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_|selected Research Articles Abstracts, July 27, 2008|_
[In this post: (1) Research Articles Abstracts.
Contents:
(1.1) Evaluation of intravenous zanamivir against experimental influenza A (H5N1) virus infection in the cynomolgus macaques.
(1.2) Potency of an inactivated avian influenza vaccine prepared from a non-pathogenic H5N1 reassortant virus generated between isolates from migratory ducks in Asia.
(1.3) What about viral community acquired pneumonias?
(1.4) Simultaneously subtyping of all influenza A viruses using DNA microarrays.
(1.5) Evaluation of chicken-origin (DF-1) and quail-origin (QT-6) fibroblast cell lines for replication of avian influenza viruses.
(1.6) Preparedness for pandemic influenza in nursing homes: a 2-state survey.
(1.7) Protecting residential care facilities from pandemic influenza.
(1.8) Estimating the impact of childhood influenza vaccination programmes in England and Wales.
(1.9) Influenza vaccine in Hajj pilgrims: Policy issues from field studies.
(1.10) Safe administration of an inactivated virosomal adjuvanted influenza vaccine in asthmatic children with egg allergy.
(1.11) Safety and reactogenicity profile of an adjuvanted H5N1 pandemic candidate vaccine in adults within a phase III safety trial.
See original abstracts at the source site. EDITED.]
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(1.1): Antiviral Res. 2008 Jul 19. [Epub ahead of print]
Evaluation of intravenous zanamivir against experimental influenza A (H5N1) virus infection in the cynomolgus macaques.
Stittelaar KJ, Tisdale M, van Amerongen G, van Lavieren RF, Pistoor F, Simon J, Osterhaus AD. - ViroClinics BV, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
We investigated the prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of an intravenous (IV) formulation of zanamivir in a macaque infection model for highly pathogenic influenza A (H5N1) virus.
Antiviral efficacy was dose-dependent, with no reduction in viral load observed at 2mg/kg, but a significant reduction observed at 10mg/kg (p=0.039) and at 20mg/kg in the combined prophylactic and therapeutic groups (p=0.049) with both prophylaxis (commencing 12h before infection) and therapy (commencing 4h after infection) showing similar reductions in viral load.
Combined gross pathology and microscopic pneumonia scores in the treated animals relative to untreated controls were significantly reduced at 10mg/kg (p=0.02) and at 20mg/kg in the prophylaxis group (p=0.02), but were not significant in the treatment group (p=0.145).
In this new animal model for evaluation of influenza antivirals, despite variability observed between individual animals, IV zanamivir showed evidence of efficacy against highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.
PMID: 18647621 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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(1.2): Arch Virol. 2008 Jul 25. [Epub ahead of print]
Potency of an inactivated avian influenza vaccine prepared from a non-pathogenic H5N1 reassortant virus generated between isolates from migratory ducks in Asia.
Isoda N, Sakoda Y, Kishida N, Soda K, Sakabe S, Sakamoto R, Imamura T, Sakaguchi M, Sasaki T, Kokumai N, Ohgitani T, Saijo K, Sawata A, Hagiwara J, Lin Z, Kida H. - Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18-jyo Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0818, Japan.
A reassortant influenza virus, A/duck/Hokkaido/Vac-1/2004 (H5N1) (Dk/Vac-1/04), was generated between non-pathogenic avian influenza viruses isolated from migratory ducks in Asia.
Dk/Vac-1/04 (H5N1) virus particles propagated in embryonated chicken eggs were inactivated with formalin and adjuvanted with mineral oil to form a water-in-oil emulsion.
The resulting vaccine was injected intramuscularly into chickens.
The chickens were challenged with either of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus strains A/chicken/Yamaguchi/7/2004 (H5N1) or A/swan/Mongolia/3/2005 (H5N1) at 21 days post-vaccination (p. v.), when the geometric mean serum HI titers of the birds was 64 with the challenge virus strains.
The vaccinated chickens were protected from manifestation of disease signs upon challenge with either of the highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses.
