Background: Elderly population is considered at high risk for pneumococcal diseases. The pneumococcal vaccine coverage presents extremely low among elderly people in China. However, the serious event of COVID-19 drives interest in the pneumococcal vaccine, prompting us investigating the willingness to accept the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) and influencing factors among people aged over 60 years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed using a self-administered questionnaire in Shenzhen City of China, elaborating the willingness toward PPSV23 in the elderly persons. Binomial logistic analyses were performed to estimate the influencing factors using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Among 15,066 respondents, 91.5% presented a positive attitude toward PPSV23. Logistic analyses suggested the influencing factors included knowledge about pneumonia (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.391, 95%CI 1.214–1.593), perception of the seriousness of pneumonia (aOR 1.437, 95%CI 1.230–1.680) and preventing way for pneumonia (aOR 1.639, 95%CI 1.440–1.865), worried about getting pneumonia (aOR 2.751, 95%CI 2.444–3.096), understanding vaccine policy (aOR 1.774, 95%CI 1.514–2.079), and influenza vaccine (aOR 3.516 and 95%CI 2.261–5.468) and PPSV23 histories (aOR 3.199, 95%CI 1.492–6.860). Conclusions: The interest surge in pneumococcal vaccine coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak, foreshadowing higher demand for pneumococcal vaccine in the near future.

Hunnivirus is a novel member of the family Picornaviridae. A single species, Hunnivirus A, is currently described. However, there is limited information on the identification of Hunnivirus to date, and thereby the circulation of Hunnivirus is not fully understood. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, genomic characteristics, and evolution of rat hunnivirus in southern China. A total of 404 fecal samples were subjected to detection of Hunnivirus from urban rats (Rattus norvegicus and Rattus tanezumi) using PCR assay based on specific primers targeted to partial 3D regions, with the prevalence of 17.8% in Rattus norvegicus and 15.6% in Rattus tanezumi. An almost full-length rat hunnivirus sequence (RatHuV/YY12/CHN) and the genome structure were acquired in the present study. Phylogenetic analysis of the P1 coding regions suggested the RatHuV/YY12/CHN sequence was found to be within the genotype of Hunnivirus A4. The negative selection was further identified based on analysis of non-synonymous to synonymous substitution rates. The present findings suggest that hunniviruses are common in urban rats. Further research is needed for increased surveillance and awareness of potential risks to human health.

Background: Older individuals with hypertension are at a high risk of being infected with influenza. However, there have been few studies investigating the influenza vaccination status among older people with hypertension. The present work aimed to estimate the vaccination coverage and determine the predictors of seasonal influenza vaccinations among hypertensive patients aged over 60 years in Shenzhen, China. Method: The study used data from an online cross-sectional survey that was conducted in Shenzhen City, China, in October 2020. Frequencies and proportions of all the variables including sociodemographic characteristics and health-related information were described and tabulated based on the influenza vaccination status. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent predictors associated with the influenza vaccination. Results: A total of 5216 older people with hypertension aged above 60 years were recruited. Overall, only 4.7% had received an influenza vaccine in the latest influenza season. Using the action toward being vaccinated as the primary outcome, the multivariable regression analysis showed that participants aged over 80 years (aOR 2.957, 95% CI: 1.784–4.900), obtaining higher education levels (aOR 1.424, 95% CI: 1.060–1.914 for high school, aOR 1.681, 95% CI: 1.066–2.650 for college or above), living with a partner (aOR 1.432, 95% CI: 1.068–1.920), using a family doctor (aOR 2.275, 95% CI: 1.744–2.968), and taking a physical examination 1–2 and ≥3 times each year (aOR 2.107, 95% CI: 1.601–2.772 and aOR 2.118, 95% CI: 1.083–4.143, respectively) were more likely to be vaccinated. In contrast, smokers had less likelihood of having the influenza vaccination than non-smokers (aOR 1.829, 95% CI: 1.208–2.767). Conclusions: The coverage rate of influenza vaccinations is far away from optimistic among older adults with hypertension. Additional works should be undertaken immediately to improve the influenza vaccination status.

The present study focused on the adverse events following the vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the Guangdong Province of China between 2005 and 2017. In total, more than 88 million doses of HBV vaccine were administered in the Guangdong Province during the study period. A total of 3115 adverse events following immunization (AEFI) related to HBV vaccination occurred, with an overall incidence of 35.39 per million doses. Of these, 1801 cases were male, and 1314 were female; 74.01% (2376/3115) of the cases occurred in children aged less than 2 years; 56.05% (1746/3115) of the cases were classified as common vaccine reactions; and 30.37% (946/3115) of the cases were grouped into rare vaccine reactions. Additionally, 27.74% (864/3115) of the cases were classified as allergic reactions, 0.10% (3/3115) were temporary neurological events, and 1.28% (36/3115) were diagnosed as severe adverse events. This study suggested that the HBV vaccine posed a reasonable profile because most adverse events remained relatively mild, and the neurological events were relatively rare. This study concluded that the incidence of severe vaccine reactions related to HBV vaccination are extremely low.

Recently, murine kobuvirus (MuKV), a novel member of the family Picornaviridae, was identified in faecal samples of Rattus norvegicus in China. The limited information on the circulation of MuKV in other murine rodent species prompted us to investigate its prevalence and conduct a genetic characterization of MuKV in Rattus losea, Rattus tanezumi and Rattus norvegicus in China. Between 2015 and 2017, 243 faecal samples of these three murine rodent species from three regions in southern China were screened for the presence of MuKV. The overall prevalence was 23.0% (56/243). Three complete MuKV polyprotein sequences were acquired, and the genome organization was determined. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that our sequences were closely related to Chinese strains and belong to the species Aichivirus A in the genus Kobuvirus. Additional studies are required to understand the true prevalence of MuKV in murine rodent populations in China.

Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome is identified as a medical condition with the presence of obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease. This study assesses the associations of ambient air pollution and household fuel usage with the risk of CKM syndrome in advanced stages among middle-aged and older adults. Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) spanning 2011 and 2015 were used. Data of ambient air pollutants (NO₂, SO₂, O₃, PM₁, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀) were derived from the ChinaHighAirPollutants (CHAP) dataset. CKM syndrome was separated into five stages (stages 0-4), with stages 3-4 being considered advanced. Logistic regression quantified the separate and joint effects of exposure to ambient air pollution and household fuel usage on advanced CKM syndrome. Multiple ambient air pollutants were evaluated using the weighted quantile sum regression, quantile-based gcomputation, and Bayesian kernel machine regression. In the longitudinal analysis, 18.2 % (604/3317) of participants developed advanced CKM syndrome. For single-pollutant models, ambient air pollutants and household solid fuel use were found as the independent risk factors for advanced CKM syndrome. The highest risk occurred in individuals with combined high ambient air pollution exposure and clean-to-solid fuel use. Additionally, co-exposure to a higher level of ambient air pollutant mixture showed a consistently elevated risk of advanced CKM syndrome, with PM₁₀ being the primary driver. Concurrent exposure to high levels of outdoor and indoor air pollution increases the risk of CKM syndrome in advanced stages.