Three Cases of Prevention Therapy to Reduce Perinatal HIV Transmission / 소아감염

In 2008, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that about 430,000 children worldwide became infected with HIV, mostly through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or breast-feeding. The MTCT prevention program proved to be feasible and effective in reduction of perinatal HIV transmission. Three babies born from HIV-infected mothers were admitted to the National Medical Center in 2009. Only two women received antiretroviral (ARV) therapy during pregnancy, labor, and after delivery, and their infants received zidovudine (AZT) for 6 weeks. The outcome, after a follow-up period of 4 months to 16 months, was favorable in all patients. Thus, we emphasize the need for expansion of antenatal HIV screening of pregnant women, implemented for early HIV diagnosis and effective ARV therapy for reduction of perinatal HIV transmission.

A Study on the Adverse Events of the Yellow Fever Vaccine at an International Travelers' Clinic

BACKGROUND: Yellow fever (YF) can be prevented through vaccination, but YF vaccination causes adverse events. The increasing number of travelers to YF-endemic areas prompted an investigation of YF vaccination's adverse events on Koreans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January to December 2007, 318 live-17DD vaccinees at the International Travelers' Clinic of the National Medical Center were enrolled in this study. RESULTS: The adverse events were evaluated through six telephone interviews of 309 subjects (male: 168, 54.4%) on days 3, 6, 9, 16, 23, and 30 after the administration of the vaccine. There were 106 adverse events in 97 (31.4%) subjects aged 11 months to 70 years (male: 56, 18.1%). Of the 34 (11.0%) subjects who had underlying diseases, 3 (1.0%) reported adverse events (P=0.06). Nineteen (6.1%) of the 72 (23.3%) subjects who concurrently received other vaccines also experienced adverse events (P=0.29). Those who had underlying illnesses and those aged 10 to 19 years reported more frequent adverse events (P=0.06 and 0.14, respectively), but the significance of this finding is uncertain. Most of the adverse events occurred within 10 days after the vaccination and spontaneously subsided. CONCLUSION: This study shows that most of the YF vaccine's adverse events are well tolerated and that the vaccine safely protects a vaccinee from YF.

A Study on the Adverse Events of the Yellow Fever Vaccine at an International Travelers' Clinic

BACKGROUND: Yellow fever (YF) can be prevented through vaccination, but YF vaccination causes adverse events. The increasing number of travelers to YF-endemic areas prompted an investigation of YF vaccination's adverse events on Koreans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January to December 2007, 318 live-17DD vaccinees at the International Travelers' Clinic of the National Medical Center were enrolled in this study. RESULTS: The adverse events were evaluated through six telephone interviews of 309 subjects (male: 168, 54.4%) on days 3, 6, 9, 16, 23, and 30 after the administration of the vaccine. There were 106 adverse events in 97 (31.4%) subjects aged 11 months to 70 years (male: 56, 18.1%). Of the 34 (11.0%) subjects who had underlying diseases, 3 (1.0%) reported adverse events (P=0.06). Nineteen (6.1%) of the 72 (23.3%) subjects who concurrently received other vaccines also experienced adverse events (P=0.29). Those who had underlying illnesses and those aged 10 to 19 years reported more frequent adverse events (P=0.06 and 0.14, respectively), but the significance of this finding is uncertain. Most of the adverse events occurred within 10 days after the vaccination and spontaneously subsided. CONCLUSION: This study shows that most of the YF vaccine's adverse events are well tolerated and that the vaccine safely protects a vaccinee from YF.

Adverse Events Following Yellow Fever Vaccination in Korean Children / 소아감염

PURPOSE:Yellow fever, a mosquito-borne viral hemorrhagic fever, is one of the most lethal diseases. Recently there have been an increasing number of Korean children who have travelled to yellow fever endemic zones and were administered yellow fever vaccine (YFV). Therefore, we carried out this study to provide child travelers with safety information of YFV. METHODS:This study was conducted at the International Clinic of National Medical Center in Seoul between April 2007 and June 2008 for the evaluation of adverse events of YFV. One hundred twenty- five children received YFV (17-DD) and were prospectively monitored for adverse events through telephone interviews on day 3, 6, 9, 16, 23 and 30 after vaccination. RESULTS:Adverse events were observed in 31 (24.8%) of 125 child travelers who received the YFV. The mean age was 12.5+/-5.0 years. Sixty-six of the child travelers (52.8%) were males. The common adverse events were pain in 11 (8.8%), swelling in 8 (6.4%) and redness in 7 children (5.6%) at the injection site. The systemic adverse events included mild fever in 5 (4.0%), headache in 5 (4.0%), cough in 4 (3.2%), abdominal pain in 3 (2.4 %), and vomiting in 2 children (1.6%). Most of the adverse events were detected within 7 days of administration and there were no differences in adverse events by gender or age. All travelers who had complained of symptoms improved spontaneously or following symptomatic treatment. CONCLUSION:This study showed that YFV is well-tolerated and there were no reports of severe adverse events. Studies are ongoing to clarify the cause and risk factors for rare adverse events.