Breaking the chain of transmission: Immunisation and outbreak investigation

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the application of epidemiological studies to inform primary and secondary preventive strategies for infectious disease control. This is achieved through recognition of current risk groups for known pathogens, identification of risk factors for emerging pathogens and unexpected disease events, and the application of this knowledge to inform infectious disease control guidelines. The thesis is divided in two parts: In the first part (Chapter 2-Chapter 6), studies examining current risk groups for vaccine preventable diseases are described; In the second part (Chapter 7-Chapter 11) studies identifying risk factors for emerging diseases and unexpected disease events are reported.