Abattoir workers have been identified as high-risk for livestock-associated Staphylococcus aureus carriage. This study investigated S. aureus carriage in abattoir workers in Western Kenya. Nasal swabs were collected once from participants between February-November 2012. S. aureus was isolated using bacterial culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing performed using the VITEK 2 instrument and disc diffusion methods. Isolates underwent whole genome sequencing and Multi Locus Sequence Types were derived from these data. S. aureus (n = 126) was isolated from 118/737 (16.0%) participants. Carriage was higher in HIV-positive (24/89, 27.0%) than HIV–negative participants (94/648, 14.5%; p = 0.003). There were 23 sequence types (STs) identified, and half of the isolates were ST152 (34.1%) or ST8 (15.1%). Many isolates carried the Panton-Valentine leucocidin toxin gene (42.9%). Only three isolates were methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) (3/126, 2.4%) and the prevalence of MRSA carriage was 0.4% (3/737). All MRSA were ST88. Isolates from HIV-positive participants (37.0%) were more frequently resistant to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim compared to isolates from HIV-negative participants (6.1%; p < 0.001). Similarly, trimethoprim resistance genes were more frequently detected in isolates from HIV-positive (81.5%) compared to HIV-negative participants (60.6%; p = 0.044). S. aureus in abattoir workers were representative of major sequence types in Africa, with a high proportion being toxigenic isolates. HIV-positive individuals were more frequently colonized by antimicrobial resistant S. aureus which may be explained by prophylactic antimicrobial use.

Vaccines to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)–associated lower respiratory tract disease in older adults have become available in recent years. We investigated RSV vaccine uptake, effectiveness, and safety signals in older adults reported in post-licensure real-world studies. For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we conducted 11 monthly searches (between November 5, 2024, and November 10, 2025) in Ovid Medline, Embase, and Global Health databases. Meta-analyses, using random-effects modelling, were performed for uptake, effectiveness, and safety signals. PROSPERO registration: CRD42025643585. A total of 3900 studies were identified, of which 36 were included, published between December 22, 2023, and October 28, 2025, and covering over 121.8 million individuals across the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Canada, and Israel. In the United States, RSV vaccine uptake among adults aged ≥60 years during the 2023/24 RSV season was 18.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 12.2–25.7; ten studies), varying by clinical and socio-demographic subgroups. Among adults aged ≥60 years, pooled estimates of vaccine effectiveness were 75.3% (95% CI: 73.7–76.9; three studies) against any laboratory-confirmed RSV-positive infection, 76.4% (95% CI: 74.2–78.5; four studies) against RSV-related emergency department or urgent care visits, 74.8% (95% CI: 66.8–82.9; six studies) against RSV-related hospital admissions, and 79.8% (95% CI: 68.1–91.5; four studies) against severe RSV-associated disease. Following vaccination, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) was reported in two studies with between 5.2 and 6.5 cases per one million doses for RSVPreF3+AS01 (Arexvy, GSK) vaccines and between 9.0 and 18.2 cases per one million doses for RSVpreF (Abrysvo, Pfizer) vaccines. RSV vaccine uptake in older adults was low globally with substantial disparities between sociodemographic and clinical subgroups. Our study showed a favourable safety profile and high effectiveness of the RSV vaccines, highlighting the value of wide implementation of these vaccines. There was no funding for the study.

Mass COVID-19 vaccination commenced in December 2020 in Scotland. Monitoring vaccine safety relies on accurate background incidence rates (IRs) for health outcomes potentially associated with vaccination. This study aimed to quantify IRs in Scotland of adverse events of special interest (AESI) potentially associated with COVID-19 vaccination. IRs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 36 AESI were calculated retrospectively for the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period (01 January 2015-31 December 2019) and the COVID-19 pandemic period (01 April 2020-30 November 2020), with age-sex stratification, and separately by calendar month and year. Incident cases were determined using International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision (ICD-10)-coded hospitalisations. Prepandemic population-wide IRs ranged from 0.4 (0.3-0.5 CIs) cases per 100,000 person-years (PYRS) for neuromyelitis optica to 478.4 (475.8-481.0 CIs) cases per 100,000 PYRS for acute renal failure. Pandemic population-wide IRs ranged from 0.3 (0.2-0.5 CIs) cases per 100,000 PYRS for Kawasaki disease to 483.4 (473.2-493.7 CIs) cases per 100,000 PYRS for acute coronary syndrome. All AESI IRs varied by age and sex. Ten AESI (acute coronary syndrome, acute myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, heart failure, multiple sclerosis, polyneuropathies and peripheral neuropathies, respiratory failure, rheumatoid arthritis and polyarthritis, seizures and vasculitis) had lower pandemic than prepandemic period IRs overall. Only deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism had a higher pandemic IR. Lower pandemic IRs likely resulted from reduced health-seeking behaviours and healthcare provision. Higher IRs may be associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections. AESI IRs will facilitate future vaccine safety studies in Scotland.

Background/Objectives: Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a common respiratory tract infection that accounts for significant morbidity and mortality, particularly among older adults. From 1 August 2024, the bivalent RSVpreF vaccine (Abrysvo^®) was introduced in Scotland for eligible older adults. While clinical trials and post-licensure studies showed a good safety profile of the vaccine, post-marketing observational studies in the United States reported a small increased risk of Guillain–Barré Syndrome (GBS) among older adult populations. Methods: We conducted observed versus expected (OE) and self-controlled case series (SCCS) analyses to retrospectively monitor the incidence of hospital admission for 39 conditions, including GBS. This was undertaken in post-RSV-vaccination periods from 1 August to 31 December 2024, among eligible adults aged 74 to 80 years in Scotland. Results: Observed versus expected analyses identified an increased risk of hospitalisation with GBS in the 1–28-day post-vaccination period. From SCCS analyses, six conditions showed an increased risk in post-vaccination periods (acute coronary syndrome, acute myocardial infarction, acute renal failure, GBS, heart failure and stroke (haemorrhagic)). After temporal adjustment, only GBS remained significant. All 10 hospitalised GBS cases occurred in the 10 to 16 days post-vaccination. Excess risk of GBS was estimated to be 46.1 cases per one million doses. Conclusions: Study results indicated a good safety profile of the RSV vaccine for older eligible adults aged 75 to 79 years, although a small increased risk of GBS was identified in both analyses. Excess risk levels of GBS from vaccination align with other studies.