Vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in children

Effectiveness of the combined MMRV Priorix-Tetra™ vaccine against varicella in a large Italian region: A case-control study

Priorix-Tetra™ (MMRV GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' vaccine) was developed based on the existing measles-mumps-rubella and varicella vaccines. In this study, we aimed to estimate the effectiveness of the combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella Priorix-Tetra™ vaccine against varicella in real-world conditions. We conducted a post-marketing retrospective case-control study in the Apulia region of Italy in children aged 1-9 years born between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2016. We assessed the effectiveness against varicella of all grades of severity (including hospitalisation) and against hospitalisation for varicella of a single and two doses of Priorix-Tetra™. Moreover, we also assessed effectiveness of monovalent varicella (monovalent-V) vaccine and any varicella vaccines. Vaccine effectiveness was calculated as (1-OR) x 100. We introduced demographic variables in the model to adjust Vaccine effectiveness (aVE) by potential confounders (sex and year of birth). We recorded 625 varicella cases and matched them with 1,875 controls. Among 625 cases, 198 had received a single MMRV dose, 10 two MMRV doses, 46 a single monovalent-V dose, none two monovalent-V doses; four a monovalent-V as first dose and MMRV as second dose, and one a MMRV as first dose and monovalent-V as second dose; 366 cases were not vaccinated. The aVE against varicella of all grades of severity was 77.0% and 93.0% after a single dose and after two doses of MMRV, respectively. The aVE against varicella of all grades was 72.0% after a single dose of monovalent-V vaccine. The aVE against varicella of all grades of severity was 76.0% after a single dose and 94.0% after two doses of any varicella vaccine. The aVE against varicella hospitalisation was 96% after a single dose of any varicella vaccine. Priorix-Tetra™ showed to be an effective vaccine and the two-dose schedule should be recommended to optimise immunisation programmes. A single dose was able to provide protection against varicella hospitalisation.

Disruption Mechanisms of Enveloped Viruses by Ionic and Nonionic Surfactants

The world has witnessed multiple pandemics and endemics caused by enveloped viruses in the past century. To name a few, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other pandemics/endemics caused by coronaviruses, influenza viruses, HIV-1, etc. The external and topical applications of surfactants have been effective in limiting the spread of viruses. While it is well-known that surfactants inactivate virus particles (virions), the mechanism of action of surfactants against enveloped virions has not yet been established. In this work, we have evaluated the surfactant-induced disruption mechanism of a cocktail of enveloped viruses containing particles of mumps, measles, and rubella viruses. We applied the total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy technique to trace the temporal changes in the fluorescence signal from single virions upon the addition of a surfactant solution. We report that surfactants solubilize either the viral lipid membrane, proteins, or both. Ionic surfactants, depending on their charge and interaction type with the viral lipids and proteins, can cause bursting or perforation of the viral envelope, whereas a nonionic surfactant can cause either symmetric expansion or perforation of the viral envelope depending on the surfactant concentration.

[Association between vaccination and the risk of immunoglobulin A vasculitis in children]

OBJECTIVES

To study the effect of vaccination on the short-term risk of immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgAV) in children.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted on the general data and the vaccination history within one year prior to onset in children with IgAV hospitalized in the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from November 2021 to January 2023. Vaccine exposure rates in the risk period (3 months prior to IgAV onset) and the control period were compared by autocontrol-case crossover analysis, and the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were calculated. A sensitivity analysis for the one-month and two-month risk periods was conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 193 children with IgAV were included, with a median age of 7.0 years. Among the 193 children, 36 (18.7%) received at least one dose of the vaccine within 1 year prior to IgAV onset, and 14 (7.3%) received at least one dose of the vaccine during the 3-month risk period. Compared to the unvaccinated IgAV group, the vaccinated IgAV group had a significantly younger age of onset (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the proportions of children with gastrointestinal involvement, renal involvement, and joint involvement between the two groups (P>0.05). The odds ratio for developing IgAV after receiving any type of vaccine within 3 months prior to IgAV onset was 2.08 (95%CI: 0.82-5.27, P>0.05). Further sensitivity analysis for the 1-month and 2-month risk periods demonstrated that the odds ratios for developing IgAV after receiving any type of vaccine were 2.74 (95%CI: 0.72-10.48, P>0.05) and 2.72 (95%CI: 0.95-7.77, P>0.05), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Vaccination dose not increase the risk of IgAV, nor does it exacerbate clinical symptoms in children with IgAV.

Infants' immunisations, their timing and the risk of allergic diseases (INITIAL): an observational prospective cohort study protocol

INTRODUCTION

Vaccinations are considered to have a large impact on disease control, hence a multitude of vaccines in infancy is recommended. Retrospective studies suggest a possible relation between timing, kind or number of vaccines given in the first year of life and the subsequent incidence of allergic diseases. It must be clarified whether a causal relationship exists to ensure safety and reduce vaccine hesitancy.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Due to the high recommendation rate of vaccines, a long-term randomised controlled trial is not considered as ethically acceptable. Therefore, this study aims to observe prospectively the allergic incidence at the age of 5 years after various vaccine interventions in the early months of life.Parents of infants up to the age of 4-6 weeks will be recruited before the first recommended vaccination. Relevant prognostic factors for allergies, status of immunisation and general health will be evaluated up to the age of 5.Allergic symptoms will be assessed by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood-questionnaire and a medical confirmation of the allergy is mandatory.The main objective is to compare the incidence of asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhinoconjunctivitis, food allergy or any of these atopies at the age of 5 between infants who were not vaccinated or were vaccinated according to recommendations in the first year of life.The sample size calculation with about 4000 participants can prove a 5% difference to the basic prevalence with about 80% power and global 5% alpha error for the five primary endpoints adjusting according to Bonferroni-Holm and assuming a rate of 10% not early vaccinated infants.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study was registered (DRKS00029677) and has received approval by the ethics committee of Universität Witten/Herdecke (no. 113/2022). The results will be published.

