[National cooperation in mass vaccination of infants is important].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Taranger.
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In Sweden general vaccination with a whole cell pertussis vaccine was recommended from 1953. In 1979 the recommendation was withdrawn because the Swedish-made vaccine had become ineffective. In order to determine the incidence of the disease in a nonvaccinating country, 400 children born in 1980 were randomly selected from the population register of Göteborg, Sweden. The parents of the children were interviewed in 1990, when the children were 10 years old. The parents of 377 children could be reached, and of those 372 were not vaccinated against pertussis. Of the nonvaccinated children 61% had experienced clinically typical whooping cough; 195 (119 with and 76 without a history of whooping cough) agreed to donate a serum sample for determination of antibodies against pertussis toxin, filamentous hemagglutinin and pertactin. Of the children with a history of whooping cough, 91% had antibodies against pertussis toxin, as had 64% of the children without a history of disease. All but 3 children had antibodies against filamentous hemagglutinin and all 195 children had antibodies against pertactin. The antibody titers against the 2 last mentioned proteins did not differ between children with and without a history of whooping cough or between children with and without antibodies against pertussis toxin.
The number of hepatitis B carriers in Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden, has gradually increased between 1980 and 1990. Altogether 525 chronic carriers (35% females) were found, corresponding to a prevalence of 0.11%. 401 (76%) were immigrants from high or medium prevalence regions, mainly the Middle East and Southeast Asia. 102 were native Swedes (19%). In 1988-90 the immigrants constituted 85% (154/182) of all new cases. 93% (245/264) of the carriers born in 1960-89 were immigrants, whereof 53% (130/245) were HBeAg positive. The increasing number of hepatitis B carriers in Sweden places demands on the public health service to undertake measures to prevent new cases of hepatitis B, as well as to discover and treat chronic liver disease induced by hepatitis B virus.
The objective of a vaccine for pertussis is to prevent the paroxysmal cough with its complications. Prevention of the paroxysmal cough should prevent transmission of B. pertussis. Clinical studies indicate that a critical level of antitoxin confers protection against pertussis and that the long-lived protective immunity that follows pertussis is best explained by the presence of antitoxin. Vaccine-induced protective immunity can be mediated by a critical level of antitoxin alone. In addition to preventing pertussis with vaccines, we predict this level of antitoxin will also exert epidemiologic control (herd immunity) by inhibition of colonization with B. pertussis and by prevention of the paroxysmal cough which will reduce transmission of this pathogen. Lastly, a pertussis toxoid need not have detectable pharmacologic activity to exert its protective actions: residual activity could exert a deleterious effect on glucose metabolism and exert immunomodulating effects. Accordingly the new pertussis vaccine should contain inactivated pertussis toxoid alone and there is no need to include other components. Several candidates could serve as a satisfactory pertussis toxoid. The admonition to physicians given by Hippocrates, Primum non nocere (first of all do no harm), should be heeded by those responsible for the development and use of the new pertussis vaccine.
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Serum samples were obtained from 44 infants vaccinated against diphtheria at the ages of 3, 5 and 12 months with an aluminium-adsorbed diphtheria-tetanus toxoid vaccine containing 15 Lf units of diphtheria toxoid. Toxin-neutralizing antibodies (antitoxin) were measured by the Vero cell assay and IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies against diphtheria toxoid by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A neutralizing antibody titer of 10 corresponded to 0.01 IU/ml, the level considered necessary for short-term protection. Geometric mean neutralizing antibody titers at 3, 5, 6, 12, 13 and 30 months were 28, 21, 173, 61, 1076 and 61. All children had titers of greater than or equal to 10 (greater than or equal to 0.01 IU/ml) between 6 and 30 months of age. At 30 months only 48% had titers of greater than or equal to 100 (greater than or equal to 0.01 IU/ml), the level considered necessary for long-term protection. Geometric mean IgG antibody levels were 13, 36, 216, 64, 649 and 57. IgG antibodies significantly correlated with neutralizing titers and predicted neutralizing antibodies above or below 10 and 100 with an accuracy of 96 and 82%, respectively. IgG antibodies could not, however, be used to predict individual neutralizing antibody titers with great accuracy. IgM antibodies were only detected after the third vaccination. IgA antibodies were not detected in any serum sample from ten infants tested. In conclusion, the Swedish vaccination schedule results in protective antibody levels in infants until at least 30 months of age. The decline of the antibody titers indicates a need for further studies to establish the duration of protection.
