BACKGROUND/AIMS The aim of this study was to evaluate the seroconversion rate of a hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccination in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related chronic liver disease (CLD). METHODS Analyses were conducted using clinical records from 94 patients with chronic HBV infection who were seronegative for IgG anti-HAV antibodies between September 2008 and June 2009. Two doses o...

Supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) are important in achieving high levels of population immunity to measles virus. Using data from a 2006 survey of measles vaccination in Lusaka, Zambia, we developed a model to predict measles immunity following routine vaccination and SIAs, and absent natural infection. Projected population immunity was compared between the current programme and alte...

OBJECTIVES The implementation of a routine childhood varicella vaccination program in the United States in 1995 has resulted in a dramatic decline in varicella morbidity and mortality. Although disease incidence has decreased, outbreaks of varicella continue to be reported, increasingly in highly vaccinated populations. In 2000, a varicella vaccination requirement was introduced for kindergarte...

BACKGROUND Increasing the number of vaccine doses may potentially improve overall efficacy. Decision-makers need information about choosing the most efficient dose schedule to maximise the total health gain of a population when operating under a constrained budget. The objective of this study is to identify the most efficient vaccine dosing schedule within a fixed vaccination budget from a heal...

Despite significant global efforts to improve vaccination coverage against major childhood diseases, vaccination rates are below 90%. To eradicate diseases such as measles, however, vaccination rates close to 95% are needed. We use a randomized experiment to investigate the effect of a demand incentive, a conditional cash transfer program, in improving vaccination coverage in rural Nicaragua. D...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the cost-effectiveness of childhood vaccination against hepatitis A in the five geographic regions of Argentina, and to determine whether adding a second dose to the current one-dose schedule would provide health gains justifying its added cost. METHODS A Markov model was used to consider four immunization options for the 2005 birth cohort: (1) no vaccination; (2) va...

BACKGROUND In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics and U.S. Public Health Service recommended suspending the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine due to concerns about potential mercury exposure. A previous report found that overall national hepatitis B vaccination coverage rates decreased in association with the suspension. It is unknown whether this underimmunization occurred uniformly or wa...

measles is a highly contagious disease. by the end of 2013, 84% of children had received at least a single dose of measles vaccine by their second birthday, and 148 countries had included a second dose as part of routine immunization. in 2002, the iranian ministry of health and medical education developed a comprehensive strategy to eliminate measles including mass immunization campaign for peo...

The aim of the current study is to estimate the epidemiological and economical consequences of several extended pertussis booster vaccination strategies and to explore the impact of parameters surrounded by large uncertainty on the cost-effectiveness. We developed an age structured transmission dynamic model to evaluate the impact of programs targeting (i) adolescents or adults using a single b...