WorldWideScience

Sample records for vaccines longitudinal analysis

  1. Longitudinal myelitis associated with yellow fever vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaves, M; Riccio, P; Patrucco, L; Rojas, J I; Cristiano, E

    2009-07-01

    Severe adverse reaction to yellow fever (YF) vaccine includes the yellow fever vaccine-associated neurotropic disease. This terminology includes postvaccinal encephalitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. The objective of this communication is to report a patient who received a YF vaccine in Argentina and subsequently developed longitudinal myelitis with a symptom that had previously gone unreported in the literature. A 56-year-old man began with progressive paraparesia, urinary retention, and constipation 48 h previous to admission. The patient received YF vaccine 45 days prior to the onset of the symptoms. There was no history of other immunization or relevant condition. MR of the spine showed longitudinal intramedullary hyperintense signal (D5-12) without gadolinium enhancement. A high concentration of YFV-specific IgM vaccine antibody was found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Serological tests for other flavivirus were negative. A diagnosis of longitudinal myelitis without encephalitis associated with YF vaccine was performed and symptoms improved 5 days later. This is the first report dealing with longitudinal myelitis as a serious adverse event associated with YF vaccination in which confirmation of the presence of antibodies in CSF was found. To date, it is also the first report with serological confirmation in Argentina and in South America. We consider that the present investigation will raise awareness in the region in the reporting of adverse events related to YF vaccine and improve our knowledge of adverse reactions to the vaccine.

  2. A longitudinal analysis of the effect of nonmedical exemption law and vaccine uptake on vaccine-targeted disease rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Y Tony; Debold, Vicky

    2014-02-01

    We assessed how nonmedical exemption (NME) laws and annual uptake of vaccines required for school or daycare entry affect annual incidence rates for 5 vaccine-targeted diseases: pertussis, measles, mumps, Haemophilus influenzae type B, and hepatitis B. We employed longitudinal mixed-effects models to examine 2001-2008 vaccine-targeted disease data obtained from the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. Key explanatory variables were state-level vaccine-specific uptake rates from the National Immunization Survey and a state NME law restrictiveness level. NME law restrictiveness and vaccine uptake were not associated with disease incidence rate for hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type B, measles, or mumps. Pertussis incidence rate, however, was negatively associated with NME law restrictiveness (b = -0.20; P = .03) and diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine uptake (b = -0.01; P = .05). State NME laws and vaccine uptake rates did not appear to influence lower-incidence diseases but may influence reported disease rates for higher-incidence diseases. If all states increased their NME law restrictiveness by 1 level and diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus uptake by 1%, national annual pertussis cases could decrease by 1.14% (171 cases) and 0.04% (5 cases), respectively.

  3. Inspecting the Mechanism: A Longitudinal Analysis of Socioeconomic Status Differences in Perceived Influenza Risks, Vaccination Intentions, and Vaccination Behaviors during the 2009-2010 Influenza Pandemic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurer, Jürgen

    2016-10-01

    Influenza vaccination is strongly associated with socioeconomic status, but there is only limited evidence on the respective roles of socioeconomic differences in vaccination intentions versus corresponding differences in follow-through on initial vaccination plans for subsequent socioeconomic differences in vaccine uptake. Nonparametric mean smoothing, linear regression, and probit models were used to analyze longitudinal survey data on perceived influenza risks, behavioral vaccination intentions, and vaccination behavior of adults during the 2009-2010 influenza A/H1N1 ("swine flu") pandemic in the United States. Perceived influenza risks and behavioral vaccination intentions were elicited prior to the availability of H1N1 vaccine using a probability scale question format. H1N1 vaccine uptake was assessed at the end of the pandemic. Education, income, and health insurance coverage displayed positive associations with behavioral intentions to get vaccinated for pandemic influenza while employment was negatively associated with stated H1N1 vaccination intentions. Education and health insurance coverage also displayed significant positive associations with pandemic vaccine uptake. Moreover, behavioral vaccination intentions showed a strong and statistically significant positive partial association with later H1N1 vaccination. Incorporating vaccination intentions in a statistical model for H1N1 vaccine uptake further highlighted higher levels of follow-through on initial vaccination plans among persons with higher education levels and health insurance. Sampling bias, misreporting in self-reported data, and limited generalizability to nonpandemic influenza are potential limitations of the analysis. Closing the socioeconomic gap in influenza vaccination requires multipronged strategies that not only increase vaccination intentions by improving knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs but also facilitate follow-through on initial vaccination plans by improving behavioral

  4. Applied longitudinal analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Fitzmaurice, Garrett M; Ware, James H

    2012-01-01

    Praise for the First Edition "". . . [this book] should be on the shelf of everyone interested in . . . longitudinal data analysis.""-Journal of the American Statistical Association   Features newly developed topics and applications of the analysis of longitudinal data Applied Longitudinal Analysis, Second Edition presents modern methods for analyzing data from longitudinal studies and now features the latest state-of-the-art techniques. The book emphasizes practical, rather than theoretical, aspects of methods for the analysis of diverse types of lo

  5. Bioinformatics analysis of Brucella vaccines and vaccine targets using VIOLIN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Yongqun; Xiang, Zuoshuang

    2010-09-27

    Brucella spp. are Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria that cause brucellosis, one of the commonest zoonotic diseases found worldwide in humans and a variety of animal species. While several animal vaccines are available, there is no effective and safe vaccine for prevention of brucellosis in humans. VIOLIN (http://www.violinet.org) is a web-based vaccine database and analysis system that curates, stores, and analyzes published data of commercialized vaccines, and vaccines in clinical trials or in research. VIOLIN contains information for 454 vaccines or vaccine candidates for 73 pathogens. VIOLIN also contains many bioinformatics tools for vaccine data analysis, data integration, and vaccine target prediction. To demonstrate the applicability of VIOLIN for vaccine research, VIOLIN was used for bioinformatics analysis of existing Brucella vaccines and prediction of new Brucella vaccine targets. VIOLIN contains many literature mining programs (e.g., Vaxmesh) that provide in-depth analysis of Brucella vaccine literature. As a result of manual literature curation, VIOLIN contains information for 38 Brucella vaccines or vaccine candidates, 14 protective Brucella antigens, and 68 host response studies to Brucella vaccines from 97 peer-reviewed articles. These Brucella vaccines are classified in the Vaccine Ontology (VO) system and used for different ontological applications. The web-based VIOLIN vaccine target prediction program Vaxign was used to predict new Brucella vaccine targets. Vaxign identified 14 outer membrane proteins that are conserved in six virulent strains from B. abortus, B. melitensis, and B. suis that are pathogenic in humans. Of the 14 membrane proteins, two proteins (Omp2b and Omp31-1) are not present in B. ovis, a Brucella species that is not pathogenic in humans. Brucella vaccine data stored in VIOLIN were compared and analyzed using the VIOLIN query system. Bioinformatics curation and ontological representation of Brucella vaccines

  6. Time-Course Gene Set Analysis for Longitudinal Gene Expression Data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris P Hejblum

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Gene set analysis methods, which consider predefined groups of genes in the analysis of genomic data, have been successfully applied for analyzing gene expression data in cross-sectional studies. The time-course gene set analysis (TcGSA introduced here is an extension of gene set analysis to longitudinal data. The proposed method relies on random effects modeling with maximum likelihood estimates. It allows to use all available repeated measurements while dealing with unbalanced data due to missing at random (MAR measurements. TcGSA is a hypothesis driven method that identifies a priori defined gene sets with significant expression variations over time, taking into account the potential heterogeneity of expression within gene sets. When biological conditions are compared, the method indicates if the time patterns of gene sets significantly differ according to these conditions. The interest of the method is illustrated by its application to two real life datasets: an HIV therapeutic vaccine trial (DALIA-1 trial, and data from a recent study on influenza and pneumococcal vaccines. In the DALIA-1 trial TcGSA revealed a significant change in gene expression over time within 69 gene sets during vaccination, while a standard univariate individual gene analysis corrected for multiple testing as well as a standard a Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA for time series both failed to detect any significant pattern change over time. When applied to the second illustrative data set, TcGSA allowed the identification of 4 gene sets finally found to be linked with the influenza vaccine too although they were found to be associated to the pneumococcal vaccine only in previous analyses. In our simulation study TcGSA exhibits good statistical properties, and an increased power compared to other approaches for analyzing time-course expression patterns of gene sets. The method is made available for the community through an R package.

  7. Longitudinal categorical data analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Sutradhar, Brajendra C

    2014-01-01

    This is the first book in longitudinal categorical data analysis with parametric correlation models developed based on dynamic relationships among repeated categorical responses. This book is a natural generalization of the longitudinal binary data analysis to the multinomial data setup with more than two categories. Thus, unlike the existing books on cross-sectional categorical data analysis using log linear models, this book uses multinomial probability models both in cross-sectional and longitudinal setups. A theoretical foundation is provided for the analysis of univariate multinomial responses, by developing models systematically for the cases with no covariates as well as categorical covariates, both in cross-sectional and longitudinal setups. In the longitudinal setup, both stationary and non-stationary covariates are considered. These models have also been extended to the bivariate multinomial setup along with suitable covariates. For the inferences, the book uses the generalized quasi-likelihood as w...

  8. Maternal leave policies and vaccination coverage: a global analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daku, Mark; Raub, Amy; Heymann, Jody

    2012-01-01

    Childhood vaccination is a proven and cost-effective way to reduce childhood mortality; however, participation in vaccination programs is not universal even where programs are free or low cost. Studies in diverse countries have reported work conflicts as limiting parents' ability to vaccinate their children. Using policy data for 185 UN member countries, we explore the hypothesis that an increased opportunity for parents to bring children to vaccination sites will translate into higher childhood vaccination rates. To do so, we use OLS regression to examine the relationship between the duration of adequately paid maternal leave and the uptake of vaccines. We find that a higher number of full-time equivalent weeks of paid maternal leave is associated with higher childhood vaccination rates, even after controlling for GDP per capita, health care expenditures, and social factors. Further research is needed to assess whether this association is upheld in longitudinal and intervention studies, as well as whether other forms of leave such as paid leave to care for the health of family members is effective at increasing the ability of parents to bring children for needed preventive care. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Longitudinal study to assess the safety and efficacy of a live-attenuated SHIV vaccine in long term immunized rhesus macaques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yankee, Thomas M.; Sheffer, Darlene; Liu Zhengian; Dhillon, Sukhbir; Jia Fenglan; Chebloune, Yahia; Stephens, Edward B.; Narayan, Opendra

    2009-01-01

    Live-attenuated viruses derived from SIV and SHIV have provided the most consistent protection against challenge with pathogenic viruses, but concerns regarding their long-term safety and efficacy have hampered their clinical usefulness. We report a longitudinal study in which we evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of ΔvpuSHIV PPC , a live virus vaccine derived from SHIV PPC . Macaques were administered two inoculations of ΔvpuSHIV PPC , three years apart, and followed for eight years. None of the five vaccinated macaques developed an AIDS-like disease from the vaccine. At eight years, macaques were challenged with pathogenic SIV and SHIV. None of the four macaques with detectable cellular-mediated immunity prior to challenge had detectable viral RNA in the plasma. This study demonstrates that multiple inoculations of a live vaccine virus can be used safely and can significantly extend the efficacy of the vaccine, as compared to a single inoculation, which is efficacious for approximately three years

  10. Pre-vaccination evolution of antibodies among infants 0, 3 and 6months of age: A longitudinal analysis of measles, enterovirus 71 and coxsackievirus 16.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Chuanxi; Shen, Jichuan; Lu, Long; Li, Yajing; Cao, Yimin; Wang, Ming; Pei, Sen; Yang, Zhicong; Guo, Qing; Shaman, Jeffrey

    2017-07-05

    Due to waning levels of maternal antibodies (measles; enterovirus 71, EV71; and coxsackievirus A16, CoxA16), some infants may lose protection against infection prior to vaccination. Using a longitudinal design, we examine how maternal antibody levels evolve over time in infants prior to vaccination. In 2013-2014, we collected sera at ages 0, 3 and 6months from infants. We assayed for levels of measles IgG antibody (717, 233 and 75 sample sera tested at months 0, 3 and 6, respectively), and neutralizing antibodies for EV71 and CoxA16 (225, 217, and 72). Demographic and health information were collected, and a linear mixed model (LMM) was used to describe antibody levels over time. Pre-vaccination monotonic antibody decreases were observed for measles (1410, 195 and 22mIU/ml, p<0.001), EV71 (1:19.9, 6.3 and 4.5, p<0.001) and CoxA16 (1:16.3, 5.9, and 4.5, p<0.001). At 6months of age, only 2.7% (95%CI, 0.6-8.3), 6.8% (95%CI, 2.7-14.4) and 5.6% (95%CI, 1.9-12.7) of infants were antibody positive for measles, EV71 and CoxA16, respectively. LMM findings indicated that infants with higher antibody titers at birth experienced a greater loss of antibody level. An infection rate of 1.3% (95%CI, 0.1-6.1) was reported for both EV71 and CoxA16. Further modifications of vaccination strategies for measles, earlier vaccination for EV71 infection, and deployment of a CoxA16 vaccine need to be considered to limit infection among the very young. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Meta-analysis of variables affecting mouse protection efficacy of whole organism Brucella vaccines and vaccine candidates

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Vaccine protection investigation includes three processes: vaccination, pathogen challenge, and vaccine protection efficacy assessment. Many variables can affect the results of vaccine protection. Brucella, a genus of facultative intracellular bacteria, is the etiologic agent of brucellosis in humans and multiple animal species. Extensive research has been conducted in developing effective live attenuated Brucella vaccines. We hypothesized that some variables play a more important role than others in determining vaccine protective efficacy. Using Brucella vaccines and vaccine candidates as study models, this hypothesis was tested by meta-analysis of Brucella vaccine studies reported in the literature. Results Nineteen variables related to vaccine-induced protection of mice against infection with virulent brucellae were selected based on modeling investigation of the vaccine protection processes. The variable "vaccine protection efficacy" was set as a dependent variable while the other eighteen were set as independent variables. Discrete or continuous values were collected from papers for each variable of each data set. In total, 401 experimental groups were manually annotated from 74 peer-reviewed publications containing mouse protection data for live attenuated Brucella vaccines or vaccine candidates. Our ANOVA analysis indicated that nine variables contributed significantly (P-value Brucella vaccine protection efficacy: vaccine strain, vaccination host (mouse) strain, vaccination dose, vaccination route, challenge pathogen strain, challenge route, challenge-killing interval, colony forming units (CFUs) in mouse spleen, and CFU reduction compared to control group. The other 10 variables (e.g., mouse age, vaccination-challenge interval, and challenge dose) were not found to be statistically significant (P-value > 0.05). The protection level of RB51 was sacrificed when the values of several variables (e.g., vaccination route, vaccine viability, and

  12. Sieve analysis in HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edlefsen, Paul T; Gilbert, Peter B; Rolland, Morgane

    2013-09-01

    The genetic characterization of HIV-1 breakthrough infections in vaccine and placebo recipients offers new ways to assess vaccine efficacy trials. Statistical and sequence analysis methods provide opportunities to mine the mechanisms behind the effect of an HIV vaccine. The release of results from two HIV-1 vaccine efficacy trials, Step/HVTN-502 (HIV Vaccine Trials Network-502) and RV144, led to numerous studies in the last 5 years, including efforts to sequence HIV-1 breakthrough infections and compare viral characteristics between the vaccine and placebo groups. Novel genetic and statistical analysis methods uncovered features that distinguished founder viruses isolated from vaccinees from those isolated from placebo recipients, and identified HIV-1 genetic targets of vaccine-induced immune responses. Studies of HIV-1 breakthrough infections in vaccine efficacy trials can provide an independent confirmation to correlates of risk studies, as they take advantage of vaccine/placebo comparisons, whereas correlates of risk analyses are limited to vaccine recipients. Through the identification of viral determinants impacted by vaccine-mediated host immune responses, sieve analyses can shed light on potential mechanisms of vaccine protection.

  13. Longitudinal multiparameter single-cell analysis of macaques immunized with pneumococcal protein-conjugated or unconjugated polysaccharide vaccines reveals distinct antigen specific memory B cell repertoires.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Jia

    Full Text Available The efficacy of protein-conjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines has been well characterized for children. The level of protection conferred by unconjugated polysaccharide vaccines remains less clear, particularly for elderly individuals who have had prior antigenic experience through immunization with unconjugated polysaccharide vaccines or natural exposure to Streptococcus pneumoniae.We compared the magnitude, diversity and genetic biases of antigen-specific memory B cells in two groups of adult cynomolgus macaques that were immunized with a 7-valent conjugated vaccine and boosted after five years with either a 13-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine (13vPnC or a 23-valent unconjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPS using microengraving (a single-cell analysis method and single-cell RT-PCR.Seven days after boosting, the mean frequency of antigen-specific memory B cells was significantly increased in macaques vaccinated with 13vPnC compared to those receiving 23vPS. The 13vPnC-vaccinated macaques also exhibited a more even distribution of antibody specificities to four polysaccharides in the vaccine (PS4, 6B, 14, 23F that were examined. However, single-cell analysis of the antibody variable region sequences from antigen-specific B cells elicited by unconjugated and conjugated vaccines indicated that both the germline gene segments forming the heavy chains and the average lengths of the Complementary Determining Region 3 (CDR3 were similar.Our results confirm that distinctive differences can manifest between antigen-specific memory B cell repertoires in nonhuman primates immunized with conjugated and unconjugated pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines. The study also supports the notion that the conjugated vaccines have a favorable profile in terms of both the frequency and breadth of the anamnestic response among antigen-specific memory B cells.

  14. Spatial and environmental connectivity analysis in a cholera vaccine trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emch, Michael; Ali, Mohammad; Root, Elisabeth D; Yunus, Mohammad

    2009-02-01

    This paper develops theory and methods for vaccine trials that utilize spatial and environmental information. Satellite imagery is used to identify whether households are connected to one another via water bodies in a study area in rural Bangladesh. Then relationships between neighborhood-level cholera vaccine coverage and placebo incidence and neighborhood-level spatial variables are measured. The study hypothesis is that unvaccinated people who are environmentally connected to people who have been vaccinated will be at lower risk compared to unvaccinated people who are environmentally connected to people who have not been vaccinated. We use four datasets including: a cholera vaccine trial database, a longitudinal demographic database of the rural population from which the vaccine trial participants were selected, a household-level geographic information system (GIS) database of the same study area, and high resolution Quickbird satellite imagery. An environmental connectivity metric was constructed by integrating the satellite imagery with the vaccine and demographic databases linked with GIS. The results show that there is a relationship between neighborhood rates of cholera vaccination and placebo incidence. Thus, people are indirectly protected when more people in their environmentally connected neighborhood are vaccinated. This result is similar to our previous work that used a simpler Euclidean distance neighborhood to measure neighborhood vaccine coverage [Ali, M., Emch, M., von Seidlein, L., Yunus, M., Sack, D. A., Holmgren, J., et al. (2005). Herd immunity conferred by killed oral cholera vaccines in Bangladesh. Lancet, 366(9479), 44-49]. Our new method of measuring environmental connectivity is more precise since it takes into account the transmission mode of cholera and therefore this study validates our assertion that the oral cholera vaccine provides indirect protection in addition to direct protection.

  15. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY AND LOGISTICS OF VACCINATION WITH TYPHOID VI-VACCINE ON SCHOOL CHILDREN IN NORTH JAKARTA INDONESIA: ANALYSIS OF THE VACCINATION COST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roy G.A. Massie

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: In recent years, Indonesia government has become increasingly concerned with the issues of financing childhood vaccines and immunization programs including vaccine for typhoid  fever. The objective of the analysis is to provide alternative resources and to provide understandable data generated from the Study on Feasibility and Logistics of Vaccination School Age Children With Typhoid Vi-Vaccine in North Jakarta Indonesia. Methods: The analysis was focus on measurement of the cost for vaccinating school children with Typhoid Vi-vaccine from 18 selected primary schools in North Jakarta. The primary source of data was generated from the actual expenditures that were used in the vaccine delivery program in Indonesia. Results: The Vaccination Cost from the Study on Feasibility and Logistics of Vaccination School Age Children with Typhoid Vi-Vaccine conducted by DOMI project is not applicable for public vaccination program. The program might be feasible to be delivered only in private health sector settings.   Key words: Immunization expenditure, vaccine for typhoid fever, North Jakarta Indonesia

  16. Vaccines for human papillomavirus infection: A critical analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nath Amiya

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This article takes a critical look at the pros and cons of human papillomavirus (HPV vaccines. There is enough evidence to suggest that the prophylactic vaccines are efficacious in preventing various benign and malignant conditions (including cervical cancers caused by HPV. Even though the vaccine is costly, hypothetical analysis has shown that HPV vaccination will be cost effective in the long run. Therapeutic HPV vaccines used to treat established disease are still undergoing evaluation in clinical studies, and results seem to be encouraging. Although several countries have started mandatory vaccination programs with the prophylactic HPV vaccines, conservatives have voiced concerns regarding the moral impact of such vaccination programs.

  17. Study on Feasibility and Logistics of Vaccination with Typhoid Vi-vaccine on School Children in North Jakarta Indonesia: Analysis of the Vaccination Cost

    OpenAIRE

    Massie, Roy G.A

    2011-01-01

    Background: In recent years, Indonesia government has become increasingly concerned with the issues of financing childhood vaccines and immunization programs including vaccine for typhoid fever. The objective of the analysis is to provide alternative resources and to provide understandable data generated from the Study on Feasibility and Logistics of Vaccination School Age Children With Typhoid Vi-Vaccine in North Jakarta Indonesia. Methods: The analysis was focus on measurement of the cost ...

  18. Leaky Vaccines Protect Highly Exposed Recipients at a Lower Rate: Implications for Vaccine Efficacy Estimation and Sieve Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul T. Edlefsen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available “Leaky” vaccines are those for which vaccine-induced protection reduces infection rates on a per-exposure basis, as opposed to “all-or-none” vaccines, which reduce infection rates to zero for some fraction of subjects, independent of the number of exposures. Leaky vaccines therefore protect subjects with fewer exposures at a higher effective rate than subjects with more exposures. This simple observation has serious implications for analysis methodologies that rely on the assumption that the vaccine effect is homogeneous across subjects. We argue and show through examples that this heterogeneous vaccine effect leads to a violation of the proportional hazards assumption, to incomparability of infected cases across treatment groups, and to nonindependence of the distributions of the competing failure processes in a competing risks setting. We discuss implications for vaccine efficacy estimation, correlates of protection analysis, and mark-specific efficacy analysis (also known as sieve analysis.

  19. Leaky vaccines protect highly exposed recipients at a lower rate: implications for vaccine efficacy estimation and sieve analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edlefsen, Paul T

    2014-01-01

    "Leaky" vaccines are those for which vaccine-induced protection reduces infection rates on a per-exposure basis, as opposed to "all-or-none" vaccines, which reduce infection rates to zero for some fraction of subjects, independent of the number of exposures. Leaky vaccines therefore protect subjects with fewer exposures at a higher effective rate than subjects with more exposures. This simple observation has serious implications for analysis methodologies that rely on the assumption that the vaccine effect is homogeneous across subjects. We argue and show through examples that this heterogeneous vaccine effect leads to a violation of the proportional hazards assumption, to incomparability of infected cases across treatment groups, and to nonindependence of the distributions of the competing failure processes in a competing risks setting. We discuss implications for vaccine efficacy estimation, correlates of protection analysis, and mark-specific efficacy analysis (also known as sieve analysis).

  20. Vaxjo: A Web-Based Vaccine Adjuvant Database and Its Application for Analysis of Vaccine Adjuvants and Their Uses in Vaccine Development

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    Samantha Sayers

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Vaccine adjuvants are compounds that enhance host immune responses to co-administered antigens in vaccines. Vaxjo is a web-based central database and analysis system that curates, stores, and analyzes vaccine adjuvants and their usages in vaccine development. Basic information of a vaccine adjuvant stored in Vaxjo includes adjuvant name, components, structure, appearance, storage, preparation, function, safety, and vaccines that use this adjuvant. Reliable references are curated and cited. Bioinformatics scripts are developed and used to link vaccine adjuvants to different adjuvanted vaccines stored in the general VIOLIN vaccine database. Presently, 103 vaccine adjuvants have been curated in Vaxjo. Among these adjuvants, 98 have been used in 384 vaccines stored in VIOLIN against over 81 pathogens, cancers, or allergies. All these vaccine adjuvants are categorized and analyzed based on adjuvant types, pathogens used, and vaccine types. As a use case study of vaccine adjuvants in infectious disease vaccines, the adjuvants used in Brucella vaccines are specifically analyzed. A user-friendly web query and visualization interface is developed for interactive vaccine adjuvant search. To support data exchange, the information of vaccine adjuvants is stored in the Vaccine Ontology (VO in the Web Ontology Language (OWL format.

  1. Vaxjo: a web-based vaccine adjuvant database and its application for analysis of vaccine adjuvants and their uses in vaccine development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayers, Samantha; Ulysse, Guerlain; Xiang, Zuoshuang; He, Yongqun

    2012-01-01

    Vaccine adjuvants are compounds that enhance host immune responses to co-administered antigens in vaccines. Vaxjo is a web-based central database and analysis system that curates, stores, and analyzes vaccine adjuvants and their usages in vaccine development. Basic information of a vaccine adjuvant stored in Vaxjo includes adjuvant name, components, structure, appearance, storage, preparation, function, safety, and vaccines that use this adjuvant. Reliable references are curated and cited. Bioinformatics scripts are developed and used to link vaccine adjuvants to different adjuvanted vaccines stored in the general VIOLIN vaccine database. Presently, 103 vaccine adjuvants have been curated in Vaxjo. Among these adjuvants, 98 have been used in 384 vaccines stored in VIOLIN against over 81 pathogens, cancers, or allergies. All these vaccine adjuvants are categorized and analyzed based on adjuvant types, pathogens used, and vaccine types. As a use case study of vaccine adjuvants in infectious disease vaccines, the adjuvants used in Brucella vaccines are specifically analyzed. A user-friendly web query and visualization interface is developed for interactive vaccine adjuvant search. To support data exchange, the information of vaccine adjuvants is stored in the Vaccine Ontology (VO) in the Web Ontology Language (OWL) format.

  2. The Digital Distribution of Public Health News Surrounding the Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: A Longitudinal Infodemiology Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahoney, L Meghan; Tang, Tang; Ji, Kai; Ulrich-Schad, Jessica

    2015-01-01

    New media changes the dissemination of public health information and misinformation. During a guest appearance on the Today Show, US Representative Michele Bachmann claimed that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines could cause "mental retardation". The purpose of this study is to explore how new media influences the type of public health information users access, as well as the impact to these platforms after a major controversy. Specifically, this study aims to examine the similarities and differences in the dissemination of news articles related to the HPV vaccination between Google News and Twitter, as well as how the content of news changed after Michele Bachmann's controversial comment. This study used a purposive sampling to draw the first 100 news articles that appeared on Google News and the first 100 articles that appeared on Twitter from August 1-October 31, 2011. Article tone, source, topics, concerns, references, publication date, and interactive features were coded. The intercoder reliability had a total agreement of .90. Results indicate that 44.0% of the articles (88/200) about the HPV vaccination had a positive tone, 32.5% (65/200) maintained a neutral tone, while 23.5% (47/200) presented a negative tone. Protection against diseases 82.0% (164/200), vaccine eligibility for females 75.5% (151/200), and side effects 59.0% (118/200) were the top three topics covered by these articles. Google News and Twitter articles significantly differed in article tone, source, topics, concerns covered, types of sources referenced in the article, and uses of interactive features. Most notably, topic focus changed from public health information towards political conversation after Bachmann's comment. Before the comment, the HPV vaccine news talked more often about vaccine dosing (Ppolitics (P=.01) and talked more about HPV vaccine eligibility for males (P=.01). This longitudinal infodemiology study suggests that new media influences public health communication

  3. Correspondence analysis of longitudinal data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Heijden, P.G.M.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/073087998

    2005-01-01

    Correspondence analysis is an exploratory tool for the analysis of associations between categorical variables, the results of which may be displayed graphically. For longitudinal data with two time points, an analysis of the transition matrix (showing the relative frequencies for pairs of

  4. Technology Resource, Distribution, and Development Characteristics of Global Influenza Virus Vaccine: A Patent Bibliometric Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Long; Yan, Zhe; Tao, Lixin; Guo, Xiuhua; Luo, Yanxia; Yan, Aoshuang

    2015-01-01

    Influenza virus vaccine (IVV) is a promising research domain that is closely related to global health matters, which has been acknowledged not only by scientists and technology developers, but also by policy-makers. Meanwhile, patents encompass valuable technological information and reflect the latest technological inventions as well as the innovative capability of a nation. However, little research has examined this up-and-coming research field using patent bibliometric method. Thus, this paper (a) designs the technology classification system and search strategy for the identification of IVV; and (b) presents a longitudinal analysis of the global IVV development based on the European Patent Office (EPO) patents. Bibliometric analysis is used to rank countries, institutions, inventors and technology subfields contributing to IVV technical progress. The results show that the global trends of IVV are a multi-developing feature of variety but an uneven technical resource distribution. Although the synthetic peptide vaccine is a comparatively young field, it already demonstrates the powerful vitality and the enormous development space. With the worldwide competition increasing, all nations especially China should be looking to increase devotion, enhance capability and regard effectiveness of technological innovation. PMID:26372160

  5. Technology Resource, Distribution, and Development Characteristics of Global Influenza Virus Vaccine: A Patent Bibliometric Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ning; Liu, Yun; Cheng, Yijie; Liu, Long; Yan, Zhe; Tao, Lixin; Guo, Xiuhua; Luo, Yanxia; Yan, Aoshuang

    2015-01-01

    Influenza virus vaccine (IVV) is a promising research domain that is closely related to global health matters, which has been acknowledged not only by scientists and technology developers, but also by policy-makers. Meanwhile, patents encompass valuable technological information and reflect the latest technological inventions as well as the innovative capability of a nation. However, little research has examined this up-and-coming research field using patent bibliometric method. Thus, this paper (a) designs the technology classification system and search strategy for the identification of IVV; and (b) presents a longitudinal analysis of the global IVV development based on the European Patent Office (EPO) patents. Bibliometric analysis is used to rank countries, institutions, inventors and technology subfields contributing to IVV technical progress. The results show that the global trends of IVV are a multi-developing feature of variety but an uneven technical resource distribution. Although the synthetic peptide vaccine is a comparatively young field, it already demonstrates the powerful vitality and the enormous development space. With the worldwide competition increasing, all nations especially China should be looking to increase devotion, enhance capability and regard effectiveness of technological innovation.

  6. Technology Resource, Distribution, and Development Characteristics of Global Influenza Virus Vaccine: A Patent Bibliometric Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ning Chen

    Full Text Available Influenza virus vaccine (IVV is a promising research domain that is closely related to global health matters, which has been acknowledged not only by scientists and technology developers, but also by policy-makers. Meanwhile, patents encompass valuable technological information and reflect the latest technological inventions as well as the innovative capability of a nation. However, little research has examined this up-and-coming research field using patent bibliometric method. Thus, this paper (a designs the technology classification system and search strategy for the identification of IVV; and (b presents a longitudinal analysis of the global IVV development based on the European Patent Office (EPO patents. Bibliometric analysis is used to rank countries, institutions, inventors and technology subfields contributing to IVV technical progress. The results show that the global trends of IVV are a multi-developing feature of variety but an uneven technical resource distribution. Although the synthetic peptide vaccine is a comparatively young field, it already demonstrates the powerful vitality and the enormous development space. With the worldwide competition increasing, all nations especially China should be looking to increase devotion, enhance capability and regard effectiveness of technological innovation.

  7. Paid maternity leave and childhood vaccination uptake: Longitudinal evidence from 20 low-and-middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajizadeh, Mohammad; Heymann, Jody; Strumpf, Erin; Harper, Sam; Nandi, Arijit

    2015-09-01

    The availability of maternity leave might remove barriers to improved vaccination coverage by increasing the likelihood that parents are available to bring a child to the clinic for immunizations. Using information from 20 low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) we estimated the effect of paid maternity leave policies on childhood vaccination uptake. We used birth history data collected via Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to assemble a multilevel panel of 258,769 live births in 20 countries from 2001 to 2008; these data were merged with longitudinal information on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) weeks of paid maternity leave guaranteed by each country. We used Logistic regression models that included country and year fixed effects to estimate the impact of increases in FTE paid maternity leave policies in the prior year on the receipt of the following vaccines: Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) commonly given at birth, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP, 3 doses) commonly given in clinic visits and Polio (3 doses) given in clinic visits or as part of campaigns. We found that extending the duration of paid maternity leave had a positive effect on immunization rates for all three doses of the DTP vaccine; each additional FTE week of paid maternity leave increased DTP1, 2 and 3 coverage by 1.38 (95% CI = 1.18, 1.57), 1.62 (CI = 1.34, 1.91) and 2.17 (CI = 1.76, 2.58) percentage points, respectively. Estimates were robust to adjustment for birth characteristics, household-level covariates, attendance of skilled health personnel at birth and time-varying country-level covariates. We found no evidence for an effect of maternity leave on the probability of receiving vaccinations for BCG or Polio after adjustment for the above-mentioned covariates. Our findings were consistent with the hypothesis that more generous paid leave policies have the potential to improve DTP immunization coverage. Further work is needed to understand the health effects of

  8. A cost-effectiveness analysis of typhoid fever vaccines in US military personnel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, T A; Finder, S F; Brier, K L; Ries, A J; Weber, M P; Miller, M R; Potyk, R P; Reeves, C S; Moran, E L; Tornow, J J

    1996-11-01

    Typhoid fever has been a problem for military personnel throughout history. A cost-effectiveness analysis of typhoid fever vaccines from the perspective of the US military was performed. Currently 3 vaccine preparations are available in the US: an oral live Type 21A whole cell vaccine; a single-dose parenteral, cell subunit vaccine; and a 2-dose parenteral heat-phenol killed, whole cell vaccine. This analysis assumed all vaccinees were US military personnel. Two pharmacoeconomic models were developed, one for personnel who have not yet been deployed, and the other for personnel who are deployed to an area endemic for typhoid fever. Drug acquisition, administration, adverse effect and lost work costs, as well as the costs associated with typhoid fever, were included in this analysis. Unique military issues, typhoid fever attack rates, vaccine efficacy, and compliance with each vaccine's dosage regimen were included in this analysis. A sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of the models. Typhoid fever immunisation is not cost-effective for US military personnel unless they are considered imminently deployable or are deployed. The most cost-effective vaccine for US military personnel is the single-dose, cell subunit parenteral vaccine.

  9. Case-control vaccine effectiveness studies: Data collection, analysis and reporting results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verani, Jennifer R; Baqui, Abdullah H; Broome, Claire V; Cherian, Thomas; Cohen, Cheryl; Farrar, Jennifer L; Feikin, Daniel R; Groome, Michelle J; Hajjeh, Rana A; Johnson, Hope L; Madhi, Shabir A; Mulholland, Kim; O'Brien, Katherine L; Parashar, Umesh D; Patel, Manish M; Rodrigues, Laura C; Santosham, Mathuram; Scott, J Anthony; Smith, Peter G; Sommerfelt, Halvor; Tate, Jacqueline E; Victor, J Chris; Whitney, Cynthia G; Zaidi, Anita K; Zell, Elizabeth R

    2017-06-05

    The case-control methodology is frequently used to evaluate vaccine effectiveness post-licensure. The results of such studies provide important insight into the level of protection afforded by vaccines in a 'real world' context, and are commonly used to guide vaccine policy decisions. However, the potential for bias and confounding are important limitations to this method, and the results of a poorly conducted or incorrectly interpreted case-control study can mislead policies. In 2012, a group of experts met to review recent experience with case-control studies evaluating vaccine effectiveness; we summarize the recommendations of that group regarding best practices for data collection, analysis, and presentation of the results of case-control vaccine effectiveness studies. Vaccination status is the primary exposure of interest, but can be challenging to assess accurately and with minimal bias. Investigators should understand factors associated with vaccination as well as the availability of documented vaccination status in the study context; case-control studies may not be a valid method for evaluating vaccine effectiveness in settings where many children lack a documented immunization history. To avoid bias, it is essential to use the same methods and effort gathering vaccination data from cases and controls. Variables that may confound the association between illness and vaccination are also important to capture as completely as possible, and where relevant, adjust for in the analysis according to the analytic plan. In presenting results from case-control vaccine effectiveness studies, investigators should describe enrollment among eligible cases and controls as well as the proportion with no documented vaccine history. Emphasis should be placed on confidence intervals, rather than point estimates, of vaccine effectiveness. Case-control studies are a useful approach for evaluating vaccine effectiveness; however careful attention must be paid to the collection

  10. Safety of a Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine in Health Care Workers in Kurdistan Province, Western Iran; A Longitudinal Follow-up Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soltani, Jafar; Jamil Amjadi, Mohamad

    2014-03-01

    We studied the safety of a trivalent inactivated surface antigen (split virion, inactivated) influenza vaccine, Begrivac® (Novartis Company), widely used in health care workers in Kurdistan. A longitudinal follow-up study was performed in Sanandaj city, west of Iran, recruiting 936 people. A questionnaire was completed for each participant, and all symptoms or abnormal physical findings were recorded. In part 1 of the study, the post-vaccination complaints were headache (5.3%), fever (7.9%), weakness (9.6%), chills (10.1%), sweating (10.5%), arthralgia (20.2%), and malaise (21.5%). Swelling of the injection site was seen in 267 (30.3%) participants, and pruritus of the injection site was seen in 290 (32.9%) participants. Redness and induration were also reported in 42.5% of the participants. Local reactions were mainly mild and lasted for 1-2 days. No systemic reactions were reported in the second part of the study. None of the participants experienced any inconvenience. We concluded that local adverse reactions after the trivalent inactivated split influenza vaccine, Begrivac®, in health care workers were far more common than expected. Continuous surveillance is needed to assess the potential risks and benefits of newly produced influenza vaccines.

  11. Seropositivity to non-vaccine incorporated genotypes induced by the bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bissett, Sara L; Godi, Anna; Jit, Mark; Beddows, Simon

    2017-07-13

    Human papillomavirus vaccines have demonstrated remarkable efficacy against persistent infection and disease associated with vaccine-incorporated genotypes and a degree of efficacy against some genetically related, non-vaccine-incorporated genotypes. The vaccines differ in the extent of cross-protection against these non-vaccine genotypes. Data supporting the role for neutralizing antibodies as a correlate or surrogate of cross-protection are lacking, as is a robust assessment of the seroconversion rates against these non-vaccine genotypes. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of available data on vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody seropositivity to non-vaccine incorporated HPV genotypes. Of 304 articles screened, 9 were included in the analysis representing ca. 700 individuals. The pooled estimate for seropositivity against HPV31 for the bivalent vaccine (86%; 95%CI 78-91%) was higher than that for the quadrivalent vaccine (61%; 39-79%; p=0.011). The pooled estimate for seropositivity against HPV45 for the bivalent vaccine (50%; 37-64%) was also higher than that for the quadrivalent vaccine (16%; 6-36%; p=0.007). Seropositivity against HPV33, HPV52 and HPV58 were similar between the vaccines. Mean seropositivity rates across non-vaccine genotypes were positively associated with the corresponding vaccine efficacy data reported from vaccine trials. These data improve our understanding of vaccine-induced functional antibody specificity against non-vaccine incorporated genotypes and may help to parameterize vaccine-impact models and improve patient management in a post-vaccine setting. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. The Role of Microsimulation in Longitudinal Data Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Douglas A. Wolf

    2001-12-01

    microsimulation also has the potential to contribute to longitudinal data analysis in several ways, including extending the range of outputs generated by a model, addressing several defective-data problems, and serving as a vehicle for missing-data imputation. This paper discusses microsimulation procedures suitable for several commonly-used statistical models applied to longitudinal data. It also addresses the unique role that can be played by microsimulation in longitudinal data analysis, and the problem of accounting for the several sources of variability associated with microsimulation procedures.

  13. Ontology-based Brucella vaccine literature indexing and systematic analysis of gene-vaccine association network

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    identified. The asserted and inferred VO hierarchies provide semantic support for inferring novel knowledge of association of vaccines and genes from the retrieved data. New hypotheses were generated based on this analysis approach. Conclusion VO-SciMiner can be used to improve the efficiency for PubMed searching in the vaccine domain. PMID:21871085

  14. Childhood vaccination in informal urban settlements in Nairobi, Kenya: Who gets vaccinated?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ettarh Remare R

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent trends in global vaccination coverage have shown increases with most countries reaching 90% DTP3 coverage in 2008, although pockets of undervaccination continue to persist in parts of sub-Saharan Africa particularly in the urban slums. The objectives of this study were to determine the vaccination status of children aged between 12-23 months living in two slums of Nairobi and to identify the risk factors associated with incomplete vaccination. Methods The study was carried out as part of a longitudinal Maternal and Child Health study undertaken in Korogocho and Viwandani slums of Nairobi. These slums host the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS run by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC. All women from the NUHDSS area who gave birth since September 2006 were enrolled in the project and administered a questionnaire which asked about the vaccination history of their children. For the purpose of this study, we used data from 1848 children aged 12-23 months who were expected to have received all the WHO-recommended vaccinations. The vaccination details were collected during the first visit about four months after birth with follow-up visits repeated thereafter at four month intervals. Full vaccination was defined as receiving all the basic childhood vaccinations by the end of 24 months of life, whereas up-to-date (UTD vaccination referred to receipt of BCG, OPV 1-3, DTP 1-3, and measles vaccinations within the first 12 months of life. All vaccination data were obtained from vaccination cards which were sighted during the household visit as well as by recall from mothers. Multivariate models were used to identify the risk factors associated with incomplete vaccination. Results Measles coverage was substantially lower than that for the other vaccines when determined using only vaccination cards or in addition to maternal recall. Up-to-date (UTD coverage with all vaccinations

  15. Cost-effectiveness analysis of rotavirus vaccination in Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urueña, Analía; Pippo, Tomás; Betelu, María Sol; Virgilio, Federico; Hernández, Laura; Giglio, Norberto; Gentile, Ángela; Diosque, Máximo; Vizzotti, Carla

    2015-05-07

    Rotavirus is a leading cause of severe diarrhea in children under 5. In Argentina, the most affected regions are the Northeast and Northwest, where hospitalizations and deaths are more frequent. This study estimated the cost-effectiveness of adding either of the two licensed rotavirus vaccines to the routine immunization schedule. The integrated TRIVAC vaccine cost-effectiveness model from the Pan American Health Organization's ProVac Initiative (Version 2.0) was used to assess health benefits, costs savings, life-years gained (LYGs), DALYs averted, and cost/DALY averted of vaccinating 10 successive cohorts, from the health care system and societal perspectives. Two doses of monovalent (RV1) rotavirus vaccine and three doses of pentavalent (RV5) rotavirus vaccine were each compared to a scenario assuming no vaccination. The price/dose was US$ 7.50 and US$ 5.15 for RV1 and RV5, respectively. We ran both a national and sub-national analysis, discounting all costs and benefits 3% annually. Our base case results were compared to a range of alternative univariate and multivariate scenarios. The number of LYGs was 5962 and 6440 for RV1 and RV5, respectively. The cost/DALY averted when compared to no vaccination from the health care system and societal perspective was: US$ 3870 and US$ 1802 for RV1, and US$ 2414 and US$ 358 for RV5, respectively. Equivalent figures for the Northeast were US$ 1470 and US$ 636 for RV1, and US$ 913 and US$ 80 for RV5. Therefore, rotavirus vaccination was more cost-effective in the Northeast compared to the whole country; and, in the Northwest, health service's costs saved outweighed the cost of introducing the vaccine. Vaccination with either vaccine compared to no vaccination was highly cost-effective based on WHO guidelines and Argentina's 2011 per capita GDP of US$ 9090. Key variables influencing results were vaccine efficacy, annual loss of efficacy, relative coverage of deaths, vaccine price, and discount rate. Compared to no

  16. Cross-Sectional Analysis of Longitudinal Mediation Processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Laughlin, Kristine D; Martin, Monica J; Ferrer, Emilio

    2018-01-01

    Statistical mediation analysis can help to identify and explain the mechanisms behind psychological processes. Examining a set of variables for mediation effects is a ubiquitous process in the social sciences literature; however, despite evidence suggesting that cross-sectional data can misrepresent the mediation of longitudinal processes, cross-sectional analyses continue to be used in this manner. Alternative longitudinal mediation models, including those rooted in a structural equation modeling framework (cross-lagged panel, latent growth curve, and latent difference score models) are currently available and may provide a better representation of mediation processes for longitudinal data. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, we provide a comparison of cross-sectional and longitudinal mediation models; second, we advocate using models to evaluate mediation effects that capture the temporal sequence of the process under study. Two separate empirical examples are presented to illustrate differences in the conclusions drawn from cross-sectional and longitudinal mediation analyses. Findings from these examples yielded substantial differences in interpretations between the cross-sectional and longitudinal mediation models considered here. Based on these observations, researchers should use caution when attempting to use cross-sectional data in place of longitudinal data for mediation analyses.

  17. Semantic network analysis of vaccine sentiment in online social media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Gloria J; Ewing-Nelson, Sinclair R; Mackey, Lauren; Schlitt, James T; Marathe, Achla; Abbas, Kaja M; Swarup, Samarth

    2017-06-22

    To examine current vaccine sentiment on social media by constructing and analyzing semantic networks of vaccine information from highly shared websites of Twitter users in the United States; and to assist public health communication of vaccines. Vaccine hesitancy continues to contribute to suboptimal vaccination coverage in the United States, posing significant risk of disease outbreaks, yet remains poorly understood. We constructed semantic networks of vaccine information from internet articles shared by Twitter users in the United States. We analyzed resulting network topology, compared semantic differences, and identified the most salient concepts within networks expressing positive, negative, and neutral vaccine sentiment. The semantic network of positive vaccine sentiment demonstrated greater cohesiveness in discourse compared to the larger, less-connected network of negative vaccine sentiment. The positive sentiment network centered around parents and focused on communicating health risks and benefits, highlighting medical concepts such as measles, autism, HPV vaccine, vaccine-autism link, meningococcal disease, and MMR vaccine. In contrast, the negative network centered around children and focused on organizational bodies such as CDC, vaccine industry, doctors, mainstream media, pharmaceutical companies, and United States. The prevalence of negative vaccine sentiment was demonstrated through diverse messaging, framed around skepticism and distrust of government organizations that communicate scientific evidence supporting positive vaccine benefits. Semantic network analysis of vaccine sentiment in online social media can enhance understanding of the scope and variability of current attitudes and beliefs toward vaccines. Our study synthesizes quantitative and qualitative evidence from an interdisciplinary approach to better understand complex drivers of vaccine hesitancy for public health communication, to improve vaccine confidence and vaccination coverage

  18. A comparative analysis of influenza vaccination programs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shweta Bansal

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The threat of avian influenza and the 2004-2005 influenza vaccine supply shortage in the United States have sparked a debate about optimal vaccination strategies to reduce the burden of morbidity and mortality caused by the influenza virus. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We present a comparative analysis of two classes of suggested vaccination strategies: mortality-based strategies that target high-risk populations and morbidity-based strategies that target high-prevalence populations. Applying the methods of contact network epidemiology to a model of disease transmission in a large urban population, we assume that vaccine supplies are limited and then evaluate the efficacy of these strategies across a wide range of viral transmission rates and for two different age-specific mortality distributions. We find that the optimal strategy depends critically on the viral transmission level (reproductive rate of the virus: morbidity-based strategies outperform mortality-based strategies for moderately transmissible strains, while the reverse is true for highly transmissible strains. These results hold for a range of mortality rates reported for prior influenza epidemics and pandemics. Furthermore, we show that vaccination delays and multiple introductions of disease into the community have a more detrimental impact on morbidity-based strategies than mortality-based strategies. CONCLUSIONS: If public health officials have reasonable estimates of the viral transmission rate and the frequency of new introductions into the community prior to an outbreak, then these methods can guide the design of optimal vaccination priorities. When such information is unreliable or not available, as is often the case, this study recommends mortality-based vaccination priorities.

  19. A qualitative analysis of the beliefs of Japanese anti-influenza vaccination website authors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okuhara, Tsuyoshi; Ishikawa, Hirono; Kato, Mio; Okada, Masafumi; Kiuchi, Takahiro

    2018-04-01

    Influenza vaccine coverage among the Japanese population is less than optimal. Anti-vaccination sentiment exists worldwide, and Japan is no exception. Anti-influenza vaccination activists argue on the internet that influenza vaccine has little or no efficacy and a high risk of side effects, and they warn that people should forgo vaccination. We conducted a qualitative analysis to explore beliefs underlying the messages of anti-influenza vaccination websites, by focusing on the perceived value these beliefs provide to those who hold them. We conducted online searches in January 2017 using two major Japanese search engines (Google Japan and Yahoo! Japan). Targeted websites were classified as "pro", "anti", or "neutral" depending on their claims. We applied a dual analytic approach-inductive thematic analysis and deductive interpretative analysis-to textual data of the anti websites. Of the 113 anti websites, we identified two themes that correspond to beliefs: it is necessary to 1) protect others against risks and exploitation related to influenza vaccination, and 2) educate others about hidden truths and self-determination. Authors of anti websites ascribed two values (people's "safety" and one's own "self-esteem") to their beliefs. Website authors may engage in anti-vaccination activities because they want to feel they are virtuous, saving people from harm caused by vaccination, and to boost their self-esteem, thinking "I am enlightening uninformed people." The anti-vaccination beliefs of website authors were considered to be strong. In promoting vaccination, it would be better not to target outright vaccine refusers, such as the authors of anti-vaccination websites; it is preferable to target vaccine-hesitant people who are more amenable to changing their attitudes toward vaccination. We discuss possible means of promoting vaccination in that target population.

  20. Updates on the web-based VIOLIN vaccine database and analysis system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Yongqun; Racz, Rebecca; Sayers, Samantha; Lin, Yu; Todd, Thomas; Hur, Junguk; Li, Xinna; Patel, Mukti; Zhao, Boyang; Chung, Monica; Ostrow, Joseph; Sylora, Andrew; Dungarani, Priya; Ulysse, Guerlain; Kochhar, Kanika; Vidri, Boris; Strait, Kelsey; Jourdian, George W; Xiang, Zuoshuang

    2014-01-01

    The integrative Vaccine Investigation and Online Information Network (VIOLIN) vaccine research database and analysis system (http://www.violinet.org) curates, stores, analyses and integrates various vaccine-associated research data. Since its first publication in NAR in 2008, significant updates have been made. Starting from 211 vaccines annotated at the end of 2007, VIOLIN now includes over 3240 vaccines for 192 infectious diseases and eight noninfectious diseases (e.g. cancers and allergies). Under the umbrella of VIOLIN, >10 relatively independent programs are developed. For example, Protegen stores over 800 protective antigens experimentally proven valid for vaccine development. VirmugenDB annotated over 200 'virmugens', a term coined by us to represent those virulence factor genes that can be mutated to generate successful live attenuated vaccines. Specific patterns were identified from the genes collected in Protegen and VirmugenDB. VIOLIN also includes Vaxign, the first web-based vaccine candidate prediction program based on reverse vaccinology. VIOLIN collects and analyzes different vaccine components including vaccine adjuvants (Vaxjo) and DNA vaccine plasmids (DNAVaxDB). VIOLIN includes licensed human vaccines (Huvax) and veterinary vaccines (Vevax). The Vaccine Ontology is applied to standardize and integrate various data in VIOLIN. VIOLIN also hosts the Ontology of Vaccine Adverse Events (OVAE) that logically represents adverse events associated with licensed human vaccines.

  1. Stability analysis for a general age-dependent vaccination model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Doma, M.

    1995-05-01

    An SIR epidemic model of a general age-dependent vaccination model is investigated when the fertility, mortality and removal rates depends on age. We give threshold criteria of the existence of equilibriums and perform stability analysis. Furthermore a critical vaccination coverage that is sufficient to eradicate the disease is determined. (author). 12 refs

  2. Field avian metapneumovirus evolution avoiding vaccine induced immunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catelli, Elena; Lupini, Caterina; Cecchinato, Mattia; Ricchizzi, Enrico; Brown, Paul; Naylor, Clive J

    2010-01-22

    Live avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) vaccines have largely brought turkey rhinotracheitis (TRT) under control in Europe but unexplained outbreaks still occur. Italian AMPV longitudinal farm studies showed that subtype B AMPVs were frequently detected in turkeys some considerable period after subtype B vaccination. Sequencing showed these to be unrelated to the previously applied vaccine. Sequencing of the entire genome of a typical later isolate showed numerous SH and G protein gene differences when compared to both a 1987 Italian field isolate and the vaccine in common use. Experimental challenge of vaccinated birds with recent virus showed that protection was inferior to that seen after challenge with the earlier 1987 isolate. Field virus had changed in key antigenic regions allowing replication and leading to disease in well vaccinated birds.

  3. Multivariate analysis of the immune response to a vaccine as an alternative to the repetition of animal challenge studies for vaccines with demonstrated efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapat, Ludivine; Hilaire, Florence; Bouvet, Jérome; Pialot, Daniel; Philippe-Reversat, Corinne; Guiot, Anne-Laure; Remolue, Lydie; Lechenet, Jacques; Andreoni, Christine; Poulet, Hervé; Day, Michael J; De Luca, Karelle; Cariou, Carine; Cupillard, Lionel

    2017-07-01

    The assessment of vaccine combinations, or the evaluation of the impact of minor modifications of one component in well-established vaccines, requires animal challenges in the absence of previously validated correlates of protection. As an alternative, we propose conducting a multivariate analysis of the specific immune response to the vaccine. This approach is consistent with the principles of the 3Rs (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) and avoids repeating efficacy studies based on infectious challenges in vivo. To validate this approach, a set of nine immunological parameters was selected in order to characterize B and T lymphocyte responses against canine rabies virus and to evaluate the compatibility between two canine vaccines, an inactivated rabies vaccine (RABISIN ® ) and a combined vaccine (EURICAN ® DAPPi-Lmulti) injected at two different sites in the same animals. The analysis was focused on the magnitude and quality of the immune response. The multi-dimensional picture given by this 'immune fingerprint' was used to assess the impact of the concomitant injection of the combined vaccine on the immunogenicity of the rabies vaccine. A principal component analysis fully discriminated the control group from the groups vaccinated with RABISIN ® alone or RABISIN ® +EURICAN ® DAPPi-Lmulti and confirmed the compatibility between the rabies vaccines. This study suggests that determining the immune fingerprint, combined with a multivariate statistical analysis, is a promising approach to characterizing the immunogenicity of a vaccine with an established record of efficacy. It may also avoid the need to repeat efficacy studies involving challenge infection in case of minor modifications of the vaccine or for compatibility studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Construction and analysis of experimental DNA vaccines against megalocytivirus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Min; Hu, Yong-Hua; Xiao, Zhi-Zhong; Sun, Yun; Sun, Li

    2012-11-01

    Iridoviruses are large double-stranded DNA viruses with icosahedral capsid. The Iridoviridae family contains five genera, one of which is Megalocytivirus. Megalocytivirus has emerged in recent years as an important pathogen to a wide range of marine and freshwater fish. In this study, we aimed at developing effective genetic vaccines against megalocytivirus affecting farmed fish in China. For this purpose, we constructed seven DNA vaccines based on seven genes of rock bream iridovirus isolate 1 from China (RBIV-C1), a megalocytivirus with a host range that includes Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). The protective potentials of these vaccines were examined in a turbot model. The results showed that after vaccination via intramuscular injection, the vaccine plasmids were distributed in spleen, kidney, muscle, and liver, and transcription of the vaccine genes and production of the vaccine proteins were detected in these tissues. Following challenge with a lethal-dose of RBIV-C1, fish vaccinated with four of the seven DNA vaccines exhibited significantly higher levels of survival compared to control fish. Of these four protective DNA vaccines, pCN86, which is a plasmid that expresses an 86-residue viral protein, induced the highest protection. Immunological analysis showed that pCN86 was able to (i) stimulate the respiratory burst of head kidney macrophages at 14 d, 21 d, and 28 d post-vaccination, (ii) upregulate the expression of immune relevant genes involved in innate and adaptive immunity, and (iii) induce production of serum antibodies that, when incubated with RBIV-C1 before infection, significantly reduced viral loads in kidney and spleen following viral infection of turbot. Taken together, these results indicate that pCN86 is an effective DNA vaccine that may be used in the control of megalocytivirus-associated diseases in aquaculture. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Cost-effectiveness analysis of the introduction of rotavirus vaccine in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javanbakht, Mehdi; Moradi-Lakeh, Maziar; Yaghoubi, Mohsen; Esteghamati, Abdoulreza; Mansour Ghanaie, Roxana; Mahmoudi, Sussan; Shamshiri, Ahmad-Reza; Zahraei, Seyed Mohsen; Baxter, Louise; Shakerian, Sareh; Chaudhri, Irtaza; Fleming, Jessica A; Munier, Aline; Baradaran, Hamid R

    2015-05-07

    Although the mortality from diarrheal diseases has been decreasing dramatically in Iran, it still represents an important proportion of disease burden in children Rotavirus vaccines are among the most effective strategies against diarrheal diseases in specific epidemiological conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the introduction of rotavirus vaccine (3 doses of pentavalent RotaTeq (RV5)) in Iran, from the viewpoints of Iran's health system and society. The TRIVAC decision support model was used to calculate total incremental costs, life years (LYs) gained, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted due to the vaccination program. Necessary input data were collected from the most valid accessible sources as well as a systematic review and meta-analysis on epidemiological studies. We used WHO guidelines to estimate vaccination cost. An annual discount rate of 3% was considered for both health gain and costs. A deterministic sensitivity analysis was performed for testing the robustness of the models results. Our results indicated that total DALYs potentially lost due to rotavirus diarrhea within 10 years would be 138,161, of which 76,591 could be prevented by rotavirus vaccine. The total vaccination cost for 10 cohorts was estimated to be US$ 499.91 million. Also, US$ 470.61 million would be saved because of preventing outpatient visits and inpatient admissions (cost-saving from the society perspective). We estimated a cost per DALY averted of US$ 2868 for RV5 vaccination, which corresponds to a highly cost-effective strategy from the government perspective. In the sensitivity analysis, all scenarios tested were still cost-saving or highly cost-effective from the society perspective, except in the least favorable scenario and low vaccine efficacy and disease incidence scenario. Based on the findings, introduction of rotavirus vaccine is a highly cost-effective strategy from the government perspective. Introducing the vaccine to

  6. Comparative analysis of pentavalent rotavirus vaccine strains and G8 rotaviruses identified during vaccine trial in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heylen, Elisabeth; Zeller, Mark; Ciarlet, Max; Lawrence, Jody; Steele, Duncan; Van Ranst, Marc; Matthijnssens, Jelle

    2015-10-06

    RotaTeqTM is a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine based on a bovine rotavirus genetic backbone in vitro reassorted with human outer capsid genes. During clinical trials of RotaTeqTM in Sub-Saharan Africa, the vaccine efficacy over a 2-year follow-up was lower against the genotypes contained in the vaccine than against the heterotypic G8P[6] and G8P[1] rotavirus strains of which the former is highly prevalent in Africa. Complete genome analyses of 43 complete rotavirus genomes collected during phase III clinical trials of RotaTeqTM in Sub-Saharan Africa, were conducted to gain insight into the high level of cross-protection afforded by RotaTeqTM against these G8 strains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of a high number of bovine rotavirus gene segments in these human G8 strains. In addition, we performed an in depth analysis on the individual amino acid level which showed that G8 rotaviruses were more similar to the RotaTeqTM vaccine than non-G8 strains. Because RotaTeqTM possesses a bovine genetic backbone, the high vaccine efficacy against G8 strains might be partially explained by the fact that all these strains contain a complete or partial bovine-like backbone. Altogether, this study supports the hypothesis that gene segments other than VP7 and VP4 play a role in vaccine-induced immunity.

  7. Longitudinal analysis of raccoon rabies in West Virginia, 2000–2015: a preliminary investigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Bert Plants

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Animal borne rabies virus is a source of infection in humans, and raccoons (Procyon lotor are the primary terrestrial reservoir in West Virginia (WV. To assess the behavior and status of raccoon variant rabies virus (RRV cases in WV, a longitudinal analysis for the period 2000–2015 was performed, using data provided by the state Bureau of Public Health. The analytic approach used was negative binomial regression, with exclusion of those counties that had not experienced RRV cases in the study period, and with further examination of those counties where oral rabies vaccine (ORV baits had been distributed as compared with non-ORV counties. These analyses indicated that there had been a reduction in numbers of RRV positive animals over the study period, predominantly due to a decrease in raccoon infections. Non-raccoon hosts did not appear to have a similar decline, however. The rates of decline for the ORV zone were found to be significantly greater as compared to the non-ORV area. The study was limited by the lack of data for season or point location of animal collection, and by lack of surveillance effort data. Even so, this study has implications for the preventive measures currently being implemented, including expanded vaccination effort in domestic animals. Spatial analyses of RRV and further examination of the virus in non-raccoon hosts are warranted.

  8. ECONOMICAL ANALYSIS OF FLU VACCINE PREVENTION FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D.Yu. Belousov

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This clinicalaeconomical analysis includes all possible treatament expenditures and possible profit from vaccinating chiladren and teenagers versus flue. It shoes that mass vaccination of children and teenagers will lead to lower disease incidence and mortality during epidemical rising of the disease and proavide significant economical effect both because of direct medaical expenses and because of collateral expenses. Collateral expenses are the main source of loss for the state of Russia from child and teenager flue and sars. Vaccination brings sick leaves and lost time payments down by 57%, expenses for treataing flue and sars together with their complications by 52%. In the Russian society total child and teenager vaccination appears as more profitable, for insurance companies as well. in this case insurance companies will be able to benefit from indirect medaical profit and, most probably, won't be needing state subsidizing for conducting total vaccination against flue of all citizens aged under 14. Antiaflue vaccination is feasible both in terms of clinical results and economic feasibility.Key words: pharmaeconomics, flue, sars, children, teenagers, vaccine prevention.

  9. Equilibrium Analysis of a Yellow Fever Dynamical Model with Vaccination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Martorano Raimundo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose an equilibrium analysis of a dynamical model of yellow fever transmission in the presence of a vaccine. The model considers both human and vector populations. We found thresholds parameters that affect the development of the disease and the infectious status of the human population in the presence of a vaccine whose protection may wane over time. In particular, we derived a threshold vaccination rate, above which the disease would be eradicated from the human population. We show that if the mortality rate of the mosquitoes is greater than a given threshold, then the disease is naturally (without intervention eradicated from the population. In contrast, if the mortality rate of the mosquitoes is less than that threshold, then the disease is eradicated from the populations only when the growing rate of humans is less than another threshold; otherwise, the disease is eradicated only if the reproduction number of the infection after vaccination is less than 1. When this reproduction number is greater than 1, the disease will be eradicated from the human population if the vaccination rate is greater than a given threshold; otherwise, the disease will establish itself among humans, reaching a stable endemic equilibrium. The analysis presented in this paper can be useful, both to the better understanding of the disease dynamics and also for the planning of vaccination strategies.

  10. A qualitative analysis of the beliefs of Japanese anti-influenza vaccination website authors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsuyoshi Okuhara

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Influenza vaccine coverage among the Japanese population is less than optimal. Anti-vaccination sentiment exists worldwide, and Japan is no exception. Anti-influenza vaccination activists argue on the internet that influenza vaccine has little or no efficacy and a high risk of side effects, and they warn that people should forgo vaccination. We conducted a qualitative analysis to explore beliefs underlying the messages of anti-influenza vaccination websites, by focusing on the perceived value these beliefs provide to those who hold them. Methods: We conducted online searches in January 2017 using two major Japanese search engines (Google Japan and Yahoo! Japan. Targeted websites were classified as “pro”, “anti”, or “neutral” depending on their claims. We applied a dual analytic approach—inductive thematic analysis and deductive interpretative analysis—to textual data of the anti websites. Results: Of the 113 anti websites, we identified two themes that correspond to beliefs: it is necessary to 1 protect others against risks and exploitation related to influenza vaccination, and 2 educate others about hidden truths and self-determination. Authors of anti websites ascribed two values (people's “safety” and one's own “self-esteem” to their beliefs. Discussion: Website authors may engage in anti-vaccination activities because they want to feel they are virtuous, saving people from harm caused by vaccination, and to boost their self-esteem, thinking “I am enlightening uninformed people.” The anti-vaccination beliefs of website authors were considered to be strong. In promoting vaccination, it would be better not to target outright vaccine refusers, such as the authors of anti-vaccination websites; it is preferable to target vaccine-hesitant people who are more amenable to changing their attitudes toward vaccination. We discuss possible means of promoting vaccination in that target population. Keywords

  11. [Adverse reaction caused by rabies vaccine in China: a Meta-analysis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, X R; Wu, Z G; Zhang, W S

    2017-06-10

    Objective: To conduct a Meta-analysis on the rate of adverse reaction related to rabies vaccine, so as to provide reference for rabies vaccine immunization in China. Methods: We electronically searched databases including CNKI, VIP information resource integration service platform, WanFang Data, CBM, PubMed and The Cochrane Library, to collect studies on Chinese people who had received full rabies vaccination and recording all the adverse reactions, from January 2000 to July 2016. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were strictly followed. Meta-analysis for the adverse reaction rate was performed using the R software. Results: A total of 29 related papers had met the inclusion criteria, with no publication bias noticed. A total number of 11 020 cases had adverse reactions, among all the 94 222 respondents, with an incidence of adverse reactions as 1.04 % -47.78 % . The overall incidence rate of adverse reaction was 9.82 % (95 %CI : 7.58 % -12.72 % ). A combined local adverse reaction rate appeared as 12.05 % (95 % CI : 9.26 % -15.69 % ). The systemic adverse reaction rate was 9.06 % (95 %CI : 7.07 % -11.61 % ). The overall adverse reaction rate on aqueous vaccine was 32.39 % (95 %CI : 21.88 % -47.94 % ). Combined adverse reaction rate of freeze dried vaccine appeared as 8.65 % (95 %CI : 4.54 % -16.51 % ). Significant differences were seen between both groups ( P rabies vaccination was higher than the systemic adverse reaction rate. The adverse reaction rate of aqueous rabies vaccine was higher than that of freeze dried rabies vaccine. Our results suggested that the aqueous vaccine should gradually be eliminated.

  12. An economic analysis of adult hepatitis B vaccination in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Hui; Wang, Fu-zhen; Zhang, Guo-min; Cui, Fu-qiang; Wu, Zhen-hua; Miao, Ning; Sun, Xiao-jin; Liang, Xiao-feng; Li, Li

    2015-11-27

    With the universal infant hepatitis B vaccination (HepB) program, China has made remarkable achievements to prevent and control hepatitis B. In order to further reduce hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the Chinese government is considering implementing a widespread adult HBV vaccination campaign. We performed an economic analysis of two different adult HepB vaccination strategies for 21-59-years-olds: vaccination without screening and screening-based vaccination. Cost-benefit analyses were conducted. All 21-59-year-olds were divided into two groups: young adults (ages 21-39) and middle-aged adults (ages 40-59). Costs and benefits were estimated using the direct cost and societal (direct and indirect costs) perspectives. All costs and benefits were adjusted to 2014 US dollars, where future values were discounted at a 3% annual rate. We calculated benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) of the two vaccination strategies for the two different age groups. Sensitivity analyses varied key parameters within plausible ranges. Among young adults, the direct and societal BCRs for a vaccination campaign with no screening would be 1.06 and 1.42; with a screening-based vaccination campaign, the model estimated the direct and societal BCRs would be 1.19 and 1.73. Among middle-aged adults, the direct and societal BCRs for a vaccination campaign without screening would be 0.59 and 0.59; with a screening-based vaccination campaign, the model estimated the direct and societal BCRs would be 0.68 and 0.73. The results of our study support a HepB vaccination campaign for young adults. Additionally, a vaccination campaign with screening appeared to provide greater value than a vaccination without screening. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. In "Step" with HIV Vaccines? A Content Analysis of Local Recruitment Campaigns for an International HIV Vaccine Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frew, Paula M; Macias, Wendy; Chan, Kayshin; Harding, Ashley C

    2009-01-01

    During the past two decades of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, several recruitment campaigns were designed to generate community involvement in preventive HIV vaccine clinical trials. These efforts utilized a blend of advertising and marketing strategies mixed with public relations and community education approaches to attract potential study participants to clinical trials (integrated marketing communications). Although more than 30,000 persons worldwide have participated in preventive HIV vaccine studies, no systematic analysis of recruitment campaigns exists. This content analysis study was conducted to examine several United States and Canadian recruitment campaigns for one of the largest-scale HIV vaccine trials to date (the "Step Study"). This study examined persuasive features consistent with the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) including message content, personal relevance of HIV/AIDS and vaccine research, intended audiences, information sources, and other contextual features. The results indicated variation in messages and communication approaches with gay men more exclusively targeted in these regions. Racial/ethnic representations also differed by campaign. Most of the materials promote affective evaluation of the information through heuristic cueing. Implications for subsequent campaigns and research directions are discussed.

  14. Longitudinal data analysis a handbook of modern statistical methods

    CERN Document Server

    Fitzmaurice, Garrett; Verbeke, Geert; Molenberghs, Geert

    2008-01-01

    Although many books currently available describe statistical models and methods for analyzing longitudinal data, they do not highlight connections between various research threads in the statistical literature. Responding to this void, Longitudinal Data Analysis provides a clear, comprehensive, and unified overview of state-of-the-art theory and applications. It also focuses on the assorted challenges that arise in analyzing longitudinal data. After discussing historical aspects, leading researchers explore four broad themes: parametric modeling, nonparametric and semiparametric methods, joint

  15. Meta-analysis on the efficacy of foot-and-mouth disease emergency vaccination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hisham Beshara Halasa, Tariq; Boklund, Anette; Cox, S.

    2012-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to provide a summary quantification of the efficacy of FMD emergency vaccination based on a systematic review and a meta-analysis of available literature, and to further discuss the suitability of this review and meta-analysis to summarize and further interpret...... of clinical signs including FMD lesions and fever, while the virological protection parameter was estimated based on the outcome of laboratory tests that were used to diagnose FMD infection. A meta-analysis relative risk was calculated per protection parameter. Results of the meta-analyses were examined using...... vaccine. Fortunately, no significant bias that would alter the conclusions was encountered in the analysis. Meta-analysis showed to be a useful tool to summarize literature results from a systematic review of the efficacy of foot and mouth disease emergency vaccination....

  16. The Measles Vaccination Narrative in Twitter: A Quantitative Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radzikowski, Jacek; Stefanidis, Anthony; Jacobsen, Kathryn H; Croitoru, Arie; Crooks, Andrew; Delamater, Paul L

    2016-01-01

    The emergence of social media is providing an alternative avenue for information exchange and opinion formation on health-related issues. Collective discourse in such media leads to the formation of a complex narrative, conveying public views and perceptions. This paper presents a study of Twitter narrative regarding vaccination in the aftermath of the 2015 measles outbreak, both in terms of its cyber and physical characteristics. We aimed to contribute to the analysis of the data, as well as presenting a quantitative interdisciplinary approach to analyze such open-source data in the context of health narratives. We collected 669,136 tweets referring to vaccination from February 1 to March 9, 2015. These tweets were analyzed to identify key terms, connections among such terms, retweet patterns, the structure of the narrative, and connections to the geographical space. The data analysis captures the anatomy of the themes and relations that make up the discussion about vaccination in Twitter. The results highlight the higher impact of stories contributed by news organizations compared to direct tweets by health organizations in communicating health-related information. They also capture the structure of the antivaccination narrative and its terms of reference. Analysis also revealed the relationship between community engagement in Twitter and state policies regarding child vaccination. Residents of Vermont and Oregon, the two states with the highest rates of non-medical exemption from school-entry vaccines nationwide, are leading the social media discussion in terms of participation. The interdisciplinary study of health-related debates in social media across the cyber-physical debate nexus leads to a greater understanding of public concerns, views, and responses to health-related issues. Further coalescing such capabilities shows promise towards advancing health communication, thus supporting the design of more effective strategies that take into account the complex

  17. Vaccine Images on Twitter: Analysis of What Images are Shared

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dredze, Mark

    2018-01-01

    Background Visual imagery plays a key role in health communication; however, there is little understanding of what aspects of vaccine-related images make them effective communication aids. Twitter, a popular venue for discussions related to vaccination, provides numerous images that are shared with tweets. Objective The objectives of this study were to understand how images are used in vaccine-related tweets and provide guidance with respect to the characteristics of vaccine-related images that correlate with the higher likelihood of being retweeted. Methods We collected more than one million vaccine image messages from Twitter and characterized various properties of these images using automated image analytics. We fit a logistic regression model to predict whether or not a vaccine image tweet was retweeted, thus identifying characteristics that correlate with a higher likelihood of being shared. For comparison, we built similar models for the sharing of vaccine news on Facebook and for general image tweets. Results Most vaccine-related images are duplicates (125,916/237,478; 53.02%) or taken from other sources, not necessarily created by the author of the tweet. Almost half of the images contain embedded text, and many include images of people and syringes. The visual content is highly correlated with a tweet’s textual topics. Vaccine image tweets are twice as likely to be shared as nonimage tweets. The sentiment of an image and the objects shown in the image were the predictive factors in determining whether an image was retweeted. Conclusions We are the first to study vaccine images on Twitter. Our findings suggest future directions for the study and use of vaccine imagery and may inform communication strategies around vaccination. Furthermore, our study demonstrates an effective study methodology for image analysis. PMID:29615386

  18. Vaccine Images on Twitter: Analysis of What Images are Shared.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tao; Dredze, Mark

    2018-04-03

    Visual imagery plays a key role in health communication; however, there is little understanding of what aspects of vaccine-related images make them effective communication aids. Twitter, a popular venue for discussions related to vaccination, provides numerous images that are shared with tweets. The objectives of this study were to understand how images are used in vaccine-related tweets and provide guidance with respect to the characteristics of vaccine-related images that correlate with the higher likelihood of being retweeted. We collected more than one million vaccine image messages from Twitter and characterized various properties of these images using automated image analytics. We fit a logistic regression model to predict whether or not a vaccine image tweet was retweeted, thus identifying characteristics that correlate with a higher likelihood of being shared. For comparison, we built similar models for the sharing of vaccine news on Facebook and for general image tweets. Most vaccine-related images are duplicates (125,916/237,478; 53.02%) or taken from other sources, not necessarily created by the author of the tweet. Almost half of the images contain embedded text, and many include images of people and syringes. The visual content is highly correlated with a tweet's textual topics. Vaccine image tweets are twice as likely to be shared as nonimage tweets. The sentiment of an image and the objects shown in the image were the predictive factors in determining whether an image was retweeted. We are the first to study vaccine images on Twitter. Our findings suggest future directions for the study and use of vaccine imagery and may inform communication strategies around vaccination. Furthermore, our study demonstrates an effective study methodology for image analysis. ©Tao Chen, Mark Dredze. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 03.04.2018.

  19. A cost-benefit analysis of varicella vaccination in Aragón.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peña Blasco, Guillermo; Blasco Pérez-Aramendía, M Jesús

    2017-10-01

    Varicella, a contagious and infectious disease that is usually benign in children, may become complicated among adults and vulnerable children and may even be life-threatening. There are effective vaccines. A retrospective study was conducted about costs and resulting hospitalizations related to this disease in the population of Aragón in the 2004-2014 period. Costs were compared to the expenses that would have been incurred if those people had received the vaccine and also to the expenses of vaccinating the 1-year-old population over the entire period. A cost-benefit analysis was done to assess the economic impact of varicella vaccination. Data for the 11-year period were provided by the Autonomous Community of Aragón (Spain) and included annual varicella incidence, hospital discharges of varicella cases, costs of primary health care visits and hospitalizations for each year, costs of each workday as per the minimum annual salary and of drugs used). Capitalized costs were estimated and compared to capitalized expenses of vaccination, and a sensitivity analysis was performed. A benefit-cost ratio of 1.6 was obtained considering that all children who had varicella had been vaccinated and had received a booster dose. A benefit-cost ratio of 1.24 was obtained considering that the vaccine had been administered to every 1-year-old individual at a price of EUR 28.59 per vaccine. Over the 11-year period, 53% of hospitalizations corresponded to children younger than 5 years old. Public campaigns for the immunization of children younger than 4 years old with 2 doses lead to cost savings and are cost-effective because the vaccine price results in a benefit-cost ratio greater than 1. A major reduction is expected in the number of hospitalizations among children aged 3-4 years. Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría

  20. An innovative influenza vaccination policy: targeting last season's patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamin, Dan; Gavious, Arieh; Solnik, Eyal; Davidovitch, Nadav; Balicer, Ran D; Galvani, Alison P; Pliskin, Joseph S

    2014-05-01

    Influenza vaccination is the primary approach to prevent influenza annually. WHO/CDC recommendations prioritize vaccinations mainly on the basis of age and co-morbidities, but have never considered influenza infection history of individuals for vaccination targeting. We evaluated such influenza vaccination policies through small-world contact networks simulations. Further, to verify our findings we analyzed, independently, large-scale empirical data of influenza diagnosis from the two largest Health Maintenance Organizations in Israel, together covering more than 74% of the Israeli population. These longitudinal individual-level data include about nine million cases of influenza diagnosed over a decade. Through contact network epidemiology simulations, we found that individuals previously infected with influenza have a disproportionate probability of being highly connected within networks and transmitting to others. Therefore, we showed that prioritizing those previously infected for vaccination would be more effective than a random vaccination policy in reducing infection. The effectiveness of such a policy is robust over a range of epidemiological assumptions, including cross-reactivity between influenza strains conferring partial protection as high as 55%. Empirically, our analysis of the medical records confirms that in every age group, case definition for influenza, clinical diagnosis, and year tested, patients infected in the year prior had a substantially higher risk of becoming infected in the subsequent year. Accordingly, considering individual infection history in targeting and promoting influenza vaccination is predicted to be a highly effective supplement to the current policy. Our approach can also be generalized for other infectious disease, computer viruses, or ecological networks.

  1. An innovative influenza vaccination policy: targeting last season's patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Yamin

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Influenza vaccination is the primary approach to prevent influenza annually. WHO/CDC recommendations prioritize vaccinations mainly on the basis of age and co-morbidities, but have never considered influenza infection history of individuals for vaccination targeting. We evaluated such influenza vaccination policies through small-world contact networks simulations. Further, to verify our findings we analyzed, independently, large-scale empirical data of influenza diagnosis from the two largest Health Maintenance Organizations in Israel, together covering more than 74% of the Israeli population. These longitudinal individual-level data include about nine million cases of influenza diagnosed over a decade. Through contact network epidemiology simulations, we found that individuals previously infected with influenza have a disproportionate probability of being highly connected within networks and transmitting to others. Therefore, we showed that prioritizing those previously infected for vaccination would be more effective than a random vaccination policy in reducing infection. The effectiveness of such a policy is robust over a range of epidemiological assumptions, including cross-reactivity between influenza strains conferring partial protection as high as 55%. Empirically, our analysis of the medical records confirms that in every age group, case definition for influenza, clinical diagnosis, and year tested, patients infected in the year prior had a substantially higher risk of becoming infected in the subsequent year. Accordingly, considering individual infection history in targeting and promoting influenza vaccination is predicted to be a highly effective supplement to the current policy. Our approach can also be generalized for other infectious disease, computer viruses, or ecological networks.

  2. Adolescent Attitudes toward Influenza Vaccination and Vaccine Uptake in a School-Based Influenza Vaccination Intervention: A Mediation Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Painter, Julia E.; Sales, Jessica M.; Pazol, Karen; Wingood, Gina M.; Windle, Michael; Orenstein, Walter A.; DiClemente, Ralph J.

    2011-01-01

    Background: School-based vaccination programs may provide an effective strategy to immunize adolescents against influenza. This study examined whether adolescent attitudes toward influenza vaccination mediated the relationship between receipt of a school-based influenza vaccination intervention and vaccine uptake. Methods: Participants were…

  3. Ontology-Based Vaccine Adverse Event Representation and Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Jiangan; He, Yongqun

    2017-01-01

    Vaccine is the one of the greatest inventions of modern medicine that has contributed most to the relief of human misery and the exciting increase in life expectancy. In 1796, an English country physician, Edward Jenner, discovered that inoculating mankind with cowpox can protect them from smallpox (Riedel S, Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) 18(1):21, 2005). Based on the vaccination worldwide, we finally succeeded in the eradication of smallpox in 1977 (Henderson, Vaccine 29:D7-D9, 2011). Other disabling and lethal diseases, like poliomyelitis and measles, are targeted for eradication (Bonanni, Vaccine 17:S120-S125, 1999).Although vaccine development and administration are tremendously successful and cost-effective practices to human health, no vaccine is 100% safe for everyone because each person reacts to vaccinations differently given different genetic background and health conditions. Although all licensed vaccines are generally safe for the majority of people, vaccinees may still suffer adverse events (AEs) in reaction to various vaccines, some of which can be serious or even fatal (Haber et al., Drug Saf 32(4):309-323, 2009). Hence, the double-edged sword of vaccination remains a concern.To support integrative AE data collection and analysis, it is critical to adopt an AE normalization strategy. In the past decades, different controlled terminologies, including the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) (Brown EG, Wood L, Wood S, et al., Drug Saf 20(2):109-117, 1999), the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) (NCI, The Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). Available from: http://evs.nci.nih.gov/ftp1/CTCAE/About.html . Access on 7 Oct 2015), and the World Health Organization (WHO) Adverse Reactions Terminology (WHO-ART) (WHO, The WHO Adverse Reaction Terminology - WHO-ART. Available from: https://www.umc-products.com/graphics/28010.pdf

  4. Cost-effectiveness analysis of HPV vaccination: comparing the general population with socially vulnerable individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Kyu-Tae; Kim, Sun Jung; Lee, Seo Yoon; Park, Eun-Cheol

    2014-01-01

    After the WHO recommended HPV vaccination of the general population in 2009, government support of HPV vaccination programs was increased in many countries. However, this policy was not implemented in Korea due to perceived low cost-effectiveness. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the cost-utility of HPV vaccination programs targeted to high risk populations as compared to vaccination programs for the general population. Each study population was set to 100,000 people in a simulation study to determine the incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR), then standard prevalence rates, cost, vaccination rates, vaccine efficacy, and the Quality-Adjusted Life-Years (QALYs) were applied to the analysis. In addition, sensitivity analysis was performed by assuming discounted vaccination cost. In the socially vulnerable population, QALYs gained through HPV vaccination were higher than that of the general population (General population: 1,019, Socially vulnerable population: 5,582). The results of ICUR showed that the cost of HPV vaccination was higher for the general population than the socially vulnerable population. (General population: 52,279,255 KRW, Socially vulnerable population: 9,547,347 KRW). Compared with 24 million KRW/QALYs as the social threshold, vaccination of the general population was not cost-effective. In contrast, vaccination of the socially vulnerable population was strongly cost-effective. The results suggest the importance and necessity of government support of HPV vaccination programs targeted to socially vulnerable populations because a targeted approach is much more cost-effective. The implementation of government support for such vaccination programs is a critical strategy for decreasing the burden of HPV infection in Korea.

