Background: The worldwide prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents quadrupled in the past decades, becoming a public health priority. Following the recommendation by the Italian Minister of Health, the Emilia-Romagna Region started a community-based program aimed at reducing pediatric overweight through children and family behavioral counseling on nutrition and physical activity. Methods: Children with excess weight, aged 2–17 years, and without severe diseases were visited five times by a multidisciplinary team, who provided dietary advice, exercise plans, and psychosocial support, according to Italian guidelines. The outcomes were the median pre–post change in Δ₃₀BMI (distance between children’s BMI and age- and sex-specific obesity threshold values) and the proportion of children who moved to a lower weight class. Logistic regression was used to identify potential predictors of weight improvement. Results: Up to March 2025, 1331 participants completed the follow-up. In total, 17.5% of the children showed an improvement in weight class, and 32.5% had a reduction of more than one unit of Δ₃₀BMI. The program was significantly and substantially more effective among the children with obesity at baseline (overweight vs. obese children adjusted odds ratio—aOR—of weight class improvement: 0.28; p < 0.001), older than eight years (9–11 years vs. 2–8 years children aOR: 1.41; p < 0.05), who adhered to breakfast recommendations (aOR: 1.60; p < 0.01) and had no obese parents (≥1 vs. 0 obese parents aOR: 0.62; p < 0.05). Conclusions: The multidisciplinary model was associated with an overall positive impact on the weight status of the enrolled children. Given the varying response, however, in order to maximize cost-effectiveness, future programs could be reserved for children with obesity, older than eight years. Further randomized research is needed to investigate the efficacy of this intervention in different settings and on late clinical endpoints.

In agreement with WHO recommendations, the Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy, implemented a population-wide HCV screening program for the treatment of the large asymptomatic infected population. From January 2022, the free-of-charge screening targeted all residents born between 1969 and 1989, prison inmates, and injection drug users. Participants were recruited using phone messages, electronic health record notifications, public advertisement, and direct contact with general practitioners. A single blood sample was collected for anti-HCV IgG testing and, if positive, for reflex HCV–RNA testing. Infected subjects were offered an evidence-based therapeutic pathway. By June 2024, 72.8% of high-risk subjects (n = 19,732), and 36.9% of the general population (n = 488,065) had been screened. A total of 1032 individuals were positive based on the HCV–RNA test, and the detection rate widely differed between the high-risk and the general population (23.8‰ vs. 1.2‰, respectively). Of the infected individuals, 88.1% were seen by a specialist physician, and 74.3% (n = 767) started antiviral therapy. Thanks to multiple recruitment approaches, over one third of the general population participated in HCV screening. The program performance was substantially greater among high-risk individuals compared to the general population. To achieve WHO targets, policymakers might consider expanding the screening to other high-risk subgroups and/or adapting birth cohorts.

Background/Objectives: Hantaviruses infections are responsible for a hemorrhagic fever with renal and cardiopulmonary syndrome with case-fatality rates up to 50%. While inactivated vaccines are already available in China and South Korea, several additional candidate vaccines are under development. This systematic review summarizes the current clinical evidence on immunogenicity and short-term safety of vaccines targeting different hantavirus strains. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic literature search was carried out to identify randomized and nonrandomized trials of any phase. Data were synthesized narratively within strata defined by vaccine platform, target virus, assay, immunogenicity and safety. Results: Ten trials on 961 adults were included: four single-arm trials on the inactivated vaccine and six early-phase DNA-vaccine trials. One month after last dose, the inactivated vaccine achieved neutralizing seropositivity by PRNT₅₀ in 45.1% of the tested subjects after two priming doses and 55.7% after three, while the corresponding binding-antibody values measured by IFA were 87.3% and 95.7%. Among DNA vaccines, homologous responses reached 100% against HTNV and 83.3% against PUUV with monovalent constructs, whereas dual responses to the bivalent construct were registered in 33.3% and 77.8% of the subjects, when measured through PRNT₅₀ and PsVNA₅₀, respectively. One serious adverse event occurred, most likely unrelated to vaccination. Conclusions: No serious safety signal was identified, although safety remains insufficiently characterized. Measured immunogenicity depends as much on the assay as on the vaccine, and, in the absence of a validated correlate of protection, it cannot be read as a clinical benefit. Future research should prioritize validated correlates of protection and innovative trial designs adapted to low-incidence diseases.