Philippe De Wals

..In 2002, 1 C-MCV dose was routinely offered to children 12 months of age...

..If vaccine-induced immunity is waning rapidly, mass immunization or routine vaccination with booster dose(s) would be the best control options...

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..Existing routine immunization schedules may not be optimal and should be designed to achieve the highest level of protection using the lowest number of doses...

..A schedule consisting of a first dose around 1 year of age and a second dose around 12 years of age seems to be a very cost-effective option in most epidemiological scenarios...

..A multicentric study was carried out to assess the impact of this policy on the frequency of NTDs. The present analysis focused on spina bifida...

..We assessed changes in the prevalence of neural-tube defects in Canada before and after food fortification with folic acid was implemented...

..This study was performed to assess the prevalence of LMMC in Canada in relation to the timing of food fortification...

..In 2001, a mass immunization campaign was implemented in the province of Quebec, Canada, using a new serogroup C meningococcal conjugate vaccine (C-MCV)...

..New health economic models are required to model the impact of PHiD-CV and compare its effectiveness with PCV-7...

..Clinical, epidemiological, economic and social studies were instrumental in the decision making for implementing these control programs...

..Vaccination would result in net savings for society, if vaccine cost is less than 30 dollars per dose. Economic indicators of catch-up programs are less favorable than for routine infant immunization...

..These economic indices are less favorable than those for current routine immunization programs in Canada, but within the range of those for other common health interventions...

..Vaccine uptake rate is high and, although a reduced number of doses are recommended for several vaccines, program effectiveness is highly satisfactory, as shown for hepatitis B, meningococcal and pneumococcal diseases...

..The long term effect of the booster dose in teenagers is unknown. We evaluated the immunogenicity of 2 pediatric hepatitis vaccines after primary vaccination and after a booster dose...

..70-0.90). Three doses of RB administered at the age of 8-10 years induce a 10 years long-lasting immunity in virtually all vaccinees. The booster does not appear necessary on a 10 years perspective...

..To estimate the burden of acute otitis media (AOM) on Canadian families...

..The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $18,000 per QALY gained for the health system and the program was close to the break-even threshold in a societal perspective...

..A vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18 is now licensed for use in Canada and many other countries. We sought to estimate the number needed to vaccinate to prevent HPV-related diseases and death...

..The excellent anamnestic response observed after the booster dose demonstrates the persistence of immunity in virtually all young adults vaccinated at the age of 8-10 with three paediatric doses of Engerix-B...

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..In 1998, fortification of flour with FA became mandatory. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of these measures on the prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs) in the province of Quebec...

..Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines are of limited effectiveness. New protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccines have yet to be evaluated in field conditions...

..In Quebec, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was available on the private market as early as 2001 and has been included in the publicly funded immunization program since December 2004...

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..These results do not support the need of a booster for at least 15 years when vaccinating preadolescents with Engerix-B...

..One dose of serogroup C meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV-C) at 12 months of age is the most common immunization schedule in Canada, but immunity may wane over time...

..In the province of Quebec, a population-based study of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) was conducted at the time of a mass immunization campaign against meningococcal disease, in 2001...

..In the province of Quebec, Canada, PHiD-CV was introduced in the summer of 2009, replacing the 7-valent CRM197 vaccine (PCV-7). Transition to the new vaccine was recommended regardless of the number of PCV7 doses already administered...

..In fall 2009 in Quebec, Canada, an immunization campaign was launched against the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic strain, mostly using an AS03 adjuvant vaccine. By the end of the year, 57% of the 7.8 million residents had been vaccinated...

..Most healthy children, particularly if they are hyporesponders, will have reached the seroprotective level after one dose and will not need further injections...

..This finding underscores the relevance of testing innovative interventions aimed at improving the quality of care provided in long-term care facilities, regardless of their regulatory status...

..To examine parents' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding acute otitis media (AOM) and parents' willingness to vaccinate their children with new vaccine offering larger spectrum of protection against AOM...

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..More studies are needed to identify the mechanisms by which adverse psychosocial factors are translated into adverse biological effects...

..Adding a 2-dose program may help guarantee high population-level effectiveness against varicella. However, the incremental benefit of a second dose is highly dependant on the effectiveness of the first dose and its impact on zoster...

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..The negative consequences of acute otitis media (AOM) on the quality of life (QOL) of children and their families need to be measured to assess benefits of preventive interventions...

..CONCLUSIONS: Although 23-PPV contributed to control the outbreak, better vaccines are needed for the prevention of infections caused by serotype 1 S. pneumoniae...

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..This study estimated the year and age specific hospitalization rates and distribution of risk factors for HA in Quebec, Canada, between 1990 and 2003...

..In the cohort of 1.9 million individuals (age, 2 months to 20 years), observed postvaccination frequencies of GBS were not higher than expected...

..In conclusion, this is the first questionnaire specifically designed to assess the intensity of pregnancy planning effort, a potentially important variable in epidemiological studies and clinical practice...

..More studies on the current aetiology of AOM need to be performed to accurately predict the marginal benefit of a switch from PCV7-CRM(197) to the newly licensed PCV10-HiD-DiT or to the future PCV13-CRM(197)...

..5% of fetuses were exposed to adequate doses of folic acid. CONCLUSION: A promotion campaign selectively targeting women likely to plan a pregnancy could have a significant impact in reducing neural tube defect incidence...

..Clinical trials have shown prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines to be effective against infection and disease. We examined whether HPV vaccination has the potential to be cost-effective...

..In conclusion, results suggest that vaccinating adults between the ages of 65 and 75 years is likely to be cost-effective and thus to be a judicious use of scarce health care resources...

..To evaluate the impact in Canada, it is essential to have an estimate of the burden of pneumococcal disease before routine use of the vaccine...

..More studies are needed to demonstrate the usefulness of routine vaccination of healthy pregnant women against influenza...

..This study examined the prognostic value of the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) in predicting 3-year mortality and functional decline in the LTC setting and compared its prognostic value to that of two data-derived comorbidity indices...

..The aim of the current study was to compare the effectiveness and costs of school-based and clinic-based programs...

..Surveillance of meningococcal disease among U.S. college students found an elevated rate of this disease among first-year students living in dormitories...

..The objectives of this study were: to evaluate women's knowledge and beliefs with regard to folic acid; to estimate the frequency of vitamin supplement consumption; and to identify its determinants during the periconception period...

..The emergence of this clone of serogroup B meningococci occurred after a mass vaccination against serogroup C N. meningitidis, suggesting possible capsule replacement...