Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

ISSN: 2164-5515 (Print) 2164-554X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/khvi20

Special Focus: Asia Endemic Diseases Ronald Ellis & Adam Weiss To cite this article: Ronald Ellis & Adam Weiss (2015) Special Focus: Asia Endemic Diseases, Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 11:5, 1075-1076, DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2015.1046725 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2015.1046725

Published online: 27 May 2015.

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Date: 11 November 2015, At: 10:39

EDITOR'S CORNER Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 11:5, 1075--1076; May 2015; © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Special Focus: Asia Endemic Diseases

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 2015.11:1075-1076.

Dear Reader, Vaccine research is on the rise in Asia, and vaccine development on both academic and industrial levels has gained pace in recent years. Emerging economies, such as China and India, have produced novel vaccines not only for domestic use but for the international market as well. The first vaccine produced in China to obtain the UN’s prequalification was Japanese encephalitis vaccine in October 2013. It is expected to make a major impact in the developing world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 30 vaccine manufacturers in China, and the country is producing most of the domestically used vaccines against common viral and bacterial diseases. Other countries are following suit. Most recently, WHO has found Vietnam-made vaccines eligible for export. Vietnam expects to be a leading producer within the next 30 years. In this issue of Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, we are pleased to introduce a Special Focus on Asia Endemic Diseases, which highlights current vaccine research in Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan. The Special Focus has a distinguished Guest Editor, Prof. Feng-cai Zhu who is Deputy Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for Jiangsu Province and Deputy Director of National Medical HI-tech Development Zone in Taizhou. Dr. Zhu gained his education at Anhui Medical University and Nanjing Railway Medical College; he has tutored at multiple Chinese universities and is an Adjunct Professor at Xiamen University. He is a member of committees on preventive medicine, epidemiology, education and others. Dr. Zhu is a recipient of many awards and honors, including First prize of Jiangsu Province Medical Science and Technology Progress Award (1998), “SARS Prevention and Control Work Advanced Individual” of Jiangsu province (2003), Jiangsu Provincial May 1st Labor Medal (2008) and First prize of Jiangsu province science and technology progress award (2011). He has authored numerous scientific publications on the development of vaccines against Influenza, Hepatitis, Ebola and others. This Special Focus presents 10 articles on the development of vaccines against diseases highly prevalent in Asia, such as Pneumonia, Influenza and Hepatitis. In a study of economic burden of childhood pneumonia in Taiwan (Chen, p 1080), the authors used health-insurance-system data on admissions, outpatients and emergency department visits to analyze the economic burden of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumonia for the healthcare system and families. An analysis of patients 65 years old investigated an association between pneumonia and influenza H1N1pdm vaccine (Kondo, p 1087). Researchers monitored hospital admissions in the 2009–10 season including a period of H1N1 pandemic and found that influenza vaccination had a protective effect against pneumonia. A novel trivalent, inactivated split influenza vaccine was assessed for immunogenicity and safety in Korean children of 0.5–18 years (Han, p 1093). Immunogenicity and frequency of adverse events were comparable between this egg-based vaccine and a commercially available equivalent vaccine such that the novel product is expected to be clinically effective. Three articles investigate Hepatitis B vaccination schedules and dosing. Suitability of different Hepatitis B vaccination schedules was assessed for seronegative adults (Yao, p 1101). Vaccination on 0–1–6- and 0–1–12-month bases was found to elicit higher antibody responses than 0–1–3-month schedule. Another study comparing different dosing of Hepatitis B vaccine in healthy adults (Li, p 1107) found good antibody responses to both 10- and 20-mg doses and recommended the use of the 20 mg dose in adults 20–46 years old and the 10mg dose in adults aged 20–35 years. Finally, an effect of different booster doses of Hepatitis B vaccine 11–15 years after primary immunization was examined (Yao, p 1113). Children varied in their level of pre-booster anti-HBs antibodies, and the authors concluded that those with high titers might not need any booster dose, while those with low titers might need more than one booster dose. We describe a novel combined Haemophilus influenzae type b-Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A and C-tetanus-toxoid conjugate vaccine (Hu, p 1119). In a safety and immunogenicity study of healthy Chinese children aged 0.5–5 years, the vaccine was found comparable to a licensed product and thus is expected to protect children against the diseases. Most non-live vaccines are administered with adjuvants, and it is important that antigens remain immunogenic after adsorption. In an analysis of Hepatitis E vaccine (Zhang, p 1128), key epitopes as well as protein thermal stability were found comparable between vaccines recovered from adjuvants and controls. Gut microbiota has been implicated to affect the immune system. One possible mechanism was determined (Yu, p 1139) that involves a balance of helper T cells. The makeup of helper T cells was influenced by antibiotic-induced dysbiosis in a mouse model challenged with influenza virus. The findings might have important clinical implications for influenza vaccination. www.tandfonline.com

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We hope that this Special Focus on Asia Endemic Diseases will provide an important resource to the vaccinology community not only in the countries in question but also elsewhere in world. Sincerely, Ronald Ellis, PhD Editor-in-Chief

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics 2015.11:1075-1076.

Adam Weiss Acquisitions Editor

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Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

Volume 11 Issue 5

Special focus: Asia endemic diseases.

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