Dear reader,
We are delighted to present a Special Feature in this issue of Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics devoted to papers from the 2018 International Society for Vaccines Annual Congress, which was held in Atlanta, US. We welcome you to read the Editorial by our Guest Editors and the Congress Chairs Denise Doolan and Ted Ross (p 2006).
Next, the section on Licensed Vaccines introduces research studies on cellular immune responses to formulations of a tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate (Moris, p 2090), a mumps outbreak in a high-coverage student population in China (Qin, p 2106), and sero-epidemiology of measles in Beijing (Zhujiazi, p 2112), a commentary on rubella sero-epidemiology among pre-marriage women in Iran (Zahraei, p 2117), and analysis of the risks of serious adverse events following rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (Huang, p 2121) with an associated Letter to the Editor (Liu, p 2126) and a Response Letter (Huang, p 2127).
Three articles on Immunotherapy include a product review of the IL-4Rα-specific MAb dupilumab for treatment of atopic diseases (Thibodeaux, p 2129), analysis of IFN-α-differentiated dendritic cell profiles in HIV patients (Santillo, p 2140), and a report on the use of bacterial immunotherapy MV130 for reducing the need for tonsillectomy in adults with recurrent tonsillitis (García González, p 2150).
The Influenza section features a safety surveillance analysis of three vaccines in the UK and Ireland (Gandhi-Banga, p 2154) and a commentary on universal vaccination of pregnant women (Donzelli, p 2159) with a Letter to the Editor (Fell, p 2165) and a Response Letter (Donzelli, p 2168).
Two research studies on Pneumococcal vaccines highlight the potential to prevent community-acquired pneumonia in older adults (Suzuki, p 2171) and the prevalence of nasopharyngeal carriage in children before PCV introduction in Iran (Karami, p 2178).
We present a comparison of antibody responses to Hepatitis B vaccination in infants with positive or negative maternal HBeAg (Huang, p 2183) with a Letter to the Editor (Milich, p 2187) and a Response Letter (Huang, p 2192).
Finally, we are pleased to introduce a Phase 1 trial of a Novel Vaccine against dengue (Manoff, p 2195), a review of simultaneous administration of Meningococcal conjugate vaccines with other vaccines (Alderfer, p 2205), and a vaccine Acceptance survey among US physicians on whether insurance type influences their recommendations (McNamara, p 2217).
Our monthly News, Policy and Profiles (NP&P) track offers a selection of the latest news in the field of vaccines and immunotherapeutics. In this section we also regularly publish opinion pieces on timely, interesting and controversial topics related to vaccines and immunotherapeutics, profiles of companies and organizations, as well as portraits of distinguished scientists in our field. Please contact Acquisitions Editor Adam Weiss ([email protected]) with your ideas for commentaries, opinion pieces, profiles and portraits. Your suggestions for and contributions to our N&P&P track are always welcome!
Sincerely,