Publications by authors named "Menno R van den Bergh"

Background: Immune responses and safety profiles may be affected when vaccines are coadministered. We evaluated the immunogenicity, safety and reactogenicity of a booster dose of the 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D-conjugate (PHiD-CV; Synflorix GSK Vaccines) and DTPa-IPV-Hib (Pediacel Sanofi Pasteur MSD) when coadministered.

Methods: We performed booster assessment in a randomized controlled trial in the Netherlands.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pneumococcal carriage is a key factor for developing pneumococcal disease, especially in the elderly, but traditional culturing methods often underestimate its prevalence.
  • In a study of 330 healthy seniors (65+ years old), only 8% tested positive for S. pneumoniae using conventional culture, while 20% were positive when tested with a more sensitive molecular method (qPCR), indicating higher carriage rates.
  • The results suggest that nearly 1 in 5 asymptomatic elderly individuals may carry pneumococci, underscoring the need for improved detection methods to better understand pneumococcal colonization in this age group.
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Bacterial pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in elderly. We hypothesize that dysbiosis between regular residents of the upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiome, that is balance between commensals and potential pathogens, is involved in pathogen overgrowth and consequently disease. We compared oropharyngeal microbiota of elderly pneumonia patients (n=100) with healthy elderly (n=91) by 16S-rRNA-based sequencing and verified our findings in young adult pneumonia patients (n=27) and young healthy adults (n=187).

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Background: This study evaluated the effects of the 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D-conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) on nasopharyngeal bacterial colonization compared with the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vCRM) in young children.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial in the Netherlands, initiated 2 years after 7vCRM introduction, was conducted between 1 April 2008 and 1 December 2010. Infants (N = 780) received either PHiD-CV or 7vCRM (2:1) at 2, 3, 4, and 11-13 months of age.

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Background: High rates of potentially pathogenic bacteria and respiratory viruses can be detected in the upper respiratory tract of healthy children. Investigating presence of and associations between these pathogens in healthy individuals is still a rather unexplored field of research, but may have implications for interpreting findings during disease.

Methodology/principal Findings: We selected 986 nasopharyngeal samples from 433 6- to 24-month-old healthy children that had participated in a randomized controlled trial.

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Nasopharyngeal sampling is used for detecting bacteria commonly involved in upper respiratory tract infections, but it requires training and may not always be well tolerated. We sampled children (n = 66) of ages 0 to 4 years, with rhinorrhea, by using a nasopharyngeal swab, a nasal swab, and nose blowing/wiping into a paper tissue. Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis, and Staphylococcus aureus were cultured at similar rates across methods with high concordance (80 to 97%), indicating that they are reliably detected by alternative means.

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Background: Recent reviews have highlighted the unpredictability of immunologic interference when multivalent conjugated vaccines are coadministered with other pediatric vaccines.

Objective: To evaluate immunogenicity, safety, and reactogenicity of the 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV; Synflorix, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals) and DTPa-IPV-Hib (Pediacel, Sanofi Pasteur MSD) when coadministered as a 3-dose primary vaccination course.

Material And Methods: In a single-blind, single-center, randomized controlled trial in the Netherlands, healthy infants (n = 780) were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive either (1) PHiD-CV + DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib (Infanrix Hexa, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals), (2) PHiD-CV + DTPa-IPV-Hib, or (3) 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevenar/Prevnar, Pfizer Inc.

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