Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 11, Issue 6, 2015
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

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Short Report
Evaluation of safety and immunogenicity of a quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine in healthy females between 9 and 26 years of age in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nelly Mugo, Nana Akosua Ansah, Deborah Marino, Alfred Saah & Elizabeth IO Garner
pages 1323-1330
DOI:10.1080/21645515.2015.1008877
Abstract
Due to sporadic and not easily accessible cervical cancer screening, human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in Sub-Saharan African women. This study was designed to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine in sub-Saharan African women. This seven month, double-blind study enrolled 250 healthy, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-uninfected females ages 9–26 residing in Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal. Thirty females ages 13–15 and 120 females ages 16–26 received qHPV vaccine. In addition, 100 females ages 9–12 y were randomized in a 4:1 ratio to receive either qHPV vaccine (n = 80) or placebo (n = 20 ). The primary immunogenicity hypothesis was that an acceptable percentage of subjects who received the qHPV vaccine seroconvert to HPV6/11/16/18 at 4 weeks post-dose 3, defined as the lower bound of the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) exceeding 90%. The primary safety objective was to demonstrate that qHPV vaccine was generally well tolerated when administered in a 3-dose regimen. The pre-specified statistical criterion for the primary immunogenicity hypothesis was met: the lower bound of the 95% exact binomial CI on the seroconversion rate was at least 98% for each vaccine HPV type and all subjects seroconverted by 4 weeks post-dose 3. Across vaccination groups, the most common adverse events (AE) were at the injection site, including pain, swelling, and erythema. No subject discontinued study medication due to an AE and no serious AEs were reported. There were no deaths. This study demonstrated that qHPV vaccination of sub-Saharan African women was highly immunogenic and generally well tolerated.

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Research Paper
A brief educational intervention increases providers’ human papillomavirus vaccine knowledge
Abbey B Berenson, Mahbubur Rahman, Jacqueline M Hirth, Richard E Rupp & Kwabena O Sarpong
pages 1331-1336
Abstract
Recommendation by a healthcare provider is critical to increase human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine uptake in the US. However, current deficits in providers’ knowledge of HPV and its vaccine are not fully understood and interventions to amend knowledge gaps are untested. To determine whether attending a structured presentation could increase provider knowledge of the HPV vaccine, we assessed knowledge levels of physicians, non-physician healthcare workers, and medical students before and after attending a 30-minute lecture held between October 2012 and June 2014. Paired t-test and McNemar’s test were used to compare knowledge scores and the proportion of correct responses for each question, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine correlates of baseline knowledge and change in knowledge scores post-intervention. A total of 427 participants, including 75 physicians, 208 medical students, and 144 nurses or other healthcare workers, attended one of 16 presentations and responded to both pre-test and post-test surveys. Baseline knowledge was low among all groups, with scores higher among older participants and physicians/medical students. On average, knowledge scores significantly improved from 8 to 15 after the presentation (maximum possible score 16) (P < .001), irrespective of specialty, race/ethnicity, gender, and age. Although lower at baseline, knowledge scores of younger participants and non-physician healthcare workers (e.g., nurses, physician assistants (PAs), nursing students) improved the most of all groups. We conclude that a brief, structured presentation increased HPV knowledge among a variety of healthcare workers, even when their baseline knowledge was low.

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Review
Comparing the immunogenicity and safety of 3 Japanese encephalitis vaccines in Asia-Pacific area: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Shi-Yuan Wang, Xiao-Hua Cheng, Jing-Xin Li, Xi-Yan Li, Feng-Cai Zhu & Pei Liu
pages 1418-1425
DOI:10.1080/21645515.2015.1011996

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Commentary
Clinical benefits of routine varicella vaccination for adults
Cinzia Germinario, Maria Serena Gallone, Maria Giovanna Cappelli & Silvio Tafuri
pages 1426-1428
DOI:10.1080/21645515.2015.1030559

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Review
Is a single infant priming dose of meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine in the United Kingdom sufficient?
Helen Findlow & Ray Borrow
pages 1501-1506
DOI:10.1080/21645515.2015.1019189

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Coverage of the expanded program on immunization in Vietnam: Results from 2 cluster surveys and routine reports
Trung Dac Nguyen, Anh Duc Dang, Pierre Van Damme, Cuong Van Nguyen, Hong Thi Duong, Herman Goossens, Heidi Theeten & Elke Leuridan
pages 1526-1533
DOI:10.1080/21645515.2015.1032487