Issue
Number 319
June 17, 2002
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- CDC publishes recap
of 2001-2002 influenza season and announces next
season's flu vaccine composition
- Updated! Patient
chart on adult vaccinations
- Recommended reading:
"Hepatitis B: The Hunt for a Killer Virus"
- British Medical
Journal article reviews new types of vaccines
and vaccine delivery methods
- Reminder: "The
Immunization Encounter" live satellite broadcast
takes place Thursday, June 27
- Two-day course from
CDC in August: "Epidemiology and Prevention of
Vaccine-Preventable Diseases"
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June 17, 2002
CDC PUBLISHES RECAP OF 2001-2002 INFLUENZA SEASON AND
ANNOUNCES NEXT SEASON'S FLU VACCINE
COMPOSITION
On June 14, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) published "Update: Influenza
Activity--United States and Worldwide, 2001-02 Season, and
Composition of the 2002-03 Influenza
Vaccine," in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report (MMWR).
According to the article, in the United States influenza
activity increased in mid-January and peaked in
February: "Influenza A viruses
predominated, but the number of influenza B
viruses increased as the season progressed.
Influenza B viruses were the most frequently identified
influenza viruses from the week
ending March 30 (week 13) through the week ending
May 18 (week 20)." Worldwide influenza
activity is also presented in the article.
The influenza vaccine for the 2002-2003 season will be
trivalent, containing two of the same influenza A
viruses that were in last season's vaccine
(A/Moscow/10/99-like [H3N2] and A/New
Caledonia/20/99 [H1N1]) and an updated
influenza B virus, according to the article. The editorial
note states: "Until March 2001, viruses of
the B/Victoria lineage had not been identified
outside of Asia since 1991. Since
March 2001, B/Victoria lineage viruses have
been identified in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North
America. The 2002-03 influenza vaccine will contain a
virus from the B/Victoria lineage."
The editorial note also summarizes the 2002-03
recommendations of the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Prevention
and Control of Influenza as follows, excluding a
footnote (for details on these
recommendations, see IAC EXPRESS #306 at
http://www.immunize.org/genr.d/issue306.htm#n1):
*******************************
The 2002-03 recommendations of the Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the
Prevention and Control of Influenza contain
important changes concerning the timing of
vaccination and target groups for vaccination.
The optimal time to receive influenza vaccine is during
October- November. However, because of
vaccine distribution delays during the previous 2
years and uncertainty about
vaccine supply in future seasons, ACIP recommends that
vaccination efforts during October
focus on persons at greatest risk for
influenza-related complications (e.g., persons aged
65 years and older and persons aged 6
months-64 years with certain medical conditions),
household contacts of these
high-risk persons, children aged 6 months to <9 years receiving
vaccine for the first time, and health-care
workers, and that vaccination of other groups
begin in November. Vaccination efforts for all
groups should continue into December and later,
for as long as vaccine is available. Because young,
healthy children are at increased risk for
influenza-related hospitalization, vaccination of
healthy children aged 6-23
months and close contacts of children aged 0-23 months is
encouraged when feasible and should begin
during October. Vaccination of children aged 6
months and older who have certain high-risk
medical conditions continues to be recommended
strongly.
*******************************
To obtain the complete text of the article online, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5123a3.htm
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of this issue
of MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5123.pdf
HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MMWR:
To obtain a free electronic subscription to the "Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report" (MMWR), visit
CDC's MMWR website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr
Select "Free MMWR Subscription" from the
menu at the left of the screen. Once you
have submitted the required information, weekly
issues of the MMWR and all new ACIP statements
(published as MMWR's "Recommendations and
Reports") will arrive
automatically by email.
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June 17, 2002
UPDATED! PATIENT CHART ON ADULT VACCINATIONS
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) has updated its
patient chart "Vaccinations for Adults: You're
Never Too Old to Get Shots!" This
easy-to-follow, one-page chart uses syringe icons
to show how many doses of each vaccine
are needed.
Lyme disease vaccine has been removed from the chart since
it is no longer on the market.
An updated Spanish version of the chart will be available
soon.
To obtain a copy of the updated "Vaccinations for Adults:
You're Never Too Old to Get Shots!", go to:
HTML: http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n18/p4030new.htm
PDF: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4030a.pdf
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June 17, 2002
RECOMMENDED READING: "HEPATITIS B: THE HUNT FOR A KILLER
VIRUS"
Baruch S. Blumberg won the 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine for his role in discovering the
hepatitis B virus and the vaccine that
prevents it. In "Hepatitis B: The Hunt for a
Killer Vaccine," a new 231-page book
published by Princeton University Press, Dr. Blumberg
tells the fascinating story of decades of
scientific detective work--both in the lab and in
the field.