  5. Biopower, Normalization, and HPV: A Foucauldian Analysis of the HPV Vaccine Controversy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engels, Kimberly S

    2016-09-01

    This article utilizes the Foucauldian concepts of biopower and normalization to give an analysis of the debate surrounding the controversial administration of the HPV vaccine to adolescents. My intention is not to solve the problem, rather to utilize a Foucauldian framework to bring various facets of the issue to light, specifically the way the vaccine contributes to strategies of power in reference to how young adults develop within relationships of power. To begin, the article provides an overview of the Foucauldian concepts of biopower and normalization, including how these two strategies of power were present in the administration of the smallpox vaccine in the 19th century. Next, information about HPV and the history of the current controversy in the United States is presented. Lastly, the article presents an analysis of the strategies of biopower and normalization present in the debate on HPV, including an emphasis on how the vaccination is similar to, and different from, 19th century smallpox vaccination. It also explores the way that mechanisms of disease control affect and are affected by individual subjects, in this case, adolescents.

  6. Safety Analysis for Pentavaccine Used in Premature Infants: Family Vaccination Centre’s Experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. А. Novikova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Combined vaccines containing non-cellular pertussis component and having low reactogenicity, increase vaccination coverage against controllable infections. However, the safety of vaccination in children dealing with health issues, as well as those having a history of premature infancy, requires additional research. The article presents reactogenicity analysis for the DTP-IPV/HIB pentavaccine during primary vaccination and revaccination of premature infants (n = 85, as well as vaccination of mature newborns (n = 1433 inoculated in accordance with the national Vaccination Calendar behind the schedule. The occurrence of post-vaccinal reactions in the premature infant group was the same as in the mature infant group and amounted to 41.2% and 45.0%; the occurrence of common reactions was 18.8% and 22.4%; local effects measured 25.8% and 27.9% respectively. Post-vaccinal reactions were either weak or moderate, not requiring treatment, and they would completely disappear by the end of the third post-vaccinal day. Simultaneous injection of pentavaccine and Hepatitis B vaccine and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in children with a history of premature infancy, showed no influence during the post-vaccinal period. The reactogenicity of pentavaccine increased along with the vaccination ratio during the primary series of vaccinations

  7. Sensitivity analysis of longitudinal cracking on asphalt pavement using MEPDG in permafrost region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Zhang

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Longitudinal cracking is one of the most important distresses of asphalt pavement in permafrost regions. The sensitivity analysis of design parameters for asphalt pavement can be used to study the influence of every parameter on longitudinal cracking, which can help optimizing the design of the pavement structure. In this study, 20 test sections of Qinghai–Tibet Highway were selected to conduct the sensitivity analysis of longitudinal cracking on material parameter based on Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG and single factorial sensitivity analysis method. Some computer aided engineering (CAE simulation techniques, such as the Latin hypercube sampling (LHS technique and the multiple regression analysis are used as auxiliary means. Finally, the sensitivity spectrum of material parameter on longitudinal cracking was established. The result shows the multiple regression analysis can be used to determine the remarkable influence factor more efficiently and to process the qualitative analysis when applying the MEPDG software in sensitivity analysis of longitudinal cracking in permafrost regions. The effect weights of the three parameters on longitudinal cracking in descending order are air void, effective binder content and PG grade. The influence of air void on top layer is bigger than that on middle layer and bottom layer. The influence of effective asphalt content on top layer is bigger than that on middle layer and bottom layer, and the influence of bottom layer is slightly bigger than middle layer. The accumulated value of longitudinal cracking on middle layer and bottom layer in the design life would begin to increase when the design temperature of PG grade increased.

  8. A Primer on Longitudinal Data Analysis in Education. Technical Report #1320

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nese, Joseph F. T.; Lai, Cheng-Fei; Anderson, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    Longitudinal data analysis in education is the study growth over time. A longitudinal study is one in which repeated observations of the same variables are recorded for the same individuals over a period of time. This type of research is known by many names (e.g., time series analysis or repeated measures design), each of which can imply subtle…

  9. Arguments and sources on Italian online forums on childhood vaccinations: Results of a content analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadda, Marta; Allam, Ahmed; Schulz, Peter J

    2015-12-16

    Despite being committed to the immunization agenda set by the WHO, Italy is currently experiencing decreasing vaccination rates and increasing incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases. Our aim is to analyze Italian online debates on pediatric immunizations through a content analytic approach in order to quantitatively evaluate and summarize users' arguments and information sources. Threads were extracted from 3 Italian forums. Threads had to include the keyword Vaccin* in the title, focus on childhood vaccination, and include at least 10 posts. They had to have been started between 2008 and June 2014. High inter-coder reliability was achieved. Exploratory analysis using k-means clustering was performed to identify users' posting patterns for arguments about vaccines and sources. The analysis included 6544 posts mentioning 6223 arguments about pediatric vaccinations and citing 4067 sources. The analysis of argument posting patterns included users who published a sufficient number of posts; they generated 85% of all arguments on the forum. Dominating patterns of three groups were identified: (1) an anti-vaccination group (n=280) posted arguments against vaccinations, (2) a general pro-vaccination group (n=222) posted substantially diverse arguments supporting vaccination and (3) a safety-focused pro-vaccination group (n=158) mainly forwarded arguments that questioned the negative side effects of vaccination. The anti-vaccination group was shown to be more active than the others. They use multiple sources, own experience and media as their cited sources of information. Medical professionals were among the cited sources of all three groups, suggesting that vaccination-adverse professionals are gaining attention. Knowing which information is shared online on the topic of pediatric vaccinations could shed light on why immunization rates have been decreasing and what strategies would be best suited to address parental concerns. This suggests there is a high need for

  10. Meta-analysis on the efficacy of foot-and-mouth disease emergency vaccination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hisham Beshara Halasa, Tariq; Boklund, Anette; Cox, Sarah

    2011-01-01

    the results. Peer-reviewed, symposium, and unpublished studies were considered in the analysis. Clinical protection and virological protection against foot and mouth disease were used as parameters to assess the efficacy of emergency vaccination. The clinical protection was estimated based on the appearance...... publication bias tests. In total, 31 studies were included in the analyses, of which 26 were peer-reviewed studies, 1 was a symposium study and 4 were unpublished studies. Cattle, swine and sheep were well protected against clinical disease and foot and mouth disease infection following the use of emergency...... vaccine. Fortunately, no significant bias that would alter the conclusions was encountered in the analysis. Meta-analysis can be a useful tool to summarize literature results from a systematic review of the efficacy of foot and mouth disease emergency vaccination....

  11. A Multiple Streams analysis of the decisions to fund gender-neutral HPV vaccination in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapiro, Gilla K; Guichon, Juliet; Prue, Gillian; Perez, Samara; Rosberger, Zeev

    2017-07-01

    In Canada, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is licensed and recommended for females and males. Although all Canadian jurisdictions fund school-based HPV vaccine programs for girls, only six jurisdictions fund school-based HPV vaccination for boys. The research aimed to analyze the factors that underpin government decisions to fund HPV vaccine for boys using a theoretical policy model, Kingdon's Multiple Streams framework. This approach assesses policy development by examining three concurrent, but independent, streams that guide analysis: Problem Stream, Policy Stream, and Politics Stream. Analysis from the Problem Stream highlights that males are affected by HPV-related diseases and are involved in transmitting HPV infection to their sexual partners. Policy Stream analysis makes clear that while the inclusion of males in HPV vaccine programs is suitable, equitable, and acceptable; there is debate regarding cost-effectiveness. Politics Stream analysis identifies the perspectives of six different stakeholder groups and highlights the contribution of government officials at the provincial and territorial level. Kingdon's Multiple Streams framework helps clarify the opportunities and barriers for HPV vaccine policy change. This analysis identified that the interpretation of cost-effectiveness models and advocacy of stakeholders such as citizen-advocates and HPV-affected politicians have been particularly important in galvanizing policy change. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Analysis Of Vaccination Campaign Against Hpv And The Perspective Of Vaccinated Population

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    Flávia Maria Palmeira Nunes

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction:  The Ministry of Health has provided for the girls population aged nine to 13 years, the quadrivalent vaccine against Human Papillomavirus as a preventive measure for cancer of the cervix, with the initial proposal to achieve 80% of this population.  Objective:  To analyze the vaccine coverage and the perspective of the target population about the vaccine against the Human Papillomavirus.  Methods:  This was a quantitative and qualitative field research in descriptive character, conducted through the Information System of the National Program for Immunization and with a sample of 86 adolescents in the city of São José do Egito/PE/BR.  Results:  The vaccination coverage showed a reduction in sequence of the vaccination schedules of 19,53% in the first phase of the campaign and of 24.07% in the second phase. It was also noted that lack accurate information for more than 50% of respondents, 15.11% had local and / or systemic reactions and 89,53% of them expect positive results with the vaccine against the Human Papillomavirus.  Conclusion: The results showed a discontinuity in the prophylaxis scheme, but for the teenagers who took the vaccine there is confidence that the immunobiological has the desired effect, protecting them against viruses and future cancer of the cervix. Keywords: Health services; Vaccine; Adolescents; Human Papillomavirus.

  13. Qualitative motivators and barriers to pandemic vs. seasonal influenza vaccination among healthcare workers: a content analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prematunge, Chatura; Corace, Kimberly; McCarthy, Anne; Nair, Rama C; Roth, Virginia; Suh, Kathryn N; Garber, Gary

    2014-12-12

    Influenza is a major concern across healthcare environments. Annual vaccination of healthcare workers (HCW) remains a key mode of influenza prevention in healthcare settings. Yet influenza vaccine coverage among HCWs continues to be below recommended targets, in pandemic and non-pandemic settings. Thus, the primary objective of this analysis is to identify motivators and barriers to pandemic (panINFLU) and seasonal influenza vaccination (sINFLU) through the qualitative analysis of HCW provided reasons driving HCW's personal vaccination decisions. Data were collected from a multi-professional sample of HCWs via a cross-sectional survey study, conducted at a tertiary-care hospital in Ontario, Canada. HCW provided and ranked qualitative reasons for personal (1) panINFLU (pH1N1) and (2) sINFLU (2008/2009 season) vaccine uptake and avoidance were used to identify key vaccination motivators and barriers through content analysis methodology. Most HCW vaccination motivators and barriers were found to be similar for panINFLU and sINFLU vaccines. Personal motivators had the greatest impact on vaccination (panINFLU 29.9% and sINFLU 33.9%). Other motivators included preventing influenza in loved ones, patients, and community, and awareness of HCW role in influenza transmission. In contrast, concerns of vaccine safety and limited HCW knowledge of influenza vaccines (panINFLU 46.2% and sINFLU 37.3%). HCW vaccination during the pandemic was motivated by panINFLU related fear, epidemiology, and workplace pro-vaccination policies. HCW perceptions of accelerated panINFLU vaccine development and vaccine safety compromises, negative views of external sources (i.e. media, pharmaceutical companies, and regulatory agencies) and pandemic management strategies were barriers specific to panINFLU vaccine. HCW panINFLU and sINFLU vaccine coverage can increase if future vaccination programs (1) highlight personal vaccination benefits (2) emphasize the impact HCW non-vaccination on family

  14. A cost-utility analysis of cervical cancer vaccination in preadolescent Canadian females

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    Merid Maraki

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the fact that approximately 70% of Canadian women undergo cervical cancer screening at least once every 3 years, approximately 1,300 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and approximately 380 died from it in 2008. This study estimates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of vaccinating 12-year old Canadian females with an AS04-adjuvanted cervical cancer vaccine. The indirect effect of vaccination, via herd immunity, is also estimated. Methods A 12-health-state 1-year-cycle Markov model was developed to estimate lifetime HPV related events for a cohort of 12-year old females. Annual transition probabilities between health-states were derived from published literature and Canadian population statistics. The model was calibrated using Canadian cancer statistics. From a healthcare perspective, the cost-effectiveness of introducing a vaccine with efficacy against HPV-16/18 and evidence of cross-protection against other oncogenic HPV types was evaluated in a population undergoing current screening practices. The base-case analysis included 70% screening coverage, 75% vaccination coverage, $135/dose for vaccine, and 3% discount rate on future costs and health effects. Conservative herd immunity effects were taken into account by estimated HPV incidence using a mathematical model parameterized by reported age-stratified sexual mixing data. Sensitivity analyses were performed to address parameter uncertainties. Results Vaccinating 12-year old females (n = 100,000 was estimated to prevent between 390-633 undiscounted cervical cancer cases (reduction of 47%-77% and 168-275 undiscounted deaths (48%-78% over their lifetime, depending on whether or not herd immunity and cross-protection against other oncogenic HPV types were included. Vaccination was estimated to cost $18,672-$31,687 per QALY-gained, the lower range representing inclusion of cross-protective efficacy and herd immunity. The cost per QALY-gained was most

  15. In “Step” with HIV Vaccines? A Content Analysis of Local Recruitment Campaigns for an International HIV Vaccine Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frew, Paula M.; Macias, Wendy; Chan, Kayshin; Harding, Ashley C.

    2009-01-01

    During the past two decades of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, several recruitment campaigns were designed to generate community involvement in preventive HIV vaccine clinical trials. These efforts utilized a blend of advertising and marketing strategies mixed with public relations and community education approaches to attract potential study participants to clinical trials (integrated marketing communications). Although more than 30,000 persons worldwide have participated in preventive HIV vaccine studies, no systematic analysis of recruitment campaigns exists. This content analysis study was conducted to examine several United States and Canadian recruitment campaigns for one of the largest-scale HIV vaccine trials to date (the “Step Study”). This study examined persuasive features consistent with the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) including message content, personal relevance of HIV/AIDS and vaccine research, intended audiences, information sources, and other contextual features. The results indicated variation in messages and communication approaches with gay men more exclusively targeted in these regions. Racial/ethnic representations also differed by campaign. Most of the materials promote affective evaluation of the information through heuristic cueing. Implications for subsequent campaigns and research directions are discussed. PMID:19609373

  16. Intrathecal antibody production in two cases of yellow fever vaccine associated neurotropic disease in Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pires-Marczeski, Fanny Clara; Martinez, Valeria Paula; Nemirovsky, Corina; Padula, Paula Julieta

    2011-12-01

    During the period 2007-2008 several epizootics of Yellow fever with dead of monkeys occurred in southeastern Brasil, Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina. In 2008 after a Yellow fever outbreak an exhaustive prevention campaign took place in Argentina using 17D live attenuated Yellow fever vaccine. This vaccine is considered one of the safest live virus vaccines, although serious adverse reactions may occur after vaccination, and vaccine-associated neurotropic disease are reported rarely. The aim of this study was to confirm two serious adverse events associated to Yellow fever vaccine in Argentina, and to describe the analysis performed to assess the origin of specific IgM against Yellow fever virus (YFV) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Both cases coincided with the Yellow fever vaccine-associated neurotropic disease case definition, being clinical diagnosis longitudinal myelitis (case 1) and meningoencephalitis (case 2). Specific YFV antibodies were detected in CSF and serum samples in both cases by IgM antibody-capture ELISA. No other cause of neurological disease was identified. In order to obtain a conclusive diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) infection the IgM antibody index (AI(IgM) ) was calculated. High AI(IgM) values were found in both cases indicating intrathecal production of antibodies and, therefore, CNS post-vaccinal YFV infection could be definitively associated to YFV vaccination. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Cost-effectiveness analysis of vaccinations and decision makings on vaccination programmes in Hong Kong: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Carlos K H; Liao, Qiuyan; Guo, Vivian Y W; Xin, Yiqiao; Lam, Cindy L K

    2017-05-31

    To describe and systematically review the modelling and reporting of cost-effectiveness analysis of vaccination in Hong Kong, and to identify areas for quality enhancement in future cost-effectiveness analyses. We conducted a comprehensive and systematic review of cost-effectiveness studies related to vaccination and government immunisation programmes in Hong Kong published from 1990 to 2015, through database search of Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase, and OVID Medline. Methodological quality of selected studies was assessed using Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards checklist (CHEERS). Decision making of vaccination was obtained from Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) and Department of Health in Hong Kong. Nine eligible studies reporting twelve comparative cost-effectiveness comparisons of vaccination programme for influenza (n=2), pneumococcal disease (n=3), influenza plus pneumococcal disease (n=1), chickenpox (n=2), Haemophilus influenzae b (n=1), hepatitis A (n=1), cervical cancer (n=1) and rotavirus (n=1) were identified. Ten comparisons (83.3%) calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of a vaccination strategy versus status quo as outcomes in terms of cost in USD per life-years, cost per quality-adjusted life-years, or cost per disability-adjusted life-years. Among those 10 comparisons in base-case scenario, 4 evaluated interventions were cost-saving relative to status quo while the ICER estimates in 3 of the 6 remaining comparisons were far below commonly accepted threshold and WHO willingness-to-pay threshold, suggestive of very cost-effective. Seven studies were of good quality based on the CHEERS checklist; one was of moderate quality; and one was of excellent quality. The common methodological problems were characterisation of heterogeneity and reporting of study parameters. There was a paucity of cost-effectiveness models evaluating vaccination targeted to the Hong Kong population. All

  18. Are Clade Specific HIV Vaccines a Necessity? An Analysis Based on Mathematical Models

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    Dobromir Dimitrov

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available As HIV-1 envelope immune responses are critical to vaccine related protection, most candidate HIV vaccines entering efficacy trials are based upon a clade specific design. This need for clade specific vaccine prototypes markedly reduces the implementation of potentially effective HIV vaccines. We utilized a mathematical model to determine the effectiveness of immediate roll-out of a non-clade matched vaccine with reduced efficacy compared to constructing clade specific vaccines, which would take considerable time to manufacture and test in safety and efficacy trials. We simulated the HIV epidemic in San Francisco (SF and South Africa (SA and projected effectiveness of three vaccination strategies: i immediate intervention with a 20–40% vaccine efficacy (VE non-matched vaccine, ii delayed intervention by developing a 50% VE clade-specific vaccine, and iii immediate intervention with a non-matched vaccine replaced by a clade-specific vaccine when developed. Immediate vaccination with a non-clade matched vaccine, even with reduced efficacy, would prevent thousands of new infections in SF and millions in SA over 30 years. Vaccination with 50% VE delayed for five years needs six and 12 years in SA to break-even with immediate 20 and 30% VE vaccination, respectively, while not able to surpass the impact of immediate 40% VE vaccination over 30 years. Replacing a 30% VE with a 50% VE vaccine after 5 years reduces the HIV acquisition by 5% compared to delayed vaccination. The immediate use of an HIV vaccine with reduced VE in high risk communities appears desirable over a short time line but higher VE should be the pursued to achieve strong long-term impact. Our analysis illustrates the importance of developing surrogate markers (correlates of protection to allow bridging types of immunogenicity studies to support more rapid assessment of clade specific vaccines.

  19. Cost-Effectiveness of a Program to Eliminate Disparities in Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates in Elderly Minority Populations: An Exploratory Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michaelidis, Constantinos I.; Zimmerman, Richard K.; Nowalk, Mary Patricia; Smith, Kenneth J.

    2013-01-01

    Objective Invasive pneumococcal disease is a major cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States, particularly among the elderly (>65 years). There are large racial disparities in pneumococcal vaccination rates in this population. Here, we estimate the cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical national vaccination intervention program designed to eliminate racial disparities in pneumococcal vaccination in the elderly. Methods In an exploratory analysis, a Markov decision-analysis model was developed, taking a societal perspective and assuming a 1-year cycle length, 10-year vaccination program duration, and lifetime time horizon. In the base-case analysis, it was conservatively assumed that vaccination program promotion costs were $10 per targeted minority elder per year, regardless of prior vaccination status and resulted in the elderly African American and Hispanic pneumococcal vaccination rate matching the elderly Caucasian vaccination rate (65%) in year 10 of the program. Results The incremental cost-effectiveness of the vaccination program relative to no program was $45,161 per quality-adjusted life-year gained in the base-case analysis. In probabilistic sensitivity analyses, the likelihood of the vaccination program being cost-effective at willingness-to-pay thresholds of $50,000 and $100,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained was 64% and 100%, respectively. Conclusions In a conservative analysis biased against the vaccination program, a national vaccination intervention program to ameliorate racial disparities in pneumococcal vaccination would be cost-effective. PMID:23538183

  20. Genome sequencing and analysis of BCG vaccine strains.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen Zhang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Although the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG vaccine against tuberculosis (TB has been available for more than 75 years, one third of the world's population is still infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and approximately 2 million people die of TB every year. To reduce this immense TB burden, a clearer understanding of the functional genes underlying the action of BCG and the development of new vaccines are urgently needed. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Comparative genomic analysis of 19 M. tuberculosis complex strains showed that BCG strains underwent repeated human manipulation, had higher region of deletion rates than those of natural M. tuberculosis strains, and lost several essential components such as T-cell epitopes. A total of 188 BCG strain T-cell epitopes were lost to various degrees. The non-virulent BCG Tokyo strain, which has the largest number of T-cell epitopes (359, lost 124. Here we propose that BCG strain protection variability results from different epitopes. This study is the first to present BCG as a model organism for genetics research. BCG strains have a very well-documented history and now detailed genome information. Genome comparison revealed the selection process of BCG strains under human manipulation (1908-1966. CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed the cause of BCG vaccine strain protection variability at the genome level and supported the hypothesis that the restoration of lost BCG Tokyo epitopes is a useful future vaccine development strategy. Furthermore, these detailed BCG vaccine genome investigation results will be useful in microbial genetics, microbial engineering and other research fields.

  1. Parent-son decision-making about human papillomavirus vaccination: a qualitative analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Andreia B

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Licensed for use in males in 2009, Human Papillomavirus (HPV vaccination rates in adolescent males are extremely low. Literature on HPV vaccination focuses on females, adult males, or parents of adolescent males, without including adolescent males or the dynamics of the parent-son interaction that may influence vaccine decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to examine the decision-making process of parent-son dyads when deciding whether or not to get vaccinated against HPV. Methods Twenty-one adolescent males (ages 13–17, with no previous HPV vaccination, and their parents/guardians were recruited from adolescent primary care clinics serving low to middle income families in a large Midwestern city. Dyad members participated in separate semi-structured interviews assessing the relative role of the parent and son in the decision regarding HPV vaccination. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded using inductive content analysis. Results Parents and sons focused on protection as a reason for vaccination; parents felt a need to protect their child, while sons wanted to protect their own health. Parents and sons commonly misinterpreted the information about the vaccine. Sons were concerned about an injection in the penis, while some parents and sons thought the vaccine would protect them against other sexually transmitted infections including Herpes, Gonorrhea, and HIV. Parents and sons recalled that the vaccine prevented genital warts rather than cancer. The vaccine decision-making process was rapid and dynamic, including an initial reaction to the recommendation for HPV vaccine, discussion between parent and son, and the final vaccine decision. Provider input was weighed in instances of initial disagreement. Many boys felt that this was the first health care decision that they had been involved in. Dyads which reported shared decision-making were more likely to openly communicate about sexual issues than those

  2. Motivational and contextual determinants of HPV-vaccination uptake: A longitudinal study among mothers of girls invited for the HPV-vaccination

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pot, M.; Keulen, H.M. van; Ruiter, R.A.C.; Eekhout, I.; Mollema, L.; Paulussen, T.W.G.M.

    2017-01-01

    Background In the Netherlands, HPV-vaccination uptake among 12-year-old girls remains to be lower (61% in 2016) than expected. The present study is about 1) replicating the extent to which social-psychological determinants found in earlier cross-sectional studies explain HPV-vaccination intention,

  3. Causal mediation analysis for longitudinal data with exogenous exposure

    OpenAIRE

    Bind, M.-A. C.; Vanderweele, T. J.; Coull, B. A.; Schwartz, J. D.

    2015-01-01

    Mediation analysis is a valuable approach to examine pathways in epidemiological research. Prospective cohort studies are often conducted to study biological mechanisms and often collect longitudinal measurements on each participant. Mediation formulae for longitudinal data have been developed. Here, we formalize the natural direct and indirect effects using a causal framework with potential outcomes that allows for an interaction between the exposure and the mediator. To allow different type...

  4. Meta-analysis of vaccine effectiveness of mumps-containing vaccine under different immunization strategies in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Huaqing; Hu, Yongmei; Zhang, Guomin; Zheng, Jingshan; Li, Li; An, Zhijie

    2014-08-20

    To evaluate vaccine effectiveness (VE) of mumps-containing vaccine (MuV) under different immunization strategies. We conducted Medline, Embase, China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI), and Wan Fang Database (WF) searches for Chinese and English language articles describing studies of mumps VE in a Chinese population. Evaluated articles were scored on quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analysis was conducted using random effects models. Sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis and meta-regression were conducted to explore heterogeneity. A total of 32 studies in 19 papers were included; 14 were case-control studies, and 18 were cohort studies. Half of the studies were of high quality; 41% were of moderate quality. The overall VE for mumps containing vaccine (either one dose or two doses) was 85% (95% CI 76-90%) for cohort studies and 88% (95% CI 82-92%) for case-control studies. Using random effects meta-regression we found significant differences in some study covariates; for instance, VE varied by population (VE=88% in day care versus 69% in pupil, p=0.008) and emergency versus routine immunization (VE=80% for routine immunization versus 95% for emergency immunization, p=0.041). However, these results must be interpreted with caution due to the low number of studies in subgroups, with the permutation test giving non-significant results that indicated that the results may be due to chance. MuV provides good protection from mumps infection. Further studies of mumps VE with larger sample sizes enabling subgroup analyses will be needed to confirm our findings. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Modeling the impact of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Chinese infants: an economic analysis of a compulsory vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Che, Datian; Zhou, Hua; He, Jinchun; Wu, Bin

    2014-02-07

    The purpose of this study was to compare, from a Chinese societal perspective, the projected health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of adding pneumococcal conjugate heptavalent vaccine (PCV-7) to the routine compulsory child immunization schedule. A decision-tree model, with data and assumptions adapted for relevance to China, was developed to project the health outcomes of PCV-7 vaccination (compared with no vaccination) over a 5-year period as well as a lifetime. The vaccinated birth cohort included 16,000,000 children in China. A 2 + 1 dose schedule at US$136.51 per vaccine dose was used in the base-case analysis. One-way sensitivity analysis was used to test the robustness of the model. The impact of a net indirect effect (herd immunity) was evaluated. Outcomes are presented in terms of the saved disease burden, costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. In a Chinese birth cohort, a PCV-7 vaccination program would reduce the number of pneumococcus-related infections by at least 32% and would prevent 2,682 deaths in the first 5 years of life, saving $1,190 million in total costs and gaining an additional 9,895 QALYs (discounted by 3%). The incremental cost per QALY was estimated to be $530,354. When herd immunity was taken into account, the cost per QALY was estimated to be $95,319. The robustness of the model was influenced mainly by the PCV-7 cost per dose, effectiveness herd immunity and incidence of pneumococcal diseases. With and without herd immunity, the break-even costs in China were $29.05 and $25.87, respectively. Compulsory routine infant vaccination with PCV-7 is projected to substantially reduce pneumococcal disease morbidity, mortality, and related costs in China. However, a universal vaccination program with PCV-7 is not cost-effective at the willingness-to-pay threshold that is currently recommended for China by the World Health Organization.

  6. Cost-effectiveness analysis of catch-up hepatitis A vaccination among unvaccinated/partially-vaccinated children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hankin-Wei, Abigail; Rein, David B.; Hernandez-Romieu, Alfonso; Kennedy, Mallory J.; Bulkow, Lisa; Rosenberg, Eli; Trigg, Monica; Nelson, Noele P.

    2017-01-01

    Background Since 2006, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended hepatitis A (HepA) vaccination routinely for children aged 12–23 months to prevent hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection. However, a substantial proportion of US children are unvaccinated and susceptible to infection. We present results of economic modeling to assess whether a one-time catch-up HepA vaccination recommendation would be cost-effective. Methods We developed a Markov model of HAV infection that followed a single cohort from birth through death (birth to age 95 years). The model compared the health and economic outcomes from catch-up vaccination interventions for children at target ages from two through 17 years vs. outcomes resulting from maintaining the current recommendation of routine vaccination at age one year with no catch-up intervention. Results Over the lifetime of the cohort, catch-up vaccination would reduce the total number of infections relative to the baseline by 741 while increasing doses of vaccine by 556,989. Catch-up vaccination would increase net costs by $10.2 million, or $2.38 per person. The incremental cost of HepA vaccine catch-up intervention at age 10 years, the midpoint of the ages modeled, was $452,239 per QALY gained. Across age-cohorts, the cost-effectiveness of catch-up vaccination is most favorable at age 12 years, resulting in an Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio of $189,000 per QALY gained. Conclusions Given the low baseline of HAV disease incidence achieved by current vaccination recommendations, our economic model suggests that a catch-up vaccination recommendation would be less cost-effective than many other vaccine interventions, and that HepA catch-up vaccination would become cost effective at a threshold of $50,000 per QALY only when incidence of HAV rises about 5.0 cases per 100,000 population. PMID:27317459

  7. Analysis of hepatitis B vaccination behavior and vaccination willingness among migrant workers from rural China based on protection motivation theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Rugang; Li, Youwei; Wangen, Knut R; Maitland, Elizabeth; Nicholas, Stephen; Wang, Jian

    2016-05-03

    With China's accelerating urbanization, migrant workers comprise up to 40% of the urban population of China's largest cities. More mobile than non-migrant urban dwellers, migrants are more likely to contract and spread hepatitis B (HB) than non-migrants. Due to the mandatory system of household registration (hukou), migrants are less likely to be covered by national HB immunization programs and also to have more limited access to public health services where they work than non-migrants. Migrants form a significant sub-group in all Chinese cities posing unique public policy vaccination challenges. Using protection motivation theory (PMT), we developed and measured HB cognitive variables and analyze the factors affecting HB vaccination behavior and willingness to vaccinate by migrant workers. We propose public policy interventions to increase HB vaccination rates of migrant workers. We developed a questionnaire to collect information on the HB vaccination characteristics of 1684 respondents from 6 provinces and Beijing. Exploratory factor analysis was used to create PMT variables and a binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors affecting migrant workers' HB vaccination behavior and willingness to vaccinate. Vulnerability and response-efficacy were significant PMT cognition factors determining HB vaccination behavior. The HB vaccination rate for migrants decreased with increasing age and was smaller for the primary education than the high education group. The vaccination rate of the medical insurance group was significantly greater than the non-insured group, and the vaccination probability was significantly higher for the self-rated good health compared to the self-rated poor health group. Geographical birth location mattered: the vaccination rate for Beijing city and Ningxia province migrants were higher than for Hebei province and the vaccination rate was lower for migrants born far from health facilities compared to those located middle

  8. Comprehensive sieve analysis of breakthrough HIV-1 sequences in the RV144 vaccine efficacy trial.

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    Paul T Edlefsen

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The RV144 clinical trial showed the partial efficacy of a vaccine regimen with an estimated vaccine efficacy (VE of 31% for protecting low-risk Thai volunteers against acquisition of HIV-1. The impact of vaccine-induced immune responses can be investigated through sieve analysis of HIV-1 breakthrough infections (infected vaccine and placebo recipients. A V1/V2-targeted comparison of the genomes of HIV-1 breakthrough viruses identified two V2 amino acid sites that differed between the vaccine and placebo groups. Here we extended the V1/V2 analysis to the entire HIV-1 genome using an array of methods based on individual sites, k-mers and genes/proteins. We identified 56 amino acid sites or "signatures" and 119 k-mers that differed between the vaccine and placebo groups. Of those, 19 sites and 38 k-mers were located in the regions comprising the RV144 vaccine (Env-gp120, Gag, and Pro. The nine signature sites in Env-gp120 were significantly enriched for known antibody-associated sites (p = 0.0021. In particular, site 317 in the third variable loop (V3 overlapped with a hotspot of antibody recognition, and sites 369 and 424 were linked to CD4 binding site neutralization. The identified signature sites significantly covaried with other sites across the genome (mean = 32.1 more than did non-signature sites (mean = 0.9 (p < 0.0001, suggesting functional and/or structural relevance of the signature sites. Since signature sites were not preferentially restricted to the vaccine immunogens and because most of the associations were insignificant following correction for multiple testing, we predict that few of the genetic differences are strongly linked to the RV144 vaccine-induced immune pressure. In addition to presenting results of the first complete-genome analysis of the breakthrough infections in the RV144 trial, this work describes a set of statistical methods and tools applicable to analysis of breakthrough infection genomes in general vaccine

  9. Comprehensive sieve analysis of breakthrough HIV-1 sequences in the RV144 vaccine efficacy trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edlefsen, Paul T; Rolland, Morgane; Hertz, Tomer; Tovanabutra, Sodsai; Gartland, Andrew J; deCamp, Allan C; Magaret, Craig A; Ahmed, Hasan; Gottardo, Raphael; Juraska, Michal; McCoy, Connor; Larsen, Brendan B; Sanders-Buell, Eric; Carrico, Chris; Menis, Sergey; Kijak, Gustavo H; Bose, Meera; Arroyo, Miguel A; O'Connell, Robert J; Nitayaphan, Sorachai; Pitisuttithum, Punnee; Kaewkungwal, Jaranit; Rerks-Ngarm, Supachai; Robb, Merlin L; Kirys, Tatsiana; Georgiev, Ivelin S; Kwong, Peter D; Scheffler, Konrad; Pond, Sergei L Kosakovsky; Carlson, Jonathan M; Michael, Nelson L; Schief, William R; Mullins, James I; Kim, Jerome H; Gilbert, Peter B

    2015-02-01

    The RV144 clinical trial showed the partial efficacy of a vaccine regimen with an estimated vaccine efficacy (VE) of 31% for protecting low-risk Thai volunteers against acquisition of HIV-1. The impact of vaccine-induced immune responses can be investigated through sieve analysis of HIV-1 breakthrough infections (infected vaccine and placebo recipients). A V1/V2-targeted comparison of the genomes of HIV-1 breakthrough viruses identified two V2 amino acid sites that differed between the vaccine and placebo groups. Here we extended the V1/V2 analysis to the entire HIV-1 genome using an array of methods based on individual sites, k-mers and genes/proteins. We identified 56 amino acid sites or "signatures" and 119 k-mers that differed between the vaccine and placebo groups. Of those, 19 sites and 38 k-mers were located in the regions comprising the RV144 vaccine (Env-gp120, Gag, and Pro). The nine signature sites in Env-gp120 were significantly enriched for known antibody-associated sites (p = 0.0021). In particular, site 317 in the third variable loop (V3) overlapped with a hotspot of antibody recognition, and sites 369 and 424 were linked to CD4 binding site neutralization. The identified signature sites significantly covaried with other sites across the genome (mean = 32.1) more than did non-signature sites (mean = 0.9) (p analysis of the breakthrough infections in the RV144 trial, this work describes a set of statistical methods and tools applicable to analysis of breakthrough infection genomes in general vaccine efficacy trials for diverse pathogens.

  10. Cost-effectiveness analysis of pneumococcal vaccination for infants in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurer, Kristin A; Chen, Huey-Fen; Wagner, Abram L; Hegde, Sonia T; Patel, Tejasi; Boulton, Matthew L; Hutton, David W

    2016-12-07

    Although China has a high burden of pneumococcal disease among young children, the government does not administer publicly-funded pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) through its Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of publicly-funded PCV-7, PCV-10, and PCV-13 vaccination programs for infants in China. Using a Markov model, we simulated a cohort of 16 million Chinese infants to estimate the impact of PCV-7, PCV-10, and PCV-13 vaccination programs from a societal perspective. We extrapolated health states to estimate the effects of the programs over the course of a lifetime of 75years. Parameters in the model were derived from a review of the literature. We found that PCV-7, PCV-10, and PCV-13 vaccination programs would be cost-effective compared to no vaccination. However, PCV-13 had the lowest incremental cost-effectiveness ratio ($11,464/QALY vs $16,664/QALY for PCV-10 and $18,224/QALY for PCV-7) due to a reduction in overall costs. Our sensitivity analysis revealed that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were most sensitive to the utility of acute otitis media, the cost of PCV-13, and the incidence of pneumonia and acute otitis media. The Chinese government should take steps to reduce the burden of pneumococcal diseases among young children through the inclusion of a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in its EPI. Although all vaccinations would be cost-effective, PCV-13 would save more costs to the healthcare system and would be the preferred strategy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The Evidence for Efficacy of HPV Vaccines: Investigations in Categorical Data Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbs, Alison L.; Goossens, Emery T.

    2013-01-01

    Recent approval of HPV vaccines and their widespread provision to young women provide an interesting context to gain experience with the application of statistical methods in current research. We demonstrate how we have used data extracted from a meta-analysis examining the efficacy of HPV vaccines in clinical trials with students in applied…

  12. Identification Of Protein Vaccine Candidates Using Comprehensive Proteomic Analysis Strategies

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Rohrbough, James G

    2007-01-01

    Presented in this dissertation are proteomic analysis studies focused on identifying proteins to be used as vaccine candidates against Coccidioidomycosis, a potentially fatal human pulmonary disease...

  13. Non-invasive monitoring of Streptococcus pyogenes vaccine efficacy using biophotonic imaging.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faraz M Alam

    Full Text Available Streptococcus pyogenes infection of the nasopharynx represents a key step in the pathogenic cycle of this organism and a major focus for vaccine development, requiring robust models to facilitate the screening of potentially protective antigens. One antigen that may be an important target for vaccination is the chemokine protease, SpyCEP, which is cell surface-associated and plays a role in pathogenesis. Biophotonic imaging (BPI can non-invasively characterize the spatial location and abundance of bioluminescent bacteria in vivo. We have developed a bioluminescent derivative of a pharyngeal S. pyogenes strain by transformation of an emm75 clinical isolate with the luxABCDE operon. Evaluation of isogenic recombinant strains in vitro and in vivo confirmed that bioluminescence conferred a growth deficit that manifests as a fitness cost during infection. Notwithstanding this, bioluminescence expression permitted non-invasive longitudinal quantitation of S. pyogenes within the murine nasopharynx albeit with a detection limit corresponding to approximately 10(5 bacterial colony forming units (CFU in this region. Vaccination of mice with heat killed streptococci, or with SpyCEP led to a specific IgG response in the serum. BPI demonstrated that both vaccine candidates reduced S. pyogenes bioluminescence emission over the course of nasopharyngeal infection. The work suggests the potential for BPI to be used in the non-invasive longitudinal evaluation of potential S. pyogenes vaccines.

  14. Composite marginal quantile regression analysis for longitudinal adolescent body mass index data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chi-Chuan; Chen, Yi-Hau; Chang, Hsing-Yi

    2017-09-20

    Childhood and adolescenthood overweight or obesity, which may be quantified through the body mass index (BMI), is strongly associated with adult obesity and other health problems. Motivated by the child and adolescent behaviors in long-term evolution (CABLE) study, we are interested in individual, family, and school factors associated with marginal quantiles of longitudinal adolescent BMI values. We propose a new method for composite marginal quantile regression analysis for longitudinal outcome data, which performs marginal quantile regressions at multiple quantile levels simultaneously. The proposed method extends the quantile regression coefficient modeling method introduced by Frumento and Bottai (Biometrics 2016; 72:74-84) to longitudinal data accounting suitably for the correlation structure in longitudinal observations. A goodness-of-fit test for the proposed modeling is also developed. Simulation results show that the proposed method can be much more efficient than the analysis without taking correlation into account and the analysis performing separate quantile regressions at different quantile levels. The application to the longitudinal adolescent BMI data from the CABLE study demonstrates the practical utility of our proposal. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Stability analysis on an economic epidemiological model with vaccination Pages : - , and.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avusuglo, Wisdom S; Abdella, Kenzu; Feng, Wenying

    2017-08-01

    In this paper, an economic epidemiological model with vaccination is studied. The stability of the endemic steady-state is analyzed and some bifurcation properties of the system are investigated. It is established that the system exhibits saddle-point and period-doubling bifurcations when adult susceptible individuals are vaccinated. Furthermore, it is shown that susceptible individuals also have the tendency of opting for more number of contacts even if the vaccine is inefficacious and thus causes the disease endemic to increase in the long run. Results from sensitivity analysis with specific disease parameters are also presented. Finally, it is shown that the qualitative behaviour of the system is affected by contact levels.

  16. Vaccinations and risk of systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Bin; Shao, Xiaoqing; Wang, Dan; Xu, Donghua; Zhang, Jin-An

    2017-07-01

    In the past several years, more and more studies proposed some concerns on the possibly increased risk of autoimmune diseases in individuals receiving vaccinations, but published studies on the associations of vaccinations with risks of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) reported conflicting findings. A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to comprehensively evaluate the relationship between vaccinations and risk of SLE and RA. Pubmed, Web of Science and Embase were searched for observational studies assessing the associations of vaccinations with risks of RA and SLE. Two authors independently extracted data from those eligible studies. The quality of eligible studies was assessed by using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). The pooled relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was used to measure the risk of RA and SLE associated with vaccinations, and was calculated through random-effect meta-analysis. Sixteen observational studies were finally considered eligible, including 12 studies on the association between vaccinations and SLE risk and 13 studies on the association between vaccinations and RA risk. The pooled findings suggested that vaccinations significantly increased risk of SLE (RR=1.50; 95%CI 1.05-2.12, P=0.02). In addition, there was an obvious association between vaccinations and increased risk of RA (RR=1.32; 95%CI 1.09-1.60, P=0.004). Meta-analysis of studies reporting outcomes of short vaccinated time also suggested that vaccinations could significantly increase risk of SLE (RR=1.93; 95%CI 1.07-3.48, P=0.028) and RA (RR=1.48; 95%CI 1.08-2.03, P=0.015). Sensitivity analyses in studies with low risk of bias also found obvious associations of vaccinations with increased risk of RA and SLE. This study suggests that vaccinations are related to increased risks of SLE and RA. More and larger observational studies are needed to further verify the findings above and to assess the associations of

  17. Seasonal Influenza Vaccination amongst Medical Students: A Social Network Analysis Based on a Cross-Sectional Study.

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    Rhiannon Edge

    Full Text Available The Chief Medical Officer for England recommends that healthcare workers have a seasonal influenza vaccination in an attempt to protect both patients and NHS staff. Despite this, many healthcare workers do not have a seasonal influenza vaccination. Social network analysis is a well-established research approach that looks at individuals in the context of their social connections. We examine the effects of social networks on influenza vaccination decision and disease dynamics.We used a social network analysis approach to look at vaccination distribution within the network of the Lancaster Medical School students and combined these data with the students' beliefs about vaccination behaviours. We then developed a model which simulated influenza outbreaks to study the effects of preferentially vaccinating individuals within this network.Of the 253 eligible students, 217 (86% provided relational data, and 65% of responders had received a seasonal influenza vaccination. Students who were vaccinated were more likely to think other medical students were vaccinated. However, there was no clustering of vaccinated individuals within the medical student social network. The influenza simulation model demonstrated that vaccination of well-connected individuals may have a disproportional effect on disease dynamics.This medical student population exhibited vaccination coverage levels similar to those seen in other healthcare groups but below recommendations. However, in this population, a lack of vaccination clustering might provide natural protection from influenza outbreaks. An individual student's perception of the vaccination coverage amongst their peers appears to correlate with their own decision to vaccinate, but the directionality of this relationship is not clear. When looking at the spread of disease within a population it is important to include social structures alongside vaccination data. Social networks influence disease epidemiology and

  18. Routine Pediatric Enterovirus 71 Vaccination in China: a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Joseph T; Jit, Mark; Zheng, Yaming; Leung, Kathy; Xing, Weijia; Yang, Juan; Liao, Qiaohong; Cowling, Benjamin J; Yang, Bingyi; Lau, Eric H Y; Takahashi, Saki; Farrar, Jeremy J; Grenfell, Bryan T; Leung, Gabriel M; Yu, Hongjie

    2016-03-01

    China accounted for 87% (9.8 million/11.3 million) of all hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases reported to WHO during 2010-2014. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is responsible for most of the severe HFMD cases. Three EV71 vaccines recently demonstrated good efficacy in children aged 6-71 mo. Here we assessed the cost-effectiveness of routine pediatric EV71 vaccination in China. We characterized the economic and health burden of EV71-associated HFMD (EV71-HFMD) in China using (i) the national surveillance database, (ii) virological surveillance records from all provinces, and (iii) a caregiver survey on the household costs and health utility loss for 1,787 laboratory-confirmed pediatric cases. Using a static model parameterized with these data, we estimated the effective vaccine cost (EVC, defined as cost/efficacy or simply the cost of a 100% efficacious vaccine) below which routine pediatric vaccination would be considered cost-effective. We performed the base-case analysis from the societal perspective with a willingness-to-pay threshold of one times the gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc) and an annual discount rate of 3%. We performed uncertainty analysis by (i) accounting for the uncertainty in the risk of EV71-HFMD due to missing laboratory data in the national database, (ii) excluding productivity loss of parents and caregivers, (iii) increasing the willingness-to-pay threshold to three times GDPpc, (iv) increasing the discount rate to 6%, and (v) accounting for the proportion of EV71-HFMD cases not registered by national surveillance. In each of these scenarios, we performed probabilistic sensitivity analysis to account for parametric uncertainty in our estimates of the risk of EV71-HFMD and the expected costs and health utility loss due to EV71-HFMD. Routine pediatric EV71 vaccination would be cost-saving if the all-inclusive EVC is below US$10.6 (95% CI US$9.7-US$11.5) and would remain cost-effective if EVC is below US$17.9 (95% CI US$16.9-US$18.8) in

  19. Routine Pediatric Enterovirus 71 Vaccination in China: a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Kathy; Xing, Weijia; Yang, Juan; Liao, Qiaohong; Cowling, Benjamin J.; Yang, Bingyi; Lau, Eric H. Y.; Takahashi, Saki; Farrar, Jeremy J.; Grenfell, Bryan T.; Leung, Gabriel M.; Yu, Hongjie

    2016-01-01

    Background China accounted for 87% (9.8 million/11.3 million) of all hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases reported to WHO during 2010–2014. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is responsible for most of the severe HFMD cases. Three EV71 vaccines recently demonstrated good efficacy in children aged 6–71 mo. Here we assessed the cost-effectiveness of routine pediatric EV71 vaccination in China. Methods and Findings We characterized the economic and health burden of EV71-associated HFMD (EV71-HFMD) in China using (i) the national surveillance database, (ii) virological surveillance records from all provinces, and (iii) a caregiver survey on the household costs and health utility loss for 1,787 laboratory-confirmed pediatric cases. Using a static model parameterized with these data, we estimated the effective vaccine cost (EVC, defined as cost/efficacy or simply the cost of a 100% efficacious vaccine) below which routine pediatric vaccination would be considered cost-effective. We performed the base-case analysis from the societal perspective with a willingness-to-pay threshold of one times the gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc) and an annual discount rate of 3%. We performed uncertainty analysis by (i) accounting for the uncertainty in the risk of EV71-HFMD due to missing laboratory data in the national database, (ii) excluding productivity loss of parents and caregivers, (iii) increasing the willingness-to-pay threshold to three times GDPpc, (iv) increasing the discount rate to 6%, and (v) accounting for the proportion of EV71-HFMD cases not registered by national surveillance. In each of these scenarios, we performed probabilistic sensitivity analysis to account for parametric uncertainty in our estimates of the risk of EV71-HFMD and the expected costs and health utility loss due to EV71-HFMD. Routine pediatric EV71 vaccination would be cost-saving if the all-inclusive EVC is below US$10.6 (95% CI US$9.7–US$11.5) and would remain cost-effective if EVC is below

  20. Routine Pediatric Enterovirus 71 Vaccination in China: a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph T Wu

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available China accounted for 87% (9.8 million/11.3 million of all hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD cases reported to WHO during 2010-2014. Enterovirus 71 (EV71 is responsible for most of the severe HFMD cases. Three EV71 vaccines recently demonstrated good efficacy in children aged 6-71 mo. Here we assessed the cost-effectiveness of routine pediatric EV71 vaccination in China.We characterized the economic and health burden of EV71-associated HFMD (EV71-HFMD in China using (i the national surveillance database, (ii virological surveillance records from all provinces, and (iii a caregiver survey on the household costs and health utility loss for 1,787 laboratory-confirmed pediatric cases. Using a static model parameterized with these data, we estimated the effective vaccine cost (EVC, defined as cost/efficacy or simply the cost of a 100% efficacious vaccine below which routine pediatric vaccination would be considered cost-effective. We performed the base-case analysis from the societal perspective with a willingness-to-pay threshold of one times the gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc and an annual discount rate of 3%. We performed uncertainty analysis by (i accounting for the uncertainty in the risk of EV71-HFMD due to missing laboratory data in the national database, (ii excluding productivity loss of parents and caregivers, (iii increasing the willingness-to-pay threshold to three times GDPpc, (iv increasing the discount rate to 6%, and (v accounting for the proportion of EV71-HFMD cases not registered by national surveillance. In each of these scenarios, we performed probabilistic sensitivity analysis to account for parametric uncertainty in our estimates of the risk of EV71-HFMD and the expected costs and health utility loss due to EV71-HFMD. Routine pediatric EV71 vaccination would be cost-saving if the all-inclusive EVC is below US$10.6 (95% CI US$9.7-US$11.5 and would remain cost-effective if EVC is below US$17.9 (95% CI US$16.9-US$18.8 in

  1. Economic analysis of pandemic influenza vaccination strategies in Singapore.

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    Vernon J Lee

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: All influenza pandemic plans advocate pandemic vaccination. However, few studies have evaluated the cost-effectiveness of different vaccination strategies. This paper compares the economic outcomes of vaccination compared with treatment with antiviral agents alone, in Singapore. METHODOLOGY: We analyzed the economic outcomes of pandemic vaccination (immediate vaccination and vaccine stockpiling compared with treatment-only in Singapore using a decision-based model to perform cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses. We also explored the annual insurance premium (willingness to pay depending on the perceived risk of the next pandemic occurring. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The treatment-only strategy resulted in 690 deaths, 13,950 hospitalization days, and economic cost of USD$497 million. For immediate vaccination, at vaccine effectiveness of >55%, vaccination was cost-beneficial over treatment-only. Vaccine stockpiling is not cost-effective in most scenarios even with 100% vaccine effectiveness. The annual insurance premium was highest with immediate vaccination, and was lower with increased duration to the next pandemic. The premium was also higher with higher vaccine effectiveness, attack rates, and case-fatality rates. Stockpiling with case-fatality rates of 0.4-0.6% would be cost-beneficial if vaccine effectiveness was >80%; while at case-fatality of >5% stockpiling would be cost-beneficial even if vaccine effectiveness was 20%. High-risk sub-groups warrant higher premiums than low-risk sub-groups. CONCLUSIONS: The actual pandemic vaccine effectiveness and lead time is unknown. Vaccine strategy should be based on perception of severity. Immediate vaccination is most cost-effective, but requires vaccines to be available when required. Vaccine stockpiling as insurance against worst-case scenarios is also cost-effective. Research and development is therefore critical to develop and stockpile cheap, readily available effective vaccines.

  2. 'Hesitant compliers': Qualitative analysis of concerned fully-vaccinating parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enkel, Stephanie L; Attwell, Katie; Snelling, Thomas L; Christian, Hayley E

    2017-10-11

    Some parents are hesitant about vaccines and yet still vaccinate their children. Vaccine behaviours are not fixed and parents who are concerned but nonetheless adherent to standard schedules could switch to an unconventional schedule, delaying or cherry-picking vaccines. There is a need to better understand vaccine hesitancy in specific contexts, acknowledging cultural and geographical variation, to ensure interventions targeting hesitancy are well directed and received. To identify the behaviours, knowledge and attitudes of 'hesitant compliers' in Perth, Western Australia, nine one-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted with vaccinating parents of children (vaccination as important for themselves and their community, despite their limited knowledge of vaccine preventable diseases. Parents reported concerns about potential side effects, and worried about the safety of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and seasonal influenza vaccines. Concerned about the role of anti-vaccination information in the community, some sought to isolate themselves from parents who did not vaccinate, although others were concerned that this could entrench non-vaccinators' behaviours. Parents' views were all underlaid by two pivotal 'vaccine-related events' that had occurred in the community: the severe injury of a baby from seasonal influenza vaccination in 2010, and the death of a baby from whooping cough in 2015. Parents interpreted pivotal vaccine-related events in the community as requiring them to take personal responsibility for vaccine decisions. Their reports of continued vaccine fears (evident in international studies in recent decades) demonstrate that vaccine scares have long lasting effects. With vaccine rates high and stable, current strategies appear to be have little impact on addressing parental vaccine concerns. Further research is required to determine the prevalence of hesitancy amongst vaccinating parents and identify critical points for intervention. Copyright © 2017

  3. Childhood vaccinations and risk of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søegaard, Signe Holst; Rostgaard, Klaus; Schmiegelow, Kjeld

    2017-01-01

    information on ALL subtypes. Using Cox regression, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) comparing vaccinated with unvaccinated children.Results: Childhood ALL was diagnosed in 490 children during 10 829 194 person-years of follow-up. Neither the total number of vaccine doses received nor exposure to each......Background: It has been proposed that childhood vaccinations protect against acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in children by modulation of future responses to common infections in childhood. However, the available studies provide inconsistent findings, and population-based cohort studies...... with longitudinal information on vaccinations are lacking.Methods: In a register-based cohort of all children born in Denmark from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2008, followed up until age 15 years or 31 December 2009 (n=1 225 404), we evaluated exposure to childhood vaccination and risk of childhood ALL, including...

  4. Imperfect Vaccine Aggravates the Long-Standing Dilemma of Voluntary Vaccination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Bin; Fu, Feng; Wang, Long

    2011-01-01

    Achieving widespread population immunity by voluntary vaccination poses a major challenge for public health administration and practice. The situation is complicated even more by imperfect vaccines. How the vaccine efficacy affects individuals' vaccination behavior has yet to be fully answered. To address this issue, we combine a simple yet effective game theoretic model of vaccination behavior with an epidemiological process. Our analysis shows that, in a population of self-interested individuals, there exists an overshooting of vaccine uptake levels as the effectiveness of vaccination increases. Moreover, when the basic reproductive number, , exceeds a certain threshold, all individuals opt for vaccination for an intermediate region of vaccine efficacy. We further show that increasing effectiveness of vaccination always increases the number of effectively vaccinated individuals and therefore attenuates the epidemic strain. The results suggest that ‘number is traded for efficiency’: although increases in vaccination effectiveness lead to uptake drops due to free-riding effects, the impact of the epidemic can be better mitigated. PMID:21687680

  5. Imperfect vaccine aggravates the long-standing dilemma of voluntary vaccination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Wu

    Full Text Available Achieving widespread population immunity by voluntary vaccination poses a major challenge for public health administration and practice. The situation is complicated even more by imperfect vaccines. How the vaccine efficacy affects individuals' vaccination behavior has yet to be fully answered. To address this issue, we combine a simple yet effective game theoretic model of vaccination behavior with an epidemiological process. Our analysis shows that, in a population of self-interested individuals, there exists an overshooting of vaccine uptake levels as the effectiveness of vaccination increases. Moreover, when the basic reproductive number, R0, exceeds a certain threshold, all individuals opt for vaccination for an intermediate region of vaccine efficacy. We further show that increasing effectiveness of vaccination always increases the number of effectively vaccinated individuals and therefore attenuates the epidemic strain. The results suggest that 'number is traded for efficiency': although increases in vaccination effectiveness lead to uptake drops due to free-riding effects, the impact of the epidemic can be better mitigated.

  6. Longitudinal Jitter Analysis of a Linear Accelerator Electron Gun

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    MingShan Liu

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available We present measurements and analysis of the longitudinal timing jitter of a Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPCII linear accelerator electron gun. We simulated the longitudinal jitter effect of the gun using PARMELA to evaluate beam performance, including: beam profile, average energy, energy spread, and XY emittances. The maximum percentage difference of the beam parameters is calculated to be 100%, 13.27%, 42.24% and 65.01%, 86.81%, respectively. Due to this, the bunching efficiency is reduced to 54%. However, the longitudinal phase difference of the reference particle was 9.89°. The simulation results are in agreement with tests and are helpful to optimize the beam parameters by tuning the trigger timing of the gun during the bunching process.

  7. Cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in the prevention of child mortality: an international economic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinha, Anushua; Levine, Orin; Knoll, Maria D; Muhib, Farzana; Lieu, Tracy A

    2007-02-03

    Routine vaccination of infants against Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) needs substantial investment by governments and charitable organisations. Policymakers need information about the projected health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of vaccination when considering these investments. Our aim was to incorporate these data into an economic analysis of pneumococcal vaccination of infants in countries eligible for financial support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines & Immunization (GAVI). We constructed a decision analysis model to compare pneumococcal vaccination of infants aged 6, 10, and 14 weeks with no vaccination in the 72 countries that were eligible as of 2005. We used published and unpublished data to estimate child mortality, effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, and immunisation rates. Pneumococcal vaccination at the rate of diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine coverage was projected to prevent 262,000 deaths per year (7%) in children aged 3-29 months in the 72 developing countries studied, thus averting 8.34 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) yearly. If every child could be reached, up to 407,000 deaths per year would be prevented. At a vaccine cost of International 5 dollars per dose, vaccination would have a net cost of 838 million dollars, a cost of 100 dollars per DALY averted. Vaccination at this price was projected to be highly cost-effective in 68 of 72 countries when each country's per head gross domestic product per DALY averted was used as a benchmark. At a vaccine cost of between 1 dollar and 5 dollars per dose, purchase and accelerated uptake of pneumococcal vaccine in the world's poorest countries is projected to substantially reduce childhood mortality and to be highly cost-effective.

  8. Oral Cholera Vaccination Delivery Cost in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Analysis Based on Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mogasale, Vittal; Ramani, Enusa; Wee, Hyeseung; Kim, Jerome H

    2016-12-01

    Use of the oral cholera vaccine (OCV) is a vital short-term strategy to control cholera in endemic areas with poor water and sanitation infrastructure. Identifying, estimating, and categorizing the delivery costs of OCV campaigns are useful in analyzing cost-effectiveness, understanding vaccine affordability, and in planning and decision making by program managers and policy makers. To review and re-estimate oral cholera vaccination program costs and propose a new standardized categorization that can help in collation, analysis, and comparison of delivery costs across countries. Peer reviewed publications listed in PubMed database, Google Scholar and World Health Organization (WHO) websites and unpublished data from organizations involved in oral cholera vaccination. The publications and reports containing oral cholera vaccination delivery costs, conducted in low- and middle-income countries based on World Bank Classification. Limits are humans and publication date before December 31st, 2014. No participants are involved, only costs are collected. Oral cholera vaccination and cost estimation. A systematic review was conducted using pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cost items were categorized into four main cost groups: vaccination program preparation, vaccine administration, adverse events following immunization and vaccine procurement; the first three groups constituting the vaccine delivery costs. The costs were re-estimated in 2014 US dollars (US$) and in international dollar (I$). Ten studies were identified and included in the analysis. The vaccine delivery costs ranged from US$0.36 to US$ 6.32 (in US$2014) which was equivalent to I$ 0.99 to I$ 16.81 (in I$2014). The vaccine procurement costs ranged from US$ 0.29 to US$ 29.70 (in US$2014), which was equivalent to I$ 0.72 to I$ 78.96 (in I$2014). The delivery costs in routine immunization systems were lowest from US$ 0.36 (in US$2014) equivalent to I$ 0.99 (in I$2014). The reported cost categories

  9. Economic Evaluation and Budget Impact Analysis of Vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae Type b Infection in Thailand

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    Surachai Kotirum

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Current study aimed to estimate clinical and economic outcomes of providing the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib vaccination as a national vaccine immunization program in Thailand. A decision tree combined with Markov model was developed to simulate relevant costs and health outcomes covering lifetime horizon in societal and health care payer perspectives. This analysis considered children aged under 5 years old whom preventive vaccine of Hib infection are indicated. Two combined Hib vaccination schedules were considered: three-dose series (3 + 0 and three-dose series plus a booster does (3 + 1 compared with no vaccination. Budget impact analysis was also performed under Thai government perspective. The outcomes were reported as Hib-infected cases averted and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs in 2014 Thai baht (THB ($ per quality-adjusted life year (QALY gained. In base-case scenario, the model estimates that 3,960 infected cases, 59 disability cases, and 97 deaths can be prevented by national Hib vaccination program. The ICER for 3 + 0 schedule was THB 1,099 ($34 per QALY gained under societal perspective. The model was sensitive to pneumonia incidence among aged under 5 years old and direct non-medical care cost per episode of Hib pneumonia. Hib vaccination is very cost-effective in the Thai context. The budget impact analysis showed that Thai government needed to invest an additional budget of 110 ($3.4 million to implement Hib vaccination program. Policy makers should consider our findings for adopting this vaccine into national immunization program.

  10. Cost-effectiveness analysis of the introduction of the human papillomavirus vaccine in Honduras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar, Ida Berenice Molina; Mendoza, Lourdes Otilia; García, Odalys; Díaz, Iris; Figueroa, Jacqueline; Duarte, Rosa María; Perdomo, Gabriel; Garcia, Ana Gabriela Felix; Janusz, Cara Bess

    2015-05-07

    Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Honduras. With the availability of a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the causative agent for cervical cancer, the Honduran Secretary of Health undertook a cost-effectiveness analysis of introducing the HPV vaccine to support their national decision-making process. A national multidisciplinary team conducted this analysis with the CERVIVAC model, developed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization's ProVac Initiative. The cumulative costs and health benefits of introducing the HPV vaccine were assessed over the lifetime of one single cohort of 11-year-old girls. We assumed a three-dose series with 95% vaccination coverage of the cohort using a mixture of school-based and facility-based delivery. To estimate national cervical cancer cases and deaths, we used United Nations demographic projections and GLOBOCAN estimates based on registry data from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Based on estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Division of Intensified Cooperation with Countries (ICO), we assumed that 70% of cervical cancer would be due to vaccine types HPV16 and HPV18. We used a vaccine dose price of US$ 13.45 and evidence from the scientific literature to estimate vaccine effectiveness. National information was used to estimate health service utilization and costs of cervical cancer treatment. All costs and health benefits were discounted at 3%. Upon fully vaccinating 86,906 11-year old girls, 2250 (undiscounted) cervical cancer cases and 1336 (undiscounted) deaths would be prevented over the lifetime of the cohort. After discounting future health benefits at 3% per year, the equivalent cases and deaths prevented were 421 and 170. HPV vaccination is estimated to cost around US$ 5 million per vaccinated cohort, but this would be offset by around US$ 1 million in avoided costs borne by the government to

  11. Vaccination coverage and reasons for non-vaccination in a district of Istanbul

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    Bakırcı Nadi

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In order to control and eliminate the vaccine preventable diseases it is important to know the vaccination coverage and reasons for non-vaccination. The primary objective of this study was to determine the complete vaccination rate; the reasons for non-vaccination and the predictors that influence vaccination of children. The other objective was to determine coverage of measles vaccination of the Measles Immunization Days (MID 2005 for children aged 9 month to 6 years in a region of Umraniye, Istanbul, Turkey. Methods A '30 × 7' cluster sampling design was used as the sampling method. Thirty streets were selected at random from study area. Survey data were collected by a questionnaire which was applied face to face to parents of 221 children. A Chi-square test and logistic regression was used for the statistical analyses. Content analysis method was used to evaluate the open-ended questions. Results The complete vaccination rate for study population was 84.5% and 3.2% of all children were totally non-vaccinated. The siblings of non-vaccinated children were also non-vaccinated. Reasons for non-vaccination were as follows: being in the village and couldn't reach to health care services; having no knowledge about vaccination; the father of child didn't allow vaccination; intercurrent illness of child during vaccination time; missed opportunities like not to shave off a vial for only one child. In logistic regression analysis, paternal and maternal levels of education and immigration time of both parents to Istanbul were found to influence whether children were completely vaccinated or non-vaccinated. Measles vaccination coverage during MID was 79.3%. Conclusion Efforts to increase vaccination coverage should take reasons for non-vaccination into account.

  12. Cost-effectiveness analysis of universal maternal immunization with tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sartori, Ana Marli Christovam; de Soárez, Patrícia Coelho; Fernandes, Eder Gatti; Gryninger, Ligia Castellon Figueiredo; Viscondi, Juliana Yukari Kodaira; Novaes, Hillegonda Maria Dutilh

    2016-03-18

    Pertussis incidence has increased significantly in Brazil since 2011, despite high coverage of whole-cell pertussis containing vaccines in childhood. Infants cost-effectiveness of introducing universal maternal vaccination with tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) into the National Immunization Program in Brazil. Economic evaluation using a decision tree model comparing two strategies: (1) universal vaccination with one dose of Tdap in the third trimester of pregnancy and (2) current practice (no pertussis maternal vaccination), from the perspective of the health system and society. An annual cohort of newborns representing the number of vaccinated pregnant women were followed for one year. Vaccine efficacy were based on literature review. Epidemiological, healthcare resource utilization and cost estimates were based on local data retrieved from Brazilian Health Information Systems. Costs of epidemiological investigation and treatment of contacts of cases were included in the analysis. No discount rate was applied to costs and benefits, as the temporal horizon was one year. Primary outcome was cost per life year saved (LYS). Univariate and best- and worst-case scenarios sensitivity analysis were performed. Maternal vaccination of one annual cohort, with vaccine effectiveness of 78%, and vaccine cost of USD$12.39 per dose, would avoid 661 cases and 24 infant deaths of pertussis, save 1800 years of life and cost USD$28,942,808 and USD$29,002,947, respectively, from the health system and societal perspective. The universal immunization would result in ICERs of USD$15,608 and USD$15,590 per LYS, from the health system and societal perspective, respectively. In sensitivity analysis, the ICER was most sensitive to discounting of life years saved, variation in case-fatality, disease incidence, vaccine cost, and vaccine effectiveness. The results indicate that universal maternal immunization with Tdap is a cost-effective intervention for preventing

  13. Potential use of salivary markers for longitudinal monitoring of inflammatory immune responses to vaccination

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lim, Pei Wen; Garssen, Johan; Sandalova, Elena

    2016-01-01

    Vaccination, designed to trigger a protective immune response against infection, is a trigger for mild inflammatory responses. Vaccination studies can address the question of inflammation initiation, levels, and resolution as well as its regulation for respective studied pathogens. Such studies

  14. Budget impact and cost-utility analysis of universal infant rotavirus vaccination in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imaz, Iñaki; Rubio, Beltrán; Cornejo, Ana M; González-Enríquez, Jesús

    2014-04-01

    Rotavirus is not included in the Spanish mass infant vaccination schedule but has also not been economically evaluated for its inclusion. We analysed cost-utility of the universal infant rotavirus vaccination using RotaTeq® versus no vaccination in Spain. We also carried out a budget impact analysis and determined the effect on results of different variables introduced in the model. A deterministic Markov model was built considering loss of quality of life for children and their parents, and introducing direct and indirect costs updated to 2011. The introduction of the vaccination using RotaTeq® as a universal infant vaccination would increase the annual health care budget in 10.43 million euro and would result in a gain of an additional Quality Adjusted Life Year at a cost of 280,338€ from the healthcare system perspective and 210,167€ from the societal perspective. The model was stable to variable modifications. To sum up, according to our model and estimates, the introduction of a universal infant rotavirus vaccination with RotaTeq® in Spain would cause a large impact on the health care budget and would not be efficient unless significant variations in vaccine price, vaccine efficacy and/or utilities took place. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Seasonal influenza vaccination for children in Thailand: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meeyai, Aronrag; Praditsitthikorn, Naiyana; Kotirum, Surachai; Kulpeng, Wantanee; Putthasri, Weerasak; Cooper, Ben S; Teerawattananon, Yot

    2015-05-01

    Seasonal influenza is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Routine immunization of children has the potential to reduce this mortality through both direct and indirect protection, but has not been adopted by any low- or middle-income countries. We developed a framework to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of influenza vaccination policies in developing countries and used it to consider annual vaccination of school- and preschool-aged children with either trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) or trivalent live-attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in Thailand. We also compared these approaches with a policy of expanding TIV coverage in the elderly. We developed an age-structured model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of eight vaccination policies parameterized using country-level data from Thailand. For policies using LAIV, we considered five different age groups of children to vaccinate. We adopted a Bayesian evidence-synthesis framework, expressing uncertainty in parameters through probability distributions derived by fitting the model to prospectively collected laboratory-confirmed influenza data from 2005-2009, by meta-analysis of clinical trial data, and by using prior probability distributions derived from literature review and elicitation of expert opinion. We performed sensitivity analyses using alternative assumptions about prior immunity, contact patterns between age groups, the proportion of infections that are symptomatic, cost per unit vaccine, and vaccine effectiveness. Vaccination of children with LAIV was found to be highly cost-effective, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios between about 2,000 and 5,000 international dollars per disability-adjusted life year averted, and was consistently preferred to TIV-based policies. These findings were robust to extensive sensitivity analyses. The optimal age group to vaccinate with LAIV, however, was sensitive both to the willingness to pay for health benefits and to assumptions about contact

  16. Differential Adverse Event Profiles Associated with BCG as a Preventive Tuberculosis Vaccine or Therapeutic Bladder Cancer Vaccine Identified by Comparative Ontology-Based VAERS and Literature Meta-Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiangan Xie

    Full Text Available M. bovis strain Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG has been the only licensed live attenuated vaccine against tuberculosis (TB for nearly one century and has also been approved as a therapeutic vaccine for bladder cancer treatment since 1990. During its long time usage, different adverse events (AEs have been reported. However, the AEs associated with the BCG preventive TB vaccine and therapeutic cancer vaccine have not been systematically compared. In this study, we systematically collected various BCG AE data mined from the US VAERS database and PubMed literature reports, identified statistically significant BCG-associated AEs, and ontologically classified and compared these AEs related to these two types of BCG vaccine. From 397 VAERS BCG AE case reports, we identified 64 AEs statistically significantly associated with the BCG TB vaccine and 14 AEs with the BCG cancer vaccine. Our meta-analysis of 41 peer-reviewed journal reports identified 48 AEs associated with the BCG TB vaccine and 43 AEs associated with the BCG cancer vaccine. Among all identified AEs from VAERS and literature reports, 25 AEs belong to serious AEs. The Ontology of Adverse Events (OAE-based ontological hierarchical analysis indicated that the AEs associated with the BCG TB vaccine were enriched in immune system (e.g., lymphadenopathy and lymphadenitis, skin (e.g., skin ulceration and cyanosis, and respiratory system (e.g., cough and pneumonia; in contrast, the AEs associated with the BCG cancer vaccine mainly occurred in the urinary system (e.g., dysuria, pollakiuria, and hematuria. With these distinct AE profiles detected, this study also discovered three AEs (i.e., chills, pneumonia, and C-reactive protein increased shared by the BCG TB vaccine and bladder cancer vaccine. Furthermore, our deep investigation of 24 BCG-associated death cases from VAERS identified the important effects of age, vaccine co-administration, and immunosuppressive status on the final BCG

  17. Oral Cholera Vaccination Delivery Cost in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Analysis Based on Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramani, Enusa; Wee, Hyeseung; Kim, Jerome H.

    2016-01-01

    Background Use of the oral cholera vaccine (OCV) is a vital short-term strategy to control cholera in endemic areas with poor water and sanitation infrastructure. Identifying, estimating, and categorizing the delivery costs of OCV campaigns are useful in analyzing cost-effectiveness, understanding vaccine affordability, and in planning and decision making by program managers and policy makers. Objectives To review and re-estimate oral cholera vaccination program costs and propose a new standardized categorization that can help in collation, analysis, and comparison of delivery costs across countries. Data sources Peer reviewed publications listed in PubMed database, Google Scholar and World Health Organization (WHO) websites and unpublished data from organizations involved in oral cholera vaccination. Study eligibility criteria The publications and reports containing oral cholera vaccination delivery costs, conducted in low- and middle-income countries based on World Bank Classification. Limits are humans and publication date before December 31st, 2014. Participants No participants are involved, only costs are collected. Intervention Oral cholera vaccination and cost estimation. Study appraisal and synthesis method A systematic review was conducted using pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cost items were categorized into four main cost groups: vaccination program preparation, vaccine administration, adverse events following immunization and vaccine procurement; the first three groups constituting the vaccine delivery costs. The costs were re-estimated in 2014 US dollars (US$) and in international dollar (I$). Results Ten studies were identified and included in the analysis. The vaccine delivery costs ranged from US$0.36 to US$ 6.32 (in US$2014) which was equivalent to I$ 0.99 to I$ 16.81 (in I$2014). The vaccine procurement costs ranged from US$ 0.29 to US$ 29.70 (in US$2014), which was equivalent to I$ 0.72 to I$ 78.96 (in I$2014). The delivery costs in

  18. Epidemiological Studies to Support the Development of Next Generation Influenza Vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrie, Joshua G; Gordon, Aubree

    2018-03-26

    The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases recently published a strategic plan for the development of a universal influenza vaccine. This plan focuses on improving understanding of influenza infection, the development of influenza immunity, and rational design of new vaccines. Epidemiological studies such as prospective, longitudinal cohort studies are essential to the completion of these objectives. In this review, we discuss the contributions of epidemiological studies to our current knowledge of vaccines and correlates of immunity, and how they can contribute to the development and evaluation of the next generation of influenza vaccines. These studies have been critical in monitoring the effectiveness of current influenza vaccines, identifying issues such as low vaccine effectiveness, reduced effectiveness among those who receive repeated vaccination, and issues related to egg adaptation during the manufacturing process. Epidemiological studies have also identified population-level correlates of protection that can inform the design and development of next generation influenza vaccines. Going forward, there is an enduring need for epidemiological studies to continue advancing knowledge of correlates of protection and the development of immunity, to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of next generation influenza vaccines, and to inform recommendations for their use.

  19. Budget impact analysis of vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b as a part of a Pentavalent vaccine in the childhood immunization schedule of Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teimouri, Fatemeh; Kebriaeezadeh, Abbas; Zahraei, Seyed Mohsen; Gheiratian, MohammadMahdi; Nikfar, Shekoufeh

    2017-01-14

    Health decision makers need to know the impact of the development of a new intervention on the public health and health care costs so that they can plan for economic and financial objectives. The aim of this study was to determine the budget impact of adding Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) as a part of a Pentavalent vaccine (Hib-HBV-DTP) to the national childhood immunization schedule of Iran. An excel-based model was developed to determine the costs of including the Pentavalent vaccine in the national immunization program (NIP), comparing the present schedule with the previous one (including separate DTP and hepatitis B vaccines). The total annual costs included the cost of vaccination (the vaccine and syringe) and the cost of Hib treatment. The health outcome was the estimated annual cases of the diseases. The net budget impact was the difference in the total annual cost between the two schedules. Uncertainty about the vaccine effectiveness, vaccination coverage, cost of the vaccine, and cost of the diseases were handled through scenario analysis. The total cost of vaccination during 5 years was $18,060,463 in the previous program and $67,774,786 in the present program. Inclusion of the Pentavalent vaccine would increase the vaccination cost about $49 million, but would save approximately $6 million in the healthcare costs due to reduction of disease cases and treatment costs. The introduction of the Pentavalent vaccine resulted in a net increase in the healthcare budget expenditure across all scenarios from $43.4 million to $50.7 million. The results of this study showed that the inclusion of the Pentavalent vaccine in the NIP of Iran had a significant impact on the health care budget and increased the financial burden on the government. Budget impact of including Pentavalent vaccine in the national immunization schedule of Iranᅟ.

  20. Investigating Reports of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: An Analysis of HPV-16/18-Adjuvanted Vaccine Post-Licensure Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huygen, Frank; Verschueren, Kristin; McCabe, Candida; Stegmann, Jens-Ulrich; Zima, Julia; Mahaux, Olivia; Van Holle, Lionel; Angelo, Maria-Genalin

    2015-01-01

    Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain disorder that typically follows trauma or surgery. Suspected CRPS reported after vaccination with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines led to temporary suspension of proactive recommendation of HPV vaccination in Japan. We investigated the potential CRPS signal in relation to HPV-16/18-adjuvanted vaccine (Cervarix®) by database review of CRPS cases with independent expert confirmation; a disproportionality analysis and analyses of temporality; an observed versus expected analysis using published background incidence rates; systematic reviews of aggregate safety data, and a literature review. The analysis included 17 case reports of CRPS: 10 from Japan (0.14/100,000 doses distributed) and seven from the United Kingdom (0.08/100,000). Five cases were considered by independent experts to be confirmed CRPS. Quantitative analyses did not suggest an association between CRPS and HPV-16/18-adjuvanted vaccine. Observed CRPS incidence after HPV-16/18 vaccination was statistically significantly below expected rates. Systematic database reviews using search terms varying in specificity and sensitivity did not identify new cases. No CRPS was reported during clinical development and no unexpected results found in the literature. There is not sufficient evidence to suggest an increased risk of developing CRPS following vaccination with HPV-16/18-adjuvanted vaccine. Post-licensure safety surveillance confirms the acceptable benefit-risk of HPV-16/18 vaccination. PMID:26501109

  1. HPV vaccination prevalence, parental barriers and motivators to vaccinating children in Hawai'i.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dela Cruz, May Rose Isnec; Braun, Kathryn L; Tsark, Jo Ann Umilani; Albright, Cheryl Lynn; Chen, John J

    2018-05-10

    To determine the prevalence and barriers to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake among 11-18 year olds in the Hawai'i's four major ethnic groups-Native Hawaiians, Filipinos, Japanese, and Caucasians. A telephone survey assessed parents' knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine, status of their child's HPV vaccine uptake, variables operationalizing the Health Belief Model, and barriers and motivators to uptake. Across the groups, 799 parents completed the survey. About 35% of daughters and 19% of sons had received all three shots. Although ethnic differences in vaccine uptake were seen in bivariate analysis (with significantly lower uptake in Filipino youth), in multivariable logistic regression analysis, only Caucasian parents were significantly less likely to start their sons on the HPV vaccine series compared with Japanese parents (reference group). Having heard about the vaccine, believing in its effectiveness, and older age of the child were also associated with vaccine uptake. Motivators for HPV vaccination were physician's recommendation and wanting to protect one's child. The primary barrier to uptake was lack of knowledge about the vaccine. Findings reinforce the fact that a physician's recommendation and receipt of information about the vaccine are strong motivators for parents to vaccinate their children, regardless of ethnicity.

