Virus Vaccine Research Articles

Human Papilloma Virus Vaccination as a Strategy to Eliminate Cervical Cancer: Challenges and Opportunities

In August 2020, the World Health Assembly approved the global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer, envisioning a world where it seizes to be a public health problem. The cervical cancer elimination initiative reinforces the commitment to fulfilling the rights of adolescent girls and women by reducing both health and economic inequities in the poorest populations that have more limited access to timely and effective services. This initiative improves the quality of life of women and their families by protecting them from a disease that causes disability and preventing avoidable mortality through public health measures. This article discusses the epidemiological situation and vaccination coverage and identifies weaknesses and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean to propose actions to reinforce progress toward the cervical cancer elimination goal.

The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Essential Programmes on Immunization Managers in Central Africa: A Peer Learning Platform

Background: Since 1974, Essential Programme on Immunisation managers from ten Central African countries meet yearly with partners to review progress made and share experiences and lessons learned from the implementation of immunization programmes. The 2024 meeting occurred in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in September 2024. This conference report summarizes the key takeaways from discussions on using immunization data for decision-making, the implementation of the Big Catch-Up (BCU) initiative to reduce the burden of zero-dose children, and progress and challenges in introducing selected new vaccines. Conference Takeaways: Inaccurate administrative data on routine immunization observed in most countries, compared to WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage and national survey estimates, affect timely decisions to improve the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) performance. Five countries in Central Africa are among the priority countries of the BCU initiative but, as of the end of August 2024, are yet to formally start its implementation. Cameroon and Central African Republic introduced the malaria vaccine in January 2024 and August 2024, respectively, while the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, and Burundi have planned to do so by 2025. Conclusions and Recommendations: Meeting participants put forward several recommendations for countries and immunization partners, including but not limited to (i) investing more in routine immunization data quality assurance to better use data to inform decisions, (ii) accelerating the implementation of the BCU initiative to close the immunity gap resulting from routine immunization disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, (iii) updating malaria vaccine introduction plans to invest more in demand generation and community engagement, and (iv) learning from Cameroon’s experience in tackling hesitancy to human papilloma virus vaccine. It is critical to set up an appropriate mechanism for monitoring the implementation of these recommendations.

Incidence and Factors Associated with Self-Reported Skin Symptoms of Allergic Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccines

Background: Few reports exist regarding the incidence and factors associated with allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines during post-marketing surveillance, especially for inactivated whole virus or viral vector vaccines. We aimed to determine the incidence and factors associated with self-reported allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines in the Thai population. Methods: A cross-sectional case-control study was conducted via telephone-based interviews. Cases were defined as physician-confirmed, self-reported vaccine recipients diagnosed with non-severe immediate allergic reactions, anaphylaxis, or delayed allergic reactions. Controls were randomly sampled from vaccinated individuals who reported no adverse events and were matched by the type of vaccine (1 case:2 controls). Demographic information and the history of atopic diseases were collected in both groups. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to explore associated factors. Results: Among 215,079 vaccine doses administered, the incidence of self-reported skin symptoms of allergic reactions was 1821 events (0.85%). The risk factors for allergic reactions included age < 60 years (aOR 3.53; 95% CI:1.43–8.70; p = 0.006), female sex (aOR 8.33; 95% CI: 4.35–15.94; p < 0.001), a personal history of allergic rhinitis (aOR 4.32; 95% CI: 2.43–7.69; p < 0.001), atopic dermatitis (aOR 4.27; 95% CI: 1.74–10.47; p = 0.002), food allergies (aOR 6.53; 95% CI: 2.42–17.61; p < 0.001), and a family history of allergic disease (aOR 2.14; 95% CI: 1.12–4.08; p = 0.021). Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccines showed a low incidence of self-reported allergic reactions, which were more likely to occur in younger individuals, females, and those with a history of atopic diseases.

Factors associated with uptake of human papilloma virus vaccine among adolescent girls: A cross sectional survey on insights into HPV Infection Prevention in Kabarole District, Western Uganda.

Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection imposes a substantial global disease burden and represents a critical public health concern. The persistently low uptake of HPV vaccination poses a significant obstacle to reducing cervical cancer incidence, particularly in remote rural areas of developing nations. This study aims to assess the extent of Human papilloma virus vaccine coverage among adolescents and explore the associated determinants to facilitate enhanced planning strategies within the Kabarole district. Employing a cross-sectional survey approach, data were gathered from 240 adolescent girls residing in the Kabarole district between 01/09/2022 and 18/10/2022. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate the relationships between HPV vaccination uptake and various independent variables, including demographics, HPV knowledge, and health system factors. Of the 240 adolescents enrolled, the overall prevalence of uptake of HPV vaccination was 63%. The uptake of human papilloma was associated with demographics knowledge about HPV and health systems factors. The multivariate analysis showed that parents who completed secondary level of education were 4.1 times more likely to take their children for HPV vaccination compared to parents whose education level was primary or had no formal education (AOR = 4.06; 95%CI (1.69 - 6.87); p = 0.004). Distance from home to facility was associated with uptake HPV vaccination. Participants who came from the distance of more than 5 km were 60% less likely to uptake HPV vaccination compared to those who come from 5km or less (OR = 0.4; 95%CI (0.34 - 0.89); p = 0.006). Results further revealed that parents whose knowledge about HPV vaccination was moderate were three times more likely to take up HPV vaccine compared to those whose knowledge was low (OR = 2.99; 95%CI(1.14 - 7.87); p = 0.026). HPV vaccination uptake was at 63% and relatively lower than national average. Education of parents, Knowledge of HPV vaccination and distance to facility were factors significantly associated with uptake of human papilloma virus vaccine.

Efficacy of intralesional acyclovir versus quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine for treatment of recalcitrant cutaneous warts: a clinical trial.

Warts are the cutaneous manifestations of human papilloma virus infection. Immunotherapy with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines has been tried with promising outcomes. Acyclovir is an antiviral with established efficacy against DNA viruses, could become a possible revolutionary therapeutic option for warts. This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of intralesional acyclovir versus quadrivalent human papilloma virus vaccine in treatment of recalcitrant cutaneous warts. A total of 60 patients with recalcitrant warts were assigned into 3 groups: group I, 20 patients received Intralesional injection of acyclovir, group II, 20 patient received intralesional quadrivalent HPV vaccine, and group III, 20 patients received intralesional injection of normal saline. The patients were followed up monthly for 3 months after the last injection to detect any recurrence. Complete clearance was observed in 8 patients (40%) in group I, 16 patients (80%) in group II and no response in group III. The most common side effects were pain (100%) among all groups, hemorrhagic eschars in group I(100%), edema in group II(30%) while the least was flu like symptoms (5%) in group II. both intralesional quadrivalent HPV vaccine and intralesional acyclovir seem to be promising, well-tolerated therapeutic options for the treatment of warts, with statistically significant superiority of the quadrivalent vaccine over acyclovir.

A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine

BackgroundFoot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccine development can be a laborious task due to the existence of various serotypes and lineages and its quasi-species nature. Immunoinformatics provide effective and promising avenue for the development of multiepitope vaccines against such complex pathogens. In this study, we developed an immunoinformatic pipeline to design a heptavalent multi-epitope vaccine targeting circulating FMDV isolates in Egypt.ResultB and T-cell epitopes were predicted and selected epitopes were proved to be non-allergenic, non-toxic, with high antigenicity, and able to induce interferon-gamma response. The epitopes were used to construct a vaccine by adding suitable linkers and adjuvant. Prediction, refinement, and validation of the final construct proved its stability and solubility, having a theoretical isoelectric point (PI) of 9.4 and a molecular weight of 75.49 kDa. The final construct was evaluated for its interaction with bovine toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and 4 using molecular docking analysis and molecular dynamic simulation showed high binding affinity, especially toward TLR4. MM/GBSA energy calculation supported these findings, confirming favorable energetics of the interaction. Finally, the DNA sequence of the vaccine was cloned in pET-30a (+) for efficient expression in Escherichia coli.ConclusionThe inclusion of computational and immunoinformatic approaches will ensure cost-effectiveness and rapid design of FMDV vaccine, decrease wet lab experimentation, and aid the selection of novel FMDV vaccines. While the vaccine demonstrates promising in-silico results, experimental assessment of vaccine efficiency is required.

