Author Interviews, BMJ, Infections, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 25.06.2014

Kay Wang Academic Clinical Lecturer Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences University of Oxford, Oxford, UKMedicalResearch.com: Interview with Kay Wang Academic Clinical Lecturer Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences University of Oxford, Oxford, UK MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Wang: We have found evidence of recent whooping cough infection in 1 in 5 school age children who see their doctor with a persistent cough and in 1 in 6 children who have been fully vaccinated against whooping cough.  We have also shown that whooping cough can still cause clinically significant cough in fully vaccinated children.
Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 09.05.2014

Tessa Schurink-van 't Klooster Epidemioloog Rijksvaccinatieprogramma Epidemiologie en Surveillance RIVM - Centrum Infectieziektebestrijding 3720 BA BilthovenMedicalResearch.com Interview with Tessa Schurink-van 't Klooster Epidemioloog Rijksvaccinatieprogramma Epidemiologie en Surveillance RIVM - Centrum Infectieziektebestrijding 3720 BA Bilthoven MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main finding of this study was that we observed no differences in mortality rate ratios for females compared to males related to the type of last offered vaccination in DTP- and MMR-eligible age groups.
Author Interviews, Infections, Kaiser Permanente, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 11.04.2014

Roger Paul Baxter, MD Co-Director Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center Oakland, CA 94612.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Roger Paul Baxter, MD Co-Director Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center Oakland, CA 94612. MedicalResearch.com What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Baxter:  Menveo, the currently licensed CRM-conjugate meningococcal vaccine, showed an excellent booster response in adolescents, regardless of which conjugate vaccine they had received previously.  Also, although titers from the priming dose waned, at 3 years there were still protective antibodies in the majority of immunized individuals.  The other US-licensed meningococcal conjugate vaccine, Menactra, uses a different protein conjugate.
Author Interviews, BMJ, HPV, Vaccine Studies / 18.03.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Rachel J Sacks Jefferiss Wing,  St Mary's Hospital Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background of this study? Dr. Sacks: 2247 anonymous questionnaires were completed by young women, aged 13-19 years old, attending sexual health services across England, looking at their HPV vaccination outcomes and prevalence of risk factors associated with HPV acquisition and cervical cancer development, and comparing the survey results with national data where available. Known HPV acquisition and cervical cancer development risk factors include cigarette smoking, early age at first intercourse, increasing number of lifetime partners, co-infection with other sexually transmitted infections. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study Dr. Sacks:
  •          Young women, aged 13  to 19 years old attending sexual health services across England had higher prevalence of known risk factors associated with HPV acquisition and cervical cancer development, compared with national data.
  •          Survey respondents had lower HPV vaccination offer and lower HPV vaccination completion rates than nationally.
  •          Subgroups within the survey respondents were identified as having a significantly lower offer and significantly lower completion rate of the HPV vaccination. These subgroups included respondents from London, those of non-white ethnicities, 17 to 19 year olds, smokers and those not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
  •          The highest risk individuals, in terms of HPV related risk factors, were the least likely to be offered and additional the least likely to complete the HPV vaccination course.
  •          Currently sexual health services in England are not involved in the delivery of the HPV vaccination programme and this is felt to be a huge missed opportunity for the primary prevention of HPV acquisition and its potential sequelae. Sexual health services should be included as a supplementary HPV vaccination delivery site in order to target these particularly vulnerable young women and to increase the success of the HPV vaccination programme in England.
Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA, Vaccine Studies / 25.02.2014

Signe Sørup, PhD Research Center for Vitamins and Vaccines (CVIVA) Bandim Health Project, Statens Serum Institut Artillerivej 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, DenmarkMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Signe Sørup, PhD Research Center for Vitamins and Vaccines (CVIVA) Bandim Health Project, Statens Serum Institut Artillerivej 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Sørup: We found that admissions with any type of infection was reduced with 14 % for Danish children having the live, attenuated vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) as the most recent vaccine compared with children having the inactivated vaccine against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, and Haemophilus Influenzae type b (DTaP-IPV-Hib) as the most recent vaccine. In Denmark herd immunity against measles, mumps, and rubella is high and only 26 of the more 42,000 admissions was related to measles, mumps, and rubella; so this finding cannot be explained by the specific protection against the targeted diseases. In Denmark MMR vaccination is recommended at 15 months of age, but only 50% of the children in the study had received MMR before 16 months of age. We estimated that one hospital admission between 16 and 24 months of age could be avoided for 201 children vaccinated with MMR before 16 months of age rather than later. These results are based on a retrospective cohort study including approximately half a million Danish children. The analyses are adjusted for age and a long range of background factors, including socio-economic factors.
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, NEJM, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 15.01.2014

