Media surveillance may combat vax myths
A GLOBAL media surveillance system has been developed by international experts in an attempt to stop the spread of misinformation about vaccines.
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vaccine
The following articles have the tag vaccine
Urgent restock of flu vaccines
EMERGENCY stock of seasonal influenza vaccine, bought to cope with a national shortage sparked by unprecedented demand, is expected to be available in Australia in two weeks.
Flu vax demand leads to nationwide shortage
UNPRECEDENTED demand for the seasonal influenza vaccine has resulted in a nationwide shortage.
Flu vaccines need more scrutiny to keep public trust
LESSONS must be learnt from the regulatory history of Fluvax to ensure the long-term success of paediatric influenza vaccination programs, experts insist.
Dengue vaccine prototype falls short
A PROTOTYPE for the world’s first dengue vaccine was less effective than anticipated, but offers hope that vaccination against the disease will be feasible in the future, researchers say.
NPS launches vaccination hub
GENERAL practice nurses can now advise their patients who like to travel where to access the most up-to-date vaccination information.
New vax advice for practice nurses
PRACTICE nurses are being encouraged to administer the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) alongside the seasonal influenza vaccine to prevent hospitalisation and death in at risk groups.
Hepatitis C vaccine breakthrough
RESEARCHERS at the Burnet Institute in Melbourne have made a breakthrough in the quest for the first hepatitis C vaccine, developing a candidate that protects against multiple strains of the virus.
Celebrities speak out on AIDS vaccine
ELTON JOHN has told the International AIDS Conference he should be dead because of his self-destructive lifestyle decades ago.
Varicella vaccine radically reduces hospitalisation rates
CHICKENPOX hospitalisations have decreased by about 63% in children up to four years of age since the varicella vaccine was added to the NIP in late 2005, the Public Health Association of Australia’s (PHAA) immunisation conference was told.
Vaccine patch wins Aussie inventor award
AN INVENTION set to silence the screams of countless children and alleviate the fears of needle-phobes has earned an Australian professor international recognition.
At-risk and pregnant urged to get flu vaccine
HEALTH authorities in NSW and Queensland are warning a new strain of flu will likely circulate this winter and they are urging at-risk groups to get vaccinated.
Pneumococcal vax to be investigated prior to funding
IMPORTANT questions about a promising new 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine for the over-50s must be answered before it is funded by the federal government, an infectious diseases expert says.
Pertussis plan: give vaccine in pregnancy
PLANS for a ground-breaking study to investigate the effects of antepartum pertussis vaccination have been revealed as health authorities abandon the ‘cocooning’ strategy of free immunisation for parents and carers of newborn infants.
Meningococcal B vaccine shows promise
A CANDIDATE vaccine against serogroup B-caused invasive meningococcal disease has proved broadly protective in a phase 2 trial conducted in teenagers, Australian researchers say.
‘Vietnam time bomb’ should be considered in pneumonia patients
THE organism that causes melioidosis should be considered in cases of community-acquired pneumonia in endemic areas of Australia, an expert says.
More meningococcal protection for kids
THE first quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine able to be used in young children is now available in Australia.
Fluvax maker accused of ‘objectionable practices’
AUSTRALIA'S biggest pharmaceutical company, CSL, was accused of "objectionable conditions and practices" in audits of its vaccine manufacture carried out by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a Freedom of Information request reveals. The Australian newspaper reported in a front page article today that the FDA’s audits, carried out in 2010 and 2011, included allegations about CSL’s “deficient” tests to check whether viruses were properly split to prevent side effects. This follows concerns raised by leading Australian virologists and infectious diseases physicians that CSL’s use of a little-used detergent, sodium ...
Dengue still at near-endemic levels
DENGUE fever remains a public health hazard in north Queensland, despite the success of a project aimed at eradication, says a medical entomologist. Professor Scott Ritchie, from James Cook University in Cairns, was commenting on two studies published in Nature into the potential of a dengue ‘vaccine’ for Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. They found that infecting mosquitoes with strains of the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis protects them from dengue virus. Some 300,000 of these dengue-resistant mosquitoes were released into the Yorkeys Knob and Gordonvale regions, near Cairns, in January this year. Within months, they had replaced 80-100% of ...
