PMID: 

Lancet Infect Dis. 2018 10 ;18(10):1060-1061. PMID: 30303095

Abstract Title: 

Measles: is a new vaccine approach needed?

Abstract: 

[n/a]

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PMID: 

Vaccine. 2018 04 19 ;36(17):2300-2306. Epub 2018 Mar 22. PMID: 29576304

Abstract Title: 

A phase III, open-label, randomised multicentre study to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of a booster dose of two different reduced antigen diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-polio vaccines

Abstract: 

AIM: To evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of a reduced antigen diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-inactivated poliovirus (dTap-IPV) vaccine (Boostrix-IPV, GSK) as a pre-school booster in 3-4 year old children as compared to dTap-IPV(Repevax, Sanofi Pasteur), when co-administered with mumps-measles-rubella vaccine (MMRV).METHODS: This phase III, open label, randomised study was conducted in the UK between April 2011 and April 2012. Children due their pre-school dTap-IPV booster vaccination were randomised 2:1 to receive one of two different dTap-IPV vaccines (dTap-IPVor dTap-IPV) with blood sample for immunogenicity assessment just prior and one month after vaccination. Immune responses to diphtheria, tetanus and polio antigens were compared between the study vaccines (inferential comparison). In the absence of an accepted pertussis correlate of protection, the immunogenicity of dTap-IPVvaccine against pertussis was compared with historical pertussis efficacy data (inferential comparison). Safety and reactogenicity of both study vaccines were evaluated.RESULTS: 387 children were randomised and 385 vaccinated: 255 in the dTap-IPVgroup and 130 in the dTap-IPVgroup. Prior to vaccination,≥76.8% of children had anti-diphtheria and ≥65.5% had anti-tetanus titres above the protection threshold; for pertussis, the pre-vaccination seropositivity rate ranged between 18.1 and 70.6%. Both vaccines were immunogenic with 99.2-100% of children achieving titres above the pre-specified seroprotection/seropositivity thresholds. One serious adverse event not considered as causally related to the study vaccination by the study investigator was reported in the dTap-IPVgroup.CONCLUSION: Non-inferiority of dTap-IPVto dTap-IPVwas demonstrated. Both vaccines had a clinically acceptable safety and reactogenicity profile when co-administered with MMRV to children 3-4 years old.TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01245049 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

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PMID: 

Am J Epidemiol. 2018 09 1 ;187(9):2002-2010. PMID: 29635277

Abstract Title: 

Impact of Public Health Responses During a Measles Outbreak in an Amish Community in Ohio: Modeling the Dynamics of Transmission.

Abstract: 

We quantified measles transmissibility during a measles outbreak in Ohio in 2014 to evaluate the impact of public health responses. Case incidence and the serial interval (time between symptom onset in primary cases and secondary cases) were used to assess trends in the effective reproduction number R (the average number of secondary cases generated per case). A mathematical model was parameterized using early R values to determine the size and duration of the outbreak that would have occurred if containment measures had not been initiated, as well as the impact of vaccination. As containment started, we found a 4-fold decline in R (from approximately 4 to 1) over the course of 2 weeks and maintenance of R

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PMID: 

Vaccine. 2018 03 7 ;36(11):1330-1344. PMID: 29422369

Abstract Title: 

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee at 30: Impact and opportunity.

Abstract: 

Thirty years after passage of legislation that created the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC)"to achieve optimal prevention of human infectious diseases through immunization and to achieve optimal prevention against adverse reactions to vaccines,"this review reflects NVAC's role and impact on the U.S. vaccine and immunization enterprise as an external advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services. We reviewed the history of NVAC in the context of the principles of its establishment, with a focus on its reports and recommendations. We performed a systematic literature review to identify NVAC reports published in widely-accessible public health journals, and we reviewed the available archives to identify other reports and resolutions approved by the committee not published in journals. We characterized key issues considered by NVAC according to the five goals of the 2010 National Vaccine Plan. The predominance of NVAC activities to date related to the implementation of immunization across the lifespan and the many aspects of the system needed to foster the goal of full immunization. Reflecting on the impacts of NVAC to date, this review identified 30 NVAC approved reports published in journals, 22 stand-alone resolutions, and 26 unique unpublished reports. The development of new and improved vaccines continues to represent a significant priority for NVAC, and we identified several challenges related to future vaccine innovation. Given the many factors that impact on policy changes in the vaccine and immunization enterprise, we encountered challenges associated with demonstrating attribution of specific policy changes to NVAC recommendations. Although difficult to quantify, this review suggests that NVAC played an important role in the improvements in the U.S. immunization enterprise over the past 30 years and that NVAC can and will continue to play an important role supporting U.S. immunization going forward.

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PMID: 

J Infect Dis. 2018 01 30 ;217(4):560-566. PMID: 29253144

Abstract Title: 

Polymorphisms in the Wilms Tumor Gene Are Associated With Interindividual Variations in Rubella Virus-Specific Cellular Immunity After Measles-Mumps-Rubella II Vaccination.