Pregnant persons perceptions and uptake of prenatal RSV vaccine - Minnesota, 2023-2024.

Pregnant persons perceptions and uptake of prenatal RSV vaccine - Minnesota, 2023-2024.

Pregnancy outcomes and calf growth in beef cows given modified-live virus vaccination at synchronization for timed artificial insemination

The objective was to compare reproductive outcomes and calf traits after vaccination of suckled beef cows using a commercial modified-live virus (MLV) vaccine that contained bovine herpesvirus 1 and bovine viral diarrhea virus (types 1 and 2) at the initiation of a timed artificial insemination (AI) program. In Experiment 1, cows given MLV vaccine in the previous year were enrolled during the fall 2019 and spring 2020 breeding seasons. At initiation of a 7-day CO-Synch + CIDR synchronization protocol (10 days before breeding), cows were given either MLV vaccine or nothing (CONT). Cows were inseminated 60-66 hours after removal of the CIDR insert and subsequently exposed to bulls starting ~ 1 week after AI. All CONT cows received a killed virus vaccine at mid-pregnancy. For Experiment 2, available cows from fall 2019 were reenrolled and given the same vaccination treatment as in the previous season. Treatment with MLV vaccine did not have effects on AI pregnancy rates (p ≥ 0.31), total season pregnancy rates (p ≥ 0.12), or AI pregnancy losses (p ≥ 0.41). There was also no effect of vaccination treatment on calf birth weight (p ≥ 0.27), weaning weight (p ≥ 0.14), or average daily gain (p ≥ 0.14). In summary, cows given MLV vaccinations on day 10 before breeding experienced no deleterious effects on pregnancy outcomes or calf traits. These findings supported the use of MLV vaccination in previously vaccinated cows at synchronization for timed AI.

Advances in Chicken Infectious Anemia Vaccines

Chicken infectious anemia (CIA) is caused by the CIA virus (CIAV) and is a globally distributed immunosuppressive disease, resulting in substantial economic losses for the poultry industry. Vaccination is the most cost-effective and efficient strategy for preventing and controlling infectious diseases. The most common CIA vaccines used internationally are attenuated vaccines. Although inactivated vaccines, subunit vaccines, immune complex vaccines, recombinant live viral vector vaccines, and DNA vaccines used for preventing CIAV infection have been developed and exhibited relatively satisfactory immune responses, they have not yet achieved large-scale market applications. Therefore, accelerating the introduction of safe and effective CIA vaccines to the market and developing novel vaccines are crucial for the control of CIA in the poultry industry. This article reviews the etiological characteristics of CIAV, the epidemic features, and the research progress of CIA vaccines, and proposes future research directions, with the aim of providing innovative ideas and scientific references for the research and development of new, safe, and efficient CIA vaccines.

A Post-Authorisation Safety Study of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine in Pregnant Women and Their Offspring in a Real-World Setting: Generic Protocol for a Target Trial Emulation