Coeliac vaccine one step closer
THE world's first potential vaccine for coeliac disease, under development in Australia, is set for phase II trials within a year following positive early results. A phase I study conducted by Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) found the experimental vaccine Nexvax2 was safe and well tolerated, and "importantly... it had the desired biological response". "Nexvax2 aims to desensitise patients to the three specific peptides in gluten that we have previously identified as 'toxic' to people with coeliac disease," said Dr Bob Anderson from WEHI's immunology division. "We saw a Nexvax2-specific T-cell response that confirms ...
Australian researchers bring Ross River virus vaccine a step closer
A VACCINE protecting against Ross River virus will go into a phase III trial in Australia this year.An earlier trial in almost 400 healthy adults showed the candidate vaccine was “well tolerated”, with 93% of participants producing neutralising antibodies within 21 days of a third injection, according to Associate Professor John Aaskov from the Queensland University of Technology. Professor Aaskov presented details of his research at the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases annual conference in Lorne, Victoria, last week. Currently, there is no licensed vaccine against Ross River virus, which is endemic in Australia and the South ...
Prevenar 13 catch-up dose funding delay criticised
FEDERAL Cabinet’s delay in funding the catch-up program for 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine is inviting “a political response” from patients and its manufacturer which will rightly spark debate about how health dollars are spent, the AMA says. While pneumococcal disease had a low incidence, when it occurred it was serious, and the likelihood was a child would “get sick from pneumococcal, and it’s going to be on the front page of the newspaper”, AMA vice-president GP Dr Steve Hambleton said. Cabinet has approved the vaccine Prevenar 13 for inclusion on the National Immunisation Program, to replace Prevenar 7 ...
Intussusception risk rises after rotavirus vax
THE TGA has confirmed an increased risk of intussusception (IS) in children in the week following receipt of rotavirus vaccine. While the manufacturers of both Rotarix (GSK) and RotaTeq (Merck, CSL) will amend product information to reflect the increased risk, Australia's vaccination program will not change, the TGA said. "The TGA considers that the overall risk benefit balance of both vaccines remains positive," a report on its website said. Immediate comment was not available from the vaccine manufacturers. The TGA said an investigation of 274 cases of IS from three states (NSW, Victoria and Western ...
Yellow fever transmitted through breast milk from vaccination
CANADIAN doctors have reported a probable case of transmission of vaccine strain yellow fever virus to an infant through breastfeeding. Recommendations to avoid yellow fever vaccination in lactating women have been made on “theoretical grounds only”, the paediatricians said. But the latest report brings to four the probable cases of transmission via breast milk worldwide. The baby recovered without neurological deficit. The Australian Health Department advises mothers to reconsider travel in endemic areas or discuss breastfeeding avoidance with their doctor. CMAJ 2011, online 7 Feb
Herpes zoster vaccine may be delayed 2 years
IT MAY be another two years before the herpes zoster vaccine is available in Australia, immunisation researchers say. In a new fact sheet on adult vaccination, the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) says the availability of the vaccine remains limited due to manufacturing difficulties. The vaccine, Merck's Zostavax, is recommended in the Australian Immunisation Handbook for adults older than 60 years. Two years ago, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) endorsed annual vaccination for 60-year-olds and a catch-up cohort aged 61-79 years as a cost-effective inclusion on the National Immunisation Program ...
Watchdog blames flu vaccine fiasco on WA authorities
THE TGA has blamed this year’s paediatric influenza vaccination debacle on the overzealous approach of West Australian health authorities. In an apparent bid to deflect criticism from the Commonwealth’s handling of the high rate of febrile convulsions linked to Fluvax, a TGA report has criticised WA for setting up a program “outside national immunisation guidelines”. In its first official response to the August WA ministerial review authored by Professor Bryant Stokes, the TGA takes repeated swipes at the WA program, calling it a “trial” that had been set up without appropriate safety considerations. “There is a ...
Custom vax fridges more likely to fail
VACCINE wastage may be increasing with the growing use of purpose-built fridges in general practice, a conference has heard. Ironically, the glass-fronted fridges were more vulnerable to power cuts compared to domestic or bar fridges, immunisation health workers said. Breda MacDonald, from the immunisation section of the South Australian Health Department, said while inadvertent freezing was once the main cause of vaccine wastage, now it was overheating. A SA study showed cold-chain breaches increased by 17% between 2007 and 2010, with two-thirds occurring in general practice where purpose-built fridges were increasingly adopted. Several speakers at ...