However, challenge virus was recovered at low titers from the birds at 2 and 4 days post-challenge (p.c.).
All 3 chickens challenged at 6 days p.v. died, whereas 3 chickens challenged at 8 days p.v. survived.
These results indicate that the present vaccine confers clinical protection and reduction of virus shedding against highly pathogenic avian influenza virus challenge and should be useful as an optional tool in emergency cases.
PMID: 18651092 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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(1.3): BMJ. 2008 Jul 1;337:a598. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a598.
Comment on: BMJ. 2008 Jun 21;336(7658):1429-33.
What about viral community acquired pneumonias?
Shin GY.
PMID: 18595907 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] - PMCID: PMC2443564
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-------
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(1.4): J Virol Methods. 2008 Jul 17. [Epub ahead of print]
Simultaneously subtyping of all influenza A viruses using DNA microarrays.
Han X, Lin X, Liu B, Hou Y, Huang J, Wu S, Liu J, Mei L, Jia G, Zhu Q. - Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing 100029, China.
Rapid diagnosis of novel emerging subtypes of influenza viruses is vital for effective global influenza surveillance.
To this end, a novel microarray based surveillance was developed for subtyping all influenza A viruses on one chip.
Using reference strains of different influenza subtypes and samples from different areas, the results show that all the subtypes of the influenza A virus could be identified simultaneously on this microchip with high sensitivity.
There was no cross-hybridization reaction with other viruses, indicating that the microarray is specific for influenza A viruses.
Such a diagnostic microarray will undoubtedly be useful for identifying novel influenza A virus subtypes.
PMID: 18639939 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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(1.5): J Virol Methods. 2008 Jul 15. [Epub ahead of print]
Evaluation of chicken-origin (DF-1) and quail-origin (QT-6) fibroblast cell lines for replication of avian influenza viruses.
Lee CW, Jung K, Jadhao SJ, Suarez DL. - Food Animal Health Research Program, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, United States; Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States.
Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are isolated routinely and propagated in specific pathogen free embryonated chicken eggs (ECE) and mammalian origin Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell line.
Continuous avian cell lines offer advantages for propagation of AIVs over MDCK cells because they maintain species specificity, and lower recurring costs compared to ECE.
In this study, the characteristics of two avian fibroblast cell lines were evaluated, DF-1 (chicken-origin) and QT-6 (quail-origin), and their ability to support the growth of AIVs (n=19) belonging to nine different hemagglutinin subtypes from a variety of avian species.
The replication efficiency of the AIVs in QT-6 and DF-1 cells was comparable to those in primary chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) and MDCK cells.
Receptor distribution analysis demonstrated high prevalence of SA alpha2,3-gal linked receptors in QT-6 and DF-1 cells which support a high growth of AIVs in these cell lines.
Furthermore, the QT-6 and DF-1 cells supported high plaque-forming ability of representative highly pathogenic Eurasian H5N1 and H7N1 subtype AIVs.
These two avian cell lines, especially QT-6 cells, also showed high transfection efficiency and could be useful for reverse genetics based rescue of AIVs.
This study indicates that the DF-1 and QT-6 cell lines may be useful as a substitute for primary CEF and MDCK cells for AIV research in the areas of in vitro host range, molecular pathobiology and molecular genetics.
PMID: 18638503 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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(1.6): JAMA. 2008 Jul 23;300(4):392-4.
Preparedness for pandemic influenza in nursing homes: a 2-state survey.
Smith PW, Shostrom V, Smith A, Kaufmann M, Mody L.
PMID: 18647981 [PubMed - in process]
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(1.7): Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Protecting residential care facilities from pandemic influenza.
Nu?o M, Reichert TA, Chowell G, Gumel AB. - Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772;
It is widely believed that protecting health care facilities against outbreaks of pandemic influenza requires pharmaceutical resources such as antivirals and vaccines.
However, early in a pandemic, vaccines will not likely be available and antivirals will probably be of limited supply.
The containment of pandemic influenza within acute-care hospitals anywhere is problematic because of open connections with communities.
