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Biosecurity News in Brief
H5N1 Vaccine Safe and Immunogenic in ChildrenBy Amesh Adalja, November 17, 2008 In the December 2008 issue of Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, Hungarian researchers report results of the first published study of H5N1 vaccine in children. The authors report that Omnivest’s pre-pandemic H5N1 influenza vaccine is safe and able to provoke an immune response in children.1 In the trial, 12 healthy children were inoculated with a single dose of Omnivest’s aluminum-adjuvanted H5N1 vaccine, approved in Hungary for use in adults. At 21 days, a 75% seroprotection rate was determined by neutralizing antibody titers. There were no adverse events.1 Realizing the limits of their sample size, the authors stress the importance of their findings in light of data revealing that children are at high risk for influenza complications and evidence that vaccinating children provides secondary benefits in terms of viral transmission. They also emphasize the high immunogenicity of their vaccine after just a single dose. The research team states that they have recently completed another (unpublished) study in adults over 60 with similar results.1 References
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