Jean Stephenne

Varicella zoster virus vaccine

THE RECENT REPORTS of Takahashi and his associates1-6in Japan on the effectiveness and innocuity of a live, attenuated varicella-zoster virus vaccine call for an examination of the nature and magnitude of the disease problem to be prevented and of the other factors on which a decision to use such a vaccine must be based. The virus that causes chickenpox (varicella) and its sequela, herpes zoster, is one of the most contagious viruses and sooner or later infects everyone in the world. Primary infection usually results in the typical disease that varies in severity from a mild febrile illness with its characteristic vesicular eruption, to a more severe disease with pneumonia, encephalopathy, encephalitis, a variety of other complications, and occasionally, death. If the data reported for 1952 to 1961 in Massachusetts7apply currently for the entire United States, 90.5% of the primary disease occurs in children under 10

Contribution to hepatitis B prevention.

Hepatitis B is widely recognized as an important public health problem. The only effective way to control hepatitis B is by vaccination. First generation plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccines have limitations. Advances in recombinant DNA technology have led to the development of yeast-derived recombinant hepatitis B vaccine which is now used extensively in the developed world. This article reviews the development of this new generation vaccine and the efforts to facilitate universal vaccination programmes particularly in the developing world. The issue of the cost of new generation vaccines, in relation to the major investment required for research and development and also the quality of the final product, is discussed.