We have recently read an article in this Journal by Bowyer et al. that found ethnicity to be the only significant factor that predicted human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake amongst adolescent girls in England, UK. Shortly after the start of the vaccination programme, multivariate analysis of our cross-sectional study demonstrated that the level of knowledge regarding the HPV vaccination pr...

The relative deficiency of T helper type 1 (Th1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses in early life is associated with an increased susceptibility to infections by intracellular microorganisms. This is likely to reflect a preferential polarization of immature CD4 T cells toward a Th2 rather than a Th1 pattern upon immunization with conventional vaccines. In this report, it is shown that a...

Tuberculosis remains the most common cause of death due to a single infective organism. Despite the availability of a vaccine and chemotherapeutic options, the global disease burden remains relatively unaffected. The ability of the mycobacterial etiological agents to adopt a semidormant, phenotypically drug-resistant state requires that chemotherapy is both complex and lengthy. The emergence of...

objective(s): leishmaniasis is a complex parasitic disease that represents a major public health problem. despite numerous attempts over the past decades, yet there is no effective vaccine against human leishmaniasis probably due to the lack of suitable adjuvants. in this study, a first generation liposomal-based leishmania vaccine was developed using soluble leishmania major antigens (sla) and...

Romania has the highest cervical cancer burden in Europe. Despite the implementation of two human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes, the uptake remained extremely low and the programmes were discontinued. Given that media are a common source of information for the public and may influence vaccination decisions, this article sought to explore the content and quality of HPV vaccine medi...

BACKGROUND The Thai Phase III Trial of ALVAC-HIV and AIDSVAX B/E showed an estimated vaccine efficacy (VE) of 31% to prevent acquisition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Here we evaluated the effect of vaccination on disease progression after infection. METHODS CD4(+) T-cell counts and HIV viral load (VL) were measured serially. The primary analysis evaluated vaccine efficacy (VEP) as t...

UNLABELLED Pathogenic and nonpathogenic species of bacteria and fungi release membrane vesicles (MV), containing proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids, into the extracellular milieu. Previously, we demonstrated that several mycobacterial species, including bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, release MV containing lipids and proteins that subvert host immune response i...

Prophylactic vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) types causing cervical cancer will soon be available. Success of the vaccine relies on parents' willingness to vaccinate their prepubescent daughters. We explored mothers' attitudes towards vaccination. Twenty-four mothers of girls ages 8 to 14 years took part in four focus groups. Discussions covered attitudes to vaccination in general, ...

INTRODUCTION Influenza vaccination through primary care has been recommended for all preschool children in the UK since 2013 as part of a universal immunisation programme. Vaccination is required annually and effectiveness varies by season. Factors associated with influenza vaccine receipt and those for other childhood vaccines may therefore differ. METHODS We used The Health Improvement Netw...