Epidemiology

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• Applied Epi - Elevating grassroots epidemiology
  Applied Epi is a non-profit organisation strengthening public health practice through open-source tools, training, and support. Home of the Epidemiologist R Handbook.
• Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis
  Kjetil Bjornevik, Marianna Cortese, Brian C. Healy, Jens Kuhle, et al. Science • 13 Jan 2022;375(6578):296-301 • DOI: 10.1126/science.abj8222
  Abstract
  Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system of unknown etiology. We tested the hypothesis that MS is caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in a cohort comprising more than 10 million young adults on active duty in the US military, 955 of whom were diagnosed with MS during their period of service. Risk of MS increased 32-fold after infection with EBV but was not increased after infection with other viruses, including the similarly transmitted cytomegalovirus. Serum levels of neurofilament light chain, a biomarker of neuroaxonal degeneration, increased only after EBV seroconversion. These findings cannot be explained by any known risk factor for MS and suggest EBV as the leading cause of MS.
• SARS-CoV-2 vaccine protection and deaths among US veterans during 2021
  Barbara A. Cohn, Piera M. Cirillo, Caitlin C. Murphy, Nickilou Y. Krigbaum, Arthur W. Wallace. Science 4 Nov 2021;375,(6578):331-336 • DOI: 10.1126/science.abm0620
  Abstract
  We report severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine effectiveness against infection (VE-I) and death (VE-D) by vaccine type in 780,225 veterans in the Veterans Health Administration, covering 2.7% of the US population. From February to October 2021, VE-I declined for all vaccine types, and the decline was greatest for the Janssen vaccine, resulting in a VE-I of 13.1%. Although breakthrough infection increased risk of death, vaccination remained protective against death in persons who became infected during the Delta variant surge. From July to October 2021, VE-D for age <65 years was 73.0% for Janssen, 81.5% for Moderna, and 84.3% for Pfizer-BioNTech; VE-D for age ≥65 years was 52.2% for Janssen, 75.5% for Moderna, and 70.1% for Pfizer-BioNTech. Findings support continued efforts to increase vaccination, booster campaigns, and multiple additional layers of protection against infection.
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