Meningococcal C still a risk to youth even after vaccination
MOST Australian adolescents may be susceptible to meningococcal C (MenC) disease, despite childhood vaccination, researchers warn. A trial conducted in the UK to establish antibody persistence after vaccination with the MenC conjugate vaccine has raised questions about waning immunity. The Australian and British researchers found that the majority of six- to 12-year-olds in the UK, where children receive three shots in infancy, would have inadequate serological protection. In Australia, where children received a single dose of MenC vaccine at 12 months of age, the data suggested only a quarter may remain protected by the age of ...
Expert defends WHO’s links to pharma
AUSTRALIAN virologist Dr Alan Hampson (Hon MD) describes recent criticism of the WHO for accepting pandemic planning advice from experts with ties to the pharma industry as a “witch-hunt”. Dr Hampson, a WHO and Australian Government consultant who chairs the pharma-funded Influenza Specialist Group, says it would be virtually impossible to find experts with no ties to industry because of the way research is funded. An article published yesterday by the BMJ castigates the WHO for a lack of transparency over conflicts of interest, saying key advice on pandemic planning was delivered by scientists who ...
Flu vaccine considered safe for five year olds
FIVE-YEAR-OLD children can safely be given the seasonal influenza vaccine, but younger children should be offered Panvax, health authorities say. Chief medical officer Professor Jim Bishop last week advised that seasonal flu shots for children younger than five years would continue to be suspended following a nine-fold increase in febrile convulsions. Earlier advice was to avoid the vaccine in children “aged five years and under”, but the slight change reflected the findings of a joint investigation by the TGA and the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation that the most severe adverse reactions were confined to under-fives, ...
Suspension of child flu vaccine extended
CSL has launched a voluntary recall of its remaining stock of paediatric influenza vaccine following this year’s nine-fold increase in post-vaccination febrile convulsions. Chief medical officer Jim Bishop announced yesterday that use of any trivalent seasonal vaccine in healthy children younger than five years old would remain suspended. An investigation found the rate of febrile convulsions in young children in the 24 hours after receiving Fluvax was about nine per 1000 doses whereas the expected rate was <1 per 1000 doses. “The alternative for both healthy children and those with risk factors is the swine flu ...
The flu vax fallout:Making sure you’re covered
MDOs are reminding practitioners of their reporting duties, and to ensure patients make informed decisions on seasonal flu vaccinations, following a number of serious adverse reactions.
Four out of five patients shun swine flu vaccine
FEWER than one in five adults received the swine flu vaccine last year, new figures show, and experts have warned this uptake must double in order to avoid a second wave of the virus this winter. Provisional national data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that among the most vulnerable adult age group (ages 18 to 64 years), uptake of the Government’s $100 million-plus H1N1 vaccine program was only 14 per cent. “There is certainly a possibility, if we don’t get enough people vaccinated, of having a second wave and filling up our intensive ...
New strains challenge pertussis vax
THE acellular pertussis vaccine may not be protective against two strains of the bacteria circulating in Australia, researchers say. Analysis of 200 stored samples of Bordetella pertussis showed significant genetic mutations had occurred over the past decade. Co-author Associate Professor Ruiting Lan, from the University of NSW school of biotechnology and biomolecular sciences, said the introduction of the acellular vaccine might have contributed to the changes. The whole cell vaccine – abandoned in 2000 – contained hundreds of antigens whereas the acellular vaccine contained only three to five, he said. Significant outbreaks of pertussis ...
Study backs one dose for kids' swine flu vax
A SINGLE dose of the Panvax Junior H1N1 vaccine could protect children from swine flu, Australian research suggests, a finding that could result in even more of the Government's vaccine supply not being used. Concerns have already been raised about underuse of the 21 million stockpiled doses of the vaccine purchased by the Federal Government on the basis that all paediatric patients would require two doses. Demand for the vaccine has proved lower than expected with around a quarter of the purchased doses administered, according to media reports. Now, the pediatric study, funded by the vaccine’s ...
Swine flu vax side-effects reported
THE rate of anaphylaxis following swine flu vaccination is within the expected range, a TGA review of adverse reactions has revealed. In its first report on adverse reactions since the national immunisation program began, the TGA said six reports of possible anaphylaxis had been received between 30 September and 29 October. On advice from the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee, the TGA concluded that only four of the cases were likely to have been associated with the vaccine. Overall, some 654 suspected side-effects were reported from a program in which 3.75 million doses had been distributed. ...
