Of the available conjugate vaccines, ACWY-D can be given to children as young as age 2 years and is recommended for vaccination of travelers.51

A new vaccine recently developed using the CRM197 carrier protein may provide additional options for protection of young infants through adults. Although currently indicated for use in adolescents and adults age 11 to 55 years, ACWY-CRM has proven immunogenic in all age groups, including infants (≥2 months of age), toddlers, children, adolescents, and adults, and has the potential to provide GSI-IX in vitro broad protection to the widest age range of individuals. Meningococcal vaccination has the potential to greatly reduce meningococcal morbidity and mortality. Current meningococcal vaccines are effective but have limitations. New conjugate and protein vaccines in development have the potential to protect all critical age groups against all clinically important

meningococcal serogroups. S.B. has not received a fee for writing this article. International Meetings & Science, Inc. (IMsci) was paid to provide assistance with the preparation of this manuscript. S.B. is a consultant for Novartis Vaccines and has received fees for serving on advisory boards and education programs for Novartis Vaccines. “
“Background. Travelers are exposed to a variety of health risks in unfamiliar Selleckchem GSK126 environments and fever is a common problem in patients returning from travel abroad. Rickettsial diseases are increasingly frequently being reported among international travelers. Here we present cases of Rickettsia typhi infection, the agent of murine typhus, that were identified in our laboratory the last year, in travelers from Tunisia. Methods. For each patient we tested an acute-phase serum sample and for one patient we tested a convalescent-phase serum sample. IgG and IgM antibody titers were estimated with use of the microimmunofluorescence (MIF) assay. Western blot (WB) assay was performed for all the patients. Results. We identified

three cases of murine typhus after a travel in Tunisia. All cases were observed over during late summer and early autumn and patients were suffering by persistent fever. None of them presented rash or inoculation eschar. MIF was positive for Rickettsia sp. in the acute-phase serum samples of two patients. In one patient, two acute-phase serum samples were Rickettsia sp. negative whereas a third convalescent-phase serum sample that was obtained 2 weeks after was Rickettsia sp. positive. By WB assay we identified infection by R typhi. A treatment was immediately started and patients became apyretic. Conclusions. In the countries of North Europe, although autochthones cases of murine typhus have not been described, sporadic cases of R typhi infection are identified in travelers who visited murine typhus endemic areas.