The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has released its recommendations on the use of influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine. Here is my summary of the salient points. The report begins with information on who is contracting pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza. The median age of persons with laboratory-confirmed infections in the United States is …
There has been a great deal of discussion about the use of adjuvants to improve the immunogenicity of vaccines against the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza strain. What effect do these compounds have on the immune response? Adjuvants are compounds added to vaccines that stimulate the immune response. They are often used when the antigen is …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dick Despommier On episode #47 of the podcast “This Week in Virology”, Vincent and Dick discuss influenza virus-like particle vaccines produced in insect and plant cells, rapid sharing of influenza research, and answer listener questions about cytomegalovirus, viral evolution and symbiosis and much more. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV047.mp3″] Click the arrow above to …
Two different influenza vaccines will be available in the fall of 2009. One will be a trivalent preparation comprising seasonal influenza H3N2 and H1N1 strains, plus an influenza B virus strain. A monovalent vaccine will also be available against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain. Many readers of virology blog have asked why these four virus …
The open-access Public Library of Science (PLoS) has launched PLoS Currents, a website for the rapid communication of research results and ideas. The first research theme at PLoS Currents is influenza. The opening of PLoS Currents: Influenza was announced by Harold Varmus, Chairman and Co-Founder of PLoS. He wrote about the reasons for starting this …
A new type of vaccine against influenza, made with virus-like particles, has been shown to protect ferrets from infection with the 2009 H1N1 swine-origin strain. What is a virus-like particle, and how is it produced? If you have been taking influenza 101, you know that new virus particles are produced in infected cells by budding. During …