W. Katherine Yih Ph.D., M.P.H Department of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care InstituteMedicalResearch.com Interview with: W. Katherine Yih Ph.D., M.P.H Department of Population Medicine Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Yih: The main findings are that vaccination with the first dose of RotaTeq is associated with a small increase in the risk of intussusception, which is concentrated in the first week after vaccination.  The estimated risk is about 1.5 excess cases per 100,000 first doses administered.  This risk is fairly small, amounting to roughly 1/10 of the risk seen after the original rotavirus vaccine (called Rotashield) that was used in 1998-1999, before it was withdrawn from the market. We also found evidence that Rotarix increases the risk of intussusception.  However, the number of infants receiving Rotarix and the number getting intussusception after Rotarix were too small to allow us to estimate the risk after Rotarix with any precision.
Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Infections, NEJM, Vaccine Studies / 15.01.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with Eric S. Weintraub, M.P.H. Epidemiologist at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Mr. Weintraub: While current rotavirus vaccines were not associated with intussusception in large pre-licensure trials, recent post-licensure data (from international settings) suggest the possibility of a low risk of intussusception occurrence after receipt of monovalent rotavirus vaccination (RV1).  We examined the risk of intussusception following RV1 vaccination in a U.S. population.  In this study of more than 200,000 doses of RV1, a slight increased risk of intussusception was observed after vaccination, which should be considered in light of the benefits of preventing rotavirus associated illness.
Author Interviews, Flu - Influenza, NEJM, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 15.12.2013

Ghassan Dbaibo, M.D., FAAP Professor and Vice-Chair for Research and Faculty Development Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Head, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Director, Center for Infectious Diseases Research Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics American University of Beirut Beirut, LebanonMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ghassan Dbaibo, M.D., FAAP Professor and Vice-Chair for Research and Faculty Development Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Head, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases Director, Center for Infectious Diseases Research Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Dbaibo:
  • 55% efficacy (95% CI 39–67%) for prevention of all influenza
  • These results are comparable with other estimates of efficacy and effectiveness for trivalent inactivated flu vaccines in this age group
  •  73% efficacy (97.5% CI 47–86%) for prevention of moderate-to-severe influenza
  • By preventing moderate-to-severe influenza, vaccination prevented the most clinically consequential outcomes of infection, reducing hospitalisations by 75% and medical visits by 69%.
  • Seroprotection rates of more than 95% for each of the four influenza strains in the vaccine
  • An acceptable safety and reactogenicity profile
Author Interviews, Lancet, Vaccine Studies / 01.11.2013

Dr Belén Pedrique Epidemiologist Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative DNDi, 15 Chemin Louis Dunant 1202 Geneva, Switzerland MedicalResearch.com Interview with : Dr Belén Pedrique Epidemiologist Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative DNDi, 15 Chemin Louis Dunant 1202 Geneva, Switzerland MedicalResearch.com : What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Pedrique: Of the 850 new drugs and vaccines approved for all diseases in 2000-2011, 4% (37) were for neglected diseases, defined broadly as those prevalent primarily in poor countries: malaria, tuberculosis, 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), 11 diarrheal diseases, and 19 other diseases of poverty, excluding HIV/AIDS. Globally these neglected diseases represent an 11% health burden, based on a recent assessment of 2010 disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Most newly developed therapeutic products were repurposed versions of existing drugs. Of the 336 brand-new drugs (new chemical entities, or NCEs) approved for all diseases in 2000-2011, only four, or 1%, were for neglected diseases; three were for malaria, and one for diarrheal disease. None were for any of the 17 WHO-listed NTDs Of 148,445 phase I-III clinical trials registered as of Dec 31, 2011, only 1% (2,016) were for neglected diseases.
Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies / 15.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar PhD, MD, MPH Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, Oakland, California University of Washington Department of Epidemiology Health Sciences Seattle, WA 98195Dr. Ali Rowhani-Rahbar PhD, MD, MPH Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, Oakland, California University of Washington Department of Epidemiology Health Sciences Seattle, WA 98195   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of your study? Answer: We found that the magnitude of increased risk of fever and seizures following immunization with the first dose of measles-containing vaccines during the second year of life depends on age.  Specifically, the risk of seizures attributable to the vaccine during the 7 to 10 days following vaccination was significantly greater among children 16-23 months of age (9.5 excess cases per 10,000 doses) than among children 12-15 months of age (4.0 excess cases per 10,000 doses).
Author Interviews, HPV, Vaccine Studies / 12.10.2013

Lisen Arnheim Dahlström, Associate Professor (Docent) Institutionen för medicinsk epidemiologi och biostatistik Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet 171 77 Stockholm, SwedenMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lisen Arnheim Dahlström, Associate Professor (Docent) Institutionen för medicinsk epidemiologi och biostatistik Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Karolinska Institutet 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: This is a Swedish/Danish population-based study comparing serious disease outcomes in girls immunized with the quadrivalent HPV vaccine against the unvaccinated population. The main finding of this study was that none of the 53 outcomes included in the study were more common in the vaccinated population compared to the non-vaccinated population.
Author Interviews, Infections, Lancet, Vaccine Studies / 31.05.2013

MedicalResearch.com eInterview with: Fengcai Zhu Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Jiangsu provincial center for disease prevention and control

Fengcai Zhu

Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Jiangsu provincial center for disease prevention and control

MedicalResearch.com Editor's Note: HFMD = Hand Foot and Mouth Disease Hand Foot and Mouth Disease

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: From this trial, the inactivated alum-adjuvant EV71 vaccine showed a good protection for both the EV71-associated HFMD and EV71-associated disease. The vaccine gave 90% protection against clinical EV71-associated HFMD and 80.4% against EV71-associated disease (including neurological complications) for at least 12 months. The safety profile and immunogenicity of this vaccine is proved to be clinical acceptable. We also proposed a titre (1:32) of neutralization antibody as surrogate of protection against EV71-associated disease.