Seasonal influenza is an acute viral infection that is spread by person-to-person transmission. Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, circulates worldwide and can affect anyone in any age group, although annual epidemics peak during winter in temperate climates.
Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is a bacterium that can cause multiple types of pneumococcal disease, including bloodstream infections (sepsis), pneumonia, meningitis, and other milder diseases such as sinusitis and otitis media. The severity of pneumococcal disease is characterized as invasive or non-invasive, with invasive pneumococcal disease being more severe as the bacterium can be isolated from ordinarily sterile sites (eg blood or cerebrospinal fluid), and requires hospital treatment.
Dengue virus is a member of the Flaviviridae family, which are also known for causing other diseases including yellow fever, West Nile virus, and tick-borne encephalitis. There are four serologically distinct dengue viruses (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4), meaning that recovery from infection provides immunity against a specific serotype, but there is little to no cross-immunity towards other serotypes. As a result, a person can be infected multiple times in their lifetime, with subsequent infections being more likely to be severe due to a phenomenon called antibody-dependent enhancement of disease.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a member of the Paramyxoviridae family, is an enveloped, non-segmented, single-stranded, negativesense RNA virus. It is a common respiratory virus that is the leading cause of bronchiolitis in infants, and is estimated to be responsible for 22% of all episodes of acute lower respiratory tract infections in young children.
Meningococcal meningitis is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis, which causes a serious infection to the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord. In all, 12 known serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis have been identified, six of which (A, B, C, W, X, and Y) can cause epidemics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported around 1 in 10 people are asymptomatic carriers of the bacteria.
HPV is a member of the papillomavirus family, which are known for causing warts. Over 200 different types have been identified so far, and while most HPV infections are not harmful, persistent infection with certain HPV strains can cause warts and anogenital lesions, which if untreated may become cancers. HPV infection is the major cause of cervical cancers, with almost all cases (99%) being caused by HPV infection. Other cancers related to HPV include cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, or anus. Only about 14 HPV strains are considered high risk for causing cervical cancer, and of these the two most common types, HPV 16 and 18, are responsible for causing around 70% of all cervical cancers globally.
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