However, other health care institutions, especially those providing care for the disabled, can potentially control community access.
We modeled a residential care facility by using a stochastic compartmental model to address the question of whether conditions exist under which nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) alone might prevent the introduction of a pandemic virus.
The model projected that with currently recommended staff-visitor interactions and social distancing practices, virus introductions are inevitable in all pandemics, accompanied by rapid internal propagation.
The model identified staff reentry as the critical pathway of contagion, and provided estimates of the reduction in risk required to minimize the probability of a virus introduction.
By using information on latency for historical and candidate pandemic viruses, we developed NPIs that simulated notions of protective isolation for staff away from the facility that reduced the probability of bringing the pandemic infection back to the facility to levels providing protection over a large range of projected pandemic severities.
The proposed form of protective isolation was evaluated for social plausibility by collaborators who operate residential facilities.
It appears unavoidable that NPI combinations effective against pandemics more severe than mild imply social disruption that increases with severity.
PMID: 18647829 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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(1.8): Vaccine. 2008 Jul 19. [Epub ahead of print]
Estimating the impact of childhood influenza vaccination programmes in England and Wales.
Vynnycky E, Pitman R, Siddiqui R, Gay N, Edmunds WJ. - Modelling and Economics Unit, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, 61 Colindale Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 5HT, UK.
There is increasing interest in routine vaccination of children against influenza.
We use an age-structured model to demonstrate that the long-term incidence of influenza A could decrease by 11-21% in the overall population by vaccinating individuals aged 6 to <24 months, and by 22-38% and 65-97% through targeting those aged 6 to <60 months and 6 months to 16 years, respectively.
The corresponding reductions predicted for influenza B were 25-35%, 44-69% and 85-96%, respectively.
These results are sensitive to assumptions about contact patterns and several parameters require further study.
Consistently, high levels of vaccination coverage among pre-school children has the potential to bring benefits to both those vaccinated and the community.
PMID: 18647634 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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(1.9): Vaccine. 2008 Jul 17. [Epub ahead of print]
Influenza vaccine in Hajj pilgrims: Policy issues from field studies.
Rashid H, Shafi S, Haworth E, Memish ZA, El Bashir H, Ali KA, Booy R. - Academic Unit of Child Health, Barts and The London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK.
In pilgrims returning to the UK from the Hajj in 2005 and 2006, protection from PCR-confirmed influenza by influenza vaccine was estimated using verified vaccination histories from those with symptoms consistent with influenza.
Of 538 patients whose nasal swabs were analysed and immunisation histories confirmed 115 (21%) were in a high-risk group for influenza; half of these (58/115) were immunised against influenza, compared with a fifth (90/423) of those not at high risk.
Five percent of vaccinated 'at risk' pilgrims compared with 14% of unvaccinated (RR 0.37, 95% CI 0.1-1.4) had confirmed influenza.
Rates of influenza in vaccinated and unvaccinated 'not at risk' pilgrims were similar (10% vs. 11%).
Seasonal influenza vaccine was insignificantly protective against influenza in Hajj pilgrims.
PMID: 18640171 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
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(1.10): Vaccine. 2008 Jul 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Safe administration of an inactivated virosomal adjuvanted influenza vaccine in asthmatic children with egg allergy.
Esposito S, Gasparini C, Martelli A, Zenga A, Tremolati E, Varin E, Marseglia GL, Fiocchi A, Principi N. - Institute of Pediatrics, University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Via Commenda 9, 20122 Milan, Italy.
In order to evaluate whether the virosomal adjuvanted influenza vaccine that has been shown to have the lowest egg protein content (Inflexal V, Berna Biotech) could be administered to children with even severe egg allergy without any risk of allergic reactions, we used epicutaneous skin testing with the undiluted vaccine in 88 asthmatic children (44 with and 44 without egg allergy), none of whom had a positive response.
They were then vaccinated with the whole dose of Inflexal V intramuscularly in a one-dose protocol, and the occurrence of any immediate or delayed adverse events were actively monitored for 28 days.