A protective, single-visit TB vaccination regimen by co-administration of a subunit vaccine with BCG

The only licensed tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG), fails to reliably protect adolescents and adults from pulmonary TB, resulting in ~1.6 million deaths annually. Protein subunit vaccines have shown promise against TB in clinical studies. Unfortunately, most subunit vaccines require multiple administrations, which increases the risk of loss to follow-up and necessitates more complex and costly logistics. Given the well-documented adjuvant effect of BCG, we hypothesized that BCG co-administration could compensate for a reduced number of subunit vaccinations. To explore this, we developed an expression-optimized version of our H107 vaccine candidate (H107e), which does not cross-react with BCG. In the CAF®01 adjuvant, a single dose of H107e induced inferior protection compared to three H107e/CAF®01 administrations. However, co-administering a single dose of H107e/CAF®01 with BCG significantly improved protection, which was equal to BCG co-administered with three H107e/CAF®01 doses. Importantly, combining BCG with a single H107e/CAF®01 dose also increased protection in previously BCG-primed animals. Overall, a single dose of H107e/CAF®01 with BCG induced long-lived immunity and triggered BCG-specific Th17 responses. These data support co-administration of BCG and subunit vaccines in both BCG naïve and BCG-primed individuals as an improved TB vaccine strategy with reduced number of vaccination visits.

Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccine (PRIORIX): Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices - United States, 2022

Vaccination is the main means for preventing measles, mumps, and rubella virus infections and their related complications (1,2). Achieving and maintaining high 2-dose measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination coverage in the United States has led to elimination of endemic measles in 2000, rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in 2004, and a sharp decrease in mumps cases. However, measles and rubella remain endemic in many countries, leading to importations of cases and occasional local transmission within the United States (3). Reported U.S. mumps cases declined >99% from the prevaccine period (4); however, mumps is endemic worldwide, and since 2006, the number of mumps cases and mumps outbreaks has increased in the United States, with wider geographic spread since 2016 (4). Given the risk for importation of measles and rubella and the resurgence of mumps, maintaining high measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination coverage is important. Since 1978, only one MMR vaccine, M-M-R II (Merck and Co., Inc.), has been available in the United States. On June 6, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration approved a second MMR vaccine, PRIORIX (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals), for the prevention of measles, mumps, and rubella in persons aged ≥12 months. The three live attenuated viruses contained in PRIORIX are genetically similar or identical to the corresponding components in M-M-R II (Table) (5-7). On June 23, 2022, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously recommended PRIORIX as an option to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella according to the existing recommended schedules and for off-label uses (i.e., indications not included in the package insert)* (1,2). ACIP considered PRIORIX to be safe, immunogenic, and noninferior to M-M-R II. Both PRIORIX and M-M-R II are fully interchangeable for all indications for which MMR vaccination is recommended. This report contains ACIP recommendations specific to PRIORIX and supplements the existing ACIP recommendations for MMR use (1,2).

Measles incidence in South Africa: a six-year review, 2015-2020

In 2012 the World Health Organization (WHO) aimed to eliminate measles in five regions by 2020. This retrospective descriptive study reviewed measles surveillance data in South Africa for the period 2015—2020 to document the epidemiology of measles and the progress made towards meeting the 2020 measles elimination goal.

A total of 22,578 specimens were tested over the period 2015—2020 yielding 401 (1.8%) confirmed measles cases, 321 (1.4%) compatible and 21,856 (96.8%) discarded cases. The most affected age group was 0–4 year olds. At the provincial level, South Africa achieved adequate surveillance, defined as more than two cases of febrile rash notified annually per 100 000 popoulation, except for KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo in 2020, probably due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Of confirmed cases, only 26% were vaccinated, 3% were too young to receive vaccines, 5% were not vaccinated, and 65% had unknown vaccination status. Measles vaccine effectiveness amongst 1–4 year olds was 80%. Using the standard case definition, South Africa achieved the measles elimination target of less than one case per one million nationally in years 2015, 2016 and 2020. The years 2017 to 2019 had incidence rates exceeding one per million nationally. Using a narrow case definition, that excluded positive rubella cases, improved the indicators with only the year 2017 having an incidence rate of more than one per million.

South Africa displays intermittent measles outbreaks approximately six-yearly interspersed by inter-epidemic periods in which the country meets measles elimination targets. Intense effort is needed to increase the vaccine coverage to avoid periodic outbreaks. Enhanced molecular testing of each case will be required as measles incidence declines regionally.

Mumps to COVID-19: Vaccinated Persons Remain Vulnerable When Community Uptake Is Low

Vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first became available in the United States and Europe outside clinical trials in December 2020, when administration began in high-priority populations such as healthcare workers and long-term care residents. [1] Since that time, global rollout progresses with wide variation in vaccination rates by country. [2] Depending upon product and SARS-CoV-2 variant, vaccine efficacies against infection range from approximately 70 to well over 90%, higher against severe disease. Well-resourced settings are starting to focus on booster doses among high risk persons, and locations with higher vaccination rates appear to have less COVID-19 patient and community impact. Yet, in every setting, primary vaccination to as many persons as possible remains incredibly important to effective pandemic risk management. Why this is the case, why even in settings with comparatively high vaccination rates and boosting we still should make the case that more primary vaccination matters can be answered by remembering mumps, and applying those lessons to promoting vaccine access.