Biomedical subjects

R E Weibel

Publications and source records attributed to R E Weibel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1991

Oka/Merck varicella vaccine in healthy children: final report of a 2-year efficacy study and 7-year follow-up studies.

A large double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of live attenuated Oka/Merck varicella vaccine was conducted among healthy children, 1-14 years of age. During the first varicella season, the efficacy of the vaccine among susceptible children was 100%1. During the second varicella season, 22 children were diagnosed with varicella; 21 cases in placebo recipients and one in a vaccine recipient. The overall efficacy of the vaccine through two varicella seasons was 98%. After the code for the study was broken, the original group of vaccine recipients continued to be followed for development of varicella. The estimated proportion of vaccine recipients who remained varicella-free at the end of 7 years was 95%. The 23 cases of varicella that occurred in vaccine recipients over the 7-year period were considerably milder than natural varicella. The average number of lesions was 53, 50% of the children had non-vesicular rashes, and 14% of the children had a temperature greater than or equal to 38.9 degrees C (102 degrees F), oral. The persistence of antibody in a subset of vaccine recipients followed for 6 years was 100%.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Protective effects of Towne cytomegalovirus vaccine against low-passage cytomegalovirus administered as a challenge.

To test the protective effect of Towne live attenuated human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) vaccine in normal individuals, we developed a parenteral challenge consisting of a low-passage isolate (Toledo stain) inoculated subcutaneously in graded doses. This challenge virus caused a mild mononucleosis syndrome in seronegative individuals at doses of 10 or 100 pfu. The illness was accompanied by atypical lymphocytosis, raised hepatic enzymes, excretion of HCMV and HCMV-specific immune responses. Naturally seropositive volunteers also developed clinical and laboratory evidence of infection after challenge with 1,000 pfu of Toledo but resisted 10 or 100 pfu. Volunteers who had been vaccinated 1 y earlier also were resistant to disease caused by 10 or 100 pfu of Toledo, although some were asymptomatically infected by the 100 pfu dose. Vaccine-induced immunity to HCMV was as complete as naturally induced immunity when the challenge dose of Toledo was 10 pfu.

Antibodies, Viral↗

PubMed1985

Live Oka/Merck varicella vaccine in healthy children. Further clinical and laboratory assessment.

A clinical trial among 137 healthy children, ages 1 to 12 years, was conducted with four different doses (4,350, 870, 435, and 43 plaque-forming units [pfu]) of live Oka/Merck varicella vaccine to evaluate clinical reactions and selected laboratory parameters and to determine the minimum effective dose and induction time of antibody. The vaccine was well tolerated with no significant difference in the rate of reported symptoms by dose. The frequency of varicellalike rash was 3% (4/137); all rashes were mild. Serum aminotransferase values were essentially unchanged after vaccination. Minor variations found in platelet counts after vaccination were not associated with any bleeding, bruising, or clotting. Among initially seronegative children who received doses of 435 pfu or greater, 94% assayed at two weeks and 100% assayed at four or six weeks seroconverted. The geometric mean titers were similar for all four doses at six weeks. IgG and IgA responses were demonstrated with no relation to the vaccine dose.

Alanine Transaminase↗

PubMed1985