A Report on a Nationwide Surveillance System for Pediatric Acute Hepatitis of Unknown Etiology in Korea.

Background: Several cases of pediatric acute hepatitis of unknown etiology related to adenoviral infections have been reported in Europe since January 2022. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence, severity, possible etiology, and prognosis of the disease with those in the past in Korea.

Methods: The surveillance group collected data between May and November 2022 using a surveillance system.

Recommendation for use of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis, inactivated poliovirus, Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate, and hepatitis B vaccine in infants.

In April 2020, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety licensed a hexavalent combined diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis (DTaP), inactivated poliovirus (IPV), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugated to tetanus protein, and hepatitis B (HepB) (recombinant DNA) vaccine, DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB (Hexaxim, Sanofi Pasteur), for use as a 3-dose primary series in infants aged 2, 4, and 6 months. The DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB vaccine is highly immunogenic and safe and provides a long-term immune response based on studies performed in a variety of settings in many countries, including Korea. This report summarizes the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the Korean Pediatric Society guidelines for the use of this newly introduced hexavalent combination vaccine.

Comparison of the Immunogenicity and Safety of Three Enhanced Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccines from Different Manufacturers in Healthy Korean Infants: A Prospective Multicenter Study.

The enhanced inactivated poliovirus vaccine was first introduced in 2002, and several inactivated poliovirus vaccines are licensed in Korea. Reliable data by a prospective study on the immunogenicity and safety of the inactivated poliovirus vaccines in Korean infants are required. Normal healthy infants aged 6-12 weeks received three doses of the vaccine (IPVAX™, Imovax Polio™ or Poliorix™) in intervals of 2 months.

Recommended immunization schedule for children and adolescents: Committee on Infectious Diseases of the Korean Pediatric Society, 2018.

The Committee on Infectious Diseases of the Korean Pediatric Society recommended immunization schedule for children and adolescents aged 18 years or younger in the 9th (2018) edition of Immunization guideline. This report provides the revised recommendations made by the committee and summarizes several changes from the 2015 guideline. National immunization program (NIP) launched a human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization for girls aged 12 years in 2016.

Immunogenicity and safety of a combined DTPa-IPV/Hib vaccine administered as a three-dose primary vaccination course in healthy Korean infants: phase III, randomized study.

We assessed the immunogenicity and safety of a three-dose primary vaccination schedule with the combined diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-inactivated poliovirus/Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (DTPa-IPV/Hib) in Korean infants. In this phase III open-label, multicenter study (NCT01309646), healthy infants aged 42-69 days (randomized 1:1) received three doses of either pentavalent DTPa-IPV/Hib (DTPa-IPV/Hib group) or DTPa-IPV and Hib vaccines administered separately (DTPa-IPV+Hib group) at 2, 4, 6 months of age. The primary objective was to demonstrate non-inferiority of DTPa-IPV/Hib compared to DTPa-IPV+Hib vaccines in terms of immune responses to all vaccine antigens, 1 month post-dose 3.

CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Gene Disruption Reveals the Importance of Zinc Metabolism for Fitness of the Dimorphic Fungal Pathogen Blastomyces dermatitidis.

is a human fungal pathogen of the lung that can lead to disseminated disease in healthy and immunocompromised individuals. Genetic analysis of this fungus is hampered by the relative inefficiency of traditional recombination-based gene-targeting approaches. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing to , including to simultaneously target multiple genes.

A Randomized, Double-blind, Active-controlled Clinical Trial of a Cell Culture-derived Inactivated Trivalent Influenza Vaccine (NBP607) in Healthy Children 6 Months Through 18 Years of Age.

Background: Although a number of cell culture-derived influenza vaccines have been approved for use in adults, there have been few clinical trials of cell culture-derived seasonal influenza vaccines for young children.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind phase III clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a cell culture-derived subunit trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (NBP607, SK Chemicals Co., Ltd.

Ligation of Dectin-2 with a novel microbial ligand promotes adjuvant activity for vaccination.

The development of vaccines against fungi and other intracellular microbes is impeded in part by a lack of suitable adjuvants. While most current vaccines against infectious diseases preferentially induce production of antibodies, cellular immunity is essential for the resolution of fungal infections. Microbes such as fungi and Mycobacterium tuberculosis require Th17 and Th1 cells for resistance, and engage the C-type lectin receptors including Dectin-2.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles: a 90-day repeated-dose dermal toxicity study in rats.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) works as a long-lasting, broad-spectrum physical sunblock, and can prevent skin cancer, sunburn, and photoaging. Nanosized ZnO particles are used often in sunscreens due to consumer preference over larger sizes, which appear opaque when dermally applied. Although the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of nanoparticles (NPs) in sunscreens in 1999, there are ongoing safety concerns.

Immunogenicity and safety of a tetravalent measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine: an open-labeled, randomized trial in healthy Korean children.

Purpose: This study (NCT00751348) evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine compared to co-administration of measles-mumps-rubella and varicella (MMR+V) vaccines in Korean children during their second year of life.

Materials And Methods: Healthy children aged 11-24 months received one dose of MMRV or MMR+V. Antibody titers against measles, mumps and rubella were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and against varicella using an immunofluorescence assay.

The role of a whole blood interferon-gamma assay for the detection of latent tuberculosis infection in Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccinated children.

The tuberculin skin test (TST) has limitations in children who are under the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) effect. Our aim was to evaluate the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-G IT) blood test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children and to compare results with those of the TST. QFT-G IT and TST data were collected from 227 children between 0 and 15 years of age, split into 4 risk groups.

Low-dose methotrexate therapy for intravenous immunoglobulin-resistant Kawasaki disease.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose oral methotrexate (MTX) as a treatment for patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) which was resistant to intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).

Patients And Methods: The patients who had persistent or recrudescent fever after treatment with IVIG were subsequently treated with low-dose oral MTX [10mg/body surface area (BSA)] once weekly.

Results: Seventeen patients developed persistent or recrudescent fever after treatment of KD with IVIG and were consequently given MTX.

Analysis of clinical presentations of Bruton disease: a review of 20 years of accumulated data from pediatric patients at Severance Hospital.

Purpose: X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is a humoral immunodeficiency disease caused by a mutation in the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) gene resulting in defective B cell differentiation. Because it is a relatively rare disorder, it is difficult for clinicians to have a comprehensive understanding of XLA due to a lack of exposure to the disease. Clinical presentations of patients with XLA were analyzed and discussed to improve care plans.

Immunogenicity and safety of a pentavalent human-bovine (WC3) reassortant rotavirus vaccine in healthy infants in Korea.

We evaluated the immunogenicity and safety of pentavalent human-bovine reassortant rotavirus vaccine in 178 Korean healthy infants. Seroresponse rate for serum antirotavirus IgA titers was 94.7% among 94 vaccine recipients, as compared with 13.