title: Effectiveness of live or killed plague vaccines in man.
abstract: While the safety of the available live plague vaccine EV 76 (Paris) continues to be the subject of further study, the USP formol-killed, virulent Pasteurella pestis (Yersinia pestis) suspension capable of protecting 60% of non-human primates, particularly Hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus), warrants further clinical tests and field trials. Inoculated in a dosage of 2x10(9) killed plague bacilli (1 ml), followed by a booster of 400 million organisms (0.2 ml) in 1-3 months, this vaccine stimulates the appearance of passive mouse-protection antibodies (below an index of 10) and passive haemagglutinins in 60%-65% of human subjects. Recent experiences in Viet-Nam demonstrate that personnel vaccinated with the USP vaccine, although frequently exposed, enjoy almost complete freedom from the disease. One of the 4 known and confirmed cases of bubonic plague in North Americans occurred in an unvaccinated individual. Among individuals inoculated with the USP vaccine, 2 confirmed cases of pneumonic plague and 1 case of asymptomatic pharyngeal plague have been recorded. The incidence of plague in the Republic of Viet-Nam during the past 3 years is estimated at 13 263 cases in a population in part vaccinated with a live plague which exhibited inadequate immunogenic efficacy in experimental tests.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D000882:Haplorhini; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine; D010930:Plague / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010931:Plague Vaccine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014611:Vaccination; D014744:Vietnam
chemical_list: D010931:Plague Vaccine