Spatio-temporal analysis of the distribution and co-circulation of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Medellín, Colombia, from 2013 to 2021.

Background: Dengue, chikungunya, and Zika present significant public health challenges in Colombia. Spatial studies help clarify the distribution and progression of these diseases over time and location. Objective to describe the spatio-temporal distribution and clustering patterns of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Medellín, Colombia, between 2013 and 2021, with the aim of providing baseline spatial intelligence to support future epidemiological and policy-oriented analyses.

Trajectories of food bank use among new users in Quebec, Canada: Evidence from the pathways study.

Purpose: This study describes trajectories of food bank (FB) use among new users in relation with change in food insecurity status.

Methods: The Pathways Study followed 1001 new FB users across four regions of Québec, Canada, over a two-year period, from September 2018 to January 2020. Participants reported past-month FB use in two consecutive interviews following a baseline assessment, leading to 24 consecutive measures of monthly FB use.

A nationwide joint spatial modelling of simultaneous epidemics of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Colombia.

Background: Chikungunya, and Zika emerged in the 2010s in the Americas, causing simultaneous epidemics with dengue. However, little is known of these Aedes-borne diseases (ABDs) joint patterns and contributors at the population-level.

Methods: We applied a novel Poisson-multinomial spatial model to the registered cases of dengue (n = 291,820), chikungunya (n = 75,913), and Zika (n = 72,031) by municipality in Colombia, 2014-2016.

High correlation between detection of dengue IgG from dried blood spots and serum using an indirect IgG ELISA assay: A validation study in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Background: Dengue virus (DENV) seroprevalence studies often rely on Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) testing of serum samples, but ELISA testing of dried blood spot (DBS) samples offer several advantages for field-based research in resource-limited settings. However, DBS' limited sample volume can be challenging for test sensitivity, requiring validation studies with standard methods (e.g.

Impact of molecular diagnostic techniques on the acute respiratory infection sentinel surveillance program, Antioquia, Colombia, 2022.

Objectives: Surveillance of acute respiratory infection (ARI) informs vaccination, preventive, and management decisions. In many countries, immunofluorescence is the cornerstone for ARI surveillance. We aimed to determine the effect of adding multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) to conventional surveillance in ARI.

Potential biases in test-negative design studies of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness arising from the inclusion of asymptomatic individuals.

The test-negative design (TND) is a popular method for evaluating vaccine effectiveness (VE). A "classical" TND study includes symptomatic individuals tested for the disease targeted by the vaccine to estimate VE against symptomatic infection. However, recent applications of the TND have attempted to estimate VE against infection by including all tested individuals, regardless of their symptoms.

Generalizability of anti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence estimates to the Montréal pediatric population: a comparison between 2 weighting methods.

Seroprevalence studies of SARS-CoV-2 infections often have been based on study populations with nonrandom and nonrepresentative samples, limiting the generalizability of their results. In this study, the representativity and the generalizability of the baseline estimate (data collected from October 16, 2020, to April 18, 2021) of a pediatric seroprevalence study based in Montréal were investigated. The change in the estimates of seroprevalence were compared between 2 different weighting methods: marginal standardization and raking.

Zika emergence, persistence, and transmission rate in Colombia: a nationwide application of a space-time Markov switching model.

Zika, a viral disease transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes, emerged in the Americas in 2015, causing large-scale epidemics. Colombia alone reported over 72,000 Zika cases between 2015 and 2016. Using national surveillance data from 1121 municipalities over 70 weeks, we identified sociodemographic and environmental factors associated with Zika's emergence, re-emergence, persistence, and transmission intensity in Colombia.

Characterizing Trends in the Use of Food Donations and Other Food-Related Community-Based Social Assistance Programs in a Cohort of New Food Bank Users in Quebec, Canada.

To characterize 12-month trends in the use of food donations and other food-related community-based social assistance programs (CB-SAPs) during the first year following the enrollment of new food bank (FB) users in Quebec, Canada. A cohort of 1,001 newly registered FB-users in Quebec from the Pathways Study were followed-up during 12-month following baseline assessment. Outcomes were monthly use of food donations and other food-related CB-SAPs.

How to plan and manage an individual participant data meta-analysis. An illustrative toolkit.

Individual participant data meta-analyses (IPD-MAs) have several benefits over standard aggregate data meta-analyses, including the consideration of additional participants, follow-up time, and the joint consideration of study- and participant-level heterogeneity for improved diagnostic and prognostic model development and evaluation. However, IPD-MAs are resource-intensive and require careful budgeting of time from data contributing groups, a dedicated management team, diversity of expertise, clearly documented data sharing and authorship agreements, and consistent and clear communication. We present a toolkit to facilitate the implementation and management of IPD-MAs, from study recruitment to retrospective harmonization.

The Pathways study: a cohort study of new food-aid users in rural, semi urban, and urban areas of Quebec, Canada.

Background: While considerable research has been conducted on household food insecurity (HFI), little research has examined the effects of food donation programs on users' living conditions. The Pathways study was established to investigate the long-term effects of food donation programs on food insecurity as well as other critical outcomes, such as diet, health, and social support. Herein, we describe the design of the Pathways Study and the participants' characteristics at baseline.

Overlapping research efforts in a global pandemic: a rapid systematic review of COVID-19-related individual participant data meta-analyses.

Background: Individual participant data meta-analyses (IPD-MAs), which involve harmonising and analysing participant-level data from related studies, provide several advantages over aggregate data meta-analyses, which pool study-level findings. IPD-MAs are especially important for building and evaluating diagnostic and prognostic models, making them an important tool for informing the research and public health responses to COVID-19.

