Adverse effects and sero-responses to an acellular pertussis/diphtheria/tetanus vaccine when combined with Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine in an accelerated schedule

Abstract

The acellular combination vaccine was immunogenic for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis components and was associated with low rates of fever following immunisation.

Xenotransplantation

“…His evidence for this potential with respect to clinical trials of xenotransplantation is attributed to a study that does not support his fears. 2 This study further validates other findings that persistent porcine endogenous retrovirus infection has not been detected in recipients of xenotransplants. The 30 (of a total of 160) patients that Fano refers to as testing positive for persistent porcine endogenous retrovirus evidenced microchimerism (the remaining presence of pig cells in their bodies), not persistent porcine endogenous retrovirus infection.…”

“…As Vanderpool notes, 1 pig DNA contains endogenous retroviruses (the same class that causes AIDS), and these infect human tissue culture cells. 2 Vanderpool doesn't mention that postmortem analyses of two patients who died 70 and 27 days after receiving baboon livers showed two simian viruses that replicated after transplantation. 3 Our state of knowledge is far too incomplete for us to breed totally virus-free animals, because we probably don't even know all the viruses that need to be eliminated.…”

“…Students should practise this early during their medical education in order to learn good hand washing practice. 2 During home visits patients can help by reminding the doctor or offering him or her the opportunity for hand washing after the examination. 3 Alcohol gel can be used as a good alternative to decontaminate the hands after a home visit.…”

“…1 One group of new arrivals in which such communicable diseases are an issue are refugees and asylum seekers. 2 These people may have arrived from areas of war or famine, where medical systems have broken down, and may be incompletely immunised. Last year thousands of people arrived from tuberculosis hotspots at port health units (mainly Gatwick and Heathrow airports) claiming political asylum.…”

“…1 This is considerably higher than in previous studies, where rates vary from 19% to 29.4%. [2][3][4] This discordance can be explained by considering the indications for gastrostomy insertion. This feeding method is used in five broad categories of patientscerebrovascular disease, neurodegenerative conditions, malignancy (primarily oropharyngeal or oesophageal), dementia with anorexia, and head injuries.…”