No abstract

Background The impact of SARS-CoV-2 alongside influenza is a major concern in the northern hemisphere as winter approaches. Methods Test data for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 from national surveillance systems between 20 January 2020 and 25 April 2020 were used to estimate influenza infection on the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. A test-negative design was used to assess the odds of SARS-CoV-2 in those who tested positive for influenza compared with those who tested negative. The severity of SARS-CoV-2 was also assessed using univariable and multivariable analyses. Results The risk of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 was 58% lower among influenza-positive cases and patients with a coinfection had a risk of death of 5.92 (95% confidence interval: 3.21–10.91) times greater than among those with neither influenza nor SARS-CoV-2. The odds of ventilator use or death and intensive care unit admission or death were greatest among coinfected patients. Conclusions Coinfection of these viruses could have a significant impact on morbidity, mortality and health-service demand.

The 2014/15 influenza season was the second season of roll-out of a live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) programme for healthy children in England. During this season, besides offering LAIV to all two to four year olds, several areas piloted vaccination of primary (4-11 years) and secondary (11-13 years) age children. Influenza A(H3N2) circulated, with strains genetically and antigenically distinct from the 2014/15 A(H3N2) vaccine strain, followed by a drifted B strain. We assessed the overall and indirect impact of vaccinating school age children, comparing cumulative disease incidence in targeted and non-targeted age groups in vaccine pilot to non-pilot areas. Uptake levels were 56.8% and 49.8% in primary and secondary school pilot areas respectively. In primary school age pilot areas, cumulative primary care influenza-like consultation, emergency department respiratory attendance, respiratory swab positivity, hospitalisation and excess respiratory mortality were consistently lower in targeted and non-targeted age groups, though less for adults and more severe end-points, compared with non-pilot areas. There was no significant reduction for excess all-cause mortality. Little impact was seen in secondary school age pilot only areas compared with non-pilot areas. Vaccination of healthy primary school age children resulted in population-level impact despite circulation of drifted A and B influenza strains.

No abstract

No abstract

The relationship between risk of death following influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection and ethnicity and deprivation during the 2009/2010 pandemic period and the first post-pandemic season of 2010/2011 in England was examined. Poisson regression models were used to estimate the mortality risk, adjusted for age, gender, and place of residence. Those of non-White ethnicity experienced an increased mortality risk compared to White populations during the 2009/2010 pandemic [10·5/1000 vs. 6·0/1000 general population; adjusted risk ratio (RR) 1·84, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·39-2·54] with the highest risk in those of Pakistani ethnicity. However, no significant difference between ethnicities was observed during the following 2010/2011 season. Persons living in areas with the highest level of deprivation had a significantly higher risk of death (RR 2·08, 95% CI 1·49-2·91) compared to the lowest level for both periods. These results highlight the importance of rapid identification of groups at higher risk of severe disease in the early stages of future pandemics to enable the implementation of optimal prevention and control measures for vulnerable populations.

Background:UK residents' healthcare is free of charge but uptake varies. Cancer survival is inferior to that of other Western European countries. We have used cancer registry data to assess factors associated with access to diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in northern England.Method:We assigned 34 923 lung cancer patients diagnosed between 1994 and 2002 to quartiles for the deprivation score associated with their postcode and for the travel time to the relevant healthcare facility. Odds ratios, adjusted for age and sex, for undergoing interventions were calculated relative to the least deprived quartile living closest to the facility. The odds ratio for receiving chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) was calculated according to the type of hospital where it was diagnosed.Results:The odds ratio for attainment of a histological diagnosis for the least deprived/furthest residence group was 0.83 (95% confidence 0.70–0.97) for the most deprived/nearest residence group was 0.74(0.62–0.87) and for the most deprived/furthest residence group it was 0.61 (0.49–0.75). The corresponding odds ratios for receipt of any active treatment were 0.93 (0.80–1.07), 0.74 (0.64–0.86), and 0.55 (0.46–0.67). The odds ratios for receipt of chemotherapy for SCLC were 1.27 (0.89–1.82), 1.21 (0.85–1.74) and 0.81 (0.52–1.28). Odds ratios for undergoing surgery for non-small cell lung cancer using (1) travel time to diagnosing hospital were 0.88 (0.70–1.11), 0.74 (0.59–0.94) and 0.60 (0.44–0.84). Using (2) travel time to a thoracic surgery facility they were 0.83 (0.65–1.06), 0.70 (0.55–0.89) and 0.55 (0.49–0.76).Conclusion:Living in a deprived locality reduces the likelihood of undergoing definitive management for lung cancer with the exception of chemotherapy for SCLC. This is amplified by travel time to services.

Hypertension is the main risk factor for cerebral stroke and death resulting from cerebral stroke. Current association studies on hypertension and intestinal microbiota focus on patients with hypertension (HTN); however, no investigations involving patients with isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH) or systolic hypertension (SH) have been conducted to date. In this study, fecal samples from 62 cases with normal blood pressure (BP) and 67 cases with high BP were used for 16S amplicon sequencing. Sixty-one cases of HTN and 61 corresponding cases with normal BP were obtained by propensity score matching (PSM), and differential analysis was conducted using the DEseq2 package. PSM was also used to match six IDH patients with six controls and to match 35 cases of SH with 35 controls. There were 54 differential genera between the HTN and normal BP groups, and there were five differential genera between the IDH and normal BP groups. There were 38 differential genera between the SH and normal BP groups, including Christensenella . Bayesian network analysis showed that variations in BP influenced microbial abundance. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that bacterial abundance is correlated with BP . Significant differences between the intestinal microbiota of high and normal BP groups were observed. Gut microbiota dysbiosis differed among HTN, IDH, and SH patients. In particular, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were related to different intestinal microbiota.