Health care facilities in Missouri are reporting they have not received the shingles vaccine, Zostavax, and that it may be weeks before it is available.

Drug developer Merck had problems with a shortage of the live viruses, which has caused a shortage of vaccine. Merck is the only licensed manufacturer in the United States of the chicken pox, Varicella zoster, shingles, Herpes zoster, and the measles, mumps and rubella (MMRV) vaccine.

Rachelle Collinge, RN, BSN, assistant director of nursing and acting immunization coordinator with the Cole County Health Department, said: “All these are live virus vaccines, so they have to wait for the bulk culture to multiply to get sufficient quantity. They can be slow growing. Merck had some problems recently with a particular batch and it has created a shortage.”

To help combat the shortage, Merck took the MMRV vaccine off of the market temporarily, because both of those are available separately.

One dose of the shingles vaccine is recommended for those 60 years and older. According to www.merckvaccines.com, the Merck Web site, large doses of Zostavax that were ordered June 17-26 were being shipped this week. Those vaccines ordered after then are reported to have a 15-19 week delay. Vaccines ordered this week have a 10-13 week delay.

Missouri’s Cole County Health Department currently is out of the shingles vaccine, but has it on back order, Collinge said.

– by Gene J. Koprowski, Editorial Director

The shingles rash is caused by a form of the herpes virus:

Posted: October 9th, 2008 under Diseases, Herpes, Shingels.
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Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have risen to an all-time high in the U.K., according to researchers.

Nearly 400,000 new infections were diagnosed last year — an increase of six percent increase from 2006, and the biggest jump in the statistics in recorded history there. 

Half of all new cases were found in young people 16 to 24, despite the fact they account for 12 percent of the population.

The U.K. Health Protection Agency recommended all young people should be tested for Chlamydia every year as part of the national screening program.

According to Gwenda Hughes, from the Health Protection Agency Center for Infections,  young people are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections. “This is because they are more sexually active, have more sexual partners, they have a tendency to have overlapping sexual partners and they are more likely to have casual sex partnerships,” she added.

Professor Peter Borriello, Director of the Agency’s Center for Infections, told The Telegraph of London that he is happy the numbers aren’t even higher, given today’s laissez faire attitudes on casual sex.

“We really should applaud and be proud of the way young people do overcome some of these problems and do take responsibility and don’t come away with a sexual infection,” he said.

Around one in ten 16 to 24-year-olds is thought to be infected with Chlamydia, which is the most prevalent infection.

– by Nancy Bruening, Managing Editor

Posted: July 15th, 2008 under Developing Diseases, Diseases, Herpes, Impaired Immunity, Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
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A new version of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) — considered a “gay cancer” by the medical community– has been discovered by French dermatologists in middle-aged, HIV-negative gay men with apparently normal immune function, according to a leading medical journal.

Caused by HHV-8, a virus of the herpes family, is often a co-morbidity with AIDS. HHV-8 is carried in saliva and the higher rates seen in gay men are attributed to oral sex, the report in the latest edition of  the journal AIDS indicates.

The KS cases observed in HIV-negative men are more aggressive than in the “classical,” originally described type of KS which is seen most often in men of Mediterranean origin, and occurred at an earlier age, i.e., mid-50s instead of late 60s.

One in seven of the KS sufferers went on to develop other cancers – in one case, another skin cancer, but in other cases cancers of the lymphatic system. This is the same proportion of patients who go on to develop other cancers as in HIV-positive KS cases.

Most patients had some form of treatment – the majority topical treatment such as surgery or radiotherapy. But one in six had systemic chemotherapy.

HHV-8, discovered in 1994, is thought to have been already widespread in gay men before the advent of HIV.

The average age at the onset of symptoms was 53 and at diagnosis 56 – considerably younger than the 64-72 age range for diagnosis of classical KS. The youngest person diagnosed was at 35.
Cases of KS with a similar presentation and progression pattern have also been seen in HIV-positive gay men with normal CD4 counts.

The scientists suggest that all men who have sex with men should have their HHV-8 antibody status ascertained, especially if immunosuppressive drugs such as steroids are prescribed.

REFERENCE

Lanternier F et al. Kaposi’s sarcoma in HIV-negative men having sex with men. AIDS 22:1163-1168. 2008.

Lesions from Kaposi’s sarcoma spread over the patient’s torso. Image source: National Institutes of Health.

Posted: June 30th, 2008 under Developing Diseases, Diseases, HIV, Herpes, Impaired Immunity, Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a two-year, $2.0 million grant to a San Diego-based firm, Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq: VICL) to fund the ongoing development of Vical’s immunotherapeutic plasmid DNA (pDNA) vaccine for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), a sexually transmitted virus and the leading cause of genital herpes.

Researchers said the  HSV-2 vaccine will also be evaluated with Vical’s innovative Vaxfectin (R: 63.71, -2.97, -4.45%) adjuvant.

The pre-clinical development activities covered by the grant will be conducted at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical Branch, both centers of excellence in herpes research. The vaccine will be designed for use in people already infected with HSV-2, with the goal of reducing or eliminating periodic viral flare-ups.

According to Vijay B. Samant, Vical’s president and chief executive officer, chronic antiviral treatment carries a significant healthcare cost and contributes to the emergence of drug-resistant strains and increasing infection rates. “A therapeutic vaccine that could control disease symptoms and transmission would be a welcome addition to the HSV-2 treatment arsenal. We are pleased to collaborate with leading academic research centers in addressing this critical public health need,” says Samant.

According to David Koelle, professor of medicine in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington School of Medicine, technologies such as pDNA vaccines can contribute to priming and boosting CD8 T-cell responses to HSV-2, have the best chance of changing the natural history of established HSV-2 infection, potentially improving symptoms, lesions, shedding, and perhaps even transmission.

The grant supplements the $300,000 awarded to Vical in 2005 for the HSV-2 vaccine program.

– The Editors

Lesions are a common symptom of HSV-2. Image Source: University of Iowa.

Posted: April 17th, 2008 under Diseases, Genetics & Gene Therapies, Herpes, Herpes-Cold Sores, Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
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