  2. Parental attitudes towards measles vaccination in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland: a latent class analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Carine; Schröpfer, Daniel; Merten, Sonja

    2016-08-11

    Despite the successes of routine national childhood vaccination programmes, measles remains a public health concern. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how patterns of parental attitudes are linked to the decision-making process for or against MMR vaccination. This exploratory study was designed to identify distinct patterns of attitudes towards or against measles vaccination through Latent Class Analysis (LCA) in a sub-sample of mothers living in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. Parents of young children below 36 months of age were randomly selected through parents' counsellors' registries. Among other questions, respondents were asked to state their agreement in response to 14 belief statements regarding measles vaccination on a 5-point Likert scale. To identify groups of parents showing distinct patterns of attitudes and beliefs regarding measles vaccination, we used Latent Class Analysis (LCA). The LCA showed three classes of parents with different attitudes and believes towards measles vaccination: The biggest group (class 1) are those having positive attitudes towards immunisation, followed by the second biggest group (class 2) which is characterised by having fearful attitudes and by showing uncertainty about immunisation. The third group (class 3) shows distinct patterns of critical attitudes against immunisation. Within this group over 90 % agree or totally agree that immunisation is an artificial intrusion into the natural immune system and therefore want to vaccinate their children only if necessary. We find that parents in the Canton Aargau who hesitate to vaccinate their children against measles, mumps and rubella show distinct opinions and attitudes. Health professionals should be aware of these perceptions to tailor their messages accordingly and positively influence these parents to vaccinate their children. Special attention needs to be given to those parents who are planning to vaccinate their children but are not following the

  3. Longitudinal multigroup invariance analysis of the satisfaction with food-related life scale in university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnettler, Berta; Miranda, Horacio; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo; Salinas-Oñate, Natalia; Grunert, Klaus G; Lobos, Germán; Sepúlveda, José; Orellana, Ligia; Hueche, Clementina; Bonilla, Héctor

    2017-06-01

    This study examined longitudinal measurement invariance in the Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL) scale using follow-up data from university students. We examined this measure of the SWFL in different groups of students, separated by various characteristics. Through non-probabilistic longitudinal sampling, 114 university students (65.8% female, mean age: 22.5) completed the SWFL questionnaire three times, over intervals of approximately one year. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine longitudinal measurement invariance. Two types of analysis were conducted: first, a longitudinal invariance by time, and second, a multigroup longitudinal invariance by sex, age, socio-economic status and place of residence during the study period. Results showed that the 3-item version of the SWFL exhibited strong longitudinal invariance (equal factor loadings and equal indicator intercepts). Longitudinal multigroup invariance analysis also showed that the 3-item version of the SWFL displays strong invariance by socio-economic status and place of residence during the study period over time. Nevertheless, it was only possible to demonstrate equivalence of the longitudinal factor structure among students of both sexes, and among those older and younger than 22 years. Generally, these findings suggest that the SWFL scale has satisfactory psychometric properties for longitudinal measurement invariance in university students with similar characteristics as the students that participated in this research. It is also possible to suggest that satisfaction with food-related life is associated with sex and age. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Vaccination Perceptions of College Students: With and without Vaccination Waiver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jadhav, Emmanuel D; Winkler, Danielle L; Anderson, Billie S

    2018-01-01

    The resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases occurs more often among intentionally unvaccinated individuals, placing at direct risk young adults not caught up on vaccinations. The objectives of this study were to characterize the sociodemographic characteristics of young adults with and without vaccination waivers and identify their perceived benefits, barriers, and influencers of vaccination. Young adults ( n  = 964) from a Midwestern rural university responded to a survey (fall 2015-spring 2016) designed to identify their perception toward vaccination. Instrument consistency was measured using the Cronbach α-scores. The Chi-square test was used to test any sociodemographic differences and Mann-Whitney U -tests results for differences between exempt and non-exempt students. Analysis occurred in spring 2017. A little over one-third of young adults with a vaccination waiver were not up to date on their vaccinations, and think that vaccinations can cause autism. The biggest identifiable benefit was effective control against disease. The surveyed young adults ranked the out of pocket cost associated with vaccination as the most important barrier and safe and easy to use vaccines as the most important influencer of vaccination. Young adults who have had a vaccination waiver appear to not be up to date on their vaccinations. Vaccine administration programs, such as university campus clinics, would benefit from addressing perceptions unique to young adults with and without a vaccine waiver. This would subsequently better provide young adults a second shot for getting appropriately caught up on vaccinations.

  5. Benefit-Cost Analysis of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccination at the Farm-Level in South Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truong, Dinh Bao; Goutard, Flavie Luce; Bertagnoli, Stéphane; Delabouglise, Alexis; Grosbois, Vladimir; Peyre, Marisa

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed to analyze the financial impact of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in cattle at the farm-level and the benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of biannual vaccination strategy to prevent and eradicate FMD for cattle in South Vietnam. Production data were collected from 49 small-scale dairy farms, 15 large-scale dairy farms, and 249 beef farms of Long An and Tay Ninh province using a questionaire. Financial data of FMD impacts were collected using participatory tools in 37 villages of Long An province. The net present value, i.e., the difference between the benefits (additional revenue and saved costs) and costs (additional costs and revenue foregone), of FMD vaccination in large-scale dairy farms was 2.8 times higher than in small-scale dairy farms and 20 times higher than in beef farms. The BCR of FMD vaccination over 1 year in large-scale dairy farms, small-scale dairy farms, and beef farms were 11.6 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 6.42-16.45], 9.93 (95% CI 3.45-16.47), and 3.02 (95% CI 0.76-7.19), respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that varying the vaccination cost had more effect on the BCR of cattle vaccination than varying the market price. This benefit-cost analysis of biannual vaccination strategy showed that investment in FMD prevention can be financially profitable, and therefore sustainable, for dairy farmers. For beef cattle, it is less certain that vaccination is profitable. Additional benefit-cost analysis study of vaccination strategies at the national-level would be required to evaluate and adapt the national strategy to achieve eradication of this disease in Vietnam.

  6. Pediatric Acute Otitis Media in the Era of Pneumococcal Vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tawfik, Kareem O; Ishman, Stacey L; Altaye, Mekibib; Meinzen-Derr, Jareen; Choo, Daniel I

    2017-05-01

    Objectives (1) Describe longitudinal trends in annual prevalence of hospital admission for pediatric acute otitis media (AOM) and complications of AOM (CAOM) since introduction of pneumococcal vaccination in 2000 and (2) describe the longitudinal trend of prevalence of hospital admission for pneumococcal meningitis in children with AOM-related diagnoses in the postvaccination era. Study Design Retrospective analysis of Kids' Inpatient Database from 2000 to 2012. Setting Community, nonrehabilitation hospitals. Subjects and Methods To determine annual prevalence of admission for AOM/CAOM, nationally weighted frequencies of children aged otitis media, acute mastoiditis, suppurative labyrinthitis, and/or acute petrositis were collected. The frequency of coexisting pneumococcal meningitis diagnoses among these patients was also collected. Trend analysis of prevalences of admission for AOM/CAOM and for pneumococcal meningitis occurring in the setting of AOM/CAOM from 2000 to 2012 was performed. Results Between 2000 and 2012, annual prevalence of admission for AOM/CAOM decreased from 3.956 to 2.618 per 100,000 persons ( P < .0001) (relative risk reduction 34%). Declines in admission prevalence were most pronounced in children <1 year of age (from 22.647 to 8.715 per 100,000 persons between 2000 and 2012, P < .0001) and 1 to 2 years of age (from 13.652 to 5.554 per 100,000 persons between 2000 and 2012, P < .0001). For all ages, the admission prevalence for pneumococcal meningitis and concomitant AOM/CAOM decreased (from 1.760 to 0.717 per 1,000,000 persons, P < .0001) over the study period. Conclusions The prevalence of hospital admission for pediatric AOM/CAOM has declined since the advent of pneumococcal vaccination. Admission rates for pneumococcal meningitis with AOM/CAOM have similarly declined.

  7. Removing the age restrictions for rotavirus vaccination: a benefit-risk modeling analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manish M Patel

    additional 47,200 rotavirus deaths (18,700-63,700 and cause an additional 294 (161-471 intussusception deaths, for an incremental benefit-risk ratio of 154 deaths averted for every death caused by vaccine. These extra deaths prevented under an unrestricted schedule reflect vaccination of an additional 21%-25% children, beyond the 63%-73% of the children who would be vaccinated under the restricted schedule. Importantly, these estimates err on the side of safety in that they assume high vaccine-associated risk of intussusception and do not account for potential herd immunity or non-fatal outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis suggests that in low- and middle-income countries the additional lives saved by removing age restrictions for rotavirus vaccination would far outnumber the potential excess vaccine-associated intussusception deaths. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

  8. Longitudinal multigroup invariance analysis of the satisfaction with food-related life scale in university students

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schnettler, Berta; Miranda, Horacio; Miranda-Zapata, Edgardo

    2017-01-01

    This study examined longitudinal measurement invariance in the Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFL) scale using follow-up data from university students. We examined this measure of the SWFL in different groups of students, separated by various characteristics. Through non......-probabilistic longitudinal sampling, 114 university students (65.8% female, mean age: 22.5) completed the SWFL questionnaire three times, over intervals of approximately one year. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine longitudinal measurement invariance. Two types of analysis were conducted: first, a longitudinal...... students of both sexes, and among those older and younger than 22 years. Generally, these findings suggest that the SWFL scale has satisfactory psychometric properties for longitudinal measurement invariance in university students with similar characteristics as the students that participated...

  9. Determinants of acceptance and subsequent uptake of the HPV vaccine in a cohort in Eldoret, Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vermandere, Heleen; Naanyu, Violet; Mabeya, Hillary; Vanden Broeck, Davy; Michielsen, Kristien; Degomme, Olivier

    2014-01-01

    The development of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines provides new opportunities in the fight against cervical cancer. Many acceptability studies have revealed high interest in these vaccines, but acceptance is only a precursor of behavior, and many factors, at personal, community and provider level, may inhibit the translation of willingness to vaccinate into actual uptake. Through a longitudinal study in Eldoret, Kenya, HPV vaccine acceptability was measured before a vaccination program (n = 287) and vaccine uptake, as reported by mothers, once the program was finished (n = 256). In between baseline and follow-up, a pilot HPV vaccination program was implemented via the GARDASIL Access Program, in which parents could have their daughter vaccinated for free at the referral hospital. The program was promoted at schools: Health staff informed teachers who were then asked to inform students and parents. Even though baseline acceptance was very high (88.1%), only 31.1% of the women reported at follow-up that their daughter had been vaccinated. The vaccine was declined by 17.7%, while another 51.2% had wanted the vaccination but were obstructed by practical barriers. Being well-informed about the program and baseline awareness of cervical cancer were independently associated with vaccine uptake, while baseline acceptance was correlated in bivariate analysis. Side effects were of great concern, even among those whose daughter was vaccinated. Possible partner disapproval lowered acceptance at baseline, and women indeed reported at follow-up that they had encountered his opposition. In Kenya, women prove to be very willing to have their daughter vaccinated against cervical cancer. However, in this study, uptake was more determined by program awareness than by HPV vaccine acceptance. School-based vaccination might improve coverage since it reduces operational problems for parents. In addition, future HPV vaccination campaigns should address concerns about side

  10. Determinants of acceptance and subsequent uptake of the HPV vaccine in a cohort in Eldoret, Kenya.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heleen Vermandere

    Full Text Available The development of Human Papillomavirus (HPV vaccines provides new opportunities in the fight against cervical cancer. Many acceptability studies have revealed high interest in these vaccines, but acceptance is only a precursor of behavior, and many factors, at personal, community and provider level, may inhibit the translation of willingness to vaccinate into actual uptake. Through a longitudinal study in Eldoret, Kenya, HPV vaccine acceptability was measured before a vaccination program (n = 287 and vaccine uptake, as reported by mothers, once the program was finished (n = 256. In between baseline and follow-up, a pilot HPV vaccination program was implemented via the GARDASIL Access Program, in which parents could have their daughter vaccinated for free at the referral hospital. The program was promoted at schools: Health staff informed teachers who were then asked to inform students and parents. Even though baseline acceptance was very high (88.1%, only 31.1% of the women reported at follow-up that their daughter had been vaccinated. The vaccine was declined by 17.7%, while another 51.2% had wanted the vaccination but were obstructed by practical barriers. Being well-informed about the program and baseline awareness of cervical cancer were independently associated with vaccine uptake, while baseline acceptance was correlated in bivariate analysis. Side effects were of great concern, even among those whose daughter was vaccinated. Possible partner disapproval lowered acceptance at baseline, and women indeed reported at follow-up that they had encountered his opposition. In Kenya, women prove to be very willing to have their daughter vaccinated against cervical cancer. However, in this study, uptake was more determined by program awareness than by HPV vaccine acceptance. School-based vaccination might improve coverage since it reduces operational problems for parents. In addition, future HPV vaccination campaigns should address concerns

  11. Comparing Longitudinal Profile Patterns of Mathematics and Reading in Early Child Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten: The Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Se-Kang

    2010-01-01

    The aim of the study is to compare longitudinal patterns from Mathematics and Reading data from the direct child assessment of Early Child Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten (ECLS-K, US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 2006), utilizing Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS). PAMS has been used initially…

  12. Cost-effectiveness analysis of routine pneumococcal vaccination in the UK: a comparison of the PHiD-CV vaccine and the PCV-13 vaccine using a Markov model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delgleize, Emmanuelle; Leeuwenkamp, Oscar; Theodorou, Eleni; Van de Velde, Nicolas

    2016-11-30

    In 2010, the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) replaced the 7-valent vaccine (introduced in 2006) for vaccination against invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPDs), pneumonia and acute otitis media (AOM) in the UK. Using recent evidence on the impact of PCVs and epidemiological changes in the UK, we performed a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to compare the pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) with PCV-13 in the ongoing national vaccination programme. CEA was based on a published Markov model. The base-case scenario accounted only for direct medical costs. Work days lost were considered in alternative scenarios. Calculations were based on serotype and disease-specific vaccine efficacies, serotype distributions and UK incidence rates and medical costs. Health benefits and costs related to IPD, pneumonia and AOM were accumulated over the lifetime of a UK birth cohort. Vaccination of infants at 2, 4 and 12 months with PHiD-CV or PCV-13, assuming complete coverage and adherence. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was computed by dividing the difference in costs between the programmes by the difference in quality-adjusted life-years (QALY). Under our model assumptions, both vaccines had a similar impact on IPD and pneumonia, but PHiD-CV generated a greater reduction in AOM cases (161 918), AOM-related general practitioner consultations (31 070) and tympanostomy tube placements (2399). At price parity, PHiD-CV vaccination was dominant over PCV-13, saving 734 QALYs as well as £3.68 million to the National Health Service (NHS). At the lower list price of PHiD-CV, the cost-savings would increase to £45.77 million. This model projected that PHiD-CV would provide both incremental health benefits and cost-savings compared with PCV-13 at price parity. Using PHiD-CV could result in substantial budget savings to the NHS. These savings could be used to implement other life-saving interventions

  13. Vaccination Perceptions of College Students: With and without Vaccination Waiver

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanuel D. Jadhav

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available IntroductionThe resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases occurs more often among intentionally unvaccinated individuals, placing at direct risk young adults not caught up on vaccinations. The objectives of this study were to characterize the sociodemographic characteristics of young adults with and without vaccination waivers and identify their perceived benefits, barriers, and influencers of vaccination.MethodsYoung adults (n = 964 from a Midwestern rural university responded to a survey (fall 2015—spring 2016 designed to identify their perception toward vaccination. Instrument consistency was measured using the Cronbach α-scores. The Chi-square test was used to test any sociodemographic differences and Mann–Whitney U-tests results for differences between exempt and non-exempt students. Analysis occurred in spring 2017.ResultsA little over one-third of young adults with a vaccination waiver were not up to date on their vaccinations, and think that vaccinations can cause autism. The biggest identifiable benefit was effective control against disease. The surveyed young adults ranked the out of pocket cost associated with vaccination as the most important barrier and safe and easy to use vaccines as the most important influencer of vaccination.ConclusionYoung adults who have had a vaccination waiver appear to not be up to date on their vaccinations. Vaccine administration programs, such as university campus clinics, would benefit from addressing perceptions unique to young adults with and without a vaccine waiver. This would subsequently better provide young adults a second shot for getting appropriately caught up on vaccinations.

  14. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the safety of newly adjuvanted vaccines among children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stassijns, Jorgen; Bollaerts, Kaatje; Baay, Marc; Verstraeten, Thomas

    2016-02-03

    New adjuvants such as the AS- or the MF59-adjuvants improve vaccine efficacy and facilitate dose-sparing. Their use in influenza and malaria vaccines has resulted in a large body of evidence on their clinical safety in children. We carried out a systematic search for safety data from published clinical trials on newly adjuvanted vaccines in children ≤10 years of age. Serious adverse events (SAEs), solicited AEs, unsolicited AEs and AEs of special interest were evaluated for four new adjuvants: the immuno-stimulants containing adjuvant systems AS01 and AS02, and the squalene containing oil-in-water emulsions AS03 and MF59. Relative risks (RR) were calculated, comparing children receiving newly adjuvanted vaccines to children receiving other vaccines with a variety of antigens, both adjuvanted and unadjuvanted. Twenty-nine trials were included in the meta-analysis, encompassing 25,056 children who received at least one dose of the newly adjuvanted vaccines. SAEs did not occur more frequently in adjuvanted groups (RR 0.85, 95%CI 0.75-0.96). Our meta-analyses showed higher reactogenicity following administration of newly adjuvanted vaccines, however, no consistent pattern of solicited AEs was observed across adjuvant systems. Pain was the most prevalent AE, but often mild and of short duration. No increased risks were found for unsolicited AEs, febrile convulsions, potential immune mediated diseases and new onset of chronic diseases. Our meta-analysis did not show any safety concerns in clinical trials of the newly adjuvanted vaccines in children ≤10 years of age. An unexplained increase of meningitis in one Phase III AS01-adjuvanted malaria trial and the link between narcolepsy and the AS03-adjuvanted pandemic vaccine illustrate that continued safety monitoring is warranted. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Benefit–Cost Analysis of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccination at the Farm-Level in South Vietnam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinh Bao Truong

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to analyze the financial impact of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD outbreaks in cattle at the farm-level and the benefit–cost ratio (BCR of biannual vaccination strategy to prevent and eradicate FMD for cattle in South Vietnam. Production data were collected from 49 small-scale dairy farms, 15 large-scale dairy farms, and 249 beef farms of Long An and Tay Ninh province using a questionaire. Financial data of FMD impacts were collected using participatory tools in 37 villages of Long An province. The net present value, i.e., the difference between the benefits (additional revenue and saved costs and costs (additional costs and revenue foregone, of FMD vaccination in large-scale dairy farms was 2.8 times higher than in small-scale dairy farms and 20 times higher than in beef farms. The BCR of FMD vaccination over 1 year in large-scale dairy farms, small-scale dairy farms, and beef farms were 11.6 [95% confidence interval (95% CI 6.42–16.45], 9.93 (95% CI 3.45–16.47, and 3.02 (95% CI 0.76–7.19, respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that varying the vaccination cost had more effect on the BCR of cattle vaccination than varying the market price. This benefit-cost analysis of biannual vaccination strategy showed that investment in FMD prevention can be financially profitable, and therefore sustainable, for dairy farmers. For beef cattle, it is less certain that vaccination is profitable. Additional benefit-cost analysis study of vaccination strategies at the national-level would be required to evaluate and adapt the national strategy to achieve eradication of this disease in Vietnam.

  16. Vaccines are different: A systematic review of budget impact analyses of vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loze, Priscilla Magalhaes; Nasciben, Luciana Bertholim; Sartori, Ana Marli Christovam; Itria, Alexander; Novaes, Hillegonda Maria Dutilh; de Soárez, Patrícia Coelho

    2017-05-15

    Several countries require manufacturers to present a budget impact analysis (BIA), together with a cost-effectiveness analysis, to support national funding requests. However, guidelines for conducting BIA of vaccines are scarce. To analyze the methodological approaches used in published budget impact analysis (BIA) of vaccines, discussing specific methodological issues related to vaccines. This systematic review of the literature on BIA of vaccines was carried out in accordance with the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination - CRD guidelines. We searched multiple databases: MedLine, Embase, Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde (BVS), Cochrane Library, DARE Database, NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), HTA Database (via Centre for Reviews and Dissemination - CRD), and grey literature. Two researchers, working independently, selected the studies and extracted the data. The methodology quality of individual studies was assessed using the ISPOR 2012 Budget Impact Analysis Good Practice II Task Force. A qualitative narrative synthesis was conducted. Twenty-two studies were reviewed. The most frequently evaluated vaccines were pneumococcal (41%), influenza (23%) and rotavirus (18%). The target population was stated in 21 studies (95%) and the perspective was clear in 20 (91%). Only 36% reported the calculations used to complete the BIA, 27% informed the total and disaggregated costs for each time period, and 9% showed the change in resource use for each time period. More than half of the studies (55%, n=12) reported less than 50% of the items recommended in the checklist. The production of BIA of vaccines has increased from 2009. The report of the methodological steps was unsatisfactory, making it difficult to assess the validity of the results presented. Vaccines specific issues should be discussed in international guidelines for BIA of vaccines, to improve the quality of the studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. From tailor-made to ready-to-wear meningococcal B vaccines: longitudinal study of a clonal meningococcal B outbreak.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caron, François; du Châtelet, Isabelle Parent; Leroy, Jean-Philippe; Ruckly, Corinne; Blanchard, Myriam; Bohic, Nicole; Massy, Nathalie; Morer, Isabelle; Floret, Daniel; Delbos, Valérie; Hong, Eva; Révillion, Martin; Berthelot, Gilles; Lemée, Ludovic; Deghmane, Ala-Eddine; Bénichou, Jacques; Lévy-Bruhl, Daniel; Taha, Muhamed-Kheir

    2011-06-01

    Outer-membrane-vesicle vaccines for meningococcal B outbreaks are complex and time consuming to develop. We studied the use of already available vaccine to control an outbreak caused by a genetically close strain. From 2006 to 2009, all individuals younger than 20 years living in the region of Normandy, France, in which an outbreak caused by a B:14:P1.7,16 strain occurred, were eligible to receive MenBvac, a Norwegian vaccine designed 20 years earlier against a strain sharing the same serosubtype (B:15:P1.7,16). The immunogenicity (in a randomly selected cohort of 400 children aged 1-5 years), safety, and epidemiological effect of the vaccination were assessed. 26,014 individuals were eligible to receive the vaccine. Shortage of vaccine production prompted start of the campaign in the highest incidence groups (1-5 years). 16,709 (64%) received a complete vaccination schedule of whom 13,589 (81%) received a 2+1 dose schedule (week 0, week 6, and month 8). At 6 weeks after the third dose, of 235 vaccinees for whom samples were available, 206 (88%) had a seroresponse, and 108 (56 %) of 193 had a seroresponse at 15 months. These results were similar to those described for tailor-made vaccines and their homologous strain. Only previously described adverse effects occurred. The incidence of B:14:P1.7,16 cases decreased significantly in the vaccine targeted population after the primary vaccination period (from 31·6 per 100,000 to 5·9 per 100,000; p=0·001). The ready-to-wear approach is reliable if epidemic and vaccine strains are genetically close. Other meningococcal B clonal outbreaks might benefit from this strategy; and previously described outer-membrane-vesicle vaccines can be effective against various strains. French Ministry of Health. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Cost-effectiveness analysis of vaccination against rotavirus with RIX4414 in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Standaert, Baudouin; Parez, Nathalie; Tehard, Bertrand; Colin, Xavier; Detournay, Bruno

    2008-01-01

    It is estimated that annually 300 000 cases of rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis (RVGE) occur in children aged up to 5 years in France. A two-dose vaccine against rotavirus infection (RIX4414; Rotarix, GlaxoSmithKline), has been shown to be highly effective against severe RVGE. This study evaluated the cost effectiveness of general vaccination against rotavirus using RIX4414 in France. A Markov model simulated RVGE events and the associated outcomes and costs relating to general vaccination of infants against rotavirus infection using RIX4414 (Rotarix) in a birth cohort of children aged up to 5 years in France with a combined adjustment for age distribution with the seasonality of the infection. Costs and outcomes were estimated from a limited societal perspective, including direct medical costs paid out of pocket or by third-party payers, as well as the proportion of direct medical costs reimbursed by the health authorities. Indirect costs were not included in the base-case analysis. The primary outcome measure was the incremental cost per QALY. Vaccination with RIX4414 incurred an incremental cost of 44 583 Euro per QALY at a public price of 57 Euro per vaccine dose. Univariate sensitivity analyses showed that the parameters with the largest influence on the results were the transition probabilities of severe diarrhoea, seeking medical advice and emergency visits, utility scores of diarrhoea (mild) in children and infants, and the discount rate for benefits. Probabilistic multivariate sensitivity analysis confirmed these results. The acceptability curve indicated that 94% of the results were under an informal threshold of 50 000 Euro per QALY. Comparing our results with those of a recently published study using pooled data for two rotavirus vaccine products in France, the main differences are explained by differences in model structure and in data input values. They include a different age distribution of the infection, shorter duration of the at-risk period (3

  19. Within-subject template estimation for unbiased longitudinal image analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reuter, Martin; Schmansky, Nicholas J; Rosas, H Diana; Fischl, Bruce

    2012-07-16

    Longitudinal image analysis has become increasingly important in clinical studies of normal aging and neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore, there is a growing appreciation of the potential utility of longitudinally acquired structural images and reliable image processing to evaluate disease modifying therapies. Challenges have been related to the variability that is inherent in the available cross-sectional processing tools, to the introduction of bias in longitudinal processing and to potential over-regularization. In this paper we introduce a novel longitudinal image processing framework, based on unbiased, robust, within-subject template creation, for automatic surface reconstruction and segmentation of brain MRI of arbitrarily many time points. We demonstrate that it is essential to treat all input images exactly the same as removing only interpolation asymmetries is not sufficient to remove processing bias. We successfully reduce variability and avoid over-regularization by initializing the processing in each time point with common information from the subject template. The presented results show a significant increase in precision and discrimination power while preserving the ability to detect large anatomical deviations; as such they hold great potential in clinical applications, e.g. allowing for smaller sample sizes or shorter trials to establish disease specific biomarkers or to quantify drug effects. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Impact of vaccine herd-protection effects in cost-effectiveness analyses of childhood vaccinations. A quantitative comparative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holubar, Marisa; Stavroulakis, Maria Christina; Maldonado, Yvonne; Ioannidis, John P A; Contopoulos-Ioannidis, Despina

    2017-01-01

    Inclusion of vaccine herd-protection effects in cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) can impact the CEAs-conclusions. However, empirical epidemiologic data on the size of herd-protection effects from original studies are limited. We performed a quantitative comparative analysis of the impact of herd-protection effects in CEAs for four childhood vaccinations (pneumococcal, meningococcal, rotavirus and influenza). We considered CEAs reporting incremental-cost-effectiveness-ratios (ICERs) (per quality-adjusted-life-years [QALY] gained; per life-years [LY] gained or per disability-adjusted-life-years [DALY] avoided), both with and without herd protection, while keeping all other model parameters stable. We calculated the size of the ICER-differences without vs with-herd-protection and estimated how often inclusion of herd-protection led to crossing of the cost-effectiveness threshold (of an assumed societal-willingness-to-pay) of $50,000 for more-developed countries or X3GDP/capita (WHO-threshold) for less-developed countries. We identified 35 CEA studies (20 pneumococcal, 4 meningococcal, 8 rotavirus and 3 influenza vaccines) with 99 ICER-analyses (55 per-QALY, 27 per-LY and 17 per-DALY). The median ICER-absolute differences per QALY, LY and DALY (without minus with herd-protection) were $15,620 (IQR: $877 to $48,376); $54,871 (IQR: $787 to $115,026) and $49 (IQR: $15 to $1,636) respectively. When the target-vaccination strategy was not cost-saving without herd-protection, inclusion of herd-protection always resulted in more favorable results. In CEAs that had ICERs above the cost-effectiveness threshold without herd-protection, inclusion of herd-protection led to crossing of that threshold in 45% of the cases. This impacted only CEAs for more developed countries, as all but one CEAs for less developed countries had ICERs below the WHO-cost-effectiveness threshold even without herd-protection. In several analyses, recommendation for the adoption of the target

  1. Acceptability of microneedle-patch vaccines: A qualitative analysis of the opinions of parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, S; Fleming, A; Moore, A C; Sahm, L J

    2017-09-05

    Vaccines incorporated into microneedle-based patch platforms offer advantages over conventional hypodermic injections. However, the success and clinical utility of these platforms will depend on its acceptance among stakeholders. Minimal focus has been placed on determining parents' acceptability of microneedle-patch vaccines intended for paediatric use. This qualitative study probes the perceived acceptability of microneedle technology for paediatric vaccination in a parent population. Focus groups (n=6) were convened through purposive sampling of Cork city primary schools. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, anonymised, independently verified and analysed by thematic analysis, with constant comparison method applied throughout. The opinions of 32 parents were included. All participants declared that their children were fully vaccinated. Five core themes were identified and defined as: (i) concern, (ii) suitability for paediatric use, (iii) potential for parental administration, (iv) the role of the healthcare professional and (v) special populations. Drivers for acceptance include; concerns with current vaccines and vaccination programmes; attributes of microneedle-patch (reduced pain, bleeding, fear and increased convenience) and endorsement by a healthcare professional. Barriers to acceptance include; lack of familiarity, concerns regarding feasibility and suitability in paediatrics, allergic potential, inability to confirm delivery and potential reduction in vaccine coverage. This is the first study to explore parental acceptance of microneedle-patch vaccines. Capturing the opinions of parents, the ultimate decision makers in paediatric vaccination, is crucial in the understanding of the eventual uptake of microneedle technology and therefore adds to literature currently available. This study has revealed that even "vaccine-acceptors"; parents who agree with, or do not question vaccination, will question the safety and efficacy of this novel

  2. Phylogenetic analysis of Hungarian goose parvovirus isolates and vaccine strains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatár-Kis, Tímea; Mató, Tamás; Markos, Béla; Palya, Vilmos

    2004-08-01

    Polymerase chain reaction and sequencing were used to analyse goose parvovirus field isolates and vaccine strains. Two fragments of the genome were amplified. Fragment "A" represents a region of VP3 gene, while fragment "B" represents a region upstream of the VP3 gene, encompassing part of the VP1 gene. In the region of fragment "A" the deduced amino acid sequence of the strains was identical, therefore differentiation among strains could be done only at the nucleotide level, which resulted in the formation of three groups: Hungarian, West-European and Asian strains. In the region of fragment "B", separation of groups could be done by both nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence level. The nucleotide sequences resulted in the same groups as for fragment "A" but with a different clustering pattern among the Hungarian strains. Within the "Hungarian" group most of the recent field isolates fell into one cluster, very closely related or identical to each other, indicating a very slow evolutionary change. The attenuated strains and field isolates from 1979/80 formed a separate cluster. When vaccine strains and field isolates were compared, two specific amino acid differences were found that can be considered as possible markers for vaccinal strains. Sequence analysis of fragment "B" seems to be a suitable method for differentiation of attenuated vaccine strains from virulent strains. Copyright 2004 Houghton Trust Ltd

  3. The global effect of maternal education on complete childhood vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forshaw, Jennifer; Gerver, Sarah M; Gill, Moneet; Cooper, Emily; Manikam, Logan; Ward, Helen

    2017-12-28

    There is an established correlation between maternal education and reduction in childhood mortality. One proposed link is that an increase in maternal education will lead to an increase in health care access and vaccine uptake. Vaccinations are a central preventative child health tool, therefore demonstrating the importance of understanding factors that can improve coverage. This review aims to establish if there is a correlation between increasing maternal education and vaccine uptake and if this varies between continents, setting and time. An electronic database search was conducted using Medline Ovid, Embase and The Cochrane Library using a combination of keywords and appropriate MeSH terms for maternal education and child vaccination. Bibliographies were also hand searched. Data was extracted and entered onto a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analysed using STATA 13.0 software. The primary outcome of effect size of maternal education on completion of childhood vaccinations was analysed at different levels. Secondary outcomes were explored using subgroup analyses of differences between continents, rural or urban settings, and dates. The online search yielded 3430 papers, 37 were included in this study. The analysis showed increasing child vaccination uptake with increasing maternal education. Overall, analysis showed that the odds of full childhood vaccination were 2.3 times greater in children whose mother received secondary or higher education when compared to children whose mother had no education. There was large variability in the effect size between the studies included. Improving maternal education is important for increasing childhood vaccination uptake and coverage. Further research is needed in higher income countries. PROSPERO Registration No: CRD42016042409 .

  4. Cost analysis of public health influenza vaccine clinics in Ontario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Nicola J

    2009-01-01

    Public health in Ontario delivers, promotes and provides each fall the universal influenza immunization program. This paper addresses the question of whether Ontario public health agencies are able to provide the influenza immunization program within the Ministry of Health fiscal funding envelope of $5 per dose. Actual program delivery data from the 2006 influenza season of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) were used to create a model template for influenza clinics capturing all variable costs. Promotional and administrative costs were separated from clinic costs. Maximum staff workloads were estimated. Vaccine clinics were delivered by public health staff in accordance with standard vaccine administration practices. The most significant economic variables for influenza clinics are labour costs and number of vaccines given per nurse per hour. The cost of facility rental was the only other significant cost driver. The ability of influenza clinics to break even depended on the ability to manage these cost drivers. At WDGPH, weekday flu clinics required the number of vaccines per nurse per hour to exceed 15, and for weekend flu clinics this number was greater than 21. We estimate that 20 vaccines per hour is at the limit of a safe workload over several hours. Managing cost then depends on minimizing hourly labour costs. The results of this analysis suggest that by managing the labour costs along with planning the volume of patients and avoiding expensive facilities, flu clinics can just break even. However, any increased costs, including negotiated wage increases or the move to safety needles, with a fixed revenue of $5.00 per dose will negate this conclusion.

  5. Global yellow fever vaccination coverage from 1970 to 2016: an adjusted retrospective analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shearer, Freya M; Moyes, Catherine L; Pigott, David M; Brady, Oliver J; Marinho, Fatima; Deshpande, Aniruddha; Longbottom, Joshua; Browne, Annie J; Kraemer, Moritz U G; O'Reilly, Kathleen M; Hombach, Joachim; Yactayo, Sergio; de Araújo, Valdelaine E M; da Nóbrega, Aglaêr A; Mosser, Jonathan F; Stanaway, Jeffrey D; Lim, Stephen S; Hay, Simon I; Golding, Nick; Reiner, Robert C

    2017-11-01

    Substantial outbreaks of yellow fever in Angola and Brazil in the past 2 years, combined with global shortages in vaccine stockpiles, highlight a pressing need to assess present control strategies. The aims of this study were to estimate global yellow fever vaccination coverage from 1970 through to 2016 at high spatial resolution and to calculate the number of individuals still requiring vaccination to reach population coverage thresholds for outbreak prevention. For this adjusted retrospective analysis, we compiled data from a range of sources (eg, WHO reports and health-service-provider registeries) reporting on yellow fever vaccination activities between May 1, 1939, and Oct 29, 2016. To account for uncertainty in how vaccine campaigns were targeted, we calculated three population coverage values to encompass alternative scenarios. We combined these data with demographic information and tracked vaccination coverage through time to estimate the proportion of the population who had ever received a yellow fever vaccine for each second level administrative division across countries at risk of yellow fever virus transmission from 1970 to 2016. Overall, substantial increases in vaccine coverage have occurred since 1970, but notable gaps still exist in contemporary coverage within yellow fever risk zones. We estimate that between 393·7 million and 472·9 million people still require vaccination in areas at risk of yellow fever virus transmission to achieve the 80% population coverage threshold recommended by WHO; this represents between 43% and 52% of the population within yellow fever risk zones, compared with between 66% and 76% of the population who would have required vaccination in 1970. Our results highlight important gaps in yellow fever vaccination coverage, can contribute to improved quantification of outbreak risk, and help to guide planning of future vaccination efforts and emergency stockpiling. The Rhodes Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the

  6. [Mumps vaccine virus transmission].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otrashevskaia, E V; Kulak, M V; Otrashevskaia, A V; Karpov, I A; Fisenko, E G; Ignat'ev, G M

    2013-01-01

    In this work we report the mumps vaccine virus shedding based on the laboratory confirmed cases of the mumps virus (MuV) infection. The likely epidemiological sources of the transmitted mumps virus were children who were recently vaccinated with the mumps vaccine containing Leningrad-Zagreb or Leningrad-3 MuV. The etiology of the described cases of the horizontal transmission of both mumps vaccine viruses was confirmed by PCR with the sequential restriction analysis.

  7. CYD-TDV dengue vaccine: systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy, immunogenicity and safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godói, Isabella Piassi; Lemos, Livia Lovato Pires; de Araújo, Vânia Eloisa; Bonoto, Braúlio Cesar; Godman, Brian; Guerra Júnior, Augusto Afonso

    2017-03-01

    Dengue virus (DENV) is a serious global health problem. CYD-TDC (Dengvaxia ® ) was the first vaccine to gain regulatory approval to try and address this problem. Summarize all available evidence on the immunogenicity, efficacy and safety of the CYD-TDV dengue vaccine. Meta-analysis and systematic review. The best and worst immunogenicity results were for DENV4 and DENV1, respectively. Vaccine efficacy of 60% was derived from studies with participants aged 2-16 years old, with DENV4 and DENV2 presenting the best and worst results, respectively. Erythema and swelling were more frequent with CYD-TDV. No differences were detected for systemic adverse events. CYD-TDV showed moderate efficacy in children and adolescents. From the immunogenicity results in adults, we can expect satisfactory efficacy from vaccination in this population.

  8. Epidemiological and Economic Impact of Monovalent and Pentavalent Rotavirus Vaccines in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Cost-effectiveness Modeling Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paternina-Caicedo, Angel; De la Hoz-Restrepo, Fernando; Alvis-Guzmán, Nelson

    2015-07-01

    The competing choices of vaccination with either RV1 or RV5, the potential budget impact of vaccines on the EPI with different prices and new evidence make important an updated analysis for health decision makers in each country. The objective of this study is to assess cost-effectiveness of the monovalent and pentavalent rotavirus vaccines and impact on children deaths, inpatient and outpatient visits in 116 low and middle income countries that represent approximately 99% of rotavirus mortality. A decision tree model followed hypothetical cohorts of children from birth up to 5 years of age for each country in 2010. Inputs were gathered from international databases and previous research on incidence and effectiveness of monovalent and pentavalent vaccines. Costs were expressed in 2010 international dollars. Outcomes were reported in terms of cost per disability-adjusted life-year averted, comparing no vaccination with either monovalent or pentavalent mass introduction. Vaccine price was assumed fixed for all world low-income and middle-income countries. Around 292,000 deaths, 3.34 million inpatient cases and 23.09 million outpatient cases would occur with no vaccination. In the base-case scenario, monovalent vaccination would prevent 54.7% of inpatient cases and 45.4% of deaths. Pentavalent vaccination would prevent 51.4% of inpatient cases and 41.1% of deaths. The vaccine was cost-effective in all world countries in the base-case scenario for both vaccines. Cost per disability-adjusted life-year averted in all selected countries was I$372 for monovalent, and I$453 for pentavalent vaccination. Rotavirus vaccine is cost-effective in most analyzed countries. Despite cost-effectiveness analysis is a useful tool for decision making in middle-income countries, for low-income countries health decision makers should also assess the impact of introducing either vaccine on local resources and budget impact analysis of vaccination.

  9. [Development of current smallpox vaccines].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maksiutov, R A; Gavrilova, E V; Shchelkunov, S N

    2011-01-01

    The review gives data on the history of smallpox vaccination and shows the high topicality of designing the current safe vaccines against orthopoxviruses. Four generations of live smallpox, protein subunit, and DNA vaccines are considered. Analysis of the data published leads to the conclusion that it is promising to use the up-to-date generations of safe smallpox subunit or DNA vaccines for mass primary immunization with possible further revaccination with classical live vaccine.

  10. A fuzzy MICMAC analysis for improving supply chain performance of basic vaccines in developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandra, Dheeraj; Kumar, Dinesh

    2018-03-01

    In recent years, demand to improve child immunization coverage globally, and the development of the latest vaccines and technology has made the vaccine market very complex. The rise in such complexities often gives birth to numerous issues in the vaccine supply chain, which are the primary cause of its poor performance. Figuring out the cause of the performance problem can help you decide how to address it. The goal of the present study is to identify and analyze important issues in the supply chain of basic vaccines required for child immunization in the developing countries. Twenty-five key issues as various factors of the vaccine supply chain have been presented in this paper. Fuzzy MICMAC analysis has been carried out to classify the factors based on their driving and dependence power and to develop a hierarchy based model. Further, the findings have been discussed with the field experts to identify the critical factors. Three factors: better demand forecast, communication between the supply chain members, and proper planning and scheduling have been identified as the critical factors of vaccine supply chain. These factors should be given special care to improve vaccine supply chain performance.

  11. Promoting Influenza Vaccination to Restaurant Employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graves, Meredith C; Harris, Jeffrey R; Hannon, Peggy A; Hammerback, Kristen; Parrish, Amanda T; Ahmed, Faruque; Zhou, Chuan; Allen, Claire L

    2016-09-01

    To evaluate an evidence-based workplace approach to increasing adult influenza vaccination levels applied in the restaurant setting We implemented an intervention and conducted a pre/post analysis to determine effect on vaccination. Eleven Seattle-area restaurants. Restaurants with 25+ employees speaking English or Spanish and over 18 years. Restaurants received influenza vaccination promotion materials, assistance arranging on-site vaccination events, and free influenza vaccinations for employees. Pre/post employee surveys of vaccination status with direct observation and employer interviews to evaluate implementation. We conducted descriptive analysis of employee survey data and performed qualitative analysis of implementation data. To assess intervention effect, we used a mixed-effects logistic regression model with a restaurant-specific random effect. Vaccination levels increased from 26% to 46% (adjusted odds ratio 2.33, 95% confidence interval 1.69, 3.22), with 428 employees surveyed preintervention, 305 surveyed postintervention, and response rates of 73% and 55%, respectively. The intervention was effective across subgroups, but there were restaurant-level differences. An access-based workplace intervention can increase influenza vaccination levels in restaurant employees, but restaurant-level factors may influence success. © 2016 by American Journal of Health Promotion, Inc.

  12. Analysis of longitudinal data from animals with missing values using SPSS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duricki, Denise A; Soleman, Sara; Moon, Lawrence D F

    2016-06-01

    Testing of therapies for disease or injury often involves the analysis of longitudinal data from animals. Modern analytical methods have advantages over conventional methods (particularly when some data are missing), yet they are not used widely by preclinical researchers. Here we provide an easy-to-use protocol for the analysis of longitudinal data from animals, and we present a click-by-click guide for performing suitable analyses using the statistical package IBM SPSS Statistics software (SPSS). We guide readers through the analysis of a real-life data set obtained when testing a therapy for brain injury (stroke) in elderly rats. If a few data points are missing, as in this example data set (for example, because of animal dropout), repeated-measures analysis of covariance may fail to detect a treatment effect. An alternative analysis method, such as the use of linear models (with various covariance structures), and analysis using restricted maximum likelihood estimation (to include all available data) can be used to better detect treatment effects. This protocol takes 2 h to carry out.

  13. Neurologic complications of vaccinations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miravalle, Augusto A; Schreiner, Teri

    2014-01-01

    This chapter reviews the most common neurologic disorders associated with common vaccines, evaluates the data linking the disorder with the vaccine, and discusses the potential mechanism of disease. A literature search was conducted in PubMed using a combination of the following terms: vaccines, vaccination, immunization, and neurologic complications. Data were also gathered from publications of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Neurologic complications of vaccination are rare. Many associations have been asserted without objective data to support a causal relationship. Rarely, patients with a neurologic complication will have a poor outcome. However, most patients recover fully from the neurologic complication. Vaccinations have altered the landscape of infectious disease. However, perception of risk associated with vaccinations has limited the success of disease eradication measures. Neurologic complications can be severe, and can provoke fear in potential vaccines. Evaluating whether there is causal link between neurologic disorders and vaccinations, not just temporal association, is critical to addressing public misperception of risk of vaccination. Among the vaccines available today, the cost-benefit analysis of vaccinations and complications strongly argues in favor of vaccination. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Vaccine Rejecting Parents' Engagement With Expert Systems That Inform Vaccination Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attwell, Katie; Leask, Julie; Meyer, Samantha B; Rokkas, Philippa; Ward, Paul

    2017-03-01

    In attempting to provide protection to individuals and communities, childhood immunization has benefits that far outweigh disease risks. However, some parents decide not to immunize their children with some or all vaccines for reasons including lack of trust in governments, health professionals, and vaccine manufacturers. This article employs a theoretical analysis of trust and distrust to explore how twenty-seven parents with a history of vaccine rejection in two Australian cities view the expert systems central to vaccination policy and practice. Our data show how perceptions of the profit motive generate distrust in the expert systems pertaining to vaccination. Our participants perceived that pharmaceutical companies had a pernicious influence over the systems driving vaccination: research, health professionals, and government. Accordingly, they saw vaccine recommendations in conflict with the interests of their child and "the system" underscored by malign intent, even if individual representatives of this system were not equally tainted. This perspective was common to parents who declined all vaccines and those who accepted some. We regard the differences between these parents-and indeed the differences between vaccine decliners and those whose Western medical epistemology informs reflexive trust-as arising from the internalization of countering views, which facilitates nuance.

  15. Immunoproteomics analysis of the murine antibody response to vaccination with an improved Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan M Twine

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Francisella tularensis subspecies tularensis is the causative agent of a spectrum of diseases collectively known as tularemia. An attenuated live vaccine strain (LVS has been shown to be efficacious in humans, but safety concerns have prevented its licensure by the FDA. Recently, F. tularensis LVS has been produced under Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP guidelines. Little is known about the immunogenicity of this new vaccine preparation in comparison with extensive studies conducted with laboratory passaged strains of LVS. Thus, the aim of the current work was to evaluate the repertoire of antibodies produced in mouse strains vaccinated with the new LVS vaccine preparation.In the current study, we used an immunoproteomics approach to examine the repertoire of antibodies induced following successful immunization of BALB/c versus unsuccessful vaccination of C57BL/6 mice with the new preparation of F. tularensis LVS. Successful vaccination of BALB/c mice elicited antibodies to nine identified proteins that were not recognized by antisera from vaccinated but unprotected C57BL/6 mice. In addition, the CGMP formulation of LVS stimulated a greater repertoire of antibodies following vaccination compared to vaccination with laboratory passaged ATCC LVS strain. A total of 15 immunoreactive proteins were identified in both studies, however, 16 immunoreactive proteins were uniquely reactive with sera from the new formulation of LVS.This is the first report characterising the antibody based immune response of the new formulation of LVS in the widely used murine model of tularemia. Using two mouse strains, we show that successfully vaccinated mice can be distinguished from unsuccessfully vaccinated mice based upon the repertoire of antibodies generated. This opens the door towards downselection of antigens for incorporation into tularemia subunit vaccines. In addition, this work also highlights differences in the humoral immune response to

  16. A retrospective analysis of oral cholera vaccine use, disease severity and deaths during an outbreak in South Sudan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekolo, Cavin Epie; van Loenhout, Joris Adriaan Frank; Rodriguez-Llanes, Jose Manuel; Rumunu, John; Ramadan, Otim Patrick; Guha-Sapir, Debarati

    2016-09-01

    To determine whether pre-emptive oral cholera vaccination reduces disease severity and mortality in people who develop cholera disease during an outbreak. The study involved a retrospective analysis of demographic and clinical data from 41 cholera treatment facilities in South Sudan on patients who developed cholera disease between 23 April and 20 July 2014 during a large outbreak, a few months after a pre-emptive oral vaccination campaign. Patients who developed severe dehydration were regarded as having a severe cholera infection. Vaccinated and unvaccinated patients were compared and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with developing severe disease or death. In total, 4115 cholera patients were treated at the 41 facilities: 1946 (47.3%) had severe disease and 62 (1.5%) deaths occurred. Multivariate analysis showed that patients who received two doses of oral cholera vaccine were 4.5-fold less likely to develop severe disease than unvaccinated patients (adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 0.22; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.11-0.44). Moreover, those with severe cholera were significantly more likely to die than those without (aOR: 4.76; 95% CI: 2.33-9.77). Pre-emptive vaccination with two doses of oral cholera vaccine was associated with a significant reduction in the likelihood of developing severe cholera disease during an outbreak in South Sudan. Moreover, severe disease was the strongest predictor of death. Two doses of oral cholera vaccine should be used in emergencies to reduce the disease burden.

  17. An overview of longitudinal data analysis methods for neurological research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Locascio, Joseph J; Atri, Alireza

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to provide a concise, broad and readily accessible overview of longitudinal data analysis methods, aimed to be a practical guide for clinical investigators in neurology. In general, we advise that older, traditional methods, including (1) simple regression of the dependent variable on a time measure, (2) analyzing a single summary subject level number that indexes changes for each subject and (3) a general linear model approach with a fixed-subject effect, should be reserved for quick, simple or preliminary analyses. We advocate the general use of mixed-random and fixed-effect regression models for analyses of most longitudinal clinical studies. Under restrictive situations or to provide validation, we recommend: (1) repeated-measure analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), (2) ANCOVA for two time points, (3) generalized estimating equations and (4) latent growth curve/structural equation models.

  18. An Overview of Longitudinal Data Analysis Methods for Neurological Research

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    Joseph J. Locascio

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to provide a concise, broad and readily accessible overview of longitudinal data analysis methods, aimed to be a practical guide for clinical investigators in neurology. In general, we advise that older, traditional methods, including (1 simple regression of the dependent variable on a time measure, (2 analyzing a single summary subject level number that indexes changes for each subject and (3 a general linear model approach with a fixed-subject effect, should be reserved for quick, simple or preliminary analyses. We advocate the general use of mixed-random and fixed-effect regression models for analyses of most longitudinal clinical studies. Under restrictive situations or to provide validation, we recommend: (1 repeated-measure analysis of covariance (ANCOVA, (2 ANCOVA for two time points, (3 generalized estimating equations and (4 latent growth curve/structural equation models.

  19. Critical Analysis of Compositions and Protective Efficacies of Oral Killed Cholera Vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Two cholera vaccines, sold as Shanchol and Dukoral, are currently available. This review presents a critical analysis of the protective efficacies of these vaccines. Children under 5 years of age are very vulnerable to cholera and account for the highest incidence of cholera cases and more than half of the resulting deaths. Both Shanchol and Dukoral are two-spaced-dose oral vaccines comprising large numbers of killed cholera bacteria. The former contains Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 cells, and the latter contains V. cholerae O1 cells with the recombinant B subunit of cholera toxin. In a field trial in Kolkata (India), Shanchol, the preferred vaccine, protected 45% of the test subjects in all of the age groups and only 17% of the children under 5 years of age during the first year of surveillance. In a field trial in Peru, two spaced doses of Dukoral offered negative protection in children under 5 years of age and little protection (15%) in vaccinees over 6 years of age during the first year of surveillance. Little is known about Dukoral's long-term protective efficacy. Both of these vaccines have questionable compositions, using V. cholerae O1 strains isolated in 1947 that have been inactivated by heat and formalin treatments that may denature protein. Immunological studies revealed Dukoral's reduced and short-lived efficacy, as measured by several immunological endpoints. Various factors, such as the necessity for multiple doses, poor protection of children under 5 years of age, the requirement of a cold supply chain, production costs, and complex logistics of vaccine delivery, greatly reduce the suitability of either of these vaccines for endemic or epidemic cholera control in resource-poor settings. PMID:25056361

  20. Mean-field analysis of an inductive reasoning game: application to influenza vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breban, Romulus; Vardavas, Raffaele; Blower, Sally

    2007-09-01

    Recently we have introduced an inductive reasoning game of voluntary yearly vaccination to establish whether or not a population of individuals acting in their own self-interest would be able to prevent influenza epidemics. Here, we analyze our model to describe the dynamics of the collective yearly vaccination uptake. We discuss the mean-field equations of our model and first order effects of fluctuations. We explain why our model predicts that severe epidemics are periodically expected even without the introduction of pandemic strains. We find that fluctuations in the collective yearly vaccination uptake induce severe epidemics with an expected periodicity that depends on the number of independent decision makers in the population. The mean-field dynamics also reveal that there are conditions for which the dynamics become robust to the fluctuations. However, the transition between fluctuation-sensitive and fluctuation-robust dynamics occurs for biologically implausible parameters. We also analyze our model when incentive-based vaccination programs are offered. When a family-based incentive is offered, the expected periodicity of severe epidemics is increased. This results from the fact that the number of independent decision makers is reduced, increasing the effect of the fluctuations. However, incentives based on the number of years of prepayment of vaccination may yield fluctuation-robust dynamics where severe epidemics are prevented. In this case, depending on prepayment, the transition between fluctuation-sensitive and fluctuation-robust dynamics may occur for biologically plausible parameters. Our analysis provides a practical method for identifying how many years of free vaccination should be provided in order to successfully ameliorate influenza epidemics.

  1. Seasonal influenza vaccination in China: Landscape of diverse regional reimbursement policy, and budget impact analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Juan; Atkins, Katherine E; Feng, Luzhao; Pang, Mingfan; Zheng, Yaming; Liu, Xinxin; Cowling, Benjamin J; Yu, Hongjie

    2016-11-11

    To explore the current landscape of seasonal influenza vaccination across China, and estimate the budget of implementing a national "free-at-the-point-of-care" vaccination program for priority populations recommended by the World Health Organization. In 2014 and 2016, we conducted a survey across provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to collect information on regional reimbursement policies for influenza vaccination, estimated the national uptake using distributed doses of influenza vaccines, and evaluated the budget using population size and vaccine cost obtained from official websites and literatures. Regular reimbursement policies for influenza vaccination are available in 61 mutually exclusive regions, comprising 8 provinces, 45 prefectures, and 8 counties, which were reimbursed by the local Government Financial Department or Basic Social Medical Insurance (BSMI). Finance-reimbursed vaccination was offered mainly for the elderly, and school children for free in Beijing, Dongli district in Tianjin, Karamay, Shenzhen and Xinxiang cities. BSMI-reimbursement policies were limited to specific medical insurance beneficiaries with distinct differences in the reimbursement fractions. The average national vaccination coverage was just 1.5-2.2% between 2004 and 2014. A free national vaccination program for priority populations (n=416million), would cost government US$ 757million (95% CI 726-789) annually (uptake rate=20%). An increasing number of regional governments have begun to pay, partially or fully, for influenza vaccination for selected groups. However, this small-scale policy approach has failed to increase national uptake. A free, nationwide vaccination program would require a substantial annual investment. A cost-effectiveness analysis is needed to identify the most efficient methods to improve coverage. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  2. Vaccinations and childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus: a meta-analysis of observational studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Eileen; Halliday, Sophia R; Campbell, Gemma R; Cardwell, Chris R; Patterson, Chris C

    2016-02-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the association between routine vaccinations and the risk of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus by systematically reviewing the published literature and performing meta-analyses where possible. A comprehensive literature search was performed of MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify all studies that compared vaccination rates in children who subsequently developed type 1 diabetes mellitus and in control children. ORs and 95% CIs were obtained from published reports or derived from individual patient data and then combined using a random effects meta-analysis. In total, 23 studies investigating 16 vaccinations met the inclusion criteria. Eleven of these contributed to meta-analyses which included data from between 359 and 11,828 childhood diabetes cases. Overall, there was no evidence to suggest an association between any of the childhood vaccinations investigated and type 1 diabetes mellitus. The pooled ORs ranged from 0.58 (95% CI 0.24, 1.40) for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination in five studies up to 1.04 (95% CI 0.94, 1.14) for the haemophilus influenza B (HiB) vaccination in 11 studies. Significant heterogeneity was present in most of the pooled analyses, but was markedly reduced when analyses were restricted to study reports with high methodology quality scores. Neither this restriction by quality nor the original authors' adjustments for potential confounding made a substantial difference to the pooled ORs. This study provides no evidence of an association between routine vaccinations and childhood type 1 diabetes.

  3. A meta-analysis of experimental studies of attenuated Schistosoma mansoni vaccines in the mouse model

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    Mizuho eFukushige

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Schistosomiasis is a water-borne, parasitic disease of major public health importance. There has been considerable effort for several decades towards the development of a vaccine against the disease. Numerous mouse experimental studies using attenuated Schistosoma mansoni parasites for vaccination have been published since the 1960s. However, to date, there has been no systematic review or meta-analysis of these data. The aim of this study is to identify measurable experimental conditions that affect the level of protection against re-infection with S. mansoni in mice vaccinated with radiation attenuated cercariae. Following a systematic review, a total of 755 observations were extracted from 105 articles (published 1963-2007 meeting the searching criteria. Random effects meta-regression models were used to identify the influential predictors.Three predictors were found to have statistically significant effects on the level of protection from vaccination: increasing numbers of immunizing parasites had a positive effect on fraction of protection whereas increasing radiation dose and time to challenge infection had negative effects. Models showed that the irradiated cercariae vaccine has the potential to achieve protection as high as 78% with a single dose vaccination. This declines slowly over time but remains high for at least 8 months after the last immunization. These findings provide insights into the optimal delivery of attenuated parasite vaccination and into the nature and development of protective vaccine induced immunity against schistosomiasis which may inform the formulation of human vaccines and the predicted duration of protection and thus frequency of booster vaccines.

  4. Accelerating policy decisions to adopt haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine: a global, multivariable analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shearer, Jessica C; Stack, Meghan L; Richmond, Marcie R; Bear, Allyson P; Hajjeh, Rana A; Bishai, David M

    2010-03-16

    Adoption of new and underutilized vaccines by national immunization programs is an essential step towards reducing child mortality. Policy decisions to adopt new vaccines in high mortality countries often lag behind decisions in high-income countries. Using the case of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine, this paper endeavors to explain these delays through the analysis of country-level economic, epidemiological, programmatic and policy-related factors, as well as the role of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI Alliance). Data for 147 countries from 1990 to 2007 were analyzed in accelerated failure time models to identify factors that are associated with the time to decision to adopt Hib vaccine. In multivariable models that control for Gross National Income, region, and burden of Hib disease, the receipt of GAVI support speeded the time to decision by a factor of 0.37 (95% CI 0.18-0.76), or 63%. The presence of two or more neighboring country adopters accelerated decisions to adopt by a factor of 0.50 (95% CI 0.33-0.75). For each 1% increase in vaccine price, decisions to adopt are delayed by a factor of 1.02 (95% CI 1.00-1.04). Global recommendations and local studies were not associated with time to decision. This study substantiates previous findings related to vaccine price and presents new evidence to suggest that GAVI eligibility is associated with accelerated decisions to adopt Hib vaccine. The influence of neighboring country decisions was also highly significant, suggesting that approaches to support the adoption of new vaccines should consider supply- and demand-side factors.

  5. Local measles vaccination gaps in Germany and the role of vaccination providers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichner, Linda; Wjst, Stephanie; Brockmann, Stefan O; Wolfers, Kerstin; Eichner, Martin

    2017-08-14

    Measles elimination in Europe is an urgent public health goal, yet despite the efforts of its member states, vaccination gaps and outbreaks occur. This study explores local vaccination heterogeneity in kindergartens and municipalities of a German county. Data on children from mandatory school enrolment examinations in 2014/15 in Reutlingen county were used. Children with unknown vaccination status were either removed from the analysis (best case) or assumed to be unvaccinated (worst case). Vaccination data were translated into expected outbreak probabilities. Physicians and kindergartens with statistically outstanding numbers of under-vaccinated children were identified. A total of 170 (7.1%) of 2388 children did not provide a vaccination certificate; 88.3% (worst case) or 95.1% (best case) were vaccinated at least once against measles. Based on the worst case vaccination coverage, measles introduction lies between 39.5% (best case) and 73.0% (worst case). Four paediatricians were identified who accounted for 41 of 109 unvaccinated children and for 47 of 138 incomplete vaccinations; GPs showed significantly higher rates of missing vaccination certificates and unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children than paediatricians. Missing vaccination certificates pose a severe problem regarding the interpretability of vaccination data. Although the coverage for at least one measles vaccination is higher in the studied county than in most South German counties and higher than the European average, many severe and potentially dangerous vaccination gaps occur locally. If other federal German states and EU countries show similar vaccination variability, measles elimination may not succeed in Europe.

  6. PRIMARY IMUNE RESPON OF LAYER POST VACCINATED WITH THE EGG DROPS SYNDOME VACCINE

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    Gusti Ayu Yuniati Kencana

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted to determine the primary immune response post vaccination using EDS inactivated vaccine polyvalent. The sample used was a commercial layer farm in the village of Tiga, regency of Bangli, Bali. A total of 25 layer which were14 weeks old vaccinated using EDS-76 inactivated vaccine containing polyvalent Newcastle disease antigen virus, infectious bronchitis and egg drop syndrome by intramuscularly injection. Examination of EDS antibody titer using serologic test by Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI test.  Egg drops syndrome antibody titer checked four times, once before vaccination, and every week for three weeks post-vaccination to see the immune responses. The average antibody titer then analyzed using an univariate of variance test followed by a test of Least Significant Difference, Duncan test and regression analysis. The result showed an increase antibody of EDS was significantly every week post vaccination. The average antibody titers of EDS are 22,6 HI unit at one weeks post vaccination, about 25,04 HI unit at two weeks post vaccination and  26,4 HI unit at three weeks post vaccination.

  7. Adverse events following 12 and 18 month vaccinations: a population-based, self-controlled case series analysis.

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    Kumanan Wilson

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Live vaccines have distinct safety profiles, potentially causing systemic reactions one to 2 weeks after administration. In the province of Ontario, Canada, live MMR vaccine is currently recommended at age 12 months and 18 months. METHODS: Using the self-controlled case series design we examined 271,495 12 month vaccinations and 184,312 18 month vaccinations to examine the relative incidence of the composite endpoint of emergency room visits or hospital admissions in consecutive one day intervals following vaccination. These were compared to a control period 20 to 28 days later. In a post-hoc analysis we examined the reasons for emergency room visits and the average acuity score at presentation for children during the at-risk period following the 12 month vaccine. RESULTS: Four to 12 days post 12 month vaccination, children had a 1.33 (1.29-1.38 increased relative incidence of the combined endpoint compared to the control period, or at least one event during the risk interval for every 168 children vaccinated. Ten to 12 days post 18 month vaccination, the relative incidence was 1.25 (95%, 1.17-1.33 which represented at least one excess event for every 730 children vaccinated. The primary reason for increased events was statistically significant elevations in emergency room visits following all vaccinations. There were non-significant increases in hospital admissions. There were an additional 20 febrile seizures for every 100,000 vaccinated at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: There are significantly elevated risks of primarily emergency room visits approximately one to two weeks following 12 and 18 month vaccination. Future studies should examine whether these events could be predicted or prevented.

  8. Public finance of rotavirus vaccination in India and Ethiopia: an extended cost-effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verguet, Stéphane; Murphy, Shane; Anderson, Benjamin; Johansson, Kjell Arne; Glass, Roger; Rheingans, Richard

    2013-10-01

    An estimated 4% of global child deaths (approximately 300,000 deaths) were attributed to rotavirus in 2010. About a third of these deaths occurred in India and Ethiopia. Public finance of rotavirus vaccination in these two countries could substantially decrease child mortality and also reduce rotavirus-related hospitalizations, prevent health-related impoverishment and bring significant cost savings to households. We use a methodology of 'extended cost-effectiveness analysis' (ECEA) to evaluate a hypothetical publicly financed program for rotavirus vaccination in India and Ethiopia. We measure program impact along four dimensions: 1) rotavirus deaths averted; 2) household expenditures averted; 3) financial risk protection afforded; 4) distributional consequences across the wealth strata of the country populations. In India and Ethiopia, the program would lead to a substantial decrease in rotavirus deaths, mainly among the poorer; it would reduce household expenditures across all income groups and it would effectively provide financial risk protection, mostly concentrated among the poorest. Potential indirect benefits of vaccination (herd immunity) would increase program benefits among all income groups, whereas potentially decreased vaccine efficacy among poorer households would reduce the equity benefits of the program. Our approach incorporates financial risk protection and distributional consequences into the systematic economic evaluation of vaccine policy, illustrated here with the case study of public finance for rotavirus vaccination. This enables selection of vaccine packages based on the quantitative inclusion of information on equity and on how much financial risk protection is being bought per dollar expenditure on vaccine policy, in addition to how much health is being bought. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Rabies Vaccination: Higher Failure Rates in Imported Dogs than in those Vaccinated in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rota Nodari, E; Alonso, S; Mancin, M; De Nardi, M; Hudson-Cooke, S; Veggiato, C; Cattoli, G; De Benedictis, P

    2017-03-01

    The current European Union (EU) legislation decrees that pets entering the EU from a rabies-infected third country have to obtain a satisfactory virus-neutralizing antibody level, while those moving within the EU require only rabies vaccination as the risk of moving a rabid pet within the EU is considered negligible. A number of factors driving individual variations in dog vaccine response have been previously reported, including a high rate of vaccine failure in puppies, especially those subject to commercial transport. A total of 21 001 observations collected from dogs (2006-2012) vaccinated in compliance with the current EU regulations were statistically analysed to assess the effect of different risk factors related to rabies vaccine efficacy. Within this framework, we were able to compare the vaccination failure rate in a group of dogs entering the Italian border from EU and non-EU countries to those vaccinated in Italy prior to international travel. Our analysis identified that cross-breeds and two breed categories showed high vaccine success rates, while Beagles and Boxers were the least likely to show a successful response to vaccination (88.82% and 90.32%, respectively). Our analysis revealed diverse performances among the commercially available vaccines, in terms of serological peak windows, and marked differences according to geographical area. Of note, we found a higher vaccine failure rate in imported dogs (13.15%) than in those vaccinated in Italy (5.89%). Our findings suggest that the choice of vaccine may influence the likelihood of an animal achieving a protective serological level and that time from vaccination to sampling should be considered when interpreting serological results. A higher vaccine failure in imported compared to Italian dogs highlights the key role that border controls still have in assessing the full compliance of pet movements with EU legislation to minimize the risk of rabies being reintroduced into a disease-free area.

  10. Sample size determination for mediation analysis of longitudinal data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Haitao; Liu, Suyu; Miao, Danmin; Yuan, Ying

    2018-03-27

    Sample size planning for longitudinal data is crucial when designing mediation studies because sufficient statistical power is not only required in grant applications and peer-reviewed publications, but is essential to reliable research results. However, sample size determination is not straightforward for mediation analysis of longitudinal design. To facilitate planning the sample size for longitudinal mediation studies with a multilevel mediation model, this article provides the sample size required to achieve 80% power by simulations under various sizes of the mediation effect, within-subject correlations and numbers of repeated measures. The sample size calculation is based on three commonly used mediation tests: Sobel's method, distribution of product method and the bootstrap method. Among the three methods of testing the mediation effects, Sobel's method required the largest sample size to achieve 80% power. Bootstrapping and the distribution of the product method performed similarly and were more powerful than Sobel's method, as reflected by the relatively smaller sample sizes. For all three methods, the sample size required to achieve 80% power depended on the value of the ICC (i.e., within-subject correlation). A larger value of ICC typically required a larger sample size to achieve 80% power. Simulation results also illustrated the advantage of the longitudinal study design. The sample size tables for most encountered scenarios in practice have also been published for convenient use. Extensive simulations study showed that the distribution of the product method and bootstrapping method have superior performance to the Sobel's method, but the product method was recommended to use in practice in terms of less computation time load compared to the bootstrapping method. A R package has been developed for the product method of sample size determination in mediation longitudinal study design.

  11. Parents’ uptake of human papillomavirus vaccines for their children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tepjan, Suchon; Rubincam, Clara; Doukas, Nick; Asey, Farid

    2018-01-01

    Objective To examine factors associated with parents’ uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines for their children. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Cochrane Library, AIDSLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Abstracts, Ovid MEDLINE, Scholars Portal, Social Sciences Citation Index and Dissertation Abstracts International from inception through November 2017. Methods We included studies that sampled parents and assessed uptake of HPV vaccines for their children (≤18 years) and/or sociodemographics, knowledge, attitudes or other factors associated with uptake. Study risk of bias was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool. We pooled data using random-effects meta-analysis and conducted moderation analyses to examine variance in uptake by sex of child and parent. Results Seventy-nine studies on 840 838 parents across 15 countries were included. The pooled proportion of parents’ uptake of HPV vaccines for their children was 41.5% (range: 0.7%–92.8%), twofold higher for girls (46.5%) than for boys (20.3%). In the meta-analysis of 62 studies, physician recommendation (r=0.46 (95% CI 0.34 to 0.56)) had the greatest influence on parents’ uptake, followed by HPV vaccine safety concerns (r=−0.31 (95% CI −0.41 to −0.16)), routine child preventive check-up, past 12 months (r=0.22 (95% CI 0.11 to 0.33)) and parents’ belief in vaccines (r=0.19 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.29)). Health insurance-covered HPV vaccination (r=0.16 (95% CI 0.04 to 0.29)) and lower out-of-pocket cost (r=−0.15 (95% CI −0.22 to −0.07)) had significant effects on uptake. We found significant moderator effects for sex of child. Conclusions Findings indicate suboptimal levels of HPV vaccine uptake, twofold lower among boys, that may be improved by increasing physician recommendations, addressing parental safety concerns and promoting parents’ positive beliefs about vaccines, in addition to expanding insurance coverage and

  12. Stability analysis for an age-dependent vaccination model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Doma, M.

    1993-05-01

    The stability of an SIR epidemic model with vaccination is investigated. We determine the steady states and examine their stability. Furthermore, a critical vaccination coverage that will eventually eradicate the disease is determined. (author). 9 refs

  13. Vaccination of children with a live-attenuated, intranasal influenza vaccineanalysis and evaluation through a Health Technology Assessment

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    Andersohn, Frank

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available [english] Background: Influenza is a worldwide prevalent infectious disease of the respiratory tract annually causing high morbidity and mortality in Germany. Influenza is preventable by vaccination and this vaccination is so far recommended by the (STIKO as a standard vaccination for people from the age of 60 onwards. Up to date a parenterally administered trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV has been in use almost exclusively. Since 2011 however a live-attenuated vaccine (LAIV has been approved additionally. Consecutively, since 2013 the STIKO recommends LAIV (besides TIV for children from 2 to 17 years of age, within the scope of vaccination by specified indications. LAIV should be preferred administered in children from 2 to 6 of age. The objective of this Health Technology Assessment (HTA is to address various research issues regarding the vaccination of children with LAIV. The analysis was performed from a medical, epidemiological and health economic perspective, as well as from an ethical, social and legal point of view.Method: An extensive systematic database research was performed to obtain relevant information. In addition a supplementary research by hand was done. Identified literature was screened in two passes by two independent reviewers using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Included literature was evaluated in full-text using acknowledged standards. Studies were graded with the highest level of evidence (1++, if they met the criteria of Results: For the medical section, the age of the study participants ranges from 6 months to 17 years. Regarding study efficacy, in children aged 6 months to ≤7 years, LAIV is superior to placebo as well as to a vac-cination with TIV (Relative Risk Reduction – RRR – of laboratory confirmed influenza infection approx. 80% and 50%, respectively. In children aged >7 to 17 years (= 18th year of their lives, LAIV is superior to a vaccination with TIV (RRR 32%. For this age group, no

  14. Potential impact of reactive vaccination in controlling cholera outbreaks: an exploratory analysis using a Zimbabwean experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sun-Young; Choi, Yeongchull; Mason, Peter R; Rusakaniko, Simbarashe; Goldie, Sue J

    2011-09-05

    To contain ongoing cholera outbreaks, the World Health Organization has suggested that reactive vaccination should be considered in addition to its previous control measures. To explore the potential impact of a hypothetical reactive oral cholera vaccination using the example of the recent large-scale cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe. This was a retrospective cost-effectiveness analysis calculating the health and economic burden of the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe with and without reactive vaccination. The primary outcome measure was incremental cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. Under the base-case assumptions (assuming 50% coverage among individuals aged ≥2 years), reactive vaccination could have averted 1 320 deaths and 23 650 DALYs. Considering herd immunity, the corresponding values would have been 2 920 deaths and 52 360 DALYs averted. The total vaccination costs would have been ~$74 million and ~$21 million, respectively, with per-dose vaccine price of US$5 and $1. The incremental costs per DALY averted of reactive vaccination were $2 770 and $370, respectively, for vaccine price set at $5 and $1. Assuming herd immunity, the corresponding cost was $980 with vaccine price of $5, and the programme was cost-saving with a vaccine price of $1. Results were most sensitive to case-fatality rate, per-dose vaccine price, and the size of the outbreak. Reactive vaccination has the potential to be a cost-effective measure to contain cholera outbreaks in countries at high risk. However, the feasibility of implementation should be further evaluated, and caution is warranted in extrapolating the findings to different settings in the absence of other in-depth studies.

  15. Self-Concept and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Chiungjung

    2011-01-01

    The relation between self-concept and academic achievement was examined in 39 independent and longitudinal samples through the integration of meta-analysis and path analysis procedures. For relations with more than 3 independent samples, the mean observed correlations ranged from 0.20 to 0.27 between prior self-concept and subsequent academic…

  16. Analysis of the evidence on the efficacy and safety of CYD-TDV dengue vaccine and its potential licensing and implementation through Mexico´s Universal Vaccination Program

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    Mauricio Hernández-Ávila

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Dengue is a major global public health problem affecting Latin America and Mexico Prevention and control measures, focusing on epidemiological surveillance and vector control, have been partially effective and costly, thus, the development of a vaccine against dengue has created great expectations among health authorities and scientific communities worldwide. The CYD-TDV dengue vaccine produced by Sanofi-Pasteur is the only dengue vaccine evaluated in phase 3 controlled clinical trials. Notwithstanding the significant contribution to the development of a vaccine against dengue, the three phase 3 clinical studies of CYD-TDV and the meta-analysis of the long-term follow up of those studies, have provided evidence that this vaccine exhibited partial vaccine efficacy to protect against virologically confirmed dengue and lead to four considerations: a adequate vaccine efficacy against dengue virus (DENV infections 3 and 4, less vaccine efficacy against DENV 1 and no protection against infection by DENV 2; b decreased vaccine efficacy in dengue seronegative individuals at the beginning of the vaccination; c 83% and 90% protection against hospitalizations and severe forms of dengue, respectively, at 25 months follow-up; and d increased hospitalization for dengue in the vaccinated group, in children under nine years of age at the time of vaccination, detected since the third year of follow-up. The benefit of the CYD-TDV vaccine can be summarized in the protection against infection by DENV 3 and 4, as well as protection for hospitalizations and severe cases in people over nine years, who have had previous dengue infection, working mainly as a booster. In this review we identified elements on efficacy and safety of this vaccine that must be taken into account in the licensing process and potential inclusion in the national vaccination program of Mexico. The available scientific evidence on the CYD-TDV vaccine shows merits, but also leads to relevant

  17. Sensitivity Analysis of Mixed Models for Incomplete Longitudinal Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Shu; Blozis, Shelley A.

    2011-01-01

    Mixed models are used for the analysis of data measured over time to study population-level change and individual differences in change characteristics. Linear and nonlinear functions may be used to describe a longitudinal response, individuals need not be observed at the same time points, and missing data, assumed to be missing at random (MAR),…

  18. Analysis of B Cell Repertoire Dynamics Following Hepatitis B Vaccination in Humans, and Enrichment of Vaccine-specific Antibody Sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galson, Jacob D; Trück, Johannes; Fowler, Anna; Clutterbuck, Elizabeth A; Münz, Márton; Cerundolo, Vincenzo; Reinhard, Claudia; van der Most, Robbert; Pollard, Andrew J; Lunter, Gerton; Kelly, Dominic F

    2015-12-01

    Generating a diverse B cell immunoglobulin repertoire is essential for protection against infection. The repertoire in humans can now be comprehensively measured by high-throughput sequencing. Using hepatitis B vaccination as a model, we determined how the total immunoglobulin sequence repertoire changes following antigen exposure in humans, and compared this to sequences from vaccine-specific sorted cells. Clonal sequence expansions were seen 7 days after vaccination, which correlated with vaccine-specific plasma cell numbers. These expansions caused an increase in mutation, and a decrease in diversity and complementarity-determining region 3 sequence length in the repertoire. We also saw an increase in sequence convergence between participants 14 and 21 days after vaccination, coinciding with an increase of vaccine-specific memory cells. These features allowed development of a model for in silico enrichment of vaccine-specific sequences from the total repertoire. Identifying antigen-specific sequences from total repertoire data could aid our understanding B cell driven immunity, and be used for disease diagnostics and vaccine evaluation.

  19. Genotypic characterization by multi locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis international Bordetella pertussis vaccine strains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Fatah Moghadam

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: In 1930's first whole cell pertussis vaccines became available to the public heralding a dramatic success in overcoming the global burden of the disease. To date only a handful of B. pertussis strains have been used by international/local pertussis vaccine manufacturers. Inevitable well-documented genetic changes in the world population of this pathogen have prompted serious questions on suitability of traditional vaccine strains protect human against currently circulating wild isolates of Bordetella pertussis. Objective: Analyzing the genetic diversity within the most frequently-used vaccine strains of B. pertussis in the world Methods: A recently developed multi locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA genotyping system along with a bioinforamtic piece of analysis was conducted on 11 strain / substrains of B137, B203 (10536, C393, Cs, E476, Tohama I, J445 (134, B202 and J446 (509 plus 2 sub-strains of 134 and 509 that are used at Razi institute for preparation of pertussis vaccine. In this study have used 6 individual loci of VNTR1, VNTR3a, VNTR3b, VNTR4, VNTR5 and VNTR6. Findings: Six distinct genotypes were recognized among the examined strains by comparing our data with the Dutch MLVA databank. These were all new and not reported before in the database. Conclusion: This observation reiterates on necessity for detection of predominant native strains to include in vaccine preparations suitable for different countries.

  20. Health economic analysis of human papillomavirus vaccines in women of Chile: perspective of the health care payer using a Markov model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Jorge Alberto; Lepetic, Alejandro; Demarteau, Nadia

    2014-11-26

    In Chile, significant reductions in cervical cancer incidence and mortality have been observed due to implementation of a well-organized screening program. However, it has been suggested that the inclusion of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for young adolescent women may be the best prospect to further reduce the burden of cervical cancer. This cost-effectiveness study comparing two available HPV vaccines in Chile was performed to support decision making on the implementation of universal HPV vaccination. The present analysis used an existing static Markov model to assess the effect of screening and vaccination. This analysis includes the epidemiology of low-risk HPV types allowing for the comparison between the two vaccines (HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine and the HPV-6/11/16/18 vaccine), latest cross-protection data on HPV vaccines, treatment costs for cervical cancer, vaccine costs and 6% discounting per the health economic guideline for Chile. Projected incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICERs) for the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine was 116 United States (US) dollars per quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained or 147 US dollars per life-years (LY) saved, while the projected ICUR/ICER for the HPV-6/11/16/18 vaccine was 541 US dollars per QALY gained or 726 US dollars per LY saved. Introduction of any HPV vaccine to the present cervical cancer prevention program of Chile is estimated to be highly cost-effective (below 1X gross domestic product [GDP] per capita, 14278 US dollars). In Chile, the addition of HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine to the existing screening program dominated the addition of HPV-6/11/16/18 vaccine. In the probabilistic sensitivity analysis results show that the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine is expected to be dominant and cost-saving in 69.3% and 77.6% of the replicates respectively. The findings indicate that the addition of any HPV vaccine to the current cervical screening

  1. A longitudinal cohort study of the relationship between Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccination and specific delays in development in the United States: Assessment of attributable risk and lifetime care costs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David A. Geier

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Epidemiological evidence suggests a link between mercury (Hg exposure from Thimerosal-containing vaccines and specific delays in development. A hypothesis-testing longitudinal cohort study (n = 49,835 using medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between exposure to Hg from Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccines (T-HBVs administered at specific intervals in the first 6 months of life and specific delays in development [International Classification of Disease, 9th revision (ICD-9: 315.xx] among children born between 1991 and 1994 and continuously enrolled from birth for at least 5.81 years. Infants receiving increased Hg doses from T-HBVs administered within the first month, the first 2 months, and the first 6 months of life were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with specific delays in development than infants receiving no Hg doses from T-HBVs. During the decade in which T-HBVs were routinely recommended and administered to US infants (1991–2001, an estimated 0.5–1 million additional US children were diagnosed with specific delays in development as a consequence of 25 μg or 37.5 μg organic Hg from T-HBVs administered within the first 6 months of life. The resulting lifetime costs to the United States may exceed $1 trillion.

  2. Diarrheal Diseases Hospitalization in Yemen before and after Rotavirus Vaccination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Amood AL-Kamarany

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The study aims to assess the impact of rotavirus vaccine introduction on diarrheal diseases hospitalization and to identify the rotavirus genotypes most prevalent before and after vaccine introduction among children ≤ 5 years of age. Rotarix™ ® rotavirus vaccine is currently licensed for infants in Yemen and was introduced in 2012. The vaccination course consists of two doses. The first dose is administrated at 6 weeks of age and the second dose is completed by 10 weeks. Based on a longitudinal observational study, we assessed the impact of vaccination on rotavirus hospitalization before and after vaccination among children ≤ 5 years of age at the Yemeni-Swedish Hospital (YSH in Taiz, Yemen. Prevaccination covered January 2009–July 2012 during which 2335 fecal samples were collected from children ≤ 5 years old. Postvaccination covered January 2013–December 2014 during which 1114 fecal samples were collected. Rotavirus was detected by Enzyme Linkage Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA. The incidence of rotavirus hospitalization decreased from 43.79% in 2009 to 10.54% in 2014. Hospitalization due to rotavirus diarrhea was reduced by 75.93%. Vaccine coverage increased from 23% in 2012 to 72% in 2014. Also, the results showed that the most predominant genotypes in prevaccination period were G2P[4] (55.0%, followed by G1P[8] (15.0%, while in postvaccination period G1P[8] (31% was the predominant genotype, followed by G9P[8] (27.5%. In conclusion, rotavirus vaccination in Yemen resulted in sharp reduction in diarrheal hospitalization. A successful rotavirus vaccination program in Yemen will rely upon efficient vaccine delivery systems and sustained vaccine efficacy against diverse and evolving rotavirus strains.

  3. Pricing of new vaccines

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Bruce Y; McGlone, Sarah M

    2010-01-01

    New vaccine pricing is a complicated process that could have substantial long-standing scientific, medical and public health ramifications. Pricing can have a considerable impact on new vaccine adoption and, thereby, either culminate or thwart years of research and development and public health efforts. Typically, pricing strategy consists of the following eleven components: (1) Conduct a target population analysis; (2) Map potential competitors and alternatives; (3) Construct a vaccine targe...

