Will containment of wild poliovirus in laboratories and inactivated poliovirus vaccine production sites be effective for global certification? (49/258)

The absolute laboratory containment of any virus cannot be guaranteed, but a wealth of experience indicates that effective containment of wild poliovirus materials for global certification is technically and operationally feasible. Effective containment is based on the principles of minimal wild poliovirus infectious and potentially infectious materials in laboratories; minimal risks of operations in laboratories and inactivated poliovirus vaccine production facilities; minimal susceptibility of workers to wild poliovirus infection and shedding; and minimal susceptibility of populations to wild poliovirus spread. Each principle alone is imperfect, but collectively they greatly minimize the risks of transmitting wild poliovirus from the laboratory to the community.  (+info)

Gut-homing (alpha(4)beta(7)(+)) Th1 memory responses after inactivated poliovirus immunization in poliovirus orally pre-immunized donors. (50/258)

Mucosal infections are prevented by a specialized local immune system. Immune cells of this compartment can also be found in the blood and are characterized by the expression of mucosa-specific homing molecules. Here, the cellular immune responses after inactivated poliovirus immunization (IPV) in poliovirus orally pre-immunized donors were investigated. Subcutaneous IPV induced a transient increase in the proliferative response against poliovirus antigen and in the number of poliovirus-specific CD4(+) T cells in the blood of the vaccinees. These cells were characterized to be of the effector memory type (CD45RA(-)/CD45RO(+)/CCR7(-)/CD27(+)) and expressed the homing molecule alpha(4)beta(7), indicating their origin from the gut. Together these data show the recurrence of gut-derived poliovirus-specific cells upon IPV and evaluate the whole-blood assay as a powerful tool for monitoring the success of a vaccination.  (+info)

An increase in selenium intake improves immune function and poliovirus handling in adults with marginal selenium status. (51/258)

BACKGROUND: Dietary selenium intakes in many countries, including the United Kingdom, are lower than international recommendations. No functional consequences of these lower intakes have been recognized, although experimental studies suggest that they might contribute to reduced immune function, increased cancer incidence, and increased susceptibility to viral disease. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess whether administration of small selenium supplements to otherwise healthy UK subjects leads to functional changes in immune status and the rates of clearance and mutation of a picornavirus: live attenuated polio vaccine. DESIGN: Twenty-two adult UK subjects with relatively low plasma selenium concentrations (<1.2 micromol/L, approximately 60% of those screened) received 50 or 100 microg Se (as sodium selenite) or placebo daily for 15 wk in a double-blind study. All subjects received an oral live attenuated poliomyelitis vaccine after 6 wk and enriched stable (74)Se intravenously 3 wk later. RESULTS: Selenium supplementation increased plasma selenium concentrations, the body exchangeable selenium pool (measured by using (74)Se), and lymphocyte phospholipid and cytosolic glutathione peroxidase activities. Selenium supplements augmented the cellular immune response through an increased production of interferon gamma and other cytokines, an earlier peak T cell proliferation, and an increase in T helper cells. Humoral immune responses were unaffected. Selenium-supplemented subjects also showed more rapid clearance of the poliovirus, and the poliovirus reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction products recovered from the feces of the supplemented subjects contained a lower number of mutations. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that these subjects had a functional selenium deficit with suboptimal immune status and a deficit in viral handling. They also suggest that the additional 100 microg Se/d may be insufficient to support optimal function.  (+info)

Reduction of antibody response to an 11-valent pneumococcal vaccine coadministered with a vaccine containing acellular pertussis components. (52/258)

In pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs), polysaccharide antigens are often conjugated to protein carriers related to other common vaccines. It is therefore important to test PCV interaction with other pediatric vaccines when administered simultaneously. We assessed the immune response to an 11-valent PCV conjugated to diphtheria and tetanus carriers (PncD/T11), administered concomitantly, but in separate sites, with a combined vaccine containing epitopes related antigenically to the carriers: polyribosylribitol phosphate-tetanus tox oid (PRP-T), diphtheria toxoid (DT), and tetanus toxoid (TT). In addition, these combinations contained inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and either whole-cell pertussis (wP) or acellular pertussis (aP) components. After coadministration of PncD/T11 with the combined vaccine containing wP (DTwP/IPV/PRP-T), the responses to all polysaccharides in the PncD/T11 were satisfactory. In contrast, when coadministered with an aP-containing combination (DTaP/IPV/PRP-T), the response to all seven pneumococcal conjugates to TT was significantly reduced after primary and booster immunization. The pneumococcal conjugates to DT were not significantly reduced after the primary series, but were somewhat reduced after booster. It is likely that some suppression of the tetanus-mediated response occurred even when the PncD/T11 was coadministered with wP, but this suppression was masked by the adjuvant effect of wP. By replacing wP with aP, this adjuvant effect was removed, unmasking the suppression of the tetanus-mediated response. With the increasing use of multiple aP-containing vaccines in infancy, novel approaches to adjuvants and carrier protein technology are likely to be required.  (+info)

