Table of Contents

Volume 6, Issue 5

  May 2010

  Pages 367 - 427

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 Issue Catalogue (MARC XML)

EDITOR'S CORNER

Open Access Article

Letter from the Editor

Ronald W. Ellis and Eva Riedmann
Page 367
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12210
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NEWS & POLICY

Open Access Article

Court finds no Vaccines-autism link

Eva Riedmann
Pages 368 - 372
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12211
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Open Access Article

EU approves Novartis Menveo®

Eva Riedmann
Pages 368 - 372
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12212
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Open Access Article

Vaccination beats back viral hepatitis

Eva Riedmann
Pages 368 - 372
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12213
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Open Access Article

FDA Fast Track status for IMVAMUNE

Eva Riedmann
Pages 368 - 372
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12214
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Open Access Article

Longer needles for obese vaccinees

Eva Riedmann
Pages 368 - 372
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12215
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Open Access Article

Species neutral correlates of immunogenicity for vaccines and protein therapeutics: Fact or Science Fiction

Anne S. De Groot, Matthew Baker and Tobias Cohen
Pages 368 - 372
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12217
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ACCESS GRANTED

Open Access Article

Q&A: C-PET Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies

Nigel M. de S. Cameron and Kyle Funk
Page 373
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12218
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PORTRAIT OF A LEADING VACCINOLOGIST

Open Access Article

Evidence versus expert opinion in vaccination practice

Ian F. Cook
Pages 374 - 376
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.12002
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BOOK REVIEW

Open Access Article

Review of Bioinformatics for Vaccinology by Darren R. Flower, Ph.D.

Annie De Groot
Pages 377 - 378
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.11024
Abstract | PDF

This book is unlike any other tome that might have the same words - "bioinformatics" and "Vaccine" in its title or subtitle. Unlike those other books, which are usually compendia of chapters penned by different authors and compiled into one volume, this book was written from start to finish by one extremely dedicated and erudite individual. The author has done an excellent job of covering the many topics that fall under the umbrella of computational biology for vaccine design, demonstrating an admirable command of subject matter in fields as disparate as object-oriented databases and regulation of T cell response. Simply put, it has just the right breadth and depth, and it reads well. In fact, readability is one of its virtues - making the book enticing and useful, all at once.




REVIEWS

Open Access Article

Recent advances in the field of Salmonella Typhi vaccines

Gavin K. Paterson and Duncan J. Maskell
Pages 379 - 384
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.10755
Abstract | PDF

Typhoid fever, caused by the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, remains a significant cause of human death and disease throughout large areas of the world. Although there are currently three vaccines available against S. Typhi they have a number of significant drawbacks which drive the development of much-needed new and improved versions. Here recent advances towards such vaccines, from basic research to human trials, are discussed.

Open Access Article

Rabies in South Africa and the FIFA Soccer World Cup: Travelers’ awareness for an endemic but neglected disease

Claudius Malerczyk, Louis Nel, Dieter Gniel and Lucille Blumberg
Pages 385 - 389
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.11713
Abstract | PDF

Rabies is endemic on every continent except Antarctica and is also considered to be a significant health problem in Africa, including South Africa. With the upcoming FIFA Soccer World Cup to be held in 2010 in cities throughout South Africa, this review depicts the rabies situation in South Africa and discusses what travelers visiting the games should know about rabies and rabies prophylaxis before or after an exposure to a potential rabid animal occurs.




RESEARCH PAPERS

Open Access Article

Biophysical characterization of rotavirus serotypes G1, G3, and G4

Reza Esfandiary, Luisa Yee, Satoshi Ohtake, Russell A. Martin, Vu L. Truong-Le, David Lechuga-Ballesteros, David D. Moore, Sangeeta B. Joshi and C. Russell Middaugh
Pages 390 - 398
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.10963
Abstract | PDF

The stability of attenuated virus vaccines has traditionally been assessed by a plaque assay to measure the virus’s loss of replication competency in response to a variety of environmental perturbations. Although this method provides information regarding the impact of the vaccine formulation, it involves an empirical approach to evaluate stability. Biophysical studies on the other hand have the potential to provide insight into the mechanisms of inactivation of a viral vaccine in response to a variety of stressed conditions. Herein, we have employed a variety of spectroscopic techniques (i.e., circular dichroism, fluorescence spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering) for a comprehensive examination of the thermal stability of three live-attenuated human-bovine reassortant rotavirus strains (G1, G3, and G4) in the 5-8 pH range. The spectroscopic methods employed are not specific and response changes reflect an average change over the entire virus structure. The present work, however, suggests the utility of these methods in early formulation of rotaviral vaccines due to their ability to identify regions of marginal stability over which high throughput excipient screening assays can be designed. We have further shown that these methods are sufficiently sensitive to differentiate the stability of the three homologous G-subtypes differing only in the composition of their surface antigenic proteins. The data from these spectroscopic methods are also compared to biological activity using a tissue culture viral infectivity assay. Partial correlation between the structural alterations and losses in activity are observed, further suggesting the utility of biophysical studies in early formulation studies of rotavirus vaccines.

