Vaccine News & Notes

First autism-vaccine test case goes to court under Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

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Recent study further highlights benefits from routine Prevnar immunization.

Healthcare visits and expenditures due to pneumonia in children under age 2 have declined markedly since routine pneumococcal vaccination was implemented in that age group, reports Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Researchers reviewed health records from a large database of self-insured employers across the U.S. Data on approximately 77,000 children younger than 2 years were available each year from 1997 through 2004. Among the findings:

" From the prevaccination period (1997-1999) to 2004, hospitalization of children for all-cause pneumonia and pneumococcal pneumonia dropped by 52% and 58%, respectively.
" Ambulatory visits for all-cause pneumonia fell by 41%, while visits for pneumococcal pneumonia decreased by 47%.
" Estimated national annual medical expenditures for all-cause pneumonia and pneumococcal pneumonia dropped by 45% and 27%, respectively.

The authors conclude: "The decline in disease ... highlights the further health and economic benefits of [the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine] in young children in the United States."

Gardasil vaccine for prevention of cervical cancer now available.

To see more, click here.

2nd dose of Varicella (Chicken Pox) Vaccine recommended
To see this and more about Varicella immunization, click here.

Professional Misconduct Charges for "MMR/Autism" Doc
A suggested link between the MMR vaccine and autism was first proposed in 1998 by a British physician named Andrew Wakefield. Numerous large scale studies since that initial report have repeatedly demonstrated no link between MMR and autism, and now Wakefield is facing charges of professional misconduct for issues related to the report. The 1998 article, despite the fact that it has been subsequently found to be unscientific and misleading, has had dramatic and devastating effects on immunization practices. In fact, measles cases in the U.K. have risen to their highest level in 20 years due to reduced utilization of the MMR vaccine related to parental fears. To see the BBC report discussing the issue, click here.

Good News! Vaccine for Rotavirus now available.
Rotavirus is a common cause of vomiting and diarrhea, causing particularly severe illness in infants. There is now an approved vaccine to help prevent this infection. It is recommended that this vaccine be administered at the 2, 4, and 6 month visits, To see more, click here.

Hepatitis A vaccination recommended for all children
The Centers for Disease Control has issued a recommendation that all children between the ages of 12-36 monts receive a vaccine for hepatitis A. Previously, hepatitis A vaccination has been recommended for children living in states with high rates of the disease. However due to the effectiveness of the vaccine, the recommendation has now been expanded. To see more information, click here.

Better meningitis protection now available
Meningococcus is the leading cause of meningitis in older children, adolescents, and young adults and is also a cause of a devastating form of sepsis. Despite increased understanding and the increased availability of appropriate antibiotics, the mortality for this disease remains high. The FDA recently approved a vaccine to be given to individuals 11-55 years of age that provides excellent protection against many forms of meningococcal disease. This vaccine is currently available through Interlachen Pediatrics. To learn more about the vaccine or meningococcal disease, click here (information from the CDC) or here (information from the vaccine manufacturer). ADDENDUM: An alert has been issued on this vaccine (Menactra). To read more, click here.

Another Polio Outbreak
Indonesia is yet another country where polio was thought to be eliminated but is now experiencing an outbreak. The country had not had a case of polio in 10 years yet is now experiencing an epidemic of the paralyzing disease that so far has resulted in 110 cases. To read more, click here.

Just a couple of years ago we were talking about the coming worldwide eradication of Polio. Then came the news that some areas of Africa had refused Polio vaccination because they thought the free vaccine being offered them was actually an anti-fertility agent, all part of an American plot to depopulate the developing world. As a result of this lag in immunization coverage, some areas of Africa and surrounding countries began experiencing a re-emergence of Polio. For instance, Yemen is one of these countries and expects that at least 200 children will end up crippled before the outbreak is controlled. Prior to this outbreak, Yemen had not seen a case of polio since 1996! Other areas of Africa that are currently not experiencing the disease now are thought to be vulnerable due to current low immunization rates. In 2003, there were less than 800 cases of polio worldwide; last year there were almost 1300! Before the widespread use of the polio vaccine (only 50 years ago), polio would affect up to 50,000 people (mostly children) a year. To read more about the remarkable history of polio and the vaccine, click here.

No link between MMR and Autism - another study
A recent study in Lancet compared MMR immunization rates among ~1300 children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (considered part of the spectrum of Autism) and ~4500 children without the diagnosis. No association was found between MMR immunization and PDD (in fact, there was a 14% reduced risk of developing PDD in children who had received MMR vaccination; this was likely simply a random statistical variation but does further support that there was no association between the vaccine and autism). To read more, click here