Background: Assessing the real-world safety of preventive products against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in pregnant women holds significant public health implications, especially as vaccination programs become more widespread. This generic protocol describes a post-authorisation safety study (PASS) to evaluate the safety of RSV vaccination in pregnant women using a target trial emulation framework. Methods: This generic protocol, adapted from an ongoing PASS, is designed using the target trial emulation framework to evaluate the safety of an RSV vaccine in pregnant women. Emulating target trial conditions have the ability to minimise confounding and bias. In this pragmatic real-world observational study, RSV-vaccinated pregnant women are matched (1:N) with unexposed women based on gestational age, calendar time, maternal age, immunocompromised status, and high-risk pregnancy. Key adverse outcomes include preterm birth, stillbirth, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), low birth weight (LBW), and small for gestational age (SGA). Future studies may add additional outcomes per vaccine risk profile and Global Alignment of Immunization safety Assessment (GAIA) recommendations. Distinguishing outcomes measured during pregnancy from those assessed at or after birth is crucial for analysis and interpretation. Conclusions: This protocol offers a structured approach to evaluating the safety of RSV vaccines in pregnant women. It aims to guide researchers in designing studies and should be adapted to specific settings and data availability.

Opportunities and challenges of mRNA technologies in development of dengue virus vaccine

Dengue virus (DENV) is a mosquito-borne virus with a significant human health concern. With 390 million infections annually and 96 million showing clinical symptoms, severe dengue can lead to life-threatening conditions like dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). The only FDA-approved vaccine, Dengvaxia, has limitations due to antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), necessitating careful administration. The recent pre-approval of TAK-003 by WHO in 2024 highlights ongoing efforts to improve vaccine options. This review explores recent advancements in dengue vaccine development, emphasizing potential utility of mRNA-based vaccines. By examining current clinical trial data and innovations, we aim to identify promising strategies to address the limitations of existing vaccines and enhance global dengue prevention efforts.

A Multi-Valent Hantavirus Vaccine Based on Recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara Reduces Viral Load in a Mouse Infection Model

Background: Old World orthohantaviruses are the aetiological agent of Haemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) disease. Worldwide, the two most prominent pathogens of HFRS are Seoul orthohantavirus (SEOV) and Hantaan orthohantavirus (HTNV). There is currently no specific treatment nor widely licensed vaccine form hantaviruses. Methods: This study developed a virus-vectored vaccine approach using modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) incorporating a SEOV-HTNV chimeric nucleoprotein antigen. Results: The vaccine demonstrated the induction of humoral and cellular immunity. In the absence of a disease model, a reduction in the viral load of a susceptible mouse strain with type-I interferon receptor deficiency (A129) was used to ascertain protective effects after challenge with SEOV. Results demonstrated a significant reduction in and/or clearance of viral RNA in immunised animals. Conclusions: An MVA viral vector vaccine incorporating the nucleoprotein as antigen offers a promising approach for Hantavirus vaccine development.

Decoding codon usage in human papillomavirus type 59.

Human Papillomavirus Type 59 (HPV-59) is a high-risk subtype linked to cervical and other cancers. However, its codon usage patterns remain underexplored despite their importance in understanding viral behavior and vaccine optimization. This study reveals a mild codon usage bias in HPV-59, with a notable preference for A/T-ending codons and 29 favored codons, primarily ending in A or T. Additionally, CpG dinucleotides were significantly underrepresented, potentially aiding immune evasion. Analyses using the Parity Rule 2, Effective Number of Codons plot, and neutrality plot indicate that both mutational pressure and natural selection shape codon usage, with natural selection playing a dominant role. The virus's codon usage moderately aligns with human translational machinery, as shown by the Isoacceptor tRNA pool, Codon Adaptation Index, and Relative Codon Deoptimization Index, reflecting an evolutionary balance between protein synthesis efficiency and host compatibility. These findings provide valuable insights into HPV-59 biology, offering guidance for developing optimized vaccines.

VITALdb: to select the best viroinformatics tools for a desired virus or application.

