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Biomedical subjects

K M Boyer

Publications and source records attributed to K M Boyer.

68 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Clinical reactions and serologic responses in healthy children aged six to 35 months after two-dose regimens of inactivated A/New Jersey/76 influenza virus vaccines.

In collaborative clinical trials, two-dose regimens of four monovalent A/New Jersey (NJ)/76 influenza virus vaccines were evaluated in 89 children aged six to 35 months. Clinical reactions to vaccination consisted primarily of low-grade fever. Rectal temperatures of between 100 F and 102 F occurred less frequently after inoculation with split-product vaccines (seven [23%] of 31 children) than whole-virus vaccines (19 [33%] of 58). After administration of single doses of vaccines, titers of hemagglutination-inhibiting (HAI) antibody reached greater than or equal to 1:20 in three (13%) of the 23 recipients of split-product vaccines and in 23 (51%) of the 45 recipients of whole-virus vaccines. After administration of two doses, 89%-94% of recipients of Parke, Davis and Company (PD, Detroit, Mich.), Merrell-National Laboratories (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Merck Sharp and Dohme (West Point, Pa.) vaccines, but only 50% of the recipients of Wyeth Laboratories (Philadelphia, Pa.) vaccine, had titers of HAI antibody of greater than or equal to 1:20. Single doses of more reactogenic whole-virus vaccines may be justifiable for rapid immunization of young children during epidemics of influenza. Given in a two-dose regimen, however, PD split-product vaccine was immunogenic and was the most well-tolerated vaccine tested in this age group.

Antibodies, Viral↗

Response of children with cardiac disease to the bivalent influenza A vaccines.

During the recent nationwide trials of influenza vaccine, 121 children with cardiac disease, aged three to 18 years, were evaluated with respect to their immune response and reaction rate after administration of a whole-virus or split-virus bivalent influenza A/New Jersey/76-A/Victoria/75 vaccine given as a single dose or two divided doses. The serologic response of the cardiac children did not differ significantly from that of the total group of high-risk children or normal children who recived the same vaccine. The major reaction to the vaccines was fever, which occurred in one-fourth to one-half of children receiving the whole-virus vaccines. The split-virus vaccines were generally well tolerated. The reaction index of the cardiac children was slightly lower than that of the normal children receiving the same vaccine during the single-dose trial but higher during the two-dose trial. The second dose was generally better tolerated than the first dose. Reactions in the children with cardiac disease could not be adequately evaluated according to specific diagnoses or functional disabilities.

Adolescent↗

Multicenter two-dose trials of bivalent influenza A vaccines in asthmatic children aged six to 18 years.

Data from all of the vaccination centers that immunized asthmatic children six to 18 years old with bivalent influenza A/New Jersey/76 and A/Victoria/75 vaccines were analyzed. Systemic reaction indexes were somewhat higher in asthmatic children receiving the first dose of whole-virus vaccines than in similar vaccinees without asthma. Antibody levels after immunization, while different in some instances, did not show any significant trends toward either hypo- or hyperresponsiveness in the asthmatic children.

Adolescent↗

Clinical trials with inactivated monovalent (A/New Jersey/76) and bivalent (A/New Jersey/76-A/Victoria/75) influenza vaccines in Los Angeles children.

Clinical and serologic responses to inactivated influenza virus vaccines were studied in 444 children in Los Angeles under doubld-blind, placebo-controlled protocols. One- and two-dose regimens employing monovalent (A/New Jersey/76) and bivalent (A/New Jersey/76-A/Victoria/75) vaccine were studied in separate trials. In a single dose, whole-virus vaccines were more potent than split-product vaccines as primary inducers of immunity against influenza A/New Jersey/76 virus. Split-product vaccines were better tolerated clinically and, after two-dose regiments, produced rates of seroconversion (greater than 90%) against A/New Jersey/76 virus comparable to those produced by two doses of whole-virus vaccines. Analysis of heterotypic antibody responses induced by monovalent A/New Jersey/76 vaccines revealed only slight increases in antibody against influenza A/Victoria/75 virus. After vaccination with bivalent vaccines, levels of antibody against influenza A/Victoria/75 virus were significantly higher in subjects who received high doses of split-product vaccines than in subjects who received whole-virus vaccines.

Adolescent↗

IgM and IgG antibody responses after immunization of children with inactivated monovalent (A/New Jersey/76) and bivalent (A/New Jersey/76-A/Victoria/75) influenza virus vaccines.

The character of the immune response to inactivated monovalent influenza A/New Jersey/76 and bivalent influenza A/New Jersey/76-A/Victoria/75 vaccines was studied in children six months to 18 years of age. Titers of hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody in sera taken after vaccination were measured before and after treatment with 2-mercaptoethanol. IgG antibody predominated in responses to the influenza A/Victoria/75 component of bivalent vaccines. In contrast, specific IgM antibody to influenza A/New Jersey/76 virus developed after administration of both monovalent and bivalent vaccines and appeared to characterize the immune response to this antigenic "shift" strain in children. Prevalences of IgM antibody against influenza A/New Jersey/76 virus did not differ significantly by age. This finding implies that type rather than extent of previous experience with influenza determines the IgM antibody response to an antigenic "shifts." Split-product vaccines produced significantly fewer IgM antibody responses to influenza A/New Jersey/76 virus than did whole-virus vaccines, a phenomenon that may correlate with their diminished reactogenicity and immunogenicity in children.