Serum antibodies against pertactin were found in all samples from 260 nonvaccinated healthy Swedish 1- to 4-year-old children, although 42% had neither a history of clinical pertussis nor antibodies against pertussis toxin or filamentous hemagglutinin. Pertactin antibody levels were, however, higher in children with a history of pertussis than in those without a history of pertussis, and higher in children with antibodies against pertussis toxin and filamentous hemagglutinin than in those without such antibodies.
Pubertal growth in height and the pattern of skeletal and pubertal development were studied in early and late maturers of each sex. The growth rate in height in relation to age at peak height velocity was found to be significantly greater in early maturers of both sexes from at least 7 years before to 2 years after PHV. The peak height was greater in early than in late maturers, the difference being statistically significant in boys only. The amount of growth during the pubertal growth spurt was significantly greater in the early maturers of each sex. The lag periods between the occurrence of maturity indicators of skeletal and pubertal development in relation to age at peak height velocity differed between early and late maturers. The maturity indicators occurred earlier in relation to PHV in the late maturer of each sex.
Non-BCG-vaccinated preschool children (4 or 5 years of age) were simultaneously tested on separate arms with a 2 IU PPD RT23 and 0.1 microgram Mycobacterium avium sensitin RS10 or 0.1 microgram Mycobacterium scrofulaceum sensitin RS95. None of the 762 children had any known exposure to tuberculosis. A total of 8.8% reacted with an induration (greater than or equal to 3 mm to PPD RT23 while 2% reacted with greater than or equal to 6 mm. Half the children were tested with M. avium sensitin: 18.9 and 7.8% reacted when 3 and 6 mm cut-off points, respectively, were taken. The remaining children were tested with M. scrofulaceum sensitin: 18.4 and 6.3%, respectively, reacted. In a previous study of schoolchildren aged 8 or 9 years, reactions to sensitins were considerably more frequent. Thus, sensitisation by atypical mycobacteria seems to increase from the preschool to the early school age. This finding probably reflects a continuous exposure of the children to atypical mycobacteria from various sources. The preschool children with a reaction to PPD RT23 greater than or equal to 6 mm were examined and chest X-rays were performed. All children were healthy but one child had enlarged lymph nodes in the mediastinum and abdomen. It cannot be excluded that these pathological findings were caused by atypical mycobacteria.
Eighty-five children received three injections of a vaccine consisting of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) capsular polysaccharide (CPS) conjugated to tetanus toxoid (TT) (Hib-TT) at 3, 5 and 12 months of age according to the vaccination schedule for Swedish children. Diphtheria-tetanus toxoid vaccine was concurrently injected at another site. Two dosages, 7.5 and 15 micrograms, of Hib CPS were studied. No serious reactions occurred. Hib-TT elicited fewer local reactions than diphtheria-tetanus toxoid vaccine. Significant increases in Hib CPS serum antibodies occurred after all injections in both dosage groups with virtually no differences between the two groups. After the first and second injections geometric mean serum antibody concentrations of both dosage groups combined increased to 0.49 and 3.71 micrograms/ml and 81 and 99% of the vaccinees, respectively, had concentrations greater than 0.15 micrograms/ml. After the third dose geometric mean concentrations increased to 13.7 micrograms/ml and all had concentrations greater than 0.15 micrograms/ml. The geometric mean Hib CPS antibody concentrations decreased to 1.24 micrograms/ml 18 months after the third injection, but 97% still had concentrations greater than 0.15 micrograms/ml. The rise of Hib CPS antibodies was mostly in the IgG class. The most pronounced increase was seen in the IgG1 subclass but there were also increase in IgG2 and IgG3. Protective concentrations of TT antibodies were found in all postimmunization sera. In conclusion Hib-TT is safe and immunogenic in infants and should be protective from 6 to 30 months and probably longer thereafter.
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The timing and interrelationships between stages of secondary sex characters and the pubertal maximum of growth were studied in a prospective longitudinal study of 90 Swedish girls, followed from birth to adulthood. The results show that there is a close correlation between some of the stages of secondary sex characters and the pubertal maximum of growth in girls.
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