Open Access Article

Surveillance to estimate the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children aged less than 3 years attending day care centers in Paris, France

Emmanuel Grimprel, Antoine Garbarg-Chenon, Jean-Yves Pirçon, Desmond Curran, Montse Soriano-Gabarró and Nadia Meyer
Pages 399 - 406
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.11021
Abstract | PDF

Between December 2006–May 2007, 371 children aged <3 years attending 15 day care centers (DCCs) in Paris, France were actively followed for acute gastroenteritis (GE; diarrhea [≥3 loose stools/24 hours with or without vomiting] for <14 days) and outbreaks of acute GE (≥3 cases in a DCC with onset within 11 days). Demographic, clinical and cost-related information was collected for all acute GE episodes. All children with acute GE and all participating attendees at affected DCCs during an outbreak (irrespective of symptoms) provided stool samples for rotavirus (RV) testing (RotaStrip™). RV-positive samples were typed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Overall incidence of RVGE among DCC attendees <3 years was 46.7 cases/100,000 person-days (95% CI: 26.7, 75.8) and was highest among children aged 5–11 months (139.2 cases/100,000 person-days [95% CI: 60.1, 274.2]). 16/69 (23.2%) GE episodes were RV-positive by PCR, with 50% of RV-positive episodes occurring in children aged <1 year. G1P[8] was the most common RV type (12/16). Over half of the RVGE episodes that could be evaluated scored severe on the Vesikari scale and most RVGE episodes resulted in parents/guardians accessing health care services. We found 10 children with RVGE to be the likely origin of outbreaks in 3 DCCs, in which 5/10 (50.0%), 6/21 (28.6%) and 7/23 (30.4%) children tested RV-positive. 1 in 25 DCC attendees exposed to RVGE developed RVGE and 1 in 9 contracted asymptomatic RV infection. RV-positive episodes had higher mean total costs than RV-negative episodes (€484.00 versus €182.80, respectively). Results highlight the ease with which RV can spread in a day care setting and the resulting burden on DCC attendees and their families. The introduction of new RV vaccines into national immunization programs should help prevent similar outbreaks and protect DCC attendees.

Open Access Article

Molecular and structural characterization of the L1 virus-like particles that are used as vaccine antigens in Cervarix™, the AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16 and -18 cervical cancer vaccine

Michel Deschuyteneer, Abdelatif Elouahabi, Dominique Plainchamp, Michel Plisnier, Dominique Soete, Yvon Corazza, Laurence Lockman, Sandra Giannini and Marguerite Deschamps
Pages 407 - 419
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.11023
Abstract | PDF

Cervarix™ is a prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV)-16/18 vaccine developed for the prevention of cervical cancer. The vaccine antigens are HPV-16 and HPV-18 L1 virus-like particles (VLPs) made from baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS)-produced HPV-16 and HPV-18 L1 proteins, respectively. In this study, we demonstrate that truncation of the nuclear/DNA binding signals at the C-terminus of the HPV-16 and HPV-18 L1 proteins prevented intra-nuclear formation of the VLPs in the host cells and led to cytoplasmic localization of the L1 proteins as shown by in situ immunogold detection and electron microscopy. Following purification, these L1 proteins were able to form VLPs. The characteristics of these HPV-16 and HPV-18 L1 VLPs were studied using various physicochemical and immunological techniques. Amino acid analysis, SDS-PAGE and western blotting demonstrated the high purity of the L1 proteins and batch-to-batch consistency. The structure of the VLPs was shown to be similar to that reported for the native virions, as evaluated by microscopic observations, protein tomography and disc centrifugation experiments. The presence of important conformation-dependent neutralizing epitopes, such as U4, V5 and J4, was confirmed by ELISA and surface plasmon resonance. Structural robustness and consistency among batches was also observed by differential scanning calorimetry and electron microscopy. Moreover, adsorption to aluminum was shown not to impair VLP structure. In conclusion, the BEVS-produced HPV-16 and HPV-18 L1 VLPs display key structural and immunological features, which contribute to the efficacy of Cervarix™ vaccination.

Open Access Article

Referrals to a pediatric immunization service: Findings from a practice-based audit of a UK specialist immunization clinic

David N. Baxter, Sam Ghebrehewet and Michelle Falconer
Pages 420 - 424
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.11234
Abstract | PDF

Against a background of new developments and updated clinical guidelines, health care professionals (HCPs) administering childhood and adolescent immunizations require access to expert advice and support when appropriate. The clinical records of all pediatric referrals seen at a UK-based facility - the Stockport Specialist Immunisation Clinic (SSIC) - between 01/10/2006 and 31/03/2007 were reviewed to determine the stated reason(s) for referral to a specialist immunization service and the outcome of that process. During the 6 month audit period, 430 case notes were identified and 410 (95%) were audited. Reasons for referral were primarily due to the medical condition of the child [118/410 (29%)], the child having experienced a previous vaccine adverse event [86/410 (21%)], or preterm birth of the child [86/410 (21%)]. The majority of referrals were from primary care [234/410 (57%)]. A total of 351 (85.6%) cases were categorised as appropriate referrals and 36 (11.6%) and 23 (5.6%) were categorised as inappropriate and equivocal, respectively. Four hundred and eight children completed a primary programme; for two children the parents declined the advice offered. National data show that a small number of children remain susceptible to vaccine preventable diseases because they fail to access or complete immunization programs through their General Practitioner (GP) and this may be in part because the HCP is unsure about vaccine indications/ contra-indications. Clearly a number of referring HCPs in this audit had some level of uncertainty when immunizing children with a pre-existing medical condition or a previous history of vaccine associated AEFI in the child/ family, and this may be indicative of a more general problem among HCPs. A consistent approach to providing expert advice and support to primary care professionals in the UK would therefore be expected to make a significant impact on the immunization service by building confidence for parents/ guardian, professionals and organisations involved in delivering it. The authors recommend a dedicated specialist immunization clinical service be considered as one approach to achieving this.




COMMENTARY

Open Access Article

Rotavirus vaccines for global use: What are the remaining issues and challenges?

Baoming Jiang, Manish Patel and Umesh Parashar
Pages 425 - 427
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.6.5.11180
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