  4. Economics of vaccines revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Postma, Maarten J; Standaert, Baudouin A

    2013-05-01

    Performing a total health economic analysis of a vaccine newly introduced into the market today is a challenge when using the conventional cost-effectiveness analysis we normally apply on pharmaceutical products. There are many reasons for that, such as: the uncertainty in the total benefit (direct and indirect) to be measured in a population when using a cohort model; (1) appropriate rules about discounting the long-term impact of vaccines are absent jeopardizing therefore their value at the initial investment; (2) the presence of opposite contexts when introducing the vaccine in developed vs. the developing world with high benefits, low initial health care investment for the latter vs. marginal benefit and high cost for the former; with a corresponding paradox for the vaccine becoming very cost-effective in low income countries but rather medium in middle low to high middle income countries; (3) and the type of trial assessment for the newer vaccines is now often performed with immunogenicity reaction instead of clinical endpoints which still leaves questions on their real impact and their head-to-head comparison. (4.)

  5. A comparative analysis of the epidemiological impact and disease cost-savings of HPV vaccines in France

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bresse, Xavier; Adam, Marjorie; Largeron, Nathalie; Roze, Stephane; Marty, Remi

    2013-01-01

    The aim was to compare the epidemiological and economic impact of 16/18 bivalent and 6/11/16/18 quadrivalent HPV vaccination in France, considering differences in licensed outcomes, protection against non-vaccine HPV types and prevention of HPV-6/11-related diseases. The differential impact of the two vaccines was evaluated using a published model adapted to the French setting. The target population was females aged 14–23 y and the time horizon was 100 y. A total of eight different scenarios compared vaccination impact in terms of reduction in HPV-16/18-associated carcinomas (cervical, vulvar, vaginal, anal, penile and head and neck), HPV-6/11-related genital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, and incremental reduction in cervical cancer due to potential cross-protection. Quadrivalent vaccine was associated with total discounted cost savings ranging from EUR 544–1,020 million vs. EUR 177–538 million with the bivalent vaccination (100-y time horizon). Genital wart prevention thanks to quadrivalent HPV vaccination accounted for EUR 306–380 million savings (37–56% of costs saved). In contrast, the maximal assumed cross-protection against cervical cancer resulted in EUR 13–33 million savings (4%). Prevention of vulvar, vaginal and anal cancers accounted for additional EUR 71–89 million savings (13%). In France, the quadrivalent HPV vaccination would result in significant incremental epidemiological and economic benefits vs. the bivalent vaccination, driven primarily by prevention of genital. The present analysis is the first in the French setting to consider the impact of HPV vaccination on all HPV diseases and non-vaccine types. PMID:23563511

  6. Application of pattern mixture models to address missing data in longitudinal data analysis using SPSS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, Heesook; Friedmann, Erika; Thomas, Sue A

    2012-01-01

    Longitudinal studies are used in nursing research to examine changes over time in health indicators. Traditional approaches to longitudinal analysis of means, such as analysis of variance with repeated measures, are limited to analyzing complete cases. This limitation can lead to biased results due to withdrawal or data omission bias or to imputation of missing data, which can lead to bias toward the null if data are not missing completely at random. Pattern mixture models are useful to evaluate the informativeness of missing data and to adjust linear mixed model (LMM) analyses if missing data are informative. The aim of this study was to provide an example of statistical procedures for applying a pattern mixture model to evaluate the informativeness of missing data and conduct analyses of data with informative missingness in longitudinal studies using SPSS. The data set from the Patients' and Families' Psychological Response to Home Automated External Defibrillator Trial was used as an example to examine informativeness of missing data with pattern mixture models and to use a missing data pattern in analysis of longitudinal data. Prevention of withdrawal bias, omitted data bias, and bias toward the null in longitudinal LMMs requires the assessment of the informativeness of the occurrence of missing data. Missing data patterns can be incorporated as fixed effects into LMMs to evaluate the contribution of the presence of informative missingness to and control for the effects of missingness on outcomes. Pattern mixture models are a useful method to address the presence and effect of informative missingness in longitudinal studies.

  7. Pricing of new vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGlone, Sarah M

    2010-01-01

    New vaccine pricing is a complicated process that could have substantial long-standing scientific, medical and public health ramifications. Pricing can have a considerable impact on new vaccine adoption and, thereby, either culminate or thwart years of research and development and public health efforts. Typically, pricing strategy consists of the following eleven components: (1) Conduct a target population analysis; (2) Map potential competitors and alternatives; (3) Construct a vaccine target product profile (TPP) and compare it to projected or actual TPPs of competing vaccines; (4) Quantify the incremental value of the new vaccine's characteristics; (5) Determine vaccine positioning in the marketplace; (6) Estimate the vaccine price-demand curve; (7) Calculate vaccine costs (including those of manufacturing, distribution, and research and development); (8) Account for various legal, regulatory, third party payer and competitor factors; (9) Consider the overall product portfolio; (10) Set pricing objectives; (11) Select pricing and pricing structure. While the biomedical literature contains some studies that have addressed these components, there is still considerable room for more extensive evaluation of this important area. PMID:20861678

  8. Pricing of new vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Bruce Y; McGlone, Sarah M

    2010-08-01

    New vaccine pricing is a complicated process that could have substantial long-standing scientific, medical, and public health ramifications. Pricing can have a considerable impact on new vaccine adoption and, thereby, either culminate or thwart years of research and development and public health efforts. Typically, pricing strategy consists of the following ten components: 1. Conduct a target population analysis; 2. Map potential competitors and alternatives; 3. Construct a vaccine target product profile (TPP) and compare it to projected or actual TPPs of competing vaccines; 4. Quantify the incremental value of the new vaccine's characteristics; 5. Determine vaccine positioning in the marketplace; 6. Estimate the vaccine price-demand curve; 7. Calculate vaccine costs (including those of manufacturing, distribution, and research and development); 8. Account for various legal, regulatory, third party payer, and competitor factors; 9. Consider the overall product portfolio; 10. Set pricing objectives; 11. Select pricing and pricing structure. While the biomedical literature contains some studies that have addressed these components, there is still considerable room for more extensive evaluation of this important area.

  9. Analysis of B Cell Repertoire Dynamics Following Hepatitis B Vaccination in Humans, and Enrichment of Vaccine-specific Antibody Sequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacob D. Galson

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Generating a diverse B cell immunoglobulin repertoire is essential for protection against infection. The repertoire in humans can now be comprehensively measured by high-throughput sequencing. Using hepatitis B vaccination as a model, we determined how the total immunoglobulin sequence repertoire changes following antigen exposure in humans, and compared this to sequences from vaccine-specific sorted cells. Clonal sequence expansions were seen 7 days after vaccination, which correlated with vaccine-specific plasma cell numbers. These expansions caused an increase in mutation, and a decrease in diversity and complementarity-determining region 3 sequence length in the repertoire. We also saw an increase in sequence convergence between participants 14 and 21 days after vaccination, coinciding with an increase of vaccine-specific memory cells. These features allowed development of a model for in silico enrichment of vaccine-specific sequences from the total repertoire. Identifying antigen-specific sequences from total repertoire data could aid our understanding B cell driven immunity, and be used for disease diagnostics and vaccine evaluation.

  10. Vaccine Hesitancy Among Caregivers and Association with Childhood Vaccination Timeliness in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masters, Nina B; Tefera, Yemesrach A; Wagner, Abram L; Boulton, Matthew L

    2018-05-24

    Vaccines are vital to reducing childhood mortality, and prevent an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths annually which disproportionately occur in the developing world. Overall vaccine coverage is typically used as a metric to evaluate the adequacy of vaccine program performance, though it does not account for untimely administration, which may unnecessarily prolong children's susceptibility to disease. This study explored a hypothesized positive association between increasing vaccine hesitancy and untimeliness of immunizations administered under the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This cross-sectional survey employed a multistage sampling design, randomly selecting one health center within five sub-cities of Addis Ababa. Caregivers of 3 to 12-month-old infants completed a questionnaire on vaccine hesitancy, and their infants' vaccination cards were examined to assess timeliness of received vaccinations. The sample comprised 350 caregivers. Overall, 82.3% of the surveyed children received all recommended vaccines, although only 55.9% of these vaccinations were timely. Few caregivers (3.4%) reported ever hesitating and 3.7% reported ever refusing a vaccine for their child. Vaccine hesitancy significantly increased the odds of untimely vaccination (AOR 1.94, 95% CI: 1.02, 3.71) in the adjusted analysis. This study found high vaccine coverage among a sample of 350 young children in Addis Ababa, though only half received all recommended vaccines on time. High vaccine hesitancy was strongly associated with infants' untimely vaccination, indicating that increased efforts to educate community members and providers about vaccines may have a beneficial impact on vaccine timeliness in Addis Ababa.

  11. A cost-utility analysis of adding a bivalent or quadrivalent HPV vaccine to the Irish cervical screening programme.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Dee, Anne

    2010-04-01

    Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and in Ireland it is the ninth most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. Almost 100% of these cancers are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Two newly developed vaccines against HPV infection have become available. This study is a cost-utility analysis of the HPV vaccine in Ireland, and it compares the cost-effectiveness profiles of the two vaccines.

  12. Identification Of Protein Vaccine Candidates Using Comprehensive Proteomic Analysis Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-12-01

    that fascinating fungus known as Coccidioides. I also want to thank the UA Mass Spectrometry Facility and the UA Proteomics Consortium, especially...W. & N. N. Kav. 2006. The proteome of the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Proteomics 6: 5995-6007. 127. de Godoy, L. M., J. V...IDENTIFICATION OF PROTEIN VACCINE CANDIDATES USING COMPREHENSIVE PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS STRATEGIES by James G. Rohrbough

  13. Rash after measles vaccination: laboratory analysis of cases reported in São Paulo, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliveira Maria I

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The clinical differential diagnosis of rash due to viral infections is often difficult, and misdiagnosis is not rare, especially after the introduction of measles and rubella vaccination. A study to determine the etiological diagnosis of exanthema was carried out in a group of children after measles vaccination. METHODS: Sera collected from children with rash who received measles vaccine were reported in 1999. They were analyzed for IgM antibodies against measles virus, rubella virus, human parvovirus B19 (HPV B19 using ELISA commercial techniques, and human herpes virus 6 (HHV 6 using immunofluorescence commercial technique. Viremia for each of those viruses was tested using a polimerase chain reaction (PCR. RESULTS: A total of 17 cases of children with exanthema after measles immunization were reported in 1999. The children, aged 9 to 12 months (median 10 months, had a blood sample taken for laboratory analysis. The time between vaccination and the first rash signs varied from 1 to 60 days. The serological results of those 17 children suspected of measles or rubella infection showed the following etiological diagnosis: 17.6% (3 in 17 HPV B19 infection; 76.5% (13 in 17 HHV 6 infection; 5.9% (1 in 17 rash due to measles vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: The study data indicate that infection due to HPV B19 or HHV 6 can be misdiagnosed as exanthema due to measles vaccination. Therefore, it is important to better characterize the etiology of rash in order to avoid attributing it incorrectly to measles vaccine.

  14. Rash after measles vaccination: laboratory analysis of cases reported in São Paulo, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria I Oliveira

    2002-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The clinical differential diagnosis of rash due to viral infections is often difficult, and misdiagnosis is not rare, especially after the introduction of measles and rubella vaccination. A study to determine the etiological diagnosis of exanthema was carried out in a group of children after measles vaccination. METHODS: Sera collected from children with rash who received measles vaccine were reported in 1999. They were analyzed for IgM antibodies against measles virus, rubella virus, human parvovirus B19 (HPV B19 using ELISA commercial techniques, and human herpes virus 6 (HHV 6 using immunofluorescence commercial technique. Viremia for each of those viruses was tested using a polimerase chain reaction (PCR. RESULTS: A total of 17 cases of children with exanthema after measles immunization were reported in 1999. The children, aged 9 to 12 months (median 10 months, had a blood sample taken for laboratory analysis. The time between vaccination and the first rash signs varied from 1 to 60 days. The serological results of those 17 children suspected of measles or rubella infection showed the following etiological diagnosis: 17.6% (3 in 17 HPV B19 infection; 76.5% (13 in 17 HHV 6 infection; 5.9% (1 in 17 rash due to measles vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: The study data indicate that infection due to HPV B19 or HHV 6 can be misdiagnosed as exanthema due to measles vaccination. Therefore, it is important to better characterize the etiology of rash in order to avoid attributing it incorrectly to measles vaccine.

  15. Childhood vaccines and Kawasaki disease, Vaccine Safety Datalink, 1996-2006.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrams, Joseph Y; Weintraub, Eric S; Baggs, James M; McCarthy, Natalie L; Schonberger, Lawrence B; Lee, Grace M; Klein, Nicola P; Belongia, Edward A; Jackson, Michael L; Naleway, Allison L; Nordin, James D; Hambidge, Simon J; Belay, Ermias D

    2015-01-03

    Kawasaki disease is a childhood vascular disorder of unknown etiology. Concerns have been raised about vaccinations being a potential risk factor for Kawasaki disease. Data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink were collected on children aged 0-6 years at seven managed care organizations across the United States. Defining exposure as one of several time periods up to 42 days after vaccination, we conducted Poisson regressions controlling for age, sex, season, and managed care organization to determine if rates of physician-diagnosed and verified Kawasaki disease were elevated following vaccination compared to rates during all unexposed periods. We also performed case-crossover analyses to control for unmeasured confounding. A total of 1,721,186 children aged 0-6 years from seven managed care organizations were followed for a combined 4,417,766 person-years. The rate of verified Kawasaki disease was significantly lower during the 1-42 days after vaccination (rate ratio=0.50, 95% CL=0.27-0.92) and 8-42 days after vaccination (rate ratio=0.45, 95% CL=0.22-0.90) compared to rates during unexposed periods. Breaking down the analysis by vaccination category did not identify a subset of vaccines which was solely responsible for this association. The case-crossover analyses revealed that children with Kawasaki disease had lower rates of vaccination in the 42 days prior to symptom onset for both physician-diagnosed Kawasaki disease (rate ratio=0.79, 95% CL=0.64-0.97) and verified Kawasaki disease (rate ratio=0.38, 95% CL=0.20-0.75). Childhood vaccinations' studied did not increase the risk of Kawasaki disease; conversely, vaccination was associated with a transient decrease in Kawasaki disease incidence. Verifying and understanding this potential protective effect could yield clues to the underlying etiology of Kawasaki disease. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Economic analysis for evidence-based policy-making on a national immunization program: a case of rotavirus vaccine in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muangchana, Charung; Riewpaiboon, Arthorn; Jiamsiri, Suchada; Thamapornpilas, Piyanit; Warinsatian, Porpit

    2012-04-16

    Severe diarrhea caused by rotavirus is a health problem worldwide, including Thailand. The World Health Organization has recommended incorporating rotavirus vaccination into national immunization programs. This policy has been implemented in several countries, but not in Thailand where the mortality rate is not high. This leads to the question of whether it would be cost-effective to implement such a policy. The Thai National Vaccine Committee, through the Immunization Practice Subcommittee, has conducted an economic analysis. Their study aimed to estimate the costs of rotavirus diarrhea and of a rotavirus vaccination program, and the cost-effectiveness of such a program including budget impact analysis. The study was designed as an economic evaluation, employing modeling technique in both provider and societal perspectives. A birth cohort of Thai children in 2009 was used in the analysis, with a 5-year time horizon. Costs were composed of cost of the illness and the vaccination program. Outcomes were measured in the form of lives saved and DALYs averted. Both costs and outcomes were discounted at 3%. The study found the discounted number of deaths to be 7.02 and 20.52 for vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts, respectively (13.5 deaths averted). Discounted DALYs were 263.33 and 826.57 for vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts, respectively (563.24 DALYs averted). Costs of rotavirus diarrhea in a societal perspective were US$6.6 million and US$21.0 million for vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts, respectively. At base case, the costs per additional death averted were US$5.1 million and US$5.7 for 2-dose and 3-dose vaccines, respectively, in a societal perspective. Costs per additional DALYs averted were US$128,063 and US$142,144, respectively. In a societal perspective, with a cost-effectiveness threshold at 1 GDP per capita per DALYs averted, vaccine prices per dose were US$4.98 and US$3.32 for 2-dose and 3-dose vaccines, respectively; in a provider perspective, they

  17. Girls' explanations for being unvaccinated or under vaccinated against human papillomavirus: a content analysis of survey responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forster, Alice S; Waller, Jo; Bowyer, Harriet L; Marlow, Laura A V

    2015-12-22

    In England HPV vaccination is offered to all girls age 12-13 years, free-at-the-point-of-receipt, mostly in schools. Coverage is good, but around 20% of girls remain unvaccinated. This research sought to explore reasons for being un-/under vaccinated. An ethnically diverse sample of girls aged 15-16 years attending one of twelve London schools completed a survey three years after being offered HPV vaccination. Girls reported their HPV vaccine status and those who were unvaccinated (had not received any doses of the vaccine) or under vaccinated (had not completed the recommended 3-dose course) recorded reasons for their un-/under vaccinated status. Reasons were reported using free-text and content analysis was used to analyse responses. Around 74% of un-/under vaccinated girls provided a reason for their vaccination status (n = 259). Among unvaccinated girls, the most common reasons related to lack of perceived need for vaccination, concerns about safety and lack of parental consent. Girls who were under vaccinated gave practical reasons, including the need for more information (e.g. not knowing that multiple doses were needed), administrative issues (e.g. school absence), health and procedural concerns (e.g. fear of needles). Descriptively, there were few differences in the reasons given between girls from different ethnic backgrounds. Girls from Black and Asian backgrounds more commonly thought that the vaccine was not needed. Lack of parental consent without providing further explanation was most often cited by girls from Black backgrounds. Safety concerns and lack of perceived need should be addressed to encourage informed uptake of HPV vaccination. Immunisation programme coordinators may be able to increase series completion by tackling practical problems facing under vaccinated girls.

  18. Analysis of Longitudinal Waves in Rod-Type Piezoelectric Phononic Crystals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Longfei Li

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Phononic crystals can be used to control elastic waves due to their frequency bands. This paper analyzes the passive and active control as well as the dispersion properties of longitudinal waves in rod-type piezoelectric phononic crystals over large frequency ranges. Based on the Love rod theory for modeling the longitudinal wave motions in the constituent rods and the method of reverberation-ray matrix (MRRM for deriving the member transfer matrices of the constituent rods, a modified transfer matrix method (MTMM is proposed for the analysis of dispersion curves by combining with the Floquet–Bloch principle and for the calculation of transmission spectra. Numerical examples are provided to validate the proposed MTMM for analyzing the band structures in both low and high frequency ranges. The passive control of longitudinal-wave band structures is studied by discussing the influences of the electrode’s thickness, the Poisson’s effect and the elastic rod inserts in the unit cell. The influences of electrical boundaries (including electric-open, applied electric capacity, electric-short and applied feedback control conditions on the band structures are investigated to illustrate the active control scheme. From the calculated comprehensive frequency spectra over a large frequency range, the dispersion properties of the characteristic longitudinal waves in rod-type piezoelectric phononic crystals are summarized.

  19. Global Foot-and-Mouth Disease Research Update and Gap Analysis: 3 - Vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, L; Knight-Jones, T J D; Charleston, B; Rodriguez, L L; Gay, C G; Sumption, K J; Vosloo, W

    2016-06-01

    This study assessed research knowledge gaps in the field of FMDV (foot-and-mouth disease virus) vaccines. The study took the form of a literature review (2011-15) combined with research updates collected in 2014 from 33 institutes from across the world. Findings were used to identify priority areas for future FMD vaccine research. Vaccines play a vital role in FMD control, used both to limit the spread of the virus during epidemics in FMD-free countries and as the mainstay of disease management in endemic regions, particularly where sanitary controls are difficult to apply. Improvements in the performance or cost-effectiveness of FMD vaccines will allow more widespread and efficient disease control. FMD vaccines have changed little in recent decades, typically produced by inactivation of whole virus, the quantity and stability of the intact viral capsids in the final preparation being key for immunogenicity. However, these are exciting times and several promising novel FMD vaccine candidates have recently been developed. This includes the first FMD vaccine licensed for manufacture and use in the USA; this adenovirus-vectored FMD vaccine causes in vivo expression of viral capsids in vaccinated animals. Another promising vaccine candidate comprises stabilized empty FMDV capsids produced in vitro in a baculovirus expression system. Recombinant technologies are also being developed to improve otherwise conventionally produced inactivated vaccines, for example, by creating a chimeric vaccine virus to increase capsid stability and by inserting sequences into the vaccine virus for desired antigen expression. Other important areas of ongoing research include enhanced adjuvants, vaccine quality control procedures and predicting vaccine protection from immune correlates, thus reducing dependency on animal challenge studies. Globally, the degree of independent vaccine evaluation is highly variable, and this is essential for vaccine quality. Previously neglected, the

  20. Characteristics of Articles About Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in Japanese Newspapers: Time-Series Analysis Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueda, Nao; Yokouchi, Ryoki; Onoda, Taro; Ogihara, Atsushi

    2017-12-19

    Media coverage and reports have a major influence on individual vaccination and other health-related activities. People use the media to seek information and knowledge on health-related behaviors. They obtain health-related information from media such as television and newspapers, and they trust such information. While several studies have examined the relation between media coverage and individual health, there is a lack of studies that have analyzed media reports of health information. In particular, we have found no analyses related to cervical cancer (human papillomavirus [HPV]) vaccine. This study aimed to identify mentions of cervical cancer vaccine in Japan's printed news media and to determine their characteristics. We used the archival databases of 2 Japanese newspapers, Yomiuri Shimbun (Yomidasu Rekishikan) and Asahi Shimbun (Kikuzo II Visual), for text mining. First, we created a database by extracting articles published between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2014, that matched the terms "cervical cancer" AND "vaccination" in a keyword search. Then, we tallied the extracted articles based on the month of publication and number of characters in order to conduct a time-series analysis. We extracted a total of 219 articles. Of these, 154 (70.3%) were positive and 51 (23.3%) were negative toward HPV vaccination. Of the 51 negative articles, 4 (7.8%) were published before June 2013, when routine vaccination was temporarily discontinued due to concerns regarding side effects, and 47 (92.2%) were published since then. The negative reports commonly cited side effects, although prior to June 2013, these issues were hardly mentioned. Although foreign media reports mentioned side effects before routine vaccination was temporarily discontinued, fewer articles mentioned side effects than recommendations for vaccination. Furthermore, on June 13, 2013, the World Health Organization's advisory body Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety issued a statement

  1. Public health impact and cost effectiveness of mass vaccination with live attenuated human rotavirus vaccine (RIX4414) in India: model based analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Johnie; Hawthorn, Rachael L; Watts, Brook; Singer, Mendel E

    2009-09-25

    To examine the public health impact of mass vaccination with live attenuated human rotavirus vaccine (RIX4414) in a birth cohort in India, and to estimate the cost effectiveness and affordability of such a programme. Decision analytical Markov model encompassing all direct medical costs. Infection risk and severity depended on age, number of previous infections, and vaccination history; probabilities of use of inpatient and outpatient health services depended on symptom severity. Published clinical, epidemiological, and economic data. When possible, parameter estimates were based on data specific for India. Population Simulated Indian birth cohort followed for five years. Decrease in rotavirus gastroenteritis episodes (non-severe and severe), deaths, outpatient visits, and admission to hospital; incremental cost effectiveness ratio of vaccination expressed as net cost in 2007 rupees per life year saved. In the base case, vaccination prevented 28,943 (29.7%) symptomatic episodes, 6981 (38.2%) severe episodes, 164 deaths (41.0%), 7178 (33.3%) outpatient visits, and 812 (34.3%) admissions to hospital per 100,000 children. Vaccination cost 8023 rupees (about pound100, euro113, $165) per life year saved, less than India's per capita gross domestic product, a common criterion for cost effectiveness. The net programme cost would be equivalent to 11.6% of the 2006-7 budget of the Indian Department of Health and Family Welfare. Model results were most sensitive to variations in access to outpatient care for those with severe symptoms. If this parameter was increased to its upper limit, the incremental cost effectiveness ratio for vaccination still fell between one and three times the per capita gross domestic product, meeting the World Health Organization's criterion for "cost effective" interventions. Uncertainty analysis indicated a 94.7% probability that vaccination would be cost effective according to a criterion of one times per capita gross domestic product per life

  2. Vaccine instability in the cold chain: mechanisms, analysis and formulation strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumru, Ozan S; Joshi, Sangeeta B; Smith, Dawn E; Middaugh, C Russell; Prusik, Ted; Volkin, David B

    2014-09-01

    Instability of vaccines often emerges as a key challenge during clinical development (lab to clinic) as well as commercial distribution (factory to patient). To yield stable, efficacious vaccine dosage forms for human use, successful formulation strategies must address a combination of interrelated topics including stabilization of antigens, selection of appropriate adjuvants, and development of stability-indicating analytical methods. This review covers key concepts in understanding the causes and mechanisms of vaccine instability including (1) the complex and delicate nature of antigen structures (e.g., viruses, proteins, carbohydrates, protein-carbohydrate conjugates, etc.), (2) use of adjuvants to further enhance immune responses, (3) development of physicochemical and biological assays to assess vaccine integrity and potency, and (4) stabilization strategies to protect vaccine antigens and adjuvants (and their interactions) during storage. Despite these challenges, vaccines can usually be sufficiently stabilized for use as medicines through a combination of formulation approaches combined with maintenance of an efficient cold chain (manufacturing, distribution, storage and administration). Several illustrative case studies are described regarding mechanisms of vaccine instability along with formulation approaches for stabilization within the vaccine cold chain. These include live, attenuated (measles, polio) and inactivated (influenza, polio) viral vaccines as well as recombinant protein (hepatitis B) vaccines. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Clinical effectiveness and cost effect analysis of quadrivalent HPV vaccine

    OpenAIRE

    Lekić, Nataša

    2008-01-01

    1 ABSTRACT Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine- Evaluation of clinical effectiveness and national vaccine programs Author: Nataša Lekić Research Advisor: PharmDr. Lenka Práznovcová, Ph.D. Department of Social and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové, Charles University in Prague. SUMMARY QUADRIVALENT HPV VACCINE- EVALUATION OF CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS AND NATIONAL VACCINE PROGRAMS Background: Human papillomavirus types 6, 11,16 and 18 cause majority of genital warts an...

  4. Parents' uptake of human papillomavirus vaccines for their children: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Peter A; Logie, Carmen H; Lacombe-Duncan, Ashley; Baiden, Philip; Tepjan, Suchon; Rubincam, Clara; Doukas, Nick; Asey, Farid

    2018-04-20

    To examine factors associated with parents' uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines for their children. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Cochrane Library, AIDSLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Social Sciences Abstracts, Ovid MEDLINE, Scholars Portal, Social Sciences Citation Index and Dissertation Abstracts International from inception through November 2017. We included studies that sampled parents and assessed uptake of HPV vaccines for their children (≤18 years) and/or sociodemographics, knowledge, attitudes or other factors associated with uptake. Study risk of bias was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool. We pooled data using random-effects meta-analysis and conducted moderation analyses to examine variance in uptake by sex of child and parent. Seventy-nine studies on 840 838 parents across 15 countries were included. The pooled proportion of parents' uptake of HPV vaccines for their children was 41.5% (range: 0.7%-92.8%), twofold higher for girls (46.5%) than for boys (20.3%). In the meta-analysis of 62 studies, physician recommendation (r=0.46 (95% CI 0.34 to 0.56)) had the greatest influence on parents' uptake, followed by HPV vaccine safety concerns (r=-0.31 (95% CI -0.41 to -0.16)), routine child preventive check-up, past 12 months (r=0.22 (95% CI 0.11 to 0.33)) and parents' belief in vaccines (r=0.19 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.29)). Health insurance-covered HPV vaccination (r=0.16 (95% CI 0.04 to 0.29)) and lower out-of-pocket cost (r=-0.15 (95% CI -0.22 to -0.07)) had significant effects on uptake. We found significant moderator effects for sex of child. Findings indicate suboptimal levels of HPV vaccine uptake, twofold lower among boys, that may be improved by increasing physician recommendations, addressing parental safety concerns and promoting parents' positive beliefs about vaccines, in addition to expanding insurance coverage and reducing out-of-pocket costs. Limitations of this meta-analysis include the lack of

  5. BCG vaccination in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency: complications, risks, and vaccination policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marciano, Beatriz E; Huang, Chiung-Yu; Joshi, Gyan; Rezaei, Nima; Carvalho, Beatriz Costa; Allwood, Zoe; Ikinciogullari, Aydan; Reda, Shereen M; Gennery, Andrew; Thon, Vojtech; Espinosa-Rosales, Francisco; Al-Herz, Waleed; Porras, Oscar; Shcherbina, Anna; Szaflarska, Anna; Kiliç, Şebnem; Franco, Jose L; Gómez Raccio, Andrea C; Roxo, Persio; Esteves, Isabel; Galal, Nermeen; Grumach, Anete Sevciovic; Al-Tamemi, Salem; Yildiran, Alisan; Orellana, Julio C; Yamada, Masafumi; Morio, Tomohiro; Liberatore, Diana; Ohtsuka, Yoshitoshi; Lau, Yu-Lung; Nishikomori, Ryuta; Torres-Lozano, Carlos; Mazzucchelli, Juliana T L; Vilela, Maria M S; Tavares, Fabiola S; Cunha, Luciana; Pinto, Jorge A; Espinosa-Padilla, Sara E; Hernandez-Nieto, Leticia; Elfeky, Reem A; Ariga, Tadashi; Toshio, Heike; Dogu, Figen; Cipe, Funda; Formankova, Renata; Nuñez-Nuñez, M Enriqueta; Bezrodnik, Liliana; Marques, Jose Gonçalo; Pereira, María I; Listello, Viviana; Slatter, Mary A; Nademi, Zohreh; Kowalczyk, Danuta; Fleisher, Thomas A; Davies, Graham; Neven, Bénédicte; Rosenzweig, Sergio D

    2014-04-01

    Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a syndrome characterized by profound T-cell deficiency. BCG vaccine is contraindicated in patients with SCID. Because most countries encourage BCG vaccination at birth, a high percentage of patients with SCID are vaccinated before their immune defect is detected. We sought to describe the complications and risks associated with BCG vaccination in patients with SCID. An extensive standardized questionnaire evaluating complications, therapeutics, and outcomes regarding BCG vaccination in patients given a diagnosis of SCID was widely distributed. Summary statistics and association analysis was performed. Data on 349 BCG-vaccinated patients with SCID from 28 centers in 17 countries were analyzed. Fifty-one percent of the patients had BCG-associated complications, 34% disseminated and 17% localized (a 33,000- and 400-fold increase, respectively, over the general population). Patients receiving early vaccination (≤1 month) showed an increased prevalence of complications (P = .006) and death caused by BCG-associated complications (P vaccine has a very high rate of complications in patients with SCID, which increase morbidity and mortality rates. Until safer and more efficient antituberculosis vaccines become available, delay in BCG vaccination should be considered to protect highly vulnerable populations from preventable complications. Published by Mosby, Inc.

  6. Sorting through search results: a content analysis of HPV vaccine information online.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madden, Kelly; Nan, Xiaoli; Briones, Rowena; Waks, Leah

    2012-05-28

    Surveys have shown that many people now turn to the Internet for health information when making health-related decisions. This study systematically analyzed the HPV vaccine information returned by online search engines. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease and is the leading cause of cervical cancers. We conducted a content analysis of 89 top search results from Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask.com. The websites were analyzed with respect to source, tone, information related to specific content analyzed through the lens of the Health Belief Model, and in terms of two content themes (i.e., conspiracy theories and civil liberties). The relations among these aspects of the websites were also explored. Most websites were published by nonprofit or academic sources (34.8%) and governmental agencies (27.4%) and were neutral in tone (57.3%), neither promoting nor opposing the HPV vaccine. Overall, the websites presented suboptimal or inaccurate information related to the five behavioral predictors stipulated in the Health Belief Model. Questions related to civil liberties were present on some websites. Health professionals designing online communication with the intent of increasing HPV vaccine uptake should take care to include information about the risks of HPV, including susceptibility and severity. Additionally, websites should include information about the benefits of the vaccine (i.e., effective against HPV), low side effects as a barrier that can be overcome, and ways in which to receive the vaccine to raise individual self-efficacy. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Multilevel predictors of adolescent physical activity: a longitudinal analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hearst Mary O

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background To examine how factors from a social ecologic model predict physical activity (PA among adolescents using a longitudinal analysis. Methods Participants in this longitudinal study were adolescents (ages 10-16 at baseline and one parent enrolled in the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer-Identifying Determinants of Eating and Activity (TREC-IDEA and the Etiology of Childhood Obesity (ECHO. Both studies were designed to assess a socio-ecologic model of adolescent obesity risk. PA was collected using ActiGraph activity monitors at two time points 24 months apart. Other measures included objective height and weight, adolescent and parent questionnaires on multilevel psychological, behavioral and social determinants of PA, and a home PA equipment inventory. Analysis was conducted using SAS, including descriptive characteristics, bivariate and stepped multivariate mixed models, using baseline adjustment. Models were stratified by gender. Results There were 578 adolescents with complete data. Results suggest few statistically significant longitudinal associations with physical activity measured as minutes of MVPA or total counts from accelerometers. For boys, greater self-efficacy (B = 0.75, p = 0.01 and baseline MVPA (B = 0.55, p p = 0.01 and barriers (B = -0.32, p = 0.05 significantly predicted MVPA at follow-up in the full model. The full multilevel model explained 30% of the variance in PA among boys and 24% among girls. Conclusions PA change in adolescents is a complex issue that is not easily understood. Our findings suggest early PA habits are the most important predictor of PA levels in adolescence. Intervention may be necessary prior to middle school to maintain PA through adolescence.

  8. Evaluating the value proposition for improving vaccine thermostability to increase vaccine impact in low and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karp, Christopher L; Lans, Deborah; Esparza, José; Edson, Eleanore B; Owen, Katey E; Wilson, Christopher B; Heaton, Penny M; Levine, Orin S; Rao, Raja

    2015-07-09

    The need to keep vaccines cold in the face of high ambient temperatures and unreliable access to electricity is a challenge that limits vaccine coverage in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Greater vaccine thermostability is generally touted as the obvious solution. Despite conventional wisdom, comprehensive analysis of the value proposition for increasing vaccine thermostability has been lacking. Further, while significant investments have been made in increasing vaccine thermostability in recent years, no vaccine products have been commercialized as a result. We analyzed the value proposition for increasing vaccine thermostability, grounding the analysis in specific vaccine use cases (e.g., use in routine immunization [RI] programs, or in campaigns) and in the broader context of cold chain technology and country level supply chain system design. The results were often surprising. For example, cold chain costs actually represent a relatively small fraction of total vaccine delivery system costs. Further, there are critical, vaccine use case-specific temporal thresholds that need to be overcome for significant benefits to be reaped from increasing vaccine thermostability. We present a number of recommendations deriving from this analysis that suggest a rational path toward unlocking the value (maximizing coverage, minimizing total system costs) of increased vaccine thermostability, including: (1) the full range of thermostability of existing vaccines should be defined and included in their labels; (2) for new vaccines, thermostability goals should be addressed up-front at the level of the target product profile; (3) improving cold chain infrastructure and supply chain system design is likely to have the largest impact on total system costs and coverage in the short term-and will influence the degree of thermostability required in the future; (4) in the long term, there remains value in monitoring the emergence of disruptive technologies that could remove the

  9. Influenza during pregnancy: Incidence, vaccination coverage and attitudes toward vaccination in the French web-based cohort G-GrippeNet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loubet, Paul; Guerrisi, Caroline; Turbelin, Clément; Blondel, Béatrice; Launay, Odile; Bardou, Marc; Goffinet, François; Colizza, Vittoria; Hanslik, Thomas; Kernéis, Solen

    2016-04-29

    Pregnancy is a risk factor for severe influenza. However, data on influenza incidence during pregnancy are scarce. Likewise, no data are available on influenza vaccine coverage in France since national recommendation in 2012. We aimed to assess these points using a novel nationwide web-based surveillance system, G-GrippeNet. During the 2014/2015 influenza season, pregnant women living in metropolitan France were enrolled through a web platform (https://www.grippenet.fr/). Throughout the season, participants were asked to report, on a weekly basis, if they had experienced symptoms of influenza-like-illness (ILI). ILI episodes reported were used to calculate incidence density rates based on period of participation from each participant. Vaccination coverage was estimated after weighing on age and education level from national data on pregnant women. Factors associated with higher vaccination coverage were obtained through a logistic regression with Odds Ratio (OR) corrected with the Zhang and Yu method. A total of 153 women were enrolled. ILI incidence density rate was 1.8 per 100 person-week (95% CI, 1.5-2.1). This rate was higher in women older than 40 years (RR = 3.0, 95% CI [1.1-8.3], p = 0.03) and during first/second trimesters compared to third trimester (RR = 4.0, 95% CI [1.4-12.0], p = 0.01). Crude vaccination coverage was 39% (95% CI, 31-47) and weighted vaccination coverage was estimated at 26% (95% CI, 20-34). Health care provider recommendation for vaccination (corrected OR = 7.8; 95% CI [3.0-17.1]) and non-smoking status (cOR = 2.1; 95% CI [1.2-6.9]) were associated with higher vaccine uptake. This original web based longitudinal surveillance study design proved feasible in pregnant women population. First results are of interest and underline that public health policies should emphasize the vaccination promotion through health care providers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Green revolution vaccines, edible vaccines

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Admin

    of development. Food vaccines may also help to suppress autoimmunity disorders such as Type-1. Diabetes. Key words: Edible vaccines, oral vaccines, antigen expression, food vaccines. INTRODUCTION. Vaccination involves the stimulation of the immune system to prepare it for the event of an invasion from a particular ...

  11. Analysis on Longitudinal Dose according to Change of Field Width

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Won Seok; Shin, Ryung Mi; Oh, Byung Cheon; Jo, Jun Young; Kim, Gi Chul; Choi, Tae Gu; Back, Jong Geal

    2011-01-01

    To analyze the accuracy of tumor volume dose following field width change, to check the difference of dose change by using self-made moving car, and to evaluate practical delivery tumor dose when tomotherapy in the treatment of organ influenced by breathing. By using self-made moving car, the difference of longitudinal movement (0.0 cm, 1.0 cm, 1.5 cm, 2.0 cm) was applied and compared calculated dose with measured dose according to change of field width (1.05 cm, 2.50 cm, 5.02 cm) and apprehended margin of error. Then done comparative analysis in degree of photosensitivity of DQA film measured by using Gafchromic EBT film. Dose profile and Gamma histogram were used to measure degree of photosensitivity of DQA film. When field width were 1.05 cm, 2.50 cm, 5.02 cm, margin of error of dose delivery coefficient was -2.00%, -0.39%, -2.55%. In dose profile of Gafchromic EBT film's analysis, the movement of moving car had greater motion toward longitudinal direction and as field width was narrower, big error increased considerably at high dose part compared to calculated dose. The more field width was narrowed, gamma index had a large considerable influence of moving at gamma histogram. We could check the difference of longitudinal dose of moving organ. In order to small field width and minimize organ moving due to breathing, it is thought to be needed to develop breathing control unit and fixation tool.

  12. Acute hepatitis B caused by a vaccine-escape HBV strain in vaccinated subject: sequence analysis and therapeutic strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luongo, Monica; Critelli, Rosina; Grottola, Antonella; Gitto, Stefano; Bernabucci, Veronica; Bevini, Mirco; Vecchi, Chiara; Montagnani, Giuliano; Villa, Erica

    2015-01-01

    HBV vaccine contains the 'a' determinant region, the major immune-target of antibodies (anti-HBs). Failure of immunization may be caused by vaccine-induced or spontaneous 'a' determinant surface gene mutants. Here, we evaluate the possible lack of protection by HBV vaccine, describing the case of an acute hepatitis B diagnosed in a 55-year-old Caucasian male unpaid blood donor, vaccinated against HBV. Sequencing data for preS-S region revealed multiple point mutations. Of all the substitutions found, Q129H, located in the "a" determinant region of HBsAg, can alter antigenicity, leading to mutants. This mutant may cause vaccine failure especially when associated with high viremia of infecting source. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Intervention analysis of introduction of rotavirus vaccine on hospital admissions rates due to acute diarrhea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria de Lourdes Teixeira Masukawa

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of rotavirus vaccine on hospitalization rates for acute diarrhea in children younger than 5 years old after the introduction of the vaccine in 2006. A descriptive analytical observational study was carried out of the hospitalization rates occurred between 2000 and 2011 in 22 Regional Health Centers of Paraná State, Brazil. The effect of the vaccine was assessed by applying the SARIMA/Box-Jenkins time series methodology of intervention analysis, which allows verifying the slopes of the series are different after the introduction of the vaccine and estimating the magnitude of these effects for children younger than five years of age, by age group, for each region center. It was verified a statistically significant reduction by center/month on hospitalization rates for children 1 year old and younger, with averages of 47% and 58%, respectively, in December 2011.

  14. Life course vaccination and healthy aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gusmano, Michael K; Michel, Jean-Pierre

    2009-06-01

    The authors notice the low vaccine coverage rate among European citizens and inventory the multiple reasons leading to the non-use of preventable infectious diseases vaccines in adults whose mortality consequences represent an important and unexpected burden of diseases. These facts are in close relation with the disruption of vaccine recommendations after the childhood vaccine program, the poor literacy knowledge concerning vaccines among the general population, but also unfortunately among physicians and other health care workers. Popular beliefs, fear of side-effects, fear of needles facilitated the constitution of active non-vaccine groups which conduct to the reappearance in non-vaccinated adults and with dramatic consequences of preventable childhood infectious diseases. This careful analysis of the current preventable infectious disease vaccine coverage in old adults leads to propose a life course vaccine programme including adult vaccinations as part of healthy aging as well as old adults' vaccine guidelines integrated in health prevention programs.

  15. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Perspectives on HPV vaccination among girls, boys, and parents in the Netherlands: a Q-methodological study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patty, Nathalie J S; van Dijk, Hanna Maria; Wallenburg, Iris; Bal, Roland; Helmerhorst, Theo J M; van Exel, Job; Cramm, Jane Murray

    2017-11-07

    Despite the introduction of Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in national immunization programs (NIPs), vaccination rates in most countries remain relatively low. An understanding of the reasons underlying decisions about whether to vaccinate is essential in order to promote wider spread of HPV vaccination. This is particularly important in relation to policies seeking to address shortfalls in current HPV campaigns. The aim of this study was to explore prevailing perspectives concerning HPV vaccination among girls, boys, and parents, and so to identify potential determinants of HPV vaccination decisions in these groups. Perspectives were explored using Q-methodology. Forty-seven girls, 39 boys, and 107 parents in the Netherlands were asked to rank a comprehensive set of 35 statements, assembled based on the health belief model (HBM), according to their agreement with them. By-person factor analysis was used to identify common patterns in these rankings, which were interpreted as perspectives on HPV vaccination. These perspectives were further interpreted and described using data collected with interviews and open-ended questions. The analysis revealed four perspectives: "prevention is better than cure," "fear of unknown side effects," "lack of information and awareness," and "my body, my choice." The first two perspectives and corresponding determinants of HPV vaccination decisions were coherent and distinct; the third and fourth perspectives were more ambiguous and, to some extent, incoherent, involving doubt and lack of awareness and information (perspective 3), and overconfidence (perspective 4). Given the aim of publically funded vaccination programs to minimize the spread of HPV infection and HPV-related disease and the concerns about current uptake levels, our results indicate that focus should be placed on increasing awareness and knowledge, in particular among those in a modifiable phase.

  16. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Perspectives on HPV vaccination among girls, boys, and parents in the Netherlands: a Q-methodological study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathalie J. S. Patty

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the introduction of Human papillomavirus (HPV vaccination in national immunization programs (NIPs, vaccination rates in most countries remain relatively low. An understanding of the reasons underlying decisions about whether to vaccinate is essential in order to promote wider spread of HPV vaccination. This is particularly important in relation to policies seeking to address shortfalls in current HPV campaigns. The aim of this study was to explore prevailing perspectives concerning HPV vaccination among girls, boys, and parents, and so to identify potential determinants of HPV vaccination decisions in these groups. Method Perspectives were explored using Q-methodology. Forty-seven girls, 39 boys, and 107 parents in the Netherlands were asked to rank a comprehensive set of 35 statements, assembled based on the health belief model (HBM, according to their agreement with them. By-person factor analysis was used to identify common patterns in these rankings, which were interpreted as perspectives on HPV vaccination. These perspectives were further interpreted and described using data collected with interviews and open-ended questions. Results The analysis revealed four perspectives: “prevention is better than cure,” “fear of unknown side effects,” “lack of information and awareness,” and “my body, my choice.” The first two perspectives and corresponding determinants of HPV vaccination decisions were coherent and distinct; the third and fourth perspectives were more ambiguous and, to some extent, incoherent, involving doubt and lack of awareness and information (perspective 3, and overconfidence (perspective 4. Conclusions Given the aim of publically funded vaccination programs to minimize the spread of HPV infection and HPV-related disease and the concerns about current uptake levels, our results indicate that focus should be placed on increasing awareness and knowledge, in particular among those in a

  17. Durability of Vaccine-Induced Immunity Against Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxins: A Cross-sectional Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammarlund, Erika; Thomas, Archana; Poore, Elizabeth A.; Amanna, Ian J.; Rynko, Abby E.; Mori, Motomi; Chen, Zunqiu; Slifka, Mark K.

    2016-01-01

    Background. Many adult immunization schedules recommend that tetanus and diphtheria vaccination be performed every 10 years. In light of current epidemiological trends of disease incidence and rates of vaccine-associated adverse events, the 10-year revaccination schedule has come into question. Methods. We performed cross-sectional analysis of serum antibody titers in 546 adult subjects stratified by age or sex. All serological results were converted to international units after calibration with international serum standards. Results. Approximately 97% of the population was seropositive to tetanus and diphtheria as defined by a protective serum antibody titer of ≥0.01 IU/mL. Mean antibody titers were 3.6 and 0.35 IU/mL against tetanus and diphtheria, respectively. Antibody responses to tetanus declined with an estimated half-life of 14 years (95% confidence interval, 11–17 years), whereas antibody responses to diphtheria were more long-lived and declined with an estimated half-life of 27 years (18–51 years). Mathematical models combining antibody magnitude and duration predict that 95% of the population will remain protected against tetanus and diphtheria for ≥30 years without requiring further booster vaccination. Conclusions. These studies demonstrate that durable levels of protective antitoxin immunity exist in the majority of vaccinated individuals. Together, this suggests that it may no longer be necessary to administer booster vaccinations every 10 years and that the current adult vaccination schedule for tetanus and diphtheria should be revisited. PMID:27060790

  18. Analysis of mumps vaccine failure by means of avidity testing for mumps virus-specific immunoglobulin G.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narita, M; Matsuzono, Y; Takekoshi, Y; Yamada, S; Itakura, O; Kubota, M; Kikuta, H; Togashi, T

    1998-11-01

    To characterize patients with mumps vaccine failure, avidity testing was performed with the Enzygnost Anti-Parotitis Virus/IgG kit using a single-dilution-6 M urea denaturation method. Five groups of patients were tested. Group 1 consisted of 29 patients with primary mumps infections; group 2 was 20 children and adults with a definite history of natural infection; group 3 was 7 patients with a recent mumps vaccination, 1 of whom developed parotid gland swelling and aseptic meningitis; group 4 was 14 patients with mumps vaccine failure; and group 5 was 6 patients with recurrent episodes of parotitis in addition to a history of vaccination. On the basis of the results of groups 1 and 2, an avidity of /=32% was determined to be high. Avidity maturation from low to high appears to occur around 180 days after the acute illness. The results of group 3 showed that the vaccine-induced immunoglobulin G (IgG) had very low avidity. Among the 14 patients in group 4, 12 patients, including 7 with a positive IgM response, were diagnosed as having secondary vaccine failures. The results of group 5 suggested the possibility that the avidity of the mumps vaccine-induced IgG remains low or borderline. These results showed that secondary mumps vaccine failure occurs not infrequently, even among school age children under condition in which the vaccine coverage is low (i.e., 33% in our study population), and therefore, vaccinees are prone to be exposed to wild-type viruses. Avidity testing should provide information useful for the analysis of mumps virus infections.

  19. Cost-effectiveness analysis of the introduction of a quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergeron, Christine; Largeron, Nathalie; McAllister, Ruth; Mathevet, Patrice; Remy, Vanessa

    2008-01-01

    A vaccine to prevent diseases due to human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18 is now available in France. The objective of this study was to assess the health and economic impact in France of implementing a quadrivalent HPV vaccine alongside existing screening practices versus screening alone. A Markov model of the natural history of HPV infection incorporating screening and vaccination, was adapted to the French context. A vaccine that would prevent 100 percent of HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18-associated diseases, with lifetime duration and 80 percent coverage, given to girls at age 14 in conjunction with current screening was compared with screening alone. Results were analyzed from both a direct healthcare cost perspective (DCP) and a third-party payer perspective (TPP). Indirect costs such as productivity loss were not taken into account in this analysis. The incremental cost per life-year gained from vaccination was euro12,429 (TPP) and euro20,455 (DCP). The incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) for the introduction of HPV vaccination alongside the French cervical cancer screening program was euro8,408 (TPP) and euro13,809 (DCP). Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that cost-effectiveness was stable, but was most sensitive to the discount rate used for costs and benefits. Considering the commonly accepted threshold of euro50,000 per QALY, these analyses support the fact that adding a quadrivalent HPV vaccine to the current screening program in France is a cost-effective strategy for reducing the burden of cervical cancer, precancerous lesions, and genital warts caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18.

  20. Health workers and vaccination coverage in developing countries: an econometric analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anand, Sudhir; Bärnighausen, Till

    2007-04-14

    Vaccine-preventable diseases cause more than 1 million deaths among children in developing countries every year. Although health workers are needed to do vaccinations, the role of human resources for health as a determinant of vaccination coverage at the population level has not been investigated. Our aim was to test whether health worker density was positively associated with childhood vaccination coverage in developing countries. We did cross-country multiple regression analyses with coverage of three vaccinations--measles-containing vaccine (MCV); diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP3); and poliomyelitis (polio3)--as dependent variables. Aggregate health worker density was an independent variable in one set of regressions; doctor and nurse densities were used separately in another set. We controlled for national income per person, female adult literacy, and land area. Health worker density was significantly associated with coverage of all three vaccinations (MCV p=0.0024; DTP3 p=0.0004; polio3 p=0.0008). However, when the effects of doctors and nurses were assessed separately, we found that nurse density was significantly associated with coverage of all three vaccinations (MCV p=0.0097; DTP3 p=0.0083; polio3 p=0.0089), but doctor density was not (MCV p=0.7953; DTP3 p=0.7971; polio3 p=0.7885). Female adult literacy was positively associated, and land area negatively associated, with vaccination coverage. National income per person had no effect on coverage. A higher density of health workers (nurses) increases the availability of vaccination services over time and space, making it more likely that children will be vaccinated. After controlling for other determinants, the level of income does not contribute to improved immunisation coverage. Health workers can be a major constraining factor on vaccination coverage in developing countries.

  1. Vaccine process technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Josefsberg, Jessica O; Buckland, Barry

    2012-06-01

    The evolution of vaccines (e.g., live attenuated, recombinant) and vaccine production methods (e.g., in ovo, cell culture) are intimately tied to each other. As vaccine technology has advanced, the methods to produce the vaccine have advanced and new vaccine opportunities have been created. These technologies will continue to evolve as we strive for safer and more immunogenic vaccines and as our understanding of biology improves. The evolution of vaccine process technology has occurred in parallel to the remarkable growth in the development of therapeutic proteins as products; therefore, recent vaccine innovations can leverage the progress made in the broader biotechnology industry. Numerous important legacy vaccines are still in use today despite their traditional manufacturing processes, with further development focusing on improving stability (e.g., novel excipients) and updating formulation (e.g., combination vaccines) and delivery methods (e.g., skin patches). Modern vaccine development is currently exploiting a wide array of novel technologies to create safer and more efficacious vaccines including: viral vectors produced in animal cells, virus-like particles produced in yeast or insect cells, polysaccharide conjugation to carrier proteins, DNA plasmids produced in E. coli, and therapeutic cancer vaccines created by in vitro activation of patient leukocytes. Purification advances (e.g., membrane adsorption, precipitation) are increasing efficiency, while innovative analytical methods (e.g., microsphere-based multiplex assays, RNA microarrays) are improving process understanding. Novel adjuvants such as monophosphoryl lipid A, which acts on antigen presenting cell toll-like receptors, are expanding the previously conservative list of widely accepted vaccine adjuvants. As in other areas of biotechnology, process characterization by sophisticated analysis is critical not only to improve yields, but also to determine the final product quality. From a regulatory

  2. Value in assessing new vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe La Torre

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Vaccination strategies are recognised as one of the most powerful interventions in the field of Public health worldwide, capable of reducing both morbidity and mortality. There is wide availability of new vaccines, at least in Developed Countries, that have the potential to control infectious diseases, while on the other hand there are new vaccines that will become available in the next few years. This paper aims to describe the different perspectives one could take into account in valuing particularly new vaccines. The epidemiological approach has been one of underlying principles in setting priorities for immunization programs. The introduction in the health market of a new vaccine is based on the assessment of the related burden of infection/disease and the consequent impact on population health. In the economic evaluation approach several types of analysis are available. The budget impact analysis is concerned more with the immediate impact; in this sense cost is considered instead of value as well as giving higher consideration to short-term effects, while cost-effectiveness or cost-utility analysis can be utilised to examine effects in the long term. In the field of vaccinations a public approach through the use of media campaigns or non-profit organisations, might or might not push politicians and physicians to take action to address a perceived health problem via a vaccine. A Health Technology Assessment approach has been developed in some European countries to examine, in a multidisciplinary way, the clinical, economic, organizational, ethical, juridical, social and cultural implications of the introduction or the implementation of a specific technology. The HTA approach in Italy was demonstrated to be a comprehensive tool in assessing the introduction of a new vaccine, giving insight to the issue to several stakeholders, i.e. decision makers, researchers, and patients.

  3. [THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS EFFECTING REFUSAL FROM VACCINATION OF CHILDREN IN THE TOWN OF SEMEII OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baibusinova, A J; Musakhanova, A K; Shalgumbaeva, G M; Dauletiarova, M A; Tokanova, Sh E; Nurtasina, S K

    2015-01-01

    The number of cases of refusal from vaccination increases all over the world. In the Republic of Kazakhstan many studies are devoted to epidemiology of propagation of vaccine-controllable infections, medical aspects ofimmunization, analysis of immunological status and complications of immunization. The issues of awareness of population of the Republic of Kazakhstan about vaccination and refusal of it are investigated insufficiently. This occurrence became a cause of studying the given problem. The study was carried out to investigate attitude ofpopulation to vaccination and main factors of risk of refusal from vaccination of children residing in the city of Semeii and rural districts of the Eastern Kazakhstan oblast. The single-stage longitudinal study was carried out in the Centers of primary medical social care ofpopulation ofcity of Semeii and in polyclinic of the Abaiiskii district of the Eastern Kazakhstan oblast. The period of study continued from April 7 2015 to May 31 2015. The criteria of inclusion were conditionally healthy children. The questionnaire survey included 1184 respondents (mothers) with average age of 27.2 years. The sampling predominantly consisted ofKazakhs (805), Russians (307), representatives ofother nationalities (72). Among mothers, most of them had specialized secondary education (43.7%), the higher education had 30.5%, undergraduate higher education - 1.4%, secondary education - 21.6% and basic school education --2.8%. The results of study demonstrated that families refused from vaccination have negative attitude to vaccination in general though they are satisfied with functioning of vaccination room. The refusal of vaccination is more characterized to urban full families with satisfied income and having girls as children. The respondents consider that information about vaccination received by themfrom medical personnel contains surplus data concerning complications. They are not enouzh for activities in case of deterioration of

  4. Bayesian Nonparametric Longitudinal Data Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quintana, Fernando A; Johnson, Wesley O; Waetjen, Elaine; Gold, Ellen

    2016-01-01

    Practical Bayesian nonparametric methods have been developed across a wide variety of contexts. Here, we develop a novel statistical model that generalizes standard mixed models for longitudinal data that include flexible mean functions as well as combined compound symmetry (CS) and autoregressive (AR) covariance structures. AR structure is often specified through the use of a Gaussian process (GP) with covariance functions that allow longitudinal data to be more correlated if they are observed closer in time than if they are observed farther apart. We allow for AR structure by considering a broader class of models that incorporates a Dirichlet Process Mixture (DPM) over the covariance parameters of the GP. We are able to take advantage of modern Bayesian statistical methods in making full predictive inferences and about characteristics of longitudinal profiles and their differences across covariate combinations. We also take advantage of the generality of our model, which provides for estimation of a variety of covariance structures. We observe that models that fail to incorporate CS or AR structure can result in very poor estimation of a covariance or correlation matrix. In our illustration using hormone data observed on women through the menopausal transition, biology dictates the use of a generalized family of sigmoid functions as a model for time trends across subpopulation categories.

  5. Sexual Orientation Disparities in Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in a Longitudinal Cohort of U.S. Males and Females.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlton, Brittany M; Reisner, Sari L; Agénor, Madina; Gordon, Allegra R; Sarda, Vishnudas; Austin, S Bryn

    2017-06-01

    This study sought to examine how human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination may differ across sexual orientation groups (e.g., bisexuals compared to heterosexuals)-particularly in boys and men, about whom little is known. Data were from a prospective cohort of 10,663 U.S. females and males enrolled in the Growing Up Today Study followed from 1996 to 2014. Participants were aged 11-24 years when the vaccine was approved for females in 2006 and 14-27 years when approved for males in 2009. In addition to reporting sexual orientation identity/attractions, participants reported sex of lifetime sexual partners. Log-binominal models were used to examine HPV vaccination across sexual orientation groups. Among females, 56% received ≥1 dose. In contrast, 8% of males obtained ≥1 dose; HPV vaccination initiation was especially low among completely heterosexual males. After adjusting for potential confounders, completely heterosexual (risk ratio [RR]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45 [0.30-0.68]) and mostly heterosexual (RR; 95% CI: 0.44 [0.25-0.78]) males were half as likely to have received even a single dose compared to gay males. Compared to lesbians, no differences were observed for completely heterosexual or bisexual females, but mostly heterosexual females were 20% more likely to have received at least one dose. HPV vaccination rates in the U.S. are strikingly low and special attention is needed for boys and men, especially those who do not identify as gay. Vaccinating everyone, regardless of sex/gender and/or sexual orientation, will not only lower that individual's susceptibility but also decrease transmission to partners, females and/or males, to help eradicate HPV through herd immunity.

  6. Phase I trial of RV3-BB rotavirus vaccine: a human neonatal rotavirus vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danchin, M; Kirkwood, C D; Lee, K J; Bishop, R F; Watts, E; Justice, F A; Clifford, V; Cowley, D; Buttery, J P; Bines, J E

    2013-05-28

    RV3 is a human neonatal rotavirus strain (G3P[6]) that has been associated with asymptomatic neonatal infection and replicates well in the infant gut. RV3-BB rotavirus vaccine has been developed as a rotavirus vaccine candidate for administration at birth. A single-centre, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled Phase I study evaluated the safety and tolerability of a single oral dose of the second generation RV3-BB rotavirus vaccine (8.3×10(6)FFU/mL) in 20 adults, 20 children and 20 infants (10 vaccine and 10 placebo per age cohort). Vaccine take was defined as seroconversion (a 3-fold increase in serum anti-rotavirus IgA or serum neutralising antibody (SNA) from baseline at day 28 post-dose) or evidence of RV3-BB viral replication in the faeces by RT-PCR analysis 3-6 days post-vaccination. RV3-BB presence was confirmed by sequence analysis. The RV3-BB vaccine was well tolerated in all participants, with no pattern of adverse events shown to be associated with the study vaccine. In the infant cohort, vaccine take was demonstrated in 8/9 infants following a single dose of vaccine compared with 2/7 placebo recipients. In the infant vaccine group, 5/9 infants exhibited either IgA or SNA seroconversion and 7/9 infants had evidence of RV3-BB replication on days 3-6, compared with 2/7 infants who seroconverted and 0/10 infants with evidence of replication in the placebo group. Two infants in the placebo group had serological evidence of a rotavirus infection within the 28-day study period: one demonstrated an IgA and the other an SNA response, with wild-type virus replication detected in another infant. A single dose of RV3-BB rotavirus vaccine was well tolerated in adults, children and infants. Most infants (8/9) who received RV3-BB demonstrated vaccine take following a single dose. These data support progression of RV3-BB to Phase II immunogenicity and efficacy trials. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Seronegative Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder following Exposure to Hepatitis B Vaccination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Heekin

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Controversy exists regarding a potential link between exposure to recombinant hepatitis B vaccine (HBV and central nervous system demyelinating diseases. Here, we present a case of seronegative neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD following exposure to HBV. A 28-year-old man developed painful eye movements 11 days after exposure to HBV. Within 24 h, he experienced vision loss, ascending numbness, and ataxia. T-spine MRI showed a cord lesion spanning T6-T9. Brain MRI showed bilateral optic nerve contrast enhancement and a right-sided internal capsule lesion. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis was normal, including negative oligoclonal bands and normal IgG index. AQP4-IgG serology was negative. The patient's visual symptoms improved after treatment with steroids and plasma exchange. He received plasma exchange weekly for 4 weeks with decreased numbness and tingling as well as improved coordination. Treatment with mycophenolate mofetil was started, and the patient remains clinically stable with near resolution of his prior symptoms. Neuromyelitis optica is characterized by optic neuritis and/or longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. While our patient tested seronegative for AQP4-IgG (which remains negative in 10-50% of NMOSD cases, despite testing with the most sensitive assays available, he did meet NMOSD diagnostic criteria. In a literature review, we found 7 cases of NMOSD onset or relapse associated with exposure to various vaccines, but to our knowledge this represents the first published report of NMOSD onset following exposure to HBV. While causality between vaccination and CNS demyelinating disease remains elusive, it is important to report these cases to help develop safer vaccinations and provoke further inquiry into the pathogenesis of NMOSD.

  8. Economic analysis of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis vaccines in dairy herds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, J; Tauer, L W; Schukken, Y H; Gómez, M I; Smith, R L; Lu, Z; Grohn, Y T

    2012-04-01

    Johne's disease, or paratuberculosis, is a chronic infectious enteric disease of ruminants, caused by infection with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Given the absence of a fail-safe method of prevention or a cure, Johne's disease can inflict significant economic loss on the US dairy industry, with an estimated annual cost of over $200 million. Currently available MAP control strategies include management measures to improve hygiene, culling MAP serologic- or fecal-positive adult cows, and vaccination. Although the 2 first control strategies have been reported to be effective in reducing the incidence of MAP infection, the changes in herd management needed to conduct these control strategies require significant effort on the part of the dairy producer. On the other hand, vaccination is relatively simple to apply and requires minor changes in herd management. Despite these advantages, only 5% of US dairy operations use vaccination to control MAP. This low level of adoption of this technology is due to limited information on its cost-effectiveness and efficacy and some important inherent drawbacks associated with current MAP vaccines. This study investigates the epidemiological effect and economic values of MAP vaccines in various stages of development. We create scenarios for the potential epidemiological effects of MAP vaccines, and then estimate economically justifiable monetary values at which vaccines become economically beneficial to dairy producers such that a net present value (NPV) of a farm's net cash flow can be higher than the NPV of a farm using no control or alternative nonvaccine controls. Any vaccination with either low or high efficacy considered in this study yielded a higher NPV compared with a no MAP control. Moreover, high-efficacy vaccines generated an even higher NPV compared with alternative controls, making vaccination economically attractive. Two high-efficacy vaccines were particularly effective in MAP control and NPV

  9. Vaccination of Сhildren in the Kyrgyz Republic

    OpenAIRE

    Gulzhan S. Kitarova; T. T. Mamyrbaeva; A. Suvanbekov; V. K. Shukurova

    2018-01-01

    Vaccination is concidered worldwide as the most effective preventive measure for many pediatric infectious diseases (vaccine-controlled).Objective. The goal of the study was to assess the current state of immunization and parent awareness on the vaccination of children under the age of five.Methods: Analysis of data reported by the National Reporting System on the state of vaccination of children under age of five as well as analysis of two representative multi-indicator cluster and medico-de...

  10. Vaxvec: The first web-based recombinant vaccine vector database and its data analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Shunzhou; Martin, Carly; Patil, Rasika; Zhu, Felix; Zhao, Bin; Xiang, Zuoshuang; He, Yongqun

    2015-01-01

    A recombinant vector vaccine uses an attenuated virus, bacterium, or parasite as the carrier to express a heterologous antigen(s). Many recombinant vaccine vectors and related vaccines have been developed and extensively investigated. To compare and better understand recombinant vectors and vaccines, we have generated Vaxvec (http://www.violinet.org/vaxvec), the first web-based database that stores various recombinant vaccine vectors and those experimentally verified vaccines that use these vectors. Vaxvec has now included 59 vaccine vectors that have been used in 196 recombinant vector vaccines against 66 pathogens and cancers. These vectors are classified to 41 viral vectors, 15 bacterial vectors, 1 parasitic vector, and 1 fungal vector. The most commonly used viral vaccine vectors are double-stranded DNA viruses, including herpesviruses, adenoviruses, and poxviruses. For example, Vaxvec includes 63 poxvirus-based recombinant vaccines for over 20 pathogens and cancers. Vaxvec collects 30 recombinant vector influenza vaccines that use 17 recombinant vectors and were experimentally tested in 7 animal models. In addition, over 60 protective antigens used in recombinant vector vaccines are annotated and analyzed. User-friendly web-interfaces are available for querying various data in Vaxvec. To support data exchange, the information of vaccine vectors, vaccines, and related information is stored in the Vaccine Ontology (VO). Vaxvec is a timely and vital source of vaccine vector database and facilitates efficient vaccine vector research and development. PMID:26403370

  11. Modeling the cost-effectiveness of infant vaccination with pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhlmann, Alexander; von der Schulenburg, J-Matthias Graf

    2017-04-01

    In 2009, the European Medicines Agency granted approval for two higher-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. This study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of universal infant (historical vaccination scheme in infants as well as indirect herd effects and replacement disease. We used German epidemiological data to calculate episodes of IPD, PNE, and AOM, as well as direct and indirect effects of the vaccination. Parameter uncertainty was tested in univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. In the base-case analysis, the ICER of PCV13 versus PCV10 infant vaccination was EUR 9826 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained or EUR 5490 per life-year (LY) gained from the societal perspective and EUR 3368 per QALY gained or EUR 1882 per LY gained from the perspective of the German statutory health insurance. The results were particularly sensitive to the magnitude of indirect effects of both vaccines. Universal infant vaccination with PCV13 is likely to be a cost-effective intervention compared with PCV10 within the German health care system, if additional net indirect effects of PCV13 vaccination are significant.

  12. Cost-effectiveness analysis of vaccinating children in Malawi with RTS,S vaccines in comparison with long-lasting insecticide-treated nets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Mikyung Kelly; Baker, Peter; Ngo, Karen Ngoc-Lan

    2014-02-24

    New RTS,S malaria vaccines may soon be licensed, yet its cost-effectiveness is unknown. Before the widespread introduction of RTS,S vaccines, cost-effectiveness studies are needed to help inform governments in resource-poor settings about how best to prioritize between the new vaccine and existing malaria interventions. A Markov model simulated malaria progression in a hypothetical Malawian birth cohort. Parameters were based on published data. Three strategies were compared: no intervention, vaccination at one year, and long-lasting, insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) at birth. Both health service and societal perspectives were explored. Health outcomes were measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted and costed in 2012 US$. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated and extensive sensitivity analyses were conducted. Three times GDP per capita ($1,095) per DALY averted was used for a cost-effectiveness threshold, whilst one times GDP ($365) was considered 'very cost-effective'. From a societal perspective the vaccine strategy was dominant. It averted 0.11 more DALYs than LLINs and 0.372 more DALYs than the no intervention strategy per person, while costing $10.04 less than LLINs and $59.74 less than no intervention. From a health service perspective the vaccine's ICER was $145.03 per DALY averted, and thus can be considered very cost-effective. The results were robust to changes in all variables except the vaccine and LLINs' duration of efficacy. Vaccines remained cost-effective even at the lowest assumed efficacy levels of 49.6% (mild malaria) and 14.2% (severe malaria), and the highest price of $15. However, from a societal perspective, if the vaccine duration efficacy was set below 2.69 years or the LLIN duration of efficacy was greater than 4.24 years then LLINs became the more cost-effective strategy. The results showed that vaccinating Malawian children with RTS,S vaccines was very cost-effective from both a societal and a

  13. VALUE OF UNIVERSAL CHILDHOOD VARICELLA VACCINATION IN SLOVENIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerneja Ahčan

    2002-11-01

    Full Text Available Background. In 1974 effective and safe vaccine against varicella was developed. Vaccination is recomended for universal childhood immunisation in some of west European countries and in the United States. The aim of the study was to perform economic analysis of universal childhood vaccination against varicella in Slovenia.Methods. We examined hypothetical birth cohort of 5800 persons followed from birth to their 30th birthday and calculated the cost-benefit ratio for varicella vaccination program. We assumed that one dose of vaccine would be given to 15-monthold children along with measles, mumps and rubella vaccination. It was also assumed that 95% of children would be vaccinated, that vaccine efficacy would be 90%, that vaccine induced immunity would be lifelong and that the program would have no effect on either the incidence rate or severity of herpes zoster. For both disease and vaccine we measured the direct medical cost and indirect cost.Results. Indirect cost represented major part compared to medical cost. The benefit to cost ratio was 0.89.Conclusions. Considering major assumptions in this analysis, there is no financial benefits from vaccinating all children against varicella in our country.

  14. A Service Member's Self in Transition : A Longitudinal Case Study Analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grimell, Jan

    2017-01-01

    Adopting a narrative approach with a dialogical framework, a longitudinal case study is presented that describes a service member's self in transition from active service into the civilian population. An analysis and interpretation of the case study leads to the hypothesis that if a dominant

  15. Influenza vaccination among Saudi Hajj pilgrims: Revealing the uptake and vaccination barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfelali, Mohammad; Barasheed, Osamah; Badahdah, Al-Mamoon; Bokhary, Hamid; Azeem, Mohammed I; Habeebullah, Turki; Bakarman, Marwan; Asghar, Atif; Booy, Robert; Rashid, Harunor

    2018-04-12

    Hajj is the world's largest annual mass gathering that attracts two to three million Muslims from around the globe to a religious assemblage in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The risk of acquisition and transmission of influenza among Hajj pilgrims is high. Therefore, influenza vaccination is recommended, and was monitored frequently among pilgrims from different countries. However, the vaccination uptake among Saudi pilgrims has not been assessed in recent years. This analysis aims to evaluate influenza vaccine uptake among Saudi Hajj pilgrims, and identify the key barriers to vaccination. Data on influenza vaccination were obtained from Saudi pilgrims who took part in a large trial during the Hajj of 2013, 2014 and 2015. Pilgrims were met and recruited in Mina, Makkah during the peak period of Hajj and were asked to complete a baseline questionnaire that recorded their influenza vaccination history, including reason(s) for non-receipt of vaccine. A total of 6974 Saudi pilgrims aged between 18 and 95 (median 34) years were recruited; male to female ratio was 1:1.2. Of the total, 90.8% declared their influenza vaccination history, 51.3% of them reported receiving influenza vaccine before travel to Hajj. The vaccination rates for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 were 21.4%, 48.2% and 58.1%, respectively (P Saudi Hajj pilgrims is increasing over years but still needs further improvement. Lack of awareness and misperceptions are the main barriers. Education of Saudi pilgrims and health professionals is required to raise awareness about influenza vaccination. Further studies are needed to understand pilgrims' misperceptions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Automated longitudinal intra-subject analysis (ALISA) for diffusion MRI tractography

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aarnink, Saskia H; Vos, Sjoerd B; Leemans, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    the inter-subject and intra-subject automation in this situation are intended for subjects without gross pathology. In this work, we propose such an automated longitudinal intra-subject analysis (dubbed ALISA) approach, and assessed whether ALISA could preserve the same level of reliability as obtained....... The major disadvantage of manual FT segmentations, unfortunately, is that placing regions-of-interest for tract selection can be very labor-intensive and time-consuming. Although there are several methods that can identify specific WM fiber bundles in an automated way, manual FT segmentations across...... multiple subjects performed by a trained rater with neuroanatomical expertise are generally assumed to be more accurate. However, for longitudinal DTI analyses it may still be beneficial to automate the FT segmentation across multiple time points, but then for each individual subject separately. Both...

  17. Evaluation of ventricular dysfunction using semi-automatic longitudinal strain analysis of four-chamber cine MR imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawakubo, Masateru; Nagao, Michinobu; Kumazawa, Seiji; Yamasaki, Yuzo; Chishaki, Akiko S; Nakamura, Yasuhiko; Honda, Hiroshi; Morishita, Junji

    2016-02-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate ventricular dysfunction using the longitudinal strain analysis in 4-chamber (4CH) cine MR imaging, and to investigate the agreement between the semi-automatic and manual measurements in the analysis. Fifty-two consecutive patients with ischemic, or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy and repaired tetralogy of Fallot who underwent cardiac MR examination incorporating cine MR imaging were retrospectively enrolled. The LV and RV longitudinal strain values were obtained by semi-automatically and manually. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine the optimal cutoff of the minimum longitudinal strain value for the detection of patients with cardiac dysfunction. The correlations between manual and semi-automatic measurements for LV and RV walls were analyzed by Pearson coefficient analysis. ROC analysis demonstrated the optimal cut-off of the minimum longitudinal strain values (εL_min) for diagnoses the LV and RV dysfunction at a high accuracy (LV εL_min = -7.8 %: area under the curve, 0.89; sensitivity, 83 %; specificity, 91 %, RV εL_min = -15.7 %: area under the curve, 0.82; sensitivity, 92 %; specificity, 68 %). Excellent correlations between manual and semi-automatic measurements for LV and RV free wall were observed (LV, r = 0.97, p cine MR imaging can evaluate LV and RV dysfunction with simply and easy measurements. The strain analysis could have extensive application in cardiac imaging for various clinical cases.

  18. Delivery cost analysis of a reactive mass cholera vaccination campaign: a case study of Shanchol™ vaccine use in Lake Chilwa, Malawi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilboudo, Patrick G; Le Gargasson, Jean-Bernard

    2017-12-19

    Cholera is a diarrheal disease that produces rapid dehydration. The infection is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity. Oral cholera vaccine (OCV) has been propagated for the prevention of cholera. Evidence on OCV delivery cost is insufficient in the African context. This study aims to analyze Shanchol vaccine delivery costs, focusing on the vaccination campaign in response of a cholera outbreak in Lake Chilwa, Malawi. The vaccination campaign was implemented in two rounds in February and March 2016. Structured questionnaires were used to collect costs incurred for each vaccination related activity, including vaccine procurement and shipment, training, microplanning, sensitization, social mobilization and vaccination rounds. Costs collected, including financial and economic costs were analyzed using Choltool, a standardized cholera cost calculator. In total, 67,240 persons received two complete doses of the vaccine. Vaccine coverage was higher in the first round than in the second. The two-dose coverage measured with the immunization card was estimated at 58%. The total financial cost incurred in implementing the campaign was US$480275 while the economic cost was US$588637. The total financial and economic costs per fully vaccinated person were US$7.14 and US$8.75, respectively, with delivery costs amounting to US$1.94 and US$3.55, respectively. Vaccine procurement and shipment accounted respectively for 73% and 59% of total financial and economic costs of the total vaccination campaign costs while the incurred personnel cost accounted for 13% and 29% of total financial and economic costs. Cost for delivering a single dose of Shanchol was estimated at US$0.97. This study provides new evidence on economic and financial costs of a reactive campaign implemented by international partners in collaboration with MoH. It shows that involvement of international partners' personnel may represent a substantial share of campaign's costs, affecting unit and vaccine

  19. The impact of the web and social networks on vaccination. New challenges and opportunities offered to fight against vaccine hesitancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, J-P; Cohen, R; Denis, F; Gaudelus, J; Martinot, A; Lery, T; Lepetit, H

    2016-05-01

    Vaccine hesitancy is a growing and threatening trend, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks and potentially defeating health authorities' strategies. We aimed to describe the significant role of social networks and the Internet on vaccine hesitancy, and more generally on vaccine attitudes and behaviors. Presentation and discussion of lessons learnt from: (i) the monitoring and analysis of web and social network contents on vaccination; (ii) the tracking of Google search terms used by web users; (iii) the analysis of Google search suggestions related to vaccination; (iv) results from the Vaccinoscopie(©) study, online annual surveys of representative samples of 6500 to 10,000 French mothers, monitoring vaccine behaviors and attitude of French parents as well as vaccination coverage of their children, since 2008; and (v) various studies published in the scientific literature. Social networks and the web play a major role in disseminating information about vaccination. They have modified the vaccination decision-making process and, more generally, the doctor/patient relationship. The Internet may fuel controversial issues related to vaccination and durably impact public opinion, but it may also provide new tools to fight against vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy should be fought on the Internet battlefield, and for this purpose, communication strategies should take into account new threats and opportunities offered by the web and social networks. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  20. Analysis of peripheral blood immune cells after prophylactic immunization with HPV-16/18 ASO4-adjuvanted vaccine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iwona Hus

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Persistent infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV is a causal factor for more than 99% of cervical cancers. Recently, prophylactic vaccines have been developed to prevent infections with cancer-associated HPV types (HPV16 and HPV18. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in the immune system that occur within four weeks of the first dose of HPV-16/18 ASO4-adjuvanted vaccine. Assessment of the percentages of selected cell populations in peripheral blood of 20 healthy volunteers vaccinated with Cervarix was performed using flow cytometry. The analysis revealed an increase in the proportion of activated B and CD4+ T helper cells and an absence of significant differences in cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes, indicating activation of the humoral response after vaccination, without a significant effect on cellular response. There were no significant changes in the NK cell population, and there was a reduction of the percentage of NKT-like cells, which may result from expiry of the primary response at the time of analysis. The presented results are preliminary, and in the context of the increasing use of the anti-HPV vaccine, it would be worth continuing the study in larger groups of patients and at earlier and later time points in combination with the measurement of specific anti-HPV16 and -HPV18 antibody levels. Such an assessment could therefore contribute not only to better understanding of the exact mechanism of action of the vaccine, but also to defining the immunological parameters that determine its effectiveness.

  1. The impact of rotavirus vaccination on discounted net tax revenue in Egypt: a government perspective analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connolly, Mark P; Topachevskyi, Oleksandr; Standaert, Baudouin; Ortega, Omayra; Postma, Maarten

    2012-08-01

    We evaluated national rotavirus (RV) immunization programme costs to estimate how resulting changes in morbidity and mortality will influence government fiscal accounts over time. The assumption was that increased childhood survival in vaccinated cohorts leads to increased numbers of children consuming government resource, and an increased number of future tax payers. Our objective was to evaluate the difference in lifetime discounted net tax revenue generated by RV vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts from the Egyptian government perspective. The model framework adopts the Egyptian government perspective for RV immunization costs (year 2009 values) and all government transfers (e.g. education costs, health costs, pensions). To reflect the government tax revenue, we applied a fixed income tax burden to earnings over the lifetime of vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts. At each year of the model, we derive net taxes (gross taxes less transfers) discounted to the immunization year to reflect the present value of RV vaccination investment costs. Projected incremental net present values of the vaccinated cohort versus the unvaccinated cohort are $US6.1 million, $US58.1 million and $US55.7 million at 25-, 50- and 72-year time horizons, respectively. The internal rate of return for the government based on RV vaccination at years 25, 50 and 72 was 10.8%, 15.1% and 14.9, respectively. Within the first 5 years of vaccination, 76% of vaccine acquisition costs were offset due to direct and indirect cost savings attributed to a reduction in RV-related disease burden. Investments in RV vaccination in a single year are entirely offset when the vaccinated cohort of newborns reach 22 years of age. The government perspective is useful for evaluating investments in RV vaccination because of ongoing government transfers and tax receipts attributed to changes in RV-attributed morbidity and mortality. The analysis described here illustrates that investing in RV offers tangible long

  2. HIV-1 vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Excler, Jean-Louis; Robb, Merlin L; Kim, Jerome H

    2014-01-01

    The development of a safe and effective preventive HIV-1 vaccine remains a public health priority. Despite scientific difficulties and disappointing results, HIV-1 vaccine clinical development has, for the first time, established proof-of-concept efficacy against HIV-1 acquisition and identified vaccine-associated immune correlates of risk. The correlate of risk analysis showed that IgG antibodies against the gp120 V2 loop correlated with decreased risk of HIV infection, while Env-specific IgA directly correlated with increased risk. The development of vaccine strategies such as improved envelope proteins formulated with potent adjuvants and DNA and vectors expressing mosaics, or conserved sequences, capable of eliciting greater breadth and depth of potentially relevant immune responses including neutralizing and non-neutralizing antibodies, CD4+ and CD8+ cell-mediated immune responses, mucosal immune responses, and immunological memory, is now proceeding quickly. Additional human efficacy trials combined with other prevention modalities along with sustained funding and international collaboration remain key to bring an HIV-1 vaccine to licensure. PMID:24637946

  3. Global foot-and-mouth disease research update and gap analysis: 3 - vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    In 2014, the Global Foot-and-mouth disease Research Alliance (GFRA) conducted a gap analysis of FMD research. In this paper, we report updated findings in the field of FMD vaccine research. This paper consists of the following four sections: 1) Research priorities identified in the 2010 GFRA gap ana...

