When public health officials make policies about when and how vaccination programs are implemented, they must weigh the benefits and risks of how infectious diseases spread throughout the country. However, these analyses are often based on national-level data and, in some countries, may overlook nuances at the local level. A new analysis by an international team, including Penn State researchers, revealed that the resulting recommendations may keep some countries from realizing the benefits of vaccination and globally eradicating diseases, such as rubella -; a contagious viral infection that causes mild symptoms in children.
The team examined data from Nigeria, one of 19 countries that hasn't yet introduced rubella vaccination, as a case study. Their findings were published online today (May 29) in the journal Vaccine. It's this interesting challenge where rubella is a mild disease if you get it as a kid, but it's high risk if you get it as an adult.
All of the policy surrounding rubella vaccination has been guided by that risk in adults, which has been holding back the benefit of rubella vaccination in some countries." Matthew Ferrari, senior author, professor of biology and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at the Huck Institutes of Life Sciences at Penn State The primary concern among adults is the potential risk for congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), a serious health condition that can occur if a pregnant person contracts the virus. When an infectious.
