Vaccines against antigenically stable pathogens, or pathogens that only exist in a limited number of serotypes, have been very successful in the past and have drastically decreased the incidence and lethality of many diseases. However, when it comes to highly variable pathogens or viruses that exist in multiple serotypes, the traditional methods for vaccine development have reached their limits. This volume highlights the development of vaccines against such challenging pathogens. Novel approaches for immunogen design, including structure-guided vaccine development and vaccines targeting glycans, as well as adjuvants and animal models used for testing possible vaccine candidates are outlined and discussed in detail. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scientists in the fields of infectious diseases, microbiology and medicine.

The protection mode of most available vaccines is based on antibody responses. Since efficient immune responses to many pathogens rely on activating all arms of the immune system, traditional vaccine development does not provide efficient protection against many diseases. Novel vaccination strategies need to allow presentation of antigens that activate the full array of the immune response in the right composition and should prevent pathogen entry by mobilizing the mucosal immune response. New technological advances optimize the immunogenicity of 'live' and sub-unit vaccines. This book offers an interdisciplinary overview on research and future strategies for rational vaccine design based on recent developments in molecular biology and immunology. It covers new aspects of the immunological interplay between prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems as well as achievements in the development of novel vaccine candidates. Chapters on edible vaccines, on vaccines against bioterror agents and on economical and safety aspects of novel vaccine development round off this title.

Vaccines have made it possible to eradicate the scourge of smallpox, promise the same for polio, and have profoundly reduced the threat posed by other diseases such as whooping cough, measles, and meningitis. What is next? There are many pathogens, autoimmune diseases, and cancers that may be promising targets for vaccine research and development. This volume provides an analytic framework and quantitative model for evaluating disease conditions that can be applied by those setting priorities for vaccine development over the coming decades. The committee describes an approach for comparing potential new vaccines based on their impact on morbidity and mortality and on the costs of both health care and vaccine development. The book examines: Lessons to be learned from the polio experience. Scientific advances that set the stage for new vaccines. Factors that affect how vaccines are used in the population. Value judgments and ethical questions raised by comparison of health needs and benefits. The committee provides a way to compare different forms of illness and set vaccine priorities without assigning a monetary value to lives. Their recommendations will be important to anyone involved in science policy and public health planning: policymakers, regulators, health care providers, vaccine manufacturers, and researchers.

By two years of age, healthy infants in the United States can receive up to 20 vaccinations to protect against 11 diseases. Although most people know that vaccines effectively protect against serious infectious diseases, approximately one-quarter of parents in a recent survey believe that infants get more vaccines than are good for them, and that too many immunizations could overwhelm an infant's immune system. The Immunization Safety Review Committee reviewed the evidence regarding the hypothesis that multiple immunizations increase the risk for immune dysfunction. Specifically, the committee looked at evidence of potential biological mechanisms and at epidemiological evidence for or against causality related to risk for infections, the autoimmune disease type 1 diabetes, and allergic disorders.

Based on careful analysis of burden of disease and the costs ofinterventions, this second edition of 'Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition' highlights achievable priorities; measures progresstoward providing efficient, equitable care; promotes cost-effectiveinterventions to targeted populations; and encourages integrated effortsto optimize health. Nearly 500 experts - scientists, epidemiologists, health economists,academicians, and public health practitioners - from around the worldcontributed to the data sources and methodologies, and identifiedchallenges and priorities, resulting in this integrated, comprehensivereference volume on the state of health in developing countries.

A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a vaccine is "an antigenic substance prepared from the causative agent of a disease or a synthetic substitute, used to provide immunity against one or several diseases''. A vaccine tries to stimulates our immune system to recognize certain types of bacteria and viruses by injecting a weakened or killed pathogen, such as a bacterium or virus, or of a portion of the pathogen's structure to our body but is incapable of causing severe infection. Vaccines - Benefits and Risks is a reference book for the latest development and status of vaccine. It discusses vaccine effectiveness, toxicity and adverse effects. It takes a practical approach rather than a conceptual approach. It offers a truly reader-friendly way to get to this subject, making it the ideal resources for anyone who is new to this subject and providing a definitive guide to anyone in this vibrant and evolving discipline. Chapter 1 elaborates importance of reliability of different measures in medicine. It covers examples of the reliability analysis of instruments commonly used in clinical application. Chapter 2 proposes three methods to estimate the causal infectiousness effect under a number of identification assumptions, and provide a sensitivity analysis method to assess how inferences would change under violation of one of the identification assumptions. The presented methods can simply be conducted by applying an existing SAS code. Chapter 3 proposes using Dendritic cells signatures to test Vaccine Formulations where system Immunology approaches that combine transcriptomics and other analytical techniques will enable the identification of biomarkers of vaccine efficacy. Chapter 4 examines the limited effect of current pneumococcal vaccines in protection against mucosal disease. An experimental human pneumococcal carriage model is proposed as a potential tool for mucosal vaccine development. Chapter 5 reviews the latest information about bacterial OMVs (Outer Membrane Vesicles), which could be an alternative to develop safer and effective vaccines, and discusses findings on the nature of Brucella OMVs. Repeated exposure to Plasmodium falciparum malaria induces partial immunity, characterised by low grade infection without associated illness, but during pregnancy there is a striking recurrence of severe disease. Chapter 6 discusses the molecular interactions between parasite and placenta, the immune response that this triggers, and considers the prospects for a vaccine mimicking naturally-acquired immunity to pregnancy-associated malaria. Chapter 7 proposes a new tool consisting of a lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with the measles virus glycoproteins, H and F. This new tool allows monitoring of measles virus escape from neutralizing antibodies induced by MV infection or vaccination against measles. Chapter 8 summarizes the current knowledge about tumor immunology, mainly addressing the concept of immunosurveillance and tumor antigens, in addition to the relevant aspects of dendritic cells and the strategies for immunotherapy with these cells in lung cancer. Chapter 9 discusses how to identify biomakers in tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is an old disease which continues to be a major global health problem. Identifying biomarkers which would be translated into a more accurate, inexpensive point-of-care tuberculosis tests that is applicable in indicating infection, disease, cure, reactivation or protection is very crucial for diagnosis, prognosis and developing new vaccines that help in achieving global tuberculosis control. Chapter 10 discusses BCG vaccine. BCG is currently the only available vaccine against tuberculosis. It protects against the most severe forms of the disease, military and meningeal tuberculosis; however, it is highly variable in its ability to protect against pulmonary tuberculosis.

The Vaccine Book, Second Edition provides comprehensive information on the current and future state of vaccines. It reveals the scientific opportunities and potential impact of vaccines, including economic and ethical challenges, problems encountered when producing vaccines, how clinical vaccine trials are designed, and how to introduce vaccines into widespread use. Although vaccines are now available for many diseases, there are still challenges ahead for major diseases, such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. This book is designed for students, researchers, public health officials, and all others interested in increasing their understanding of vaccines. It answers common questions regarding the use of vaccines in the context of a rapidly expanding anti-vaccine environment. This new edition is completely updated and revised with new and unique topics, including new vaccines, problems of declining immunization rates, trust in vaccines, the vaccine hesitancy, and the social value of vaccines for the community vs. the individual child's risk. - Provides insights into diseases that could be prevented, along with the challenges facing research scientists in the world of vaccines - Gives new ideas about future vaccines and concepts - Introduces new vaccines and concepts - Gives ideas about challenges facing public and private industrial investors in the vaccine area - Discusses the problem of declining immunization rates and vaccine hesitancy