a two-page questionnaire regarding their clinic vaccination policies. Results: Half (n = 23, 50%) of Utah pediatric outpatient clinics recommend employee vaccinations, although employee refusal is allowed without consequence. Of all adult vaccines, influenza was most often included as part of the employee vaccination policy. Some clinics required unvaccinated employees to wear masks in the event of illness, …

Rhabdovirus-Based Vaccine Platforms Against Henipaviruses., Drishya Kurup, Christoph Wirblich, Heinz Feldmann, Andrea Marzi, Matthias J. Schnell

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

UNLABELLED: The emerging zoonotic pathogens Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are in the genus Henipavirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. HeV and NiV infections can be highly fatal to humans and livestock. The goal of this study was to develop candidate vaccines against henipaviruses utilizing two well-established rhabdoviral vaccine vector platforms, recombinant rabies virus (RABV) and recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), expressing either the codon-optimized or the wild-type (wt) HeV glycoprotein (G) gene. The RABV vector expressing the codon-optimized HeV G showed a 2- to 3-fold increase in incorporation compared to the RABV vector expressing wt HeV G. There …

Evaluation Of Rhodamine B As A Biomarker For Assessing Bait Acceptance In Wild Pigs, James Beasley, Sarah C. Webster, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Worldwide, there is growing interest in the use of pharmaceutical baits to control populations of wild pigs (Sus scrofa). In this study we evaluated the utility of Rhodamine B (RB), a chemical marker commonly used in wildlife research and management, as a potential biomarker for quantifying bait uptake in wild pigs. Thirty wild pigs were live-trapped, transported to a captive facility on the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site located in South Carolina, USA, during autumn 2013, and administered RB orally at a dosage of 30mg/kg. Eight vibrissae and guard hairs were collected pre- and post-RB exposure (7 …

Barriers To The Influenza Vaccination In Veterans, Zina Floyd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Influenza is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 56,000 deaths annually and leading to an average of more than 200,000 hospitalizations every year. Adults 65 years of age and older account for 50% to 60% of influenza-related hospital admissions and an estimated 90% of influenza-associated deaths occur in people age 65 and older. During the 2011 to 2012 influenza season, approximately 50 % of veterans between 45 and 70 years of age refused the influenza vaccine within the metro-area outpatient Veteran Administration (VA) facility in Atlanta, Georgia. The aim of this project was to …

Bcla As An Adjunct To Current Bacillus Anthracis Vaccination And Therapy Protocols, Juan Bosco Rodriguez Barrantes

All ETDs from UAB

Bacillus anthracis (Ba) is a Gram,-positive zoonotic bacterium that causes inhala- tional, cutaneous and intestinal Anthrax Disease. Although the infectious form of Ba is its endospore (spore), only the tripartite toxin-producing vegetative bacteria causes disease pathology. While current vaccination strategies target the Protective Antigen (PA) com- ponent of this toxin, vaccine-elicited immunity to the spore form of Ba is lacking. How- ever, vaccines targeting spore components of Ba have the potential to neutralize the in- fectious form of Ba. We sought to determine if antibodies elicited through immunization with the main antigenic component of the spore surface- Bacillus collagen-like protein …

Co-Infection With Hpv Types From The Same Species Provides Natural Cross-Protection From Progression To Cervical Cancer, Rafal S. Sobota, Doreen Ramogola-Masire, Scott M. Williams, Nicola M. Zetola

Dartmouth Scholarship

The worldwide administration of bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines has resulted in cross-protection against non-vaccine HPV types. Infection with multiple HPV types may offer similar cross-protection in the natural setting. We hypothesized that infections with two or more HPV types from the same species, and independently, infections with two or more HPV types from different species, associate with protection from high-grade lesions.

Vaccination Status And Attitudes Of Urban School Employees In Utah, Kim Estella Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who work with children are at risk for exposure to vaccine-preventable diseases. School settings can quickly become outbreak centers for communicable infection since school employees are in direct contact with children in confined areas for many hours each day. Therefore, it is important for school employees to be fully vaccinated. There are many reasons school employees may be inadequately vaccinated. One common myth is that adults believe vaccines are only for children. Another reason for inadequate vaccination rates among school employees is that many adults believe vaccinations received during childhood are still effective. Healthcare providers (HCPs) constitute the first …

Modeling Dengue Transmission And Vaccination, Abhishek Pandey

All Dissertations

Dengue is one of the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral diseases in the world and inflicts significant health, economic and social burdens on populations. In this dissertation, I studied different aspects of modeling of dengue and vector-borne diseases in general. Among various dengue models that have appeared in literature, some explicitly model the mosquito population, while others model them implicitly. In spite of extensive use of both modeling approaches, little guidance exists for which type of model should be preferred. I developed a Bayesian approach that uses a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method to fit disease models to epidemiological …