Adolescent↗

Tick-borne relapsing fever: an interstate outbreak originating at Grand Canyon National Park.

During the 1973 summer season, 27 employees and 35 overnight guests at the North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, acquired febrile illnesses compatibel with relapsing fever. Sixteen cases were confirmed by finding Borrelia spirochetes in peripheral blood smears or inoculated Swiss mice. Retrospective surveys of 278 employees and 7247 guests at the park revealed that acquisition of illness was significantly associated with the persons sleeping in rustic log cabins and acquiring bites of "unknown" insects. From rodent nesting materials found in the walls and attics of cabins where cases had occurred, infective Ornithodoros hermsi ticks were recovered. Exceptional activity of ticks in human populations appeared to have resulted from a decreased population of the ticks' usual rodent hosts. Vector control activities consisted of spraying the cabins with residual insecticide, removing nesting materials, and "rodent proofing." This outbreak, the largest yet identified in North America, extends the known range of a principal vector and establishes the North Rim as an endemic source of tick-borne relapsing fever.

Adult↗

An outbreak og gastroenteritis due to E. coli 0142 in a neonatal nursery.

A nursery outbreak of gastroenteritis casued by Escherichia coli 0142/K86/H6 is described. Over a period of nine months, 59 epidemiologically linked cases of diarrhea occurred, including 21 intractable cases with four deaths. The epidemic strain, which was not agglutinated by commerical diagnostic antisera, was isolated from the hands of personnel in five instances directly incriminated hand carriage as the mode of spread. Acquisition of illness, which was especially high among low-birth-weight infants less than 17 days old, did not correlate with any treatment modality investigated and appeared to be related to a host factor. Noninvasive small intestinal colonization, production of enterotoxin, and multiple antibiotic resistance of the epidemic strain were demonstrated and helped to explain the intractability of clinical illness in many infants, despite intensive parenteral antibiotic therapy. Surveys of fecal coliforms on the hands of nursery personnel revealed no change in prevalence after introduction of a policy of "triple" handwashing with 3 percent hexachlorophene soap, but a significant decrease occurred during the use of disposable gloves. The frequent occurrence of E. coli 0142 in throat swabs of affected infants suggested that pharyngeal colonization may serve as an important diagnostic clue in E. coli diarrhea.

Age Factors↗

Hepatitis A: report of a common-source outbreak with recovery of a possible etiologic agent. I. Epidemiologic studies.

From the end of October to the end of December 1973, an epidemic of hepatitis A affected 40 students at a state university, 11 employees of two restaurants, and 11 other residents in a southwestern metropolitan community. Two distinct epidemic waves of illness occurred, and investigation implicated two local restaurants as sources of infection, one for each epidemic wave. An index patient who prepared food was identified at each restaurant, and the two restaurants were linked by the fact that the index patient who worked at the second restaurant had patronized the first restaurant. Foods implicated as vehicles of transmission included 'guacamole,' green salad, spaghetti, and hamburger. The findings represent a rare example of a 'double' common-source outbreak with two distinct epidemic waves related to two separate eating establishments.

Arizona↗

Disability benefits: what is the Social Security Administration thinking?

This article briefly describes decision-making standards and procedures used by the Social Security Administration in adjudicating disability insurance benefits claims. Correlatively, the article addresses and dispels some of the myths surrounding various outcomes of disability claims. It also describes the role of the treating physician and how a treating physician who wants to help his or her patient obtain disability benefits should respond to Social Security's requests for medical records and written reports.

Adult↗

IgM and IgG antibody responses following immunization of children and adults with influenza A/NJ/76 vaccines.

The character of the immune response to inactivated monovalent influenza A/New Jersey/76 (A/NJ/76) and bivalent influenza A/New Jersey/76-A/Victoria/75 (A/NJ/76-A/Vic/75) vaccines was studied in children 6 months to 18 years of age. Hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody levels were measured in post-vaccination serums before and after 2-mercaptoethanol treatment. IgG antibody predominated in responses to the influenza A/Vic/75 component of bivalent vaccines. In contrast, specific IgM antibody against influenza A/NJ/76 developed after both monovalent and bivalent vaccines, and appears to characterize the immune response to this antigenic "shift" strain in children. Prevalences of IgM antibody against influenza A/NJ/76 did not differ significantly by age, implying that type rather than extent of previous influenza experience determines the IgM antibody response to an antigenic "shift". Slit-product vaccines produced significantly fewer IgM antibody responses to influenza A/NJ/76 than did whole-virus vaccines, a phenomenon which may correlate with their diminished reactogenicity and immunogenicity in children.

Adolescent↗