[Safety and reactogenicity of a group-A meningoccal polysaccharide vaccine for children 5 to 14]. / Bezvrednost' i reatkogennost' meningokokkovoi polisakhatridnoi vaktsiny gruppy A dlia detei 5-14 let.

The safety and reactogenicity of group A meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine prepared at the G. N. Gabrichevsky Research Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology (Moscow) and intended for the immunization of children aged 5-14 years were studied. The data obtained in this study made it possible to characterize the preparation as safe and mildly reactogenic. Shifts in the blood formula registered 24 hours after the injection of the vaccine remained within the limits of physiological fluctuations. Subfebrile temperature persisting for 2 days was registered in some of the children aged 5-8 years. Local reaction in the form of hyperemia at the site of injection was insignificant. The optimum vaccination dose will be determined on the basis of the whole complex of the data presented in this work, as well as the data on the immunological activity of the preparation.

[Long-term observations of dynamics of collective immunity to poliomyelitis in vaccinated children]. / Dlitel'nye nabliudeniia za dinamikoi kollektivnogo immuniteta protiv poliomielita u privitykh detei.

Examinations of children in the Moscow region in 1972 revealed low values of the herd immunity to poliomyolitis. This was suggested to be due to improper organization of vaccination of children. The regional health authorities took special measures for better organization of vaccination. The examinations two years later, in 1974, showed nearly 90% of children between the ages of 1 and 6 years to have antibody to all three types of poliomyelitis virus. The geometric mean antibody titre increased. In children of 10--14 years the heard immunity values did not differ significantly from those found in 1972. It is concluded that proper vaccination gives sufficiently intensive immunity nearly in 90% of children. It was found that in children vaccinated 10--12 times the herd immunity persists without significant changes for 3 years after the last vaccine feeding; at 4 years, however, some values of the herd immunity, particularly to poliomyelitis virus type III, were significantly lower than the original values. It is suggested that it is likely to be expedient to revaccinate 4-grade schoolchildren and to reduce the total number of vaccine feedings during the first 4 years of life.