Trial success for HIV vaccine
The quest for an HIV vaccine has been fruitless for 25 years, but a recent trial may restore researchers’ optimism. Kate Woods reports. SWINE flu, or the H1N1 virus, was first identified in April this year. Highly contagious, the virus spread rapidly, and within a short time close to 30,000 cases were confirmed in 74 countries. In June, the WHO declared it was facing an influenza pandemic. It took Australian biopharmaceutical company CSL only weeks to start trialling a candidate vaccine to protect against H1N1, and by mid-September – five months after the virus ...
GPs face pressure test with swine flu vax rollout
GPs will be under pressure as Australia’s biggest mass vaccination campaign rolls out over the next three months, Health Minister Nicola Roxon has acknowledged. Practices may have to hold dedicated flu clinics to cope with the demand as five million doses of Panvax H1N1 are distributed in a bid to vaccinate a third of the population as fast as possible, GP spokesmen said. Another two million doses a month will be released by the manufacturer, CSL, up to January. “I think [the rollout] will put pressure on – significantly – on GPs,” Ms Roxon told journalists ...
Breakthrough in HIV vaccine development
THE quest for an HIV vaccine received a boost last week, with results from a US-Thai trial showing an investigational vaccine had decreased infections by 30%, a spokeswoman for the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM) said. ASHM vice-president Dr Edwina Wright, an infectious diseases specialist at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, said while 70% effectiveness would likely be needed for licensing, it was the best result from any candidate vaccine to date. In the randomised study of 16,000 HIV-negative young adults in Thailand, conducted over three years, 74 participants who received placebo became HIV infected compared to ...
Experts promote safety of swine flu vaccine
AUSTRALIA may face a second wave of pandemic swine flu due to travellers coming back from the Northern Hemisphere winter, health authorities warn. Chief medical officer Professor Jim Bishop urged GPs to start vaccinating vulnerable groups this week when the first batches of Panvax became available. “We may face a major out-of-season influenza outbreak due to importation of the virus back into Australia from infected travellers from the large number of new cases now expected in the Northern Hemisphere,” he said, adding that the virus might also mutate and become more virulent. Federal Health Minister Nicola ...
Insuring swine flu
MDOs have agreed to indemnify doctors giving the H1N1 vaccine, but is that the end of the story? Amanda Sheppeard finds out. JUST when the national rollout of a vaccine for H1N1 will begin is anyone’s guess, but most experts predict it will be sometime soon. With clinical human trials still underway, the Federal Government has indicated it may begin before full registration of the vaccine is received from the TGA. The vaccine is also expected to be supplied in multi-dose vials – a move that has sparked plenty of controversy and debate in ...
Free H1N1 vax approved for early rollout
GPs will be able to offer the swine flu vaccine free to all Australians and not just high-risk groups, health officials have decided. Today, the Therapeutic Goods Administration approved CSL's Panvax H1N1 vaccine in adults but is awaiting data before approving the vaccine in children younger than 10 years. Data indicate a single dose of the vaccine provides an acceptable immune response 8-10 days after vaccination in healthy adults. RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell told MO that guidelines for multi-dose vials had been signed off with rollout of the vaccination program expected to start from 30 September. ...
Trial shows single swine flu shot effective
ONLY one dose of swine flu vaccine will be needed in adults, paving the way for faster immunisation of Australians most at risk from the pandemic virus, experts say. Australian vaccine developer CSL has published the first data from its trial of 240 healthy adults, showing that a single standard dose of 15 µg of the new Panvax H1N1 vaccine, which does not contain an adjuvant, provided a “robust” immune response. The vaccine’s side-effect profile was reported to be similar to seasonal influenza vaccine. Professor Robert Booy, head of clinical research at the National Centre for ...
Swine flu vax may need signed consent
GPs will be required to obtain written consent from patients before administering the swine flu vaccine if the Government starts the vaccination program before the registration process is complete. Dr Greg Rowles, AGPN representative on the National Immunisation Committee, last week called for clarification on the issue following concerns that GP indemnity was in limbo with an unlicensed vaccine. Immunisation expert Dr Peter Eizenberg has also raised concerns that critical questions about the vaccine’s safety and handling are yet to be resolved. The indemnity issue appeared resolved this week after major insurers, including Avant, announced ...
Multi-dose vials to return for swine flu vax
GPs will have to return to the old days of vaccine administration when the Government’s new swine flu vaccine program is rolled out. The vaccine is expected to be delivered in multi-dose vials, requiring careful administration, storage and infection control procedures. “Multi-dose vials have not been used for a long time, and the college has identified this as an issue which needs to be addressed,” RACGP pandemic spokesman Dr Ron McCoy said. The college has developed draft guidelines on best practice infection control when drawing up vaccine from multi-dose vials. Failure to separate clean from ...
