Publications by authors named "Rong-Wei Huang"
Prediction of influenza-like illness incidence using meteorological factors in Kunming : deep learning model study.
BMC Public Health
August 2025
Background: The global incidence of Influenza-Like Illnesses (ILI) has demonstrated an overall increasing trend. In the context of climate change, it is imperative to conduct research on the impact of meteorological factors on epidemic prediction.
Objectives: To assess the potential of meteorological factors with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) models for improving ILI incidence prediction accuracy, providing a reference for the future development of related public health applicability.
Article Synopsis
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has seen a surge in cases among children following the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, prompting a study in Yunnan, China to assess differences in RSV infection characteristics pre- and post-COVID-19.
- The research included 2553 pediatric patients, analyzing various data, including demographics and clinical symptoms to identify factors associated with severe lower respiratory tract infection (SLRTI) across the two periods.
- Findings revealed a shift in RSV seasonal patterns and an increase in severe cases, older patient age, and higher clinical and laboratory indicators in post-COVID-19 children compared to those admitted before the pandemic.
Background: The rebound of influenza A (H1N1) infection in post-COVID-19 era recently attracted enormous attention due the rapidly increased number of pediatric hospitalizations and the changed characteristics compared to classical H1N1 infection in pre-COVID-19 era. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and severity of children hospitalized with H1N1 infection during post-COVID-19 period, and to construct a novel prediction model for severe H1N1 infection.
Methods: A total of 757 pediatric H1N1 inpatients from nine tertiary public hospitals in Yunnan and Shanghai, China, were retrospectively included, of which 431 patients diagnosed between February 2023 and July 2023 were divided into post-COVID-19 group, while the remaining 326 patients diagnosed between November 2018 and April 2019 were divided into pre-COVID-19 group.
Article Synopsis
- Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is linked to hand, foot, and mouth disease, and this study examines how it affects immune cells, specifically plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) and CD4 T cells.
- Early during EV71 infection, pDCs activate quickly, producing interferon (IFN)-α, which boosts the proliferation and differentiation of CD4 T cells and kicks off adaptive immune responses.
- However, as the infection progresses, pDCs and CD4 T cells become less effective due to viral replication and a key pathway (CAP) that reduces inflammation, which might contribute to a tolerance in CD4 T cells.