Non-neutralizing, cross-reactive antibodies may play a role in fostering protective immunity following H7N9 avian flu vaccination and are likely missed by traditional vaccine immunogenicity tests, according to a study yesterday in Cell Host & Microbe.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that its Zika emergency committee will meet for the third time on Jun 14, according to a notice e-mailed to journalists. It said experts will review the implementation and impact of the recommendations it made as part of their declaration of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
A study from Spain suggests that people who are infected by the influenza A viruses H3N2 or H1N1 may have better than 60% protection against new infections by the same subtype for several years afterward, according to a report in yesterday's issue of Eurosurveillance.
In a large trial in the West African country of Mali, influenza vaccination in pregnant women was found to be more than 60% effective in preventing lab-confirmed flu in newborn infants for the first 4 months of life, according to a report published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
A new survey study hints that perceived discrimination may be a factor in low influenza vaccine uptake in racial and ethnic minorities, but the researchers found that it was not significant in comparison with other factors, such as education, according to a report in Medical Care.
Authorities in Uganda launched a large yellow fever vaccination campaign in several districts last weekend, the World Health Organization's (WHO's) African region said yesterday.
Flu vaccination during pregnancy lowered the risk of acute respiratory infections more than 60%.
Death rates and demographic characteristics associated with H5N1avian flu infections have remained relatively stable, even in Egypt, where human cases surged dramatically more than a year ago, according to a study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
The performance of the seasonal influenza vaccine was exceptionally weak in the 2014-15 season, a failure that was attributed largely to its low effectiveness against a drifted strain of A/H3N2 virus that became dominant. Now, US researchers have reported clear genetic evidence that the drifted strain undermined vaccine effectiveness (VE).
Authorities have destroyed a flock of 39,000 turkeys on a farm in southwestern Missouri following the detection of a low-pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus in the birds, according to a report that US officials filed with the World Organization for animal Health (OIE) on May 2.
