People with already existing conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and pulmonary/respiratory disease, are at greater risk from influenza (Logue et al., 2011). Women are more likely to have diabetes in their lifetime than men, and studies in the US show that women, particularly those in lower socioeconomic groups, receive less adequate diabetes care than men from the same socioeconomic group (WHO, 2010).
Background: The emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 viruses has raised concerns about their pandemic potential. Vaccination is the most effective way of preventing influenza. In this study, we investigated the safety and immunogenicity of an avian H5N2 live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV H5N2) in healthy Thai adults and its priming immune responses with an H5N1 inactivated vaccine boost.
Social media, mobile technology and social networks constitute an extremely rich and dynamic information ecosystem. With a world population of more than seven billion people, almost half of them have an internet connection, while the active social media users are about 2.8 billion. Huge numbers, which clearly shows how deep these instruments are rooted into our society. It is not a surprise, then, that social media are also increasingly present in disaster and crisis response efforts. Their growing presence in these scenarios represent an issue, but also an opportunity.
In 1347, Siena, a flourishing, beautiful city-state on Tuscany hills, was a leading world power for its age. Just one year later, plague had already killed almost half of its inhabitants, changing its history forever. That did not happen only there: the impact of the Black Death – as the Middle Age epidemic was named – involved all Europe, with huge human, economic, political and cultural consequences. A typical, extreme, example of how infectious diseases can influence the course of history.
As reported in the ASSET Strategic plan, the three Summer Schools on Science in Society related issues in Pandemics (2015, 2016, 2017) pose the main challenge of the collaborative project overall that is dealing with the intersectoral approach required by the management of Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC), like epidemics and pandemics.
