1,721,055 research outputs found
Utility of virosomal adjuvated influenza vaccines - a review of the literature.
No full textIn spite of the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO), influenza continues to be a major public health problem, both because of its impact on the health of subjects at risk, such as the elderly, and because of the economic burden that it places on society. Adjuvants are agents which, when incorporated into vaccines, enhance the immunogenicity of their antigens. The need for ever more immunogenic and efficacious influenza vaccines has led to the development of innovative vaccines. One of these, the virosomal vaccine, has been on the market since 1997. The results obtained through controlled clinical studies and widespread application in the field suggest that the virosomal vaccine is not only an important tool for the prevention of seasonal influenza but also a valid means of potentiating the effect of a pandemic influenza vaccine and, perhaps, of preparing multivalent or combined vaccines
A pharmacoeconomic appraisal of the strategy to tackle the H1N1v (A/California/07/09) pandemic in Italy: relevance of the CIRI-IV surveillance system.
No full textLive attenuated influenza vaccine-a review
No full textOwing to the variability of influenza viruses, vaccine composition needs to be up-dated annually. As many variables can influence their efficacy, vaccines are still considered "sub-optimal". Many studies have been carried out in recent years to improve vaccines. In particular, researchers and vaccine-producing corporations have focused on developing a live vaccine. Among the candidate vaccines, the strain developed by Maassab has recently been licensed in the USA and Europe, after extensive investigation. This vaccine is safe and well tolerated, and has shown very good genetic stability. Although vaccine recipients are able to spread the virus, transmission to close contacts is practically non-existent. Studies on cold-adapted attenuated influenza vaccines have demonstrated that such vaccines are effective, and sometimes more effective than inactivated influenza vaccines. Cold-adapted attenuated influenza vaccines therefore appear to be an important weapon against influenza. However, a more widespread use of these vaccines is to be recommended, especially in children, as the more acceptable way of administration can favour parental compliance
Assessment and prevention of radioactive risk due to 222Radon in commercial concerns of Genoa
No full textClinical and socioeconomic impact of seasonal and pandemic influenza in adults and the elderly
No full textInfluenza epidemics and pandemics carry a heavy socioeconomic burden. Hospitalization and treatment are more often necessary in high-risk patients, such as the elderly. However, the impact of influenza is not negligible even in adults, mainly because of lost productivity. The World Health Organization estimates that seasonal influenza causes 250,000-500,000 deaths worldwide each year; however, mortality may be very high in pandemic periods.
Many estimates of the costs of seasonal influenza have been made in various socioeconomic contexts. For instance, among the adult population in Italy, a cost of (sic)940.39 per case has been estimated. In the US, the average annual influenza burden in 18-49-y-old adults without underlying medical conditions is judged to include approximately 32,000 hospitalizations and 680 deaths. Estimating the influenza burden is a useful aid to determining the best influenza vaccination strategy and preventive and clinical treatments
Aflunov: a prepandemic influenza vaccine
No full textInfluenza viruses are adept in human populations. Indeed, they have the capacity to evade the immune system through mechanisms of mutations (antigenic drift) and major variations in surface protein expression (antigenic shift). When a major change occurs, the risk of a human pandemic arises. Three influenza pandemics occurred during the 20th century, the most serious being the Spanish influenza. The last pandemic of the past century occurred in 1968, and the responsible virus infected an estimated 1-3 million people throughout the world. The first pandemic of the present century occurred in 2009 and was sustained by a H1N1 strain (A/California/07/09). In 1997, a novel avian influenza virus, H5N1, first infected humans in China. Since its emergence, the H5N1 virus has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa, resulting in the infection of millions of poultry and wild birds. So far, 522 human cases and 322 deaths have been reported by the WHO. Many studies have therefore been performed to obtain efficacious and safe H5N1 vaccines. One of these is Aflunov (R). Aflunov is a prepandemic monovalent A/H5N1 influenza vaccine adjuvanted with MF59 produced by Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. In nonclinical studies conducted in rabbits, Aflunov proved to be well-tolerated, did not cause maternal or embryo fetal toxicity, was not teratogenic, and had no effects on postnatal development. In clinical studies, Aflunov proved safe and well-tolerated in infants, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly. In the same subjects, the vaccine elicited robust immunogenicity against both homologous (A/Vietnam/1194/2004 clade 1) and heterologous viral strains (for instance, A/Indonesia/05/2005 or A/Turkey/15/2006) and induced immunologic memory. Thus, in 2010, the CHMP issued a positive opinion on Aflunov and in January 2011 Aflunov was given marketing authorization. This vaccine could be very useful in the event of adaptation of the H5N1 virus to humans, which could cause a new pandemic
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