The book is engagingly written for a wide audience, yet it
spares no technical, medical content. Clear
headings such as "How We Arrived at the Hypothesis
That Australia Antigen Was Part of a Hepatitis
Virus" and "Solving One Problem Creates
Others" help the reader to keep up with the
author's thinking process, and photographs
from Africa, South America, and Alaska help to
bring field-trial tales to life.
Concluding chapters cover the current state of
knowledge and research on hepatitis B virus.
The cost of the hardcover book is $27.95.
To order the book directly from the publisher, go to:
http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/7248.html
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June 17, 2002
BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEWS NEW TYPES OF
VACCINES AND VACCINE DELIVERY METHODS
On June 1, 2002, the British Medical Journal published
"Science, Medicine, and the Future: New
Vaccine Development" (vol. 324, no. 7349). Written
by Gregory A. Poland, Dennis Murray, and Ruben
Bonilla-Guerrero, the article discusses new
vaccines for both infectious and non-infectious
diseases (e.g., cancer) and describes
topical, edible, and controlled-release delivery systems.
Included are a figure that shows how DNA
vaccination works and a table of potential
vaccines for this century.
According to the introduction, the future of vaccines is
not at all distant: "In the next five to 15 years,
new vaccines and new vaccine delivery
technology will fundamentally change how
clinicians prevent and treat
disease, with a substantial impact on public health."
The Conclusions paragraph reads in part as follows,
excluding footnotes:
*******************************
The future of vaccinology provides tremendous promise for
controlling diseases. Vaccines will be
delivered orally, by nasal spray, or
transcutaneously by a minimally trained layperson
and in a manner that does not require expensive
equipment. However, despite rapid advances in the
development of new vaccines, concerns about
vaccine safety and a rise in anti-vaccine
sentiment adversely affect immunisation coverage,
the willingness of manufacturers to develop new
vaccines, and the willingness of individuals
and healthcare workers to use them. As advanced vaccines
and vaccine technologies become
available massive public education efforts will be
required to alleviate these concerns. . . . [P]erson-specific
vaccines based on individual genotyping (vaccines
against a specific malignancy in a
specific individual) will also raise
serious concerns. None the less, the prospect of both
preventing and treating many serious
diseases by the use of vaccines portends an
exciting era in public health and vaccinology.
*******************************
To obtain a camera-ready (PDF format) copy of "Science,
Medicine, and the Future: New Vaccine
Development," go to:
http://bmj.com/cgi/reprint/324/7349/1315.pdf
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June 17, 2002
REMINDER: "THE IMMUNIZATION ENCOUNTER" LIVE SATELLITE
BROADCAST TAKES PLACE THURSDAY, JUNE 27
On Thursday, June 27, 12:00 noon-2:30 p.m. Eastern Time,
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) will present a live satellite and
web broadcast, "The Immunization Encounter:
Critical Issues."
Program faculty are William L. Atkinson, M.D., M.P.H.;
Judy V. Schmidt, R.N.C., Ed.D.; and Donna L.
Weaver, M.N., R.N; all from the National
Immunization Program at CDC. The broadcast program
will address best practices at each
phase of the vaccination encounter, including intake and
screening, vaccine administration, and
documentation. For program details, registration,
continuing education credit information, and
satellite specifications, go to:
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/phtnonline
You may also obtain further information about registration
by calling (800) 418-7246 (800-41-TRAIN).
If you are unable to watch the live broadcast and would
like to order a videotape, go to the Public Health
Training Network website at:
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/PHTN/default.asp
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June 17, 2002
TWO-DAY COURSE FROM CDC IN AUGUST: "EPIDEMIOLOGY AND
PREVENTION OF VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASES"
A live, two-day course on vaccine-preventable diseases
(VPDs) will be held in Minneapolis on August
28 and 29 at the downtown Minneapolis
Marriott Hotel. "Epidemiology and Prevention of
Vaccine-Preventable Diseases" covers the latest
information for providers on schedules,
contraindications, standard immunization
practices, and vaccine management and safety.
The course is based on the book by the same name, also
known as "The Pink Book" (for more on new
edition of "The Pink Book," see IAC EXPRESS #315
at
http://www.immunize.org/genr.d/issue315.htm#n2). Attending
this course is a great way to learn about
what's new in "The Pink Book"--and in the world of
VPDs--in a short period of time.
Featured speakers at "Epidemiology and Prevention of
Vaccine-Preventable Diseases" are CDC
experts William L. Atkinson, M.D., M.P.H.; Donna
L. Weaver, M.N., R.N.; Judy V. Schmidt, Ed.D.,
R.N.C.; and IAC Executive Director Deborah
L. Wexler, M.D.
The registration fee for the course is $69.
To print a course brochure, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vpdcourse/vpd.pdf
To register for the course online, go to:
https://www.immunize.org/vpdcourse/
If you have questions, contact Judy Schmidt at
Jschmidt1@cdc.gov
or Patti Storti at
pat@immunize.org
This course will be offered in California in the fall. For
more information on the California course, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/ed/newonsite.htm
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