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Background and Objectives: The prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in Hispanic prenatal patients has not been well documented. Studies of disease prevalence in Hispanic patients often are complicated by multiple countries of origin and the combining of foreign-born and U.S.-born Hispanics into a single category.Goal Of the Study: The purpose of this study was to document the prevalences of sexually transmitted diseases in low-income, pregnant Mexican-American women and to compare the prevalences of those born in the United States with those born in Mexico. We also compared the prevalence of those who recently arrived from Mexico with those who had been in the United States a longer time.Study Design: Three-hundred-forty-seven pregnant women attending a clinic for low-income populations were screened for syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and hepatitis B virus on their first perinatal visit.Results: Thirty-five women (10.1%) were positive for chlamydia, four (1.2%) for gonorrhea, one (0.3%) for syphilis, and none for hepatitis B virus. Women born in Mexico reported fewer past chlamydia and total sexually transmitted disease infections than Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic whites born in the United States However, the prevalence of chlamydia and total sexually transmitted diseases did not differ by ethnicity, country of birth, or length of time in the United States The only variable correlated with chlamydia infection was the presence of vaginal discharge, but the sensitivity of this symptom was too low to be clinically useful as a means of selective screening.Conclusion: Low-income women of Mexican ancestry should be routinely screened for syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia as part of their prenatal care in the United States. The value of hepatitis B virus screening in this population was neither supported nor refuted by this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study in which billing records from the outpatient clinics of the University of Arizona were compared to case reports of communicable diseases received by the local health department. Percentage of reportable cases actually reported to the local health department; Geographic differences in reporting; Less frequent reporting from pediatricians; Methods; Results; More.

Background: The rate of transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections from female to female is a matter of debate. Sexually transmitted disease among lesbians and female bisexuals is usually associated with sexual contact with men or intravenous drug use. There is little evidence that female-to-female transmission of syphilis can occur.Goals: To demonstrate that female-to-female transmission of syphilis can occur through oral-genital sex.Study Design: Case report of syphilis transmission from one female to another through oral-genital sex.Conclusion: Female-to-female transmission of syphilis can occur through oral-genital sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor about the prevention of maternal deaths in developing countries.

On June 17, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) (PCV21; CAPVAXIVE; Merck Sharp & Dohme, LLC) for adults aged ≥18 years. PCV21 does not contain certain serotypes that are included in other licensed pneumococcal vaccines but adds eight new serotypes. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends use of a PCV for all adults aged ≥65 years, as well as adults aged 19-64 years with certain risk conditions for pneumococcal disease if they have not received a PCV or whose vaccination history is unknown. Previously, options included either 20-valent PCV (PCV20; Prevnar20; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) alone or a 15-valent PCV (PCV15; VAXNEUVANCE; Merck Sharp & Dohme, LLC) in series with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23; Pneumovax23; Merck Sharp & Dohme, LLC). Additional recommendations for use of PCV20 exist for adults who started their pneumococcal vaccination series with 13-valent PCV (PCV13; Prevnar13; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc.). The ACIP Pneumococcal Vaccines Work Group employed the Evidence to Recommendations framework to guide its deliberations on PCV21 vaccination among U.S. adults. On June 27, 2024, ACIP recommended a single dose of PCV21 as an option for adults aged ≥19 years for whom PCV is currently recommended. Indications for PCV have not changed from previous recommendations. This report summarizes evidence considered for these recommendations and provides clinical guidance for use of PCV21., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Katherine A. Poehling reports grant support from the North Carolina Baptist Foundation for support of Safe Sleep supplies for all newborns and Early Child Education Fellow with Love Out Loud, a local nonprofit; Optum Social Responsibility, for support of Intimate Partner Violence Collaborative Pilot; Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Clinical and Translational Science Institute for Because You Matter: Conversations You Want About COVID-19 and Text Messaging Follow-up for Patients who missed Well-child visits; and the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation for Re-imagining Health and Well-being by Mothers for our Babies, Families, and Community; volunteer service as a board member of the Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina, a local nonprofit (https://www.childlawnc.org); and a volunteer role as senior editor of Academic Pediatrics. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening invasive infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis. Two quadrivalent (serogroups A, C, W, and Y) meningococcal conjugate vaccines (MenACWY) (MenACWY-CRM [Menveo, GSK] and MenACWY-TT [MenQuadfi, Sanofi Pasteur]) and two serogroup B meningococcal vaccines (MenB) (MenB-4C [Bexsero, GSK] and MenB-FHbp [Trumenba, Pfizer Inc.]), are licensed and available in the United States and have been recommended by CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). On October 20, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a pentavalent meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY-TT/MenB-FHbp [Penbraya, Pfizer Inc.]) for prevention of invasive disease caused by N. meningitidis serogroups A, B, C, W, and Y among persons aged 10-25 years. On October 25, 2023, ACIP recommended that MenACWY-TT/MenB-FHbp may be used when both MenACWY and MenB are indicated at the same visit for the following groups: 1) healthy persons aged 16-23 years (routine schedule) when shared clinical decision-making favors administration of MenB vaccine, and 2) persons aged ≥10 years who are at increased risk for meningococcal disease (e.g., because of persistent complement deficiencies, complement inhibitor use, or functional or anatomic asplenia). Different manufacturers' serogroup B-containing vaccines are not interchangeable; therefore, when MenACWY-TT/MenB-FHbp is used, subsequent doses of MenB should be from the same manufacturer (Pfizer Inc.). This report summarizes evidence considered for these recommendations and provides clinical guidance for the use of MenACWY-TT/MenB-FHbp., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Jamie Loehr reports receipt of payment for presentations on general ACIP recommendations at the National Family Medicine Conference and the Virginia State Vaccine Group Conference. Katherine A. Poehling reports receipt of grant support from North Carolina Baptist Foundation, Optum Social Responsibility, Atrium Health, Wake Forest Baptist Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and the Kate B. Reynolds Foundation. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