Evaluation of immunogenicity and protective properties of inactivated poliovirus vaccines: a new surrogate method for predicting vaccine efficacy. (53/258)

An assay for the evaluation of protective properties of inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPVs) in transgenic (Tg) mice susceptible to poliovirus has been developed and optimized for type 2 IPV. This method was used to compare the immunogenicity and protective properties of experimental IPV produced from the attenuated Sabin strain (sIPV) with those of conventional IPV (cIPV) produced from the wild-type (wt) poliovirus MEF-1 strain. Modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were used to measure immune response in serum and saliva samples from test mice. Tg mice were vaccinated and were challenged either with wt poliovirus or virulent poliovirus derived from the vaccine strain. Compared with cIPV, sIPV induced lower levels of antibodies and did not completely protect mice against challenge with wt virus but did protect mice against challenge with the virulent vaccine-derived strain. This may be due to an 18% nucleotide difference between the MEF-1 and Sabin 2 strains, resulting in 72 amino acid substitutions and leading to antigenic dissimilarity. Immunological properties of both strains, revealed by cross-neutralization tests and ELISAs, confirmed that MEF-1 possesses broader immunogenicity than does Sabin 2. This animal model may be used for the assessment of new IPVs and of combination vaccines containing an IPV component.  (+info)

Poliomyelitis: eradication in sight.(54/258)

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Poliomyelitis prevention in the United States. Updated recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). (55/258)

These recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for poliomyelitis prevention replace those issued in 1997. As of January 1, 2000, ACIP recommends exclusive use of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) for routine childhood polio vaccination in the United States. All children should receive four doses of IPV at ages 2, 4, and 6-18 months and 4-6 years. Oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) should be used only in certain circumstances, which are detailed in these recommendations. Since 1979, the only indigenous cases of polio reported in the United States have been associated with the use of the live OPV. Until recently, the benefits of OPV use (i.e., intestinal immunity, secondary spread) outweighed the risk for vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis (VAPP) (i.e., one case among 2.4 million vaccine doses distributed). In 1997, to decrease the risk for VAPP but maintain the benefits of OPV, ACIP recommended replacing the all-OPV schedule with a sequential schedule of IPV followed by OPV. Since 1997, the global polio eradication initiative has progressed rapidly, and the likelihood of poliovirus importation into the United States has decreased substantially. In addition, the sequential schedule has been well accepted. No declines in childhood immunization coverage were observed, despite the need for additional injections. On the basis of these data, ACIP recommended on June 17, 1999, an all-IPV schedule for routine childhood polio vaccination in the United States to eliminate the risk for VAPP. ACIP reaffirms its support for the global polio eradication initiative and the use of OPV as the only vaccine recommended to eradicate polio from the remaining countries where polio is endemic.  (+info)

Vaccination rates in a multicultural population. (56/258)

AIMS: To establish whether there are social or cultural groups of children in Amsterdam with relatively low vaccination coverage for diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and poliomyelitis (DPTP), and for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR). METHODS: All of the 57,382 children aged between 5 and 12 years and living in Amsterdam on 1 January 2003 were analysed with respect to vaccination and sociodemographic data collected routinely by the Department of Child Health Care. The State Vaccination Programme (SVP) guidelines were adhered to in order to determine vaccination status. RESULTS: The overall respective DPTP and MMR vaccination rates were 93.0% and 93.9%. No great differences in vaccination levels were found between depressed and affluent areas or between the children of Dutch and non-Dutch mothers. However, foreign children who had been born abroad (Surinam, Morocco, Turkey) were most likely not to have been fully vaccinated. Children who attended anthroposophical schools were also found to be considerably less frequently fully immunised than those at other types of schools. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination coverage for children domiciled in Amsterdam was very high. Nevertheless, there are groups where the vaccination level is relatively low and social contact is high.  (+info)