A surveillance tool developed by an international team of researchers can track anti-vaccination sentiment online, allowing them to respond to vaccine concerns as they emerge.

Researchers have been monitoring 144 countries using the tool, in the hope public health officials can respond quickly to a loss of confidence in vaccines before vaccination refusal and disease outbreak occur.

The research, released Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Monday, found there were 10,380 reports on vaccines between May 2011 and April 2012. Nearly 70 per cent of the reports were positive or neutral towards vaccination, while just over 30 per cent were negative.

Of the negative reports, almost half were associated with vaccine suspension and refusal, belief systems that opposed vaccination, and risk perceptions.

Lead author of the study, Heidi Larson, said she was prompted to develop the tool while working for UNICEF’s global immunization program.

“[I] saw a growing number of countries facing negative media and public questioning of vaccines, the most significant of which was the northern Nigeria boycott of polio vaccination for 11 months from mid-2003,” Dr Larson, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the UK.

“I realized that there was no systematic monitoring nor assessment of the emergence of public concerns about vaccines, and thought there was a great need for this type of surveillance.”

The tool is so sophisticated that it can evaluate and prioritize reports according to their potential to disrupt vaccine uptake. It works by monitoring online media, such as blogs, based on a set of search criteria. Characteristics of the report are identified including the vaccine, disease, date and location, before being forward to analysts. If a negative report is categorized it as “high alert,” the information could then be forwarded to the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization and research institutes in the country affected, Dr Larson said.

She believes overall distrust in vaccines is increasing and is being more publicized through online mediums. There were a number of reasons for negative views, she said, including stories about bad reactions after immunisation, alternative belief systems, including belief in naturopathy, and distrust in governments and health care providers.

The surveillance tool would now be expanded to detect reports in additional languages, Dr Larson said.

“This is a system which aims to understand the range of sentiments and nature of issues about vaccines which are reported on and discussed in social media forums,” Dr Larson said.

“It recognises positive as well as negative sentiments and looks carefully at the content of both to understand what drives them.”

Source:
The Sydney Morning Herald

Flu is a highly infectious illness that spreads rapidly through coughs and sneezes of people who are carrying the virus.  It occurs every year, usually in winter.

Flu symptoms hit you suddenly and severely.  They usually include fever, chills, headache and aching muscles and you often get a cough and sore throat at the same time.

Because flu is caused by a virus and not bacteria, antibiotics will not treat it.

People should not underestimate the effects of seasonal flu.  It’s not the same as getting a cold.

It can seriously affect your health and the risks of developing complications are greater if you have certain pre-existing medical conditions.

If you are in any of the identified risk groups below contact your GP and get your vaccination in September/October.

• All people aged 65 years and over
• All pregnant women
• People with a serious medical condition such as:
  • Chronic (long term) respiratory disease
  • Chronic heart disease
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Chronic liver disease
  • Chronic neurological disease
  • Diabetes
  • A weekended immune system

• People living in long-stay residential care homes

Those who are in receipt of a carers allowance, or those who are the main carer of an older or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill.

Source:
NHS

After nearly 30 years, and after immunizing more than 2 billion children against polio, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of making history. We are This Close.

When Rotary began the fight in 1985, polio affected 350,000 people, mostly children, in 125 countries every year. Since then, polio has been reduced by more than 99 percent.

Fewer than 700 new cases were reported in 2011, and the wild poliovirus today is confined to isolated pockets in only three countries. We truly are This Close to ending polio forever.

But if we don’t finish the fight right now, polio could quickly resurge, with devastating consequences. More than 10 million children could be paralyzed in the next 40 years. This once-in-a-generation opportunity would be gone forever.

You can take action by showing your support. Be part of the World’s Biggest Commercial. Snap a photo of yourself making the This Close sign and upload it into the commercial. Show it to your friends and family and ask them to do the same. Your involvement will help convince world leaders that support for polio eradication is global.

 Click here

Source:
End Polio Now

People in their 70s across the UK will be offered a vaccine against shingles from this September.
Experts have been recommending routine immunisation against the disease, which causes a painful rash, for some years.
The government-led programme will target 70, 78 and 79-year-olds in the first instance and should prevent tens of thousands of cases a year.
Elderly people are at greatest risk and vaccination should prevent nearly half of cases in the over-70s.
It is estimated that, in England alone, around 800,000 people will be eligible to receive it in the first year.
The Department of Health said the vaccination programme would cost about £25m a year in England but would save the NHS about £20m a year in fewer hospital stays, doctors appointments and prescriptions.
Until now, some individuals have paid between £150 and £200 to get the vaccine privately.

