The bacterial communities of surface soils from desert sites in the eastern Utah (USA) portion of the Colorado Plateau.

Desert-like areas located in the eastern portion of the state of Utah (USA) have geographic features that can resemble the surface of the planet Mars, characterized by red-colored hills, soils and sandstones. We examined the bacterial biodiversity of surface soil samples from several sites from the Colorado Plateau Desert in eastern Utah using pyrosequencing of PCR amplified bacterial 16S rRNA genes from total extracted soil DNA. The sample sites cover the Great Basin, Goblin Valley State Park and nearby regions on the Colorado Plateau. We also examined several physicochemical parameters of the soil samples to investigate any possible correlations between bacterial community structure and environmental drivers. The predominant bacterial phyla present in the samples were found to belong to members of the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Gemmatimonadetes. The most abundant genera in our samples were found to belong to the Cesiribacter, Lysobacter, Adhaeribacter, Microvirga and Pontibacter genera. We found that the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes were significantly correlated with soil pH and a low concentration of organic matter, suggesting that, in these relatively high-altitude desert soils, these two parameters may be of primary importance to influence bacterial community composition.

Clinical testing of an inactivated influenza A/H5N1 vaccine candidate in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized trial in healthy adults in Vietnam.

We tested an inactivated egg-grown whole virus influenza A/H5N1 vaccine candidate developed by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), a state-run vaccine manufacturer in Vietnam, in a Phase 1, placebo controlled, double blinded, randomized trial. The vaccine was adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide. The trial enrolled 75 subjects who were randomized to receive two injections of one of the following: low-dose of vaccine (7.5 mcg HA), high-dose of vaccine (15 mcg HA), or placebo. The vaccine candidate was well tolerated with minimal local reactogenicity consisting of mild, short-lived injection site pain and/or tenderness. No systemic reactogenicity was observed other than transient low-grade fever in about 13% of the subjects and no unsolicited adverse events were attributable to product administration. Immune responses were assessed at baseline and after the first and second dose by hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) and microneutralization (MN) assays, with 72% of the high-dose and 68% of the low-dose vaccine recipients presenting a ⩾4-fold response in the HAI assay and 72% of the high-dose and 61% of the low-dose vaccine recipients exhibiting a ⩾4-fold response in the MN assay. These promising results support further development. ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT02171819, June 20, 2014.

A reduction in chronic hepatitis B virus infection prevalence among children in Vietnam demonstrates the importance of vaccination.

BACKGROUND: Vietnam has high endemic hepatitis B virus infection with >8% of adults estimated to have chronic infection. Hepatitis B vaccine was first introduced in the national childhood immunization program in 1997 in high-risk areas, expanded nationwide in 2002, and included birth dose vaccination in 2003. This survey aimed to assess the impact of Vietnam's vaccination programme by estimating the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among children born during 2000-2008. METHODS: This nationally representative cross-sectional survey sampled children based on a stratified three-stage cluster design. Demographic and vaccination data were collected along with a whole blood specimen that was collected and interpreted in the field with a point-of-care HBsAg test. RESULTS: A total of 6,949 children were included in the survey analyses. The overall HBsAg prevalence among surveyed children was 2.70% (95% confidence interval (CI): 2.20-3.30). However, HBsAg prevalence was significantly higher among children born in 2000-2003 (3.64%) compared to children born 2007-2008 (1.64%) (prevalence ratio (PR: 2.22, CI 1.55-3.18)). Among all children included in the survey, unadjusted HBsAg prevalence among children with ≥3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine including a birth dose (1.75%) was significantly lower than among children with ≥3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine but lacked a birth dose (2.98%) (PR: 1.71, CI: 1.00-2.91) and significantly lower than among unvaccinated children (3.47%) (PR: 1.99, CI: 1.15-3.45). Infants receiving hepatitis B vaccine >7 days after birth had significantly higher HBsAg prevalence (3.20%) than those vaccinated 0-1 day after birth (1.52%) (PR: 2.09, CI: 1.27-3.46). CONCLUSION: Childhood chronic HBV infection prevalence has been markedly reduced in Vietnam due to vaccination. Further strengthening of timely birth dose vaccination will be important for reducing chronic HBV infection prevalence of under 5 children to <1%, a national and Western Pacific regional hepatitis B control goal.

Evaluation of residual antibody after 24 months of hepatitis A vaccination (HAVAX)

Persistence of antibody against hepatitis A virus has been studied in 30 healthy adults at 24th month after receiving a three doses schedule of hepatitis A vaccine (Havax). Results: Residual level in all subjects was higher than protective level (≥ 20mIU/ml). The GMT was higher than the protective level (831,5mIU/ml) 40 times and 100% people injected remained protective antibody.