In addition to 3 vaccines, there's also a new monoclonal antibody for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus. Learn how each can be used in infants and children, adults, and pregnant people.

Although there are few changes from last year, there is a new approach to administering egg-based vaccine to those with a history of egg allergy.

Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Katherine A. Poehling reports institutional support from Safe Sleep for All Newborns, Love Out Loud Early Childhood Fellow, Intimate Partner Violence Collaborative Project, Because You Matter: Conversations You Want about COVID-19, text messaging follow-up for patients who missed well-child visits, and Reimagining Health and Wellness by Mothers for Our Babies, Families, and Communities. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

The CDC recently issued guidance on screening for hepatitis B infection. Here's a look at how (and why) these recommendations differ from those of the USPSTF.

The US Preventive Services Task Force made 24 recommendations last year. But the ones highlighted here are most likely to affect your daily practice.

Although COVID-19 vaccination remains at the forefront, ACIP has offered guidance on MMR, pneumococcal, influenza, and travel vaccines. Here's a round-up.

In December 2020, an interim recommendation for the use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged ≥16 years was made under Food and Drug Administration's Emergency Use Authorization. In preparation for Biologics License Application approval, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to inform the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practice's (ACIP) decision-making for a standard recommendation. We conducted a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic COVID-19, hospitalization due to COVID-19, death due to COVID-19, and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. We identified studies through August 20, 2021 from an ongoing systematic review conducted by the International Vaccine Access Center and the World Health Organization. We evaluated each study for risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Pooled estimates were calculated using meta-analysis. The body of evidence for each outcome was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. We identified 80 articles, selected 35 for full-text review, and included 26. The pooled VE of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was 92.4% (95% CI: 87.5%-95.3%) against symptomatic COVID-19 with moderate evidence certainty (eight studies), 94.3% (95% CI: 87.9%-97.3%) against hospitalization due to COVID-19 with moderate certainty (eight studies), 96.1% (95% CI: 91.5%-98.2%) against death due to COVID-19 with moderate certainty (four studies), and 89.3% (88.4%-90.1%) against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection with very low certainty (two studies). The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated high effectiveness in all pre-specified outcomes and extended knowledge of the vaccine's benefits to outcomes and populations not informed by the RCTs. Use of an existing systematic review facilitated a rapid meta-analysis to inform an ACIP policy decision. This approach can be utilized as additional COVID-19 vaccines are considered for standard recommendations by ACIP., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.)

New guidance is offered concerning anxiety in children, adolescents, and adults. Advantages of particular screening tests are reviewed.

Any one of the HD-IIV4, aIIV4, or RIV4 vaccines is recommended over the SD-IIV4 options for those ages ≥ 65 years. Flucelvax is now approved for those ages ≥ 6 months.

The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13 [Prevnar 13, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc]) and the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23 [Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC]) have been recommended for U.S. children, and the recommendations vary by age group and risk group (1,2). In 2021, 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV15 [Vaxneuvance, Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC]) was licensed for use in adults aged ≥18 years (3). On June 17, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an expanded usage for PCV15 to include persons aged 6 weeks-17 years, based on studies that compared antibody responses to PCV15 with those to PCV13 (4). PCV15 contains serotypes 22F and 33F (in addition to the PCV13 serotypes) conjugated to CRM197 (genetically detoxified diphtheria toxin). On June 22, 2022, CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended use of PCV15 as an option for pneumococcal conjugate vaccination of persons aged <19 years according to currently recommended PCV13 dosing and schedules (1,2). ACIP employed the Evidence to Recommendation (EtR) Framework,* using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) † approach to guide its deliberations regarding use of these vaccines. Risk-based recommendations on use of PPSV23 for persons aged 2-18 years with certain underlying medical conditions § that increase the risk for pneumococcal disease have not changed., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Katherine A. Poehling reports institutional support from Safe Sleep for All Newborns, Love Out Loud Early Childhood Fellow, Intimate Partner Violence Collaborative Project, Because You Matter: Conversations You Want about COVID-19, text messaging follow-up for patients who missed well-child visits, and Reimagining Health and Wellness by Mothers for Our Babies, Families, and Communities. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

New evidence is reshaping the role of low-dose aspirin in primary prevention. More selective decisions are now urged.