Dear Reader,
Special Focus on Diarrheal Vaccines
In Human Vaccines & Immunotherapies we regularly put a special focus on timely and interesting topics in the field of vaccines and immunotherapies for human use. The current issue features a Special Focus (SF) on Vaccines for the prevention of diarrheal diseases, consisting of a selection of reviews complemented with several original studies. Rotavirus vaccines (Yen, p 1436), vaccines against norovirus (Tan, p 1449), oral cholera vaccines (Desai, p 1457) and vaccines against Clostridium difficile (Leuzzi, p 1466) are discussed. Two studies look at vaccines against invasive Salmonella disease (MacLennan, p 1478) and the evaluation of Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi A O-specific polysaccharide (Ps) conjugated to diphtheria toxoid as candidate vaccine (Ali, p 1494). Furthermore, this SF offers reviews on a capsular Ps conjugate approach to prevent disease caused by Campylobacter jejuni (Maue, p 1499), immunotherapy and vaccines against Cryptosporidium (Mead, p 1505), vaccine development against Entamoeba histolytica (Quach, p 1514), and vaccines against several diarrheal pathogens (Böhles, p 1522). One study investigates resistance to reinfection as a mouse model for giardiasis (Li, p 1536). In the area of epidemiology, there is an analysis of the burden of acute gastroenteritis, norovirus and rotavirus in a managed care population (Karve, p 1544). Finally, at the market level, reviews on commercializing diarrhea vaccines for travellers (López-Gigosos, p 1557), economics and financing of vaccines for diarrheal diseases (Bartsch, p 1568) and economic value of diarrhea vaccines (Rheingans, p 1582) round out this Special Feature.
Your proposals for future SF are always welcome! Please contact the Acquisitions Editor Eva Riedmann (eva@landesbioscience.com) with your ideas.
The section Immunotherapy features a review on the pivotal basophil activation test in allergy immunotherapy (Chirumbolo, p 1595), studies on a genetically engineered Lactococcus lactis strain delivering IL-10 for treatment of low-grade colon inflammation (Martin, p 1611), induction of dendritic cell maturation in the skin by soluble factors derived from colon carcinoma (Lindenberg, p 1622), and camel IgG purification as a new approach to prepare snake antivenom for passive immunization therapy (Khamehchian, p 1633). A commentary discussing the need to advance drug development based on functional versatility of antibodies (Caoili, p 1639) rounds out this section.
Four papers in this issue are about Licensed Vaccines: a study comparing safety and immunogenicity of two different regimens of purified chick embryo cell rabies vaccine in Chinese patients (Hu, p 1645), socio-demographic characteristics and chronic medical conditions as risk factors for herpes zoster (Esteban-Vasallo, p 1650), Ps-specific B cell responses to vaccination in humans (Mitchell, p 1661), and the identification of peptide sequences as a measure of Anthrax vaccine stability during storage (Whiting, p 1669).
The section on Hepatitis contains studies on persistent immune memory to hepatitis B in children who had received vaccine in infancy (Van Der Meeren, p 1682), and cimetidine and praziquantel enhancing the immune response to HBV DNA vaccine via activating cytotoxic CD8+ T cells (Xie, p 1688). One study on Influenza compares the safety and immunogenicity of MF59-adjuvanted and non-adjuvanted seasonal influenza vaccines in older adults following intradermal and intramuscular administration (Della Cioppa, p 1701).
Two studies fall into the category Public Programs, looking at incorporating immunizations into routine obstetric care to facilitate implementation of maternal immunization recommendations (Arya, p 1711), and the coverage, timeliness and determinants of immunization completion in Pakistan (Zaidi, p 1712). A review on meningococcal serogroup B disease in Turkey (Bakir, p 1721) and a commentary on meningococcal serogroup Y emergence in Europe (Bröker, p 1725) are presented in our Meningococcal track.
A study on human papilloma virus vaccine uptake after introduction of the vaccine in Germany (Hense, p 1729), and a review on human immunodeficiency virus-1 vaccines (Excler, p 1734) can be found in our HPV and HIV tracks, respectively.
Two malaria-related commentaries in the section Novel Vaccines discuss the generation of monoclonal antibodies with functional heterogeneity (dichotomy) in immune responses in vaccinated /protected mice (Singh, p 1747) and vaccines as an essential step towards eliminating this disease (Jindal. p. 1752).
The category Acceptance features studies on knowledge and risk perception of measles and factors associated with vaccination decisions in subjects consulting hospitals in France after measles infection (Toure, p 1755), and public awareness regarding vaccination of children in Jordan (Masadeh, p 1762). One study in our Pneumococcal section investigates systemic inflammatory reaction after pneumococcal vaccine (Elten, p 1767).
As every month, our News, Policy and Profiles (NP&P) track offers a selection of the latest news in the field of vaccines and immunotherapeutics. In this section we regularly publish opinion pieces on timely, interesting and controversial topics related to vaccines and immunotherapeutics, profiles of companies and organizations, as well as portraits of distinguished scientists in our field. In the current issue we are pleased to present the portrait of Dr Niranjan Sardesai, Chief Operating Officer at Inovio. In his essay, he tells about his career path, his scientific interests and accomplishments, as well as his current research projects. Please contact Eva Riedmann with your ideas for commentaries, opinion pieces, profiles and portraits. Your suggestions for and contributions to our N&P&P track are always welcome!
Last but not least, we want to draw your attention to several popular web site features, which are usuable on all electronic devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, an RSS feed to see the latest published papers, and a HV&I facebook account for daily updates.
Sincerely,
Ronald Ellis, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
Eva M Riedmann, PhD
Acquisitions Editor