BACKGROUND In Italy one third of bacterial meningitis are caused by Neisseria meningitidis. In March 2005, the Regional Health Authority of Tuscany included the meningococcal serogroup C conjugate (MCC) vaccine in the recommended vaccination program with a schedule of three doses to all newborns at 3, 5 and 13 months of age (from 2008 amended to a single dose at 13 months) and a single catch-up...

CONTEXT A conjugate vaccine targeting 7 pneumococcal serotypes was licensed for young children in 2000. In contrast to the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine used in adults, the 7-valent conjugate vaccine affects pneumococcal carriage and transmission. Early after its introduction, incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease declined among older adults, a group at high risk for pneumococcal diseas...

The success of a non-live vaccine requires improved formulation and adjuvant selection to generate robust T cell immunity following immunization. Here, using protein linked to a TLR7/8 agonist (conjugate vaccine), we investigated the functional properties of vaccine formulation, the cytokines, and the DC subsets required to induce protective multifunctional T cell immunity in vivo. The conjugat...

BACKGROUND An important development in the field of adult pneumococcal vaccination since the last Consensus Statement, published by the Expert Panel of Central and Eastern Europe and Israel (the Region) in September 2012, was the licensure of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) for adults aged 50 years and older. DISCUSSION The Expert Panel has developed this Position Stateme...

BACKGROUND Several state and local U.S. governments are considering making varicella, hepatitis A, and/or pneumococcal conjugate vaccination conditions of day care or school entry. These requirements will likely be issued sequentially, because simultaneous mandates exacerbate budget constraints and complicate communication with parents and providers. Cost-effectiveness assessments should aid th...

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) causes many severe diseases, including epiglottitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis. In developed countries, the annual incidence of meningitis caused by bacteria is approximately 5-10 cases per population of 100,000. The Hib conjugate vaccine is considered protective and safe. Adjuvants, molecules that can enhance and/or regulate the fundamental immunogen...

Although rarely encountered, group B Streptococcus (GBS) types IV and VII have been isolated from infants and adults with invasive disease. This study was designed to determine the immunogenicity and efficacy in animals of conjugate vaccines prepared with GBS types IV and VII capsular polysaccharide (CPS). Despite the striking similarities in structure of these 2 carbohydrate antigens, high-tit...

The data show the percentage of children ‘fully immunised’ at 12 months, 24 months and 60 months, for 3-month birth cohorts of children assessed at the stated ages between 1 January and 31 March 2014 using ACIR data as at 30 June 2014. ‘Fully immunised’ refers to vaccines on the National Immunisation Program Schedule, but excludes rotavirus, varicella, and meningococcal C conjugate vaccines. ‘F...

The polysaccharide (PS) capsules of many pathogenic bacteria are poor immunogens in infants and young children as a result of the delayed response to PS antigens during ontogeny. The development of polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccines for Haemophilus influenzae type b, which have proven to be efficacious in this age group, has led to active development by a number of investigators of conju...