The results showed the safety of the administration, and demonstrated that Inflexal V can be safely given without performing a vaccine skin test in children with any kind of egg allergy.
PMID: 18639601 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
--------
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(1.11): Vaccine. 2008 May 2;26(19):2378-88. Epub 2008 Mar 27.
Safety and reactogenicity profile of an adjuvanted H5N1 pandemic candidate vaccine in adults within a phase III safety trial.
R?mke HC, Bayas JM, de Juanes JR, Caso C, Richardus JH, Campins M, Rombo L, Duval X, Romanenko V, Schwarz TF, Fassakhov R, Abad-Santos F, von Sonnenburg F, Dram? M, S?nger R, Ballou WR. - VAXINOSTICS BV, University Vaccine Center Rotterdam Nijmegen, Beursplein 37, PO Box 30142, 3001 DC Rotterdam, The Netherlands. rumke@vaxinostics.com
A multicentre, randomized, phase III clinical trial in 5071 healthy adults was conducted to evaluate the safety and reactogenicity of a 15 microg HA dose of a candidate oil-in-water emulsion-based adjuvant system (AS)-adjuvanted split-virion H5N1 (AS-H5N1) vaccine compared to a licensed seasonal influenza vaccine, Fluarix.(1)
Stringent criteria were used to evaluate adverse events and reactogenicity profile.
Overall, 96.7% of the 5071 vaccinated subjects completed the study.
Significantly more participants in the AS-H5N1 vaccine group reported general or local adverse events.
Pain was the most common symptom in both treatment groups.
Less than 1% of subjects withdrew from the study due to adverse events and no withdrawals were due to serious adverse events related to vaccination.
The safety and reactogenicity profile of the AS-H5N1 candidate vaccine can be considered clinically acceptable in the context of its use against pandemic influenza.
PMID: 18407382 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Contents:
(1.1) Evaluation of intravenous zanamivir against experimental influenza A (H5N1) virus infection in the cynomolgus macaques.
(1.2) Potency of an inactivated avian influenza vaccine prepared from a non-pathogenic H5N1 reassortant virus generated between isolates from migratory ducks in Asia.
(1.3) What about viral community acquired pneumonias?
(1.4) Simultaneously subtyping of all influenza A viruses using DNA microarrays.
(1.5) Evaluation of chicken-origin (DF-1) and quail-origin (QT-6) fibroblast cell lines for replication of avian influenza viruses.
(1.6) Preparedness for pandemic influenza in nursing homes: a 2-state survey.
(1.7) Protecting residential care facilities from pandemic influenza.
(1.8) Estimating the impact of childhood influenza vaccination programmes in England and Wales.
(1.9) Influenza vaccine in Hajj pilgrims: Policy issues from field studies.
(1.10) Safe administration of an inactivated virosomal adjuvanted influenza vaccine in asthmatic children with egg allergy.
(1.11) Safety and reactogenicity profile of an adjuvanted H5N1 pandemic candidate vaccine in adults within a phase III safety trial.
See original abstracts at the source site. EDITED.]
-----------
-
(1.1): Antiviral Res. 2008 Jul 19. [Epub ahead of print]
Evaluation of intravenous zanamivir against experimental influenza A (H5N1) virus infection in the cynomolgus macaques.
Stittelaar KJ, Tisdale M, van Amerongen G, van Lavieren RF, Pistoor F, Simon J, Osterhaus AD. - ViroClinics BV, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
We investigated the prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of an intravenous (IV) formulation of zanamivir in a macaque infection model for highly pathogenic influenza A (H5N1) virus.
Antiviral efficacy was dose-dependent, with no reduction in viral load observed at 2mg/kg, but a significant reduction observed at 10mg/kg (p=0.039) and at 20mg/kg in the combined prophylactic and therapeutic groups (p=0.049) with both prophylaxis (commencing 12h before infection) and therapy (commencing 4h after infection) showing similar reductions in viral load.