  4. Survival analysis for predictive factors of delay vaccination in Iranian children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abolfazl Mohammadbeigi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Today, beside immunization coverage the age appropriate vaccination is another helpful index in public health. Evidences have shown that high immunization coverage rates do not necessarily imply age-appropriate vaccination status. The current study aimed to show the predictive factors of delayed vaccination by survival models. Methods: A historical cohort study conducted on 3610 children aged between 24 and 47 months who was living in the suburbs of five big cities of Iran. Time of delay in vaccination of first dose of mumps-measles-rubella (MMR was calculated from date of vaccination minus age appropriate time according to vaccine card. Kaplan-Maier and Log rank tests were used for comparison the median of delay time. For controlling of confounding variables, multivariate cox model was used and hazard ratio with 95% confidence interval (95% was reported. Results: The mean ± standard deviation and median interquartile range of delay time was 38.34 ± 73.1 and 16 (11-31 days in delayed group. The Log rank test showed that city of living, nationality, parents′ education, and birth order are related with prolonged delay time in MMR vaccination (P 0.05. Cox regression showed that city of living, mother education, and nationality are the most predictive factors of delay time duration in MMR vaccination. Conclusions: Delay time duration of vaccination increased by faring from capital to the east south. Moreover, concentration of foreign immigrants in big cities and low level of mother education are the most predictors of delayed vaccination. Educational intervention should focus on immigrants and mothers with low education level.

  5. Cervical cancer treatment costs and cost-effectiveness analysis of human papillomavirus vaccination in Vietnam: a PRIME modeling study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Minh, Hoang; My, Nguyen Thi Tuyet; Jit, Mark

    2017-05-15

    Cervical cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in South Vietnam and the second leading cause of cancer mortality in North Vietnam. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has the potential to substantially decrease this burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that a cost-effectiveness analysis of HPV vaccination is conducted before nationwide introduction. The Papillomavirus Rapid Interface for Modeling and Economics (PRIME) model was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccine introduction. A costing study based on expert panel discussions, interviews and hospital case note reviews was conducted to explore the cost of cervical cancer care. The cost of cervical cancer treatment ranged from US$368 - 11400 depending on the type of hospital and treatment involved. Under Gavi-negotiated prices of US$4.55, HPV vaccination is likely to be very cost-effective with an incremental cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted in the range US$780 - 1120. However, under list prices for Cervarix and Gardasil in Vietnam, the incremental cost per DALY averted for HPV vaccination can exceed US$8000. HPV vaccine introduction appears to be economically attractive only if Vietnam is able to procure the vaccine at Gavi prices. This highlights the importance of initiating a nationwide vaccination programme while such prices are still available.

  6. Analysis of longitudinal data from animals where some data are missing in SPSS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duricki, DA; Soleman, S; Moon, LDF

    2017-01-01

    Testing of therapies for disease or injury often involves analysis of longitudinal data from animals. Modern analytical methods have advantages over conventional methods (particularly where some data are missing) yet are not used widely by pre-clinical researchers. We provide here an easy to use protocol for analysing longitudinal data from animals and present a click-by-click guide for performing suitable analyses using the statistical package SPSS. We guide readers through analysis of a real-life data set obtained when testing a therapy for brain injury (stroke) in elderly rats. We show that repeated measures analysis of covariance failed to detect a treatment effect when a few data points were missing (due to animal drop-out) whereas analysis using an alternative method detected a beneficial effect of treatment; specifically, we demonstrate the superiority of linear models (with various covariance structures) analysed using Restricted Maximum Likelihood estimation (to include all available data). This protocol takes two hours to follow. PMID:27196723

  7. Understanding vaccination resistance: vaccine search term selection bias and the valence of retrieved information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz, Jeanette B; Bell, Robert A

    2014-10-07

    Dubious vaccination-related information on the Internet leads some parents to opt out of vaccinating their children. To determine if negative, neutral and positive search terms retrieve vaccination information that differs in valence and confirms searchers' assumptions about vaccination. A content analysis of first-page Google search results was conducted using three negative, three neutral, and three positive search terms for the concepts "vaccine," "vaccination," and "MMR"; 84 of the 90 websites retrieved met inclusion requirements. Two coders independently and reliably coded for the presence or absence of each of 15 myths about vaccination (e.g., "vaccines cause autism"), statements that countered these myths, and recommendations for or against vaccination. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Across all websites, at least one myth was perpetuated on 16.7% of websites and at least one myth was countered on 64.3% of websites. The mean number of myths perpetuated on websites retrieved with negative, neutral, and positive search terms, respectively, was 1.93, 0.53, and 0.40. The mean number of myths countered on websites retrieved with negative, neutral, and positive search terms, respectively, was 3.0, 3.27, and 2.87. Explicit recommendations regarding vaccination were offered on 22.6% of websites. A recommendation against vaccination was more often made on websites retrieved with negative search terms (37.5% of recommendations) than on websites retrieved with neutral (12.5%) or positive (0%) search terms. The concerned parent who seeks information about the risks of childhood immunizations will find more websites that perpetuate vaccine myths and recommend against vaccination than the parent who seeks information about the benefits of vaccination. This suggests that search term valence can lead to online information that supports concerned parents' misconceptions about vaccines. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Acellular pertussis vaccines--a question of efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olin, P

    1995-06-01

    Whole cell pertussis vaccine is considered to offer at least 80% protection against typical whooping cough. The quest for an equally effective but less reactogenic vaccine is now drawing to a close. During the forthcoming year a number of efficacy trials of acellular pertussis vaccines will be terminated. A variety of vaccines containing one, two, three or five purified pertussis antigens are being tested in Germany, Italy, Senegal and Sweden. About 30,000 infants have been enrolled in placebo-controlled studies and more than 100,000 in whole cell vaccine-controlled trials. The final plans for analysis of a Swedish placebo-controlled trial of whole cell and acellular vaccines is presented. Due to the unexpected high incidence of pertussis in Sweden during 1993-1994, relative risk comparisons between vaccines will be attempted in that trial, in addition to estimating absolute efficacy. A crucial issue is to what extent data may be compared between trials, given differences in design, vaccination schedules, and chosen endpoints. A primary case definition of laboratory-confirmed pertussis with at least 21 days of paroxysmal cough have been adopted in most trials. Pre-planned meta-analysis using this single endpoint will facilitate comparisons between vaccines. Serological correlates to protection in individuals will be sought in the ongoing placebo-controlled trials. The concept of a serological correlate valid for a vaccinated population but not necessarily for the vaccinated individual, as is the case with Hib vaccines, may turn out to be the only alternative to performing large efficacy trials in the future.

  9. "Wait and see" vaccinating behaviour during a pandemic: a game theoretic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharyya, Samit; Bauch, Chris T

    2011-07-26

    During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, many individuals did not seek vaccination immediately but rather decided to "wait and see" until further information was available on vaccination costs. This behaviour implies two sources of strategic interaction: as more individuals become vaccinated, both the perceived vaccination cost and the probability that susceptible individuals become infected decline. Here we analyze the outcome of these two strategic interactions by combining game theory with a disease transmission model during an outbreak of a novel influenza strain. The model exhibits a "wait and see" Nash equilibrium strategy, with vaccine delayers relying on herd immunity and vaccine safety information generated by early vaccinators. This strategic behaviour causes the timing of the epidemic peak to be strongly conserved across a broad range of plausible transmission rates, in contrast to models without such adaptive behaviour. The model exhibits not only feedback mechanisms but also a feed-forward mechanism: a high initial perceived vaccination cost perpetuates high perceived vaccine costs (and lower vaccine coverage) throughout the remainder of the outbreak. This suggests that any effect of risk communication at the start of a pandemic outbreak will be amplified compared to the same amount of risk communication effort distributed throughout the outbreak. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. A simulation analysis to characterize the dynamics of vaccinating behaviour on contact networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perisic, Ana; Bauch, Chris T

    2009-05-28

    Human behavior influences infectious disease transmission, and numerous "prevalence-behavior" models have analyzed this interplay. These previous analyses assumed homogeneously mixing populations without spatial or social structure. However, spatial and social heterogeneity are known to significantly impact transmission dynamics and are particularly relevant for certain diseases. Previous work has demonstrated that social contact structure can change the individual incentive to vaccinate, thus enabling eradication of a disease under a voluntary vaccination policy when the corresponding homogeneous mixing model predicts that eradication is impossible due to free rider effects. Here, we extend this work and characterize the range of possible behavior-prevalence dynamics on a network. We simulate transmission of a vaccine-preventable infection through a random, static contact network. Individuals choose whether or not to vaccinate on any given day according to perceived risks of vaccination and infection. We find three possible outcomes for behavior-prevalence dynamics on this type of network: small final number vaccinated and final epidemic size (due to rapid control through voluntary ring vaccination); large final number vaccinated and significant final epidemic size (due to imperfect voluntary ring vaccination), and little or no vaccination and large final epidemic size (corresponding to little or no voluntary ring vaccination). We also show that the social contact structure enables eradication under a broad range of assumptions, except when vaccine risk is sufficiently high, the disease risk is sufficiently low, or individuals vaccinate too late for the vaccine to be effective. For populations where infection can spread only through social contact network, relatively small differences in parameter values relating to perceived risk or vaccination behavior at the individual level can translate into large differences in population-level outcomes such as final size

  11. A simulation analysis to characterize the dynamics of vaccinating behaviour on contact networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bauch Chris T

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Human behavior influences infectious disease transmission, and numerous "prevalence-behavior" models have analyzed this interplay. These previous analyses assumed homogeneously mixing populations without spatial or social structure. However, spatial and social heterogeneity are known to significantly impact transmission dynamics and are particularly relevant for certain diseases. Previous work has demonstrated that social contact structure can change the individual incentive to vaccinate, thus enabling eradication of a disease under a voluntary vaccination policy when the corresponding homogeneous mixing model predicts that eradication is impossible due to free rider effects. Here, we extend this work and characterize the range of possible behavior-prevalence dynamics on a network. Methods We simulate transmission of a vaccine-prevetable infection through a random, static contact network. Individuals choose whether or not to vaccinate on any given day according to perceived risks of vaccination and infection. Results We find three possible outcomes for behavior-prevalence dynamics on this type of network: small final number vaccinated and final epidemic size (due to rapid control through voluntary ring vaccination; large final number vaccinated and significant final epidemic size (due to imperfect voluntary ring vaccination, and little or no vaccination and large final epidemic size (corresponding to little or no voluntary ring vaccination. We also show that the social contact structure enables eradication under a broad range of assumptions, except when vaccine risk is sufficiently high, the disease risk is sufficiently low, or individuals vaccinate too late for the vaccine to be effective. Conclusion For populations where infection can spread only through social contact network, relatively small differences in parameter values relating to perceived risk or vaccination behavior at the individual level can translate into large

  12. Meningococcal serogroup A, C, W₁₃₅ and Y conjugated vaccine: a cost-effectiveness analysis in the Netherlands.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiltsje Hepkema

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In 2002, vaccination with a serogroup C meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenC was introduced in the Netherlands for all children aged 14 months. Despite its success, herd immunity may wane over time. Recently, a serogroup A,C,W135,Y meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY was licensed for use in subjects of 12 months of age and above. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of meningococcal vaccination at 14 months and an additional vaccination at the age of 12 years, both with the MenACWY vaccine. METHODS: A decision analysis cohort model, with 185,000 Dutch newborns, was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different immunization strategies. For strategies including a vaccination at 12 years of age, an additional cohort with adolescents aged 12 years was followed. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER was estimated for the current disease incidence and for a scenario when herd immunity is lost. RESULTS: Vaccination with MenACWY at 14 months is cost-saving. Vaccinating with MenACWY at 14 months and at 12 years would prevent 7 additional cases of meningococcal serogroup A,C,W135,Y disease in the birth cohort and adolescent cohort followed for 99 years compared to the current vaccine schedule of a single vaccination with MenC at 14 months. With the current incidence, this strategy resulted in an ICER of €635,334 per quality adjusted life year. When serogroup C disease incidence returns to pre-vaccination levels due to a loss of vaccine-induced herd-immunity, vaccination with MenACWY at 14 months and at 12 years would be cost-saving. CONCLUSIONS: Routine vaccination with MenACWY is cost-saving. With the current epidemiology, a booster-dose with MenACWY is not likely cost-effective. When herd immunity is lost, a booster-dose has the potential of being cost-effective. A dynamic model should be developed for more precise estimation of the cost-effectiveness of the prevention of disappearance of herd immunity.

  13. Prevalence of influenza vaccination among nurses and ancillary workers in Italy: systematic review and meta analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Torre, Giuseppe; Mannocci, Alice; Ursillo, Paolo; Bontempi, Claudio; Firenze, Alberto; Panico, Maria Grazia; Sferrazza, Antonella; Ronga, Chiara; D'Anna, Adele; Amodio, Emanuele; Romano, Nino; Boccia, Antonio

    2011-07-01

    Italian Ministry of Health, recommends vaccination for seasonal influenza to all healthcare workers (HCW), particularly to nurses who have an important interaction with patients. The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review in order to estimate the pooled prevalence of influenza vaccinations among nurses and ancillary workers in Italy and analyse the enhancing and hindering factors. The review was performed using 15 articles, six containing the prevalence of vaccination for nurses and ancillary workers, while the others qualitative analysis. In all the selected articles the score calculation has been carried out by using a protocol for observational studies. The nurses and ancillary workers pooled proportion of influenza vaccination was respectively 13.47% (95%CI 9.58-17.90%) and 12.52% (95%CI 9.97-15.31%). The Italian mean of influenza vaccination prevalence appear low if compared to other European countries, ranging from 15% to 29% in Countries such as UK, Germany, France. This situation of weakness should be seen as an opportunity to improve the vaccination rate for seasonal influenza significantly This should be done by intervening on the category which affirms caring less. In fact, this category has a priority to receive vaccination, due to their numbers and closer contact to patients. Research was conducted using medical database Scopus, PubMed, the search engine Google Scholar and ISI web of knowledge, and was concluded February 1st 2011.

  14. Cost Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccine for U.S. Children: Live Attenuated and Inactivated Influenza Vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Eunha; Brown, Shawn T; DePasse, Jay; Nowalk, Mary Patricia; Raviotta, Jonathan M; Smith, Kenneth J; Zimmerman, Richard K

    2016-09-01

    Prior studies showed that live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is more effective than inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) in children aged 2-8 years, supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations in 2014 for preferential LAIV use in this age group. However, 2014-2015 U.S. effectiveness data indicated relatively poor effectiveness of both vaccines, leading CDC in 2015 to no longer prefer LAIV. An age-structured model of influenza transmission and vaccination was developed, which incorporated both direct and indirect protection induced by vaccination. Based on this model, the cost effectiveness of influenza vaccination strategies in children aged 2-8 years in the U.S. was estimated. The base case assumed a mixed vaccination strategy where 33.3% and 66.7% of vaccinated children aged 2-8 years receive LAIV and IIV, respectively. Analyses were performed in 2014-2015. Using published meta-analysis vaccine effectiveness data (83% LAIV and 64% IIV), exclusive LAIV use would be a cost-effective strategy when vaccinating children aged 2-8 years, whereas IIV would not be preferred. However, when 2014-2015 U.S. effectiveness data (0% LAIV and 15% IIV) were used, IIV was likely to be preferred. The cost effectiveness of influenza vaccination in children aged 2-8 years is highly dependent on vaccine effectiveness; the vaccine type with higher effectiveness is preferred. In general, exclusive IIV use is preferred over LAIV use, as long as vaccine effectiveness is higher for IIV than for LAIV. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Impact of Gender-Specific Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Recommendations on Uptake of Other Adolescent Vaccines: Analysis of the NIS-Teen (2008-2012).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bednarczyk, Robert A; Orenstein, Walter A; Omer, Saad B

    In the United States, human papillomavirus vaccination was routinely recommended for adolescent females in 2006 and provisionally recommended for adolescent males in 2009. We evaluated the hypothesis that gender-specific human papillomavirus vaccination recommendations would impact gender-specific uptake of other vaccines using National Immunization Survey-Teen public use data sets (2008-2012). Female adolescents had higher coverage than males of at least 1 other adolescent vaccine in 2008 (3.0% higher) and 2009 (4.3% higher). Gender differences abated in 2010, 2011, and 2012 (0.2%, 0.9%, and 0.4%, respectively). To evaluate unintended consequences of gender-based recommendations, countries with female-only human papillomavirus vaccination recommendations should evaluate gender-specific uptake of other adolescent vaccines.

  16. MR image analysis: Longitudinal cardiac motion influences left ventricular measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berkovic, Patrick; Hemmink, Maarten; Parizel, Paul M.; Vrints, Christiaan J.; Paelinck, Bernard P.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Software for the analysis of left ventricular (LV) volumes and mass using border detection in short-axis images only, is hampered by through-plane cardiac motion. Therefore we aimed to evaluate software that involves longitudinal cardiac motion. Methods: Twenty-three consecutive patients underwent 1.5-Tesla cine magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the entire heart in the long-axis and short-axis orientation with breath-hold steady-state free precession imaging. Offline analysis was performed using software that uses short-axis images (Medis MASS) and software that includes two-chamber and four-chamber images to involve longitudinal LV expansion and shortening (CAAS-MRV). Intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility was assessed by using Bland-Altman analysis. Results: Compared with MASS software, CAAS-MRV resulted in significantly smaller end-diastolic (156 ± 48 ml versus 167 ± 52 ml, p = 0.001) and end-systolic LV volumes (79 ± 48 ml versus 94 ± 52 ml, p < 0.001). In addition, CAAS-MRV resulted in higher LV ejection fraction (52 ± 14% versus 46 ± 13%, p < 0.001) and calculated LV mass (154 ± 52 g versus 142 ± 52 g, p = 0.004). Intraobserver and interobserver limits of agreement were similar for both methods. Conclusion: MR analysis of LV volumes and mass involving long-axis LV motion is a highly reproducible method, resulting in smaller LV volumes, higher ejection fraction and calculated LV mass.

  17. Putative drug and vaccine target protein identification using comparative genomic analysis of KEGG annotated metabolic pathways of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damte, Dereje; Suh, Joo-Won; Lee, Seung-Jin; Yohannes, Sileshi Belew; Hossain, Md Akil; Park, Seung-Chun

    2013-07-01

    In the present study, a computational comparative and subtractive genomic/proteomic analysis aimed at the identification of putative therapeutic target and vaccine candidate proteins from Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotated metabolic pathways of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae was performed for drug design and vaccine production pipelines against M.hyopneumoniae. The employed comparative genomic and metabolic pathway analysis with a predefined computational systemic workflow extracted a total of 41 annotated metabolic pathways from KEGG among which five were unique to M. hyopneumoniae. A total of 234 proteins were identified to be involved in these metabolic pathways. Although 125 non homologous and predicted essential proteins were found from the total that could serve as potential drug targets and vaccine candidates, additional prioritizing parameters characterize 21 proteins as vaccine candidate while druggability of each of the identified proteins evaluated by the DrugBank database prioritized 42 proteins suitable for drug targets. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Vaccination persuasion online: a qualitative study of two provaccine and two vaccine-skeptical websites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Lenny; Hausman, Bernice L; Cashion, Margaret; Lucchesi, Nicholas; Patel, Kelsey; Roberts, Jonathan

    2015-05-29

    Current concerns about vaccination resistance often cite the Internet as a source of vaccine controversy. Most academic studies of vaccine resistance online use quantitative methods to describe misinformation on vaccine-skeptical websites. Findings from these studies are useful for categorizing the generic features of these websites, but they do not provide insights into why these websites successfully persuade their viewers. To date, there have been few attempts to understand, qualitatively, the persuasive features of provaccine or vaccine-skeptical websites. The purpose of this research was to examine the persuasive features of provaccine and vaccine-skeptical websites. The qualitative analysis was conducted to generate hypotheses concerning what features of these websites are persuasive to people seeking information about vaccination and vaccine-related practices. This study employed a fully qualitative case study methodology that used the anthropological method of thick description to detail and carefully review the rhetorical features of 1 provaccine government website, 1 provaccine hospital website, 1 vaccine-skeptical information website focused on general vaccine safety, and 1 vaccine-skeptical website focused on a specific vaccine. The data gathered were organized into 5 domains: website ownership, visual and textual content, user experience, hyperlinking, and social interactivity. The study found that the 2 provaccine websites analyzed functioned as encyclopedias of vaccine information. Both of the websites had relatively small digital ecologies because they only linked to government websites or websites that endorsed vaccination and evidence-based medicine. Neither of these websites offered visitors interactive features or made extensive use of the affordances of Web 2.0. The study also found that the 2 vaccine-skeptical websites had larger digital ecologies because they linked to a variety of vaccine-related websites, including government websites. They

  19. Human Papillomavirus Prevalence and Herd Immunity after Introduction of Vaccination Program, Scotland, 2009-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, Ross L; Kavanagh, Kimberley; Pan, Jiafeng; Love, John; Cuschieri, Kate; Robertson, Chris; Ahmed, Syed; Palmer, Timothy; Pollock, Kevin G J

    2016-01-01

    In 2008, a national human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization program using a bivalent vaccine against HPV types 16 and 18 was implemented in Scotland along with a national surveillance program designed to determine the longitudinal effects of vaccination on HPV infection at the population level. Each year during 2009-2013, the surveillance program conducted HPV testing on a proportion of liquid-based cytology samples from women undergoing their first cervical screening test for precancerous cervical disease. By linking vaccination, cervical screening, and HPV testing data, over the study period we found a decline in HPV types 16 and 18, significant decreases in HPV types 31, 33, and 45 (suggesting cross-protection), and a nonsignificant increase in HPV 51. In addition, among nonvaccinated women, HPV types 16 and 18 infections were significantly lower in 2013 than in 2009. Our results preliminarily indicate herd immunity and sustained effectiveness of the bivalent vaccine on virologic outcomes at the population level.

  20. Vaccine decision-making begins in pregnancy: Correlation between vaccine concerns, intentions and maternal vaccination with subsequent childhood vaccine uptake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danchin, M H; Costa-Pinto, J; Attwell, K; Willaby, H; Wiley, K; Hoq, M; Leask, J; Perrett, K P; O'Keefe, Jacinta; Giles, M L; Marshall, H

    2017-08-12

    Maternal and childhood vaccine decision-making begins prenatally. Amongst pregnant Australian women we aimed to ascertain vaccine information received, maternal immunisation uptake and attitudes and concerns regarding childhood vaccination. We also aimed to determine any correlation between a) intentions and concerns regarding childhood vaccination, (b) concerns about pregnancy vaccination, (c) socioeconomic status (SES) and (d) uptake of influenza and pertussis vaccines during pregnancy and routine vaccines during childhood. Women attending public antenatal clinics were recruited in three Australian states. Surveys were completed on iPads. Follow-up phone surveys were done three to six months post delivery, and infant vaccination status obtained via the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR). Between October 2015 and March 2016, 975 (82%) of 1184 mothers consented and 406 (42%) agreed to a follow up survey, post delivery. First-time mothers (445; 49%) had significantly more vaccine concerns in pregnancy and only 73% had made a decision about childhood vaccination compared to 89% of mothers with existing children (p-valuepost delivery survey, 46% and 82% of mothers reported receiving pregnancy influenza and pertussis vaccines respectively. The mother's degree of vaccine hesitancy and two attitudinal factors were correlated with vaccine uptake post delivery. There was no association between reported maternal vaccine uptake or SES and childhood vaccine uptake. First time mothers are more vaccine hesitant and undecided about childhood vaccination, and only two thirds of all mothers believed they received enough information during pregnancy. New interventions to improve both education and communication on childhood and maternal vaccines, delivered by midwives and obstetricians in the Australian public hospital system, may reduce vaccine hesitancy for all mothers in pregnancy and post delivery, particularly first-time mothers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

  1. Statistical analysis of longitudinal quality of life data with missing measurements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zwinderman, A. H.

    1992-01-01

    The statistical analysis of longitudinal quality of life data in the presence of missing data is discussed. In cancer trials missing data are generated due to the fact that patients die, drop out, or are censored. These missing data are problematic in the monitoring of the quality of life during the

  2. Parental regret regarding children's vaccines-The correlation between anticipated regret, altruism, coping strategies and attitudes toward vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamama-Raz, Yaira; Ginossar-David, Eyal; Ben-Ezra, Menachem

    2016-01-01

    Parental hesitancy for recommended childhood vaccines is a growing public health concern influenced by various factors. This study aimed to explore regret regarding parental decisions to vaccinate their children via possible correlations between anticipated regret, altruism, coping strategies, and parents' attitudes toward the vaccination of their children. The study was conducted during 2014 in Israel. Data were collected via snowballing methodology (i.e., Internet forums, Facebook and e- mails). 314 parents of children ages 0-6 years participated in the study. Questionnaires were distributed and completed on-line including attitudes toward vaccines, altruism, coping strategies, regret and anticipated regret. Pearson analysis revealed a moderate negative association between attitudes toward vaccinations and regret. In addition, weak but significant positive associations emerged between anticipated regret and regret as well as between gender and regret. Performing hierarchical regression analysis revealed contribution of 35.9 % to the explained variance of regret suggesting that coping strategy of instrumental support, attitudes toward vaccinations and anticipated regret are linked significantly to regret. Parental attitudes toward vaccines and anticipated regret have a salient role when deciding whether or not to vaccinate children and contribute to the prediction of regret regarding vaccination. In order to increase parental consent to vaccination of their children, it is important to minimize possible regret through the strength of the recommendation and/or knowledge base about risk/benefit (perceived, heuristic) of vaccines that might influence parental attitudes and lessen their anticipated regret. N/A. This is not a clinical trial and thus does not require registration. Ethics approval was received from Ariel University School of Social Work Ethics committee (18/02/14). This was an attitude survey. The Ariel University School of Social Work Ethics committee

  3. Ontology-supported research on vaccine efficacy, safety and integrative biological networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Yongqun

    2014-07-01

    While vaccine efficacy and safety research has dramatically progressed with the methods of in silico prediction and data mining, many challenges still exist. A formal ontology is a human- and computer-interpretable set of terms and relations that represent entities in a specific domain and how these terms relate to each other. Several community-based ontologies (including Vaccine Ontology, Ontology of Adverse Events and Ontology of Vaccine Adverse Events) have been developed to support vaccine and adverse event representation, classification, data integration, literature mining of host-vaccine interaction networks, and analysis of vaccine adverse events. The author further proposes minimal vaccine information standards and their ontology representations, ontology-based linked open vaccine data and meta-analysis, an integrative One Network ('OneNet') Theory of Life, and ontology-based approaches to study and apply the OneNet theory. In the Big Data era, these proposed strategies provide a novel framework for advanced data integration and analysis of fundamental biological networks including vaccine immune mechanisms.

  4. A longitudinal study on determinants of HPV vaccination uptake in parents/guardians from different ethnic backgrounds in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catharina J. Alberts

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Human papillomavirus (HPV vaccination coverage in the Netherlands is low (~60% compared to other childhood vaccinations (>90%, and even lower among ethnic minorities. The aim of this study was to explore the possible impact of ethnicity on the determinants of both HPV vaccination intention and HPV vaccination uptake among parents/guardians having a daughter that is invited for the HPV vaccination. Methods In February 2014, parents/guardians living in Amsterdam were invited to complete a questionnaire about social-psychological determinants of their decision making process regarding the HPV vaccination of their daughter and socio-demographic characteristics. This questionnaire was sent approximately one month before the daughter was scheduled to receive her first HPV vaccine dose. Their daughters’ HPV vaccination status was retrieved from the national vaccination database. We distinguished four ethnic groups: Dutch (NL, Surinamese, Netherlands Antillean, and Aruban (SNA, Middle-Eastern and North-African (MENA, and Other. To assess the impact of determinants on both intention and uptake, linear and logistic regression analyses were used respectively. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputation by chained equation. Results In total 1,309 parents/guardians participated (33% participation rate. In all groups we found the mothers’ intention to be the strongest predictor of their daughters’ HPV vaccination uptake. Explained variance of uptake was highest in the NL-group (pseudo-R2:0.56 and lower in the other ethnic groups (pseudo-R2 varied between 0.23 and 0.29. The lower explained variance can be attributed to the relative large proportion of participants with a positive intention that finally did not go for vaccination in the SNA-group (11% and MENA-group (30%. Explained variance (R2 of intention varied between 0.66 and 0.77 across ethnic groups, and was best explained by the proximal social

  5. Association analysis of whole genome sequencing data accounting for longitudinal and family designs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yijuan; Hui, Qin; Sun, Yan V

    2014-01-01

    Using the whole genome sequencing data and the simulated longitudinal phenotypes for 849 pedigree-based individuals from Genetic Analysis Workshop 18, we investigated various approaches to detecting the association of rare and common variants with blood pressure traits. We compared three strategies for longitudinal data: (a) using the baseline measurement only, (b) using the average from multiple visits, and (c) using all individual measurements. We also compared the power of using all of the pedigree-based data and the unrelated subset. The analyses were performed without knowledge of the underlying simulating model.

  6. Friendship Quality and School Achievement: A Longitudinal Analysis during Primary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zucchetti, Giulia; Candela, Filippo; Sacconi, Beatrice; Rabaglietti, Emanuela

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the longitudinal relationship between friendship quality (positive and negative) and school achievement among 228 school-age children (51% girls, M = 8.09, SD = 0.41). A three-wave cross-lagged analysis was used to determine the direction of influence between these domains across school years. Findings revealed that: (a) school…

  7. An approximate marginal logistic distribution for the analysis of longitudinal ordinal data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nooraee, Nazanin; Abegaz, Fentaw; Ormel, Johan; Wit, Ernst; van den Heuvel, Edwin R

    Subject-specific and marginal models have been developed for the analysis of longitudinal ordinal data. Subject-specific models often lack a population-average interpretation of the model parameters due to the conditional formulation of random intercepts and slopes. Marginal models frequently lack

  8. Using cost-effectiveness analysis to support research and development portfolio prioritization for product innovations in measles vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrison, Louis P; Bauch, Chris T; Bresnahan, Brian W; Hazlet, Tom K; Kadiyala, Srikanth; Veenstra, David L

    2011-07-01

    Several potential measles vaccine innovations are in development to address the shortcomings of the current vaccine. Funders need to prioritize their scarce research and development resources. This article demonstrates the usefulness of cost-effectiveness analysis to support these decisions. This study had 4 major components: (1) identifying potential innovations, (2) developing transmission models to assess mortality and morbidity impacts, (3) estimating the unit cost impacts, and (4) assessing aggregate cost-effectiveness in United Nations Children's Fund countries through 2049. Four promising technologies were evaluated: aerosol delivery, needle-free injection, inhalable dry powder, and early administration DNA vaccine. They are projected to have a small absolute impact in terms of reducing the number of measles cases in most scenarios because of already improving vaccine coverage. Three are projected to reduce unit cost per dose by $0.024 to $0.170 and would improve overall cost-effectiveness. Each will require additional investments to reach the market. Over the next 40 years, the aggregate cost savings could be substantial, ranging from $98.4 million to $689.4 million. Cost-effectiveness analysis can help to inform research and development portfolio prioritization decisions. Three new measles vaccination technologies under development hold promise to be cost-saving from a global perspective over the long-term, even after considering additional investment costs. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.

  9. Population-level impact and herd effects following human papillomavirus vaccination programmes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drolet, Mélanie; Bénard, Élodie; Boily, Marie-Claude; Ali, Hammad; Baandrup, Louise; Bauer, Heidi; Beddows, Simon; Brisson, Jacques; Brotherton, Julia M L; Cummings, Teresa; Donovan, Basil; Fairley, Christopher K; Flagg, Elaine W; Johnson, Anne M; Kahn, Jessica A; Kavanagh, Kimberley; Kjaer, Susanne K; Kliewer, Erich V; Lemieux-Mellouki, Philippe; Markowitz, Lauri; Mboup, Aminata; Mesher, David; Niccolai, Linda; Oliphant, Jeannie; Pollock, Kevin G; Soldan, Kate; Sonnenberg, Pam; Tabrizi, Sepehr N; Tanton, Clare; Brisson, Marc

    2016-01-01

    Summary Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes were first implemented in several countries worldwide in 2007. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the population-level consequences and herd effects after female HPV vaccination programmes, to verify whether or not the high efficacy reported in randomised controlled clinical trials are materialising in real-world situations. Methods We searched the Medline and Embase databases (between Jan 1, 2007 and Feb 28, 2014) and conference abstracts for time-trend studies that analysed changes, between the pre-vaccination and post-vaccination periods, in the incidence or prevalence of at least one HPV-related endpoint: HPV infection, anogenital warts, and high-grade cervical lesions. We used random-effects models to derive pooled relative risk (RR) estimates. We stratified all analyses by age and sex. We did subgroup analyses by comparing studies according to vaccine type, vaccination coverage, and years since implementation of the vaccination programme. We assessed heterogeneity across studies using I2 and χ2 statistics and we did trends analysis to examine the dose–response association between HPV vaccination coverage and each study effect measure. Findings We identified 20 eligible studies, which were all undertaken in nine high-income countries and represent more than 140 million person-years of follow-up. In countries with female vaccination coverage of at least 50%, HPV type 16 and 18 infections decreased significantly between the pre-vaccination and post-vaccination periods by 68% (RR 0·32, 95% CI 0·19–0·52) and anogenital warts decreased significantly by 61% (0·39, 0·22–0·71) in girls 13–19 years of age. Significant reductions were also recorded in HPV types 31, 33, and 45 in this age group of girls (RR 0·72, 95% CI 0·54–0·96), which suggests cross-protection. Additionally, significant reductions in anogenital warts were also reported in boys younger than 20

  10. Vaccines today, vaccines tomorrow: a perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loucq, Christian

    2013-01-01

    Vaccines are considered as one of the major contributions of the 20th century and one of the most cost effective public health interventions. The International Vaccine Institute has as a mission to discover, develop and deliver new and improved vaccines against infectious diseases that affects developing nations. If Louis Pasteur is known across the globe, vaccinologists like Maurice Hilleman, Jonas Salk and Charles Mérieux are known among experts only despite their contribution to global health. Thanks to a vaccine, smallpox has been eradicated, polio has nearly disappeared, Haemophilus influenzae B, measles and more recently meningitis A are controlled in many countries. While a malaria vaccine is undergoing phase 3, International Vaccine Institute, in collaboration with an Indian manufacturer has brought an oral inactivated cholera vaccine to pre-qualification. The field of vaccinology has undergone major changes thanks to philanthropists such as Bill and Melinda Gates, initiatives like the Decade of Vaccines and public private partnerships. Current researches on vaccines have more challenging targets like the dengue viruses, malaria, human immunodeficiency virus, the respiratory syncytial virus and nosocomial diseases. Exciting research is taking place on new adjuvants, nanoparticles, virus like particles and new route of administration. An overcrowded infant immunization program, anti-vaccine groups, immunizing a growing number of elderlies and delivering vaccines to difficult places are among challenges faced by vaccinologists and global health experts.

  11. Vaccination strategies for future influenza pandemics: a severity-based cost effectiveness analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelso, Joel K; Halder, Nilimesh; Milne, George J

    2013-02-11

    A critical issue in planning pandemic influenza mitigation strategies is the delay between the arrival of the pandemic in a community and the availability of an effective vaccine. The likely scenario, born out in the 2009 pandemic, is that a newly emerged influenza pandemic will have spread to most parts of the world before a vaccine matched to the pandemic strain is produced. For a severe pandemic, additional rapidly activated intervention measures will be required if high mortality rates are to be avoided. A simulation modelling study was conducted to examine the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of plausible combinations of social distancing, antiviral and vaccination interventions, assuming a delay of 6-months between arrival of an influenza pandemic and first availability of a vaccine. Three different pandemic scenarios were examined; mild, moderate and extreme, based on estimates of transmissibility and pathogenicity of the 2009, 1957 and 1918 influenza pandemics respectively. A range of different durations of social distancing were examined, and the sensitivity of the results to variation in the vaccination delay, ranging from 2 to 6 months, was analysed. Vaccination-only strategies were not cost effective for any pandemic scenario, saving few lives and incurring substantial vaccination costs. Vaccination coupled with long duration social distancing, antiviral treatment and antiviral prophylaxis was cost effective for moderate pandemics and extreme pandemics, where it saved lives while simultaneously reducing the total pandemic cost. Combined social distancing and antiviral interventions without vaccination were significantly less effective, since without vaccination a resurgence in case numbers occurred as soon as social distancing interventions were relaxed. When social distancing interventions were continued until at least the start of the vaccination campaign, attack rates and total costs were significantly lower, and increased rates of vaccination

  12. Quantitative Analysis of Repertoire-Scale Immunoglobulin Properties in Vaccine-Induced B-Cell Responses

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    Ilja V. Khavrutskii

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Recent advances in the next-generation sequencing of B-cell receptors (BCRs enable the characterization of humoral responses at a repertoire-wide scale and provide the capability for identifying unique features of immune repertoires in response to disease, vaccination, or infection. Immunosequencing now readily generates 103–105 sequences per sample; however, statistical analysis of these repertoires is challenging because of the high genetic diversity of BCRs and the elaborate clonal relationships among them. To date, most immunosequencing analyses have focused on reporting qualitative trends in immunoglobulin (Ig properties, such as usage or somatic hypermutation (SHM percentage of the Ig heavy chain variable (IGHV gene segment family, and on reducing complex Ig property distributions to simple summary statistics. However, because Ig properties are typically not normally distributed, any approach that fails to assess the distribution as a whole may be inadequate in (1 properly assessing the statistical significance of repertoire differences, (2 identifying how two repertoires differ, and (3 determining appropriate confidence intervals for assessing the size of the differences and their potential biological relevance. To address these issues, we have developed a technique that uses Wilcox’ robust statistics toolbox to identify statistically significant vaccine-specific differences between Ig repertoire properties. The advantage of this technique is that it can determine not only whether but also where the distributions differ, even when the Ig repertoire properties are non-normally distributed. We used this technique to characterize murine germinal center (GC B-cell repertoires in response to a complex Ebola virus-like particle (eVLP vaccine candidate with known protective efficacy. The eVLP-mediated GC B-cell responses were highly diverse, consisting of thousands of clonotypes. Despite this staggering diversity, we identified statistically

  13. Equity and vaccine uptake: a cross-sectional study of measles vaccination in Lasbela District, Pakistan

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    Soberanis José

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Achieving equity means increased uptake of health services for those who need it most. But the poorest families continue to have the poorest service. In Pakistan, large numbers of children do not access vaccination against measles despite the national government's effort to achieve universal coverage. Methods A cross-sectional study of a random sample of 23 rural and 9 urban communities in the Lasbela district of south Pakistan, explored knowledge, attitudes and discussion around measles vaccination. Several socioeconomic variables allowed examination of the role of inequities in vaccination uptake; 2479 mothers provided information about 4007 children aged 10 to 59 months. A Mantel-Haenszel stratification analysis, with and without adjustment for clustering, clarified determinants of measles vaccination in urban and rural areas. Results A high proportion of mothers had appropriate knowledge of and positive attitudes to vaccination; many discussed vaccination, but only one half of children aged 10-59 months accessed vaccination. In urban areas, having an educated mother, discussing vaccinations, having correct knowledge about vaccinations, living in a community with a government vaccination facility within 5 km, and living in houses with better roofs were associated with vaccination uptake after adjusting for the effect of each of these variables and for clustering; maternal education was an equity factor even among those with good access. In rural areas, the combination of roof quality and access (vaccination post within 5 km along with discussion about vaccines and knowledge about vaccines had an effect on uptake. Conclusion Stagnating rates of vaccination coverage may be related to increasing inequities. A hopeful finding is that discussion about vaccines and knowledge about vaccines had a positive effect that was independent of the negative effect of inequity - in both urban and rural areas. At least as a short term

  14. Is a HIV vaccine a viable option and at what price? An economic evaluation of adding HIV vaccination into existing prevention programs in Thailand

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    Peerapatanapokin Wiwat

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background This study aims to determine the maximum price at which HIV vaccination is cost-effective in the Thai healthcare setting. It also aims to identify the relative importance of vaccine characteristics and risk behavior changes among vaccine recipients to determine how they affect this cost-effectiveness. Methods A semi-Markov model was developed to estimate the costs and health outcomes of HIV prevention programs combined with HIV vaccination in comparison to the existing HIV prevention programs without vaccination. The estimation was based on a lifetime horizon period (99 years and used the government perspective. The analysis focused on both the general population and specific high-risk population groups. The maximum price of cost-effective vaccination was defined by using threshold analysis; one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. The study employed an expected value of perfect information (EVPI analysis to determine the relative importance of parameters and to prioritize future studies. Results The most expensive HIV vaccination which is cost-effective when given to the general population was 12,000 Thai baht (US$1 = 34 Thai baht in 2009. This vaccination came with 70% vaccine efficacy and lifetime protection as long as risk behavior was unchanged post-vaccination. The vaccine would be considered cost-ineffective at any price if it demonstrated low efficacy (30% and if post-vaccination risk behavior increased by 10% or more, especially among the high-risk population groups. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were the most sensitive to change in post-vaccination risk behavior, followed by vaccine efficacy and duration of protection. The EVPI indicated the need to quantify vaccine efficacy, changed post-vaccination risk behavior, and the costs of vaccination programs. Conclusions The approach used in this study differentiated it from other economic evaluations and can be applied for the economic

  15. Is a HIV vaccine a viable option and at what price? An economic evaluation of adding HIV vaccination into existing prevention programs in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leelahavarong, Pattara; Teerawattananon, Yot; Werayingyong, Pitsaphun; Akaleephan, Chutima; Premsri, Nakorn; Namwat, Chawetsan; Peerapatanapokin, Wiwat; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj

    2011-07-05

    This study aims to determine the maximum price at which HIV vaccination is cost-effective in the Thai healthcare setting. It also aims to identify the relative importance of vaccine characteristics and risk behavior changes among vaccine recipients to determine how they affect this cost-effectiveness. A semi-Markov model was developed to estimate the costs and health outcomes of HIV prevention programs combined with HIV vaccination in comparison to the existing HIV prevention programs without vaccination. The estimation was based on a lifetime horizon period (99 years) and used the government perspective. The analysis focused on both the general population and specific high-risk population groups. The maximum price of cost-effective vaccination was defined by using threshold analysis; one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. The study employed an expected value of perfect information (EVPI) analysis to determine the relative importance of parameters and to prioritize future studies. The most expensive HIV vaccination which is cost-effective when given to the general population was 12,000 Thai baht (US$1 = 34 Thai baht in 2009). This vaccination came with 70% vaccine efficacy and lifetime protection as long as risk behavior was unchanged post-vaccination. The vaccine would be considered cost-ineffective at any price if it demonstrated low efficacy (30%) and if post-vaccination risk behavior increased by 10% or more, especially among the high-risk population groups. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were the most sensitive to change in post-vaccination risk behavior, followed by vaccine efficacy and duration of protection. The EVPI indicated the need to quantify vaccine efficacy, changed post-vaccination risk behavior, and the costs of vaccination programs. The approach used in this study differentiated it from other economic evaluations and can be applied for the economic evaluation of other health interventions not available in

  16. Application of the Finite Elemental Analysis to Modeling Temperature Change of the Vaccine in an Insulated Packaging Container during Transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Changfeng; Cheng, Yujie; Shen, Yan

    2013-01-01

    This study demonstrated an attempt to predict temperatures of a perishable product such as vaccine inside an insulated packaging container during transport through finite element analysis (FEA) modeling. In order to use the standard FEA software for simulation, an equivalent heat conduction coefficient is proposed and calculated to describe the heat transfer of the air trapped inside the insulated packaging container. The three-dimensional, insulated packaging container is regarded as a combination of six panels, and the heat flow at each side panel is a one-dimension diffusion process. The transit-thermal analysis was applied to simulate the heat transition process from ambient environment to inside the container. Field measurements were carried out to collect the temperature during transport, and the collected data were compared to the FEA simulation results. Insulated packaging containers are used to transport temperature-sensitive products such as vaccine and other pharmaceutical products. The container is usually made of an extruded polystyrene foam filled with gel packs. World Health Organization guidelines recommend that all vaccines except oral polio vaccine be distributed in an environment where the temperature ranges between +2 to +8 °C. The primary areas of concern in designing the packaging for vaccine are how much of the foam thickness and gel packs should be used in order to keep the temperature in a desired range, and how to prevent the vaccine from exposure to freezing temperatures. This study uses numerical simulation to predict temperature change within an insulated packaging container in vaccine cold chain. It is our hope that this simulation will provide the vaccine industries with an alternative engineering tool to validate vaccine packaging and project thermal equilibrium within the insulated packaging container.

  17. Bifurcation analysis and stability design for aircraft longitudinal motion with high angle of attack

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    Xin Qi

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Bifurcation analysis and stability design for aircraft longitudinal motion are investigated when the nonlinearity in flight dynamics takes place severely at high angle of attack regime. To predict the special nonlinear flight phenomena, bifurcation theory and continuation method are employed to systematically analyze the nonlinear motions. With the refinement of the flight dynamics for F-8 Crusader longitudinal motion, a framework is derived to identify the stationary bifurcation and dynamic bifurcation for high-dimensional system. Case study shows that the F-8 longitudinal motion undergoes saddle node bifurcation, Hopf bifurcation, Zero-Hopf bifurcation and branch point bifurcation under certain conditions. Moreover, the Hopf bifurcation renders series of multiple frequency pitch oscillation phenomena, which deteriorate the flight control stability severely. To relieve the adverse effects of these phenomena, a stabilization control based on gain scheduling and polynomial fitting for F-8 longitudinal motion is presented to enlarge the flight envelope. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

  18. The Case for Adolescent HIV Vaccination in South Africa: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moodley, Nishila; Gray, Glenda; Bertram, Melanie

    2016-01-01

    Despite comprising 0.7% of the world population, South Africa is home to 18% of the global human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence. Unyielding HIV subepidemics among adolescents threaten national attempts to curtail the disease burden. Should an HIV vaccine become available, establishing its point of entry into the health system becomes a priority. This study assesses the impact of school-based HIV vaccination and explores how variations in vaccine characteristics affect cost-effectiveness. The cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained associated with school-based adolescent HIV vaccination services was assessed using Markov modeling that simulated annual cycles based on national costing data. The estimation was based on a life expectancy of 70 years and employs the health care provider perspective. The simultaneous implementation of HIV vaccination services with current HIV management programs would be cost-effective, even at relatively higher vaccine cost. At base vaccine cost of US$ 12, the incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) was US$ 43 per QALY gained, with improved ICER values yielded at lower vaccine costs. The ICER was sensitive to duration of vaccine mediated protection and variations in vaccine efficacy. Data from this work demonstrate that vaccines offering longer duration of protection and at lower cost would result in improved ICER values. School-based HIV vaccine services of adolescents, in addition to current HIV prevention and treatment health services delivered, would be cost-effective.

  19. Reporting Vaccine Complications: What Do Obstetricians and Gynecologists Know About the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. O. Eckert

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Obstetrician-gynecologists are increasingly called upon to be vaccinators as an essential part of a woman’s primary and preventive health care. Despite the established safety of vaccines, vaccine adverse events may occur. A national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS is a well-established mechanism to track adverse events. However, we hypothesized that many obstetrician-gynecologists are naive to the role and use of VAERS. Methods. We devised a ten-question survey to a sample of ACOG fellows to assess their knowledge and understanding of VAERS. We performed descriptive and frequency analysis for each of the questions and used one-way analysis of variance for continuous and chi-squared for categorical variables. Results. Of the 1000 fellows who received the survey, 377 responded. Only one respondent answered all nine knowledge questions correctly, and 9.2% of physicians had used VAERS. Older physicians were less familiar with VAERS in general and with the specific objectives of VAERS in particular (χ2=10.7,P=.005. Conclusions. Obstetrician-gynecologist familiarity with VAERS is lacking. Only when the obstetrician-gynecologist is completely knowledgeable regarding standard vaccine practices, including the availability and use of programs such as VAERS, will providers be functioning as competent and complete vaccinators.

  20. Potential for Controlling Cholera Using a Ring Vaccination Strategy: Re-analysis of Data from a Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial.

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    Mohammad Ali

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Vaccinating a buffer of individuals around a case (ring vaccination has the potential to target those who are at highest risk of infection, reducing the number of doses needed to control a disease. We explored the potential vaccine effectiveness (VE of oral cholera vaccines (OCVs for such a strategy.This analysis uses existing data from a cluster-randomized clinical trial in which OCV or placebo was given to 71,900 participants in Kolkata, India, from 27 July to 10 September 2006. Cholera surveillance was then conducted on 144,106 individuals living in the study area, including trial participants, for 5 y following vaccination. First, we explored the risk of cholera among contacts of cholera patients, and, second, we measured VE among individuals living within 25 m of cholera cases between 8 and 28 d after onset of the index case. For the first analysis, individuals living around each index case identified during the 5-y period were assembled using a ring to define cohorts of individuals exposed to cholera index cases. An index control without cholera was randomly selected for each index case from the same population, matched by age group, and individuals living around each index control were assembled using a ring to define cohorts not exposed to cholera cases. Cholera attack rates among the exposed and non-exposed cohorts were compared using different distances from the index case/control to define the rings and different time frames to define the period at risk. For the VE analysis, the exposed cohorts were further stratified according to the level of vaccine coverage into high and low coverage strata. Overall VE was assessed by comparing the attack rates between high and low vaccine coverage strata irrespective of individuals' vaccination status, and indirect VE was assessed by comparing the attack rates among unvaccinated members between high and low vaccine coverage strata. Cholera risk among the cohort exposed to cholera cases was 5

  1. Mass Measles Vaccination Campaign in Aila Cyclone-Affected Areas of West Bengal, India: An In-depth Analysis and Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarmila Mallik

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Disaster-affected populations are highly vulnerable to outbreaks of measles. Therefore, a mass vaccination against measles was conducted in Aila cyclone-affected blocks of West Bengal, India in July 2009. The objectives of the present report were to conduct an in depth analysis of the campaign, and to discuss the major challenges. A block level micro-plan, which included mapping of the villages, health facilities, temporary settlements of disaster-affected population, communications available, formation of vaccination team, information education communication, vaccine storage, waste disposal, surveillance for adverse events following immunization, supervision and monitoring was developed. The rate of six months to five years old children, who were vaccinated by measles vaccine, was 70.7% and that of those who received one dose of vitamin A was 71.3%. Wastage factor for vaccine doses and auto-disable syringes were 1.09 and 1.07, respectively. Only 13 cases of adverse events following immunization were reported. An average of 0.91 puncture-proof containers per vaccination session was used. Despite the major challenges faced due to difficult to reach areas, inadequate infrastructure, manpower and communication, problems of vaccine storage and transport, the campaign achieved a remarkable success regarding measles vaccine coverage, improvements of cold chain infrastructure, formulating an efficient surveillance and reporting system for adverse events following immunization, building self-confidence of the stakeholders

  2. Mass Measles Vaccination Campaign in Aila Cyclone-Affected Areas of West Bengal, India: An In-depth Analysis and Experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallik, Sarmila; Mandal, Pankaj Kumar; Ghosh, Pramit; Manna, Nirmalya; Chatterjee, Chitra; Chakrabarty, Debadatta; Bagchi, Saumendra Nath; Dasgupta, Samir

    2011-01-01

    Disaster-affected populations are highly vulnerable to outbreaks of measles. Therefore, a mass vaccination against measles was conducted in Aila cyclone-affected blocks of West Bengal, India in July 2009. The objectives of the present report were to conduct an in depth analysis of the campaign, and to discuss the major challenges. A block level micro-plan, which included mapping of the villages, health facilities, temporary settlements of disaster-affected population, communications available, formation of vaccination team, information education communication, vaccine storage, waste disposal, surveillance for adverse events following immunization, supervision and monitoring was developed. The rate of six months to five years old children, who were vaccinated by measles vaccine, was 70.7% and that of those who received one dose of vitamin A was 71.3%. Wastage factor for vaccine doses and auto-disable syringes were 1.09 and 1.07, respectively. Only 13 cases of adverse events following immunization were reported. An average of 0.91 puncture-proof containers per vaccination session was used. Despite the major challenges faced due to difficult to reach areas, inadequate infrastructure, manpower and communication, problems of vaccine storage and transport, the campaign achieved a remarkable success regarding measles vaccine coverage, improvements of cold chain infrastructure, formulating an efficient surveillance and reporting system for adverse events following immunization, building self-confidence of the stakeholders, and developing a biomedical waste disposal system. PMID:23115416

  3. Mass Measles Vaccination Campaign in Aila Cyclone-Affected Areas of West Bengal, India: An In-depth Analysis and Experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallik, Sarmila; Mandal, Pankaj Kumar; Ghosh, Pramit; Manna, Nirmalya; Chatterjee, Chitra; Chakrabarty, Debadatta; Bagchi, Saumendra Nath; Dasgupta, Samir

    2011-12-01

    Disaster-affected populations are highly vulnerable to outbreaks of measles. Therefore, a mass vaccination against measles was conducted in Aila cyclone-affected blocks of West Bengal, India in July 2009. The objectives of the present report were to conduct an in depth analysis of the campaign, and to discuss the major challenges. A block level micro-plan, which included mapping of the villages, health facilities, temporary settlements of disaster-affected population, communications available, formation of vaccination team, information education communication, vaccine storage, waste disposal, surveillance for adverse events following immunization, supervision and monitoring was developed. The rate of six months to five years old children, who were vaccinated by measles vaccine, was 70.7% and that of those who received one dose of vitamin A was 71.3%. Wastage factor for vaccine doses and auto-disable syringes were 1.09 and 1.07, respectively. Only 13 cases of adverse events following immunization were reported. An average of 0.91 puncture-proof containers per vaccination session was used. Despite the major challenges faced due to difficult to reach areas, inadequate infrastructure, manpower and communication, problems of vaccine storage and transport, the campaign achieved a remarkable success regarding measles vaccine coverage, improvements of cold chain infrastructure, formulating an efficient surveillance and reporting system for adverse events following immunization, building self-confidence of the stakeholders, and developing a biomedical waste disposal system.

  4. Biohazard Analysis of Select Biodefense Vaccine Candidates - Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Strain 3526 and Francisella Tularensis LVS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rao, V.

    2007-01-01

    Biohazard assessment of biodefense vaccine candidates forms the basis for a facility- and activity-specific risk assessment performed to determine the biosafety levels and general safety standards required for biological product development. As a part of our support to the US biodefense vaccine development program, we perform a systematic biohazard assessment of potential vaccine candidates with the primary objective to, (a) Identify and characterize hazard elements associated with the wild type and vaccine strains, (b) Provide biohazard information on the etiologic agent (vaccine candidate) to assess Phase 1 clinical trial facility sites, (c) Provide a baseline to conduct an agent and facility-specific risk assessment at clinical trial facilities interested in performing phase 1 clinical trial, (d) Provide comparative hazard profiles of the vaccine candidates wit MSDS for wild-type to identify and establish appropriate protective biosafety levels, and (e) Support determination of a hazard level to select personal protective equipment as required under the OSHA guidelines. This paper will describe the biohazard analysis of two vaccine candidates, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Strain 3526 and Francisella tularensis LVS, a viral and bacterial agent, respectively. As part of the biohazard assessment we preformed a thorough review of published literature on medical pathology, epidemiology, pre-clinical investigational studies, and environmental data on the etiologic agent subtypes and the vaccine candidates. Using standard analytical procedures, the data were then analyzed relative to two intrinsic hazard parameters-health hazard and environmental hazard. Using a weight-of-evidence (WOE) approach, the potential hazards of etiologic agent wild subtypes and vaccine candidates were ranked under three main categories: Public Health Hazard, Environmental Hazard, and Overall Hazard. A WOE scoring system allows for both a determination of the intrinsic hazard of each

  5. Biohazard Analysis of Select Biodefense Vaccine Candidates - Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Strain 3526 and Francisella Tularensis LVS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rao, V [National Security Programs, Computer Science Corporation, Alexandria (United States)

    2007-07-01

    Biohazard assessment of biodefense vaccine candidates forms the basis for a facility- and activity-specific risk assessment performed to determine the biosafety levels and general safety standards required for biological product development. As a part of our support to the US biodefense vaccine development program, we perform a systematic biohazard assessment of potential vaccine candidates with the primary objective to, (a) Identify and characterize hazard elements associated with the wild type and vaccine strains, (b) Provide biohazard information on the etiologic agent (vaccine candidate) to assess Phase 1 clinical trial facility sites, (c) Provide a baseline to conduct an agent and facility-specific risk assessment at clinical trial facilities interested in performing phase 1 clinical trial, (d) Provide comparative hazard profiles of the vaccine candidates wit MSDS for wild-type to identify and establish appropriate protective biosafety levels, and (e) Support determination of a hazard level to select personal protective equipment as required under the OSHA guidelines. This paper will describe the biohazard analysis of two vaccine candidates, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Strain 3526 and Francisella tularensis LVS, a viral and bacterial agent, respectively. As part of the biohazard assessment we preformed a thorough review of published literature on medical pathology, epidemiology, pre-clinical investigational studies, and environmental data on the etiologic agent subtypes and the vaccine candidates. Using standard analytical procedures, the data were then analyzed relative to two intrinsic hazard parameters-health hazard and environmental hazard. Using a weight-of-evidence (WOE) approach, the potential hazards of etiologic agent wild subtypes and vaccine candidates were ranked under three main categories: Public Health Hazard, Environmental Hazard, and Overall Hazard. A WOE scoring system allows for both a determination of the intrinsic hazard of each

  6. Evidence of pestivirus RNA in human virus vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harasawa, R; Tomiyama, T

    1994-01-01

    We examined live virus vaccines against measles, mumps, and rubella for the presence of pestivirus RNA or of pestiviruses by reverse transcription PCR. Pestivirus RNA was detected in two measles-mumps-rubella combined vaccines and in two monovalent vaccines against mumps and rubella. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the PCR products indicated that a modified live vaccine strain used for immunization of cattle against bovine viral diarrhea is not responsible for the contamination of the vaccines. Images PMID:8077414

  7. Loading Conditions and Longitudinal Strength

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Herman

    1995-01-01

    Methods for the calculation of the lightweight of the ship.Loading conditions satisfying draught, trim and intact stability requirements and analysis of the corresponding stillwater longitudinal strength.......Methods for the calculation of the lightweight of the ship.Loading conditions satisfying draught, trim and intact stability requirements and analysis of the corresponding stillwater longitudinal strength....

  8. Toolbox for non-intrusive structural and functional analysis of recombinant VLP based vaccines: a case study with hepatitis B vaccine.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anke M Mulder

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Fundamental to vaccine development, manufacturing consistency, and product stability is an understanding of the vaccine structure-activity relationship. With the virus-like particle (VLP approach for recombinant vaccines gaining popularity, there is growing demand for tools that define their key characteristics. We assessed a suite of non-intrusive VLP epitope structure and function characterization tools by application to the Hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg VLP-based vaccine. METHODOLOGY: The epitope-specific immune reactivity of rHBsAg epitopes to a given monoclonal antibody was monitored by surface plasmon resonance (SPR and quantitatively analyzed on rHBsAg VLPs in-solution or bound to adjuvant with a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA. The structure of recombinant rHBsAg particles was examined by cryo transmission electron microscopy (cryoTEM and in-solution atomic force microscopy (AFM. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: SPR and competitive ELISA determined relative antigenicity in solution, in real time, with rapid turn-around, and without the need of dissolving the particulate aluminum based adjuvant. These methods demonstrated the nature of the clinically relevant epitopes of HBsAg as being responsive to heat and/or redox treatment. In-solution AFM and cryoTEM determined vaccine particle size distribution, shape, and morphology. Redox-treated rHBsAg enabled 3D reconstruction from CryoTEM images--confirming the previously proposed octahedral structure and the established lipid-to-protein ratio of HBsAg particles. Results from these non-intrusive biophysical and immunochemical analyses coalesced into a comprehensive understanding of rHBsAg vaccine epitope structure and function that was important for assuring the desired epitope formation, determinants for vaccine potency, and particle stability during vaccine design, development, and manufacturing. SIGNIFICANCE: Together, the methods presented here comprise a novel

  9. Pneumonia Prevention during a Humanitarian Emergency: Cost-effectiveness of Haemophilus Influenzae Type B Conjugate Vaccine and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Somalia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gargano, Lisa M; Hajjeh, Rana; Cookson, Susan T

    2015-08-01

    Pneumonia is a leading cause of death among children less than five years old during humanitarian emergencies. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Streptococcus pneumoniae are the leading causes of bacterial pneumonia. Vaccines for both of these pathogens are available to prevent pneumonia. Problem This study describes an economic analysis from a publicly funded health care system perspective performed on a birth cohort in Somalia, a country that has experienced a protracted humanitarian emergency. An impact and cost-effectiveness analysis was performed comparing: no vaccine, Hib vaccine only, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 10 (PCV10) only, and both together administered through supplemental immunization activities (SIAs). The main summary measure was the incremental cost per disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted. One-way sensitivity analysis was conducted for uncertainty in parameter values. Each SIA would avert a substantial number of cases and deaths. Compared with no vaccine, the DALYs averted by two SIAs for two doses of Hib vaccine was US $202.93 (lower and upper limits: $121.80-$623.52), two doses of PCV10 was US $161.51 ($107.24-$227.21), and two doses of both vaccines was US $152.42 ($101.20-$214.42). Variables that influenced the cost-effectiveness for each strategy most substantially were vaccine effectiveness, case fatality rates (CFRs), and disease burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a cost-effective intervention as costing one to three times the per capita gross domestic product (GDP; in 2011, for Somalia=US $112). Based on the presented model, Hib vaccine alone, PCV10 alone, or Hib vaccine and PCV10 given together in SIAs are cost-effective interventions in Somalia. The WHO/Strategic Advisory Group of Experts decision-making factors for vaccine deployment appear to have all been met: the disease burden is large, the vaccine-related risk is low, prevention in this setting is more feasible than treatment, the vaccine

  10. Lack of evidence for post-vaccine onset of autoimmune/lymphoproliferative disorders, during a nine-month follow-up in multiply vaccinated Italian military personnel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferlito, Claudia; Barnaba, Vincenzo; Abrignani, Sergio; Bombaci, Mauro; Sette, Alessandro; Sidney, John; Biselli, Roberto; Tomao, Enrico; Cattaruzza, Maria Sofia; Germano, Valentina; Biondo, Michela Ileen; Salerno, Gerardo; Lulli, Patrizia; Caporuscio, Sara; Picchianti Diamanti, Andrea; Falco, Mirella; Biselli, Valentina; Cardelli, Patrizia; Autore, Alberto; Lucertini, Elena; De Cesare, Donato Pompeo; Peragallo, Mario Stefano; Lista, Florigio; Martire, Carmela; Salemi, Simonetta; Nisini, Roberto; D'Amelio, Raffaele

    2017-08-01

    Anecdotal case reports, amplified by mass media and internet-based opinion groups, have recently indicated vaccinations as possibly responsible for autoimmunity/lymphoproliferation development. Multiply vaccinated Italian military personnel (group 1, operating in Italy, group 2, operating in Lebanon) were followed-up for nine months to monitor possible post-vaccine autoimmunity/lymphoproliferation onset. No serious adverse event was noticed in both groups. Multivariate analysis of intergroup differences only showed a significant association between lymphocyte increase and tetanus/diphtheria vaccine administration. A significant post-vaccine decrease in autoantibody positivity was observed. Autoantibodies were also studied by microarray analysis of self-proteins in subjects exposed to ≥4 concurrent vaccinations, without observing significant difference among baseline and one and nine months post-vaccine. Moreover, HLA-A2 subjects have been analyzed for the possible CD8T-cell response to apoptotic self-epitopes, without observing significant difference between baseline and one month post-vaccine. Multiple vaccinations in young adults are safe and not associated to autoimmunity/lymphoproliferation onset during a nine-month-long follow-up. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Human Papillomavirus Prevalence and Herd Immunity after Introduction of Vaccination Program, Scotland, 2009–2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kavanagh, Kimberley; Pan, Jiafeng; Love, John; Cuschieri, Kate; Robertson, Chris; Ahmed, Syed; Palmer, Timothy; Pollock, Kevin G.J.

    2016-01-01

    In 2008, a national human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization program using a bivalent vaccine against HPV types 16 and 18 was implemented in Scotland along with a national surveillance program designed to determine the longitudinal effects of vaccination on HPV infection at the population level. Each year during 2009–2013, the surveillance program conducted HPV testing on a proportion of liquid-based cytology samples from women undergoing their first cervical screening test for precancerous cervical disease. By linking vaccination, cervical screening, and HPV testing data, over the study period we found a decline in HPV types 16 and 18, significant decreases in HPV types 31, 33, and 45 (suggesting cross-protection), and a nonsignificant increase in HPV 51. In addition, among nonvaccinated women, HPV types 16 and 18 infections were significantly lower in 2013 than in 2009. Our results preliminarily indicate herd immunity and sustained effectiveness of the bivalent vaccine on virologic outcomes at the population level. PMID:26692336

  12. Pertussis circulation has increased T-cell immunity during childhood more than a second acellular booster vaccination in Dutch children 9 years of age.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rose-Minke Schure

    Full Text Available UNLABELLED: Here we report the first evaluation of T-cell responses upon a second acellular pertussis booster vaccination in Dutch children at 9 years of age, 5 years after a preschool booster vaccination. Blood samples of children 9 years of age were studied longitudinally until 1 year after the second aP booster and compared with those after the first aP booster in children 4 and 6 years of age from a cross-sectional study. After stimulation with pertussis-vaccine antigens, Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokine responses were measured and effector memory cells (CCR7-CD45RA- were characterized by 8-colour FACS analysis. The second aP booster vaccination at pre-adolescent age in wP primed individuals did increase pertussis-specific Th1 and Th2 cytokine responses. Noticeably, almost all T-cell responses had increased with age and were already high before the booster vaccination at 9 years of age. The enhancement of T-cell immunity during the 5 year following the booster at 4 years of age is probably caused by natural boosting due to the a high circulation of pertussis. However, the incidence of pertussis is high in adolescents and adults who have only received the Dutch wP vaccine during infancy and no booster at 4 years of age. Therefore, an aP booster vaccination at adolescence or later in these populations might improve long-term immunity against pertussis and reduce the transmission to the vulnerable newborns. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Controlled-Trials.com ISRCTN64117538.

  13. Vaccinate-assess-move method of mass canine rabies vaccination utilising mobile technology data collection in Ranchi, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Andrew D; Ohal, Praveen; Shervell, Kate; Handel, Ian G; Bronsvoort, Barend M; Mellanby, Richard J; Gamble, Luke

    2015-12-29

    Over 20,000 people die from rabies each year in India. At least 95 % of people contract rabies from an infected dog. Annual vaccination of over 70 % of the dog population has eliminated both canine and human rabies in many countries. Despite having the highest burden of rabies in the world, there have been very few studies which have reported the successful, large scale vaccination of dogs in India. Furthermore, many Indian canine rabies vaccination programmes have not achieved high vaccine coverage. In this study, we utilised a catch-vaccinate-release approach in a canine rabies vaccination programme in 18 wards in Ranchi, India. Following vaccination, surveys of the number of marked, vaccinated and unmarked, unvaccinated dogs were undertaken. A bespoke smartphone 'Mission Rabies' application was developed to facilitate data entry and team management. This enabled GPS capture of the location of all vaccinated dogs and dogs sighted on post vaccination surveys. In areas where coverage was below 70 %, catching teams were re-deployed to vaccinate more dogs followed by repeat survey. During the initial vaccination cycle, 6593 dogs were vaccinated. Vaccination coverage was over 70 % in 14 of the 18 wards. A second cycle of vaccination was performed in the 4 wards where initial vaccination coverage was below 70 %. Following this second round of vaccination, coverage was reassessed and found to be over 70 % in two wards and only just below 70 % in the final two wards (66.7 % and 68.2 %, respectively). Our study demonstrated that mobile technology enabled efficient team management and rapid data entry and analysis. The vaccination approach outlined in this study has the potential to facilitate the rapid vaccination of large numbers of dogs at a high coverage in free roaming dog populations in India.

  14. Differences by sex in IgG levels following infant and childhood vaccinations : An individual participant data meta-analysis of vaccination studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boef, Anna G. C.; van der Klis, Fiona R M; Berbers, Guy A M; Buisman, Anne-Marie; Sanders, Elisabeth A.M.; Kemmeren, Jeanet M.; van der Ende, Arie; de Melker, Hester E.; Rots, Nynke Y; Knol, Mirjam J.

    2018-01-01

    Background If immune responses to vaccination differ between males and females, sex-specific vaccination schedules may be indicated. We systematically reanalysed childhood vaccination studies conducted in The Netherlands for sex-differences in IgG-responses. To assess the impact of potential

  15. Differences by sex in IgG levels following infant and childhood vaccinations: An individual participant data meta-analysis of vaccination studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boef, Anna G. C.; van der Klis, Fiona R. M.; Berbers, Guy A. M.; Buisman, Anne-Marie; Sanders, Elisabeth A. M.; Kemmeren, Jeanet M.; van der Ende, Arie; de Melker, Hester E.; Rots, Nynke Y.; Knol, Mirjam J.

    2018-01-01

    Background: If immune responses to vaccination differ between males and females, sex-specific vaccination schedules may be indicated. We systematically reanalysed childhood vaccination studies conducted in The Netherlands for sex-differences in IgG-responses. To assess the impact of potential

  16. Vaccination of Сhildren in the Kyrgyz Republic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gulzhan S. Kitarova

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Vaccination is concidered worldwide as the most effective preventive measure for many pediatric infectious diseases (vaccine-controlled.Objective. The goal of the study was to assess the current state of immunization and parent awareness on the vaccination of children under the age of five.Methods: Analysis of data reported by the National Reporting System on the state of vaccination of children under age of five as well as analysis of two representative multi-indicator cluster and medico-demographic studies were used in the study. Cluster study of mothers’ general awareness and their attitude towards vaccination of children under the age of five was conducted. Total of 30 clusters from 93 villages in the region were selected by random sampling.Results: In the Kyrgyz Republic, the coverage rates of children with a full range of vaccinations in accordance with the National Vaccination Schedule based on reported official statistics and two representative household-level studies are contradictory and range from 72.5% to 97.5%. In the last 15 years, the proportion of children aged 18–29 months who received all main vaccines recommended by WHO decreased by 10% points. The status of vaccinating children was influenced by the level of mothers’ awareness on the importance of vaccination: 34.4% of respondents denied vaccinations due to disbelief of the possibility of preventing infectious diseases by vaccination, versus 4.2% of mothers who doubted the effectiveness of vaccinations. Meanwhile, the quality of counseling to mothers performed by health professionals does not contribute to a better understanding of the importance of vaccination for children’s health and survival.Conclusion. The results of the study indicate the vaccination coverage reduction, unreliability of registered number of vaccinated children, and low level of informational awareness on the importance of vaccination for the prevention of a number of infectious diseases and

  17. Effectiveness and economic analysis of the whole cell/recombinant B subunit (WC/rbs inactivated oral cholera vaccine in the prevention of traveller's diarrhoea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diez-Diaz Rosa

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Nowadays there is a debate about the indication of the oral whole-cell/recombinant B-subunit cholera vaccine (WC/rBS in traveller's diarrhoea. However, a cost-benefit analysis based on real data has not been published. Methods A cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit study of the oral cholera vaccine (WC/rBS, Dukoral® for the prevention of traveller's diarrhoea (TD was performed in subjects travelling to cholera risk areas. The effectiveness of WC/rBS vaccine in the prevention of TD was analyzed in 362 travellers attending two International Vaccination Centres in Spain between May and September 2005. Results The overall vaccine efficacy against TD was 42,6%. Direct healthcare-related costs as well as indirect costs (lost vacation days subsequent to the disease were considered. Preventive vaccination against TD resulted in a mean saving of 79.26 € per traveller. Conclusion According to the cost-benefit analysis performed, the recommendation for WC/rBS vaccination in subjects travelling to zones at risk of TD is beneficial for the traveller, regardless of trip duration and visited continent.

  18. College Student Invulnerability Beliefs and HIV Vaccine Acceptability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravert, Russell D.; Zimet, Gregory D.

    2009-01-01

    Objective: To examine behavioral history, beliefs, and vaccine characteristics as predictors of HIV vaccine acceptability. Methods: Two hundred forty-five US under graduates were surveyed regarding their sexual history, risk beliefs, and likelihood of accepting hypothetical HIV vaccines. Results: Multivariate regression analysis indicated that…

  19. How influenza vaccination policy may affect vaccine logistics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assi, Tina-Marie; Rookkapan, Korngamon; Rajgopal, Jayant; Sornsrivichai, Vorasith; Brown, Shawn T; Welling, Joel S; Norman, Bryan A; Connor, Diana L; Chen, Sheng-I; Slayton, Rachel B; Laosiritaworn, Yongjua; Wateska, Angela R; Wisniewski, Stephen R; Lee, Bruce Y

    2012-06-22

    When policymakers make decision about the target populations and timing of influenza vaccination, they may not consider the impact on the vaccine supply chains, which may in turn affect vaccine availability. Our goal is to explore the effects on the Thailand vaccine supply chain of introducing influenza vaccines and varying the target populations and immunization time-frames. We Utilized our custom-designed software HERMES (Highly Extensible Resource for Modeling Supply Chains), we developed a detailed, computational discrete-event simulation model of the Thailand's National Immunization Program (NIP) supply chain in Trang Province, Thailand. A suite of experiments simulated introducing influenza vaccines for different target populations and over different time-frames prior to and during the annual influenza season. Introducing influenza vaccines creates bottlenecks that reduce the availability of both influenza vaccines as well as the other NIP vaccines, with provincial to district transport capacity being the primary constraint. Even covering only 25% of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice-recommended population while administering the vaccine over six months hinders overall vaccine availability so that only 62% of arriving patients can receive vaccines. Increasing the target population from 25% to 100% progressively worsens these bottlenecks, while increasing influenza vaccination time-frame from 1 to 6 months decreases these bottlenecks. Since the choice of target populations for influenza vaccination and the time-frame to deliver this vaccine can substantially affect the flow of all vaccines, policy-makers may want to consider supply chain effects when choosing target populations for a vaccine. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Vaccine-induced rabies case in a cow (Bos taurus): Molecular characterisation of vaccine strain in brain tissue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuta, Vlad; Picard-Meyer, Evelyne; Robardet, Emmanuelle; Barboi, Gheorghe; Motiu, Razvan; Barbuceanu, Florica; Vlagioiu, Constantin; Cliquet, Florence

    2016-09-22

    Rabies is a fatal neuropathogenic zoonosis caused by the rabies virus of the Lyssavirus genus, Rhabdoviridae family. The oral vaccination of foxes - the main reservoir of rabies in Europe - using a live attenuated rabies virus vaccine was successfully conducted in many Western European countries. In July 2015, a rabies vaccine strain was isolated from the brain tissues of a clinically suspect cow (Bos taurus) in Romania. The nucleotide analysis of both N and G gene sequences showed 100% identity between the rabid animal, the GenBank reference SAD B19 strain and five rabies vaccine batches used for the national oral vaccination campaign targeting foxes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Profiles of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations in Elementary School: A Longitudinal Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corpus, Jennifer Henderlong; Wormington, Stephanie V.

    2014-01-01

    The authors used a person-centered, longitudinal approach to identify and evaluate naturally occurring combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations among 490 third- through fifth-grade students. Cluster analysis revealed 3 groups, characterized by high levels of both motivations ("high quantity"): high intrinsic motivation but low…

  2. Signs over time: Statistical and visual analysis of a longitudinal signed network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Nooy, W.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents the design and results of a statistical and visual analysis of a dynamic signed network. In addition to prevalent approaches to longitudinal networks, which analyze series of cross-sectional data, this paper focuses on network data measured in continuous time in order to explain

  3. Cost-effectiveness analysis of prophylactic cervical cancer vaccination in Japanese women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konno, Ryo; Sasagawa, Toshiyuki; Fukuda, Takashi; Van Kriekinge, Georges; Demarteau, Nadia

    2010-04-01

    The incidence of cervical cancer (CC) is high in Japan and is further increasing among women younger than 30 years. This burden could be reduced by the implementation of a CC vaccine, but its cost-effectiveness is unknown. We quantified the clinical impact and assessed the cost-effectiveness of adding CC vaccination at age 12 to the current screening in place in Japan with a lifetime Markov model adapted to the Japanese setting. Transition probabilities and utility values were obtained from public databases. Direct costs for treatment and screening were estimated using Japanese medical fees. Annual costs and benefits were discounted at 3%. Sensitivity analyses were conducted on the age at vaccination, the vaccine characteristics, the discount rates, the proportion of human papillomavirus types 16/18 in cancer, and the screening coverage. Vaccinating a 12-year-old cohort was predicted to reduce CC incidence and deaths from CC by 73%. These clinical effects were associated with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of yen1.8 million per quality-adjusted life year gained. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of vaccinating all 10- to 45-year-old women was yen2.8 million per quality-adjusted life year, still below the threshold value. The implementation of a CC vaccination in Japan could reduce the CC burden in a very cost-effective manner for women up to 45 years.

