Immunologic response to Hib tetanus toxoid conjugated vaccine coadministered with DTPa either mixed or in two separate injections in toddlers not primed with Hib vaccine.

This open randomized study compared the immunogenicity and safety of a diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTPa) and H. influenzae polyribosylribitol phosphate conjugated to the tetanus toxoid (Hib-PRP-T) vaccine (mixed prior to administration) with separate injections of DTPa and Hib vaccines in toddlers aged two years. A total of 119 children (60 mixed; 59 separate administration), primed with DTPw, but not with Hib vaccine were enrolled.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of common pathogens from community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections in Estonia.

Antimicrobial resistance among clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 49), Haemophilus influenzae (n = 66) and Moraxella catarrhalis (n = 25) from adults with community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections (CALRTI) was assessed in a national surveillance study in Southern Estonia during 2000-2003. In S. pneumoniae, no penicillin resistance and only 2.

Safety and immunogenicity of a primary course and booster dose of a combined diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, hepatitis B and inactivated poliovirus vaccine.

Primary immunization at 3, 4.5, and 6 months and boosting between 15 and 27 months of age with combined diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-hepatitis B-inactivated poliovirus (DTPa-HBV-IPV) vaccine was compared with separate administration of DTPa-HBV and IPV to healthy children (trials DTPa-HBV-IPV-019/033). Antibody titres were measured before and 1 month after primary and booster courses.

Pertussis outbreak in a basic school in Estonia: description, contributing factors and vaccine effectiveness.

The aim of the current study was to assess the epidemiological situation concerning the emergence of a pertussis outbreak, as well as potential contributing factors and vaccine effectiveness. A retrospective epidemiological description and an analysis of the outbreak among students were performed. The basic school in Adavere had a total of 150 students in 2003.

Immunogenicity and safety of a combined hepatitis A and B vaccine administered concomitantly with either a measles-mumps-rubella or a diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine mixed with a Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine in infants aged 12-18 months.

Two studies were undertaken to investigate the concomitant administration of combined hepatitis A/B vaccine with a diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine mixed with Haemophilus influenzae vaccine (DTPa-IPV/Hib), or with a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR), during the second year of life. On completion of the vaccination course, all subjects were seropositive or seroprotected against all antigens except for one subject who was seronegative for anti-PT. Seropositivity and seroprotection rates for all other antibodies were comparable to reference values for each vaccine component, indicating that the immunogenicity of MMR, DTPa-IPV/Hib and combined hepatitis A/B vaccines is not impaired by co-administration.

Double-blind study comparing the immunogenicity of a licensed DTwPHib-CRM197 conjugate vaccine (Quattvaxem) with three investigational, liquid formulations using lower doses of Hib-CRM197 conjugate.

We performed a double-blind clinical study to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of four formulations of a DTwPHib full liquid vaccine, three of which contained fractional doses of the 10 microg-dose of CRM197-Hib conjugate vaccine. A total of 261 infants were enrolled and randomised to receive at 3, 4 and 5 months of age, in a double-blind fashion, one of the four DTwPHib vaccine formulations containing 10, 5, 2.5 or 1.

Safety, immunogenicity and tolerability of a new pediatric tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) vaccine, free of protein-derived stabilizer.

A total of 3,559 children aged 1-11 years were enrolled in two clinical studies to evaluate immunogenicity and safety of a new pediatric tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) vaccine, free of protein-derived stabilizer. Immunogenicity was evaluated in the rapid immunization schedule (Days 0, 7, and 21) from sera collected at baseline and on Day 42 post-immunization by in vitro TBE virus neutralization test. All subjects analyzed achieved levels of TBE antibodies to fulfil the definition of seroconversion or a four-fold increase in antibody titres from baseline.

Atopic allergy and delayed type hypersensitivity in Estonian children.

Background: A shift in the balance ofT helper (Th) cell subsets towards a polarized Th2 population is generally accepted to occur in atopic disease, however, both Th1 and Th2 disorders have increased over the past decades in Western communities.

Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response in atopic and non-atopic children in a population with a low prevalence of allergic disorders.

Methods: Skin prick tests (SPT) were performed with fresh egg white and extracts of five inhalant allergens, i.

Safety and immunogenicity of combined Dtpa-IPV vaccine for primary and booster vaccination.

This study evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of combined diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine (DTPa-IPV) given as primary immunization at ages 3, 4.5 and 6 months and a booster dose between the ages of 18 and 27 months to healthy children. The acellular pertussis tricomponent vaccine contains pertussis toxoid (PT), filamentous haemaglutinin (FHA) and 69 kDa outer membrane protein (PRN).

Regular albuterol or nedocromil sodium--effects on airway subepithelial tenascin in asthma.

Both albuterol and nedocromil sodium have been recognized to possess certain anti-inflammatory properties. However, there are no data on the impact of these drugs on the pathophysiology of the bronchial extracellular matrix in asthma characterized by enhanced tenascin (Tn) expression, known to occur proportional to the severity of asthma. This paper reports data from a morphometric study on the effects of regular treatment with inhaled albuterol or nedocromil sodium on the extent of bronchial subepithelial deposition of Tn, collagen types III, IV, and VII and mucosal infiltration with macrophages.

Comparison of enterovirus-specific cellular immunity in two populations of young children vaccinated with inactivated or live poliovirus vaccines.

Enterovirus-specific cellular immunity was studied in Estonian and in Finnish children at the age of 9 months. The aim was to evaluate the level of responsiveness in two neighbouring countries with different poliovirus immunization practices and striking differences in the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), a disease in which early enterovirus infections are an aetiological risk factor. The Estonian children immunized with live attenuated polio vaccine had stronger T cell responses to coxsackievirus B4 and poliovirus type 1 when compared with Finnish children immunized with inactivated polio vaccine (median stimulation indices 10.

Effect of regular nedocromil sodium or albuterol on bronchial inflammation in chronic asthma.

Nedocromil sodium is recommended for daily treatment of mild persistent asthma but its effect on cellular changes in asthmatic airways is poorly understood. We compared the antiinflammatory effects of nedocromil sodium and albuterol in 32 patients with asthma who received either nedocromil sodium 4 mg or albuterol 0.2 mg four times daily for 12 weeks according to a double-blind protocol.