Frontline GPs deserve swine flu vaccine first
AS the morbidity and mortality rates for swine flu continue to mount, there has been some debate about who gets the first vaccines off the production line once the clinical trials phase has been analysed. Peak GP groups have been arguing that GPs should be among the first healthcare workers to get the vaccine. I may be missing something, but isn’t this a no-brainer? I, for one, hate being a patient. Some people appear to fall with seamless ease into the role of being looked after, but I am not one of them. And from what I ...
Production problems could delay swine flu vax supply
PRODUCTION of the H1N1 vaccine could be slower than anticipated, leading to shortfalls late in 2009 when mass vaccinations are expected to start. The vaccine manufacturer, CSL, has confirmed that it is battling to improve yield from the vaccine seed virus, forcing the company to explore alternative production options. A CSL spokeswoman said the yield was “about 50% of standard” but new techniques were being tried. “This is proving to be a real challenge,” she said. Professor Robert Booy, co-director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, said the supply of vaccine and ...
Spotlight on Australian swine flu vaccine trial
THE world is watching the first trial of a swine flu vaccine, which commenced last week in Adelaide. A total of 240 volunteers were vaccinated against the virus last week, with half given the standard dose of 15 mcg, and half given 30 mcg. The interim dose data results are expected to be available in September. A CSL spokeswoman said the Government was likely to base its future programs on the basis of the interim results. Also read: Pandemic precautions needed for pregnant GPs
Swine flu vaccine is still a long way off
A SWINE flu vaccine may still be many months away, despite the continuing rise in cases, Australia’s first fatalities and the growing threat to vulnerable Indigenous communities. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is not commenting on whether the vaccine will be fast-tracked, with the manufacturer’s scheduled trial program due to take six months to complete. While batches of the vaccine could be ready for use in August, little trial data will be available to the TGA by then, CSL spokeswoman Dr Rachel David said. “Given that currently the mortality from the H1N1 [flu] is not high, ...
Give high-risk patients flu vaccine for overseas travel
PREGNANT women and those at high risk of complications from influenza are being advised to be immunised against seasonal flu before travelling overseas. However, the department advises the degree of protection against H1N1 influenza 09 (swine flu) is not clear. The latest advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs urges the elderly, children younger than five years and people with chronic conditions to discuss the risks with their GP before deciding to travel overseas. There is currently no specific advice on whether Tamiflu should be prescribed, with the decision being left to the GP. As ...
World report – 8 May 2009
• MEDICAL SOAP OPERA RAISES FUNDS FOR BRAIN RESEARCH FANS of the TV medical drama Grey’s Anatomy are being offered the chance to contribute to neurological research via a clever tie-in between drama and reality. The upcoming wedding between lead characters Dr Meredith Grey and Dr Derek ‘McDreamy’ Shepherd is being used to raise money for the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Foundation. Viewers are able to buy the couple a gift of a virtual brain for $US5 ($7) through an online wedding registry, with the money going to the foundation’s research into a ...
National stats for rheumatic fever revealed
ABORIGINAL children are not the only Australians to contract acute rheumatic fever (ARF), surveillance shows. The first attempt to collect data nationally has identified eight Caucasian children among 69 confirmed cases of the disease, and demonstrated that cases were being treated in urban areas of NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Sara Noonan, acute rheumatic fever study coordinator at the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin, said the cases were found by asking more than 1300 child health specialists to report to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit. Only the Northern Territory and Queensland had ARF data ...
Maternal CMV vaccine shows promise in early research
A CANDIDATE cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine may confer a significant degree of protection against infection in women of childbearing age, research shows. A phase 2 trial in 460 US women found that half the number of those randomised to receive the vaccine developed CMV infection over the next 3.5 years compared to those given a placebo. In the trial, one congenital infection occurred in infants of women in the vaccine group and three occurred in infants from the placebo group. Adverse events were mainly mild, and were similar in both groups, researchers said. CMV can cause ...
HPV vaccine effective in males: study
YOUNG gay men should be vaccinated against HPV, a leading sexual health expert has advised in the wake of the first male efficacy data for the quadrivalent HPV vaccine. Professor Basil Donovan, from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and the Sydney Sexual Health Centre, said the trial in 4000 men aged 16 to 26 years suggested that the vaccine worked in men in a similar fashion to women to prevent cancer. “There had been a lingering doubt whether the vaccine would work as well in men as in women because of the type ...