  4. Investigating Canadian parents' HPV vaccine knowledge, attitudes and behaviour: a study protocol for a longitudinal national online survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapiro, Gilla K; Perez, Samara; Naz, Anila; Tatar, Ovidiu; Guichon, Juliet R; Amsel, Rhonda; Zimet, Gregory D; Rosberger, Zeev

    2017-10-11

    Human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, can cause anogenital warts and a number of cancers. To prevent morbidity and mortality, three vaccines have been licensed and are recommended by Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunisation (for girls since 2007 and boys since 2012). Nevertheless, HPV vaccine coverage in Canada remains suboptimal in many regions. This study will be the first to concurrently examine the correlates of HPV vaccine decision-making in parents of school-aged girls and boys and evaluate changes in parental knowledge, attitudes and behaviours over time. Using a national, online survey utilising theoretically driven constructs and validated measures, this study will identify HPV vaccine coverage rates and correlates of vaccine decision-making in Canada at two time points (August-September 2016 and June-July 2017). 4606 participants will be recruited to participate in an online survey through a market research and polling firm using email invitations. Data cleaning methods will identify inattentive or unmotivated participants. The study received research ethics board approval from the Research Review Office, Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montreal (CODIM-FLP-16-219). The study will adopt a multimodal approach to disseminate the study's findings to researchers, clinicians, cancer and immunisation organisations and the public in Canada and internationally. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  5. Effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine and seasonal influenza vaccine for pneumonia among the elderly - Selection of controls in a case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondo, Kyoko; Suzuki, Kanzo; Washio, Masakazu; Ohfuji, Satoko; Fukushima, Wakaba; Maeda, Akiko; Hirota, Yoshio

    2017-08-24

    We conducted a case-control study to elucidate associations between pneumonia in elderly individuals and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) and seasonal influenza vaccine (influenza vaccine). Here, we examined selection of controls in our study using an analytic epidemiology approach. The study period was from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2014. Cases comprised ≥65-year-old patients newly diagnosed with pneumonia. For every case with pneumonia, two patients with other diseases (one respiratory medicine, one non-respiratory medicine) who were sex-, age-, visit date- and visit hospital-matched were selected as controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of vaccination for pneumonia were calculated using conditional logistic regression model. Similar analyses were also conducted based on the clinical department of controls. Analysis was conducted in 234 cases and 438 controls. Effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccination or influenza vaccination against pneumonia was not detected. Proportions of either vaccination in controls were greater among respiratory medicine (pneumococcal vaccine, 38%; influenza vaccine, 55%) than among non-respiratory medicine (23%; 48%). Analysis using controls restricted to respiratory medicine showed marginally significant effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccination (OR, 0.59; 95%CI, 0.34-1.03; P=0.064) and influenza vaccination (0.64; 0.40-1.04; 0.072). However, this effectiveness might have been overestimated by selection bias of controls, as pneumonia cases are not necessarily respiratory medicine patients. In the analysis using controls restricted to non-respiratory medicine, OR of pneumococcal vaccination for pneumonia was close to 1, presumably because the proportion of pneumococcal vaccination was higher in cases than in controls. Because pneumococcal vaccine was not routinely administered during the study period, differences in recommendations of vaccination by physician in different

  6. Quantifying population preferences around vaccination against severe but rare diseases: A conjoint analysis among French university students, 2016.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seanehia, Joy; Treibich, Carole; Holmberg, Christine; Müller-Nordhorn, Jacqueline; Casin, Valerie; Raude, Jocelyn; Mueller, Judith E

    2017-05-09

    Several concepts are available to explain vaccine decision making by individual and inter-individual factors, including risk perception, social conformism and altruism. However, only a few studies have quantified the weight of these determinants in vaccine acceptance. Using a conjoint analysis tool, we aimed at eliciting preferences in a student population regarding vaccination against a rare, severe and rapidly evolving hypothetical disease, similar to meningococcal serogroup C meningitis or measles. During March-May 2016, we conducted an emailing survey among university students aged 18-24years (N=775) in Rennes, France. Participants were asked to decide for or against immediate vaccination in 24 hypothetical scenarios, containing various levels of four attributes: epidemic situation, adverse events, information on vaccination coverage, and potential for indirect protection. Data were analysed using random effect estimator logit models. Participants accepted on average 52% of scenarios and all attributes significantly impacted vaccination acceptance. The highest positive effects were seen with an epidemic situation (OR 3.81, 95%-CI 3.46-4.19), 90% coverage in the community (3.64, 3.15-4.20) and potential for disease elimination from the community (2.87, 2.53-3.26). Information on "insufficient coverage" was dissuasive (vs. none of friends vaccinated: 0.65, 0.56-0.75). Controversy had a significantly greater negative effect than a confirmed risk of severe adverse events (OR 0.05 vs. 0.22). In models including participant characteristics, preference weights were unchanged, while trust in health authorities and vaccination perceptions strongly influenced acceptance themselves. The greatest significant variation of preference weights between subgroups was observed with controversy among students using alternative medicine daily (OR 0.28) and among students relying on scientific vaccine information (OR 0.02). Among young adults, potential for indirect protection and

  7. A qualitative analysis of factors influencing HPV vaccine uptake in Soweto, South Africa among adolescents and their caregivers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingrid T Katz

    Full Text Available In South Africa, the prevalence of oncogenic Human Papillomavirus (HPV may be as high as 64%, and cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women. The development of efficacious prophylactic vaccines has provided an opportunity for primary prevention. Given the importance of psycho-social forces in vaccine uptake, we sought to elucidate factors influencing HPV vaccination among a sample of low-income South African adolescents receiving the vaccine for the first time in Soweto.The HPV vaccine was introduced to adolescents in low-income townships throughout South Africa as part of a nationwide trial to understand adolescent involvement in future vaccine research targeting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV. We performed in-depth semi-structured interviews with purposively-sampled adolescents and their care providers to understand what forces shaped HPV vaccine uptake. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated, and examined using thematic analysis.Of 224 adolescents recruited, 201 initiated the vaccine; 192 (95.5% received a second immunization; and 164 (81.6% completed three doses. In our qualitative study of 39 adolescent-caregiver dyads, we found that factors driving vaccine uptake reflected a socio-cultural backdrop of high HIV endemnicity, sexual violence, poverty, and an abundance of female-headed households. Adolescents exercised a high level of autonomy and often initiated decision-making. Healthcare providers and peers provided support and guidance that was absent at home. The impact of the HIV epidemic on decision-making was substantial, leading participants to mistakenly conflate HPV and HIV.In a setting of perceived rampant sexual violence and epidemic levels of HIV, adolescents and caregivers sought to decrease harm by seeking a vaccine targeting a sexually transmitted infection (STI. Despite careful consenting, there was confusion regarding the vaccine's target. Future interventions promoting STI

  8. Hepatitis C virus and the immunological response to hepatitis B virus vaccine in dialysis patients: meta-analysis of clinical studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabrizi, F; Dixit, V; Martin, P; Messa, P

    2011-12-01

    It is well known that the seroconversion rate of patients following hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination is lower in uraemic than healthy subjects. A variety of inherited or acquired factors have been implicated in this diminished response, and the high prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among patients on maintenance dialysis has been suggested to play a role. However, the impact of HCV on the immune response to HB vaccine in patients receiving long-term dialysis is not entirely understood. Here, we evaluate the influence of HCV infection on the immunological response to HBV vaccine in dialysis population by performing a systematic review of the literature with a meta-analysis of clinical studies.We used the random-effects model of DerSimonian and Laird with heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses. The end-point of interest was the rate of patients showing seroprotective anti-hepatitis B titres at completion of HBV vaccine schedule among HCV-positive versus HCV-negative patients on chronic dialysis. We identified eight studies involving 520 unique patients on long-term dialysis. Aggregation of study results did not show a significant decrease in response rates among HCV-infected versus noninfected patients [pooled odds ratio = 0.621 (95% CI, 0.285; 1.353)]. The P-value was 0.007 for our test of study heterogeneity. Stratified analysis in various subgroups of interest did not meaningfully change our results. Our meta-analysis showed no association between immunological response to hepatitis B vaccine and HCV infection in individuals on long-term dialysis. These results support the use of recombinant vaccine against hepatitis B in patients on regular dialysis with HCV infection. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. Risk of venous thromboembolism following influenza vaccination in adults aged 50years and older in the Vaccine Safety Datalink.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vickers, Elizabeth R; McClure, David L; Naleway, Allison L; Jacobsen, Steven J; Klein, Nicola P; Glanz, Jason M; Weintraub, Eric S; Belongia, Edward A

    2017-10-13

    Influenza-like illness and inflammation are known risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). However, few studies have characterized the risk of VTE following influenza vaccination. We examined VTE risk after vaccination in adults 50years old and older within the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD). We used the self-controlled case series method to determine the risk of VTE among age-eligible adults who received influenza vaccine (with or without pandemic H1N1) and experienced a VTE during the months of September through December in 2007 through 2012. Presumptive VTE cases were identified among VSD participants using diagnostic codes, diagnostic tests, and oral anticoagulant prescription. Potential cases were validated by medical record review. The VTE incidence rate ratio was calculated among confirmed cases for the risk window 1 to 10days after vaccination relative to all other person-time from September through December. Of the 1,488 presumptive cases identified, 508 were reviewed, of which 492 (97%) were confirmed cases of VTE. The analysis included 396 incident, confirmed cases. Overall, there was no increased risk of VTE in the 1 to 10days after influenza vaccination (IRR=0.89, 95% CI 0.69-1.17) compared to the control period. Results were similar when all person-time was censored before vaccination. A post hoc analysis showed an increased risk among current tobacco smokers (IRR=2.57, 95% CI 1.06-6.23). No clustering of VTE was observed in the 1-42days after vaccination. Overall, there was no evidence that inactivated influenza vaccine was associated with VTE in adults ≥50years old. An increased risk was found among current smokers in a post hoc analysis. These findings are consistent with previous research and support the safety of annual vaccination in this population. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Identification and characterization of avian retroviruses in chicken embryo-derived yellow fever vaccines: investigation of transmission to vaccine recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Althaf I; Johnson, Jeffrey A; Da Silva Freire, Marcos; Heneine, Walid

    2003-01-01

    All currently licensed yellow fever (YF) vaccines are propagated in chicken embryos. Recent studies of chick cell-derived measles and mumps vaccines show evidence of two types of retrovirus particles, the endogenous avian retrovirus (EAV) and the endogenous avian leukosis virus (ALV-E), which originate from the chicken embryonic fibroblast substrates. In this study, we investigated substrate-derived avian retrovirus contamination in YF vaccines currently produced by three manufacturers (YF-vax [Connaught Laboratories], Stamaril [Aventis], and YF-FIOCRUZ [FIOCRUZ-Bio-Manguinhos]). Testing for reverse transcriptase (RT) activity was not possible because of assay inhibition. However, Western blot analysis of virus pellets with anti-ALV RT antiserum detected three distinct RT proteins in all vaccines, indicating that more than one source is responsible for the RTs present in the vaccines. PCR analysis of both chicken substrate DNA and particle-associated RNA from the YF vaccines showed no evidence of the long terminal repeat sequences of exogenous ALV subgroups A to D in any of the vaccines. In contrast, both ALV-E and EAV particle-associated RNA were detected at equivalent titers in each vaccine by RT-PCR. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR revealed 61,600, 348,000, and 1,665,000 ALV-E RNA copies per dose of Stamaril, YF-FIOCRUZ, and YF-vax vaccines, respectively. ev locus-specific PCR testing of the vaccine-associated chicken substrate DNA was positive both for the nondefective ev-12 locus in two vaccines and for the defective ev-1 locus in all three vaccines. Both intact and ev-1 pol sequences were also identified in the particle-associated RNA. To investigate the risks of transmission, serum samples from 43 YF vaccine recipients were studied. None of the samples were seropositive by an ALV-E-based Western blot assay or had detectable EAV or ALV-E RNA sequences by RT-PCR. YF vaccines produced by the three manufacturers all have particles containing EAV genomes and

  11. Clinical Efficacy, Safety, and Immunogenicity of a Live Attenuated Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine (CYD-TDV in Children: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moffat Malisheni

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundDengue hemorrhagic fever is the leading cause of hospitalization and death in children living in Asia and Latin America. There is an urgent need for an effective and safe dengue vaccine to reduce morbidity and mortality in this high-risk population given the lack of dengue specific treatment at present. This review aims to determine the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of CYD-TDV vaccine in children.MethodsThis is a systematic review including meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trial data from Embase, Medline, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Studies that assessed CYD-TDV vaccine efficacy [(1 − RR*100], safety (RR, and immunogenicity (weighted mean difference in children were included in this study. Random effects model was employed to analyze patient-level data extracted from primary studies.ResultsThe overall efficacy of CYD-TDV vaccine was 54% (40–64, while serotype-specific efficacy was 77% (66–85 for DENV4, 75% (65–82 for DENV3, 50% (36–61 for DENV1, and 34% (14–49 for DENV2. 15% (−174–74 vaccine efficacy was obtained for the unknown serotype. Meta-analysis of included studies with longer follow-up time (25 months revealed that CYD-TDV vaccine significantly increased the risk of injection site reactions (RR = 1.1: 1.04–1.17; p-value = 0.001. Immunogenicity (expressed as geometric mean titers in descending order was 439.7 (331.7–547.7, 323 (247 – 398.7, 144.1 (117.9–170.2, and 105 (88.7–122.8 for DENV3, DENV2, DENV1, and DENV4, respectively.ConclusionCYD-TDV vaccine is effective and immunogenic in children overall. Reduced efficacy of CYD-TDV vaccine against DENV2 notoriously known for causing severe dengue infection and dengue outbreaks cause for serious concern. Post hoc meta-analysis of long-term follow-up data (≥25 months from children previously vaccinated with CYD-TDV vaccine is needed to make a conclusion regarding CYD-TDV vaccine

  12. Health Technology Assessment and vaccine: new needs and opportunities?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe La Torre

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Health Technology Assessment (HTA can represent an innovative and effective approach to supply decisionmakers with a valid instrument to improve the allocation of resources in the field of vaccines. We proposed a HTA approach for considering the introduction of a new vaccine that could potentially have a great impact on the population’s health, using as an example the vaccine against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV. This approach could be of great interest when the decision making process involves choices regarding new vaccines. We developed a HTA approach for assessing all of the aspects involved in the introduction of vaccines against HPV in Italy, considering the following issues: - epidemiological evaluation of HPV infection and related pathologies through the consultation of data banks and the scientific literature; - evaluation of health care resources utilisation by people suffering from the infection/ related diseases, through the consultation of hospital archives; - systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials on HPV vaccination effectiveness and safety; - mathematical modelling and economic evaluation of the vaccination using a cost-effectiveness analysis; - evaluation of the impact of vaccination on the Health System [organisational aspects, vaccine surveillance, relationship between different decisional levels (national, regional]; - analysis of the ethical, social (acceptability, availability, accessibility, information and legislative aspects of vaccination. A HTA report on the new vaccine could represent an new important tool to support the choice of decision makers in order to better inform the allocation of economic resources and maximize healthcare services, since it takes into account not only the burden and the epidemiology of the disease, and the economic evaluation of different scenarios, but also the social, legal and bioethical aspects. For HTA to support the introduction of new technologies, and new

  13. Vaccination uptake and awareness of a free hepatitis B vaccination program among female commercial sex workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baars, Jessica E; Boon, Brigitte J F; Garretsen, Henk F; van de Mheen, Dike

    2009-01-01

    We sought to explore the reach of a free hepatitis B vaccination program among female commercial sex workers (CSWs) within a legalized prostitution setting in the Netherlands. We also investigated the reasons for nonparticipation and noncompliance. In this cross-sectional study based on ethnographic mapping and targeted sampling, 259 CSWs were interviewed at their work in 3 regions in the Netherlands. The semistructured interviews contained questions on sociodemographics, sexual risk behavior, sex work, awareness of the opportunity to obtain free hepatitis B vaccination, vaccination uptake, and compliance with the full vaccination schedule. Of our sample, 79% reported awareness of the opportunity to obtain hepatitis B vaccination, and 63% reported to be vaccinated against hepatitis B (received > or =1 vaccination). A personal approach by health professionals or was associated with vaccination uptake, when specific sociodemographic variables, sexual behavior, and sex work related covariates were controlled for in the analysis. Window prostitution and the duration of working in the region were associated with awareness of the opportunity to obtain free hepatitis B vaccination. The results of this study suggest that outreach activities (i.e., a personal approach) within this program are beneficial. Transient CSWs are more difficult to reach within the current vaccination program. These results can be used to increase the success of future health programs among this risk group.

  14. Association of strategic management with vaccination in the terms of globalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabrenovic, Mihajlo; Cukanovic Karavidic, Marija; Stosic, Ivana

    2018-04-01

    Globalization is having an ever growing impact on the field of vaccine production and distribution in the world and domestically. In this article we examine the impact of taking a strategic approach to vaccination programmes by all the relevant actors: WHO, UNICEF, national immunization programmes, and vaccine manufacturers and distributors. The review of the relevant literature indicates that there are commonalities to the worldwide vaccination programmes. A comparative analysis of various vaccination strategies recommended by WHO and the immunization calendars of certain European countriesis made as well as an analysis of the Serbian vaccination programme. New and more expensive vaccines will continue to appear on the market in increasingly short periods of time.

  15. Guillain–Barre syndrome following quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccination among vaccine-eligible individuals in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojha, Rohit P; Jackson, Bradford E; Tota, Joseph E; Offutt-Powell, Tabatha N; Singh, Karan P; Bae, Sejong

    2014-01-01

    Post-marketing surveillance studies provide conflicting evidence about whether Guillain–Barre syndrome occurs more frequently following quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV4) vaccination. We aimed to assess whether Guillain–Barre syndrome is reported more frequently following HPV4 vaccination than other vaccinations among females and males aged 9 to 26 y in the United States. We used adverse event reports received by the United States Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012 to estimate overall, age-, and sex-specific proportional reporting ratios (PRRs) and corresponding Χ2 values for reports of Guillain–Barre syndrome between 5 and 42 d following HPV vaccination. Minimum criteria for a signal using this approach are 3 or more cases, PRR ≥2, and Χ2 ≥ 4. Guillain–Barre syndrome was listed as an adverse event in 45 of 14 822 reports, of which 9 reports followed HPV4 vaccination and 36 reports followed all other vaccines. The overall, age-, and sex-specific PRR estimates were uniformly below 1. In addition, the overall, age-, and sex-specific Χ2 values were uniformly below 3. Our analysis of post-marketing surveillance data does not suggest that Guillain–Barre syndrome is reported more frequently following HPV4 vaccination than other vaccinations among vaccine-eligible females or males in the United States. Our findings may be useful when discussing the risks and benefits of HPV4 vaccination. PMID:24013368

  16. Guillain-Barre syndrome following quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccination among vaccine-eligible individuals in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojha, Rohit P; Jackson, Bradford E; Tota, Joseph E; Offutt-Powell, Tabatha N; Singh, Karan P; Bae, Sejong

    2014-01-01

    Post-marketing surveillance studies provide conflicting evidence about whether Guillain-Barre syndrome occurs more frequently following quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV4) vaccination. We aimed to assess whether Guillain-Barre syndrome is reported more frequently following HPV4 vaccination than other vaccinations among females and males aged 9 to 26 y in the United States. We used adverse event reports received by the United States Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012 to estimate overall, age-, and sex-specific proportional reporting ratios (PRRs) and corresponding Χ2 values for reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome between 5 and 42 d following HPV vaccination. Minimum criteria for a signal using this approach are 3 or more cases, PRR≥2, and Χ2≥4. Guillain-Barre syndrome was listed as an adverse event in 45 of 14,822 reports, of which 9 reports followed HPV4 vaccination and 36 reports followed all other vaccines. The overall, age-, and sex-specific PRR estimates were uniformly below 1. In addition, the overall, age-, and sex-specific Χ2 values were uniformly below 3. Our analysis of post-marketing surveillance data does not suggest that Guillain-Barre syndrome is reported more frequently following HPV4 vaccination than other vaccinations among vaccine-eligible females or males in the United States. Our findings may be useful when discussing the risks and benefits of HPV4 vaccination.

  17. Sieve analysis of breakthrough HIV-1 sequences in HVTN 505 identifies vaccine pressure targeting the CD4 binding site of Env-gp120.

    Science.gov (United States)

    deCamp, Allan C; Rolland, Morgane; Edlefsen, Paul T; Sanders-Buell, Eric; Hall, Breana; Magaret, Craig A; Fiore-Gartland, Andrew J; Juraska, Michal; Carpp, Lindsay N; Karuna, Shelly T; Bose, Meera; LePore, Steven; Miller, Shana; O'Sullivan, Annemarie; Poltavee, Kultida; Bai, Hongjun; Dommaraju, Kalpana; Zhao, Hong; Wong, Kim; Chen, Lennie; Ahmed, Hasan; Goodman, Derrick; Tay, Matthew Z; Gottardo, Raphael; Koup, Richard A; Bailer, Robert; Mascola, John R; Graham, Barney S; Roederer, Mario; O'Connell, Robert J; Michael, Nelson L; Robb, Merlin L; Adams, Elizabeth; D'Souza, Patricia; Kublin, James; Corey, Lawrence; Geraghty, Daniel E; Frahm, Nicole; Tomaras, Georgia D; McElrath, M Juliana; Frenkel, Lisa; Styrchak, Sheila; Tovanabutra, Sodsai; Sobieszczyk, Magdalena E; Hammer, Scott M; Kim, Jerome H; Mullins, James I; Gilbert, Peter B

    2017-01-01

    Although the HVTN 505 DNA/recombinant adenovirus type 5 vector HIV-1 vaccine trial showed no overall efficacy, analysis of breakthrough HIV-1 sequences in participants can help determine whether vaccine-induced immune responses impacted viruses that caused infection. We analyzed 480 HIV-1 genomes sampled from 27 vaccine and 20 placebo recipients and found that intra-host HIV-1 diversity was significantly lower in vaccine recipients (P ≤ 0.04, Q-values ≤ 0.09) in Gag, Pol, Vif and envelope glycoprotein gp120 (Env-gp120). Furthermore, Env-gp120 sequences from vaccine recipients were significantly more distant from the subtype B vaccine insert than sequences from placebo recipients (P = 0.01, Q-value = 0.12). These vaccine effects were associated with signatures mapping to CD4 binding site and CD4-induced monoclonal antibody footprints. These results suggest either (i) no vaccine efficacy to block acquisition of any viral genotype but vaccine-accelerated Env evolution post-acquisition; or (ii) vaccine efficacy against HIV-1s with Env sequences closest to the vaccine insert combined with increased acquisition due to other factors, potentially including the vaccine vector.

  18. Human papillomavirus vaccine motivators and barriers among community college students: Considerations for development of a successful vaccination program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirth, Jacqueline M; Batuuka, Denise N; Gross, Tyra T; Cofie, Leslie; Berenson, Abbey B

    2018-02-14

    Previous interventions in colleges to improve human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination have not been highly successful. Although barriers have been assessed in traditional colleges, less is known about vaccination barriers in community colleges. We approached students aged 18-26 years old enrolled at a community college for an in-person semi-structured qualitative interview on HPV vaccination and health, with questions guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior. Data collection took place between April 2015 and December 2015. Thematic analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. During interviews with 19 students, 4 themes emerged, including: general vaccine attitudes, barriers to HPV vaccination, motivators to HPV vaccination, and social influences. Participants felt that vaccines were beneficial, but were concerned about side effects. They felt that getting the HPV vaccine would be inconvenient, and they did not know enough about it to decide. Most would not trust their friends' opinions, but would want to know about side effects that their vaccinated friends experienced. Successful interventions at community colleges should include several components to increase convenience as well as utilize interactive methods to promote HPV vaccine awareness. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  19. Employee influenza vaccination in residential care facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apenteng, Bettye A; Opoku, Samuel T

    2014-03-01

    The organizational literature on infection control in residential care facilities is limited. Using a nationally representative dataset, we examined the organizational factors associated with implementing at least 1 influenza-related employee vaccination policy/program, as well as the effect of vaccination policies on health care worker (HCW) influenza vaccine uptake in residential care facilities. The study was a cross-sectional study using data from the 2010 National Survey of Residential Care Facilities. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to address the study's objectives. Facility size, director's educational attainment, and having a written influenza pandemic preparedness plan were significantly associated with the implementation of at least 1 influenza-related employee vaccination policy/program, after controlling for other facility-level factors. Recommending vaccination to employees, providing vaccination on site, providing vaccinations to employees at no cost, and requiring vaccination as a condition of employment were associated with higher employee influenza vaccination rates. Residential care facilities can improve vaccination rates among employees by adopting effective employee vaccination policies. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Do Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines Represent Good Value for Money in a Lower-Middle Income Country? A Cost-Utility Analysis in the Philippines.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Alexander Haasis

    Full Text Available The objective of this study is to assess the value for money of introducing pneumococcal conjugate vaccines as part of the immunization program in a lower-middle income country, the Philippines, which is not eligible for GAVI support and lower vaccine prices. It also includes the newest clinical evidence evaluating the efficacy of PCV10, which is lacking in other previous studies.A cost-utility analysis was conducted. A Markov simulation model was constructed to examine the costs and consequences of PCV10 and PCV13 against the current scenario of no PCV vaccination for a lifetime horizon. A health system perspective was employed to explore different funding schemes, which include universal or partial vaccination coverage subsidized by the government. Results were presented as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs in Philippine peso (Php per QALY gained (1 USD = 44.20 Php. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the impact of parameter uncertainty.With universal vaccination at a cost per dose of Php 624 for PCV10 and Php 700 for PCV13, both PCVs are cost-effective compared to no vaccination given the ceiling threshold of Php 120,000 per QALY gained, yielding ICERs of Php 68,182 and Php 54,510 for PCV10 and PCV13, respectively. Partial vaccination of 25% of the birth cohort resulted in significantly higher ICER values (Php 112,640 for PCV10 and Php 84,654 for PCV13 due to loss of herd protection. The budget impact analysis reveals that universal vaccination would cost Php 3.87 billion to 4.34 billion per annual, or 1.6 to 1.8 times the budget of the current national vaccination program.The inclusion of PCV in the national immunization program is recommended. PCV13 achieved better value for money compared to PCV10. However, the affordability and sustainability of PCV implementation over the long-term should be considered by decision makers.

  1. Use of M2e ELISAs for longitudinal surveillance of commercial poultry in Indonesia vaccinated against highly pathogenic avian influenza.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wibowo, Michael Haryadi; Tarigan, Simson; Sumarningsih; Artanto, Sidna; Indriani, Risa; Anggoro, Dito; Putra, Cahyaditya Pratama; Idris, Syafrison; Untari, Tri; Asmara, Widya; Tabbu, Charles Rangga; Ignjatovic, Jagoda

    2017-11-01

    In countries where highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 is endemic and controlled by vaccination, post-vaccination serological monitoring is essential to differentiate vaccinated poultry from those that are infected. The objectives of this study were to validate two experimental ELISAs that detect antibodies raised against the M2e protein of avian influenza virus that can be used for DIVA purposes. Results from the sM2e and tM2e ELISAs were compared with other conventional tests for the detection of H5N1influenza virus (virus isolation and RT-PCR) using samples collected from 16 commercial flocks in Indonesia. These comprised vaccinated layers aged between 18 and 68 weeks old that were sampled at ten-weekly intervals. A small number of sera were positive in sM2e and tM2e ELISA, 14 (0.6%) and 17 (0.7%) respectively, with low OD 420 (0.1-0.3), but only 4 sera were positive in both tests. At the flock level, the incidence of M2e positive sera was low (4%), well below previously established minimum of 40% for an HPAIV H5N1-infected flock. Conventional M and H5 gene RT-PCRs indicated that none of 16 flocks were infected at any time during the study. No virus was isolated from any of the 480 pooled swab samples, except from one, for which the combined data analysis suggest to be the result of a laboratory cross-contamination. Clinical disease, mortalities or reduction in production performance, indicative of field H5N1 challenge, were not observed either in any of the flocks. Birds from two surveyed flocks, challenged in the laboratory with an Indonesian HPAIV H5N1 developed M2e antibodies in 50% and 55% of surviving birds with OD 420 in the range of 0.35-1.47 in tM2e ELISA, confirming the validity of the criteria established for use of M2e ELISA for DIVA purposes. Overall these results showed that the tM2e ELISA could be a useful monitoring tool to ascertain freedom from H5N1 infections in vaccinated commercial poultry. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B

  2. Vaccines.gov

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Vaccine Safety Vaccines Work Vaccine Types Vaccine Ingredients Vaccines by Disease Chickenpox ... Typhoid Fever Whooping Cough (Pertussis) Yellow Fever Who and When Infants, Children, and Teens ...

  3. Evaluating human papillomavirus vaccination programs in Canada: should provincial healthcare pay for voluntary adult vaccination?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Smith? Robert J

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recently, provincial health programs in Canada and elsewhere have begun rolling out vaccination against human papillomavirus for girls aged 9–13. While vaccination is voluntary, the cost of vaccination is waived, to encourage parents to have their daughters vaccinated. Adult women who are eligible for the vaccine may still receive it, but at a cost of approximately CAN$400. Given the high efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccine, the possibility of eradicating targeted types of the virus may be feasible, assuming the vaccination programs are undertaken strategically. Methods We develop a mathematical model to describe the epidemiology of vaccination against human papillomavirus, accounting for a widespread childhood vaccination program that may be supplemented by voluntary adult vaccination. A stability analysis is performed to determine the stability of the disease-free equilibrium. The critical vaccine efficacy and immunogenicity thresholds are derived, and the minimum level of adult vaccination required for eradication of targeted types is determined. Results We demonstrate that eradication of targeted types is indeed feasible, although the burden of coverage for a childhood-only vaccination program may be high. However, if a small, but non-negligible, proportion of eligible adults can be vaccinated, then the possibility of eradication of targeted types becomes much more favourable. We provide a threshold for eradication in general communities and illustrate the results with numerical simulations. We also investigate the effects of suboptimal efficacy and immunogenicity and show that there is a critical efficacy below which eradication of targeted types is not possible. If eradication is possible, then there is a critical immunogenicity such that even 100% childhood vaccination will not eradicate the targeted types of the virus and must be supplemented with voluntary adult vaccination. However, the level of adult

  4. Controversy and debate on dengue vaccine series-paper 1: review of a licensed dengue vaccine: inappropriate subgroup analyses and selective reporting may cause harm in mass vaccination programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dans, Antonio L; Dans, Leonila F; Lansang, Mary Ann D; Silvestre, Maria Asuncion A; Guyatt, Gordon H

    2018-03-01

    Severe life-threatening dengue fever usually occurs when a child is infected by dengue virus a second time. This is caused by a phenomenon called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). Since dengue vaccines can mimic a first infection in seronegative children (those with no previous infection), a natural infection later in life could lead to severe disease. The possibility that dengue vaccines can cause severe dengue through ADE has led to serious concern regarding the safety of mass vaccination programs. A published meta-analysis addressed this safety issue for a new vaccine against dengue fever-Dengvaxia. The trials in this meta-analysis have been used to campaign for mass vaccination programs in developing countries. We discuss the results of this paper and point out problems in the analyses. Reporting the findings in an Asian trial (CYD14), the authors show a sevenfold rise in one outcome-hospitalization for dengue fever in children <5 years old. However, they fail to point out two signals of harm for another outcome-hospitalization for severe dengue fever (as confirmed by an independent data monitoring committee): 1. In children younger than 9 years, the relative risk was 8.5 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.5, 146.8), and 2. In the overall study group, the relative risk was 5.5 (95% CI: 0.9, 33). The authors conduct a subgroup analysis to support claims that the vaccine is probably safe among children aged 9 years or more. This subgroup analysis has limited credibility because: (1) it was a post hoc analysis; (2) it was one of a large number of subgroup analyses; (3) the test of interaction was not reported, but was insignificant (P = 0.14); and (4) there is no biological basis for a threshold age of 9 years. The more likely explanation for the higher risk in younger children is ADE, that is, more frequent seronegativity, rather than age itself. The selective reporting and inappropriate subgroup claims mask the potential harm of dengue mass vaccination

  5. A brief history of vaccines & vaccination in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chandrakant Lahariya

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The challenges faced in delivering lifesaving vaccines to the targeted beneficiaries need to be addressed from the existing knowledge and learning from the past. This review documents the history of vaccines and vaccination in India with an objective to derive lessons for policy direction to expand the benefits of vaccination in the country. A brief historical perspective on smallpox disease and preventive efforts since antiquity is followed by an overview of 19 th century efforts to replace variolation by vaccination, setting up of a few vaccine institutes, cholera vaccine trial and the discovery of plague vaccine. The early twentieth century witnessed the challenges in expansion of smallpox vaccination, typhoid vaccine trial in Indian army personnel, and setting up of vaccine institutes in almost each of the then Indian States. In the post-independence period, the BCG vaccine laboratory and other national institutes were established; a number of private vaccine manufacturers came up, besides the continuation of smallpox eradication effort till the country became smallpox free in 1977. The Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI (1978 and then Universal Immunization Programme (UIP (1985 were launched in India. The intervening events since UIP till India being declared non-endemic for poliomyelitis in 2012 have been described. Though the preventive efforts from diseases were practiced in India, the reluctance, opposition and a slow acceptance of vaccination have been the characteristic of vaccination history in the country. The operational challenges keep the coverage inequitable in the country. The lessons from the past events have been analysed and interpreted to guide immunization efforts.

  6. A brief history of vaccines & vaccination in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahariya, Chandrakant

    2014-04-01

    The challenges faced in delivering lifesaving vaccines to the targeted beneficiaries need to be addressed from the existing knowledge and learning from the past. This review documents the history of vaccines and vaccination in India with an objective to derive lessons for policy direction to expand the benefits of vaccination in the country. A brief historical perspective on smallpox disease and preventive efforts since antiquity is followed by an overview of 19 th century efforts to replace variolation by vaccination, setting up of a few vaccine institutes, cholera vaccine trial and the discovery of plague vaccine. The early twentieth century witnessed the challenges in expansion of smallpox vaccination, typhoid vaccine trial in Indian army personnel, and setting up of vaccine institutes in almost each of the then Indian States. In the post-independence period, the BCG vaccine laboratory and other national institutes were established; a number of private vaccine manufacturers came up, besides the continuation of smallpox eradication effort till the country became smallpox free in 1977. The Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) (1978) and then Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) (1985) were launched in India. The intervening events since UIP till India being declared non-endemic for poliomyelitis in 2012 have been described. Though the preventive efforts from diseases were practiced in India, the reluctance, opposition and a slow acceptance of vaccination have been the characteristic of vaccination history in the country. The operational challenges keep the coverage inequitable in the country. The lessons from the past events have been analysed and interpreted to guide immunization efforts.

  7. Comparative resistance towards infection with Y. ruckeri in vaccinated and non-vaccinated rainbow trout

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raida, Martin Kristian

    2010-01-01

    bath challenged with LD50-doses of Y. ruckeri (serotype O1, biotype 1 and 2), after which fish mortality was recorded and individual fish were sampled for both Real-Time Quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) as well as immunohistochemical analysis. Challenge with biotype 2 resulted in very low mortalities......-vaccinated and vaccinated fish sampled 3 and 7 days after challenge with biotype 1, shows results similar to the RT-qPCR results. Using polyclonal rabbit antibodies against Y. ruckeri, minor points of infection are seen in tissues of non-vaccinated fish after 3 days, and after 7 days massive infections are present...... in several tissues. Minor infections are found in the vaccinated fish after both 3 and 7 days, but to a smaller extend than the ones found in the non-vaccinated group. The results so far, thus indicate that that the survival of the vaccinated fish after bacterial challenge seems to be correlated...

  8. Dynamic modeling of cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination, Kazakhstan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freiesleben de Blasio, Birgitte; Flem, Elmira; Latipov, Renat; Kuatbaeva, Ajnagul; Kristiansen, Ivar Sønbø

    2014-01-01

    The government of Kazakhstan, a middle-income country in Central Asia, is considering the introduction of rotavirus vaccination into its national immunization program. We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis of rotavirus vaccination spanning 20 years by using a synthesis of dynamic transmission models accounting for herd protection. We found that a vaccination program with 90% coverage would prevent ≈880 rotavirus deaths and save an average of 54,784 life-years for children vaccine cost at vaccination program costs would be entirely offset. To further evaluate efficacy of a vaccine program, benefits of indirect protection conferred by vaccination warrant further study.

  9. Ethical and legal challenges of vaccines and vaccination: Reflections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jesani, Amar; Johari, Veena

    2017-01-01

    Vaccines and vaccination have emerged as key medical scientific tools for prevention of certain diseases. Documentation of the history of vaccination shows that the initial popular resistance to universal vaccination was based on false assumptions and eventually gave way to acceptance of vaccines and trust in their ability to save lives. The successes of the global eradication of smallpox, and now of polio, have only strengthened the premier position occupied by vaccines in disease prevention. However, the success of vaccines and public trust in their ability to eradicate disease are now under challenge, as increasing numbers of people refuse vaccination, questioning the effectiveness of vaccines and the need to vaccinate.

  10. Comparison of different risk perception measures in predicting seasonal influenza vaccination among healthy Chinese adults in Hong Kong: a prospective longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Qiuyan; Wong, Wing Sze; Fielding, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Risk perception is a reported predictor of vaccination uptake, but which measures of risk perception best predict influenza vaccination uptake remain unclear. During the main influenza seasons (between January and March) of 2009 (Wave 1) and 2010 (Wave 2),505 Chinese students and employees from a Hong Kong university completed an online survey. Multivariate logistic regression models were conducted to assess how well different risk perceptions measures in Wave 1 predicted vaccination uptake against seasonal influenza in Wave 2. The results of the multivariate logistic regression models showed that feeling at risk (β = 0.25, p = 0.021) was the better predictor compared with probability judgment while probability judgment (β = 0.25, p = 0.029 ) was better than beliefs about risk in predicting subsequent influenza vaccination uptake. Beliefs about risk and feeling at risk seemed to predict the same aspect of subsequent vaccination uptake because their associations with vaccination uptake became insignificant when paired into the logistic regression model. Similarly, to compare the four scales for assessing probability judgment in predicting vaccination uptake, the 7-point verbal scale remained a significant and stronger predictor for vaccination uptake when paired with other three scales; the 6-point verbal scale was a significant and stronger predictor when paired with the percentage scale or the 2-point verbal scale; and the percentage scale was a significant and stronger predictor only when paired with the 2-point verbal scale. Beliefs about risk and feeling at risk are not well differentiated by Hong Kong Chinese people. Feeling at risk, an affective-cognitive dimension of risk perception predicts subsequent vaccination uptake better than do probability judgments. Among the four scales for assessing risk probability judgment, the 7-point verbal scale offered the best predictive power for subsequent vaccination uptake.

  11. Comparison of Different Risk Perception Measures in Predicting Seasonal Influenza Vaccination among Healthy Chinese Adults in Hong Kong: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Qiuyan; Wong, Wing Sze; Fielding, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Background Risk perception is a reported predictor of vaccination uptake, but which measures of risk perception best predict influenza vaccination uptake remain unclear. Methodology During the main influenza seasons (between January and March) of 2009 (Wave 1) and 2010 (Wave 2),505 Chinese students and employees from a Hong Kong university completed an online survey. Multivariate logistic regression models were conducted to assess how well different risk perceptions measures in Wave 1 predicted vaccination uptake against seasonal influenza in Wave 2. Principal Findings The results of the multivariate logistic regression models showed that feeling at risk (β = 0.25, p = 0.021) was the better predictor compared with probability judgment while probability judgment (β = 0.25, p = 0.029 ) was better than beliefs about risk in predicting subsequent influenza vaccination uptake. Beliefs about risk and feeling at risk seemed to predict the same aspect of subsequent vaccination uptake because their associations with vaccination uptake became insignificant when paired into the logistic regression model. Similarly, to compare the four scales for assessing probability judgment in predicting vaccination uptake, the 7-point verbal scale remained a significant and stronger predictor for vaccination uptake when paired with other three scales; the 6-point verbal scale was a significant and stronger predictor when paired with the percentage scale or the 2-point verbal scale; and the percentage scale was a significant and stronger predictor only when paired with the 2-point verbal scale. Conclusions/Significance Beliefs about risk and feeling at risk are not well differentiated by Hong Kong Chinese people. Feeling at risk, an affective-cognitive dimension of risk perception predicts subsequent vaccination uptake better than do probability judgments. Among the four scales for assessing risk probability judgment, the 7-point verbal scale offered the best predictive

  12. Pharmaceutical companies' role in state vaccination policymaking: the case of human papillomavirus vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mello, Michelle M; Abiola, Sara; Colgrove, James

    2012-05-01

    We sought to investigate roles that Merck & Co Inc played in state human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization policymaking, to elicit key stakeholders' perceptions of the appropriateness of these activities, and to explore implications for relationships between health policymakers and industry. We used a series of state case studies combining data from key informant interviews with analysis of media reports and archival materials. We interviewed 73 key informants in 6 states that were actively engaged in HPV vaccine policy deliberations. Merck promoted school-entry mandate legislation by serving as an information resource, lobbying legislators, drafting legislation, mobilizing female legislators and physician organizations, conducting consumer marketing campaigns, and filling gaps in access to the vaccine. Legislators relied heavily on Merck for scientific information. Most stakeholders found lobbying by vaccine manufacturers acceptable in principle, but perceived that Merck had acted too aggressively and nontransparently in this case. Although policymakers acknowledge the utility of manufacturers' involvement in vaccination policymaking, industry lobbying that is overly aggressive, not fully transparent, or not divorced from financial contributions to lawmakers risks undermining the prospects for legislation to foster uptake of new vaccines.

  13. WHO policy development processes for a new vaccine: case study of malaria vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheyne James

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO are crucial to inform developing country decisions to use, or not, a new intervention. This article analysed the WHO policy development process to predict its course for a malaria vaccine. Methods The decision-making processes for one malaria intervention and four vaccines were classified through (1 consultations with staff and expert advisors to WHO's Global Malaria Programme (GMP and Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Department (IVB; (2 analysis of the procedures and recommendations of the major policy-making bodies of these groups; (3 interviews with staff of partnerships working toward new vaccine availability; and (4 review and analyses of evidence informing key policy decisions. Case description WHO policy formulation related to use of intermittent preventive treatment in infancy (IPTi and the following vaccine interventions: Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (Hib, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV, rotavirus vaccine (RV, and human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV, five interventions which had relatively recently been through systematic WHO policy development processes as currently constituted, was analysed. Required information was categorized in three areas defined by a recent WHO publication on development of guidelines: safety and efficacy in relevant populations, implications for costs and population health, and localization of data to specific epidemiological situations. Discussion and evaluation Data needs for a malaria vaccine include safety; the demonstration of efficacy in a range of epidemiological settings in the context of other malaria prevention interventions; and information on potential rebound in which disease increases subsequent to the intervention. In addition, a malaria vaccine would require attention to additional factors, such as costs and cost-effectiveness, supply and demand, impact of use on other interventions, and

  14. Stability and Change in Work Values: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Jing; Rounds, James

    2012-01-01

    A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies was conducted to investigate stability and change in work values across the life span. Both rank-order stability and mean-level change were investigated using an integrative classification for intrinsic, extrinsic, social and status work values (Ross, Schwartz, & Surkis, 1999). Results of rank-order…

  15. Human Papillomavirus Vaccine as an Anti-cancer Vaccine: Collaborative Efforts to Promote HPV Vaccine in the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townsend, Julie S.; Steele, C. Brooke; Hayes, Nikki; Bhatt, Achal; Moore, Angela R.

    2018-01-01

    Background Widespread use of the HPV vaccine has the potential to reduce incidence from HPV-associated cancers. However, vaccine uptake among adolescents remains well below the Healthy People 2020 targets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program awardees (NCCCP) are well positioned to work with immunization programs to increase vaccine uptake. Methods CDC’s chronic disease management information system was queried for objectives and activities associated with HPV vaccine that were reported by NCCCP awardees from 2013 – 2016 as part of program reporting requirements. A content analysis was conducted on the query results to categorize interventions according to strategies outlined in The Guide to Community Preventive Services and the 2014 President’s Cancer Panel report. Results Sixty-two percent of NCCCP awardees had planned or implemented at least one activity since 2013 to address low HPV vaccination coverage in their jurisdictions. Most NCCCP awardees (86%) reported community education activities, while 65% reported activities associated with provider education. Systems-based strategies such as client reminders or provider assessment and feedback were each reported by less than 25% of NCCCP awardees. Conclusion Many NCCCP awardees report planning or implementing activities to address low HPV vaccination coverage, often in conjunction with state immunization programs. NCCCP awardees can play a role in increasing HPV vaccination coverage through their cancer prevention and control expertise and access to partners in the health care community. PMID:28263672

  16. An analysis of the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine debate on MySpace blogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keelan, Jennifer; Pavri, Vera; Balakrishnan, Ravin; Wilson, Kumanan

    2010-02-10

    The roll out of HPV immunization programs across the United States was hindered by controversy. We tracked the debate in the United States through MySpace, then the most popular social networking site, in order to better understand the public's reaction to the vaccine. We searched MySpace for all blog discourse related to HPV immunization. We analyzed each blog according to the overall portrayal of HPV immunization, identified the characteristics of the bloggers, and developed a content analysis to categorize the types of supporting arguments made. 303 blogs met our inclusion criteria. 157 (52%) of the blogs were classified as positive, 129 (43%) as negative, and 17 (6%) were ambivalent toward HPV immunization. Positive blogs generally argued that HPV infection was effective and there were no reasonable alternatives to immunizing. Negative blogs focused on the risks of immunizing and relied heavily on vaccine-critical publications to support their viewpoint. Of the blogs where gender could be identified, 75 (25%) were posted by men and 214 (71%) by women. 60% of blogs posted by men were explicitly critical about HPV immunization versus 36% of women's blogs. Male bloggers also had larger networks of friends. We describe a novel and promising approach to the surveillance of public opinions and attitudes toward immunization. In our analysis, men were far more likely to hold negative views about HPV immunization than women and disseminate negative messages through larger social networks. Blog analysis is a useful tool for Public health officials to profile vaccine criticism and to design appropriate educational information tailored to respond to alternative media/alternative information actively disseminated via social media tools. Public health officials should examine mechanisms by which to leverage this media to better communicate their message through existing networks and to engage in on-going dialogue with the public. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

  17. Vaccine Hesitancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobson, Robert M; St Sauver, Jennifer L; Finney Rutten, Lila J

    2015-11-01

    Vaccine refusal received a lot of press with the 2015 Disneyland measles outbreak, but vaccine refusal is only a fraction of a much larger problem of vaccine delay and hesitancy. Opposition to vaccination dates back to the 1800 s, Edward Jenner, and the first vaccine ever. It has never gone away despite the public's growing scientific sophistication. A variety of factors contribute to modern vaccine hesitancy, including the layperson's heuristic thinking when it comes to balancing risks and benefits as well as a number of other features of vaccination, including falling victim to its own success. Vaccine hesitancy is pervasive, affecting a quarter to a third of US parents. Clinicians report that they routinely receive requests to delay vaccines and that they routinely acquiesce. Vaccine rates vary by state and locale and by specific vaccine, and vaccine hesitancy results in personal risk and in the failure to achieve or sustain herd immunity to protect others who have contraindications to the vaccine or fail to generate immunity to the vaccine. Clinicians should adopt a variety of practices to combat vaccine hesitancy, including a variety of population health management approaches that go beyond the usual call to educate patients, clinicians, and the public. Strategies include using every visit to vaccinate, the creation of standing orders or nursing protocols to provide vaccination without clinical encounters, and adopting the practice of stating clear recommendations. Up-to-date, trusted resources exist to support clinicians' efforts in adopting these approaches to reduce vaccine hesitancy and its impact. Copyright © 2015 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Efficacy of human papillomavirus l1 protein vaccines (cervarix and gardasil in reducing the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: A meta-analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Reza Haghshenas

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Human papillomavirus (HPV can induce cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN. Vaccination against HPV can play an important role in CIN prevention. This study aims to estimate the efficacy of L1 protein vaccines (Cervarix and Gardasil in CIN 1, 2, 3 risk reduction using meta-analysis. Relevant articles were identified by two independent researchers searching international databanks. After application of inclusion/exclusion criteria and quality assessment, eligible articles were entered into the final meta-analysis. Inverse variance method and fixed effect model were used to combine the results of the primary studies. The heterogeneity between the results was assessed using Cochrane and I2 indices. Of 11,530 evidence identified during the primary search, three papers were found eligible for meta-analysis, including 7213 participants in the intervention groups and 7170 healthy controls. The efficacy (95% confidence interval of HPV 6, 11, 16, 18 monovalent and quadrivalent vaccines against CIN 1, CIN 2, and CIN 3 were estimated as of 95% (88–98, 97% (85–99, and 95% (78–99, respectively. This study showed that L1 protein vaccines Cervarix and Gardasil are highly protective vaccines playing an effective role in the prevention of HPV 6, 11, 16, 18 which are responsible for CIN 1, CIN 2, and CIN 3.

  19. Analysis of baseline, average, and longitudinally measured blood pressure data using linear mixed models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hossain, Ahmed; Beyene, Joseph

    2014-01-01

    This article compares baseline, average, and longitudinal data analysis methods for identifying genetic variants in genome-wide association study using the Genetic Analysis Workshop 18 data. We apply methods that include (a) linear mixed models with baseline measures, (b) random intercept linear mixed models with mean measures outcome, and (c) random intercept linear mixed models with longitudinal measurements. In the linear mixed models, covariates are included as fixed effects, whereas relatedness among individuals is incorporated as the variance-covariance structure of the random effect for the individuals. The overall strategy of applying linear mixed models decorrelate the data is based on Aulchenko et al.'s GRAMMAR. By analyzing systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which are used separately as outcomes, we compare the 3 methods in identifying a known genetic variant that is associated with blood pressure from chromosome 3 and simulated phenotype data. We also analyze the real phenotype data to illustrate the methods. We conclude that the linear mixed model with longitudinal measurements of diastolic blood pressure is the most accurate at identifying the known single-nucleotide polymorphism among the methods, but linear mixed models with baseline measures perform best with systolic blood pressure as the outcome.

  20. Human neonatal rotavirus vaccine (RV3-BB) targets rotavirus from birth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thobari, Jarir At; Satria, Cahya Dewi; Handley, Amanda; Watts, Emma; Cowley, Daniel; Nirwati, Hera; Ackland, James; Standish, Jane; Justice, Frances; Byars, Gabrielle; Lee, Katherine J.; Barnes, Graeme L.; Bachtiar, Novilia S.; Icanervilia, Ajeng Viska; Boniface, Karen; Bogdanovic-Sakran, Nada; Pavlic, Daniel; Bishop, Ruth F.; Kirkwood, Carl D.; Buttery, Jim P.; Soenarto, Yati

    2018-01-01

    Background A birth dose strategy using a neonatal rotavirus vaccine to target early prevention of rotavirus disease may address remaining barriers to global vaccine implementation. Methods We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Indonesia to evaluate the efficacy of an oral human neonatal rotavirus vaccine (RV3-BB) to prevent rotavirus gastroenteritis. Healthy newborns received three doses of RV3-BB administered in a neonatal schedule at 0-5 days, 8 and 14 weeks or infant schedule at 8, 14 and 18 weeks, or placebo. Laboratory-confirmed rotavirus gastroenteritis was graded using a modified Vesikari score. The primary analysis was efficacy against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis from two weeks after all doses to 18 months in the combined vaccine group (neonatal and infant schedule) compared with placebo. Results Vaccine efficacy against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis to 18 months was 63% in the combined vaccine group (95% CI 34, 80; p<0.001), 75% in the neonatal vaccine group (95% confidence interval [CI] 44, 91; p<0.001) and 51% in the infant vaccine group (95% CI 7, 76; p=0.03) in the per protocol analysis, with similar results in the intention-to-treat analysis. Vaccine efficacy to 12 months was 94% in the neonatal vaccine group (95%CI 56, 99; p=0.006). Vaccine take occurred in 78/83 (94%) in the neonatal vaccine group and 83/84 (99%) in the infant vaccine group. The vaccine was well tolerated, with similar incidence of adverse events in vaccine and placebo recipients. Conclusion RV3-BB was efficacious, immunogenic and well-tolerated when administered in a neonatal or infant schedule in Indonesia. PMID:29466164

  1. [Analysis on willingness to receive human papillomavirus vaccination among risk males and related factors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xiaojun; Jia, Tianjian; Zhang, Xuan; Zhu, Chen; Chen, Xin; Zou, Huachun

    2015-10-01

    To understand the willingness to receive human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of men who have sex with men (MSM) and the male clients of sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics and related factors in China. MSM were enrolled from the community through snowball sampling and male clients of STD clinics were enrolled from a sexual health clinic through convenience sampling in Wuxi, China. A questionnaire survey on the subjects' socio-demographic characteristics and the awareness of HPV was conducted. A total of 186 MSM and 182 STD clients were recruited. The awareness rates of HPV were 18.4% and 23.1%, respectively and the awareness rates of HPV vaccination were 10.2% and 15.4%, respectively. STD clinic clients (70.9%) were more likely to receive HPV vaccination than MSM (34.9%) (χ² = 47.651, P<0.01). Only 26.2% of MSM and 20.2% of STD clinic clients were willing to receive free HPV vaccination before the age of 20 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that MSM who had passive anal sex (OR=2.831, 95% CI: 1.703-13.526) , MSM who never used condom in anal sex in the past 6 months (OR=3.435, 95% CI: 1.416-20.108) , MSM who had been diagnosed with STDs (OR=1.968, 95% CI: 1.201-8.312) and STD clinic clients who had commercial sex with females in the past 3 months (OR=1.748, 95% CI: 1.207-8.539) , STD clinic clients who never used condom in commercial sex in the past 3 months (OR=1.926, 95% CI: 1.343-5.819) and STD clinic clients who had been diagnosed with STDs in past 12 months (OR=2.017, 95% CI: 1.671-7.264) were more likely to receive free HPV vaccination. Sexually active MSM and male clients in STD clinics in China had lower awareness of the HPV related knowledge. Their willing to receive HPV vaccination were influenced by their behavior related factors. It is necessary to strengthen the health education about HPV and improve people's awareness of HPV vaccination.

  2. Association of serum anti-rotavirus immunoglobulin A antibody seropositivity and protection against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis: analysis of clinical trials of human rotavirus vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheuvart, Brigitte; Neuzil, Kathleen M; Steele, A Duncan; Cunliffe, Nigel; Madhi, Shabir A; Karkada, Naveen; Han, Htay Htay; Vinals, Carla

    2014-01-01

    Clinical trials of the human rotavirus vaccine Rotarix™ (RV1) have demonstrated significant reductions in severe rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) in children worldwide. However, no correlate of vaccine efficacy (VE) has yet been established. This paper presents 2 analyses which aimed to investigate whether serum anti-RV IgA measured by ELISA 1 or 2 mo post-vaccination can serve as a correlate of efficacy against RVGE: (1) In a large Phase III efficacy trial (Rota-037), the Prentice criteria for surrogate endpoints was applied to anti-RV IgA seropositivity 1 mo post-vaccination. These criteria determine whether a significant vaccine group effect can be predicted from the surrogate, namely seropositivity (anti-RV IgA concentration>20 U/mL); (2) Among other GSK-sponsored RV1 VE studies, 8 studies which assessed immunogenicity at 1 or 2 mo post-vaccination in all or a sub-cohort of enrolled subjects and had at least 10 RVGE episodes were included in a meta-analysis to measure the regression between clinical VE and VE predicted from immunogenicity (VE1). In Rota-037, anti-RV IgA seropositivity post-vaccination was associated with a lower incidence of any or severe RVGE, however, the proportion of vaccine group effect explained by seropositivity was only 43.6% and 32.7% respectively. This low proportion was due to the vaccine group effect observed in seronegative subjects. In the meta-analysis, the slope of the regression between clinical VE and VE1 was statistically significant. These two independent analyses support the hypothesis that post-vaccination anti-RV IgA seropositivity (antibody concentration ≥20 U/mL) may serve as a useful correlate of efficacy in clinical trials of RV1 vaccines.

  3. Estimated impact and cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in Senegal: A country-led analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diop, Abdou; Atherly, Deborah; Faye, Alioune; Lamine Sall, Farba; Clark, Andrew D; Nadiel, Leon; Yade, Binetou; Ndiaye, Mamadou; Fafa Cissé, Moussa; Ba, Mamadou

    2015-05-07

    Rotavirus is the leading cause of acute severe diarrhea among children under 5 globally and one of the leading causes of death attributable to diarrhea. Among African children hospitalized with diarrhea, 38% of the cases are due to rotavirus. In Senegal, rotavirus deaths are estimated to represent 5.4% of all deaths among children under 5. Along with the substantial disease burden, there is a growing awareness of the economic burden created by diarrheal disease. This analysis aims to provide policymakers with more consistent and reliable economic evidence to support the decision-making process about the introduction and maintenance of a rotavirus vaccine program. The study was conducted using the processes and tools first established by the Pan American Health Organization's ProVac Initiative in the Latin American region. TRIVAC version 2.0, an Excel-based model, was used to perform the analysis. The costs and health outcomes were calculated for 20 successive birth cohorts (2014-2033). Model inputs were gathered from local, national, and international sources with the guidance of a Senegalese group of experts including local pediatricians, personnel from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, as well as disease-surveillance and laboratory specialists. The cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted, discounted at 3%, is US$ 92 from the health care provider perspective and US$ 73 from the societal perspective. For the 20 cohorts, the vaccine is projected to prevent more than 2 million cases of rotavirus and to avert more than 8500 deaths. The proportion of rotavirus deaths averted is estimated to be 42%. For 20 cohorts, the discounted net costs of the program were estimated to be US$ 17.6 million from the healthcare provider perspective and US$ 13.8 million from the societal perspective. From both perspectives, introducing the rotavirus vaccine is highly cost-effective compared to no vaccination. The results are consistent with those

  4. Influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients: systematic review and meta-analysis from a public health policy perspective.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles R Beck

    Full Text Available Immunocompromised patients are vulnerable to severe or complicated influenza infection. Vaccination is widely recommended for this group. This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients in terms of preventing influenza-like illness and laboratory confirmed influenza, serological response and adverse events.Electronic databases and grey literature were searched and records were screened against eligibility criteria. Data extraction and risk of bias assessments were performed in duplicate. Results were synthesised narratively and meta-analyses were conducted where feasible. Heterogeneity was assessed using I(2 and publication bias was assessed using Begg's funnel plot and Egger's regression test. Many of the 209 eligible studies included an unclear or high risk of bias. Meta-analyses showed a significant effect of preventing influenza-like illness (odds ratio [OR]=0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.16-0.34; p<0.001 and laboratory confirmed influenza infection (OR=0.15; 95% CI=0.03-0.63; p=0.01 through vaccinating immunocompromised patie nts compared to placebo or unvaccinated controls. We found no difference in the odds of influenza-like illness compared to vaccinated immunocompetent controls. The pooled odds of seroconversion were lower in vaccinated patients compared to immunocompetent controls for seasonal influenza A(H1N1, A(H3N2 and B. A similar trend was identified for seroprotection. Meta-analyses of seroconversion showed higher odds in vaccinated patients compared to placebo or unvaccinated controls, although this reached significance for influenza B only. Publication bias was not detected and narrative synthesis supported our findings. No consistent evidence of safety concerns was identified.Infection prevention and control strategies should recommend vaccinating immunocompromised patients. Potential for bias and confounding and the presence of heterogeneity mean the evidence

  5. Green revolution vaccines, edible vaccines | Tripurani | African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Edible vaccines are sub-unit vaccines where the selected genes are introduced into the plants and the transgenic plant is then induced to manufacture the encoded protein. Edible vaccines are mucosal-targeted vaccines where stimulation of both systematic and mucosal immune network takes place. Foods under study ...

  6. An Overview of Longitudinal Data Analysis Methods for Neurological Research

    OpenAIRE

    Locascio, Joseph J.; Atri, Alireza

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to provide a concise, broad and readily accessible overview of longitudinal data analysis methods, aimed to be a practical guide for clinical investigators in neurology. In general, we advise that older, traditional methods, including (1) simple regression of the dependent variable on a time measure, (2) analyzing a single summary subject level number that indexes changes for each subject and (3) a general linear model approach with a fixed-subject effect, shoul...

  7. Vaccination Confidence and Parental Refusal/Delay of Early Childhood Vaccines.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa B Gilkey

    Full Text Available To support efforts to address parental hesitancy towards early childhood vaccination, we sought to validate the Vaccination Confidence Scale using data from a large, population-based sample of U.S. parents.We used weighted data from 9,354 parents who completed the 2011 National Immunization Survey. Parents reported on the immunization history of a 19- to 35-month-old child in their households. Healthcare providers then verified children's vaccination status for vaccines including measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR, varicella, and seasonal flu. We used separate multivariable logistic regression models to assess associations between parents' mean scores on the 8-item Vaccination Confidence Scale and vaccine refusal, vaccine delay, and vaccination status.A substantial minority of parents reported a history of vaccine refusal (15% or delay (27%. Vaccination confidence was negatively associated with refusal of any vaccine (odds ratio [OR] = 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54-0.63 as well as refusal of MMR, varicella, and flu vaccines specifically. Negative associations between vaccination confidence and measures of vaccine delay were more moderate, including delay of any vaccine (OR = 0.81, 95% CI, 0.76-0.86. Vaccination confidence was positively associated with having received vaccines, including MMR (OR = 1.53, 95% CI, 1.40-1.68, varicella (OR = 1.54, 95% CI, 1.42-1.66, and flu vaccines (OR = 1.32, 95% CI, 1.23-1.42.Vaccination confidence was consistently associated with early childhood vaccination behavior across multiple vaccine types. Our findings support expanding the application of the Vaccination Confidence Scale to measure vaccination beliefs among parents of young children.

  8. Cost-effectiveness analysis of a universal vaccination programme with the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) in Sweden

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bergman, Annika; Hjelmgren, Jonas; Ortqvist, Ake

    2008-01-01

    The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) has proved to be highly effective against invasive pneumococcal disease and has also provided some protection against all-cause pneumonia and acute otitis media. The objective of this study was to evaluate the projected health benefits, costs...... of pneumococcal septicaemia among adults. The incremental cost per QALY and LY gained was estimated to Euro 29,200 and Euro 51,400, respectively. When herd immunity was accounted for, the cost per QALYand LY gained was estimated to Euro 5500 and Euro 6600, respectively. Thus, the health benefits of a national...... and cost-effectiveness of vaccination with the 7-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine compared with no vaccination, in all infants in Sweden, taking herd immunity into account. A Markov model was used and a hypothetical birth cohort was simulated for a lifelong perspective. The results show...

  9. Cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination regime: comparing twice versus thrice vaccinations dose regime among adolescent girls in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aljunid, Syed; Maimaiti, Namaitijiang; Nur, Amrizal M; Noor, Mohd Rushdan Md; Wan Puteh, Sharifa Ezat

    2016-01-23

    The HPV vaccine was introduced to Malaysian national immunization programme in 2010. The current implementation age of HPV vaccination in Malaysian is at the age of 13 years school girls, given according to a 3 doses protocol which may complicate implementation and compliance. Aim of the study is to determine the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination regime comparing twice versus thrice HPV vaccinations dose regime among adolescent girls in Malaysia. A Markov cohort model reflecting the natural history of HPV infection accounting for oncogenic and low-risk HPV was adapted for 13 year old Malaysian girls cohort (n = 274,050). Transition probabilities, utilities values, epidemiological and cost data were sourced from published literature and local data. Vaccine effectiveness was based on overall efficacy reported from 3-doses clinical trials, with the assumption that the 2-doses is non-inferior to the 3-doses allowing overall efficacy to be inferred from the 3-doses immunogenicity data. Price parity and life-long protection were assumed. The payer perspective was adopted, with appropriate discounting for costs (3 %) and outcomes (3 %). One way sensitivity analysis was conducted. The sensitivity analysis on cost of vaccine, vaccine coverage and discount rate with a 2-doses protocol was performed. The 3-doses and 2-doses regimes showed same number of Cervical Cancers averted (361 cases); QALYs saved at 7,732,266. However, the lifetime protection under the 2-doses regime, showed a significant cost-savings of RM 36, 722,700 compared to the 3-doses scheme. The MOH Malaysia could vaccinate 137,025 more girls in this country using saving 2-doses regime vaccination programme. The model predicted that 2-doses HPV vaccination schemes can avoid additional 180 Cervical Cancers and 63 deaths compare to 3-doses. A 2-doses HPV vaccination scheme may enable Malaysian women to be protected at a lower cost than that achievable under a 3-doses scheme, while avoiding the same number of

  10. Validation of the vaccine conspiracy beliefs scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapiro, Gilla K; Holding, Anne; Perez, Samara; Amsel, Rhonda; Rosberger, Zeev

    2016-12-01

    Parents' vaccine attitudes influence their decision regarding child vaccination. To date, no study has evaluated the impact of vaccine conspiracy beliefs on human papillomavirus vaccine acceptance. The authors assessed the validity of a Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS) and determined whether this scale was associated with parents' willingness to vaccinate their son with the HPV vaccine. Canadian parents completed a 24-min online survey in 2014. Measures included socio-demographic variables, HPV knowledge, health care provider recommendation, Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ), the seven-item VCBS, and parents' willingness to vaccinate their son at two price points. A total of 1427 Canadian parents completed the survey in English (61.2%) or French (38.8%). A Factor Analysis revealed the VCBS is one-dimensional and has high internal consistency (α=0.937). The construct validity of the VCBS was supported by a moderate relationship with the CMQ (r=0.44, pparents' willingness to vaccinate their son with the HPV vaccine at both price points ('free' or '$300') after controlling for gender, age, household income, education level, HPV knowledge, and health care provider recommendation. The VCBS is a brief, valid scale that will be useful in further elucidating the correlates of vaccine hesitancy. Future research could use the VCBS to evaluate the impact of vaccine conspiracies beliefs on vaccine uptake and how concerns about vaccination may be challenged and reversed. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Decomposing socioeconomic inequality in child vaccination: results from Ireland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doherty, Edel; Walsh, Brendan; O'Neill, Ciaran

    2014-06-05

    There is limited knowledge of the extent of or factors underlying inequalities in uptake of childhood vaccination in Ireland. This paper aims to measure and decompose socioeconomic inequalities in childhood vaccination in the Republic of Ireland. The analysis was performed using data from the first wave of the Growing Up in Ireland survey, a nationally representative survey of the carers of over 11,000 nine-month old babies collected in 2008 and 2009. Multivariate analysis was conducted to explore the child and parental factors, including socioeconomic factors that were associated with non-vaccination of children. A concentration index was calculated to measure inequality in childhood vaccination. Subsequent decomposition analysis identified key factors underpinning observed inequalities. Overall the results confirm a strong socioeconomic gradient in childhood vaccination in the Republic of Ireland. Concentration indices of vaccination (CI=-0.19) show a substantial pro-rich gradient. Results from the decomposition analysis suggest that a substantial proportion of the inequality is explained by household level variables such as socioeconomic status, household structure, income and entitlement to publicly funded care (29.9%, 24% 30.6% and 12.9% respectively). Substantial differences are also observed between children of Irish mothers and immigrant mothers from developing countries. Vaccination was less likely in lower than in higher income households. Access to publicly funded services was an important factor in explaining inequalities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Potential Cost-Effectiveness of an Influenza Vaccination Program Offering Microneedle Patch for Vaccine Delivery in Children.

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    Carlos Wong

    Full Text Available The influenza vaccine coverage rate of children is low in Hong Kong. Microneedle patches (MNPs is a technology under development for painless delivery of vaccines. This study aimed to examine the potential clinical outcomes and direct medical costs of an influenza program offering MNP vaccine to children who have declined intramuscular (IM vaccine in Hong Kong.A decision model was designed to compare potential outcomes between IM vaccine program and a program offering MNP vaccine to those declined IM vaccine (IM/MNP program in a hypothetical cohort of children over one-year time horizon. The model outcomes included direct medical cost, influenza infection rate, mortality rate, and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs loss. Model inputs were retrieved from published literature. Sensitivity analyses were performed to examine the robustness of model results.In base-case analysis, IM/MNP program was more costly per child (USD19.13 versus USD13.69; USD1 = HKD7.8 with lower influenza infection rate (98.9 versus 124.8 per 1,000 children, hospitalization rate (0.83 versus 1.05 per 1,000 children and influenza-related mortality rate (0.00042 versus 0.00052 per 1,000 children when compared to IM program. The incremental cost per QALY saved (ICER of IM/MNP program versus IM program was 27,200 USD/QALY. Using gross domestic product (GDP per capita of Hong Kong (USD40,594 as threshold of willingness-to-pay (WTP per QALY, one-way sensitivity analysis found ICER of IM/MNP to exceed WTP when duration of illness in outpatient setting was 1.39-time of IM vaccine cost. In 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations, IM/MNP program was the preferred option in 57.28% and 91.68% of the time, using 1x and 3x GDP per capita as WTP threshold, respectively.Acceptance of IM/MNP program as the preferred program was subject to the WTP threshold, duration of illness in outpatient settings, and cost of MNP vaccine.

  13. Psychosocial determinants of parental human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine decision-making for sons: Methodological challenges and initial results of a pan-Canadian longitudinal study.

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    Perez, Samara; Tatar, Ovidiu; Shapiro, Gilla K; Dubé, Eve; Ogilvie, Gina; Guichon, Juliet; Gilca, Vladimir; Rosberger, Zeev

    2016-12-05

    HPV vaccination decision-making is a complex process that is influenced by multiple psychosocial determinants. Given the change in policy recommendation to include males in routine HPV vaccination, our goals were to assess the HPV vaccination uptake in Canada, to understand where Canadian parents were situated in the HPV vaccine decision-making process for their son, how they changed over time and which psychosocial determinants were relevant for this process. We used an online survey methodology and collected data from a nationally representative sample of Canadian parents of boys aged 9-16 at baseline (T1, February 2014) and at 9 months' follow-up (T2). Our analyses were guided by the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM), a theoretical health behavior model that classifies parents in one of six stages: unaware, unengaged, undecided, decided not to vaccinate, decided to vaccinate and those who had already vaccinated their sons. Rigorous methods were used to filter out careless responders: response variance, bogus items, psychometric antonyms and psychometric synonyms. At T1 and T2, we received 3,784 and 1,608 respectively completed questionnaires; after data cleaning 3,117 (T1) and 1,427 (T2) were retained. Less than 3% of boys were vaccinated at both time points. At both T1 and T2, most parents (over 70%) belonged to the earlier vaccination adoption stages: 57% were unaware (T1) and 15.3% (T2); 20.9% were unengaged (T1) and 32.4% (T2); and 9.1% were undecided (T1) and 25.2% (T2). At follow-up, 37.7% of participants did not move from their initial PAPM decision-making stage. Most parents (55%) preferred to receive information from their healthcare provider (HCP) but only 6% (T1) and 12% (T2) had actually spoken with a HCP about the HPV vaccine for their son. HPV vaccination uptake in Canadian boys was very low in the absence of a publicly funded HPV vaccination programs for boys. Optimal HPV information preferences were identified and can be used in

  14. Psychosocial determinants of parental human papillomavirus (HPV vaccine decision-making for sons: Methodological challenges and initial results of a pan-Canadian longitudinal study

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    Samara Perez

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background HPV vaccination decision-making is a complex process that is influenced by multiple psychosocial determinants. Given the change in policy recommendation to include males in routine HPV vaccination, our goals were to assess the HPV vaccination uptake in Canada, to understand where Canadian parents were situated in the HPV vaccine decision-making process for their son, how they changed over time and which psychosocial determinants were relevant for this process. Methods We used an online survey methodology and collected data from a nationally representative sample of Canadian parents of boys aged 9–16 at baseline (T1, February 2014 and at 9 months’ follow-up (T2. Our analyses were guided by the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM, a theoretical health behavior model that classifies parents in one of six stages: unaware, unengaged, undecided, decided not to vaccinate, decided to vaccinate and those who had already vaccinated their sons. Rigorous methods were used to filter out careless responders: response variance, bogus items, psychometric antonyms and psychometric synonyms. Results At T1 and T2, we received 3,784 and 1,608 respectively completed questionnaires; after data cleaning 3,117 (T1 and 1,427 (T2 were retained. Less than 3% of boys were vaccinated at both time points. At both T1 and T2, most parents (over 70% belonged to the earlier vaccination adoption stages: 57% were unaware (T1 and 15.3% (T2; 20.9% were unengaged (T1 and 32.4% (T2; and 9.1% were undecided (T1 and 25.2% (T2. At follow-up, 37.7% of participants did not move from their initial PAPM decision-making stage. Most parents (55% preferred to receive information from their healthcare provider (HCP but only 6% (T1 and 12% (T2 had actually spoken with a HCP about the HPV vaccine for their son. Conclusions HPV vaccination uptake in Canadian boys was very low in the absence of a publicly funded HPV vaccination programs for boys. Optimal HPV information

  15. Validation of the vaccine conspiracy beliefs scale

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    Gilla K. Shapiro

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Parents’ vaccine attitudes influence their decision regarding child vaccination. To date, no study has evaluated the impact of vaccine conspiracy beliefs on human papillomavirus vaccine acceptance. The authors assessed the validity of a Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs Scale (VCBS and determined whether this scale was associated with parents’ willingness to vaccinate their son with the HPV vaccine. Methods: Canadian parents completed a 24-min online survey in 2014. Measures included socio-demographic variables, HPV knowledge, health care provider recommendation, Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ, the seven-item VCBS, and parents’ willingness to vaccinate their son at two price points. Results: A total of 1427 Canadian parents completed the survey in English (61.2% or French (38.8%. A Factor Analysis revealed the VCBS is one-dimensional and has high internal consistency (α=0.937. The construct validity of the VCBS was supported by a moderate relationship with the CMQ (r=0.44, p<0.001. Hierarchical regression analyses found the VCBS is negatively related to parents’ willingness to vaccinate their son with the HPV vaccine at both price points (‘free’ or ‘$300′ after controlling for gender, age, household income, education level, HPV knowledge, and health care provider recommendation. Conclusions: The VCBS is a brief, valid scale that will be useful in further elucidating the correlates of vaccine hesitancy. Future research could use the VCBS to evaluate the impact of vaccine conspiracies beliefs on vaccine uptake and how concerns about vaccination may be challenged and reversed. Keywords: Cancer prevention, Conspiracy beliefs, Human papillomavirus, Vaccine hesitancy, Vaccines, Vaccine Conspiracy Belief Scale

  16. Promoting influenza vaccination: Insights from a qualitative meta-analysis of 14 years of influenza-related communications research by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

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    Nowak, Glen J.; Sheedy, Kristine; Bursey, Kelli; Smith, Teresa M.; Basket, Michelle

    2018-01-01

    Introduction A primary mission of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) is promoting immunization against seasonal influenza. As with most education efforts, CDCs influenza-related communications are often informed by formative research. Methods A qualitative meta-analysis of 29 unpublished, primarily qualitative CDC-sponsored studies related to flu and flu vaccination knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (KABs). The studies, undertaken between 2000 and 2013, involved focus groups, in-depth interviews, message testing and surveys. Some involved health care professionals, while others involved members of the public, including sub-populations at risk for severe illness. Findings The themes that emerged suggested progress in terms of KABs related to influenza and influenza vaccination, but also the persistence of many barriers to vaccine acceptance. With respect to the public, recurring themes included limited understanding of influenza and immunization recommendations, indications of greater sub-group recognition of the value of flu vaccination, continued resistance to vaccination among many, and overestimation of the effectiveness of non-vaccine measures. Seven cognitive facilitators of vaccination were identified in the studies along with six cognitive barriers. For health care providers, the analysis suggests greater knowledge and more favorable beliefs, but many misperceptions persist and are similar to those held by the public. KABs often differed by type or category of health care provider. Conclusions The themes identified in this qualitative analysis illustrate the difficulty in changing KABs related to influenza and influenza vaccine, particularly on the scope and scale needed to greatly improve uptake. Even with an influenza pandemic and more vaccine options available, public and some health care provider perceptions and beliefs are difficult and slow to change. This meta-analysis does, however, provide important insights from previously

  17. [Recommendations for making decisions when parents refuse to vaccinate their children: ethical analysis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riaño Galán, I; Martínez González, C; Sánchez Jacob, M

    2013-07-01

    Vaccinating children is the most effective primary prevention activity and many lives have been saved due to vaccines. Anti-vaccine movements have spread doubts about the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines, leading to some parents refusing to vaccinate their children. This refusal raises a conflict of values between the right of parents to the upbringing of their children according to their beliefs and justice, putting the immunity of the group at risk. In Spain, the law protects this ability for parents to decide not to comply with the official vaccine program. Pediatricians play an essential role in a parent's decision, and must provide accurate information about vaccination. It is necessary to explore The values of the parents, their concerns need to be empathetically examined, in order to reach an agreement. Respect for freedom does not exempt us from using discussion and persuasion to achieve attitudes and healthy choices for children. Our commitment to responsability promotion is essential for maintaining high vaccination levels that protect the health of children. Copyright © 2012 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  18. Quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccination in girls and the risk of autoimmune disorders: the Ontario Grade 8 HPV Vaccine Cohort Study

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    Liu, Erin Y.; Smith, Leah M.; Ellis, Anne K.; Whitaker, Heather; Law, Barbara; Kwong, Jeffrey C.; Farrington, Paddy

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Despite demonstrated effectiveness in real-world settings, concerns persist regarding the safety of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV4) vaccine. We sought to assess the risk of autoimmune disorders following HPV4 vaccination among grade 8 girls eligible for Ontario’s school-based HPV vaccination program. METHODS: We undertook a population-based retrospective cohort study using Ontario’s administrative health and vaccination databases from 2007 to 2013. The self-controlled case series method was used to compare the rate of a composite end point of autoimmune disorders diagnosed during days 7–60 post-vaccination (“exposed” follow-up) to that at any other time (“unexposed”). The analysis was repeated to assess the effect of a history of immune-mediated diseases and time since vaccination. We also conducted an exploratory analysis of individual autoimmune disorders. Rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using conditional Poisson regression, adjusted for age, seasonality, concomitant vaccinations and infections. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 290 939 girls aged 12–17 years who were eligible for vaccination between 2007 and 2013. There was no significant risk for developing an autoimmune disorder following HPV4 vaccination (n = 681; rate ratio 1.12, 95% CI 0.85–1.47), and the association was unchanged by a history of immune-mediated disorders and time since vaccination. Exploratory analyses of individual autoimmune disorders found no significant risks, including for Bell palsy (n = 65; rate ratio 1.73, 95% CI 0.77–3.89), optic neuritis (n = 67; rate ratio 1.57, 95% CI 0.74–3.33) and Graves disease (n = 47; rate ratio 1.55, 95% CI 0.92–2.63). INTERPRETATION: We did not observe an increased risk of autoimmune disorders following HPV4 vaccination among teenaged girls. These findings should reassure parents and health care providers. PMID:29807937

  19. Cervical Cancer Screening in Partly HPV Vaccinated Cohorts - A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

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    Steffie K Naber

    Full Text Available Vaccination against the oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV types 16 and 18 will reduce the prevalence of these types, thereby also reducing cervical cancer risk in unvaccinated women. This (measurable herd effect will be limited at first, but is expected to increase over time. At a certain herd immunity level, tailoring screening to vaccination status may no longer be worth the additional effort. Moreover, uniform screening may be the only viable option. We therefore investigated at what level of herd immunity it is cost-effective to also reduce screening intensity in unvaccinated women.We used the MISCAN-Cervix model to determine the optimal screening strategy for a pre-vaccination population and for vaccinated women (~80% decreased risk, assuming a willingness-to-pay of €50,000 per quality-adjusted life year gained. We considered HPV testing, cytology testing and co-testing and varied the start age of screening, the screening interval and the number of lifetime screens. We then calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER of screening unvaccinated women with the strategy optimized to the pre-vaccination population as compared to with the strategy optimized to vaccinated women, assuming different herd immunity levels.Primary HPV screening with cytology triage was the optimal strategy, with 8 lifetime screens for the pre-vaccination population and 3 for vaccinated women. The ICER of screening unvaccinated women 8 times instead of 3 was €28,085 in the absence of herd immunity. At around 50% herd immunity, the ICER reached €50,000.From a herd immunity level of 50% onwards, screening intensity based on the pre-vaccination risk level becomes cost-ineffective for unvaccinated women. Reducing the screening intensity of uniform screening may then be considered.

  20. The Latest in Vaccine Policies: Selected Issues in School Vaccinations, Healthcare Worker Vaccinations, and Pharmacist Vaccination Authority Laws.

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    Barraza, Leila; Schmit, Cason; Hoss, Aila

    2017-03-01

    This paper discusses recent changes to state legal frameworks for mandatory vaccination in the context of school and healthcare worker vaccination. It then discusses state laws that allow pharmacists the authority to vaccinate.

  1. Economic evaluation of vaccination programme of mumps vaccine to the birth cohort in Japan.

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    Hoshi, Shu-ling; Kondo, Masahide; Okubo, Ichiro

    2014-07-16

    The most common preventative measure against mumps is vaccination with mumps vaccine. In most parts of the world, mumps vaccine is routinely delivered through live attenuated Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine. In Japan, receiving mumps vaccine is voluntary and vaccine uptake rate is less than 30%. The introduction of mumps vaccine into routine vaccination schedule has become one of the current topics in health policy and has raised the need to evaluate efficient ways in protecting children from mumps-related diseases in Japan. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis with Markov model and calculated incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) of 11 different programmes; a single-dose programme at 12-16 months and 10 two-dose programmes with second dose uptakes at ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Our base-case analyse set the cost per shot at ¥6951 (US$72; 1US$=96.8). Results show that single-dose programme dominates status quo. On the other hand, ICERs of all 10 two-dose programmes are under ¥6,300,000 (US$65,082) per QALY from payer's perspective while it ranged from cost-saving to <¥7,000,000 (US$72,314) per QALY from societal perspective. By adopting WHO's classification that an intervention is cost-effective if ICER (in QALY) is between one and three times of GDP as a criterion, either of the vaccination programme is concluded as cost-effective from payer's or societal perspectives. Likewise, to uptake second dose at 3-5 years old is more favourable than an uptake at any other age because of lower incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Coverage and Influencing Determinants of Influenza Vaccination in Elderly Patients in a Country with a Poor Vaccination Implementation

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    Maria Ganczak

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The seasonal influenza vaccination uptake of the elderly in Poland is one of the lowest in Europe. Objective: to assess the vaccination coverage and influencing determinants in patients ≥65 years of age. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted (November 2015–April 2016 among consecutive patients admitted to a municipal hospital located in the city of Szczecin, North-west Poland. Patients completed researcher-administered, anonymous questionnaires on socio- demographic data/factors related to the vaccination. Results: The response rate: 92.0%. Among 230 patients (79.6% women, median of age 69 years, range 65–89 who agreed to participate, 34.8% (95% Confidence Interval: 28.6–41.0% were vaccinated. About 15.7% of respondents had not previously heard about the vaccination; 41.3% of those who stated they were vaccinated or planned on being vaccinated the following year, compared to 19.3% of respondents who stated they were not currently vaccinated (p < 0.001. A multivariable regression analysis revealed that patient factors, such as younger age (Odds Ratio, OR = 7.69, living in the urban area (OR = 7.69, having comorbidities (OR = 2.70, having a vaccinated family member (OR = 3.57, and being informed about vaccination (OR = 5.00 were each associated with greater odds of being immunized. Willingness for vaccination the next year was strongly associated (OR = 8.59 with vaccination status. Conclusions: The influenza vaccination uptake in the elderly population in Poland is disturbingly low. Improved education strategies are needed to increase the uptake. Vaccinated respondents are more likely to plan on being vaccinated the following year. Future interventions related to maximizing vaccination coverage should be more tailored, focusing especially on older patients living in rural areas.

  3. See your GP, see the world - An activating course concept for fostering students' competence in performing vaccine and travel consultations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beltermann, Esther; Krane, Sibylla; Kiesewetter, Jan; Fischer, Martin R; Schelling, Jörg

    2015-01-01

    Performing vaccine and travel consultations is a crucial aspect of the daily routine in general medicine. However, medical education does not provide adequately and structured training for this future task of medical students. While existing courses mainly focus on theoretical aspects, we developed a course aiming to foster practical experience in performing vaccine and travel consultations. Project report: The course was implemented in the simulation clinic at the University of Munich in the summer 2011 semester using role-plays in a simulation-based learning environment. The course represents different disciplines involved in vaccine and travel medicine. Students' learning is supported through active engagement in planning and conducting consultations of patients. The course was implemented successfully and students' acceptance was high. However, there is a need for structured teaching of theoretical basics in vaccine and travel medicine earlier in medical curriculum. The insights gained through our course are used for the development of the structured longitudinal curriculum "vaccine medicine".

  4. Rotavirus vaccines

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    Kang G

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Rotavirus, the most common cause of severe diarrhea and a leading cause of mortality in children, has been a priority target for vaccine development for the past several years. The first rotavirus vaccine licensed in the United States was withdrawn because of an association of the vaccine with intussusception. However, the need for a vaccine is greatest in the developing world, because the benefits of preventing deaths due to rotavirus disease are substantially greater than the risk of intussusception. Early vaccines were based on animal strains. More recently developed and licenced vaccines are either animal-human reassortants or are based on human strains. In India, two candidate vaccines are in the development process, but have not yet reached efficacy trials. Many challenges regarding vaccine efficacy and safety remain. In addition to completing clinical evaluations of vaccines in development in settings with the highest disease burden and virus diversity, there is also a need to consider alternative vaccine development strategies.