Catch-up campaign

From September, those aged 70 and 79 in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be invited to take up the vaccination.
Wales will initially target 78 and 79-year-olds.
Over the next few years, the programme will expand to more of the 70-79 age group across the UK until it is fully covered.
Thereafter, the jab should only need to be offered to people as they reach their 70th birthday.
Shingles is caused by the same virus as chickenpox, herpes varicella zoster.
The illness affects the nerves and skin. In severe cases it can cause complications such as hearing loss or brain swelling.
Marian Nicholson, director of the Shingles Society, told the BBC: “In some unfortunate people, shingles leaves permanent nerve twinges, aches, stabbing, burning – any sensation that a nerve can make can be left behind.
“This can be non-stop, day in, day out, but equally it can be coming and going, and it is most likely to happen in people who are older.”

Flare up

Shingles happens when an old chickenpox infection is reactivated.
The virus can remain inactive in the nervous system for decades, with the body’s immune system keeping it in check, but later in life it can flare up again and emerge, this time as shingles.
If you have not had chickenpox before, you can catch it from someone with shingles but it is not possible to catch shingles itself from someone with the condition.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “Shingles can be a nasty disease for older people and can lead to long-term health problems for around 14,000 people each year.
“This new vaccine can prevent some of the most serious cases, giving people the chance to live without the discomfort and pain that shingles causes.”

Prof Adam Finn, a vaccines expert at the University of Bristol, said: “There’s a cost involved in both buying and giving the vaccines but there’s also enormous savings from all the disease that you prevent.
“Not only suffering and some deaths but also all the costs of hospitalisation, not to mention all the inconvenience, people taking time off work to look after their children and so on and so forth.”
The shingles jab is one of several changes to the UK vaccination scheme this year.
From July, all babies aged between two and four months will be offered a two-dose oral vaccine against the rotavirus, a highly infectious diarrhoea and vomiting bug.
And from September, the UK will become the first country to offer the flu vaccine – via a nasal spray – to all healthy children free of charge.
The programme was supposed to begin in 2014, but will now start later this year with two-year-olds.
Prof Finn said the UK was “getting close to the point where we have the best vaccination programme in the world”.

Source:
BBC

The increasing life expectancy in most European countries has resulted in growth of the population 50 and older. This population is more susceptible to infectious diseases because of immunosenescence, co-morbidity and general frailty. Thus, to promote healthy aging, vaccination against vaccine-preventable-diseases could be one strategy. In addition to its possible individual benefits, vaccination may also yield social benefits, such as a lower overall cost of healthcare. Most European countries, however, offer only influenza vaccine although vaccines for pneumococcal disease, herpes zoster, pertussis, and hepatitis A are also available. Our aim is to review the knowledge of these vaccines for persons aged 50 and older and explore the arguments for expanding current vaccination programmes beyond just influenza.

Methods: The evaluation model of Kimman et al. was used to assess herpes zoster, pneumococcal disease, pertussis and hepatitis A in terms of four domains: pathogen, vaccine, disease outcomes and cost-effectiveness. The sources were Dutch surveillance systems, seroprevalence studies and the international literature.

Results: Herpes zoster, pneumococcal disease and pertussis are prevalent among persons aged 50 and older. Vaccines vary in effectiveness and have mild and self-limiting side effects. Vaccination against pneumococcal disease and pertussis causes adaptation of the responsible pathogen. For pertussis and hepatitis A, the vaccine is not registered specifically for the elderly population. Vaccination against herpes zoster and pertussis could improve quality of life, while vaccination against pneumococcal disease and hepatitis A prevents mortality. However, only vaccination against herpes zoster and pneumococcal disease appear to be cost-effective.

Conclusions: Vaccination can improve the health of the elderly population. As our review shows, however, the data are too incomplete to accurately judge its potential impact. More research is needed to determine how vaccination can most effectively improve the health of the growing population 50 years and older.