Combined gross pathology and microscopic pneumonia scores in the treated animals relative to untreated controls were significantly reduced at 10mg/kg (p=0.02) and at 20mg/kg in the prophylaxis group (p=0.02), but were not significant in the treatment group (p=0.145).
In this new animal model for evaluation of influenza antivirals, despite variability observed between individual animals, IV zanamivir showed evidence of efficacy against highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.
PMID: 18647621 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
-------
-
(1.2): Arch Virol. 2008 Jul 25. [Epub ahead of print]
Potency of an inactivated avian influenza vaccine prepared from a non-pathogenic H5N1 reassortant virus generated between isolates from migratory ducks in Asia.
Isoda N, Sakoda Y, Kishida N, Soda K, Sakabe S, Sakamoto R, Imamura T, Sakaguchi M, Sasaki T, Kokumai N, Ohgitani T, Saijo K, Sawata A, Hagiwara J, Lin Z, Kida H. - Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita 18-jyo Nishi-9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0818, Japan.
A reassortant influenza virus, A/duck/Hokkaido/Vac-1/2004 (H5N1) (Dk/Vac-1/04), was generated between non-pathogenic avian influenza viruses isolated from migratory ducks in Asia.
Dk/Vac-1/04 (H5N1) virus particles propagated in embryonated chicken eggs were inactivated with formalin and adjuvanted with mineral oil to form a water-in-oil emulsion.
The resulting vaccine was injected intramuscularly into chickens.
The chickens were challenged with either of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus strains A/chicken/Yamaguchi/7/2004 (H5N1) or A/swan/Mongolia/3/2005 (H5N1) at 21 days post-vaccination (p. v.), when the geometric mean serum HI titers of the birds was 64 with the challenge virus strains.
The vaccinated chickens were protected from manifestation of disease signs upon challenge with either of the highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses.
However, challenge virus was recovered at low titers from the birds at 2 and 4 days post-challenge (p.c.).
All 3 chickens challenged at 6 days p.v. died, whereas 3 chickens challenged at 8 days p.v. survived.
These results indicate that the present vaccine confers clinical protection and reduction of virus shedding against highly pathogenic avian influenza virus challenge and should be useful as an optional tool in emergency cases.
PMID: 18651092 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
-------
-
(1.3): BMJ. 2008 Jul 1;337:a598. doi: 10.1136/bmj.a598.
Comment on: BMJ. 2008 Jun 21;336(7658):1429-33.
What about viral community acquired pneumonias?
Shin GY.
PMID: 18595907 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] - PMCID: PMC2443564
-
-------
-
(1.4): J Virol Methods. 2008 Jul 17. [Epub ahead of print]
Simultaneously subtyping of all influenza A viruses using DNA microarrays.
Han X, Lin X, Liu B, Hou Y, Huang J, Wu S, Liu J, Mei L, Jia G, Zhu Q. - Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing 100029, China.
Rapid diagnosis of novel emerging subtypes of influenza viruses is vital for effective global influenza surveillance.
To this end, a novel microarray based surveillance was developed for subtyping all influenza A viruses on one chip.
Using reference strains of different influenza subtypes and samples from different areas, the results show that all the subtypes of the influenza A virus could be identified simultaneously on this microchip with high sensitivity.
There was no cross-hybridization reaction with other viruses, indicating that the microarray is specific for influenza A viruses.
Such a diagnostic microarray will undoubtedly be useful for identifying novel influenza A virus subtypes.
PMID: 18639939 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
--------
-
(1.5): J Virol Methods. 2008 Jul 15. [Epub ahead of print]
Evaluation of chicken-origin (DF-1) and quail-origin (QT-6) fibroblast cell lines for replication of avian influenza viruses.
Lee CW, Jung K, Jadhao SJ, Suarez DL. - Food Animal Health Research Program, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, United States; Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States.
Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are isolated routinely and propagated in specific pathogen free embryonated chicken eggs (ECE) and mammalian origin Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell line.