  5. [Demands and expectations of parents who refuse vaccinations and perspective of health professional on the refusal to vaccinate].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Diz, S; Martínez Romero, M; Fernández-Prada, M; Cruz Piqueras, M; Molina Ruano, R; Fernández Sierra, M A

    2014-06-01

    To examine the opinions, beliefs and attitudes about vaccination, of parents who decide not to vaccinate their children. To determine the opinions and attitudes of the health professionals on the behaviour towards childhood vaccination. Qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews and focal groups in Granada, Spain, including parents who chose to not vaccinate their children, and healthcare professionals who can provide a technical point of view. An analysis was made of the semantic content, and answers were categorized in thematic units. The parents argued on the benefit of suffering vaccine-preventable diseases in a natural way, without non-natural, aggressive or toxic products. Vaccination was considered unnecessary, if given adequate hygienic-sanitary conditions, effectiveness unproven and more dangerous than the diseases they prevent, especially the polyvalent vaccines. They believed that vaccination programs are moved by biased studies and interests other than prevention. Health care professionals believe that they had fears without scientific basis, which requires improving information systems. Non-vaccinators are unaware of the benefit/risk ratio between the vaccination and the individual risk for preventable diseases, and ask for informed consent. Health care professionals believe that non-vaccinators' arguments are not correctly contrasted and expose the existence of failures in actual vaccination coverage and information registration systems. It was suggested to centralize registers and compare them in schools, working with local leaders and reporting regularly on the status of vaccine-preventable diseases. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  6. Geographic analysis of vaccine uptake in a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Hue, Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Mohammad; Thiem, Vu Dinh; Park, Jin-Kyung; Ochiai, Rion Leon; Canh, Do Gia; Danovaro-Holliday, M Carolina; Kaljee, Linda M; Clemens, John D; Acosta, Camilo J

    2007-09-01

    This paper identifies spatial patterns and predictors of vaccine uptake in a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Hue, Vietnam. Data for this study result from the integration of demographic surveillance, vaccine record, and geographic data of the study area. A multi-level cross-classified (non-hierarchical) model was used for analyzing the non-nested nature of individual's ecological data. Vaccine uptake was unevenly distributed in space and there was spatial variability among predictors of vaccine uptake. Vaccine uptake was higher among students with younger, male, or not literate family heads. Students from households with higher per-capita income were less likely to participate in the trial. Residency south of the river or further from a hospital/polyclinic was associated with higher vaccine uptake. Younger students were more likely to be vaccinated than older students in high- or low-risk areas, but not in the entire study area. The findings are important for the management of vaccine campaigns during a trial and for interpretation of disease patterns during vaccine-efficacy evaluation.

  7. Rates of influenza vaccination in older adults and factors associated with vaccine use: A secondary analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging

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    Merry Heather

    2004-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Influenza vaccination has been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality in the older adult population. In Canada, vaccination rates remain suboptimal. We identified factors predictive of influenza vaccination, in order to determine which segments of the older adult population might be targeted to increase coverage in influenza vaccination programs. Methods The Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA is a population-based national cohort study of 10263 older adults (≥ 65 conducted in 1991. We used data from the 5007 community-dwelling participants in the CSHA without dementia for whom self-reported influenza vaccination status is known. Results Of 5007 respondents, 2763 (55.2% reported having received an influenza vaccination within the previous 2 years. The largest predictive factors for flu vaccination included: being married (57.4 vs. 52.6%, p = 0.0007, having attained a higher education (11.0 vs. 10.3 years, p While many other differences were statistically significant, most were small (e.g. mean age 75.1 vs. 74.6 years for immunized vs. unimmunized older adults, p = 0.006, higher Modified Mini Mental Status Examination score (89.9 vs. 89.1, p Residents of Ontario were more likely (64.6% to report vaccination (p Conclusions The vaccination rate in this sample, in whom influenza vaccination is indicated, was low (55.2%. Even in a publicly administered health care setting, influenza vaccination did not reach an important proportion of the elderly population. Whether these differences reflect patient preference or access remains to be determined.

  8. Longitudinal analysis of mouse SDOCT volumes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antony, Bhavna J.; Carass, Aaron; Lang, Andrew; Kim, Byung-Jin; Zack, Donald J.; Prince, Jerry L.

    2017-03-01

    Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT), in addition to its routine clinical use in the diagnosis of ocular diseases, has begun to fund increasing use in animal studies. Animal models are frequently used to study disease mechanisms as well as to test drug efficacy. In particular, SDOCT provides the ability to study animals longitudinally and non-invasively over long periods of time. However, the lack of anatomical landmarks makes the longitudinal scan acquisition prone to inconsistencies in orientation. Here, we propose a method for the automated registration of mouse SDOCT volumes. The method begins by accurately segmenting the blood vessels and the optic nerve head region in the scans using a pixel classification approach. The segmented vessel maps from follow-up scans were registered using an iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm to the baseline scan to allow for the accurate longitudinal tracking of thickness changes. Eighteen SDOCT volumes from a light damage model study were used to train a random forest utilized in the pixel classification step. The area under the curve (AUC) in a leave-one-out study for the retinal blood vessels and the optic nerve head (ONH) was found to be 0.93 and 0.98, respectively. The complete proposed framework, the retinal vasculature segmentation and the ICP registration, was applied to a secondary set of scans obtained from a light damage model. A qualitative assessment of the registration showed no registration failures.

  9. A bibliometric analysis of systematic reviews on vaccines and immunisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Silke; Jit, Mark; Bozzani, Fiammetta; Griffiths, Ulla K; Scott, J Anthony G; Burchett, Helen E D

    2018-04-19

    SYSVAC is an online bibliographic database of systematic reviews and systematic review protocols on vaccines and immunisation compiled by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) through their National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAG) resource centre (www.nitag-resource.org). Here the development of the database and a bibliometric review of its content is presented, describing trends in the publication of policy-relevant systematic reviews on vaccines and immunisation from 2008 to 2016. Searches were conducted in seven scientific databases according to a standardized search protocol, initially in 2014 with the most recent update in January 2017. Abstracts and titles were screened according to specific inclusion criteria. All included publications were coded into relevant categories based on a standardized protocol and subsequently analysed to look at trends in time, topic, area of focus, population and geographic location. After screening for inclusion criteria, 1285 systematic reviews were included in the database. While in 2008 there were only 34 systematic reviews on a vaccine-related topic, this increased to 322 in 2016. The most frequent pathogens/diseases studied were influenza, human papillomavirus and pneumococcus. There were several areas of duplication and overlap. As more systematic reviews are published it becomes increasingly time-consuming for decision-makers to identify relevant information among the ever-increasing volume available. The risk of duplication also increases, particularly given the current lack of coordination of systematic reviews on vaccine-related questions, both in terms of their commissioning and their execution. The SYSVAC database offers an accessible catalogue of vaccine-relevant systematic reviews with, where possible access or a link to the full-text. SYSVAC provides a freely searchable platform to identify existing vaccine-policy-relevant systematic

  10. Optimized oral cholera vaccine distribution strategies to minimize disease incidence: A mixed integer programming model and analysis of a Bangladesh scenario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smalley, Hannah K; Keskinocak, Pinar; Swann, Julie; Hinman, Alan

    2015-11-17

    In addition to improved sanitation, hygiene, and better access to safe water, oral cholera vaccines can help to control the spread of cholera in the short term. However, there is currently no systematic method for determining the best allocation of oral cholera vaccines to minimize disease incidence in a population where the disease is endemic and resources are limited. We present a mathematical model for optimally allocating vaccines in a region under varying levels of demographic and incidence data availability. The model addresses the questions of where, when, and how many doses of vaccines to send. Considering vaccine efficacies (which may vary based on age and the number of years since vaccination), we analyze distribution strategies which allocate vaccines over multiple years. Results indicate that, given appropriate surveillance data, targeting age groups and regions with the highest disease incidence should be the first priority, followed by other groups primarily in order of disease incidence, as this approach is the most life-saving and cost-effective. A lack of detailed incidence data results in distribution strategies which are not cost-effective and can lead to thousands more deaths from the disease. The mathematical model allows for what-if analysis for various vaccine distribution strategies by providing the ability to easily vary parameters such as numbers and sizes of regions and age groups, risk levels, vaccine price, vaccine efficacy, production capacity and budget. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Informing vaccine decision-making: A strategic multi-attribute ranking tool for vaccines-SMART Vaccines 2.0.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knobler, Stacey; Bok, Karin; Gellin, Bruce

    2017-01-20

    SMART Vaccines 2.0 software is being developed to support decision-making among multiple stakeholders in the process of prioritizing investments to optimize the outcomes of vaccine development and deployment. Vaccines and associated vaccination programs are one of the most successful and effective public health interventions to prevent communicable diseases and vaccine researchers are continually working towards expanding targets for communicable and non-communicable diseases through preventive and therapeutic modes. A growing body of evidence on emerging vaccine technologies, trends in disease burden, costs associated with vaccine development and deployment, and benefits derived from disease prevention through vaccination and a range of other factors can inform decision-making and investment in new and improved vaccines and targeted utilization of already existing vaccines. Recognizing that an array of inputs influences these decisions, the strategic multi-attribute ranking method for vaccines (SMART Vaccines 2.0) is in development as a web-based tool-modified from a U.S. Institute of Medicine Committee effort (IOM, 2015)-to highlight data needs and create transparency to facilitate dialogue and information-sharing among decision-makers and to optimize the investment of resources leading to improved health outcomes. Current development efforts of the SMART Vaccines 2.0 framework seek to generate a weighted recommendation on vaccine development or vaccination priorities based on population, disease, economic, and vaccine-specific data in combination with individual preference and weights of user-selected attributes incorporating valuations of health, economics, demographics, public concern, scientific and business, programmatic, and political considerations. Further development of the design and utility of the tool is being carried out by the National Vaccine Program Office of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Fogarty International Center of the

  12. The impact of making vaccines thermostable in Niger's vaccine supply chain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Bruce Y; Cakouros, Brigid E; Assi, Tina-Marie; Connor, Diana L; Welling, Joel; Kone, Souleymane; Djibo, Ali; Wateska, Angela R; Pierre, Lionel; Brown, Shawn T

    2012-08-17

    Determine the effects on the vaccine cold chain of making different types of World Health Organization (WHO) Expanded Program on Immunizations (EPI) vaccines thermostable. Utilizing a detailed computational, discrete-event simulation model of the Niger vaccine supply chain, we simulated the impact of making different combinations of the six current EPI vaccines thermostable. Making any EPI vaccine thermostable relieved existing supply chain bottlenecks (especially at the lowest levels), increased vaccine availability of all EPI vaccines, and decreased cold storage and transport capacity utilization. By far, the most substantial impact came from making the pentavalent vaccine thermostable, increasing its own vaccine availability from 87% to 97% and the vaccine availabilities of all other remaining non-thermostable EPI vaccines to over 93%. By contrast, making each of the other vaccines thermostable had considerably less effect on the remaining vaccines, failing to increase the vaccine availabilities of other vaccines to more than 89%. Making tetanus toxoid vaccine along with the pentavalent thermostable further increased the vaccine availability of all EPI vaccines by at least 1-2%. Our study shows the potential benefits of making any of Niger's EPI vaccines thermostable and therefore supports further development of thermostable vaccines. Eliminating the need for refrigerators and freezers should not necessarily be the only benefit and goal of vaccine thermostability. Rather, making even a single vaccine (or some subset of the vaccines) thermostable could free up significant cold storage space for other vaccines, and thereby help alleviate supply chain bottlenecks that occur throughout the world. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Longitudinal analysis of progression in glaucoma using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wessel, Julia M; Horn, Folkert K; Tornow, Ralf P; Schmid, Matthias; Mardin, Christian Y; Kruse, Friedrich E; Juenemann, Anselm G; Laemmer, Robert

    2013-05-01

    To compare the longitudinal loss of RNFL thickness measurements by SD-OCT in healthy individuals and glaucoma patients with or without progression concerning optic disc morphology. A total of 62 eyes, comprising 38 glaucomatous eyes with open angle glaucoma and 24 healthy controls, were included in the study (Erlangen Glaucoma Registry, NTC00494923). All patients were investigated annually over a period of 3 years by Spectralis SD-OCT measuring peripapillary RNFL thickness. By masked comparative analysis of photographs, the eyes were classified into nonprogressive and progressive glaucoma cases. Longitudinal loss of RNFL thickness was compared with morphological changes of optic disc morphology. Mixed model analysis of annual OCT scans revealed an estimated annual decrease of the RNFL thickness by 2.12 μm in glaucoma eyes with progression, whereas glaucoma eyes without progression in optic disc morphology lost 1.18 μm per year in RNFL thickness (P = 0.002). The rate of change in healthy eyes was 0.60 μm and thereby also significantly lower than in glaucoma eyes with progression (P < 0.001). The intrasession variability of three successive measurements without head repositioning was 1.5 ± 0.7 μm. The loss of mean RNFL thickness exceeded the intrasession variability in 60% of nonprogressive eyes, and in 85% of progressive eyes after 3 years. LONGITUDINAL MEASUREMENTS OF RNFL THICKNESS USING SD-OCT SHOW A MORE PRONOUNCED REDUCTION OF RNFL THICKNESS IN PATIENTS WITH PROGRESSION COMPARED WITH PATIENTS WITHOUT PROGRESSION IN GLAUCOMATOUS OPTIC DISC CHANGES. (www.clinicaltrials.gov number, NTC00494923.).

  14. Vaccines (immunizations) - overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaccinations; Immunizations; Immunize; Vaccine shots; Prevention - vaccine ... of the vaccine. VACCINE SCHEDULE The recommended vaccination (immunization) schedule is updated every 12 months by the ...

  15. Correlates of protection for inactivated enterovirus 71 vaccine: the analysis of immunological surrogate endpoints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Wenbo; Jin, Pengfei; Li, Jing-Xin; Zhu, Feng-Cai; Liu, Pei

    2017-09-01

    Inactivated Enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccines showed significant efficacy against the diseases associated with EV71 and a neutralizing antibody (NTAb) titer of 1:16-1:32 was suggested as the correlates of the vaccine protection. This paper aims to further estimate the immunological surrogate endpoints for the protection of inactivated EV71 vaccines and the effect factors. Pre-vaccination NTAb against EV71 at baseline (day 0), post-vaccination NTAb against EV71 at day 56, and the occurrence of laboratory-confirmed EV71-associated diseases during a 24-months follow-up period were collected from a phase 3 efficacy trial of an inactivated EV71 vaccine. We used the mixed-scaled logit model and the absolute sigmoid function by some extensions in continuous models to estimate the immunological surrogate endpoint for the EV71 vaccine protection, respectively. For children with a negative baseline of EV71 NTAb titers, an antibody level of 26.6 U/ml (1:30) was estimated to provide at least a 50% protection for 12 months, and an antibody level of 36.2 U/ml (1:42) may be needed to achieve a 50% protective level of the population for 24 months. Both the pre-vaccination NTAb level and the vaccine protective period could affect the estimation of the immunological surrogate for EV71 vaccine. A post-vaccination NTAb titer of 1:42 or more may be needed for long-term protection. NCT01508247.

  16. Evaluación de los programas de vacunación mediante estudios serológicos y vacunas distribuidas Evaluation of vaccination programs through serological studies and distributed vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro Plans

    2005-12-01

    centers; b reported vaccination history, and c serological analysis of antibodies. Methods: Vaccination coverage was calculated on the basis of vaccination history collected by questionnaire, and by serological analysis of antibodies against measles for the MMR vaccine and against tetanus for the DTP vaccine in a representative sample of schoolchildren in 2001. The vaccination coverage from vaccination registries was obtained by dividing the number of individuals who could have completed their vaccinations by the target population. The concordance between the vaccination history and serological analysis was evaluated using the kappa test. Results: The vaccination coverage obtained by questionnaire in schoolchildren aged 6-8 and 9-11 years was 85.5 and 87.6% for the DTP vaccine, 89.9 and 89.6% for the MMR vaccine, and 90.4 and 89.4% for the poliomyelitis vaccine, respectively, while the vaccination coverage obtained by serological analysis was 100 and 99.6% for the DTP vaccine and 85.5 and 93.3% for the MMR vaccine, respectively. The vaccination coverages obtained from distributed vaccines were significantly higher: 93.5 and 100% for the DTP vaccine, 96.3 and 98.8% for the MMR vaccine and 100% for the poliomyelitis vaccine. A low concordance was obtained between the vaccination history and serological analysis of antibodies (κ < 0.2. Conclusion: Planning and evaluation of vaccination programs should be based on vaccination coverages obtained from serological analysis of antibodies in representative samples of schoolchildren.

  17. Causal mediation analysis for longitudinal data with exogenous exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bind, M-A C; Vanderweele, T J; Coull, B A; Schwartz, J D

    2016-01-01

    Mediation analysis is a valuable approach to examine pathways in epidemiological research. Prospective cohort studies are often conducted to study biological mechanisms and often collect longitudinal measurements on each participant. Mediation formulae for longitudinal data have been developed. Here, we formalize the natural direct and indirect effects using a causal framework with potential outcomes that allows for an interaction between the exposure and the mediator. To allow different types of longitudinal measures of the mediator and outcome, we assume two generalized mixed-effects models for both the mediator and the outcome. The model for the mediator has subject-specific random intercepts and random exposure slopes for each cluster, and the outcome model has random intercepts and random slopes for the exposure, the mediator, and their interaction. We also expand our approach to settings with multiple mediators and derive the mediated effects, jointly through all mediators. Our method requires the absence of time-varying confounding with respect to the exposure and the mediator. This assumption is achieved in settings with exogenous exposure and mediator, especially when exposure and mediator are not affected by variables measured at earlier time points. We apply the methodology to data from the Normative Aging Study and estimate the direct and indirect effects, via DNA methylation, of air pollution, and temperature on intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) protein levels. Our results suggest that air pollution and temperature have a direct effect on ICAM-1 protein levels (i.e. not through a change in ICAM-1 DNA methylation) and that temperature has an indirect effect via a change in ICAM-1 DNA methylation. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. From genomes to vaccines: Leishmania as a model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Renata; Norrish, Alan; Levick, Mark; Vetrie, David; Freeman, Tom; Vilo, Jaak; Ivens, Alasdair; Lange, Uta; Stober, Carmel; McCann, Sharon; Blackwell, Jenefer M

    2002-01-01

    The 35 Mb genome of Leishmania should be sequenced by late 2002. It contains approximately 8500 genes that will probably translate into more than 10 000 proteins. In the laboratory we have been piloting strategies to try to harness the power of the genome-proteome for rapid screening of new vaccine candidate. To this end, microarray analysis of 1094 unique genes identified using an EST analysis of 2091 cDNA clones from spliced leader libraries prepared from different developmental stages of Leishmania has been employed. The plan was to identify amastigote-expressed genes that could be used in high-throughput DNA-vaccine screens to identify potential new vaccine candidates. Despite the lack of transcriptional regulation that polycistronic transcription in Leishmania dictates, the data provide evidence for a high level of post-transcriptional regulation of RNA abundance during the developmental cycle of promastigotes in culture and in lesion-derived amastigotes of Leishmania major. This has provided 147 candidates from the 1094 unique genes that are specifically upregulated in amastigotes and are being used in vaccine studies. Using DNA vaccination, it was demonstrated that pooling strategies can work to identify protective vaccines, but it was found that some potentially protective antigens are masked by other disease-exacerbatory antigens in the pool. A total of 100 new vaccine candidates are currently being tested separately and in pools to extend this analysis, and to facilitate retrospective bioinformatic analysis to develop predictive algorithms for sequences that constitute potentially protective antigens. We are also working with other members of the Leishmania Genome Network to determine whether RNA expression determined by microarray analyses parallels expression at the protein level. We believe we are making good progress in developing strategies that will allow rapid translation of the sequence of Leishmania into potential interventions for disease

  19. Rotavirus vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yen, Catherine; Tate, Jacqueline E; Hyde, Terri B; Cortese, Margaret M; Lopman, Benjamin A; Jiang, Baoming; Glass, Roger I; Parashar, Umesh D

    2014-01-01

    Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea among children rotavirus vaccines have been efficacious and effective, with many countries reporting substantial declines in diarrheal and rotavirus-specific morbidity and mortality. However, the full public health impact of these vaccines has not been realized. Most countries, including those with the highest disease burden, have not yet introduced rotavirus vaccines into their national immunization programs. Research activities that may help inform vaccine introduction decisions include (1) establishing effectiveness, impact, and safety for rotavirus vaccines in low-income settings; (2) identifying potential strategies to improve performance of oral rotavirus vaccines in developing countries, such as zinc supplementation; and (3) pursuing alternate approaches to oral vaccines, such as parenteral immunization. Policy- and program-level barriers, such as financial implications of new vaccine introductions, should be addressed to ensure that countries are able to make informed decisions regarding rotavirus vaccine introduction. PMID:24755452

  20. A public health and budget impact analysis of vaccinating the elderly and at-risk adults with the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine or 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yiling; Gauthier, Aline; Keeping, Sam; Carroll, Stuart

    2014-12-01

    Since the introduction of the routine childhood immunization, a change in epidemiology of pneumococcal disease has been seen in both children and adults. This study aimed to quantify the public health and budget impact of pneumococcal vaccination of the elderly and those in at risk groups in the UK. The model was adapted from a previous population-based Markov model. At-risk adults and the elderly were assumed to receive PPV23 or PCV13 vaccination or no vaccination. Over the study period (2012-2016), PPV23 vaccination led to a reduction in the number of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in most scenarios. The net budget impact ranged between £15 and £39 million (vs no vaccination) or between -£116 and -£93 million (vs PCV13). PPV23 vaccination program remains the optimal strategy from public health and budgetary perspectives despite epidemiological changes. PCV13 is likely to impose a significant budget with limited health benefits.

  1. Hepatitis Vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sina Ogholikhan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Viral hepatitis is a serious health problem all over the world. However, the reduction of the morbidity and mortality due to vaccinations against hepatitis A and hepatitis B has been a major component in the overall reduction in vaccine preventable diseases. We will discuss the epidemiology, vaccine development, and post-vaccination effects of the hepatitis A and B virus. In addition, we discuss attempts to provide hepatitis D vaccine for the 350 million individuals infected with hepatitis B globally. Given the lack of a hepatitis C vaccine, the many challenges facing the production of a hepatitis C vaccine will be shown, along with current and former vaccination trials. As there is no current FDA-approved hepatitis E vaccine, we will present vaccination data that is available in the rest of the world. Finally, we will discuss the existing challenges and questions facing future endeavors for each of the hepatitis viruses, with efforts continuing to focus on dramatically reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with these serious infections of the liver.

  2. Hepatitis Vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogholikhan, Sina; Schwarz, Kathleen B.

    2016-01-01

    Viral hepatitis is a serious health problem all over the world. However, the reduction of the morbidity and mortality due to vaccinations against hepatitis A and hepatitis B has been a major component in the overall reduction in vaccine preventable diseases. We will discuss the epidemiology, vaccine development, and post-vaccination effects of the hepatitis A and B virus. In addition, we discuss attempts to provide hepatitis D vaccine for the 350 million individuals infected with hepatitis B globally. Given the lack of a hepatitis C vaccine, the many challenges facing the production of a hepatitis C vaccine will be shown, along with current and former vaccination trials. As there is no current FDA-approved hepatitis E vaccine, we will present vaccination data that is available in the rest of the world. Finally, we will discuss the existing challenges and questions facing future endeavors for each of the hepatitis viruses, with efforts continuing to focus on dramatically reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with these serious infections of the liver. PMID:26978406

  3. School-Based Influenza Vaccination: Health and Economic Impact of Maine's 2009 Influenza Vaccination Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basurto-Dávila, Ricardo; Meltzer, Martin I; Mills, Dora A; Beeler Asay, Garrett R; Cho, Bo-Hyun; Graitcer, Samuel B; Dube, Nancy L; Thompson, Mark G; Patel, Suchita A; Peasah, Samuel K; Ferdinands, Jill M; Gargiullo, Paul; Messonnier, Mark; Shay, David K

    2017-12-01

    To estimate the societal economic and health impacts of Maine's school-based influenza vaccination (SIV) program during the 2009 A(H1N1) influenza pandemic. Primary and secondary data covering the 2008-09 and 2009-10 influenza seasons. We estimated weekly monovalent influenza vaccine uptake in Maine and 15 other states, using difference-in-difference-in-differences analysis to assess the program's impact on immunization among six age groups. We also developed a health and economic Markov microsimulation model and conducted Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis. We used national survey data to estimate the impact of the SIV program on vaccine coverage. We used primary data and published studies to develop the microsimulation model. The program was associated with higher immunization among children and lower immunization among adults aged 18-49 years and 65 and older. The program prevented 4,600 influenza infections and generated $4.9 million in net economic benefits. Cost savings from lower adult vaccination accounted for 54 percent of the economic gain. Economic benefits were positive in 98 percent of Monte Carlo simulations. SIV may be a cost-beneficial approach to increase immunization during pandemics, but programs should be designed to prevent lower immunization among nontargeted groups. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  4. Lipidomic analysis of immune activation in equine leptospirosis and Leptospira-vaccinated horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Paul L; Steinman, Margaret; Erol, Erdal; Carter, Craig; Christmann, Undine; Verma, Ashutosh

    2018-01-01

    Currently available diagnostic assays for leptospirosis cannot differentiate vaccine from infection serum antibody. Several leptospiral proteins that are upregulated during infection have been described, but their utility as a diagnostic marker is still unclear. In this study, we undertook a lipidomics approach to determine if there are any differences in the serum lipid profiles of horses naturally infected with pathogenic Leptospira spp. and horses vaccinated against a commercially available bacterin. Utilizing a high-resolution mass spectrometry serum lipidomics analytical platform, we demonstrate that cyclic phosphatidic acids, diacylglycerols, and hydroperoxide oxidation products of choline plasmalogens are elevated in the serum of naturally infected as well as vaccinated horses. Other lipids of interest were triacylglycerols that were only elevated in the serum of infected horses and sphingomyelins that were increased only in the serum of vaccinated horses. This is the first report looking at the equine serum lipidome during leptospiral infection and vaccination.

  5. 42 CFR 410.57 - Pneumococcal vaccine and flu vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pneumococcal vaccine and flu vaccine. 410.57 Section 410.57 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN... § 410.57 Pneumococcal vaccine and flu vaccine. (a) Medicare Part B pays for pneumococcal vaccine and its...

  6. Bayesian Nonparametric Regression Analysis of Data with Random Effects Covariates from Longitudinal Measurements

    KAUST Repository

    Ryu, Duchwan

    2010-09-28

    We consider nonparametric regression analysis in a generalized linear model (GLM) framework for data with covariates that are the subject-specific random effects of longitudinal measurements. The usual assumption that the effects of the longitudinal covariate processes are linear in the GLM may be unrealistic and if this happens it can cast doubt on the inference of observed covariate effects. Allowing the regression functions to be unknown, we propose to apply Bayesian nonparametric methods including cubic smoothing splines or P-splines for the possible nonlinearity and use an additive model in this complex setting. To improve computational efficiency, we propose the use of data-augmentation schemes. The approach allows flexible covariance structures for the random effects and within-subject measurement errors of the longitudinal processes. The posterior model space is explored through a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler. The proposed methods are illustrated and compared to other approaches, the "naive" approach and the regression calibration, via simulations and by an application that investigates the relationship between obesity in adulthood and childhood growth curves. © 2010, The International Biometric Society.

  7. Frequency of adverse events after vaccination with different vaccinia strains.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirjam Kretzschmar

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Large quantities of smallpox vaccine have been stockpiled to protect entire nations against a possible reintroduction of smallpox. Planning for an appropriate use of these stockpiled vaccines in response to a smallpox outbreak requires a rational assessment of the risks of vaccination-related adverse events, compared to the risk of contracting an infection. Although considerable effort has been made to understand the dynamics of smallpox transmission in modern societies, little attention has been paid to estimating the frequency of adverse events due to smallpox vaccination. Studies exploring the consequences of smallpox vaccination strategies have commonly used a frequency of approximately one death per million vaccinations, which is based on a study of vaccination with the New York City Board of Health (NYCBH strain of vaccinia virus. However, a multitude of historical studies of smallpox vaccination with other vaccinia strains suggest that there are strain-related differences in the frequency of adverse events after vaccination. Because many countries have stockpiled vaccine based on the Lister strain of vaccinia virus, a quantitative evaluation of the adverse effects of such vaccines is essential for emergency response planning. We conducted a systematic review and statistical analysis of historical data concerning vaccination against smallpox with different strains of vaccinia virus. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We analyzed historical vaccination data extracted from the literature. We extracted data on the frequency of postvaccinal encephalitis and death with respect to vaccinia strain and age of vaccinees. Using a hierarchical Bayesian approach for meta-analysis, we estimated the expected frequencies of postvaccinal encephalitis and death with respect to age at vaccination for smallpox vaccines based on the NYCBH and Lister vaccinia strains. We found large heterogeneity between findings from different studies and a time-period effect

  8. Cost-benefit of WC/rBS oral cholera vaccine for vaccination against ETEC-caused travelers' diarrhea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundkvist, Jonas; Steffen, Robert; Jönsson, Bengt

    2009-01-01

    The most common infectious health problem encountered by travelers to countries in the developing region is travelers' diarrhea (TD), with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) being the most common pathogen isolated. Although mild in most cases, the disease still leads to the loss of a significant part of a vacation or business trip. There is currently a lack of knowledge about the costs in relation to the benefits of vaccination against TD caused by ETEC, and the purposes of this study were to estimate and develop a cost-benefit analysis of vaccination using whole-cell/recombinant-B-subunit oral cholera vaccine. The consequences of the vaccination were identified and quantified in monetary terms. The cost-benefits for leisure and business travelers were assessed separately. The value of the travel was separated into the cost of the trip and of lost leisure time/business opportunities. A person with TD was in base case estimated to lose on average 3.5 days of a 7-day leisure trip and 2.5 days of a 4-day business trip. Results are presented for a Canadian traveler to endemic areas in year 2007 in US$. The average cost of a TD event was estimated at $1,460 and $1,996 for leisure and business travelers, respectively. The net value of the vaccination, however, varied with the risk of the disease. Through extensive literature searches, an updated ETEC map illustrating the proportion of ETEC-caused TD was created. The analysis indicated that vaccination would be considered cost-effective at incidence rates of ETEC-caused TD above about 13 and 9% for leisure and business travelers, respectively. It is, however, important to keep in mind that it is the value of the travel for the individual traveler that will decide if the vaccination provides good value for money.

  9. Recommendations to improve imaging and analysis of brain lesion load and atrophy in longitudinal studies of multiple sclerosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vrenken, H; Jenkinson, M; Horsfield, M A

    2013-01-01

    resonance image analysis methods for assessing brain lesion load and atrophy, this paper makes recommendations to improve these measures for longitudinal studies of MS. Briefly, they are (1) images should be acquired using 3D pulse sequences, with near-isotropic spatial resolution and multiple image......Focal lesions and brain atrophy are the most extensively studied aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS), but the image acquisition and analysis techniques used can be further improved, especially those for studying within-patient changes of lesion load and atrophy longitudinally. Improved accuracy...

  10. Efficacy, safety and effectiveness of licensed rotavirus vaccines: a systematic review and meta-analysis for Latin America and the Caribbean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velázquez, Raúl F; Linhares, Alexandre C; Muñoz, Sergio; Seron, Pamela; Lorca, Pedro; DeAntonio, Rodrigo; Ortega-Barria, Eduardo

    2017-01-13

    RotaTeq™ (RV5; Merck & Co. Inc., USA) and Rotarix™ (RV1, GlaxoSmithKline, Belgium) vaccines, developed to prevent rotavirus diarrhea in children under five years old, were both introduced into national immunization programs in 2006. As many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have included either RV5 or RV1 in their routine childhood vaccination programs, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to analyze efficacy, safety and effectiveness data from the region. We conducted a systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE, Scielo, Lilacs and the Cochrane Central Register, for controlled efficacy, safety and effectiveness studies published between January 2000 until December 2011, on RV5 and RV1 across Latin America (where both vaccines are available since 2006). The primary outcome measures were: rotavirus-related gastroenteritis of any severity; rotavirus emergency department visits and hospitalization; and severe adverse events. The results of the meta-analysis for efficacy show that RV1 reduced the risk of any-severity rotavirus-related gastroenteritis by 65% (relative risk (RR) 0.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.25; 0.50), and of severe gastroenteritis by 82% (RR 0.18, 95%CI 0.12; 0.26) versus placebo. In trials, both vaccines significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization and emergency visits by 85% (RR 0.15, 95%CI 0.09; 0.25) for RV1 and by 90% (RR 0.099, 95%CI 0.012; 0.77) for RV5. Vaccination with RV5 or RV1 did not increase the risk of death, intussusception, or other severe adverse events which were previously associated with the first licensed rotavirus vaccine. Real-world effectiveness studies showed that both vaccines reduced rotavirus hospitalization in the region by around 45-50% for RV5 (for 1 to 3 doses, respectively), and, by around 50-80% for RV1 (for 1 to 2 doses, respectively). For RV1, effectiveness against hospitalization was highest (around 80-96%) for children vaccinated before 12 months of age, compared with 5

  11. See your GP, see the world – An activating course concept for fostering students' competence in performing vaccine and travel consultations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beltermann, Esther

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Aim: Performing vaccine and travel consultations is a crucial aspect of the daily routine in general medicine. However, medical education does not provide adequately and structured training for this future task of medical students. While existing courses mainly focus on theoretical aspects, we developed a course aiming to foster practical experience in performing vaccine and travel consultations. Project report: The course was implemented in the simulation clinic at the University of Munich in the summer 2011 semester using role-plays in a simulation-based learning environment. The course represents different disciplines involved in vaccine and travel medicine. Students’ learning is supported through active engagement in planning and conducting consultations of patients.Discussion and Summary: The course was implemented successfully and students’ acceptance was high. However, there is a need for structured teaching of theoretical basics in vaccine and travel medicine earlier in medical curriculum. The insights gained through our course are used for the development of the structured longitudinal curriculum “vaccine medicine”.

  12. Analyzing and strengthening the vaccine safety program in Manitoba.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montalban, J M; Ogbuneke, C; Hilderman, T

    2014-12-04

    The emergence of a novel influenza A virus in 2009 and the rapid introduction of new pandemic vaccines prompted an analysis of the current state of the adverse events following immunization (AEFI) surveillance response in several provinces. To highlight aspects of the situational analysis of the Manitoba Health, Healthy Living and Seniors (MHHLS's) AEFI surveillance system and to demonstrate how common business techniques could be usefully applied to a provincial vaccine safety monitoring program. Situational analysis of the AEFI surveillance system in Manitoba was developed through a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis and informed by the National Immunization Strategy vaccine safety priorities. Strategy formulation was developed by applying the threats-opportunities-weaknesses-strengths (TOWS) matrix. Thirteen strategies were formulated that use strengths to either take advantage of opportunities or avoid threats, that exploit opportunities to overcome weaknesses, or that rectify weaknesses to circumvent threats. These strategies entailed the development of various tools and resources, most of which are either actively underway or completed. The SWOT analysis and the TOWS matrix enabled MHHLS to enhance the capacity of its vaccine safety program.

  13. Vaccination, herd behavior, and herd immunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Matan J; Brezis, Mayer; Block, Colin; Diederich, Adele; Chinitz, David

    2013-11-01

    During the 2009 outbreak of novel influenza AH1N1, insufficient data were available to adequately inform decision makers about benefits and risks of vaccination and disease. We hypothesized that individuals would opt to mimic their peers, having no better decision anchor. We used Game Theory, decision analysis, and transmission models to simulate the impact of subjective risks and preference estimates on vaccination behavior. We asked 95 students to provide estimates of risk and health state valuations with regard to AH1N1 infection, complications, and expectations of vaccine benefits and risks. These estimates were included in a sequential chain of models: a dynamic epidemic model, a decision tree, and a population-level model. Additionally, participants' intentions to vaccinate or not at varying vaccination rates were documented. The model showed that at low vaccination rates, vaccination dominated. When vaccination rates increased above 78%, nonvaccination was the dominant strategy. We found that vaccination intentions did not correspond to the shift in strategy dominance and segregated to 3 types of intentions: regardless of what others do 29/95 (31%) intended to vaccinate while 27/95 (28%) did not; among 39 of 95 (41%) intention was positively associated with putative vaccination rates. Some people conform to the majority's choice, either shifting epidemic dynamics toward herd immunity or, conversely, limiting societal goals. Policy leaders should use models carefully, noting their limitations and theoretical assumptions. Behavior drivers were not explicitly explored in this study, and the discrepant results beg further investigation. Models including real subjective perceptions with empiric or subjective probabilities can provide insight into deviations from expected rational behavior and suggest interventions in order to provide better population outcomes.

  14. Serum reactome induced by Bordetella pertussis infection and Pertussis vaccines: qualitative differences in serum antibody recognition patterns revealed by peptide microarray analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valentini, Davide; Ferrara, Giovanni; Advani, Reza; Hallander, Hans O; Maeurer, Markus J

    2015-07-01

    Pertussis (whooping cough) remains a public health problem despite extensive vaccination strategies. Better understanding of the host-pathogen interaction and the detailed B. pertussis (Bp) target recognition pattern will help in guided vaccine design. We characterized the specific epitope antigen recognition profiles of serum antibodies ('the reactome') induced by whooping cough and B. pertussis (Bp) vaccines from a case-control study conducted in 1996 in infants enrolled in a Bp vaccine trial in Sweden (Gustafsson, NEJM, 1996, 334, 349-355). Sera from children with whooping cough, vaccinated with Diphtheria Tetanus Pertussis (DTP) whole-cell (wc), acellular 5 (DPTa5), or with the 2 component (a2) vaccines and from infants receiving only DT (n=10 for each group) were tested with high-content peptide microarrays containing 17 Bp proteins displayed as linear (n=3175) peptide stretches. Slides were incubated with serum and peptide-IgG complexes detected with Cy5-labeled goat anti-human IgG and analyzed using a GenePix 4000B microarray scanner, followed by statistical analysis, using PAM (Prediction Analysis for Microarrays) and the identification of uniquely recognized peptide epitopes. 367/3,085 (11.9%) peptides were recognized in 10/10 sera from children with whooping cough, 239 (7.7%) in DTPwc, 259 (8.4%) in DTPa5, 105 (3.4%) DTPa2, 179 (5.8%) in the DT groups. Recognition of strongly recognized peptides was similar between whooping cough and DPTwc, but statistically different between whooping cough vs. DTPa5 (p<0.05), DTPa2 and DT (p<0.001 vs. both) vaccines. 6/3,085 and 2/3,085 peptides were exclusively recognized in (10/10) sera from children with whooping cough and DTPa2 vaccination, respectively. DTPwc resembles more closely the whooping cough reactome as compared to acellular vaccines. We could identify a unique recognition signature common for each vaccination group (10/10 children). Peptide microarray technology allows detection of subtle differences in

  15. Infectious disease research investments: systematic analysis of immunology and vaccine research funding in the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitchett, Joseph R; Head, Michael G; Atun, Rifat

    2013-12-05

    Financing for global health is a critical element of research and development. Innovations in new vaccines are critically dependent on research funding given the large sums required, however estimates of global research investments are lacking. We evaluate infectious disease research investments, focusing on immunology and vaccine research by UK research funding organisations. In 1997-2010, £2.6 billion were spent by public and philanthropic organisations, with £590 million allocated to immunology and vaccine research. Preclinical studies received the largest funding amount £505 million accounting for 85.6% of total investment. In terms of specific infection, "the big three" infections dominated funding: HIV received £127 million (21.5% of total), malaria received £59 million (10.0% of total) and tuberculosis received £36 million (6.0% of total). We excluded industry funding from our analysis, as open-access data were unavailable. A global investment surveillance system is needed to map and monitor funding and guide allocation of scarce resources. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  16. Cost-effectiveness of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination in Nigeria: a decision analysis using pragmatic parameter estimates for cost and programme coverage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ekwunife, Obinna I; Lhachimi, Stefan K

    2017-12-08

    World Health Organisation recommends routine Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination for girls when its cost-effectiveness in the country or region has been duly considered. We therefore aimed to evaluate cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination in Nigeria using pragmatic parameter estimates for cost and programme coverage, i.e. realistically achievable in the studied context. A microsimulation frame-work was used. The natural history for cervical cancer disease was remodelled from a previous Nigerian model-based study. Costing was based on health providers' perspective. Disability adjusted life years attributable to cervical cancer mortality served as benefit estimate. Suitable policy option was obtained by calculating the incremental costs-effectiveness ratio. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was used to assess parameter uncertainty. One-way sensitivity analysis was used to explore the robustness of the policy recommendation to key parameters alteration. Expected value of perfect information (EVPI) was calculated to determine the expected opportunity cost associated with choosing the optimal scenario or strategy at the maximum cost-effectiveness threshold. Combination of the current scenario of opportunistic screening and national HPV vaccination programme (CS + NV) was the only cost-effective and robust policy option. However, CS + NV scenario was only cost-effective so far the unit cost of HPV vaccine did not exceed $5. EVPI analysis showed that it may be worthwhile to conduct additional research to inform the decision to adopt CS + NV. National HPV vaccination combined with opportunist cervical cancer screening is cost-effective in Nigeria. However, adoption of this strategy should depend on its relative efficiency when compared to other competing new vaccines and health interventions.

  17. Economic analysis of a herpes zoster vaccination program in 19 affiliated supermarket pharmacies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedden, Megan A; Kuehl, Peggy G; Liu, Yifei

    2014-01-01

    To examine the economic impact of providing herpes zoster vaccine (ZOS) in 19 affiliated supermarket pharmacies in a midwestern metropolitan area from the perspective of the pharmacy and to identify factors associated with greater rates of vaccine delivery and profitability. 19 affiliated supermarket pharmacies in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Immunizations with ZOS were expanded from 2 pharmacies to all 19 affiliated pharmacies. Various methods to promote the vaccine were used, including personal selling, store signage, and circular ads. In addition to a broad perspective pharmacoeconomic model, a localized perspective model is proposed to determine profitability for the service. Factors associated with greater success in vaccine delivery and profitability were identified. Net financial gains or losses were calculated for each vaccine administered for each of the 19 pharmacies and for the entire supermarket chain. 662 vaccines were given during the study period, accounting for 6.7% of all eligible patients. The profit per vaccine averaged $9.60 (5.7%) and $28.37 (18.9%) using the broad and localized perspective models, respectively. Success of the ZOS program was demonstrated using both models. Certain factors correlated with greater profits when using the localized perspective model.

  18. A cost-benefit analysis of programmatic use of CVD 103-HgR live oral cholera vaccine in a high-risk population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cookson, S T; Stamboulian, D; Demonte, J; Quero, L; Martinez de Arquiza, C; Aleman, A; Lepetic, A; Levine, M M

    1997-02-01

    Cholera spread to Latin America in 1991; subsequently, cholera vaccination was considered as an interim intervention until long-term solutions involving improved water supplies and sanitation could be introduced. Three successive summer cholera outbreaks in northern Argentina and the licensing of the new single-dose oral cholera vaccine, CVD 103-HgR, raised questions of the cost and benefit of using this new vaccine. This study explored the potential benefits to the Argentine Ministry of Health of treatment costs averted, versus the costs of vaccination with CVD 103-HgR in the relatively confined population of northern Argentina affected by the cholera outbreaks. Water supplies and sanitation in this area are poor but a credible infrastructure for vaccine delivery exists. In our cost-benefit model of a 3-year period (1992-1994) with an annual incidence of 2.5 case-patients per 1000 population and assumptions of vaccine efficacy of 75% and coverage of 75%, vaccination of targeted high risk groups would prevent 1265 cases. Assuming a cost of US$602 per treated case and of US$1.50 per dose of vaccine, the total discounted savings from use of vaccine in the targeted groups would be US$132,100. The projected savings would be altered less by vaccine coverage (range 75-90%) or efficacy (60-85%) changes than by disease incidence changes. Our analysis underestimated the true costs of cholera in Argentina because we included only medical expenditures; Indirect losses to trade and tourism had the greatest economic impact. However, vaccination with CVD 103-HgR was still cost-beneficial in the base case.

  19. Lipidomic analysis of immune activation in equine leptospirosis and Leptospira-vaccinated horses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul L Wood

    Full Text Available Currently available diagnostic assays for leptospirosis cannot differentiate vaccine from infection serum antibody. Several leptospiral proteins that are upregulated during infection have been described, but their utility as a diagnostic marker is still unclear. In this study, we undertook a lipidomics approach to determine if there are any differences in the serum lipid profiles of horses naturally infected with pathogenic Leptospira spp. and horses vaccinated against a commercially available bacterin. Utilizing a high-resolution mass spectrometry serum lipidomics analytical platform, we demonstrate that cyclic phosphatidic acids, diacylglycerols, and hydroperoxide oxidation products of choline plasmalogens are elevated in the serum of naturally infected as well as vaccinated horses. Other lipids of interest were triacylglycerols that were only elevated in the serum of infected horses and sphingomyelins that were increased only in the serum of vaccinated horses. This is the first report looking at the equine serum lipidome during leptospiral infection and vaccination.

  20. [From new vaccine to new target: revisiting influenza vaccination].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gérard, M

    2011-09-01

    Annual vaccination is since many years the corner stone of Influenza control strategy. Because conventional vaccine are needle-based, are less immunogenic in old people and induce only systemic IgG production, intranasal and intradermal vaccines that are recently or will be soon available in Belgium will offer distinct advantages. Intradermal vaccination is on the Belgian market since 2010. A stronger immune response that allows an antigen sparing strategy is elicited because antigens are delivered near the dermal dendritic cells. Local side effects are more pronounced than after intramuscular injection. The needle-free intranasal vaccine that has been approved for use in people less than 18 years old by the EMEA in October 2010 induces also a mucosal IgA response. Improved clinical results than with intramuscular vaccine has been documented in several studies in children. Several conditions are contraindication to nasal vaccination because of patterns of side effects and because the vaccine is an live-attenuated vaccine. Pregnant women has become a top priority for Influenza vaccination in the recommendations of the High Council of Health in Belgium since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Several studies has since then documented the increased risk for Influenza-related morbidity in pregnant women especially during the third trimester and independently of the presence of other comorbidities. Reduced incidence of documented Influenza and of Influenza-related hospitalizations are observed in the new born of vaccinated women until 6 months of age. Availability of new vaccines for Influenza and better knowledge of the benefit of vaccination in target populations are important tools to optimize vaccine coverage of the population.

  1. The effects of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories on vaccination intentions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Jolley

    Full Text Available The current studies investigated the potential impact of anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs, and exposure to anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, on vaccination intentions. In Study 1, British parents completed a questionnaire measuring beliefs in anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and the likelihood that they would have a fictitious child vaccinated. Results revealed a significant negative relationship between anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs and vaccination intentions. This effect was mediated by the perceived dangers of vaccines, and feelings of powerlessness, disillusionment and mistrust in authorities. In Study 2, participants were exposed to information that either supported or refuted anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, or a control condition. Results revealed that participants who had been exposed to material supporting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories showed less intention to vaccinate than those in the anti-conspiracy condition or controls. This effect was mediated by the same variables as in Study 1. These findings point to the potentially detrimental consequences of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, and highlight their potential role in shaping health-related behaviors.

  2. Humoral and cell-mediated immunity to pandemic H1N1 influenza in a Canadian cohort one year post-pandemic: implications for vaccination.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa E Wagar

    Full Text Available We evaluated a cohort of Canadian donors for T cell and antibody responses against influenza A/California/7/2009 (pH1N1 at 8-10 months after the 2nd pandemic wave by flow cytometry and microneutralization assays. Memory CD8 T cell responses to pH1N1 were detectable in 58% (61/105 of donors. These responses were largely due to cross-reactive CD8 T cell epitopes as, for those donors tested, similar recall responses were obtained to A/California 2009 and A/PR8 1934 H1N1 Hviruses. Longitudinal analysis of a single infected individual showed only a small and transient increase in neutralizing antibody levels, but a robust CD8 T cell response that rose rapidly post symptom onset, peaking at 3 weeks, followed by a gradual decline to the baseline levels seen in a seroprevalence cohort post-pandemic. The magnitude of the influenza-specific CD8 T cell memory response at one year post-pandemic was similar in cases and controls as well as in vaccinated and unvaccinated donors, suggesting that any T cell boosting from infection was transient. Pandemic H1-specific antibodies were only detectable in approximately half of vaccinated donors. However, those who were vaccinated within a few months following infection had the highest persisting antibody titers, suggesting that vaccination shortly after influenza infection can boost or sustain antibody levels. For the most part the circulating influenza-specific T cell and serum antibody levels in the population at one year post-pandemic were not different between cases and controls, suggesting that natural infection does not lead to higher long term T cell and antibody responses in donors with pre-existing immunity to influenza. However, based on the responses of one longitudinal donor, it is possible for a small population of pre-existing cross-reactive memory CD8 T cells to expand rapidly following infection and this response may aid in viral clearance and contribute to a lessening of disease severity.

  3. [VACCINES].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellver Capella, Vincente

    2015-10-01

    Vaccines are an extraordinary instrument of immunization of the population against infectious diseases. Around them there are many ethical issues. One of the most debated is what to do with certain groups opposition to vaccination of their children. States have managed in different ways the conflict between the duty of vaccination and the refusal to use vaccines: some impose the vaccination and others simply promote it. In this article we deal with which of these two approaches is the most suitable from an ethical and legal point of view. We stand up for the second option, which is the current one in Spain, and we propose some measures which should be kept in mind to improve immunization programs.

  4. Vaccination in Fish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chettri, Jiwan Kumar

    vaccines have reduced the need for usage of antibiotics with more than 99 % since the 1980s. Fish can be vaccinated by three different administration routes: injection, immersion and oral vaccination. Injection vaccination (intraperitoneal injection of vaccine) is the most time consuming and labor...... intensive method, which however, provides the best protection of the fish. Immersion vaccination is used for immunization of a high number of small fish is cost-efficient and fast (30 sec immersion into vaccine). Oral vaccination (vaccine in feed) is the least efficient. As in higher vertebrates fish...... respond to vaccination by increasing the specific antibody titer and by activating the cellular responses. My talk will cover vaccination methods in fish, immune responses and some adverse effect of oil-adjuvanted vaccines in fish with reference to our work in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss....

  5. Comparative assessment of immunization coverage of migrant children between national immunization program vaccines and non-national immunization program vaccines in East China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yu; Luo, Shuying; Tang, Xuewen; Lou, Linqiao; Chen, Yaping; Guo, Jing

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to describe the disparities in immunization coverage between National Immunization Program (NIP) vaccines and non-NIP vaccines in Yiwu and to identify potential determinants. A face-to-face interview-based questionnaire survey among 423 migrant children born from 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2013 was conducted. Immunization coverage was estimated according to the vaccines scheduled at different age, the birth cohorts, and socio- demographic characteristics. Single-level logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the determinants of coverage of non-NIP vaccines. We found that NIP vaccines recorded higher immunization coverage compared with non-NIP vaccines (87.9100%- vs 0%-74.8%). Among the non-NIP vaccines, varicella vaccine (VarV) recorded the highest coverage of 85.4%, which was introduced in 1998; while 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine(PCV7) recorded the lowest coverage of 0% for primary series, which was introduced recently. Lower coverage rate of non-NIP vaccines was significantly associated with more siblings in household, shorter duration of living in the surveyed areas, lower family income, mother with a job, mother with poor awareness of vaccination, and mother with lower education level. We found the immunization coverage rate of non-NIP vaccines was significant lower than that of NIP vaccines. Expansion of NIP to include non-NIP vaccines can provide better protection against the vaccine preventable diseases through increased immunization coverage.

  6. Molecular analysis of yellow fever virus 17DD vaccine strain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo R. Post

    1991-06-01

    Full Text Available The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation produces most of the yellow fever (YF vaccine prepared world wide. As part of a broader approach to determine the genetic variability in YF l7D seeds and vaccines and its relevance to viral attenuation the 17DD virus was purifed directly from chick embryo homogenates which is the source of virus used for vaccination of millions of people in Brazil and other countries for half a century. Neutralization and hemagglutination tests showed that the purified virus is similar to the original stock. Furthermore, radioimmune precipitation of 35S-methionine-labeled viral proteins using mouse hyperimmune ascitic fluid revealed identical patterns for the purified 17DD virus and the YF l7D-204 strain except for the 17DD E protein which migrated slower on SDS-PAGE. This difference is likely to be due to N-linked glycosylation. Finally, comparison by northern blot nybridization of virion RNAs of purified 17DD with two other strains of YF virus only fenome-sized molecules for all three viruses. These observations suggest that vaccine phenotype is primarily associated with the accumulation of mutations.

  7. VIOLIN: vaccine investigation and online information network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Zuoshuang; Todd, Thomas; Ku, Kim P; Kovacic, Bethany L; Larson, Charles B; Chen, Fang; Hodges, Andrew P; Tian, Yuying; Olenzek, Elizabeth A; Zhao, Boyang; Colby, Lesley A; Rush, Howard G; Gilsdorf, Janet R; Jourdian, George W; He, Yongqun

    2008-01-01

    Vaccines are among the most efficacious and cost-effective tools for reducing morbidity and mortality caused by infectious diseases. The vaccine investigation and online information network (VIOLIN) is a web-based central resource, allowing easy curation, comparison and analysis of vaccine-related research data across various human pathogens (e.g. Haemophilus influenzae, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Plasmodium falciparum) of medical importance and across humans, other natural hosts and laboratory animals. Vaccine-related peer-reviewed literature data have been downloaded into the database from PubMed and are searchable through various literature search programs. Vaccine data are also annotated, edited and submitted to the database through a web-based interactive system that integrates efficient computational literature mining and accurate manual curation. Curated information includes general microbial pathogenesis and host protective immunity, vaccine preparation and characteristics, stimulated host responses after vaccination and protection efficacy after challenge. Vaccine-related pathogen and host genes are also annotated and available for searching through customized BLAST programs. All VIOLIN data are available for download in an eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based data exchange format. VIOLIN is expected to become a centralized source of vaccine information and to provide investigators in basic and clinical sciences with curated data and bioinformatics tools for vaccine research and development. VIOLIN is publicly available at http://www.violinet.org.

  8. Estimating population effects of vaccination using large, routinely collected data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halloran, M Elizabeth; Hudgens, Michael G

    2018-01-30

    Vaccination in populations can have several kinds of effects. Establishing that vaccination produces population-level effects beyond the direct effects in the vaccinated individuals can have important consequences for public health policy. Formal methods have been developed for study designs and analysis that can estimate the different effects of vaccination. However, implementing field studies to evaluate the different effects of vaccination can be expensive, of limited generalizability, or unethical. It would be advantageous to use routinely collected data to estimate the different effects of vaccination. We consider how different types of data are needed to estimate different effects of vaccination. The examples include rotavirus vaccination of young children, influenza vaccination of elderly adults, and a targeted influenza vaccination campaign in schools. Directions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Dynamic changes in cellular infiltrates with repeated cutaneous vaccination: a histologic and immunophenotypic analysis

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    Schaefer Jochen T

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Melanoma vaccines have not been optimized. Adjuvants are added to activate dendritic cells (DCs and to induce a favourable immunologic milieu, however, little is known about their cellular and molecular effects in human skin. We hypothesized that a vaccine in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA would increase dermal Th1 and Tc1-lymphocytes and mature DCs, but that repeated vaccination may increase regulatory cells. Methods During and after 6 weekly immunizations with a multipeptide vaccine, immunization sites were biopsied at weeks 0, 1, 3, 7, or 12. In 36 participants, we enumerated DCs and lymphocyte subsets by immunohistochemistry and characterized their location within skin compartments. Results Mature DCs aggregated with lymphocytes around superficial vessels, however, immature DCs were randomly distributed. Over time, there was no change in mature DCs. Increases in T and B-cells were noted. Th2 cells outnumbered Th1 lymphocytes after 1 vaccine 6.6:1. Eosinophils and FoxP3+ cells accumulated, especially after 3 vaccinations, the former cell population most abundantly in deeper layers. Conclusions A multipeptide/IFA vaccine may induce a Th2-dominant microenvironment, which is reversed with repeat vaccination. However, repeat vaccination may increase FoxP3+T-cells and eosinophils. These data suggest multiple opportunities to optimize vaccine regimens and potential endpoints for monitoring the effects of new adjuvants. Trail Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00705640

  10. Two-level mixed modeling of longitudinal pedigree data for genetic association analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, Q.

    2013-01-01

    of follow-up. Approaches have been proposed to integrate kinship correlation into the mixed effect models to explicitly model the genetic relationship which have been proven as an efficient way for dealing with sample clustering in pedigree data. Although useful for adjusting relatedness in the mixed...... assess the genetic associations with the mean level and the rate of change in a phenotype both with kinship correlation integrated in the mixed effect models. We apply our method to longitudinal pedigree data to estimate the genetic effects on systolic blood pressure measured over time in large pedigrees......Genetic association analysis on complex phenotypes under a longitudinal design involving pedigrees encounters the problem of correlation within pedigrees which could affect statistical assessment of the genetic effects on both the mean level of the phenotype and its rate of change over the time...

  11. Reasons for non-vaccination: Parental vaccine hesitancy and the childhood influenza vaccination school pilot programme in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paterson, Pauline; Chantler, Tracey; Larson, Heidi J

    2017-08-14

    In 2013, the annual influenza immunisation programme in England was extended to children to reduce the burden of influenza, but uptake was sub-optimal at 53.2%. To explore the reasons some parents decided not to vaccinate their child against influenza as part of the pilot programme offered in schools. Cross-sectional qualitative study conducted between February and July 2015. 913 parents whose children were not vaccinated against influenza in the school pilots in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, England, were asked to comment on their reasons for non-vaccination and invited to take part in a semi-structured interview. 138 parents returned response forms, of which 38 were eligible and interested in participating and 25 were interviewed. Interview transcripts were coded by theme in NVivo. A third of parents who returned response forms had either vaccinated their child elsewhere, intended to have them vaccinated, or had not vaccinated them due to medical reasons (valid or perceived). Most interviewees were not convinced of the need to vaccinate their child against influenza. Parents expressed concerns about influenza vaccine effectiveness and vaccine side effects. Several parents interviewed declined the vaccine for faith reasons due to the presence of porcine gelatine in the vaccine. To significantly decrease the burden of influenza in England, influenza vaccination coverage in children needs to be >60%. Hence, it is important to understand the reasons why parents are not vaccinating their children, and to tailor the communication and immunisation programme accordingly. Our finding that a third of parents, who did not consent to their child being vaccinated as part of the school programme, had actually vaccinated their child elsewhere, intended to have their child vaccinated, or had not vaccinated them due to medical reasons, illustrates the importance of including additional questions or data sources when investigating under-vaccination. Copyright © 2017 The

  12. Using social network analysis to examine the decision-making process on new vaccine introduction in Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wonodi, C B; Privor-Dumm, L; Aina, M; Pate, A M; Reis, R; Gadhoke, P; Levine, O S

    2012-05-01

    The decision-making process to introduce new vaccines into national immunization programmes is often complex, involving many stakeholders who provide technical information, mobilize finance, implement programmes and garner political support. Stakeholders may have different levels of interest, knowledge and motivations to introduce new vaccines. Lack of consensus on the priority, public health value or feasibility of adding a new vaccine can delay policy decisions. Efforts to support country-level decision-making have largely focused on establishing global policies and equipping policy makers with the information to support decision-making on new vaccine introduction (NVI). Less attention has been given to understanding the interactions of policy actors and how the distribution of influence affects the policy process and decision-making. Social network analysis (SNA) is a social science technique concerned with explaining social phenomena using the structural and relational features of the network of actors involved. This approach can be used to identify how information is exchanged and who is included or excluded from the process. For this SNA of vaccine decision-making in Nigeria, we interviewed federal and state-level government officials, officers of bilateral and multilateral partner organizations, and other stakeholders such as health providers and the media. Using data culled from those interviews, we performed an SNA in order to map formal and informal relationships and the distribution of influence among vaccine decision-makers, as well as to explore linkages and pathways to stakeholders who can influence critical decisions in the policy process. Our findings indicate a relatively robust engagement of key stakeholders in Nigeria. We hypothesized that economic stakeholders and implementers would be important to ensure sustainable financing and strengthen programme implementation, but some economic and implementation stakeholders did not appear centrally on

  13. Phenotypic and genomic analysis of serotype 3 Sabin poliovirus vaccine produced in MRC-5 cell substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alirezaie, Behnam; Taqavian, Mohammad; Aghaiypour, Khosrow; Esna-Ashari, Fatemeh; Shafyi, Abbas

    2011-05-01

    The cell substrate has a pivotal role in live virus vaccines production. It is necessary to evaluate the effects of the cell substrate on the properties of the propagated viruses, especially in the case of viruses which are unstable genetically such as polioviruses, by monitoring the molecular and phenotypical characteristics of harvested viruses. To investigate the presence/absence of mutation(s), the near full-length genomic sequence of different harvests of the type 3 Sabin strain of poliovirus propagated in MRC-5 cells were determined. The sequences were compared with genomic sequences of different virus seeds, vaccines, and OPV-like isolates. Nearly complete genomic sequencing results, however, revealed no detectable mutations throughout the genome RNA-plaque purified (RSO)-derived monopool of type 3 OPVs manufactured in MRC-5. Thirty-six years of experience in OPV production, trend analysis, and vaccine surveillance also suggest that: (i) different monopools of serotype 3 OPV produced in MRC-5 retained their phenotypic characteristics (temperature sensitivity and neuroattenuation), (ii) MRC-5 cells support the production of acceptable virus yields, (iii) OPV replicated in the MRC-5 cell substrate is a highly efficient and safe vaccine. These results confirm previous reports that MRC-5 is a desirable cell substrate for the production of OPV. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  14. Low rate of human papillomavirus vaccination among schoolgirls in Lebanon: barriers to vaccination with a focus on mothers’ knowledge about available vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abou El-Ola MJ

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Maria J Abou El-Ola,1 Mariam A Rajab,2 Dania I Abdallah,3 Ismail A Fawaz,4 Lyn S Awad,5 Hani M Tamim,6 Ahmad O Ibrahim,7 Anas M Mugharbil,7 Rima A Moghnieh8 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Makassed General Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon; 2Department of Pediatrics, Makassed General Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon; 3Department of Pharmacy, Makassed General Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon; 4Department of Internal Medicine, Iklim Health Foundation Hospital, Mazboud, Mount Lebanon, Chouf, Lebanon; 5Department of Pharmacy, Makassed General Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon; 6Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon; 7Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Makassed General Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon; 8Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Makassed General Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV infection is an established predisposing factor of cervical cancer. In this study, we assessed the awareness about genital warts, cervical cancer, and HPV vaccine among mothers having girls who are at the age of primary HPV vaccination attending a group of schools in Lebanon. We also assessed the rate of HPV vaccination among these girls and the barriers to vaccination in this community. Subjects and methods: This is a cross-sectional, school-based survey. A 23-item, self-administered, anonymous, pretested, structured questionnaire with closed-ended questions was used to obtain data. The questionnaire was sent to the mothers through their student girls, and they were asked to return it within a week. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0. Bivariate analysis was performed using the chi-square test to compare categorical variables, whereas continuous variables were compared using the Student’s t-test. Fisher’s exact test was used when chi-square test could not be employed. Results: The response rate in our survey

  15. Revisiting typhoid fever surveillance in low and middle income countries: lessons from systematic literature review of population-based longitudinal studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mogasale, Vittal; Mogasale, Vijayalaxmi V; Ramani, Enusa; Lee, Jung Seok; Park, Ju Yeon; Lee, Kang Sung; Wierzba, Thomas F

    2016-01-29

    The control of typhoid fever being an important public health concern in low and middle income countries, improving typhoid surveillance will help in planning and implementing typhoid control activities such as deployment of new generation Vi conjugate typhoid vaccines. We conducted a systematic literature review of longitudinal population-based blood culture-confirmed typhoid fever studies from low and middle income countries published from 1(st) January 1990 to 31(st) December 2013. We quantitatively summarized typhoid fever incidence rates and qualitatively reviewed study methodology that could have influenced rate estimates. We used meta-analysis approach based on random effects model in summarizing the hospitalization rates. Twenty-two papers presented longitudinal population-based and blood culture-confirmed typhoid fever incidence estimates from 20 distinct sites in low and middle income countries. The reported incidence and hospitalizations rates were heterogeneous as well as the study methodology across the sites. We elucidated how the incidence rates were underestimated in published studies. We summarized six categories of under-estimation biases observed in these studies and presented potential solutions. Published longitudinal typhoid fever studies in low and middle income countries are geographically clustered and the methodology employed has a potential for underestimation. Future studies should account for these limitations.

  16. Biotechnology and the transformation of vaccine innovation: The case of the hepatitis B vaccines 1968-2000.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huzair, Farah; Sturdy, Steve

    2017-08-01

    The approval, from 1986, of a series of recombinant hepatitis B vaccines was a landmark both in the growth of biotechnology and in the development of the vaccine innovation system. In this paper, we show how the early development of the hepatitis B vaccines was shaped by a political and economic context that newly favoured commercialisation of academic research, including the appropriation and management of intellectual property; we elucidate the contingent interests and motivations that led new biotechnology companies and established pharmaceutical businesses to invest in developing recombinant vaccines specifically against hepatitis B; and we show how these and other factors combined to make those vaccines an unexpected commercial success. Broadening the scope of our analysis to include not just North America and Europe but also low- and middle-income countries, we show how the development of the hepatitis B vaccines facilitated the emergence of a two-tier innovation system structured by tensions between the demands for commercial profitability on the one hand, and the expectation of public health benefit for low- and middle-income countries on the other. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  17. Pregnancy Outcomes after a Mass Vaccination Campaign with an Oral Cholera Vaccine in Guinea: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lise Grout

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Since 2010, WHO has recommended oral cholera vaccines as an additional strategy for cholera control. During a cholera episode, pregnant women are at high risk of complications, and the risk of fetal death has been reported to be 2-36%. Due to a lack of safety data, pregnant women have been excluded from most cholera vaccination campaigns. In 2012, reactive campaigns using the bivalent killed whole-cell oral cholera vaccine (BivWC, included all people living in the targeted areas aged ≥ 1 year regardless of pregnancy status, were implemented in Guinea. We aimed to determine whether there was a difference in pregnancy outcomes between vaccinated and non-vaccinated pregnant women.From 11 November to 4 December 2013, we conducted a retrospective cohort study in Boffa prefecture among women who were pregnant in 2012 during or after the vaccination campaign. The primary outcome was pregnancy loss, as reported by the mother, and fetal malformations, after clinical examination. Primary exposure was the intake of the BivWC vaccine (Shanchol during pregnancy, as determined by a vaccination card or oral history. We compared the risk of pregnancy loss between vaccinated and non-vaccinated women through binomial regression analysis. A total of 2,494 pregnancies were included in the analysis. The crude incidence of pregnancy loss was 3.7% (95%CI 2.7-4.8 for fetuses exposed to BivWC vaccine and 2.6% (0.7-4.5 for non-exposed fetuses. The incidence of malformation was 0.6% (0.1-1.0 and 1.2% (0.0-2.5 in BivWC-exposed and non-exposed fetuses, respectively. In both crude and adjusted analyses, fetal exposure to BivWC was not significantly associated with pregnancy loss (adjusted risk ratio (aRR = 1.09 [95%CI: 0.5-2.25], p = 0.818 or malformations (aRR = 0.50 [95%CI: 0.13-1.91], p = 0.314.In this large retrospective cohort study, we found no association between fetal exposure to BivWC and risk of pregnancy loss or malformation. Despite the weaknesses of a

  18. Indexing Combined with Statistical Deflation as a Tool for Analysis of Longitudinal Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babcock, Judith A.

    Indexing is a tool that can be used with longitudinal, quantitative data for analysis of relative changes and for comparisons of changes among items. For greater accuracy, raw financial data should be deflated into constant dollars prior to indexing. This paper demonstrates the procedures for indexing, statistical deflation, and the use of…

  19. Awareness and knowledge about human papillomavirus vaccination and its acceptance in China: a meta-analysis of 58 observational studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanru Zhang

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The human papillomavirus (HPV vaccines have been widely introduced in immunization programs worldwide, however, it is not accepted in mainland China. We aimed to investigate the awareness and knowledge about HPV vaccines and explore the acceptability of vaccination among the Chinese population. Methods A meta-analysis was conducted across two English (PubMed, EMBASE and three Chinese (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang Database and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals electronic databases in order to identify HPV vaccination studies conducted in mainland China. We conducted and reported the analysis in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA guidelines. Results Fifty-eight unique studies representing 19 provinces and municipalities in mainland China were assessed. The pooled awareness and knowledge rates about HPV vaccination were 15.95 % (95 % CI: 12.87–19.29, I 2  = 98.9 % and 17.55 % (95 % CI: 12.38–24.88, I 2  = 99.8 %, respectively. The female population (17.39 %; 95 % CI: 13.06–22.20, I 2 = 98.8 % and mixed population (18.55 %; 95 % CI: 14.14–23.42, I 2 = 98.8 % exhibited higher HPV vaccine awareness than the male population (1.82 %; 95 % CI: 0.50–11.20, I 2 = 98.5 %. Populations of mixed ethnicity had lower HPV vaccine awareness (9.61 %; 95 % CI: 5.95–14.03, I 2 = 99.0 % than the Han population (20.17 %; 95 % CI: 16.42–24.20, I 2 = 98.3 %. Among different regions, the HPV vaccine awareness was higher in EDA (17.57 %; 95 % CI: 13.36–22.21, I 2 = 98.0 % and CLDA (17.78 %; 95 % CI: 12.18–24.19, I 2 = 97.6 % than in WUDA (1.80 %; 95 % CI: 0.02–6.33, I 2 = 98.9 %. Furthermore, 67.25 % (95 % CI: 58.75–75.21, I 2  = 99.8 % of participants were willing to be vaccinated, while this number was lower for their daughters (60.32 %; 95 % CI: 51.25–69.04, I 2

  20. Identification of Barriers to Influenza Vaccination in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Analysis of the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Douglas J; North, Crystal M; Brode, Sarah K; Celli, Bartolome R

    2016-01-01

    Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at increased risk for influenza-related morbidity and mortality. Influenza vaccination is known to decrease influenza incidence, severity, hospitalizations, and mortality. Identification of barriers to influenza vaccination among patients with COPD may aid in efforts to increase vaccination rates. This study aims to identify predictors of influenza vaccination in COPD patients. This study used data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Participants with self-reported COPD and receiving an influenza vaccination in the prior 12 months were identified. Independent predictors of the exposure were identified by estimating a parsimonious logistic regression model of influenza vaccination. All analyses were performed using weighted data. The final study sample consisted of 36,811 COPD participants, with 48.5% of COPD patients reporting having been vaccinated and 51.5% reporting being unvaccinated. A total of 15 independent predictors of influenza vaccination in COPD patients were identified. Negative predictors included predisposing factors (younger age, male gender, household children, black or non-white/non-Hispanic/non-black race/ethnicity, lower education level, heavy alcohol use, current tobacco use) and enabling factors that reflect access to medical care (insurance status, ability to afford care, having a recent check-up). Positive predictors of influenza vaccination included need factors (chronic comorbidities), being a military veteran, or being a former smoker. This analysis identifies multiple predictors of influenza vaccination in persons with COPD. Identification of at risk-groups provides the foundation for development of focused efforts to improve influenza vaccination rates in patients with COPD.

  1. Threshold cost-effectiveness analysis for a therapeutic vaccine against HPV-16/18-positive cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luttjeboer, Jos; Setiawan, Didik; Cao, Qi; Cahh Daemen, Toos; Postma, Maarten J

    2016-12-07

    In this study, the potential price for a therapeutic vaccine against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)-16 & 18 (pre)-malignant cervical lesions is examined. A decision tree model was built in the context of the new Dutch cervical cancer-screening program and includes a primary test for the presence of HPV. Based on data of cervical cancer screening and HPV prevalence in the Netherlands, cohorts were created with HPV-16 or 18 positive women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2 or 3 or cervical cancer stage 1A (FIGO 1A). In the base case, the vaccine price was based on equal numbers of effective treatments in the vaccine branch and the current treatments branch of the model, and parity in cost, i.e. total cost in both branches are the same. The vaccine price is calculated by subtracting the cost of the vaccine branch from cost in the standard treatment branch and divided by the total number of women in the cohort, thereby equalizing costs in both strategies. Scenario analyses were performed taking quality adjusted life years (QALYs) into account with €20,000/QALY, €50,000/QALY and €80,000/QALY as corresponding thresholds. Sensitivity analyses were specifically targeted at the characteristics of the type-specific HPV test in the screening practice and vaccine efficacy. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) was performed to quantify the level of uncertainty of the results found in the base case. In the base case, break-even vaccine prices of €381, €568 and €1697 were found for CIN 2, CIN 3 and FIGO 1A, respectively. The PSA showed vaccine pricing below €310, €490 and €1660 will be cost saving with a likelihood of 95% for CIN 2, CIN 3 and FIGO 1A, respectively. The vaccine price proved to be very sensitive for inclusion of QALY gains, including the HPV-type specific test into the Dutch screening practice and vaccine efficacy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Economics of vaccines revisited

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Postma, Maarten J.; Standaert, Baudouin A.

    2013-01-01

    Performing a total health economic analysis of a vaccine newly introduced into the market today is a challenge when using the conventional cost-effectiveness analysis we normally apply on pharmaceutical products. There are many reasons for that, such as: the uncertainty in the total benefit (direct

  3. Longitudinal Research with Latent Variables

    CERN Document Server

    van Montfort, Kees; Satorra, Albert

    2010-01-01

    This book combines longitudinal research and latent variable research, i.e. it explains how longitudinal studies with objectives formulated in terms of latent variables should be carried out, with an emphasis on detailing how the methods are applied. Because longitudinal research with latent variables currently utilizes different approaches with different histories, different types of research questions, and different computer programs to perform the analysis, the book is divided into nine chapters. Starting from some background information about the specific approach, short history and the ma

  4. The Impact of Making Vaccines Thermostable in Niger’s Vaccine Supply Chain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Bruce Y.; Cakouros, Brigid E.; Assi, Tina-Marie; Connor, Diana L.; Welling, Joel; Kone, Souleymane; Djibo, Ali; Wateska, Angela R.; Pierre, Lionel; Brown, Shawn T.

    2012-01-01

    Objective Determine the effects on the vaccine cold chain of making different types of World Health Organization (WHO) Expanded Program on Immunizations (EPI) vaccines thermostable. Methods Utilizing a detailed computational, discrete-event simulation model of the Niger vaccine supply chain, we simulated the impact of making different combinations of the six current EPI vaccines thermostable. Findings Making any EPI vaccine thermostable relieved existing supply chain bottlenecks (especially at the lowest levels), increased vaccine availability of all EPI vaccines, and decreased cold storage and transport capacity utilization. By far, the most substantial impact came from making the pentavalent vaccine thermostable, increasing its own vaccine availability from 87% to 97% and the vaccine availabilities of all other remaining non-thermostable EPI vaccines to over 93%. By contrast, making each of the other vaccines thermostable had considerably less effect on the remaining vaccines, failing to increase the vaccine availabilities of other vaccines to more than 89%. Making tetanus toxoid vaccine along with the pentavalent thermostable further increased the vaccine availability of all EPI vaccines by at least 1–2%. Conclusion Our study shows the potential benefits of making any of Niger’s EPI vaccines thermostable and therefore supports further development of thermostable vaccines. Eliminating the need for refrigerators and freezers should not necessarily be the only benefit and goal of vaccine thermostability. Rather, making even a single vaccine (or some subset of the vaccines) thermostable could free up significant cold storage space for other vaccines, and thereby help alleviate supply chain bottlenecks that occur throughout the world. PMID:22789507

  5. Responding to vaccine safety signals during pandemic influenza: a modeling study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith C Maro

    Full Text Available Managing emerging vaccine safety signals during an influenza pandemic is challenging. Federal regulators must balance vaccine risks against benefits while maintaining public confidence in the public health system.We developed a multi-criteria decision analysis model to explore regulatory decision-making in the context of emerging vaccine safety signals during a pandemic. We simulated vaccine safety surveillance system capabilities and used an age-structured compartmental model to develop potential pandemic scenarios. We used an expert-derived multi-attribute utility function to evaluate potential regulatory responses by combining four outcome measures into a single measure of interest: 1 expected vaccination benefit from averted influenza; 2 expected vaccination risk from vaccine-associated febrile seizures; 3 expected vaccination risk from vaccine-associated Guillain-Barre Syndrome; and 4 expected change in vaccine-seeking behavior in future influenza seasons.Over multiple scenarios, risk communication, with or without suspension of vaccination of high-risk persons, were the consistently preferred regulatory responses over no action or general suspension when safety signals were detected during a pandemic influenza. On average, the expert panel valued near-term vaccine-related outcomes relative to long-term projected outcomes by 3:1. However, when decision-makers had minimal ability to influence near-term outcomes, the response was selected primarily by projected impacts on future vaccine-seeking behavior.The selected regulatory response depends on how quickly a vaccine safety signal is identified relative to the peak of the pandemic and the initiation of vaccination. Our analysis suggested two areas for future investment: efforts to improve the size and timeliness of the surveillance system and behavioral research to understand changes in vaccine-seeking behavior.

  6. Determinants of HPV vaccination intentions among Dutch girls and their mothers: a cross-sectional study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    attitudes, beliefs, subjective norms and habit strength. There is a need for longitudinal research to confirm the causality of the association between these determinants and HPV vaccination behavior indicated by this study. PMID:23388344

  7. Comparison of CTT and Rasch-based approaches for the analysis of longitudinal Patient Reported Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanchin, Myriam; Hardouin, Jean-Benoit; Le Neel, Tanguy; Kubis, Gildas; Blanchard, Claire; Mirallié, Eric; Sébille, Véronique

    2011-04-15

    Health sciences frequently deal with Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) data for the evaluation of concepts, in particular health-related quality of life, which cannot be directly measured and are often called latent variables. Two approaches are commonly used for the analysis of such data: Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Longitudinal data are often collected to analyze the evolution of an outcome over time. The most adequate strategy to analyze longitudinal latent variables, which can be either based on CTT or IRT models, remains to be identified. This strategy must take into account the latent characteristic of what PROs are intended to measure as well as the specificity of longitudinal designs. A simple and widely used IRT model is the Rasch model. The purpose of our study was to compare CTT and Rasch-based approaches to analyze longitudinal PRO data regarding type I error, power, and time effect estimation bias. Four methods were compared: the Score and Mixed models (SM) method based on the CTT approach, the Rasch and Mixed models (RM), the Plausible Values (PV), and the Longitudinal Rasch model (LRM) methods all based on the Rasch model. All methods have shown comparable results in terms of type I error, all close to 5 per cent. LRM and SM methods presented comparable power and unbiased time effect estimations, whereas RM and PV methods showed low power and biased time effect estimations. This suggests that RM and PV methods should be avoided to analyze longitudinal latent variables. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. UK parents' attitudes towards meningococcal group B (MenB) vaccination: a qualitative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Cath; Yarwood, Joanne; Saliba, Vanessa; Bedford, Helen

    2017-05-04

    (1) To explore existing knowledge of, and attitudes, to group B meningococcal disease and serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccine among parents of young children. (2) To seek views on their information needs. Cross-sectional qualitative study using individual and group interviews conducted in February and March 2015, prior to the introduction of MenB vaccine (Bexsero) into the UK childhood immunisation schedule. Community centres, mother and toddler groups, parents' homes and workplaces in London and Yorkshire. 60 parents of children under 2 years of age recruited via mother and baby groups and via an advert posted to a midwife-led Facebook group. Although recognising the severity of meningitis and septicaemia, parents' knowledge of group B meningococcal disease and MenB vaccine was poor. While nervous about fever, most said they would take their child for MenB vaccination despite its link to fever. Most parents had liquid paracetamol at home. Many were willing to administer it after MenB vaccination as a preventive measure, although some had concerns. There were mixed views on the acceptability of four vaccinations at the 12-month booster visit; some preferred one visit, while others favoured spreading the vaccines over two visits. Parents were clear on the information they required before attending the immunisation appointment. The successful implementation of the MenB vaccination programme depends on its acceptance by parents. In view of parents' recognition of the severity of meningitis and septicaemia, and successful introduction of other vaccines to prevent bacterial meningitis and septicaemia, the MenB vaccination programme is likely to be successful. However, the need for additional injections, the likelihood of post-immunisation fever and its management are issues about which parents will need information and reassurance from healthcare professionals. Public Health England has developed written information for parents, informed by these findings.

  9. Vaccines against poverty

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacLennan, Calman A.; Saul, Allan

    2014-01-01

    With the 2010s declared the Decade of Vaccines, and Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 focused on reducing diseases that are potentially vaccine preventable, now is an exciting time for vaccines against poverty, that is, vaccines against diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 has helped better understand which vaccines are most needed. In 2012, US$1.3 billion was spent on research and development for new vaccines for neglected infectious diseases. However, the majority of this went to three diseases: HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, and not neglected diseases. Much of it went to basic research rather than development, with an ongoing decline in funding for product development partnerships. Further investment in vaccines against diarrheal diseases, hepatitis C, and group A Streptococcus could lead to a major health impact in LMICs, along with vaccines to prevent sepsis, particularly among mothers and neonates. The Advanced Market Commitment strategy of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) Alliance is helping to implement vaccines against rotavirus and pneumococcus in LMICs, and the roll out of the MenAfriVac meningococcal A vaccine in the African Meningitis Belt represents a paradigm shift in vaccines against poverty: the development of a vaccine primarily targeted at LMICs. Global health vaccine institutes and increasing capacity of vaccine manufacturers in emerging economies are helping drive forward new vaccines for LMICs. Above all, partnership is needed between those developing and manufacturing LMIC vaccines and the scientists, health care professionals, and policy makers in LMICs where such vaccines will be implemented. PMID:25136089

  10. Acceptance of human papillomavirus vaccination among Californian parents of daughters: a representative statewide analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantine, Norman A; Jerman, Petra

    2007-02-01

    To examine likelihood of parental acceptance of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for young adolescent girls, together with reasons for acceptance and nonacceptance. The ultimate goal of this research is to inform policy decisions and educational planning in this area. A random-digit-dial telephone survey of parents in California households was conducted, yielding 522 parents with an eligible daughter. Cross tabulations and odds ratios were employed to analyze likelihood of vaccination acceptability. Reasons provided for acceptance or nonacceptance were analyzed qualitatively. Overall, 75% of the sample reported that they would be likely to vaccinate a daughter before age 13 years. Hispanic parents were more likely to accept vaccination than were non-Hispanic parents, whereas African-American and Asian-American parents were less likely. Other subgroups less likely to accept vaccination were identified. Five clusters of reasons by nonaccepting parents emerged: pragmatic concerns about effects on sexual behavior, specific HPV vaccine concerns, moral concerns about sexual behavior, general vaccine concerns, and denial of need. A sixth group of interest comprised those who would vaccinate before age 16 years, but not age 13. Consistent with previous studies on this topic, a large majority of California parents endorsed HPV vaccination for daughters by the recommended age. Although important subgroup disparities were found, majorities of all subgroups supported vaccination. This information, together with the identified clusters of cognitive decision factors for nonacceptance, has implications for policy decisions and educational planning in this area. Suggestions for further research on subgroup disparities and on cognitive factors involved in parents' decisions arise from these findings.