World report – 31 October 2008
• UK GP SALARIES PLUMMET RISING practice costs have impacted on UK GP salaries, which fell on average in 2006-07 by 2.1% to £107,667 ($266,000) from the previous year, the BMJ reports. At the same time practice running costs increased by 3.5%, with average expenditure rising to £139,694 ($345,000) for the year. An analysis of tax returns by the NHS Information Centre showed average gross earnings of GPs employed under a general medical services or primary medical services contract increased by 1% to £247,362 ($610,000) in 2006-07. The British Medical Association’s General Practitioners ...
Intradermal flu vax promising
INTRADERMAL administration of the influenza vaccine in the elderly may produce superior immunogenicity compared with intramuscular injection, an Australian GP trial shows. A phase II study, using a new intradermal micro-injection needle with pre-filled syringe, suggested this could be the method of choice in the future, investigator Professor Robert Booy said. “With this system you can get reliable injection of product into the skin, and because the skin has highly reactive dendritic cells... they cause the production of higher levels of antibody than an injection given under the skin,” he said. The study, sponsored by Sanofi ...
World report - 8 August
• BRIT SANDWICHES SALT RICH PRE-PACKED sandwiches are loaded with salt and saturated fat, according to a UK study. Conducted by The Daily Mail and Channel 4, the study found Subway’s 12-inch Meatball Marinara contained 7.2 g of salt – the same salt content as 18 packs of chips. While Pret a Manger’s ‘Picnic cheddar, roast tomatoes and pickle bloomer’ sandwich contained 2.27 g of salt and 16.6 g of saturated fat, 80% more fat than in a Big Mac. The UK’s Foods Standards Agency recently called on the catering industry to revise ...
World report - 30 May
• HPV VAX TOO EXPENSIVE THE rollout of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in developing countries has been hindered by high costs. An editorial in The Lancet reported Merck’s HPV vaccine, Gardasil, was the most expensive childhood vaccine in the world, costing $375 for the three doses scheduled. Experts recently convened in Mexico City to discuss the obstacles affecting cervical cancer control in Latin America and the Caribbean. A report presented at the meeting estimated 70,000 women in the region would die of cervical cancer annually over the next 20 years. However, the ...
Cervarix may last for 20 years
RECIPIENTS of the bivalent HPV vaccine Cervarix may not need a booster within 20 years of their initial vaccination, according to its manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Mathematical modelling by GSK Biologicals, Belgium, suggested that HPV-16 and HPV-18 antibody levels would remain “several-fold” higher than those associated with natural infection for at least 20 years, a conference was told. Meanwhile, GSK has demonstrated actual measurement of antibodies in a cohort of 700 women showing they are sustained at high levels for at least 6.4 years after immunisation. The follow-up study of HPV-naive women aged 15-25 years represented the ...
Varicella vaccine useful after chickenpox exposure
VARICELLA vaccine is useful for post-exposure prophylaxis, particularly for children in the home of an infected person, Cochrane reviewers say. Professor Peter McIntyre and Dr Kristine Macartney, from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, Sydney, found three studies involving 100 children eligible for review. The small trials supported the use of the vaccine if given within three days, and even up to five days, finding that significantly fewer vaccine recipients (18%) developed varicella compared with placebo recipients (78%) after exposure to a sibling with the disease. When chickenpox did occur after post-exposure vaccination ...
Stopping zoster
A new herpes zoster vaccine offers GPs a weapon against a common, painful problem of old age. Rada Rouse reports. FOR the first time, science has given us the ability to prevent the eruption of a latent viral infection, herpes zoster – one that is harboured by most people in the community. This new herpes zoster vaccine presents a unique case for government funding, according to Sydney virologist and infectious diseases physician Professor Tony Cunningham. In a recent Clinical Update in The Medical Journal of Australia , Professor Cunningham, Westmead Millennium Institute director, ...
Vaccine injection angle revised in guidelines
IN a reversal of previous advice, experts now say intramuscular injection of vaccines should be given at a 90° angle rather than a 60° angle. Recommendations for altering needle angle and gauge were among a raft of changes in The Australian Immunisation Handbook , 9th edition, expected to be released this month. In a new resource, the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) said that, provided an injection angle of greater than 70° was achieved, the needle should reach the muscle layer. The 90° angle was recommended by the World Health Organization and US, ...