Vaccine
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Historical Article
The eradication of smallpox--an overview of the past, present, and future.
The 30th anniversary of the declaration of smallpox eradication is a propitious time to look back on the evolutionary history of the program, its execution, and its legacy for the future. The eradication of history's most feared disease culminated a decade-long World Health Organization campaign which began despite skepticism and doubt and succeeded despite a never ending array of obstacles occasioned by floods, civil war, famine, and bureaucratic inertia. ⋯ A definitive legacy for the future was the extension of the program into an "Expanded Program on Immunization", now functioning world-wide and resulting in dramatic improvements in health through control of vaccine-preventable diseases. No less important are the growing number of multi-national programs whose foundations rest on the development of active case surveillance to measure achievement and to guide progress - poliomyelitis, measles, guinea worm, and rubella.
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In 2009, during the influenza A (H1N1)v pandemic, the French Health authorities recommended influenza immunisation for pregnant women because of the higher risk of serious influenza outcomes in that population. Thus, the non-adjuvanted inactivated influenza vaccine Panenza(®) was administered to French women from the second trimester of pregnancy. Several studies suggest that inactivated seasonal influenza vaccines are safe during pregnancy but there are few data about the effects of new A (H1N1)vaccines (new antigen) on pregnant women. ⋯ This study does not reveal any sign of safety concerns regarding the effects of the vaccine on pregnancy outcomes.