Background: Live vaccines including BCG and measles may have non-targeted beneficial effects on childhood survival in areas with high mortality. The authors therefore undertook a survey of vaccinia scars to evaluate subsequent mortality.
Subjects: Based on a population census, a cohort of 1893 adults in urban Guinea-Bissau was examined in 1998 and followed until 2002.
Main Outcome Measure: All cause mortality, excluding accidents.
Results: The median age of vaccinia vaccinations had been 16-18 years. Adults with a vaccinia scar had a mortality ratio (MR) of 0.60 (0.41-0.87) compared to those without any scar. The effect was stronger for women. Mortality decreased with each additional vaccinia scar (MR=0.73 (0.56-0.95)). Among 502 individuals with information on HIV infection, the age-adjusted HIV-2 prevalence was 2.45 (1.06-5.65) for those with a vaccinia scar. Control for district, ethnic group, schooling, place of birth, quality of housing and HIV status had little effect on the estimate. Since vaccinia and BCG scars could have been confused, mortality for adults with vaccinia and/or BCG scar was compared to those without, the MR being 0.61 (0.41-0.89).
Conclusion: Known cultural or socio-economic factors possibly associated with access to vaccination had no influence on the mortality ratio for having a vaccinia scar. Hence, vaccinia vaccination may have a prolonged beneficial effect on adult survival.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.04.045 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Article Synopsis
- Skin scars from BCG or smallpox vaccinations are indicators of effective vaccination and are linked to both specific and broader health benefits.
- Despite their long history of use, the mechanisms behind scar formation and the connection between local skin reactions and systemic health effects are still not fully understood.
- This review explores current knowledge about skin events from these vaccines and their overall significance for human health, especially in maternal-child health.
Neurotropin ameliorates chronic pain associated with scar formation in a mouse model: A gene expression analysis of the inflammatory response.
Mol Pain
May 2024
Multidisciplinary Pain Center, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Japan.
: Scar formation after trauma and surgery involves an inflammatory response and can lead to the development of chronic pain. Neurotropin (NTP) is a nonprotein extract of inflamed skin of rabbits inoculated with vaccinia virus. It has been widely used for the treatment of chronic pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe association between BCG scars and self-reported chronic diseases: A cross-sectional observational study within an RCT of Danish health care workers.
Vaccine
March 2024
Bandim Health Project, Odense Patient Data Explorative Network (OPEN), Department of Clinical Research, Odense University Hospital and University of Southern Denmark, Denmark; Bandim Health Project, INDEPTH Network, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Electronic address:
Introduction: The live-attenuated vaccines Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and Vaccinia have been associated with beneficial non-specific effects. We assessed the prevalence of BCG and Vaccinia vaccine scars in a cohort of Danish health care workers and investigated the association between the presence of vaccine scars and self-reported chronic diseases.
Methods: Cross-sectional study utilizing baseline data collected during 2020-2021 at enrollment in a BCG trial aiming to assess the effect of BCG vaccination on absenteeism and infectious disease morbidity during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic.
New viral vectors for infectious diseases and cancer.
Semin Immunol
August 2020
Ceinge-Biotecnologie Avanzate S.C. A.R.L., via Gaetano Salvatore 486, 80145 Naples, Italy; Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University Federico II, Via Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. Electronic address:
Since the discovery in 1796 by Edward Jenner of vaccinia virus as a way to prevent and finally eradicate smallpox, the concept of using a virus to fight another virus has evolved into the current approaches of viral vectored genetic vaccines. In recent years, key improvements to the vaccinia virus leading to a safer version (Modified Vaccinia Ankara, MVA) and the discovery that some viruses can be used as carriers of heterologous genes encoding for pathological antigens of other infectious agents (the concept of 'viral vectors') has spurred a new wave of clinical research potentially providing for a solution for the long sought after vaccines against major diseases such as HIV, TB, RSV and Malaria, or emerging infectious diseases including those caused by filoviruses and coronaviruses. The unique ability of some of these viral vectors to stimulate the cellular arm of the immune response and, most importantly, T lymphocytes with cell killing activity, has also reawakened the interest toward developing therapeutic vaccines against chronic infectious diseases and cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2014, vaccinia virus (VACV) infections were identified among farmworkers in Caquetá Department, Colombia; additional cases were identified in Cundinamarca Department in 2015. VACV, an orthopoxvirus (OPXV) used in the smallpox vaccine, has caused sporadic bovine and human outbreaks in countries such as Brazil and India. In response to the emergence of this disease in Colombia, we surveyed and collected blood from 134 farmworkers and household members from 56 farms in Cundinamarca Department.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!