INTRODUCTION A novel A/H1N1 virus is the cause of the present influenza pandemic; vaccination is a key countermeasure, however, few data assessing prior seasonal vaccine effectiveness (VE) against the pandemic strain of H1N1 (pH1N1) virus are available. MATERIALS AND METHODS Surveillance of influenza-related medical encounter data of active duty military service members stationed in the Unite...

The objective of this study was to compare immune responses induced in BALB/c mice following immunization with pcDNA-GPV-VP2 DNA by gene gun bombardment (6 μg) or by intramuscular (im) injection (100 μg) with the responses to live attenuated vaccine by im injection (100 μl). pcDNA3.1 (+) and physiological saline were used as controls. Peripheral blood samples were collected at 3, 7, 14, 21, 28,...

BACKGROUND Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes outbreaks of chikungunya fever worldwide and represents an emerging pandemic threat. Vaccine development against CHIKV has proved challenging. Currently there is no approved vaccine or specific therapy for the disease. METHODS To develop novel experimental CHIKV vaccine, we used novel immunization DNA (iDNA) infectious clone technology, which combin...

BACKGROUND The labile nature of live, attenuated varicella-zoster virus (Oka/Merck) requires robust stabilization during virus bulk preparation and vaccine manufacturing in order to preserve potency through storage and administration. One stabilizing ingredient used in a varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccine is hydrolyzed porcine gelatin which represents the major protein/peptide-based excipient...

Seasonal influenza is an important public health and medical challenge. Vaccination against influenza is recognized worldwide as the main strategy for prevention and control. The findings of meta-analyses, however, suggest that efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccines, both in people aged 65 years or older [1] and in children, are lower than believed [2]. These findings were recently co...

BACKGROUND Leptospira species cause leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease found worldwide. Current vaccines against leptospirosis provide protection only against closely related serovars. METHODS We evaluated an attenuated transposon mutant of Leptospira interrogans serovar Manilae (M1352, defective in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis) as a live vaccine against leptospirosis. Hamsters received a s...

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Results of experiments evaluating the efficacy of three immunization strategies for the prevention of West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis are reported. Immunization strategies evaluated included a killed virus veterinary vaccine, a live attenuated chimeric virus vaccine candidate, and passive immunization with WNV-immune serum; all were tested by using a hamster model of the disease. Each produc...

Leishmaniasis is a protozoan parasitic disease endemic to the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with three major clinical forms, self-healing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL), and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Drug treatments are expensive and often result in the development of drug resistance. No vaccine is available against leishmaniasis. Subunit Lei...

Due to a combination of favourable factors promoting the population growth and geographical spread of the Aedes mosquito vector of dengue, the incidence of this rapidly emerging tropical infectious disease has increased over 30-fold in less than half a century. Today, there are around 100 million reported clinical cases each year. Co-circulation of multiple serotypes of the dengue virus causes ...