Click here

Source:
BMC Geriatrics

A jab that protects against poisonous spider venom may become a reality one day, early research suggests.
Brazilian scientists created a synthetic protein that protected rabbits from the effects of spider poison in experiments.
A new generation of anti-venom vaccines could save thousands of lives a year, researchers report in Vaccine journal.
The spider tested, belonging to the genus Loxosceles, injures almost 7,000 people a year in Brazil alone.
Members of this group of spiders, which are found worldwide, include the reaper or brown spider.
Their bite causes open sores and can lead to more serious effects such as internal bleeding and kidney failure.
In experiments, researchers used part of the spider toxin to create a synthetic protein designed to raise antibodies against the venom.
“Existing anti-venoms are made of the pure toxins and can be harmful to people who take them,” said Dr Carlos Chávez-Olortegui, of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil.
“We wanted to develop a new way of protecting people from the effects of these spider bites without having to suffer from side-effects.”
Scientists say the research could be the start of a new generation of anti-venom vaccines capable of saving thousands of lives worldwide.
The researchers tested the new protein on rabbits in the laboratory.
They say immunised rabbits were protected from skin damage at the site of venom injection, and from haemorrhaging.

Source:
BBC

Parental anxiety about childhood vaccines has prompted the Canadian Pediatric Society to speak out, issuing strategies for frustrated doctors who want their young patients immunized.

In a paper released Friday, the society urges pediatricians not to discharge patients whose parents refuse to vaccinate. Instead, they should take the time to listen to parents’ concerns and address each one.

Vaccination against infectious diseases like measles, mumps and meningitis is one of the most effective weapons available to prevent illness, says the paper, so “addressing the concerns of vaccine-hesitant parents must be a priority.”

The paper comes at a time when declining immunization rates in Canada are worry among physicians and public health experts, says co-author Dr. Jane Finlay, staff pediatrician at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

It also follows rising outbreaks of potentially fatal diseases such as measles and pertussis that have swept through Europe and Britain as a result of falling vaccination rates. In southern Ontario, a spike in pertussis cases (also known as whooping cough) prompted the chief medical officer of health to issue a statement last year urging parents to make sure shots are up to date.

The decline in rates has been blamed on Internet and social media campaigns by the anti-vaccine movement, which has undermined messages from public health authorities about the importance of disease prevention and stoked fears about adverse reactions. At the same time, the vaccination schedule has been loaded up with an expanding roster of recommended shots, creating “vaccine fatigue” among parents, says Finlay.

Seeing children hospitalized for vaccine-preventable diseases is frustrating when they haven’t been immunized and lower rates have reduced the protective factor of the “herd,” she adds.

But it’s critical that doctors continue to work with parents, because once their concerns have been acknowledged and countered with facts, most will change their minds, even though “it can take months, or even years.”

The society’s paper includes a five-point strategy for addressing parental concerns, providing accurate information about vaccine benefits and risks, and solutions for a child’s pain or fear of needles.

Immunization rates are difficult to calculate because there is no central vaccination registry. But last month, a Unicef report found only 84 per cent of Canadian children are up to date on doses of vaccine for measles, polio and the combination diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus shot for kids ages one to two. That put Canada at the bottom of the list of 29 well-off countries when it comes to overall health and safety of children.

The statement from the pediatric society is important because it encourages physicians to be proactive and not give up on young patients who require health care beyond vaccination, says Dr. Kumanan Wilson, Canada Research Chair in Public Health Policy and senior scientist with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

In 2007, Wilson wrote a similar paper in the journal Canadian Family Physician urging physicians not to dismiss patients who refuse to immunize.

When parents don’t have correct information, doctors can make a big difference by taking the time to provide it and changing their minds, he says.

But when dealing with adults who mistrust in the broader system, it’s even more important to keep the discussion going and gradually building a trusting relationship, he says.

Source:
The Star

The human papillomavirus or HPV vaccine was designed to help prevent cervical cancer. For the vaccine to be effective it must be administered before sexual activity begins. A new study examined whether girls ages 9 to 13 received the same protection from taking a 2 dose regimen versus young women age 16 to 26 who received the recommended 3 dose vaccine. Catherine Dolf has more in this week’s JAMA Report.

Source:
JAMA Report

Source:
HSE Ireland

Dr Zulkifli Ismail clears up some myths and misconceptions about the ingredients used in the making of vaccines.

Source:
Immunise4Life