Analysis Of The Morbidity And Mortality Of Severe Influenza Infection In Clark County, Nevada For The 2010-2011 Influenza Season, Kindra St. Jacques, Patricia Cruz, Brian Labus

Nevada Journal of Public Health

Throughout the duration of any influenza season, influenza strains have the ability to evolve through mutation causing alterations in virulence. These changes may result in severe illness or death among susceptible populations; therefore, it is important to closely monitor influenza-associated hospitalizations and deaths. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas in collaboration with the Southern Nevada Health District analyzed data from the hospitalized influenza morbidity and mortality surveillance project for Clark County for the 2010-2011 influenza season. Among the study population (N= 158): the influenza strain type was found to be significantly associated with deaths (n= 25), vaccination status was not …

Healthcare Workers' Religious Objections To Mandatory Influenza Vaccination: Examining Title Vii's Religious Accommodation Requirement, Amy Berenbaum

Louis Jackson National Student Writing Competition

No abstract provided.

Hepatitis B Serology Testing: An Educational Module For Nurses In Outpatient Dialysis, Kristi Hanson

Theses and Graduate Projects

For nurses in outpatient dialysis, an accidental needle stick could result in contracting the Hepatitis B virus. It is recommended that all individuals receive the series of three Hepatitis B vaccinations. To determine if immunity is developed as a result of the vaccinations, Hepatitis B serology testing is performed and a positive antibody and titer level above 10 mIU/mL is indicative of immunity. Without awareness of their personal Hepatitis B serology, nurses working with Hepatitis B positive patients in the outpatient dialysis setting lack knowledge to protect their health. The implementation of an educational module, influenced by Knowles' principles of …

An Evidence-Based Intervention To Improve Vaccination Rates For Seasonal Influenza Among Registered Nurses, Debra A. Maitre

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Executive Summary An Evidence-Based Intervention to Improve Vaccination Rates for Seasonal Influenza Among Registered Nurses Problem Seasonal influenza continues to cause the hospitalizations and deaths of tens of thousands every year in the U.S. (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, 2008). Vaccination of healthcare workers for influenza has been recommended for more than 30 years (Willis & Wortley, 2007) and reports of transmission of influenza by registered nurses (RNs) to patients are well documented. In spite of these facts, RN vaccination rates remain below the recommended target of 90% (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). The evidence suggests that …

Epidemiological Study Of Measles In Al- Kadhimiyia Teaching Hospital, Lamia Abdul Karim, Ali Kadhim Al-Husainawi

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Measles is a highly communicable disease caused by the measles virus. The disease is marked by prodromal fever, conj unctivitis, coryza, cough, and the pathognomonic koplik spots followed by an erythematous maculopapular rash. Infection confers lifelong immunity. OBJECTIVE: Find out the frequency of measles in the hospital admitted cases in chi l dr en ≤ 12 year s accor di ng t o t he vaccination and nutritional status,The causes of non-vaccination and the vaccine efficiency in preventing measles.The incidence of measles in the exclusively breast fed infants.The presenting signs and symptoms, commonest complications, investigations and the outcome. …

Risk Factors And Common Causes Of Death Due To Measles In Al-Kadhimiyia Teaching Hospital.2009, Lamia Abdul Karim, Abdul-Karemjasemalbahadle, Ali Kadhim Al-Husainawi

Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Remains a common disease in many parts of the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 20 million people worldwide are affected by measles each year. It is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths among young children. OBJECTIVE: To find out the epidemiological criteria of died patients because of measles& the main causes of death. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Prospective study carried out in the pediatric ward of Al-Kadmyia Teaching Hospital between the 1st of January to the 1st of May 2009,the total number of measles cases admitted were 894 , the number of died cases …

A Perspective On Multiple Waves Of Influenza Pandemics, Anna Mummert, Howard Weiss, Li-Ping Long, José M. Amigó, Xiu-Feng Wan

CVM Publications

BACKGROUND: A striking characteristic of the past four influenza pandemic outbreaks in the United States has been the multiple waves of infections. However, the mechanisms responsible for the multiple waves of influenza or other acute infectious diseases are uncertain. Understanding these mechanisms could provide knowledge for health authorities to develop and implement prevention and control strategies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We exhibit five distinct mechanisms, each of which can generate two waves of infections for an acute infectious disease. The first two mechanisms capture changes in virus transmissibility and behavioral changes. The third mechanism involves population heterogeneity (e.g., demography, geography), where …