Continuous avian cell lines offer advantages for propagation of AIVs over MDCK cells because they maintain species specificity, and lower recurring costs compared to ECE.
In this study, the characteristics of two avian fibroblast cell lines were evaluated, DF-1 (chicken-origin) and QT-6 (quail-origin), and their ability to support the growth of AIVs (n=19) belonging to nine different hemagglutinin subtypes from a variety of avian species.
The replication efficiency of the AIVs in QT-6 and DF-1 cells was comparable to those in primary chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) and MDCK cells.
Receptor distribution analysis demonstrated high prevalence of SA alpha2,3-gal linked receptors in QT-6 and DF-1 cells which support a high growth of AIVs in these cell lines.
Furthermore, the QT-6 and DF-1 cells supported high plaque-forming ability of representative highly pathogenic Eurasian H5N1 and H7N1 subtype AIVs.
These two avian cell lines, especially QT-6 cells, also showed high transfection efficiency and could be useful for reverse genetics based rescue of AIVs.
This study indicates that the DF-1 and QT-6 cell lines may be useful as a substitute for primary CEF and MDCK cells for AIV research in the areas of in vitro host range, molecular pathobiology and molecular genetics.
PMID: 18638503 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
--------
-
(1.6): JAMA. 2008 Jul 23;300(4):392-4.
Preparedness for pandemic influenza in nursing homes: a 2-state survey.
Smith PW, Shostrom V, Smith A, Kaufmann M, Mody L.
PMID: 18647981 [PubMed - in process]
-
--------
-
(1.7): Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Protecting residential care facilities from pandemic influenza.
Nu?o M, Reichert TA, Chowell G, Gumel AB. - Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772;
It is widely believed that protecting health care facilities against outbreaks of pandemic influenza requires pharmaceutical resources such as antivirals and vaccines.
However, early in a pandemic, vaccines will not likely be available and antivirals will probably be of limited supply.
The containment of pandemic influenza within acute-care hospitals anywhere is problematic because of open connections with communities.
However, other health care institutions, especially those providing care for the disabled, can potentially control community access.
We modeled a residential care facility by using a stochastic compartmental model to address the question of whether conditions exist under which nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) alone might prevent the introduction of a pandemic virus.
The model projected that with currently recommended staff-visitor interactions and social distancing practices, virus introductions are inevitable in all pandemics, accompanied by rapid internal propagation.
The model identified staff reentry as the critical pathway of contagion, and provided estimates of the reduction in risk required to minimize the probability of a virus introduction.
By using information on latency for historical and candidate pandemic viruses, we developed NPIs that simulated notions of protective isolation for staff away from the facility that reduced the probability of bringing the pandemic infection back to the facility to levels providing protection over a large range of projected pandemic severities.
The proposed form of protective isolation was evaluated for social plausibility by collaborators who operate residential facilities.
It appears unavoidable that NPI combinations effective against pandemics more severe than mild imply social disruption that increases with severity.
PMID: 18647829 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
--------
-
(1.8): Vaccine. 2008 Jul 19. [Epub ahead of print]
Estimating the impact of childhood influenza vaccination programmes in England and Wales.
Vynnycky E, Pitman R, Siddiqui R, Gay N, Edmunds WJ. - Modelling and Economics Unit, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, 61 Colindale Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 5HT, UK.
There is increasing interest in routine vaccination of children against influenza.
We use an age-structured model to demonstrate that the long-term incidence of influenza A could decrease by 11-21% in the overall population by vaccinating individuals aged 6 to <24 months, and by 22-38% and 65-97% through targeting those aged 6 to <60 months and 6 months to 16 years, respectively.
The corresponding reductions predicted for influenza B were 25-35%, 44-69% and 85-96%, respectively.
These results are sensitive to assumptions about contact patterns and several parameters require further study.
Consistently, high levels of vaccination coverage among pre-school children has the potential to bring benefits to both those vaccinated and the community.
PMID: 18647634 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
--------
-
(1.9): Vaccine. 2008 Jul 17. [Epub ahead of print]
Influenza vaccine in Hajj pilgrims: Policy issues from field studies.