Methods: We conducted a rapid systematic review of protocols and publications from planned, ongoing, or completed COVID-19-related IPD-MAs to identify areas of overlap and maximise data request and harmonisation efforts.

Traffic-Calming Measures and Road Traffic Collisions and Injuries: A Spatiotemporal Analysis.

Traffic-calming measures (TCMs) are physical modifications of the road network aimed at making the roads safer. Although researchers have reported reductions in numbers of road crashes and injuries tied to the presence of TCMs, such studies have been criticized for their pre-/post- designs. In this study, we aimed to complement our knowledge of TCMs' effectiveness by assessing their impact using a longitudinal design.

Heterogeneity of Zika virus exposure and outcome ascertainment across cohorts of pregnant women, their infants and their children: a metadata survey.

Objectives: To support the Zika virus (ZIKV) Individual Participant Data (IPD) Consortium's efforts to harmonise and analyse IPD from ZIKV-related prospective cohort studies and surveillance-based studies of pregnant women and their infants and children; we developed and disseminated a metadata survey among ZIKV-IPD Meta-Analysis (MA) study participants to identify and provide a comprehensive overview of study-level heterogeneity in exposure, outcome and covariate ascertainment and definitions.

Setting: Cohort and surveillance studies that measured ZIKV infection during pregnancy or at birth and measured fetal, infant, or child outcomes were identified through a systematic search and consultations with ZIKV researchers and Ministries of Health from 20 countries or territories.

Participants: Fifty-four cohort or active surveillance studies shared deidentified data for the IPD-MA and completed the metadata survey, representing 33 061 women (11 020 with ZIKV) and 18 281 children.

Spatio-temporal clusters and patterns of spread of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in Colombia.

Background: Colombia has one of the highest burdens of arboviruses in South America. The country was in a state of hyperendemicity between 2014 and 2016, with co-circulation of several Aedes-borne viruses, including a syndemic of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika in 2015.

Methodology/principal Findings: We analyzed the cases of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika notified in Colombia from January 2014 to December 2018 by municipality and week.

A joint spatial marked point process model for dengue and severe dengue in Medellin, Colombia.

The spatial distribution of surveillance-reported dengue cases and severity are usually analyzed separately, assuming independence between the spatial distribution of non-severe and severe cases. Given the availability of data for the individual geo-location of surveillance-notified dengue cases, we conducted a spatial analysis to model non-severe and severe dengue simultaneously, using a hierarchical Bayesian model. We fit a joint model to the spatial pattern formed by dengue cases as well as to the severity status of the cases.

Decomposition of socioeconomic inequalities in arboviral diseases in Brazil and Colombia (2007-2017).

Background: We used surveillance data from Brazil and Colombia during 2007-2017 to assess the presence of socioeconomic inequalities on dengue, chikungunya and Zika at the neighborhood level in two Latin American cities.

Methods: To quantify the inequality, we estimated and decomposed the relative concentration index of inequality (RCI) accounting for the spatiotemporal distribution of the diseases.

Results: There were 281 426 arboviral cases notified in Fortaleza, Brazil, and 40 889 in Medellin, Colombia.

Dengue, Severity Paradox, and Socioeconomic Distribution Among Afro-Colombians.

Background: The clinical presentation of dengue ranges from self-limited mild illness to severe forms, including death. African ancestry is often described as protective against dengue severity. However, in the Latin American context, African ancestry has been associated with increased mortality.

Estimating force of infection from serologic surveys with imperfect tests.

Background: The force of infection, or the rate at which susceptible individuals become infected, is an important public health measure for assessing the extent of outbreaks and the impact of control programs.

Methods And Findings: We present Bayesian methods for estimating force of infection using serological surveys of infections which produce a lasting immune response, accounting for imperfections of the test, and uncertainty in such imperfections. In this estimation, the sensitivity and specificity can either be fixed, or belief distributions of their values can be elicited to allow for uncertainty.

Assessing the reporting of Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika to the National Surveillance System in Colombia from 2014-2017: A Capture-recapture analysis accounting for misclassification of arboviral diagnostics.

Background: Chikungunya, dengue, and Zika are three different arboviruses which have similar symptoms and are a major public health issue in Colombia. Despite the mandatory reporting of these arboviruses to the National Surveillance System in Colombia (SIVIGILA), it has been reported that the system captures less than 10% of diagnosed cases in some cities.

Methodology/principal Findings: To assess the scope and degree of arboviruses reporting in Colombia between 2014-2017, we conducted an observational study of surveillance data using the capture-recapture approach in three Colombian cities.

Effectiveness of trauma centre verification: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: There is a growing trend toward verification of trauma centres, but its impact remains unclear. This systematic review aimed to synthesize available evidence on the effectiveness of trauma centre verification.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of the CINAHL, Embase, HealthStar, MEDLINE and ProQuest databases, as well as the websites of key injury organizations for grey literature, from inception to June 2019, without language restrictions.

Estimating the Force of Infection for Dengue Virus Using Repeated Serosurveys, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Because of limited data on dengue virus in Burkina Faso, we conducted 4 consecutive age-stratified longitudinal serologic surveys, ≈6 months apart, among persons 1-55 years of age, during June 2015-March 2017, which included a 2016 outbreak. The seroconversion rate before the serosurvey enrollment was estimated by binomial regression, taking age as the duration of exposure, and assuming constant force of infection (FOI) over age and calendar time. We calculated FOI between consecutive surveys and rate ratios for potentially associated characteristics based on seroconversion using the duration of intervals.