Active Immunization in the United States: Developments over the Past Decade

Abstract

SUMMARY The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified immunization as the most important public health advance of the 20th century. The purpose of this article is to review the changes that have taken place in active immunization in the United States over the past decade. Since 1990, new vaccines have become available to prevent five infectious diseases: varicella, rotavirus, hepatitis A, Lyme disease, and Japanese encephalitis virus infection. Improved vaccines have been developed to prevent Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcus, pertussis, rabies, and typhoid infections. Immunization strategies for the prevention of hepatitis B, measles, meningococcal infections, and poliomyelitis have changed as a result of the changing epidemiology of these diseases. Combination vaccines are being developed to facilitate the delivery of multiple antigens, and improved vaccines are under development for cholera, influenza, and meningococcal disease. Major advances in molecular biology have enabled scientists to devise new approaches to the development of vaccines against diseases ranging from respiratory viral to enteric bacterial infections that continue to plague the world's population.

Protective Efficacy of a DNA Influenza Virus Vaccine Is Markedly Increased by the Coadministration of a Schiff Base-Forming Drug

“…Influenza virus infection remains a major health problem worldwide with annual epidemics, which are often complicated by significant morbidity and mortality despite the availability of rationalized vaccination protocols based on the use of inactivated virus (8,22,26). There are, however, two major drawbacks with this vaccine: firstly, the protection induced by the vaccine is short-lived and therefore requires annual administration, and secondly, the vaccine is only capable of eliciting a strain-specific antibody response (16,22,26).…”

Vaccines against morphine/heroine and its use as effective medication for preventing relapse to opiate addictive behaviors

“…This tetanus toxoid preparation is one of the most used antigenic proteins in human active vaccination protocols for preventing tetanus disease (Fig. 3C) with minimum toxic side-effects, 110 allowing the potential use of our morphine vaccine model for clinical trials.…”

Seven great achievements in pediatric research in the past 40 y

“…Research into the immunogenicity of HIB demonstrated increased antigenic properties and a more robust antibody response to its purified capsular polysaccharide, polyribosylribitol phosphate, when conjugated to a protein carrier (4). Placebo-controlled trials of the effectiveness of the immunologic response to the conjugated HIB vaccine in children showed nearly 100% protection of those vaccinated.…”

“…Placebo-controlled trials of the effectiveness of the immunologic response to the conjugated HIB vaccine in children showed nearly 100% protection of those vaccinated. This led to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the first HIB vaccines for a primary immunization series beginning at 2 mo of age (4). Pediatric clinicians translated research discoveries to practice.…”

“…Prior to widespread use of the HIB vaccine, 20,000 children in the United States were infected with HIB each year and 1,200 died annually from the disease (3). HIB was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children under 5 y with an estimated 12,000 cases annually (4,5).…”