Expert review of vaccines
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Expert review of vaccines · Apr 2012
ReviewA prophylactic quadrivalent vaccine for the prevention of infection and disease related to HPV-6, -11, -16 and -18.
Human papillomavirus infection causes cervical cancer, a significant portion of anal, genital and oropharyngeal cancers, genital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. In June 2006, a quadrivalent human papillomavirus-6/11/16/18 vaccine (GARDASIL/SILGARD®; Merck, NJ, USA) was licensed in the USA; subsequent approval has been granted in the EU (September 2006). It has since been approved in 121 countries with over 74 million doses distributed globally as of March 2011.
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Expert review of vaccines · Feb 2012
ReviewRemaining issues and challenges for rotavirus vaccine in preventing global childhood diarrheal morbidity and mortality.
Rotavirus vaccines have had a dramatic impact on morbidity and mortality from diarrhea among children in high- and middle-income countries that have introduced the vaccine into their national immunization programs. Widespread introduction of rotavirus vaccine in developing countries is imminent and their full potential in reducing the global burden from severe childhood diarrhea may soon be realized. The objectives of this paper are to describe the remaining issues and challenges in ensuring the success of the global rotavirus vaccination program and to discuss further research needed to help address them.
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Influenza viruses are adept in human populations. Indeed, they have the capacity to evade the immune system through mechanisms of mutations (antigenic drift) and major variations in surface protein expression (antigenic shift). When a major change occurs, the risk of a human pandemic arises. ⋯ In the same subjects, the vaccine elicited robust immunogenicity against both homologous (A/Vietnam/1194/2004 clade 1) and heterologous viral strains (for instance, A/Indonesia/05/2005 or A/Turkey/15/2006) and induced immunologic memory. Thus, in 2010, the CHMP issued a positive opinion on Aflunov and in January 2011 Aflunov was given marketing authorization. This vaccine could be very useful in the event of adaptation of the H5N1 virus to humans, which could cause a new pandemic.