Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is a prevalent yet underrecognized cause of sensorineural hearing loss and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. While CMV infection is typically asymptomatic in healthy individuals, its transmission during pregnancy can result in significant and lasting health consequences for the fetus. Despite its…

The SIR model is a differential equations based model of the spread of an infectious disease that compartmentalises individuals in a population into one of three states: those who are susceptible to a disease (S), those who are infected and can transmit the disease to others (I), and those who have recovered from the disease and are now immune…

Background: Familiarity breeds complacency. One case of sore throat can start to sound like another. However, even common viral and bacterial infections can lead to serious sequelae. Clinicians cannot make a diagnosis if they do not consider it in their differential. Case: The presentation -- and subsequent hospitalization -- of a septic 19…

When teaching infection prevention and control (IPC), nursing education tends to focus on skills and fostering good practice rather than challenging students' thinking. Therefore, students' misconceptions about IPC receive less attention than they deserve. The purpose of the study was to make an inventory of student nurses' misconceptions about…

Human history is replete with pandemics caused by virulent diseases that have produced overwhelming suffering and death. Our future will require swift, sensible, and near-universal vaccine response as viruses evolve and thrive. When viruses like COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 emerge and mutate, vaccine researchers must be nimble and responsive to quickly…

Objective: This study examines Chinese international students' underlying beliefs and overall perception of the flu vaccination to inform effective health promotion efforts on U.S. college campuses. Participants: Data were collected in March 2020. Participants (N = 189) were recruited via email at a southeastern university in the U.S. Methods:…

Understanding the school nurse's experience in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine promotion can reduce vaccine disparities. HPV vaccination is critical to cancer prevention. Despite the importance of the school nurse in vaccine promotion, there is a lack of understanding. This article aims to examine the knowledge, attitude, experience, and role…

Outbreaks of respiratory infections have impact on schools. The present article draws upon sources from the school archives of the former teachers' seminary Muristalden in the city of Bern in Switzerland. The aim is to ascertain how the various pandemic waves 1918/1919 affected school operations and the people living at Muristalden. During the…

Educational virtual environments (EVEs) can enable effective learning experiences on various devices, including smartphones, using nonimmersive virtual reality (VR). To this purpose, researchers and educators should identify the most appropriate pedagogical techniques, not restarting from scratch but exploring which traditional e-learning and VR…

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique is one of the most potent tools in molecular biology. It is extensively used for various applications ranging from medical diagnostics to forensic science and food quality testing. This technique has facilitated to survive COVID-19 pandemic by identifying the virus-infected individuals effortlessly and…

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the joint effect of two core message elements -- authoritative source and argument strength -- in correction tweets to counter conspiratorial misinformation about the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Design/Method: An online experiment with US residents (N = 404) was conducted in a 2 (authoritative…

Objective: To promote influenza vaccine acceptance among community college students during the Fall 2020 semester to reduce the incidence of a "twin-demic" occurring of influenza and COVID-19. Participants: A convenience sample of 185 students enrolled in an entry level health course. Methods: Non-experimental cross-sectional design that…

It is well documented that implementing biosecurity on an animal farm is beneficial to the animal's health and wellness and in reducing the risk of production losses caused by diseases. However, compliance of biosecurity protocols has been shown to be low, and a lack of training has been blamed. A preliminary Systems Thinking model is presented to…

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical need for enhanced outbreak preparedness against viruses. Key elements to this preparedness are robust disease surveillance systems and effective interventions to minimize disease transmission. While individual clinical testing is the conventional disease surveillance approach, environmental…

Background: Knowledge of specific health-related events encountered by students studying abroad and the availability and use of pre-travel healthcare for these students is lacking. Methods: Anonymous web-based questionnaires were sent to study abroad offices, student health centers, and undergraduate students after studying abroad at eight…