The recent pandemics of viral diseases, COVID-19/mpox (humans) and lumpy skin disease (cattle), have kept us glued to viral research. These pandemics along with the recent human metapneumovirus outbreak have exposed the urgency for early diagnosis of viral infections, vaccine development, and discovery of novel antiviral drugs and therapeutics. To support this, there is an armamentarium of virus-specific computational tools that are currently available. VITALdb (VIroinformatics Tools and ALgorithms database) is a resource of ~360 viroinformatics tools encompassing all major viruses (SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, human immunodeficiency virus, papillomavirus, herpes simplex virus, hepatitis virus, dengue virus, Ebola virus, Zika virus, etc.) and several diverse applications [structural and functional annotation, antiviral peptides development, subspecies characterization, recognition of viral recombination, inhibitors identification, phylogenetic analysis, virus-host prediction, viral metagenomics, detection of mutation(s), primer designing, etc.]. Resources, tools, and other utilities mentioned in this article will not only facilitate further developments in the realm of viroinformatics but also provide tremendous fillip to translate fundamental knowledge into applied research. Most importantly, VITALdb is an inevitable tool for selecting the best tool(s) to carry out a desired task and hence will prove to be a vital database (VITALdb) for the scientific community. Database URL: https://compbio.iitr.ac.in/vitaldb.

Research advances in replication-deficient viral vector vaccines

In recent years, replication-deficient viral vector vaccines have attracted much attention in the field of vaccine research and development due to their high safety and immunogenicity. These vaccines use genetic modifications to engineer viral vectors that make them unable to replicate but effective in expressing recombinant proteins and induce immune responses. Currently, replication-deficient adenovirus vectors and poxvirus vectors are widely used in vaccine R&D for a variety of infectious diseases in humans and animals, including AIDS, hepatitis B, pseudorabies, avian influenza, infectious bronchitis in poultry, and foot-and-mouth disease. Replication-deficient viral vaccines have been shown to effectively induce neutralizing antibodies and cellular immune responses, thereby providing effective immune protection. Future development of genetic engineering technology and continuous in-depth research on viral vectors should lead to replication-deficient viral vector platforms that have an essential role in preventing and controlling existing and emerging infectious diseases.

Is it time to consider the live attenuated varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccination safe in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab? An extension study of the first Iranian experience.

Is it time to consider the live attenuated varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccination safe in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab? An extension study of the first Iranian experience.

An automated and high-throughput approach for enhanced precision of adenoviral titering.

An automated and high-throughput approach for enhanced precision of adenoviral titering.

Identification and characterization of CD83 and CD276 as markers of dendritic cells in olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus).

Identification and characterization of CD83 and CD276 as markers of dendritic cells in olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus).

Proof-of-principle of a technology transfer of a dried blood virus neutralisation assay to a Gavi-eligible country

BackgroundGlobal health clinical research is commonly led by high-income countries (HICs) as low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) face barriers to participate, including lack of financial and human capacity and lack...

Hepatitis B vaccination of preterm infants and risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia: a cohort study, Australia.

To determine whether hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination of extremely preterm infants (defined in our study as < 29weeks gestation) within 24hours of birth (birth-dose) increases the risk of developing bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Using data from Australia, we conducted a population data linkage study using the Victorian Vaccine Safety Health Link. This platform links state-wide immunization and health outcomes from the Victorian Perinatal Data Collection and the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset. Our retrospective cohort study included all extremely preterm infants born alive during 2017-2020 (excluding data outliers). We investigated the relationship between birth-dose HBV vaccination and bronchopulmonary dysplasia diagnosis at 36weeks postmenstrual age. We identified possible confounders using a directed acyclic graph, and included these confounders in a robust Poisson regression model. Of the 818 extremely preterm infants meeting our inclusion criteria, 306 received birth-dose HBV vaccination: 50.7% (155/306) of the vaccinated and 61.9% (317/512) of the unvaccinated infants developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia. After accounting for measured confounders, the adjusted relative risk was 0.83 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.68-1.00), suggesting no increased risk. However, residual confounding by indication may still be present as it is not known how clinician perception of the stability of the newborn affects the decision to vaccinate or not, potentially underestimating any association between vaccination and outcome. Our findings support existing World Health Organization recommendations to immunize all infants against HBV within 24hours of birth, including those born prematurely.