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Background: The teen birth rate in the US remains high, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities compared with many other industrialized nations. The adverse consequences of teen pregnancy are substantial at individual, family, and community levels. A range of innovative tools and interventions is needed to foster an environment that enables teens to experience better reproductive health. In 20 ...

Background: Dengue is a major public health problem in global tropical and subtropical areas. Primary prevention of this mosquito vector-borne (transmitted) disease is limited because vaccines are only in the late-stage development phase and vector control has been thus far unsuccessful. Dengue presents as an acute febrile illness often without signs or symptoms that differentiate it from other co ...

Background: Arthropod-borne virus infections may present with clinical symptoms similar to those of other bacterial or viral infections, such as a flu-like illness, encephalitis, or polio-like myelitis. Laboratory diagnosis is essential to determine etiology and calculate disease burden in order to guide treatment and control strategies, particularly if there is an effective vaccine available, suc ...

Background: The reduction and eventual elimination of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the combatting of antibiotic resistance in the pathogens causing these infections are national public health priorities as demonstrated in Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) national action plans. Public reporting of HAIs by hospitals using the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is m ...

Background: Substantial progress has been made recently towards identifying effective HIV prevention strategies. The RV144 trial demonstrated that an HIV vaccine comprised of a recombinant ALVAC prime + gp120 boost regimen was partially efficacious (VE=31.2%), although it’s protective effects waned over the study period and study volunteers faced barriers related to transportation to clinic for ...

Background: The estimation of HIV incidence, or the rate of new infections in a population, is an important public health indicator that provides valuable information on the growth of the epidemic and the efficacy of various intervention strategies. Within the past 15 years, a new strategy for estimating HIV incidence has been employed based on the observation that certain biomarkers (mainly HIV-s ...

Background: Although substantial progress has been made to identify new biomedical HIV prevention strategies, including topical and oral antiretroviral drug pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) regimens and vaccines, they are not yet approved for general use. However, these preventions (or related derivatives) are likely to be implemented widely in upcoming years. The identification of HIV preventions ...

Background: The currently licensed oral rotavirus vaccines Rotarix™ and Rotateq™ are effective in reducing cases of severe diarrhea among children in high and middle income countries, but are significantly less effective in low income countries. In addition, both vaccines are associated with a low risk of diarrhea and intussusception among infants who receive the first dose of vaccine. To impr ...

Background: Vaccines are one of the most powerful tools available for preventing disease. Measles vaccine has led to the elimination of endemic measles from the Western Hemisphere and a tremendous reduction in global mortality. However, the logistic difficulties inherent in vaccination by injection create barriers to high measles vaccine coverage. Vaccination by injection requires highly skilled v ...

Background: CDC has both domestic and international laboratory programs that provide clinical specimen testing for the detection of known and emerging infections, chemical, or radiological agents that pose global health threats. Current methods for collection, storage, and transport of biological specimens are expensive and labor and material intensive. Clinical specimens are often collected by hi ...