A murine respiratory challenge model was used to examine the induction of cellular and humoral immune responses and their role in protection against BordeteUla pertussis following immunization or previous infection. Spleen cells from mice convalescing from a B. pertussis infection exhibited extensive in vitro T-cell proliferation and secreted high levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2) and gamma interf...

AIM This report summarises Australian passive surveillance data for adverse events following immunisation in NSW for 2011. METHODS Analysis of de-identified information on all adverse events following immunisation reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration. RESULTS 449 adverse events following immunisation were reported for vaccines administered in 2011; this is slightly higher than i...

BACKGROUND Despite the extensive use of efficacious vaccines, pertussis still ranks among the major causes of childhood mortality worldwide. Two types of pertussis vaccines are currently available, whole-cell, and the more recent acellular vaccines. Because of reduced reactogenicity and comparable efficacy acellular vaccines progressively replace whole-cell vaccines. However, both types require...

Vaccine-preventable diseases contribute significantly to the morbidity and mortality of U.S. adults. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates its recommended adult immunization schedule annually. The most recent updates include the permissive but not routine use of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine to prevent genital ...

Despite the availability of a tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine in the United States since 2005, the vaccine remains underutilized and perhaps misunderstood by many physicians. Pertussis continues to be a major public health problem, with adults being the primary source of infectious transmission to unprotected infants. Consequently, the Centers f...

CONTEXT Increasing reports of pertussis among US adolescents, adults, and their infant contacts have stimulated vaccine development for older age groups. OBJECTIVE To assess the immunogenicity and reactogenicity of a tetanus-diphtheria 5-component (pertussis toxoid, filamentous hemagglutinin, pertactin, and fimbriae types 2 and 3) acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) in adolescents and adults. ...

Clinical isolates of the respiratory pathogen Bordetella pertussis in the United States have become predominantly deficient for the acellular vaccine immunogen pertactin through various independent mutations. Here, we report the complete genome sequences for four B. pertussis isolates that harbor novel deletions responsible for pertactin deficiency.

BACKGROUND We conducted a population-based, nation-wide, prospective study to identify who introduced pertussis into the household of infants aged 6 months admitted to the hospital for pertussis in the Netherlands. METHODS During the period 2006-2008, a total of 560 household contacts of 164 hospitalized infants were tested by polymerase chain reaction, culture, and serological examination to...

We study a time-dependent semiempirical method to determine excitation energies, TD-PM3. This semiempirical method allows large molecules to be treated. A Linear-response Chebyshev approach yields the TD-PM3 spectrum very efficiently. Spectra and excitation energies were tested by comparing it with the results obtained using TD-DFT (Time Dependent-Density Functional Theory), using both small an...

The number of vaccines available and included as part of the national immunization schedules, has increased significantly over the past few decades. This impacts on patient/parent compliance and creates a challenge for health care providers for implementation of schedules necessitating training and infrastructure improvements. Use of combination rather than component vaccines offers advantages ...