  11. Dried influenza vaccines : Over the counter vaccines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Saluja, Vinay; Hinrichs, Wouter L. J.; Frijlink, Henderik W.

    2010-01-01

    Since last year influenza pandemic has struck again after 40 years, this is the right moment to discuss the different available formulation options for influenza vaccine. Looking back to the last 4 decades, most vaccines are still formulated as liquid solution. These vaccines have shown a poor

  12. Vaccination policies among health professional schools: evidence of immunity and allowance of vaccination exemptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolan, Samantha B; Libby, Tanya E; Lindley, Megan C; Ahmed, Faruque; Stevenson, John; Strikas, Raymond A

    2015-02-01

    OBJECTIVE To characterize health professional schools by their vaccination policies for acceptable forms of evidence of immunity and exemptions permitted. METHODS Data were collected between September 2011 and April 2012 using an Internet-based survey e-mailed to selected types of accredited health professional programs. Schools were identified through accrediting associations for each type of health professional program. Analysis was limited to schools requiring ≥1 vaccine recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP): measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, varicella, pertussis, and influenza. Weighted bivariate frequencies were generated using SAS 9.3. RESULTS Of 2,775 schools surveyed, 75% (n=2,077) responded; of responding schools, 93% (1947) required ≥1 ACIP-recommended vaccination. The proportion of schools accepting ≥1 non-ACIP-recommended form of evidence of immunity varied by vaccine: 42% for pertussis, 37% for influenza, 30% for rubella, 22% for hepatitis B, 18% for varicella, and 9% for measles and mumps. Among schools with ≥1 vaccination requirement, medical exemptions were permitted for ≥1 vaccine by 75% of schools; 54% permitted religious exemptions; 35% permitted personal belief exemptions; 58% permitted any nonmedical exemption. CONCLUSIONS Many schools accept non-ACIP-recommended forms of evidence of immunity which could lead some students to believe they are protected from vaccine preventable diseases when they may be susceptible. Additional efforts are needed to better educate school officials about current ACIP recommendations for acceptable forms of evidence of immunity so school policies can be revised as needed.

  13. What arguments on vaccinations run through YouTube videos in Italy? A content analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Covolo, Loredana; Ceretti, Elisabetta; Passeri, Chiara; Boletti, Michela; Gelatti, Umberto

    2017-07-03

    The suspension of compulsory scheduling of some pediatric vaccines has been discussed for a long time by health authorities in Italy but the current decrease of vaccination rates is a matter of concern. YouTube is the most popular video-based social media website. Considering the demonstrated impact of internet on vaccination decision-making and the increasing use of social media to share and disseminate health information, the aim of this study was to explore the message available on YouTube videos about vaccination. An observational study was conducted searching for YouTube videos in September 2015 and updated in January 2016, by using the keyword "vaccinations." We included recently posted videos in Italian on child vaccination (2014-2015). Videos were classified according to the message tone. A total of 123 videos were selected. Pro-vaccination videos were 62 (50%), anti-vaccination 28 (23%), neutral or without a clear position in favor or against vaccination 33 (27%). Focusing on the first 2 groups, pro-vaccination videos had a higher number of views compared with those unfavorable (1602 ± 6544 vs 1482 ± 2735) (p < 0.001). However, anti-vaccination videos were liked more by viewers (17.8 ± 31.3) than positive ones (13.2 ± 44.7) (p < 0.001) in addition to being more shared (23 ± 22.6 vs 3.8 ± 5.5, p < 0.001). Most of the videos were positive in tone, but those that disapproved of immunization were the most liked and shared. Considering the growing number of viewers, it is important to monitor the web to understand audience characteristics and what influences public opinions to use communication strategies more effectively.

  14. Egg-Independent Influenza Vaccines and Vaccine Candidates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilaria Manini

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Vaccination remains the principal way to control seasonal infections and is the most effective method of reducing influenza-associated morbidity and mortality. Since the 1940s, the main method of producing influenza vaccines has been an egg-based production process. However, in the event of a pandemic, this method has a significant limitation, as the time lag from strain isolation to final dose formulation and validation is six months. Indeed, production in eggs is a relatively slow process and production yields are both unpredictable and highly variable from strain to strain. In particular, if the next influenza pandemic were to arise from an avian influenza virus, and thus reduce the egg-laying hen population, there would be a shortage of embryonated eggs available for vaccine manufacturing. Although the production of egg-derived vaccines will continue, new technological developments have generated a cell-culture-based influenza vaccine and other more recent platforms, such as synthetic influenza vaccines.

  15. The State of PR Graduate Curriculum as We Know It: A Longitudinal Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briones, Rowena L.; Toth, Elizabeth L.

    2013-01-01

    This longitudinal content analysis study uses the Commission on Public Relations Education's 2006 report as a benchmark to determine whether master's education in public relations has evolved over the past decade. Findings show a lack of uniformity across the 75 programs studied. In addition, there is a lack of adherence to the Commission on…

  16. Rotavirus vaccines and vaccination in Latin America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linhares Alexandre C.

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Worldwide, rotaviruses account for more than 125 million cases of infantile gastroenteritis and nearly 1 million deaths per year, mainly in developing countries. Rather than other control measures, vaccination is most likely to have a major impact on rotavirus disease incidence. The peak incidence of rotavirus diarrhea occurs between 6 and 24 months of age. In developing countries, however, cases are not uncommon among children younger than 6 months. G serotypes 1 to 4 are responsible for most disease, but there are indications that in Brazil that G type 5 is of emerging epidemiological importance. Both homotypic and heterotypic responses are elicited during natural rotavirus infection, and the immunological response at the intestinal mucosal surface is probably the more consistent predictor of clinical immunity. With the primary objective of protecting children against life-threatening dehydrating diarrhea, many approaches to rotavirus vaccine development have been attempted. One vaccine, the tetravalent rhesus-human reassortant rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV, was given licensing approval in the United States of America, introduced to the market, and later withdrawn. A number of studies have found better efficacy of RRV-TV in developed countries than in developing ones. Field trials with a 4 X 10(4 plaque-forming units (PFU preparation of RRV-TV have been carried out in two countries in Latin America, Brazil and Peru. Those trials yielded protective efficacy rates against all rotavirus diarrhea ranging from 18% to 35%. Data from a large catchment trial in Venezuela with a higher RRV-TV dose, of 4 X 10(5 PFU/dose, indicated an efficacy rate of 48% against all rotavirus diarrhea and 88% against severe rotavirus diarrhea. It appears that breast-feeding does not compromise the efficacy of RRV-TV if three doses of the vaccine are administered. Similarly, possible interference of oral poliovirus vaccine with the "take" of the rotavirus vaccine can be

  17. Rotavirus vaccines and vaccination in Latin America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre C. Linhares

    2000-11-01

    Full Text Available Worldwide, rotaviruses account for more than 125 million cases of infantile gastroenteritis and nearly 1 million deaths per year, mainly in developing countries. Rather than other control measures, vaccination is most likely to have a major impact on rotavirus disease incidence. The peak incidence of rotavirus diarrhea occurs between 6 and 24 months of age. In developing countries, however, cases are not uncommon among children younger than 6 months. G serotypes 1 to 4 are responsible for most disease, but there are indications that in Brazil that G type 5 is of emerging epidemiological importance. Both homotypic and heterotypic responses are elicited during natural rotavirus infection, and the immunological response at the intestinal mucosal surface is probably the more consistent predictor of clinical immunity. With the primary objective of protecting children against life-threatening dehydrating diarrhea, many approaches to rotavirus vaccine development have been attempted. One vaccine, the tetravalent rhesus-human reassortant rotavirus vaccine (RRV-TV, was given licensing approval in the United States of America, introduced to the market, and later withdrawn. A number of studies have found better efficacy of RRV-TV in developed countries than in developing ones. Field trials with a 4 X 10(4 plaque-forming units (PFU preparation of RRV-TV have been carried out in two countries in Latin America, Brazil and Peru. Those trials yielded protective efficacy rates against all rotavirus diarrhea ranging from 18% to 35%. Data from a large catchment trial in Venezuela with a higher RRV-TV dose, of 4 X 10(5 PFU/dose, indicated an efficacy rate of 48% against all rotavirus diarrhea and 88% against severe rotavirus diarrhea. It appears that breast-feeding does not compromise the efficacy of RRV-TV if three doses of the vaccine are administered. Similarly, possible interference of oral poliovirus vaccine with the "take" of the rotavirus vaccine can be

  18. Efficacy and effectiveness of an rVSV-vectored vaccine expressing Ebola surface glycoprotein: interim results from the Guinea ring vaccination cluster-randomised trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henao-Restrepo, Ana Maria; Longini, Ira M; Egger, Matthias; Dean, Natalie E; Edmunds, W John; Camacho, Anton; Carroll, Miles W; Doumbia, Moussa; Draguez, Bertrand; Duraffour, Sophie; Enwere, Godwin; Grais, Rebecca; Gunther, Stephan; Hossmann, Stefanie; Kondé, Mandy Kader; Kone, Souleymane; Kuisma, Eeva; Levine, Myron M; Mandal, Sema; Norheim, Gunnstein; Riveros, Ximena; Soumah, Aboubacar; Trelle, Sven; Vicari, Andrea S; Watson, Conall H; Kéïta, Sakoba; Kieny, Marie Paule; Røttingen, John-Arne

    2015-08-29

    A recombinant, replication-competent vesicular stomatitis virus-based vaccine expressing a surface glycoprotein of Zaire Ebolavirus (rVSV-ZEBOV) is a promising Ebola vaccine candidate. We report the results of an interim analysis of a trial of rVSV-ZEBOV in Guinea, west Africa. For this open-label, cluster-randomised ring vaccination trial, suspected cases of Ebola virus disease in Basse-Guinée (Guinea, west Africa) were independently ascertained by Ebola response teams as part of a national surveillance system. After laboratory confirmation of a new case, clusters of all contacts and contacts of contacts were defined and randomly allocated 1:1 to immediate vaccination or delayed (21 days later) vaccination with rVSV-ZEBOV (one dose of 2 × 10(7) plaque-forming units, administered intramuscularly in the deltoid muscle). Adults (age ≥18 years) who were not pregnant or breastfeeding were eligible for vaccination. Block randomisation was used, with randomly varying blocks, stratified by location (urban vs rural) and size of rings (≤20 vs >20 individuals). The study is open label and masking of participants and field teams to the time of vaccination is not possible, but Ebola response teams and laboratory workers were unaware of allocation to immediate or delayed vaccination. Taking into account the incubation period of the virus of about 10 days, the prespecified primary outcome was laboratory-confirmed Ebola virus disease with onset of symptoms at least 10 days after randomisation. The primary analysis was per protocol and compared the incidence of Ebola virus disease in eligible and vaccinated individuals in immediate vaccination clusters with the incidence in eligible individuals in delayed vaccination clusters. This trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, number PACTR201503001057193. Between April 1, 2015, and July 20, 2015, 90 clusters, with a total population of 7651 people were included in the planned interim analysis. 48 of

  19. Hepatitis Vaccines

    OpenAIRE

    Ogholikhan, Sina; Schwarz, Kathleen B.

    2016-01-01

    Viral hepatitis is a serious health problem all over the world. However, the reduction of the morbidity and mortality due to vaccinations against hepatitis A and hepatitis B has been a major component in the overall reduction in vaccine preventable diseases. We will discuss the epidemiology, vaccine development, and post-vaccination effects of the hepatitis A and B virus. In addition, we discuss attempts to provide hepatitis D vaccine for the 350 million individuals infected with hepatitis B ...

  20. Comparative assessment of immunization coverage of migrant children between national immunization program vaccines and non-national immunization program vaccines in East China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yu; Luo, Shuying; Tang, Xuewen; Lou, Linqiao; Chen, Yaping; Guo, Jing

    2015-01-01

    This study aimed to describe the disparities in immunization coverage between National Immunization Program (NIP) vaccines and non-NIP vaccines in Yiwu and to identify potential determinants. A face-to-face interview-based questionnaire survey among 423 migrant children born from 1 June 2010 to 31 May 2013 was conducted. Immunization coverage was estimated according to the vaccines scheduled at different age, the birth cohorts, and socio- demographic characteristics. Single-level logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the determinants of coverage of non-NIP vaccines. We found that NIP vaccines recorded higher immunization coverage compared with non-NIP vaccines (87.9100%– vs 0%-74.8%). Among the non-NIP vaccines, varicella vaccine (VarV) recorded the highest coverage of 85.4%, which was introduced in 1998; while 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine(PCV7) recorded the lowest coverage of 0% for primary series, which was introduced recently. Lower coverage rate of non-NIP vaccines was significantly associated with more siblings in household, shorter duration of living in the surveyed areas, lower family income, mother with a job, mother with poor awareness of vaccination, and mother with lower education level. We found the immunization coverage rate of non-NIP vaccines was significant lower than that of NIP vaccines. Expansion of NIP to include non-NIP vaccines can provide better protection against the vaccine preventable diseases through increased immunization coverage. PMID:25760670

  1. [Clinical effectiveness and economical evaluation of preventive vaccination].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaz Carneiro, António; Belo, Ana Isabel; Gouveia, Miguel; Costa, João; Borges, Margarida

    2011-01-01

    The value of mass vaccination as a preventive measure for infectious diseases is one of the most important advances of modern Medicine. The impact on incidence of several infectious diseases, until recently responsible for significant morbidity and mortality at world level, is well proved in a series of high quality epidemiological studies. In this scientific review we aimed firstly to briefly resume the history of mass vaccination and its scientists, responsible for synthesis and marketing of these drugs. In second place we present a group of a few disease preventable by vaccines as well as the Portuguese National Vaccination Plan and its benefits. In third place we identified groups of subjects in which a well structured vaccination plan is particularly important, as well as the correspondent diseases to be covered by vaccination. Fourthly, we discussed the ethical considerations of vaccination, and its tensions between subject autonomy and society advantages in com pulsive programs. Fifthly, we analyzed clinical effectiveness of vaccines through the concept of herd immunity, clinical evaluation of immune response to vaccines and some examples of systematic reviews on three relevant diseases (influenza, meningococcal and pneumococcal infections). In sixth place we discussed vaccine safety presenting monitoring methods of vaccination risks, as well as discussing the public myths concerning vaccines. Finally we present a economic analysis of preventive vaccination with a review of some published literature on specific diseases. We conclude that mass vaccination is a efficacious preventive measure, as well as a economic rational choice, and that this public health intervention should be a pillar of a modern preventive system.

  2. Analyzing and strengthening the vaccine safety program in Manitoba

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montalban, JM; Ogbuneke, C; Hilderman, T

    2014-01-01

    Background: The emergence of a novel influenza A virus in 2009 and the rapid introduction of new pandemic vaccines prompted an analysis of the current state of the adverse events following immunization (AEFI) surveillance response in several provinces. Objectives To highlight aspects of the situational analysis of the Manitoba Health, Healthy Living and Seniors (MHHLS’s) AEFI surveillance system and to demonstrate how common business techniques could be usefully applied to a provincial vaccine safety monitoring program. Method Situational analysis of the AEFI surveillance system in Manitoba was developed through a strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats (SWOT) analysis and informed by the National Immunization Strategy vaccine safety priorities. Strategy formulation was developed by applying the threats-opportunities-weaknesses-strengths (TOWS) matrix. Results Thirteen strategies were formulated that use strengths to either take advantage of opportunities or avoid threats, that exploit opportunities to overcome weaknesses, or that rectify weaknesses to circumvent threats. These strategies entailed the development of various tools and resources, most of which are either actively underway or completed. Conclusion The SWOT analysis and the TOWS matrix enabled MHHLS to enhance the capacity of its vaccine safety program. PMID:29769910

  3. Experiements with an inactivated hepatitis leptospirosis vaccine in vaccination programmes for dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, J H; Hermann-Dekkers, W M; Leemans-Dessy, S; Meijer, J W

    1977-06-25

    A fluid adjuvanted vaccine consisting of inactivated hepatitis virus (iH) and leptospirae antigens (L) was developed. The vaccine (Kavak iHL; Duphar) was tested in several vaccination programmes both alone and in combination with freeze dried measles (M) or distemper (D) vaccines. The results demonstrate that this new vaccine is also effective in pups with maternally derived antibodies, although a second vaccination at 14 weeks of age is recommended to boost the first vaccination. For the booster vaccination either the iHL-vaccine or the liver attenuated hepatitis vaccine (H) can be used.

  4. The cost-effectiveness of male HPV vaccination in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chesson, Harrell W; Ekwueme, Donatus U; Saraiya, Mona; Dunne, Eileen F; Markowitz, Lauri E

    2011-10-26

    The objective of this study was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of adding human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of 12-year-old males to a female-only vaccination program for ages 12-26 years in the United States. We used a simplified model of HPV transmission to estimate the reduction in the health and economic burden of HPV-associated diseases in males and females as a result of HPV vaccination. Estimates of the incidence, cost-per-case, and quality-of-life impact of HPV-associated health outcomes were based on the literature. The HPV-associated outcomes included were: cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN); genital warts; juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP); and cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal, oropharyngeal, and penile cancers. The cost-effectiveness of male vaccination depended on vaccine coverage of females. When including all HPV-associated outcomes in the analysis, the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained by adding male vaccination to a female-only vaccination program was $23,600 in the lower female coverage scenario (20% coverage at age 12 years) and $184,300 in the higher female coverage scenario (75% coverage at age 12 years). The cost-effectiveness of male vaccination appeared less favorable when compared to a strategy of increased female vaccination coverage. For example, we found that increasing coverage of 12-year-old girls would be more cost-effective than adding male vaccination even if the increased female vaccination strategy incurred program costs of $350 per additional girl vaccinated. HPV vaccination of 12-year-old males might potentially be cost-effective, particularly if female HPV vaccination coverage is low and if all potential health benefits of HPV vaccination are included in the analysis. However, increasing female coverage could be a more efficient strategy than male vaccination for reducing the overall health burden of HPV in the population. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  5. Primary Care Physicians' Perspectives About HPV Vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allison, Mandy A; Hurley, Laura P; Markowitz, Lauri; Crane, Lori A; Brtnikova, Michaela; Beaty, Brenda L; Snow, Megan; Cory, Janine; Stokley, Shannon; Roark, Jill; Kempe, Allison

    2016-02-01

    Because physicians' practices could be modified to reduce missed opportunities for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, our goal was to: (1) describe self-reported practices regarding recommending the HPV vaccine; (2) estimate the frequency of parental deferral of HPV vaccination; and (3)identify characteristics associated with not discussing it. A national survey among pediatricians and family physicians (FP) was conducted between October 2013 and January 2014. Using multivariable analysis, characteristics associated with not discussing HPV vaccination were examined. Response rates were 82% for pediatricians (364 of 442) and 56% for FP (218 of 387). For 11-12 year-old girls, 60% of pediatricians and 59% of FP strongly recommend HPV vaccine; for boys,52% and 41% ostrongly recommen. More than one-half reported ≥25% of parents deferred HPV vaccination. At the 11-12 year well visit, 84% of pediatricians and 75% of FP frequently/always discuss HPV vaccination. Compared with physicians who frequently/always discuss , those who occasionally/rarely discuss(18%) were more likely to be FP (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.0 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1-3.5), be male (aOR: 1.8 [95% CI: 1.1-3.1]), disagree that parents will accept HPV vaccine if discussed with other vaccines (aOR: 2.3 [95% CI: 1.3-4.2]), report that 25% to 49% (aOR: 2.8 [95% CI: 1.1-6.8]) or ≥50% (aOR: 7.8 [95% CI: 3.4-17.6]) of parents defer, and express concern about waning immunity (aOR: 3.4 [95% CI: 1.8-6.4]). Addressing physicians' perceptions about parental acceptance of HPV vaccine, the possible advantages of discussing HPV vaccination with other recommended vaccines, and concerns about waning immunity could lead to increased vaccination rates. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  6. Role of vaccination in economic growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quilici, Sibilia; Smith, Richard; Signorelli, Carlo

    2015-01-01

    The health of a population is important from a public health and economic perspective as healthy individuals contribute to economic growth. Vaccination has the potential to contribute substantially to improving population health and thereby economic growth. Childhood vaccination programmes in Europe can offer protection against 15 important infectious diseases, thus preventing child fatalities and any serious temporary and permanent sequelae that can occur. Healthy children are more able to participate in education, thus preparing them to become healthy and productive adults. Vaccination programmes can also prevent infectious diseases in adolescents, thus allowing them to continue their development towards a healthy adulthood. Protecting adults against infectious diseases ensures that they can fully contribute to productivity and economic development by avoiding sick leave and lower productivity. Vaccination in older adults will contribute to the promotion of healthy ageing, enabling them to assist their familiy with, for instance, childcare, and also help them avoid functional decline and the related impacts on health and welfare expenditure. Effective vaccination programmes for all ages in Europe will thus contribute to the European Union's 2020 health and economic strategies. Indeed, beyond their impact on healthcare resources and productivity, reductions in mortality and morbidity also contribute to increased consumption and gross domestic product. Therefore, assessment of the value of vaccines and vaccination needs to consider not just the direct impact on health and healthcare but also the wider impact on economic growth, which requires a macroeconomic analysis of vaccination programmes.

  7. vaccination with newcastle disease vaccines strain i2 and lasota

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    UP Employee

    mash feed as vaccine carriers was conducted. Newcastle disease vaccine strain I2 and. NDV La Sota vaccines provided protection to commercial and local chickens vaccinated through i/o, i/m or dw. No significant difference (P≤0.05) was observed in the antibody titre of commercial or local chickens vaccinated with either ...

  8. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination at birth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjærgaard, Jesper

    2016-01-01

    to unrelated pathogens. Immune changes have been implicated in changes in both child growth and child development and for that reason we also studied these outcomes. We randomized 4262 children at birth to receive BCG vaccination at birth or to a no-intervention control group. We had pre-specified subgroup...... analyses of child sex, prematurity, and maternal BCG vaccination. The statistical analysis plan was finalized prior to unblinding of the data. Follow-up for the outcomes reported in this thesis consisted of telephone interviews and clinical examination at age 3 and 13 months, as well as online......, there was no effect of BCG on either incidence of infections, growth, body composition or psychomotor development. A subgroup analysis of children of mothers who were BCG vaccinated showed a reduced incidence of infections from 0 to 3 months among BCG vaccinated children (incidence rate ratio = 0.62, CI: 0.39 to 0...

  9. Tuberculosis: looking beyond BCG vaccines.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa Abu S

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Tuberculosis (TB is an infectious disease of international importance and ranks among the top 10 causes of death in the World. About one-third of the world′s population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Every year, approximately eight million people develop active disease and two million die of TB. The currently used BCG vaccines have shown variable protective efficacies against TB in different parts of the world. Moreover, being a live vaccine, BCG can be pathogenic in immunocompromised recipients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new vaccines against TB. The comparative genome analysis has revealed the existence of several M. tuberculosis-specific regions that are deleted in BCG. The work carried out to determine the immunological reactivity of proteins encoded by genes located in these regions revealed several major antigens of M. tuberculosis, including the 6 kDa early secreted antigen target (ESAT6. Immunization with ESAT6 and its peptide (aa51-70 protects mice challenged with M. tuberculosis. The protective efficacy of immunization further improves when ESAT6 is recombinantly fused with M. tuberculosis antigen 85B. In addition, ESAT6 delivered as a DNA vaccine is also protective in mice. Whether these vaccines would be safe or not cannot be speculated. The answer regarding the safety and efficacy of these vaccines has to await human trials in different parts of the world.

  10. Determinants of HPV vaccination intentions among Dutch girls and their mothers: a cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Keulen Hilde M

    2013-02-01

    address attitudes, beliefs, subjective norms and habit strength. There is a need for longitudinal research to confirm the causality of the association between these determinants and HPV vaccination behavior indicated by this study.

  11. Flu Vaccination

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    People working on the CERN site who wish to be vaccinated against influenza may go to the Medical Service (ground floor, Bldg. 57) without an appointment (preferably between 14:00 and 16:00), PROVIDED THAT THEY BRING THEIR OWN VACCINE WITH THEM. Ideally, vaccination should take place between 1st October and 30th November 2006. The influenza vaccine is recommended for CERN staff aged 50 and over. Vaccination is particularly important for those suffering from chronic lung, cardio-vascular or kidney problems, for diabetics and for those convalescing from serious medical problems or major surgery. The Medical Service will not administer vaccines to family members or retired staff members, who must contact their family doctor. CERN Medical Service

  12. Flu vaccination

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Medical Service

    2006-01-01

    People working on the CERN site who wish to be vaccinated against influenza may go to the Medical Service (ground floor, Bldg. 57) without an appointment (preferably between 14:00 and 16:00), PROVIDED THAT THEY BRING THEIR OWN VACCINE WITH THEM. Ideally, vaccination should take place between 1st October and 30th November 2006. The influenza vaccine is recommended for CERN staff aged 50 and over. Vaccination is particularly important for those suffering from chronic lung, cardio-vascular or kidney problems, for diabetics and for those convalescing from serious medical problems or major surgery. The Medical Service will not administer vaccines to family members or retired staff members, who must contact their family doctor.CERN Medical Service

  13. FLU VACCINATION

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    People working on the CERN site who wish to be vaccinated against influenza may go to the Medical Service (ground floor, Bldg. 57) without an appointment (preferably between 14:00 and 16:00), PROVIDED THAT THEY BRING THEIR OWN VACCINE WITH THEM. Ideally, vaccination should take place between 1st October and 30th November 2006. The influenza vaccine is recommended for CERN staff aged 50 and over. Vaccination is particularly important for those suffering from chronic lung, cardio-vascular or kidney problems, for diabetics and for those convalescing from serious medical problems or major surgery. The Medical Service will not administer vaccines to family members or retired staff members, who must contact their family doctor. CERN Medical Service

  14. Flu Vaccination

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    People working on the CERN site who wish to be vaccinated against influenza may go to the Medical Service (ground floor, Bldg. 57) without an appointment (preferably between 14:00 and 16:00), PROVIDED THAT THEY BRING THEIR OWN VACCINE WITH THEM. Ideally, vaccination should take place between 1st October and 30th November 2006. The influenza vaccine is recommended for CERN staff aged 50 and over. Vaccination is particularly important for those suffering from chronic lung, cardio-vascular or kidney problems, for diabetics and for those convalescing from serious medical problems or major surgery. The Medical Service will not administer vaccines to family members or retired staff members, who must contact their family doctor. CERN Medical service

  15. Uptake of the human papillomavirus-vaccination within the free-of-charge childhood vaccination programme in Denmark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widgren, Katarina; Simonsen, Jacob; Valentiner-Branth, Palle; Mølbak, Kåre

    2011-12-06

    Persistent infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is a prerequisite for cervical cancer, which causes 175 yearly deaths and substantial morbidity in Denmark. In January 2009, HPV-vaccination for 12 year-old girls was introduced into the free-of-charge childhood vaccination programme. Due to concerns about potential poor compliance we determined the uptake and identified determinants for vaccination after the first year of the programme. All vaccinations given within the vaccination programme are reported to a central register, which we linked to demographic information found in the Danish civil register. We calculated vaccination uptake and used Cox regression survival analysis to compare the uptake rates between demographic subgroups in the population, e.g. by number of siblings, age of mother (at the daughter's birth) and place of origin. The uptake among the 33,838 eligible girls was 80%, 75% and 62% respectively for the three HPV-doses. All subgroups had uptake above 68% for the first HPV-vaccination. Girls with mothers younger or older than the reference group of 25-34 years had a lower uptake rate (adjHR 0.94, 95% CI 0.91-0.97 and adjHR 0.91, 95% CI 0.88-0.94 respectively). Girls with 5 or more siblings had lower uptake rate than girls without siblings (adjHR 0.79, 95% CI 0.71-0.87). Girls born in other EU/EFTA-countries had lower uptake rate than Danish-born girls with Danish-born parents (adjHR 0.74, 95% CI 0.67-0.82). The introduction of routine HPV-vaccination in Denmark resulted in a relatively high uptake, indicating little reason for major concern about barriers towards the vaccination in Denmark. Population groups with reduced uptake were identified, but as they were small in number their effect on the overall vaccination coverage was marginal. Nonetheless, these groups should be targeted in future acceptance studies and vaccination awareness campaigns. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Vaccination of carp against SVCV with an oral DNA vaccine or an insect cells-based subunit vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Embregts, C W E; Rigaudeau, D; Tacchi, L; Pijlman, G P; Kampers, L; Veselý, T; Pokorová, D; Boudinot, P; Wiegertjes, G F; Forlenza, M

    2018-03-19

    We recently reported on a successful vaccine for carp against SVCV based on the intramuscular injection of a DNA plasmid encoding the SVCV glycoprotein (SVCV-G). This shows that the intramuscular (i.m.) route of vaccination is suitable to trigger protective responses against SVCV, and that the SVCV G-protein is a suitable vaccine antigen. Yet, despite the general success of DNA vaccines, especially against fish rhabdoviruses, their practical implementation still faces legislative as well as consumer's acceptance concerns. Furthermore, the i.m. route of plasmid administration is not easily combined with most of the current vaccination regimes largely based on intraperitoneal or immersion vaccination. For this reason, in the current study we evaluated possible alternatives to a DNA-based i.m. injectable vaccine using the SVCV-G protein as the vaccine antigen. To this end, we tested two parallel approaches: the first based on the optimization of an alginate encapsulation method for oral delivery of DNA and protein antigens; the second based on the baculovirus recombinant expression of transmembrane SVCV-G protein in insect cells, administered as whole-cell subunit vaccine through the oral and injection route. In addition, in the case of the oral DNA vaccine, we also investigated the potential benefits of the mucosal adjuvants Escherichia coli lymphotoxin subunit B (LTB). Despite the use of various vaccine types, doses, regimes, and administration routes, no protection was observed, contrary to the full protection obtained with our reference i.m. DNA vaccine. The limited protection observed under the various conditions used in this study, the nature of the host, of the pathogen, the type of vaccine and encapsulation method, will therefore be discussed in details to provide an outlook for future vaccination strategies against SVCV. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  17. Model selection for marginal regression analysis of longitudinal data with missing observations and covariate measurement error.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Chung-Wei; Chen, Yi-Hau

    2015-10-01

    Missing observations and covariate measurement error commonly arise in longitudinal data. However, existing methods for model selection in marginal regression analysis of longitudinal data fail to address the potential bias resulting from these issues. To tackle this problem, we propose a new model selection criterion, the Generalized Longitudinal Information Criterion, which is based on an approximately unbiased estimator for the expected quadratic error of a considered marginal model accounting for both data missingness and covariate measurement error. The simulation results reveal that the proposed method performs quite well in the presence of missing data and covariate measurement error. On the contrary, the naive procedures without taking care of such complexity in data may perform quite poorly. The proposed method is applied to data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging to assess the relationship of depression with health and social status in the elderly, accommodating measurement error in the covariate as well as missing observations. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Dengue Vaccines: A Perspective from the Point of View of Intellectual Property.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Veiga, Claudimar Pereira; da Veiga, Cássia Rita Pereira; Del Corso, Jansen Maia; da Silva, Wesley Vieira

    2015-08-12

    Dengue is a serious infectious disease and a growing public health problem in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. To control this neglected tropical disease (NTD), vaccines are likely to be the most cost-effective solution. This study analyzed dengue vaccines from both a historical and longitudinal perspective by using patent data, evaluating the geographic and time coverage of innovations, the primary patent holders, the network of cooperation and partnership for vaccine research and development (R & D), the flow of knowledge and the technological domain involved. This study can be seen as an example of the use of patent information to inform policy discussions, strategic research planning, and technology transfer. The results show that 93% of patents were granted since 2000, the majority belonging to the United States and Europe, although the share of patents from developing countries has increased. Unlike another NTDs, there is great participation of private companies in R & D of dengue vaccines and partnerships and collaboration between public and private companies. Finally, in this study, the main holders showed high knowledge absorption and generated capabilities. Therefore, this issue suggests that to overcome the difficulty of translational R & D it is necessary to stimulate the generation of knowledge and relevant scientific research, to enable the productive sector to have the capacity to absorb knowledge, to turn it into innovation, and to articulate partnerships and collaboration.

  19. Dengue Vaccines: A Perspective from the Point of View of Intellectual Property

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudimar Pereira da Veiga

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Dengue is a serious infectious disease and a growing public health problem in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. To control this neglected tropical disease (NTD, vaccines are likely to be the most cost-effective solution. This study analyzed dengue vaccines from both a historical and longitudinal perspective by using patent data, evaluating the geographic and time coverage of innovations, the primary patent holders, the network of cooperation and partnership for vaccine research and development (R & D, the flow of knowledge and the technological domain involved. This study can be seen as an example of the use of patent information to inform policy discussions, strategic research planning, and technology transfer. The results show that 93% of patents were granted since 2000, the majority belonging to the United States and Europe, although the share of patents from developing countries has increased. Unlike another NTDs, there is great participation of private companies in R & D of dengue vaccines and partnerships and collaboration between public and private companies. Finally, in this study, the main holders showed high knowledge absorption and generated capabilities. Therefore, this issue suggests that to overcome the difficulty of translational R & D it is necessary to stimulate the generation of knowledge and relevant scientific research, to enable the productive sector to have the capacity to absorb knowledge, to turn it into innovation, and to articulate partnerships and collaboration.

  20. Monitoring vaccine and non-vaccine HPV type prevalence in the post-vaccination era in women living in the Basilicata region, Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carozzi, Francesca; Puliti, Donella; Ocello, Cristina; Anastasio, Pasquale Silvio; Moliterni, Espedito Antonio; Perinetti, Emilia; Serradell, Laurence; Burroni, Elena; Confortini, Massimo; Mantellini, Paola; Zappa, Marco; Dominiak-Felden, Géraldine

    2018-01-15

    A large free-of-charge quadrivalent HPV (qHPV) vaccination program, covering four cohorts annually (women 11, 14, 17 and 24 years), has been implemented in Basilicata since 2007. This study evaluated vaccine and non-vaccine HPV prevalence 5-7 years post-vaccination program implementation in vaccinated and unvaccinated women. This population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in the public screening centers of the Local Health Unit in Matera between 2012 and 2014. Cervical samples were obtained for Pap and HPV testing (HC2, LiPA Extra® assay) and participants completed a sociodemographic and behavioral questionnaire. Detailed HPV vaccination status was retrieved from the official HPV vaccine registry. HPV prevalence was described overall, by type and vaccination status. The association between HPV type-detection and risk/protective factors was studied. Direct vaccine protection (qHPV vaccine effectiveness [VE]), cross-protection, and type-replacement were evaluated in cohorts eligible for vaccination, by analyzing HPV prevalence of vaccine and non-vaccine types according to vaccination status. Overall, 2793 women (18-50 years) were included, 1314 of them having been in birth cohorts eligible for the HPV vaccination program (18- to 30-year-old women at enrolment). Among the latter, qHPV vaccine uptake was 59% (at least one dose), with 94% completing the schedule; standardized qHPV type prevalence was 0.6% in vaccinated versus 5.5% in unvaccinated women (P HPV, high-risk non-vaccine HPV, or any single non-vaccine type prevalence was observed between vaccinated and unvaccinated women. These results, conducted in a post-vaccine era, suggest a high qHPV VE and that a well-implemented catch-up vaccination program may be efficient in reducing vaccine-type infections in a real-world setting. No cross-protective effect or evidence of type-replacement was observed a few years after HPV vaccine introduction.

  1. A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF PARENTING PRACTICES, COUPLE SATISFACTION, AND CHILD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

    OpenAIRE

    Linville, Deanna; Chronister, Krista; Dishion, Tom; Todahl, Jeff; Miller, John; Shaw, Daniel; Gardner, Francis; Wilson, Melvin

    2010-01-01

    This longitudinal study examined the relationship between couple relationship satisfaction, parenting practices, parent depression, and child problem behaviors. The study participants (n = 148) were part of a larger experimental study that examined the effectiveness of a brief family-centered intervention, the Family Check-Up model. Regression analysis results indicated that our proposed model accounted for 38% of the variance in child problem behavior at Time 2, with child problem behavior a...

  2. Randomized Trials Comparing Inactivated Vaccine after Medium- or High-titer Measles Vaccine with Standard Titer Measles Vaccine after Inactivated Vaccine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aaby, Peter; Ravn, Henrik; Benn, Christine S.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Observational studies have suggested that girls have higher mortality if their most recent immunization is an inactivated vaccine rather than a live vaccine. We therefore reanalyzed 5 randomized trials of early measles vaccine (MV) in which it was possible to compare an inactivated va...

  3. FLU VACCINATION

    CERN Multimedia

    2007-01-01

    People working on the CERN site who wish to be vaccinated may go to the Infirmary (ground-floor, bldg. 57), with their vaccine, without a prior appointment. The vaccine can be reimbursed directly by Uniqa providing you attach the receipt and the prescription that you will receive from the Medical Service the day of your injection at the infirmary. Ideally, the vaccination should take place between 1st October and 30th November 2007 (preferably between 14:00 and 16:00). CERN staff aged 50 or over are recommended to have influenza vaccinations. Vaccination is particularly important for those suffering from chronic lung, cardio-vascular or kidney problems, for diabetics and those convalescing from serious medical problems or after serious surgical operations. The Medical Service will not administer vaccines for family members or retired staff members, who must contact their normal family doctor. Medical Service

  4. Multivariate longitudinal data analysis with mixed effects hidden Markov models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raffa, Jesse D; Dubin, Joel A

    2015-09-01

    Multiple longitudinal responses are often collected as a means to capture relevant features of the true outcome of interest, which is often hidden and not directly measurable. We outline an approach which models these multivariate longitudinal responses as generated from a hidden disease process. We propose a class of models which uses a hidden Markov model with separate but correlated random effects between multiple longitudinal responses. This approach was motivated by a smoking cessation clinical trial, where a bivariate longitudinal response involving both a continuous and a binomial response was collected for each participant to monitor smoking behavior. A Bayesian method using Markov chain Monte Carlo is used. Comparison of separate univariate response models to the bivariate response models was undertaken. Our methods are demonstrated on the smoking cessation clinical trial dataset, and properties of our approach are examined through extensive simulation studies. © 2015, The International Biometric Society.

  5. Is there enough vaccine to eradicate measles? An integrated analysis of measles-containing vaccine supply and demand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Graegar; Michelson, Joshua; Singh, Rohit; Dabbagh, Alya; Hoekstra, Edward; van den Ent, Maya; Mallya, Apoorva

    2011-07-01

    Responding to regional advancements in combating measles, the World Health Organization in May 2008 called for an assessment of the feasibility of measles eradication, including whether sufficient vaccine supply exists. Interviews with international health officials and vaccine-makers provided data for a detailed model of worldwide demand and supply for measles-containing vaccine (MCV). The study projected global MCV demand through 2025 with and without a global eradication goal. The study found that 5.2 billion MCV doses must be administered during 2010-2025 to maintain current measles programs, and 5.9 billion doses would likely be needed with a 2020 eradication goal; in the most intensive scenario, demand could increase to 7.5 billion doses. These volumes are within existing and planned MCV-manufacturing capacity, although there are risks. In some markets, capacity is concentrated: Supply-chain disruptions could reduce supply or increase prices. Mitigation strategies could include stockpiling, long-term contracts, and further coordination with manufacturers. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.

  6. Revisiting the cost-effectiveness of universal HPV-vaccination in Denmark accounting for all potentially vaccine preventable HPV-related diseases in males and females

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Jens; Jørgensen, Tine Rikke

    2015-01-01

    are taken into account. Vaccination of girls & boys vs. vaccination of girls only an ICER of 28,031 /QALY (2-dose regime) and 41,636 /QALY (3-dose regime) is estimated. Conclusions: Extension of the current HPV programme in Denmark to include boys and girls is a cost effective preventive intervention......, hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancer) were included in the analyses. In general, the analysis was performed in two phases. First, an agent-based transmission model that described the HPV transmission without and with HPV vaccination was applied. Second, an analysis of the incremental costs and effects...

  7. Epigenetic variability in conversion to psychosis: novel findings from an innovative longitudinal methylomic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kebir, Oussama; Chaumette, Boris; Krebs, Marie-Odile

    2018-04-26

    Conversion to psychosis is a longitudinal process during which several epigenetic changes have been described. We tested the hypothesis that epigenetic variability in the methylomes of ultra-high risk (UHR) individuals may contribute to the risk of conversion. We studied a longitudinal cohort of UHR individuals (n = 39) and compared two groups (converters, n = 14 vs. non-converters, n = 25). A longitudinal methylomic study was conducted using Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip covering half a million cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites across the human genome from whole-blood samples. We used two statistical methods to investigate the variability of methylation probes. (i) The search for longitudinal variable methylation probes (VMPs) based on median comparisons identified two VMPs in converters only. The first CpG was located in the MACROD2 gene and the second CpG was in an intergenic region at 8q24.21. (ii) The detection of outliers using variance analysis related to private epimutations identified a dozen CpGs in converters only and highlighted two genes (RAC1 and SPHK1) from the sphingolipid signaling pathway. Our study is the first to support increased methylome variability during conversion to psychosis. We speculate that stochastic factors could increase DNA methylation variability and have a role in the complex pathophysiology of conversion to psychosis as well as in other psychiatric diseases.

  8. The impact of assumptions regarding vaccine-induced immunity on the public health and cost-effectiveness of hepatitis A vaccination: Is one dose sufficient?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curran, Desmond; de Ridder, Marc; Van Effelterre, Thierry

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Hepatitis A vaccination stimulates memory cells to produce an anamnestic response. In this study, we used a mathematical model to examine how long-term immune memory might convey additional protection against clinical/icteric infections. Dynamic and decision models were used to estimate the expected number of cases, and the costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), respectively. Several scenarios were explored by assuming: (1) varying duration of vaccine-induced immune memory, (2) and/or varying levels of vaccine-induced immune memory protection (IMP), (3) and/or varying levels of infectiousness in vaccinated individuals with IMP. The base case analysis assumed a time horizon of 25 y (2012 – 2036), with additional analyses over 50 and 75 y. The analyses were conducted in the Mexican public health system perspective. In the base case that assumed no vaccine-induced IMP, the 2-dose hepatitis A vaccination strategy was cost-effective compared with the 1-dose strategy over the 3 time horizons. However, it was not cost-effective if we assumed additional IMP durations of at least 10 y in the 25-y horizon. In the 50- and 75-y horizons, the 2-dose strategy was always cost-effective, except when 100% reduction in the probability of icteric Infections, 75% reduction in infectiousness, and mean durations of IMP of at least 50 y were assumed. This analysis indicates that routine vaccination of toddlers against hepatitis A virus would be cost-effective in Mexico using a single-dose vaccination strategy. However, the cost-effectiveness of a second dose depends on the assumptions of additional protection by IMP and the time horizon over which the analysis is performed. PMID:27428611

  9. Analysis of variola and vaccinia virus neutralization assays for smallpox vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Christine M; Newman, Frances K; Davidson, Whitni B; Olson, Victoria A; Smith, Scott K; Holman, Robert C; Yan, Lihan; Frey, Sharon E; Belshe, Robert B; Karem, Kevin L; Damon, Inger K

    2012-07-01

    Possible smallpox reemergence drives research for third-generation vaccines that effectively neutralize variola virus. A comparison of neutralization assays using different substrates, variola and vaccinia (Dryvax and modified vaccinia Ankara [MVA]), showed significantly different 90% neutralization titers; Dryvax underestimated while MVA overestimated variola neutralization. Third-generation vaccines may rely upon neutralization as a correlate of protection.

  10. Influenza Vaccination Strategies: Comparing Inactivated and Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saranya Sridhar

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Influenza is a major respiratory pathogen causing annual outbreaks and occasional pandemics. Influenza vaccination is the major method of prophylaxis. Currently annual influenza vaccination is recommended for groups at high risk of complications from influenza infection such as pregnant women, young children, people with underlying disease and the elderly, along with occupational groups such a healthcare workers and farm workers. There are two main types of vaccines available: the parenteral inactivated influenza vaccine and the intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine. The inactivated vaccines are licensed from 6 months of age and have been used for more than 50 years with a good safety profile. Inactivated vaccines are standardized according to the presence of the viral major surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin and protection is mediated by the induction of vaccine strain specific antibody responses. In contrast, the live attenuated vaccines are licensed in Europe for children from 2–17 years of age and provide a multifaceted immune response with local and systemic antibody and T cell responses but with no clear correlate of protection. Here we discuss the immunological immune responses elicited by the two vaccines and discuss future work to better define correlates of protection.

  11. Rotavirus vaccine strain transmission by vaccinated infants in the foster home.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miura, Hiroki; Kawamura, Yoshiki; Sugata, Ken; Koshiyama, Nozomi; Yoshikawa, Akiko; Komoto, Satoshi; Taniguchi, Koki; Ihira, Masaru; Yoshikawa, Tetsushi

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies have demonstrated the transmission of rotavirus vaccine strains from vaccinated children to nonvaccinated siblings. We sought to fully elucidate the safety of rotavirus (RV) vaccination in closed contact circumstance, such as the foster home for future assessment of the vaccine safety in an neonatal intensive care unit. Stool samples were collected from 4 RV vaccinated (160 samples) and 23 unvaccinated (766 samples) infants. RV viral RNA loads were measured using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RV vaccine strain RNA was persistently detected in stool samples collected from the four vaccine recipients and one unvaccinated infant, but not in the stool samples collected from the 22 other unvaccinated infants. The unvaccinated infant who tested positive for the RV vaccine strain was vaccinated prior to enrollment in this study. The quantitative real-time RT-PCR data revealed a peak viral RNA load 1 week after vaccination followed by a gradual decrease. The current study suggests that RV vaccination may be safe in a close contact environment because there was limited transmission from RV vaccinated to unvaccinated infants. J. Med. Virol. 89:79-84, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. In vitro characterization of pertussis vaccines : Functional analysis as part of the Consistency Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoonakker, M.E.

    2017-01-01

    The current paradigm in vaccine lot release testing is that each final lot of vaccine produced is unique, due to the considerable inherent variation in the preceding biological production process. Consequently, each individual vaccine lot needs to be tested for safety and potency, frequently

  13. Laser facilitates vaccination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ji Wang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Development of novel vaccine deliveries and vaccine adjuvants is of great importance to address the dilemma that the vaccine field faces: to improve vaccine efficacy without compromising safety. Harnessing the specific effects of laser on biological systems, a number of novel concepts have been proposed and proved in recent years to facilitate vaccination in a safer and more efficient way. The key advantage of using laser technology in vaccine delivery and adjuvantation is that all processes are initiated by physical effects with no foreign chemicals administered into the body. Here, we review the recent advances in using laser technology to facilitate vaccine delivery and augment vaccine efficacy as well as the underlying mechanisms.

  14. Effect of vaccinations on seizure risk and disease course in Dravet syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verbeek, Nienke E; van der Maas, Nicoline A T; Sonsma, Anja C M; Ippel, Elly; Vermeer-de Bondt, Patricia E; Hagebeuk, Eveline; Jansen, Floor E; Geesink, Huibert H; Braun, Kees P; de Louw, Anton; Augustijn, Paul B; Neuteboom, Rinze F; Schieving, Jolanda H; Stroink, Hans; Vermeulen, R Jeroen; Nicolai, Joost; Brouwer, Oebele F; van Kempen, Marjan; de Kovel, Carolien G F; Kemmeren, Jeanet M; Koeleman, Bobby P C; Knoers, Nine V; Lindhout, Dick; Gunning, W Boudewijn; Brilstra, Eva H

    2015-08-18

    To study the effect of vaccination-associated seizure onset on disease course and estimate the risk of subsequent seizures after infant pertussis combination and measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccinations in Dravet syndrome (DS). We retrospectively analyzed data from hospital medical files, child health clinics, and the vaccination register for children with DS and pathogenic SCN1A mutations. Seizures within 24 hours after infant whole-cell, acellular, or nonpertussis combination vaccination or within 5 to 12 days after MMR vaccination were defined as "vaccination-associated." Risks of vaccination-associated seizures for the different vaccines were analyzed in univariable and in multivariable logistic regression for pertussis combination vaccines and by a self-controlled case series analysis using parental seizure registries for MMR vaccines. Disease courses of children with and without vaccination-associated seizure onset were compared. Children who had DS (n = 77) with and without vaccination-associated seizure onset (21% and 79%, respectively) differed in age at first seizure (median 3.7 vs 6.1 months, p risk of subsequent vaccination-associated seizures was significantly lower for acellular pertussis (9%; odds ratio 0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.05-0.71) and nonpertussis (8%; odds ratio 0.11, 95% CI 0.02-0.59) than whole-cell pertussis (37%; reference) vaccines. Self-controlled case series analysis showed an increased incidence rate ratio of seizures of 2.3 (95% CI 1.5-3.4) within the risk period of 5 to 12 days following MMR vaccination. Our results suggest that vaccination-associated earlier seizure onset does not alter disease course in DS, while the risk of subsequent vaccination-associated seizures is probably vaccine-specific. © 2015 American Academy of Neurology.

  15. Trivalent MDCK cell culture-derived influenza vaccine Optaflu (Novartis Vaccines).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doroshenko, Alexander; Halperin, Scott A

    2009-06-01

    Annual influenza epidemics continue to have a considerable impact in both developed and developing countries. Vaccination remains the principal measure to prevent seasonal influenza and reduce associated morbidity and mortality. The WHO recommends using established mammalian cell culture lines as an alternative to egg-based substrates in the manufacture of influenza vaccine. In June 2007, the EMEA approved Optaflu, a Madin Darby canine kidney cell culture-derived influenza vaccine manufactured by Novartis Vaccines. This review examines the advantages and disadvantages of cell culture-based technology for influenza vaccine production, compares immunogenicity and safety data for Optaflu with that of currently marketed conventional egg-based influenza vaccines, and considers the prospects for wider use of cell culture-based influenza vaccines.

  16. Sustainable vaccine development: a vaccine manufacturer's perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rappuoli, Rino; Hanon, Emmanuel

    2018-05-08

    Vaccination remains the most cost-effective public health intervention after clean water, and the benefits impressively outweigh the costs. The efforts needed to fulfill the steadily growing demands for next-generation and novel vaccines designed for emerging pathogens and new indications are only realizable in a sustainable business model. Vaccine development can be fast-tracked through strengthening international collaborations, and the continuous innovation of technologies to accelerate their design, development, and manufacturing. However, these processes should be supported by a balanced project portfolio, and by managing sustainable vaccine procurement strategies for different types of markets. Collectively this will allow a gradual shift to a more streamlined and profitable vaccine production, which can significantly contribute to the worldwide effort to shape global health. Copyright © 2018 GlaxoSmithKine Biologicals SA. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  17. A descriptive qualitative study of perceptions of parents on their child's vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurup, Liana; He, Hong-Gu; Wang, Xuefei; Wang, Wenru; Shorey, Shefaly

    2017-12-01

    To explore the perceptions of parents on their child's vaccination in Singapore. Vaccination is a key part of health care, and the management of vaccination for children has gained increasing interest globally. Previous studies found that parents had multiple concerns and low confidence in making vaccination decisions for their children. As no study in this area has been conducted in Singapore, the views and needs of parents regarding their child's vaccination remain unknown. Descriptive qualitative study. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 19 parents of children undergoing routine vaccination in a clinic in Singapore. Semistructured face-to-face or telephone interviews were conducted using an interview guide and were audiorecorded. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The thematic analysis generated four themes from 15 subthemes. Theme 1 summarised the factors promoting vaccination uptake, theme 2 was factors impeding vaccination compliance, theme 3 described parents' supportive roles before, during and after the vaccination, and theme 4 was about parents' need for improvement in vaccination services, information and communication with healthcare professionals. This study provided insight into parental views, experiences and needs regarding their child's vaccination. The results suggest a need for developing intervention programmes addressing information needs and pain management strategies to improve parents' experiences regarding their children's vaccination. Healthcare professionals and policymakers should take actions to improve parents' experiences regarding their child's vaccination by minimising the impeding factors and improving services, information provided and communications with parents. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Determinants of apparent rural-urban differentials in measles vaccination uptake in Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, Renae C; Awofeso, Niyi; Rammohan, Anu

    2011-01-01

    Regional differences in vaccination uptake are common in both developed and developing countries, and are often linked to the availability of healthcare services and socioeconomic factors. In 2007, 0.9 million eligible Indonesian children missed measles vaccination, and 19 456 cases of measles were documented among Indonesian children. The authors investigated rural-urban differentials in measles vaccination coverage among young Indonesian children, and sought to identify key factors influencing the probability of a child receiving the first dose of measles vaccination in Indonesia. Data used in the analyses were sourced from the nationally representative Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey 2007. The influence of location of residence, household wealth, maternal and paternal education, total children ever born and use of skilled birth attendants on measles vaccination coverage was investigated using bivariate analysis and chi-square tests. The independent effects of these variables were established using binomial logistic regression analysis. Indonesia's 2007 first-dose measles national vaccination coverage was, at 72.8%, lower than the 2008 global first-dose measles vaccination average coverage of 82%. Bivariate analysis revealed that the first-dose measles vaccination coverage in rural areas of Indonesia was 68.5%, compared with 80.1% in urban regions (p rural residence in impairing vaccination coverage was marginal after controlling for the sex of the child, maternal age, maternal and paternal education, wealth, and access to skilled health workers. Apart from sustainable initiatives to increase measles vaccination coverage globally, it is important to close the rural-urban gap in Indonesia's measles vaccination uptake. Addressing critical determinants of inferior measles vaccination coverage in Indonesia's rural regions will facilitate major improvements in Indonesia's child health trends. This article suggests initiatives for addressing three of such

  19. Vaccines today, vaccines tomorrow: a perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Loucq, Christian

    2013-01-01

    Vaccines are considered as one of the major contributions of the 20th century and one of the most cost effective public health interventions. The International Vaccine Institute has as a mission to discover, develop and deliver new and improved vaccines against infectious diseases that affects developing nations. If Louis Pasteur is known across the globe, vaccinologists like Maurice Hilleman, Jonas Salk and Charles M?rieux are known among experts only despite their contribution to global hea...

  20. The effects of Newcastle Disease Vaccine (Komarov) on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Clinical results show that 30% of the 20 birds vaccinated with Newcastle Disease Vaccine (Komarov) showed characteristic greenish yellowish diarrhoea, cumulative sharp drop in egg production (60%) while respiratory signs like gasping, sneezing and coughing were noticed in the 60% of the birds. Statistical analysis ...

  1. Pooled analysis of large and long-term safety data from the human papillomavirus-16/18-AS04-adjuvanted vaccine clinical trial programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelo, Maria-Genalin; David, Marie-Pierre; Zima, Julia; Baril, Laurence; Dubin, Gary; Arellano, Felix; Struyf, Frank

    2014-01-01

    Purpose The purpose of this study is to further evaluate the safety of the human papillomavirus (HPV)-16/18-AS04-adjuvanted vaccine (HPV-16/18-vaccine Cervarix®, GlaxoSmithKline, Belgium) through a pooled analysis of data from 42 completed/ongoing clinical studies. Methods Unsolicited adverse events (AEs) were reported for 30 days after each dose. Medically significant conditions, serious AEs (SAEs), potential immune-mediated diseases (pIMDs) and pregnancy outcomes were captured until study completion. Events leading to subject withdrawal were reviewed. Relative risks compared incidences of spontaneous abortion and pIMDs in controlled studies. Results Thirty one thousand one hundred seventy-three adolescent girls/women received HPV-16/18-vaccine alone (HPV group), 2166 received HPV-16/18-vaccine coadministered with another vaccine and 24 241 were controls. Mean follow-up was 39 months (range 0–113.3). Incidences of unsolicited AEs reported within 30 days after any dose were similar between HPV and Control groups (30.8%/29.7%). During the entire study period, reports of medically significant conditions (25.0%/28.3%) and SAEs (7.9%/9.3%) were also similarly distributed between groups. Deaths were rare: HPV (alone/coadministered) n = 25, controls n = 20 (n = 18 in blinded groups). pIMDs within 1 year were reported by 0.2% of HPV-16/18 vaccinees and controls. For each pIMD event category, no increased relative risks were reported for HPV-16/18 vaccinees versus controls. Coadministration did not change the overall safety profile. Pregnancy outcomes and withdrawal rates were similar between groups. Conclusions Analysis of safety data arising from 57 580 subjects and 96 704 HPV-16/18-vaccine doses shows that the incidences and distribution of AEs were similar among HPV-16/18-vaccine recipients and controls. No new safety signals were identified. The data confirm previous findings that HPV-16/18-vaccine has an acceptable benefit-risk profile in adolescent girls and

  2. Meningococcal B vaccine. An immunogenic vaccine possibly useful during outbreaks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-01

    Invasive meningococcal infections can be life-threatening and cause severe sequelae. Antibiotic therapy is only partially effective. Bexsero is the first meningococcal B vaccine to be approved in the European Union. It contains four capsular antigens from various strains of group B meningococci. Clinical trials of this meningococcal B vaccine did not assess clinical protection. Two immunogenicity studies in adults, one in adolescents and six in infants, are available. They established the immunogenicity of the meningococcal B vaccine, determined age-appropriate vaccination schedules, and verified that concomitant administration of other vaccines did not undermine its immunogenicity. In the absence of relevant clinical trials, an in vitro study showed that sera from vaccinated individuals were likely to have bactericidal activity against 85% of 200 invasive meningococcal B strains isolated in France in 2007-2008. The meningococcal B vaccine provoked local adverse effects in most vaccinees, including local erythema, induration and pain. Fever occurred in about half of vaccinated children. Six cases of Kawasaki syndrome have been reported in children who received the vaccine, compared to only one case in control groups. In practice, the harm-benefit balance of this meningococcal B vaccine justify using it during outbreaks, provided the outbreak strain is covered by the vaccine antigens. Vaccinees should be enrolled in studies designed to evaluate clinical efficacy and to better determine the risk of Kawasaki syndrome.

  3. Estimating the cost-effectiveness profile of a universal vaccination programme with a nine-valent HPV vaccine in Austria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boiron, L; Joura, E; Largeron, N; Prager, B; Uhart, M

    2016-04-16

    HPV is a major cancer-causing factor in both sexes in the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, penis, oropharynx as well as the causal factor in other diseases such as genital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatis. In the context of the arrival of a nonavalent HPV vaccine (6/11/16/18/31/33/45/52/58), this analysis aims to estimate the public health impact and the incremental cost-effectiveness of a universal (girls and boys) vaccination program with a nonavalent HPV vaccine as compared to the current universal vaccination program with a quadrivalent HPV vaccine (6/11/16/18), in Austria. A dynamic transmission model including a wide range of health and cost outcomes related to cervical, anal, vulvar, vaginal diseases and genital warts was calibrated to Austrian epidemiological data. The clinical impact due to the 5 new types was included for cervical and anal diseases outcomes only. In the base case, a two-dose schedule, lifelong vaccine type-specific protection and a vaccination coverage rate of 60% and 40% for girls and boys respectively for the 9-year old cohorts were assumed. A cost-effectiveness threshold of €30,000/QALY-gained was considered. Universal vaccination with the nonavalent vaccine was shown to reduce the incidence of HPV16/18/31/33/45/52/58 -related cervical cancer by 92%, the related CIN2/3 cases by 96% and anal cancer by 83% and 76% respectively in females and males after 100 years, relative to 75%, 76%, 80% and 74% with the quadrivalent vaccine, respectively. Furthermore, the nonavalent vaccine was projected to prevent an additional 14,893 cases of CIN2/3 and 2544 cases of cervical cancer, over 100 years. Depending on the vaccine price, the strategy was shown to be from cost-saving to cost-effective. The present evaluation showed that vaccinating 60% of girls and 40% of boys aged 9 in Austria with a 9-valent vaccine will substantially reduce the incidence of cervical cancer, CIN and anal cancer compared to the existing strategy. The vaccination

  4. A benefit-risk analysis of rotavirus vaccination, France, 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamrani, Adnane; Tubert-Bitter, Pascale; Hill, Catherine; Escolano, Sylvie

    2017-12-01

    IntroductionTwo vaccines available for protection against rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE), Rotarix and RotaTeq, have contributed to a large decrease in the incidence of paediatric diarrhoea in countries where they have been used. However, they have also led to a small increase in the risk of intussusception. Methods: We compare the number of prevented hospitalisations for RVGE to the number of vaccine-induced hospitalised intussusceptions in France. Results: With 9.5% coverage (French 2015 estimation), vaccination was estimated to prevent, annually, a median of 1,074 hospitalisations (2.5th and 97.5th percentiles (2.5th-97.5th): 810-1,378) and 1.4 deaths (2.5th-97.5th: 1.2-1.6) from RVGE. It was also estimated to cause, annually, 5.0 hospitalisations (2.5th-97.5th: 3.2-7.7) and 0.005 deaths (2.5th-97.5th: 0.001-0.015) from intussusception. The benefit-risk ratio is therefore 214 (2.5th-97.5th: 128-362) for hospitalisations and 273 (2.5th-97.5th: 89-1,228) for deaths. Under a hypothetical 92% coverage, rotavirus vaccination with Rotarix would avoid 10,459 (2.5th-97.5th: 7,702-13,498) hospitalisations for RVGE and induce 47.0 (2.5th-97.5th: 25.1-81.4) hospitalisations for intussusception annually, thereby preventing 13.7 (2.5th-97.5th: 11.1-15.2) deaths and inducing 0.05 (2.5th-97.5th: 0.01-0.15) deaths. Conclusion: The benefit-risk ratio in France is similar to that of other European countries.

  5. Serious adverse events associated with yellow fever vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Menezes Martins, Reinaldo; Fernandes Leal, Maria da Luz; Homma, Akira

    2015-01-01

    Yellow fever vaccine was considered one of the safest vaccines, but in recent years it was found that it could rarely cause invasive and disseminated disease in some otherwise healthy individuals, with high lethality. After extensive studies, although some risk factors have been identified, the real cause of causes of this serious adverse event are largely unknown, but findings point to individual host factors. Meningoencephalitis, once considered to happen only in children less than 6 months of age, has also been identified in older children and adults, but with good prognosis. Efforts are being made to develop a safer yellow fever vaccine, and an inactivated vaccine or a vaccine prepared with the vaccine virus envelope produced in plants are being tested. Even with serious and rare adverse events, yellow fever vaccine is the best way to avoid yellow fever, a disease of high lethality and should be used routinely in endemic areas, and on people from non-endemic areas that could be exposed, according to a careful risk-benefit analysis.

  6. Socio-psychological factors driving adult vaccination: a qualitative study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Wheelock

    Full Text Available While immunization is one of the most effective and successful public health interventions, there are still up to 30,000 deaths in major developed economies each year due to vaccine-preventable diseases, almost all in adults. In the UK, despite comparatively high vaccination rates among ≥65 s (73% and, to a lesser extent, at-risk ≤65 s (52% in 2013/2014, over 10,000 excess deaths were reported the previous influenza season. Adult tetanus vaccines are not routinely recommended in the UK, but may be overly administered. Social influences and risk-perceptions of diseases and vaccines are known to affect vaccine uptake. We aimed to explore the socio-psychological factors that drive adult vaccination in the UK, specifically influenza and tetanus, and to evaluate whether these factors are comparable between vaccines.20 in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with members of the UK public who represented a range of socio-demographic characteristics associated with vaccination uptake. We employed qualitative interviewing approaches to reach a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing adult vaccination decisions. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.Participants were classified according to their vaccination status as regular, intermittent and non-vaccinators for influenza, and preventative, injury-led, mixed (both preventative and injury-led and as non-vaccinators for tetanus. We present our finding around five overarching themes: 1 perceived health and health behaviors; 2 knowledge; 3 vaccination influences; 4 disease appraisal; and 5 vaccination appraisal.The uptake of influenza and tetanus vaccines was largely driven by participants' risk perception of these diseases. The tetanus vaccine is perceived as safe and sufficiently tested, whereas the changing composition of the influenza vaccine is a cause of uncertainty and distrust. To maximize the public health impact of adult vaccines, policy should be better

  7. Vaccine breaks: Outbreaks of myxomatosis on Spanish commercial rabbit farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalton, K P; Nicieza, I; de Llano, D; Gullón, J; Inza, M; Petralanda, M; Arroita, Z; Parra, F

    2015-08-05

    Despite the success of vaccination against myxoma virus, myxomatosis remains a problem on rabbit farms throughout Spain and Europe. In this study we set out to evaluate possible causes of myxoma virus (MYXV) vaccine failures addressing key issues with regard to pathogen, vaccine and vaccination strategies. This was done by genetically characterising MYXV field isolates from farm outbreaks, selecting a representative strain for which to assay its virulence and measuring the protective capability of a commercial vaccine against this strain. Finally, we compare methods (route) of vaccine administration under farm conditions and evaluate immune response in vaccinated rabbits. The data presented here show that the vaccine tested is capable of eliciting protection in rabbits that show high levels of seroconversion. However, the number of animals failing to seroconvert following subcutaneous vaccination may leave a large number of rabbits unprotected following vaccine administration. Successful vaccination requires the strict implication of workable, planned, on farm programs. Following this, analysis to confirm seroconversion rates may be advisable. Factors such as the wild rabbit reservoir, control of biting insects and good hygienic practices must be taken into consideration to prevent vaccine failures from occurring. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Immune Monitoring in Cancer Vaccine Clinical Trials: Critical Issues of Functional Flow Cytometry-Based Assays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iole Macchia

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The development of immune monitoring assays is essential to determine the immune responses against tumor-specific antigens (TSAs and tumor-associated antigens (TAAs and their possible correlation with clinical outcome in cancer patients receiving immunotherapies. Despite the wide range of techniques used, to date these assays have not shown consistent results among clinical trials and failed to define surrogate markers of clinical efficacy to antitumor vaccines. Multiparameter flow cytometry- (FCM- based assays combining different phenotypic and functional markers have been developed in the past decade for informative and longitudinal analysis of polyfunctional T-cells. These technologies were designed to address the complexity and functional heterogeneity of cancer biology and cellular immunity and to define biomarkers predicting clinical response to anticancer treatment. So far, there is still a lack of standardization of some of these immunological tests. The aim of this review is to overview the latest technologies for immune monitoring and to highlight critical steps involved in some of the FCM-based cellular immune assays. In particular, our laboratory is focused on melanoma vaccine research and thus our main goal was the validation of a functional multiparameter test (FMT combining different functional and lineage markers to be applied in clinical trials involving patients with melanoma.

  9. Vaccine Safety

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... During Pregnancy Frequently Asked Questions about Vaccine Recalls Historical Vaccine Safety Concerns FAQs about GBS and Menactra ... CISA Resources for Healthcare Professionals Evaluation Current Studies Historical Background 2001-12 Publications Technical Reports Vaccine Safety ...

  10. Vaccination of School Children With Live Mumps Virus Vaccine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furesz, J.; Nagler, F. P.

    1970-01-01

    Live, attenuated mumps virus vaccine (Mumpsvax) was administered to 146 school children 6 to 9 years of age. One child developed clinical mumps nine days after vaccination; epidemiological and serological data strongly suggest that this child had become infected before vaccination. Apart from this single instance there were no apparent clinical reactions that could be ascribed to the administration of the vaccine. Sixty-three of the 146 children with no clinical history of mumps had an initial serum neutralizing antibody titre of less than 1:2. Specific antibodies to mumps virus were detected in 93.5% of the sera of the susceptible children 28 days after vaccination, and the geometric mean antibody titre of these sera was low (1:6). Of the 80 initially seropositive children 21 (26.2%) showed a significant antibody response to the vaccine and this was influenced by the pre-existing antibody level. These data have further demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the live mumps vaccine in children. PMID:5420994

  11. Antiviral immunity in fish – functional analysis using DNA vaccination as a tool

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lorenzen, Niels; Lorenzen, Ellen; Einer-Jensen, Katja

    2013-01-01

    fingerlings. Vaccination of fish at an early stage appears advantageous, since larger fish require higher doses of vaccine to be protected. Even in fish with an average size of 0.5 g at the time of vaccination, good protection can be obtained. Interestingly, immunity is established already a few days after...... and cellular components both play a role in the long lasting protection. The similarity of the functional immune response profile to that induced by a natural virus infection is striking and is most likely one of the major reasons for the efficacy of the rhabdovirus DNA vaccines. Although other elements like...... protein gene suggest that the structural requirements for antigenicity are different from the requirements for immunogenicity....

  12. Vaccine hesitancy among parents of adolescents and its association with vaccine uptake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, James R; Thompson, David; Rogacki, Brianna; Hale, Jessica J; Jacobson, Robert M; Opel, Douglas J; Darden, Paul M

    2015-03-30

    Addressing parental vaccine hesitancy may increase adolescent vaccination acceptance. However, no validated measure exists to identify parents hesitant toward adolescent vaccines. To determine if a modified version of the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) survey, a previously validated tool to identify parental hesitancy toward vaccines in infants, predicts adolescent vaccine uptake at office visits. We modified the PACV for use in the adolescent setting and distributed it to a convenience sample of parents of adolescents aged 11 to 17 presenting for care at a diverse group of six pediatric practices in Oklahoma and South Carolina. We determined the vaccination status of the parents' adolescents for 3 vaccines (Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis [Tdap], meningococcal conjugate [MCV4], and human papillomavirus [HPV] vaccines). We used Fisher's exact tests to compare vaccination status with each survey item and with an overall general hesitancy scale that we constructed. We analyzed 363 surveys. At the time of the visit, vaccination coverage was 84% for Tdap, 73% for MCV, and 45% for any dose of HPV. Thirty-nine percent of parents expressed concern about vaccine efficacy and 41% expressed concern about side effects. Forty-five percent of parents disagreed with the statement that "teens can get all of the vaccines that are due at a single visit." Two individual items were associated with not receiving a dose of HPV vaccine that was due. The overall modified PACV score failed to predict adolescent vaccine uptake at an office visit. Several individual items were associated with vaccine uptake. The cumulative modified PACV, a general measure of vaccine hesitancy, was not associated with vaccination status despite illuminating parental hesitancy. We need to better understand vaccine-specific concerns for the adolescent population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Physician communication about adolescent vaccination: How is human papillomavirus vaccine different?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilkey, Melissa B; Moss, Jennifer L; Coyne-Beasley, Tamera; Hall, Megan E; Shah, Parth D; Brewer, Noel T

    2015-08-01

    Low human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage stands in stark contrast to our success in delivering other adolescent vaccines. To identify opportunities for improving physicians' recommendations for HPV vaccination, we sought to understand how the communication context surrounding adolescent vaccination varies by vaccine type. A national sample of 776 U.S. physicians (53% pediatricians, 47% family medicine physicians) completed our online survey in 2014. We assessed physicians' perceptions and communication practices related to recommending adolescent vaccines for 11- and 12-year-old patients. About three-quarters of physicians (73%) reported recommending HPV vaccine as highly important for patients, ages 11-12. More physicians recommended tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) (95%) and meningococcal vaccines (87%, both pCommunication strategies are needed to support physicians in recommending HPV vaccine with greater confidence and efficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Determinants of vaccine immunogenicity in HIV-infected pregnant women: analysis of B and T cell responses to pandemic H1N1 monovalent vaccine.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Weinberg

    Full Text Available Influenza infections have high frequency and morbidity in HIV-infected pregnant women, underscoring the importance of vaccine-conferred protection. To identify the factors that determine vaccine immunogenicity in this group, we characterized the relationship of B- and T-cell responses to pandemic H1N1 (pH1N1 vaccine with HIV-associated immunologic and virologic characteristics. pH1N1 and seasonal-H1N1 (sH1N1 antibodies were measured in 119 HIV-infected pregnant women after two double-strength pH1N1 vaccine doses. pH1N1-IgG and IgA B-cell FluoroSpot, pH1N1- and sH1N1-interferon γ (IFNγ and granzyme B (GrB T-cell FluoroSpot, and flow cytometric characterization of B- and T-cell subsets were performed in 57 subjects. pH1N1-antibodies increased after vaccination, but less than previously described in healthy adults. pH1N1-IgG memory B cells (Bmem increased, IFNγ-effector T-cells (Teff decreased, and IgA Bmem and GrB Teff did not change. pH1N1-antibodies and Teff were significantly correlated with each other and with sH1N1-HAI and Teff, respectively, before and after vaccination. pH1N1-antibody responses to the vaccine significantly increased with high proportions of CD4+, low CD8+ and low CD8+HLADR+CD38+ activated (Tact cells. pH1N1-IgG Bmem responses increased with high proportions of CD19+CD27+CD21- activated B cells (Bact, high CD8+CD39+ regulatory T cells (Treg, and low CD19+CD27-CD21- exhausted B cells (Bexhaust. IFNγ-Teff responses increased with low HIV plasma RNA, CD8+HLADR+CD38+ Tact, CD4+FoxP3+ Treg and CD19+IL10+ Breg. In conclusion, pre-existing antibody and Teff responses to sH1N1 were associated with increased responses to pH1N1 vaccination in HIV-infected pregnant women suggesting an important role for heterosubtypic immunologic memory. High CD4+% T cells were associated with increased, whereas high HIV replication, Tact and Bexhaust were associated with decreased vaccine immunogenicity. High Treg increased antibody responses but

  15. Identification of potential new protein vaccine candidates through pan-surfomic analysis of pneumococcal clinical isolates from adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfonso Olaya-Abril

    Full Text Available Purified polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines are widely used for preventing infections in adults and in children against the Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, a pathogen responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates, especially in developing countries. However, these polysaccharide-based vaccines have some important limitations, such as being serotype-dependent, being subjected to losing efficacy because of serotype replacement and high manufacturing complexity and cost. It is expected that protein-based vaccines will overcome these issues by conferring a broad coverage independent of serotype and lowering production costs. In this study, we have applied the "shaving" proteomic approach, consisting of the LC/MS/MS analysis of peptides generated by protease treatment of live cells, to a collection of 16 pneumococcal clinical isolates from adults, representing the most prevalent strains circulating in Spain during the last years. The set of unique proteins identified in all the isolates, called "pan-surfome", consisted of 254 proteins, which included most of the protective protein antigens reported so far. In search of new candidates with vaccine potential, we identified 32 that were present in at least 50% of the clinical isolates analyzed. We selected four of them (Spr0012, Spr0328, Spr0561 and SP670_2141, whose protection capacity has not yet been tested, for assaying immunogenicity in human sera. All of them induced the production of IgM antibodies in infected patients, thus indicating that they could enter the pipeline for vaccine studies. The pan-surfomic approach shows its utility in the discovery of new proteins that can elicit protection against infectious microorganisms.

  16. Age-Dependent Pre-Vaccination Immunity Affects the Immunogenicity of Varicella Zoster Vaccination in Middle-aged Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marieke van der Heiden

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundPrevention of infectious diseases is of high priority in the rapidly aging population. Unfortunately, vaccine responses in the elderly are frequently diminished. Timely vaccination of middle-aged adults might improve the immune responses to vaccines, although knowledge on pathogen-specific immune responses and factors affecting these responses, in middle-aged adults is currently limited. We thus investigated the immune responses after vaccination with Zostavax consisting of live-attenuated varicella zoster virus (VZV.MethodsBlood samples were taken pre-, 14 days, 28 days, and 1 year after a primary VZV vaccination (Zostavax at middle age (N = 53, 50–65 years of age. VZV-specific IFNγ-producing cells were measured by ELISpot, activated T-cells by flow cytometry, antibody levels and cytokine responses by fluorescent bead-based multiplex immunoassays, and whole blood cellular kinetics by TruCOUNT analysis.ResultsRobust short-term enhancement of the VZV-specific IFNγ-producing cell numbers was observed post-vaccination in the middle-aged adults. Remarkably, long-term enhancement of VZV-specific IFNγ-producing cell numbers was induced only in participants with low numbers of VZV-specific pre-vaccination IFNγ-producing cells, who were significantly older. These participants also showed enhancement of VZV-specific activated CD4 T-cells, contrary to “exhausted” VZV-specific CD8 T-cells in participants with high numbers of VZV-specific pre-vaccination IFNγ-producing cells. Finally, a high CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio was associated with low numbers of pre-vaccination VZV-specific IFNγ-producing cells.ConclusionThese results suggest that adults in their early sixties, who showed a high CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio and low numbers of VZV-specific IFNγ-producing cells, benefit from VZV vaccination. This provides important knowledge on factors affecting VZV-specific immune responses in middle-aged adults as well as for strategies to

  17. Social Capital, Self-Esteem, and Use of Online Social Network Sites: A Longitudinal Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinfield, Charles; Ellison, Nicole B.; Lampe, Cliff

    2008-01-01

    A longitudinal analysis of panel data from users of a popular online social network site, Facebook, investigated the relationship between intensity of Facebook use, measures of psychological well-being, and bridging social capital. Two surveys conducted a year apart at a large U.S. university, complemented with in-depth interviews with 18 Facebook…

  18. Methodological quality of systematic reviews on influenza vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remschmidt, Cornelius; Wichmann, Ole; Harder, Thomas

    2014-03-26

    There is a growing body of evidence on the risks and benefits of influenza vaccination in various target groups. Systematic reviews are of particular importance for policy decisions. However, their methodological quality can vary considerably. To investigate the methodological quality of systematic reviews on influenza vaccination (efficacy, effectiveness, safety) and to identify influencing factors. A systematic literature search on systematic reviews on influenza vaccination was performed, using MEDLINE, EMBASE and three additional databases (1990-2013). Review characteristics were extracted and the methodological quality of the reviews was evaluated using the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR) tool. U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, chi-square test, and multivariable linear regression analysis were used to assess the influence of review characteristics on AMSTAR-score. Fourty-six systematic reviews fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Average methodological quality was high (median AMSTAR-score: 8), but variability was large (AMSTAR range: 0-11). Quality did not differ significantly according to vaccination target group. Cochrane reviews had higher methodological quality than non-Cochrane reviews (p=0.001). Detailed analysis showed that this was due to better study selection and data extraction, inclusion of unpublished studies, and better reporting of study characteristics (all p<0.05). In the adjusted analysis, no other factor, including industry sponsorship or journal impact factor had an influence on AMSTAR score. Systematic reviews on influenza vaccination showed large differences regarding their methodological quality. Reviews conducted by the Cochrane collaboration were of higher quality than others. When using systematic reviews to guide the development of vaccination recommendations, the methodological quality of a review in addition to its content should be considered. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Global yellow fever vaccination coverage from 1970 to 2016: an adjusted retrospective analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Shearer, FM; Moyes, CL; Pigott, DM; Marinho, F; Deshpande, A; Longbottom, J; Browne, AJ; Kraemer, MUG; O’Reilly, KM; Hombach, J; Yactayo, S; de Araújo, VEM; da Nόbrega, AA; Mosser, JF; Stanaway, JD

    2017-01-01

    Summary Background: Substantial outbreaks of yellow fever in Angola and Brazil in the past 2 years, combined with global shortages in vaccine stockpiles, highlight a pressing need to assess present control strategies. The aims of this study were to estimate global yellow fever vaccination coverage from 1970 through to 2016 at high spatial resolution and to calculate the number of individuals still requiring vaccination to reach population coverage thresholds for outbreak prevention. Methods: ...

  20. Measles, immune suppression and vaccination: direct and indirect nonspecific vaccine benefits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mina, Michael J

    2017-06-01

    The measles virus is among the most transmissible viruses known to infect humans. Prior to measles vaccination programs, measles infected over 95% of all children and was responsible for over 4 million deaths each year. Measles vaccination programs have been among the greatest public health achievements reducing, eliminating endemic measles in the whole of the Americas and across much of the globe. Where measles vaccines are introduced, unexpectedly large reductions in all-cause childhood mortality have been observed. These gains appear to derive in part from direct heterologous benefits of measles vaccines that enhance innate and adaptive immune responses. Additionally, by preventing measles infections, vaccination prevents measles-associated short- and long-term immunomodulating effects. Before vaccination, these invisible hallmarks of measles infections increased vulnerability to non-measles infections in nearly all children for weeks, months, or years following acute infections. By depleting measles incidence, vaccination has had important indirect benefits to reduce non-measles mortality. Delineating the relative importance of these two modes of survival benefits following measles vaccine introduction is of critical public health importance. While both support continued unwavering global commitments to measles vaccination programs until measles eradication is complete, direct heterologous benefits of measles vaccination further support continued commitment to measles vaccination programs indefinitely. We discuss what is known about direct and indirect nonspecific measles vaccine benefits, and their implications for continued measles vaccination programs. © 2017 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.