IMMUNIZATION NEWS

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U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

" Military Says Severe Reactions to Smallpox Vaccine Are Few "

New York Times (www.nytimes.com) (02/14/03) P. A14

Col. D. Grabenstein, the Army's deputy director for military vaccines,

has reported to an Institute of Medicine panel that three serious reactions

to the smallpox vaccine have been reported out of over 100,000

immunizations of military personnel--two cases of encephalitis and one

heart infection. All three of the affected personnel have recovered, Dr.

Grabenstein said, adding that a lot of rashes have appeared, as well as

minor complaints of fever and swollen lymph nodes. Dr. ph ,

associate director for terrorism preparedness as the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, told the panel that the civilian vaccination

program had immunized 1,043 people as of Feb. 11 and that no serious

reactions have been reported. The civilian program has been slowed by

concerns about liability and compensation, but Dr. believes that

it will speed up soon. If the complication rate reported by the military

remains steady, it will match the rate of complications predicted based on

data from 1960s vaccinations.

" Responding to Bioterror Threat "

Boston Globe (www.boston.com/globe) (02/14/03) P. E1; Kowalczyk, Liz

As part of a wide-ranging effort by the national medical community to

capture federal funds to fight bioterrorism, the Harvard teaching hospitals

and New England's medical schools have requested $4 million to $6 million

from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to open a regional biodefense

research and teaching center. Proposals from academic medical centers and

schools are flowing in to NIH, whose 2003 biodefense budget could double in

2004 to $1.6 billion. Says Dr. Alan Ezekowitz chief of pediatrics at

MassGeneral Hospital for Children, incentives work no differently in the

research community than they do in any other type of business--they

motivate people to steer their talent and innovativeness toward the

problem. However, this shift raises concerns about whether biodefense

research is overtaking or causing other crucial medical research projects

to be neglected. The Harvard group submitted its proposal last month for a

regional laboratory to be located in Boston's Longwood Medical and Academic

area that would support individual research and development projects for

vaccines and treatments against biological agents, afford lab expansion,

and support researchers who want to redirect their focus from traditional

medicine to biodefense. Boston University Medical Center has requested as

much as $1.6 billion to build and operate a Level 4 laboratory, the highest

level of advancement and security in the U.S. scientific community, where

researchers could work to find treatments and vaccines against smallpox,

plague, anthrax and other potentially lethal agents.

" CDC Says Smallpox Vaccinations Will Increase "

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (www.accessatlanta.com/ajc) (02/14/03) P. 6A;

Achrati, Nora

The civilian smallpox immunization program will begin in March, according

to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but state officials are

reluctant to expand the program so soon and health care workers seem

hesitant to participate. Joe , the CDC's associate director for

terrorism and preparedness, says he expected 45 states to be vaccinating

health care workers by late this month, and that by the end of March, there

should be sufficient data to support expansion of the program. The

voluntary vaccination program is being performed in four phases, with the

first phase involving the immunization of state and local health care

workers, and subsequent phases including the vaccination of emergency

responders and, eventually, the public.

" Payne Urges U.S. to Help in the Conquest of Polio "

New Jersey Star-Ledger (www.nj.com/news/ledger) (02/14/03); Casiano,

Rep. Payne (D-N.J.) urged Congress on Thursday to aid a global

initiative against polio, led by Rotary International and the U.S. Agency

for International Development. " We are so close [to eliminating the

disease] that it is imperative that we pitch in to end this struggle once

and for all, " Payne said. Speaking at a Capital Hill news conference,

Payne called on the United States to help relief groups overcome a $275

million funding shortfall in the anti-polio effort. A resolution Payne is

sponsoring does not mention a monitary contribution but asks the United

States to supply the " necessary human and material resources to end the

scourge of polio once and for all. " The World Health Organization's Bruce

Aylward, coordinator of the Polio Eradication Initiative, noted that 575

million children worldwide were vaccinated against polio last year.

" Whooping Cough Outbreak in Sweetwater County "

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (02/13/03)

Health officials in Wyoming report that an outbreak of whooping cough, or

pertussis, in Sweetwater County since the beginning of the year has

involved 15 confirmed cases, with another 10 cases being investigated.

According to Karla Reich of the Wyoming Department of Health, this is the

highest number of whooping cough cases reported in Wyoming in a given year

in over 25 years. State epidemiologist Dr. Karl Musgrave noted that cases

of the disease are on the increase throughout the United States, although

the reason for this is not yet clear.

" Experimental AIDS Vaccine Safe for Babies--US Study "

Reuters (www.reuters.com) (02/12/03); Fox, Maggie

Early indicators suggest that ALVAC-HIV vCP205, an experimental AIDS

vaccine made by Aventis Pasteur, does not cause side effects in infants

born to women infected with HIV, and it may help protect them from becoming

infected at all. Led by Dr. MacFarland of the University of

Colorado Health Sciences Center, researchers tested the vaccine, which is a

combination of canary pox, a distant relative of the virus used in the

smallpox vaccine, and several proteins from HIV. Aventis Pasteur's head of

research, Jim Tartaglia, says that although none of the babies were tested

for HIV, which sometimes can take years to detect, the vaccine did cause an

immune response, which suggests that it could be effective in preventing

mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

" Denver Public Health Tests Early AIDS Vaccine "

Denver Post (www.denverpost.com) (02/12/03); Auge,

Denver Public Health is one of 10 facilities in the United Sates that will

be testing a Merck AIDS vaccine. The product is composed of a small piece

of HIV protein spliced into a less potent virus. Denver Public Health

director Dr. Judson says that the inoculation cannot cause HIV

infection and will only cause minor side effects. The hope is that the

vaccine will show enough of the HIV protein to the immune system that the

body can later recognize and fight the virus on its own.

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

" Malaysians Traveling Abroad Advised to Get Influenza Vaccination "

Bernama, Malaysian National News Agency (newslink.bernama.com) (02/14/03)

Malaysians who are planning overseas travels--especially children, the

elderly, and those with chronic illnesses--should receive an influenza shot

two weeks prior to their departure, according to Malaysian health minister

Datuk Chua Jui Meng. The recommendation comes on the heels of recent flu

outbreaks in Southern China. The health minister noted that three flu

strains have been reported worldwide: Type A (New Caledonia), Type A

(Moscow), and Type B (Hong Kong).

" Meningitis Kills Some 200 in Northern Nigeria "

Agence France Presse (www.afp.com/english/home) (02/13/03)

An outbreak of meningitis in Nigeria's northern Zamfara State has taken the

lives of approximately 200 people, according to reports. Health workers

have been sent to the area with vaccines to help stem the spread of the

disease.

" Eleven Sailors Sent Home From Gulf for Rejecting Anthrax Vaccine as More

Mull Refusal "

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (02/12/03); O'Connor,

Refusal to receive an anthrax inoculation has led to 11 Australian sailors

being sent home from the Persian Gulf. One sailor said that fear about the

vaccine's link to Gulf War Syndrome motivated his decision. Ritchie,

a chief vice admiral in the Navy, says that more sailors wanted to refuse

the vaccine before discussions allayed their concerns. Defense force chief

Gen. Cosgrove says that while unvaccinated people would be sent home,

they would not be punished.