Rashid H, Shafi S, Haworth E, Memish ZA, El Bashir H, Ali KA, Booy R. - Academic Unit of Child Health, Barts and The London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK.
In pilgrims returning to the UK from the Hajj in 2005 and 2006, protection from PCR-confirmed influenza by influenza vaccine was estimated using verified vaccination histories from those with symptoms consistent with influenza.
Of 538 patients whose nasal swabs were analysed and immunisation histories confirmed 115 (21%) were in a high-risk group for influenza; half of these (58/115) were immunised against influenza, compared with a fifth (90/423) of those not at high risk.
Five percent of vaccinated 'at risk' pilgrims compared with 14% of unvaccinated (RR 0.37, 95% CI 0.1-1.4) had confirmed influenza.
Rates of influenza in vaccinated and unvaccinated 'not at risk' pilgrims were similar (10% vs. 11%).
Seasonal influenza vaccine was insignificantly protective against influenza in Hajj pilgrims.
PMID: 18640171 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
--------
-
(1.10): Vaccine. 2008 Jul 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Safe administration of an inactivated virosomal adjuvanted influenza vaccine in asthmatic children with egg allergy.
Esposito S, Gasparini C, Martelli A, Zenga A, Tremolati E, Varin E, Marseglia GL, Fiocchi A, Principi N. - Institute of Pediatrics, University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Via Commenda 9, 20122 Milan, Italy.
In order to evaluate whether the virosomal adjuvanted influenza vaccine that has been shown to have the lowest egg protein content (Inflexal V, Berna Biotech) could be administered to children with even severe egg allergy without any risk of allergic reactions, we used epicutaneous skin testing with the undiluted vaccine in 88 asthmatic children (44 with and 44 without egg allergy), none of whom had a positive response.
They were then vaccinated with the whole dose of Inflexal V intramuscularly in a one-dose protocol, and the occurrence of any immediate or delayed adverse events were actively monitored for 28 days.
The results showed the safety of the administration, and demonstrated that Inflexal V can be safely given without performing a vaccine skin test in children with any kind of egg allergy.
PMID: 18639601 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-
--------
-
(1.11): Vaccine. 2008 May 2;26(19):2378-88. Epub 2008 Mar 27.
Safety and reactogenicity profile of an adjuvanted H5N1 pandemic candidate vaccine in adults within a phase III safety trial.
R?mke HC, Bayas JM, de Juanes JR, Caso C, Richardus JH, Campins M, Rombo L, Duval X, Romanenko V, Schwarz TF, Fassakhov R, Abad-Santos F, von Sonnenburg F, Dram? M, S?nger R, Ballou WR. - VAXINOSTICS BV, University Vaccine Center Rotterdam Nijmegen, Beursplein 37, PO Box 30142, 3001 DC Rotterdam, The Netherlands. rumke@vaxinostics.com
A multicentre, randomized, phase III clinical trial in 5071 healthy adults was conducted to evaluate the safety and reactogenicity of a 15 microg HA dose of a candidate oil-in-water emulsion-based adjuvant system (AS)-adjuvanted split-virion H5N1 (AS-H5N1) vaccine compared to a licensed seasonal influenza vaccine, Fluarix.(1)
Stringent criteria were used to evaluate adverse events and reactogenicity profile.
Overall, 96.7% of the 5071 vaccinated subjects completed the study.
Significantly more participants in the AS-H5N1 vaccine group reported general or local adverse events.
Pain was the most common symptom in both treatment groups.
Less than 1% of subjects withdrew from the study due to adverse events and no withdrawals were due to serious adverse events related to vaccination.
The safety and reactogenicity profile of the AS-H5N1 candidate vaccine can be considered clinically acceptable in the context of its use against pandemic influenza.
PMID: 18407382 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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iederen BM, Van Der Eerden MM, Vlaspolder F, Boersma WG, Kluytmans JA, Peeters MF.
I think that tracking research is important as for the news.
Comment