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Shingles vaccination and pneumococcal vaccination of patients with celiac disease are among the most recent updates for the vaccination of vulnerable adults, in Switzerland. Shingles and especially post-herpes zoster pain remain an unresolved public health issue. The only vaccine available in Switzerland is very little administered because it is not reimbursed by health insurance companies. A second shingles vaccine is announced for 2022 and should help to reduce the burden of this disease. It has been known for many years that celiac disease is accompanied by hyposplenism in adults. The resulting increased risk of invasive pneumococcal infections justifies, since 2020, a recommendation for vaccination against these encapsulated bacteria., Competing Interests: Les auteurs n’ont déclaré aucun conflit d’intérêts en relation avec cet article.

Children are under-represented in terms of the frequency and severity of COVID-19 disease. Although the proportion of children tested positive remains much lower than that of adults suggesting that they are less susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, seroprevalence studies are contradictory in this regard. With respect to the role of children in transmission of the virus, no biological reason for reduced infectivity has been found. However, in the community, children rarely seem to be the vectors of this infection. With regard to adolescents, epidemiological data and their behavior similar to that of young adults suggest that they contribute to the spread of the virus more effectively than younger children., Competing Interests: Les auteurs n’ont déclaré aucun conflit d’intérêts en relation avec cet article.

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is almost inexistent in Switzerland nowadays. This success has been achieved with systematic screening of HIV in pregnant women, provision of antiretroviral treatment (ART), elective cesarean-section (CS), neonatal antiretroviral prophylaxis (ARP) and avoidance of breastfeeding. Elective CS and neonatal ARP are no longer recommended when the viral load (VL) is suppressed. Recent studies have shown that the risk of HIV MTCT through breastfeeding is extremely rare if not zero when the mother is treated, has a suppressed VL and is correctly followed-up. It is time to be open to discuss the risks and benefits of breastfeeding with HIV-infected pregnant women and to enter in a shared decision-making process, as recommended by the new Swiss guidelines. Close monitoring is mandatory in case of breastfeeding., Competing Interests: Les auteurs n’ont déclaré aucun conflit d’intérêts en relation avec cet article.

In recent years, several cases of measles have appeared on the campuses of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). In response to this, several medical students have mobilized in collaboration with various cantonal authorities in order to set up a free measles, mumps and rubella vaccination campaign on the UNIL/EPFL campuses, in 2019. This first edition was a success and will be repeated in the future. Such an approach having shown its feasibility, it could be applied to other public health issues. The involvement of medical students could thus be extremely valuable if a generalized vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 were to take place., Competing Interests: Les auteurs n’ont déclaré aucun conflit d’intérêts en relation avec cet article.

Epidemiological trends in congenital toxoplasmosis and CMV are extremely divergent. While there were only 39 cases of congenital toxoplasmosis in Switzerland between 1982 and 2015, there was an equivalent number of cases of congenital CMV, 38 in total, in 2017 alone. Serological screening for toxoplasmosis was logically abandoned in Switzerland in 2008. Regarding CMV, there is no recommendation for serological screening or neonatal screening in Switzerland, whereas early diagnosis can improve prognosis through the rapid initiation of antiviral treatment. The epidemiological data generated by sentinel surveillance of congenital CMV infections in Switzerland may or may not justify such a measure in our country in the future., Competing Interests: Les auteurs n’ont déclaré aucun conflit d’intérêts en relation avec cet article.

Persistent fever or FUO (fever of unknown origin) is defined by a fever of more than 1‑2 weeks that remains unexplained, after considerable diagnostic efforts. In the travelling child, in addition to cosmopolitan infectious diseases, tropical pathogens must absolutely be considered according to the regions visited and the activities practiced. A detailed history and a complete clinical examination are essential to decide which supplementary investigations will complete the basic assessment, which must contain the search for malaria in any child who has visited an endemic area. Following the diagnostic strategy proposed in this article, the clinician should be able to diagnose the most common diseases., Competing Interests: L’auteur n’a déclaré aucun conflit d’intérêts en relation avec cet article.

The impact of vaccination on non-bacteremic Haemophilus influenza pneumonia is difficult to appreciate, in the absence of proper microbiological documentation. It has certainly been largely underestimated. Vaccination has reduced the incidence of pneumococcal pneumonia. However, the increase of incidence of empyema due to nonvaccine serotypes was observed in several countries. The replacement of Prevenar 7 by Prevenar 13 portends a decrease in the occurrence of these infections, but, unfortunately, without eliminating them completely.

In Europe, acute diarrhea, particularly caused by rotavirus are frequently the cause of epidemics in nurseries, schools, and even hospitals. Studies in many developing countries show that taking 10 to 20 mg per day of zinc for 10 to 14 days, during and after diarrhea, decreases the severity and reduces the number of episodes of diarrhea occurring within 2 to 3 months following the intake of zinc. However, the few studies conducted in developed countries do not confirm or deny its effectiveness in these countries, thereby limiting the global implementation of WHO recommendations for acute diarrhea. The ongoing study at the HEL (Children hospital - Lausanne) aims to promote this additional therapy in children under 5 years of age, perhaps allowing the helvetic application of the new WHO recommendations.