A two-dose regimen of 90 mug of subvirion influenza A (H5N1) vaccine does not cause severe side effects and, in the majority of recipients, generates neutralizing antibody responses typically associated with protection against influenza. A conventional subvirion H5 influenza vaccine may be effective in preventing influenza A (H5N1) disease in humans. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00115986.).

A live attenuated, cold-adapted influenzavirus vaccine was safe, immunogenic, and effective against influenza A(H3N2) and B in healthy children.

No abstract

The authors conducted a 2-year, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy field trial of live, attenuated, cold-adapted, trivalent influenza vaccine administered by nasal spray to children 15-71 months old. Overall, vaccine was 92% efficacious at preventing culture-confirmed infection by influenza A/H3N2 and influenza B. Because influenza A/H1N1 did not cause disease during the years in which this study was conducted, the authors sought to determine vaccine efficacy and correlates of immune protection against experimental challenge with 107 TCID50 of attenuated H1N1 (vaccine strain) by intranasal spray. Prechallenge assessments included serum hemaglutination-inhibiting (HAI) antibody and nasal wash IgA antibody to H1N1. Vaccine was 83% efficacious (95% confidence interval, 60%-93%) at preventing shedding of H1N1 virus after challenge. Any serum HAI antibody or any nasal wash IgA antibody was correlated with significant protection from H1N1 infection as indicated by vaccine-virus shedding, and high efficacy against H1N1 challenge was demonstrated.

No abstract

Background Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes chronic liver disease that often leads to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In animal studies, chimpanzees were protected against chronic infection following experimental challenge with either homologous or heterologous HCV genotype 1a strains which predominates in the USA and Canada. We describe a first in humans clinical trial of this prophylactic HCV vaccine. Methods HCV E1E2 adjuvanted with MF59C.1 (an oil-in-water emulsion) was given at 3 different dosages on day 0 and weeks 4, 24 and 48 in a phase 1, placebo-controlled, dose escalation trial to healthy HCV-negative adults. Results There was no significant difference in the proportion of subjects reporting adverse events across the groups. Following vaccination subjects developed antibodies detectable by ELISA, CD81 neutralization and VSV/HCV pseudotype neutralization. There was no significant difference between vaccine groups in the number of responders and geometric mean titers for each of the three assays. All subjects developed lymphocyte proliferation responses to E1E2 and an inverse response to increasing amounts of antigen was noted. Conclusions The vaccine was safe and generally well tolerated at each of the 3 dosage levels and induced anti-body and lymphoproliferative responses. A larger study to further evaluate safety and immunogenicity is warranted.

NCT00618605.

When given by a bifurcated needle, vaccinia virus vaccine can be diluted to a titer as low as 10(7.0) pfu per milliliter (approximately 10,000 pfu per dose) and induce local viral replication and vesicle formation in more than 97 percent of persons.