Immunization (Contemporary Issues in Infectious Diseases)

This book deals with the prospects for making new generations of vaccines, while at the same time placing this effort within the perspective of past failures and successes. It contains the thoughts of leading investigators and covers vaccines against bacteria, viruses and protozoans and the issues of immunology and pathogenesis that are necessary for understanding the strategies being undertaken. Four special areas are also covered: the controversy over the relationship between pertussis vaccination and neuropathology, including sudden infant death; the promise of better efficacy provided by a new generation of conjated polysaccharide vaccines; the use of molecular biologic techniques to understand the pathogenesis of protozoa and helminthic diseases and the relationship of these studies to the development of vaccines; the usefulness of two emerging concepts: anti-idiotype vaccines and genetically engineered antigenic buses containing multiple antigens.