Due to the omnipresent risk of epidemics, insect societies have evolved sophisticated disease defences at the individual and colony level. An intriguing yet little understood phenomenon is that social contact to pathogen-exposed individuals reduces susceptibility of previously naive nestmates to this pathogen. We tested whether such social immunisation in Lasius ants against the entomopathogeni...

INTRODUCTION We undertook a study to evaluate the effectiveness of the National Childhood Immunisation Programme (NCIP) over the past 26 years by reviewing the epidemiological trends of the diseases protected, the immunisation coverage and the changing herd immunity of the population during the period of 1982 to 2007. MATERIALS AND METHODS The epidemiological data of all cases of diphtheria, ...

Immunisation registers are regarded as an appropriate solution to measure vaccination coverage on a population level. In Germany, a decentralised healthcare system and data protection regulations constrain such an approach. Moreover, shared responsibilities in the process of immunisation and multiple providers form the framework for public health interventions on vaccination issues. On the nati...

BACKGROUND Childhood immunisation is recognised worldwide as an essential component of health systems and an indispensable indicator of quality of care for vaccine-preventable diseases. While performance of immunisation programmes is more commonly measured by coverage, ensuring that every child is immunised at the earliest/appropriate age is an important public health goal. This study therefore...

Immunisation, Vaccines and Emergencies Unit, World Health Organisation, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State Field Office, Nigeria Department of Microbiology, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, Nigeria Internship, World Health Organisation, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State Field Office, Nigeria Immunisation, Vaccines and Emergencies Unit, World Health Organisation, Lafia, Nasarawa State Field Office,...

We report on a case of an officer cadet who was inadvertently allowed to commence training with a history suggestive of hypersensitivity to tetanus immunisation and who, eventually, successfully underwent a graduated immunisation regimen. This case combines a search for good evidence with the extraordinary complexities of military medical management and the law. It is a lesson in all three.