Jim P Buttery | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

Combination conjugate vaccines.

Increasingly, more diseases are becoming vaccine preventable, but maintaining community and provider acceptance demands that the number of injections does not increase. Combination conjugate vaccines represent an inevitable and important advance. This paper reviews the efficacy and safety of combination conjugate vaccines, including immunological mechanisms underlying interactions among vaccine epitopes, the role of immunological memory, and correlates of immunity. Specific attention is given to the experience with combination vaccines against each of Haemophilus influenzae type b, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis. The implications of these findings for different communities are discussed, key areas for further research identified and implications for post-licensure monitoring addressed.

Bacterial Capsules↗

PubMed2005

Immunogenicity and safety of a combination pneumococcal-meningococcal vaccine in infants: a randomized controlled trial.

CONTEXT: The success of conjugate vaccines in decreasing invasive disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae and group C Neisseria meningitidis has placed pressure on crowded infant immunization schedules, making development of combination vaccines a priority. OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety and immunogenicity of a combination 9-valent pneumococcal-group C meningococcal conjugate candidate vaccine (Pnc9-MenC) administered as part of the routine UK infant immunization schedule at ages 2, 3, and 4 months. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Phase 2 randomized controlled trial conducted from August 2000 to January 2002 and enrolling 240 healthy infants aged 7 to 11 weeks from 2 UK centers, with home follow-up visits at ages 2, 3, 4, and 5 months. INTERVENTION: Pnc9-MenC (n = 120) or monovalent group C meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenC) (n = 120) administered in addition to routine immunizations (diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and whole-cell pertussis [DTwP], Haemophilus influenzae type b [Hib] polyribosylribitol phosphate-tetanus toxoid protein conjugate, oral polio vaccine). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Group C meningococcal immunogenicity measured by serum bactericidal titer (SBT) 1 month following the third dose; rates of postimmunization reactions. RESULTS: MenC component immunogenicity was reduced in the Pnc9-MenC vs the MenC group (geometric mean SBT, 179 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 133-243] vs 808 [95% CI, 630-1037], respectively; P<.001). The proportion with group C meningococcal SBT greater than 1:8 was lower in the Pnc9-MenC vs the MenC group (95% vs 100%, P = .05). The geometric mean concentration of antibodies to concomitantly administered Hib vaccine was reduced in the Pnc9-MenC vs the MenC group (2.11 [95% CI, 1.57-2.84] microg/mL vs 3.36 [95% CI, 2.57-4.39] microg/mL; P = .02), as were antibodies against diphtheria (0.74 [95% CI, 0.63-0.87] microg/mL vs 1.47 [95% CI, 1.28-1.69] microg/mL; P<.001). Pnc9-MenC was immunogenic for each of 9 contained pneumococcal serotypes, with responses greater than 0.35 microg/mL observed in more than 88% of infants. Increased irritability and decreased activity were observed after the third dose in the Pnc9-MenC group. CONCLUSIONS: Pnc9-MenC combination vaccine administered to infants at ages 2, 3, and 4 months demonstrated reduced group C meningococcal immunogenicity compared with MenC vaccine. The immunogenicity of concomitantly administered Hib and DTwP vaccines was also diminished. The Pnc9-MenC vaccine was safe and immunogenic for all contained pneumococcal serotypes. The reduced MenC immunogenicity may limit the development of the Pnc9-MenC vaccine.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

PubMed2005

Immunogenicity and immunologic memory of meningococcal C conjugate vaccine in premature infants.

BACKGROUND: Protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C were introduced into the U.K. routine immunization schedule in 1999. This study is the first to describe both persistence of antibody and evidence for induction of immune memory using meningococcal C conjugate (MCC) vaccine in preterm infants. METHODS: Immunogenicity and induction of immunologic memory by as MCC vaccine was assessed in premature infants; 62 preterm and 60 term controls received MCC at the accelerated schedule (2, 3 and 4 months of age). A meningococcal C polysaccharide challenge was administered at 12 months of age. RESULTS: Both groups achieved similar protective titers after primary immunization that then waned significantly by 1 year of age. Postchallenge serum bactericidal activity was significantly lower in preterm infants (P = 0.03); 73% of preterm versus 88% of term controls achieved a 4-fold rise in serum bactericidal activity (P = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: MCC vaccine is immunogenic and primes for immunologic memory in preterm infants. The decreased memory responses in these preterm infants in conjunction with waning clinical efficacy data for all U.K. infants suggest a role for a routine booster dose of vaccine in all infants receiving MCC, especially those born preterm.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