BackgroundHerpes zoster (HZ) is caused by reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and mainly affects individuals aged ≥50 years. The forthcoming European launch of a vaccine against HZ (Zostavax®) prompts the need for a better understanding of the epidemiology of HZ in Europe. Therefore the aim of this systematic review was to summarize the available data on HZ incidence in Europe and to describe age-specific incidence.MethodsThe Medline database of the National Library of Medicine was used to conduct a comprehensive literature search of population-based studies of HZ incidence published between 1960 and 2010 carried out in the 27 member countries of the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The identified articles were reviewed and scored according to a reading grid including various quality criteria, and HZ incidence data were extracted and presented by country.ResultsThe search identified 21 studies, and revealed a similar annual HZ incidence throughout Europe, varying by country from 2.0 to 4.6/1 000 person-years with no clearly observed geographic trend. Despite the fact that age groups differed from one study to another, age-specific HZ incidence rates seemed to hold steady during the review period, at around 1/1 000 children <10 years, around 2/1 000 adults aged <40 years, and around 1–4/1 000 adults aged 40–50 years. They then increased rapidly after age 50 years to around 7–8/1 000, up to 10/1 000 after 80 years of age. Our review confirms that in Europe HZ incidence increases with age, and quite drastically after 50 years of age. In all of the 21 studies included in the present review, incidence rates were higher among women than men, and this difference increased with age. This review also highlights the need to identify standardized surveillance methods to improve the comparability of data within European Union Member States and to monitor the impact of VZV immunization on the epidemiology of HZ.ConclusionsAvailable data in Europe have shortcomings which make an accurate assessment of HZ incidence and change over time impossible. However, data are indicative that HZ incidence is comparable, and increases with age in the same proportion across Europe.
Influenza B strains represent on average 23% of all circulating strains in Europe and when there is a vaccine mismatch on B strains, additional influenza-related hospitalizations and deaths as well as substantial additional costs are observed. The objective was to estimate the public health and economic impact of seasonal influenza vaccination with quadrivalent influenza vaccines (QIV) compared to trivalent influenza vaccines (TIV) in Europe (EU).Based on data from 5 EU countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK) during 10 influenza seasons from 2002 to 2013, epidemiological and associated economic outcomes were estimated for each season for the actual scenario where the TIV was used, and for a hypothetical scenario where QIV could have been used instead.By using QIV, this study estimated that for the 5 EU countries, an additional 1.03 million (327.9/100,000 inhabitants) influenza cases, 453,000 (143.9/100,000) general practitioners consultations, 672,000 (213.1/100,000) workdays lost, 24,000 (7.7/100,000) hospitalizations and 10,000 (3.1/100,000) deaths could have been avoided compared to the use of TIV over the 10-seasons-period. This study estimates that QIV can be of economic value since from a societal perspective 15 million Euros would have been saved on general practitioners consultations (14 million Euros from third-party payer perspective), 77 million on hospitalizations (74 million Euros from third-party payer perspective) and 150 million Euros on workdays lost, across the 5 EU countries.In conclusion, the present study estimates that, compared to TIV, QIV may result in a substantial decrease in epidemiological burden and in influenza-related costs.
BackgroundHerpes zoster (HZ) is caused by reactivation of the latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV). A severe complication of HZ is VZV vasculopathy which can result in ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. The aims of our study were to assess the risk of stroke after the onset of HZ and to investigate the roles of stroke subtype, HZ location and the time interval between HZ onset and stroke.MethodsA self-controlled case-series study was performed on a cohort of patients with incident stroke recorded in the German Pharmacoepidemiological Research Database (GePaRD), which covers about 20 million persons throughout Germany. We estimated adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRR) by comparing the rate of stroke in risk periods (i.e., periods following HZ) with the rate of stroke in control periods (i.e., periods without HZ) in the same individuals, controlling for both time-invariant and major potentially time-variant confounders.ResultsThe cohort included 124,462 stroke patients, of whom 6,035 (5%) had at least one HZ diagnosis identified in GePaRD either as main hospital discharge diagnosis or as HZ treated with antivirals. The risk of stroke was about 1.3 times higher in the risk periods 3 months after HZ onset, than in the control periods (IRR: 1.29; 95% confidence interval: 1.16–1.44). An elevated risk of similar magnitude was observed for ischemic and unspecified stroke, but a 1.5-fold higher risk was observed for hemorrhagic stroke. A slightly stronger effect on the risk of stroke was also observed during the 3 months after HZ ophthalmicus (HZO) onset (1.59; 1.10–2.32). The risk was highest 3 and 4 weeks after HZ onset and decreased thereafter.ConclusionsOur study corroborates an increased risk of stroke after HZ, which is highest 3 to 4 weeks after HZ onset. The results suggest that the risk is more pronounced after HZO and is numerically higher for hemorrhagic than for ischemic stroke.
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