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Prognostication of treatment non-compliance among patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the course of their follow-up: a logistic regression–based machine learning algorithmDrug compliance is the act of taking medication on schedule or taking medication as prescribed and obeying other medical instructions. It is the most crucial aspect in the treatment of chronic diseases particularly for patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Drug non-compliance is the main reason for causing drug resistance and poor treatment outcomes.
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Genetic variants of TLR4, including the novel variant, rs5030719, and related genes are associated with susceptibility to clinical malaria in African childrenMalaria is a deadly disease caused by Plasmodium spp. Several blood phenotypes have been associated with malarial resistance, which suggests a genetic component to immune protection.
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Core protocol for the adaptive Platform Trial In COVID-19 Vaccine priming and BOOsting (PICOBOO)The need for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in different age groups and populations is a subject of great uncertainty and an ongoing global debate. Critical knowledge gaps regarding COVID-19 vaccination include the duration of protection offered by different priming and booster vaccination regimens in different populations, including homologous or heterologous schedules.
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Changing rules, recommendations, and risks: COVID-19 vaccination decisions and emotions during pregnancyAs COVID-19 vaccinations rolled out globally from late 2020, rules and recommendations regarding vaccine use in pregnancy shifted rapidly. Pre-registration COVID-19 vaccine trials excluded those who were pregnant. Initial Australian medical advice did not routinely recommend COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy, due to limited safety data and little perceived risk of local transmission.
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Challenges in the case-based surveillance of infectious diseasesTo effectively inform infectious disease control strategies, accurate knowledge of the pathogen's transmission dynamics is required. Since the timings of infections are rarely known, estimates of the infection incidence, which is crucial for understanding the transmission dynamics, often rely on measurements of other quantities amenable to surveillance.
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Bringing optimised COVID-19 vaccine schedules to immunocompromised populations (BOOST-IC): study protocol for an adaptive randomised controlled clinical trialImmunocompromised hosts experience more breakthrough infections and worse clinical outcomes following infection with COVID-19 than immunocompetent people. Prophylactic monoclonal antibody therapies can be challenging to access, and escape variants emerge rapidly. Immunity conferred through vaccination remains a central prevention strategy for COVID-19.
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Estimating measures to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Australia to guide a ‘National Plan’ to reopeningThe availability of COVID-19 vaccines promised a reduction in the severity of disease and relief from the strict public health and social measures (PHSMs) imposed in many countries to limit spread and burden of COVID-19. We were asked to define vaccine coverage thresholds for Australia's transition to easing restrictions and reopening international borders.
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The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in Australian children: A crosssectional studyFollowing reduction of public health and social measures concurrent with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron emergence in late 2021 in Australia, COVID-19 case notification rates rose rapidly. As rates of direct viral testing and reporting dropped, true infection rates were most likely to be underestimated.
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The mark of success: The role of vaccine-induced skin scar formation for BCG and smallpox vaccine-associated clinical benefitsSkin scar formation following Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or smallpox (Vaccinia) vaccination is an established marker of successful vaccination and 'vaccine take'. Potent pathogen-specific (tuberculosis; smallpox) and pathogen-agnostic (protection from diseases unrelated to the intentionally targeted pathogen) effects of BCG and smallpox vaccines hold significant translational potential.
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Antecedent and persistent symptoms in COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses: Insights from prospectively collected data in the BRACE trialSome individuals have a persistence of symptoms following both COVID-19 (post-acute COVID-19 syndrome; PACS) and other viral infections. This study used prospectively collected data from an international trial to compare symptoms following COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 respiratory illness, to identify factors associated with the risk of PACS, and to explore symptom patterns before and after COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 respiratory illnesses.