Abstract: 

Rubella vaccination induces widely variable immune responses in vaccine recipients. While rubella vaccination is effective at inducing immunity to rubella infection in most subjects, up to 5% of individuals do not achieve or maintain long-term protective immunity. To expand upon our previous work identifying genetic polymorphisms that are associated with these interindividual differences in humoral immunity to rubella virus, we performed a genome-wide association study in a large cohort of 1843 subjects to discover single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with rubella virus-specific cellular immune responses. We identified SNPs in the Wilms tumor protein gene (WT1) that were significantly associated (P

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PMID: 

Vaccine. 2017 12 19 ;35(52):7309-7311. Epub 2017 Nov 8. PMID: 29128384

Abstract Title: 

Adverse effects of single-component measles vaccine in school children.

Abstract: 

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection potentially with serious complications and the principal method of protection from the disease is vaccination. Measles vaccination resulted in a 79% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2015 worldwide. There has long been a debate about the necessity and benefit-loss ratio of routine MMR vaccination due to possible AE of MMR vaccine. Especially in developed countries which are thought to be free of measles there is an increasing tendency towards hesitation for vaccination though there have been continued outbreaks of measles in countries in which measles is considered to be eliminated. Considering those facts, we decided to publish our data about measles vaccination and adverse effects (AE) during national catch-up measles vaccination programme which took place December 8-26, 2003. A total of 152.648 children aged between seven and fourteen were vaccinated by a live attenuated measles vaccine of which 148.064 (97%) had received measles vaccine by age nine or twelve months. During one month follow-up the AE were recorded. Totally 30.302 AE were reported in 24.209 children, of which 52% of them were local and pain and swelling at injection side were the most common AE. Fever and headache were the most commonly observed systemic side effects. All AE were mild and transient except in four children in whom encephalitis was diagnosed during the one month observation period. Further investigation of the etiology of those cases revealed that they were not related to measles or measles vaccine. In conclusion, single-component measles vaccine was found to be safe in previously MMR vaccinated children in short term and long term effects may be need to be clarified by further studies.

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PMID: 

Emerg Infect Dis. 2017 07 ;23(7):1063-1069. PMID: 28628461

Abstract Title: 

Measles Outbreak with Unique Virus Genotyping, Ontario, Canada, 2015.

Abstract: 

The province of Ontario continues to experience measles virus transmissions despite the elimination of measles in Canada. We describe an unusual outbreak of measles in Ontario, Canada, in early 2015 that involved cases with a unique strain of virus and no known association among primary case-patients. A total of 18 cases of measles were reported from 4 public health units during the outbreak period (January 25-March 23, 2015); none of these cases occurred in persons who had recently traveled. Despite enhancements to case-patient interview methods and epidemiologic analyses, a source patient was not identified. However, the molecular epidemiologic analysis, which included extended sequencing, strongly suggested that all cases derived from a single importation of measles virus genotype D4. The use of timely genotype sequencing, rigorous epidemiologic investigation, and a better understanding of the gaps in surveillance are needed to maintain Ontario's measles elimination status.

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PMID: 

Vaccine. 2017 07 24 ;35(33):4126-4132. Epub 2017 Jun 29. PMID: 28669617

Abstract Title: 

An increasing, potentially measles-susceptible population over time after vaccination in Korea.

Abstract: 

BACKGROUND: In Korea, measles occurs mainly in infants

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PMID: 

Clin Infect Dis. 2017 10 1 ;65(7):1094-1102. PMID: 28595358

Abstract Title: 

Reduced Antibody Response to Infant Measles Vaccination: Effects Based on Type and Timing of the First Vaccine Dose Persist After the Second Dose.

Abstract: 

Background: The effect of age at first dose on the immunogenicity of a 2-dose pediatric schedule of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine was assessed in children born to mostly vaccinated mothers.Methods: Immunogenicity data among children given their first measles vaccine dose between 11 and 22 months of age were pooled from 5 randomized controlled trials conducted in Europe and the United States between 2004 and 2010. Measles antibody titers were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before and after each dose; geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) and the proportion seronegative (GMC

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PMID: 

Vaccine. 2017 03 23 ;35(13):1721-1728. Epub 2017 Feb 27. PMID: 28256359

Abstract Title: 

Measles epidemic in Brazil in the post-elimination period: Coordinated response and containment strategies.

Abstract: 

The measles virus circulation was halted in Brazil in 2001 and the country has a routine vaccination coverage against measles, mumps and rubella higher than 95%. In Ceará, the last confirmed case was in 1999. This article describes the strategies adopted and the effectiveness of surveillance and control measures implemented during a measles epidemic in the post-elimination period. The epidemic started in December 2013 and lasted 20 months, reaching 38 cities and 1,052 confirmed cases. The D8 genotype was identified. More than 50,000 samples were tested for measles and 86.4% of the confirmed cases had a laboratory diagnosis. The beginning of an campaign vaccination was delayed in part by the availability of vaccine. The classic control measures were not enough to control the epidemic. The creation of a committee of experts, the agreement signed between managers of the three spheres of government, the conducting of an institutional active search of suspected cases, vaccination door to door at alternative times, the use of micro planning, a broad advertising campaign at local media and technical operative support contributed to containing the epidemic. It is important to recognize the possibility of epidemics at this stage of post-elimination and prepare a sensitive surveillance system for timely response.

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