Vaccine
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Studies regarding the clinical benefits of influenza vaccination in diabetic patients are limited. This study evaluated if the elderly diabetic patients who have had influenza vaccination would have benefits such as reduced medical care and mortality. ⋯ Influenza vaccination is associated with a reduced risk of morbidity, hospitalization, ICU admissions, and mortality. In addition, the hospitalization cost is reduced.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that there are about 8 million new cases annually of active Tuberculosis (TB). Despite its irregular effectiveness (0-89%), the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) BCG is the only vaccine available worldwide for prevention of TB; thus, the design is important of novel and more efficient vaccination strategies. Considering that β-defensin-2 is an antimicrobial peptide that induces dendritic cell maturation through the TLR-4 receptor and that both ESAT-6 and Ag85B are immunodominant mycobacterial antigens and efficient activators of the protective immune response, we constructed two DNA vaccines by the fusion of the gene encoding β-defensin-2 and antigens ESAT6 (pDE) and 85B (pDA). ⋯ Vaccination with both DNA vaccines showed similar protection to that of BCG. After the challenge with the highly virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain, animals that were prime-boosted with BCG and then boosted with both DNA vaccines showed significant higher survival and less tissue damage than mice vaccinated only with BCG. These results suggest that improvement of BCG vaccination, such as the prime-boost DNA vaccine, represents a more efficient vaccination scheme against TB.
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Health-care authorities encouraged A(H1N1)2009 influenza vaccination for all hospital workers because of their high risk of contracting and transmitting the virus. Six months after the vaccination campaign began, an electronic anonymous questionnaire was completed by 1630 among 14,000 hospital workers (11.6%). Vaccination rate was 54.3%. ⋯ Arguments against vaccination were lack of sufficient studies of the vaccine (75.7%) and the perception of A(H1N1)2009 influenza as a benign disease (51.5%). Vaccination coverage would be insufficient to keep the health-care system operating at maximum capacity during a severe pandemic disease, and to avoid nosocomial transmission of influenza. These results suggest a better-targeted vaccination campaign.
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Typically, vaccines distributed through the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) use a 2-8°C cold chain with 4-5 stops. The PfSPZ Vaccine comprises whole live-attenuated cryopreserved sporozoites stored in liquid nitrogen (LN(2)) vapor phase (LNVP) below -140°C and would be distributed through a LNVP cold chain. The purpose of this study was to model LNVP cold chain distribution for the cryopreserved PfSPZ Vaccine in Tanzania, estimate the costs and compare these costs to those that would be incurred in distributing a 'conventional' malaria vaccine through the EPI. ⋯ The models, therefore, predicted little difference in 5-year distribution costs between the PfSPZ Vaccine distributed through a MH-S LNVP cold chain and a conventional vaccine distributed through the more traditional EPI system. A LNVP cold chain provides additional benefits through the use of durable dry shippers because no refrigerators, freezers or refrigerated trucks are required. Thus strain at the cold chain periphery, vaccine wastage from cold chain failures and the environmental impact of distribution would all be reduced.
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Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the most common bacterial causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, causing life threatening infections such as meningitis, pneumonia and febrile bacteremia, particular among young children. The severity and frequency of S. pneumoniae infection and emergence of drug-resistant isolates have highlighted the need for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) as the best method for controlling disease; to better achieve this, more information is needed about serotype distribution and patterns of antibiotic resistance in children in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Cases of pneumococcal infections in children aged <5 years, recorded in hospitals throughout KSA from 2005 to 2010 were reviewed for serotyping and for antibiotic susceptibility. ⋯ A total of 66% of IPD isolates were penicillin-resistant, and 62% were erythromycin-resistant. Continued surveillance is critical to measure the emerging of new serotypes and antibiotic resistance strain, and the potential impact of new PCVs. PCV13, recently introduced into the national immunization schedule in place of PCV7, provides the widest coverage among all IPD serotypes across KSA.