influenza-2016_posters-accepted-abstracts

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Volume 4, Issue 6(Suppl) J Infect Dis Ther
ISSN: 2332-0877 JIDT, an open access journal
Page 58
Notes:
Influenza 2016
September 12-13, 2016
conferenceseries.com
Influenza
September 12-13, 2016 Berlin, Germany
2nd International Conference on
Serological methods are able to determine how well influenza vaccines work
Barbara Camilloni1, Cinzia Bianchini2, Paolo Tozzi3, Giudo Bartolini4 and Giuseppe Mnculini5
1University of Perugia, Italy
2A.I.D.A.S. Societa’ Cooperativa Sociale, Italy
3Azienda Unita’ Sanitaria Locale Umbria N. 2, Italy
4Opera Pia Bartolomei Castori, Italy
5RP Bittoni C. Pieve, Italy
In influenza vaccine efficacy studies, virus identification is considered the ideal end point. This approach, especially if performed in
large populations could be difficult to carry out and the results could depend on the level of influenza viruses’ circulation. This is
why serological studies are often used as surrogate methods. Here we analyze the antibody response of 181 elderly volunteers (aged
≥65 years) to 2014-15 influenza vaccine to understand if serological data are able to predict the vaccine efficacy. We compared the
response of those who have or have not had a serologically evidenced influenza infection after vaccination (the volunteers that had a
seroconversion on comparing hemagglutination inhibiting (HI) titers found 1 and 6months after vaccination were considered positive
for serological evidence of recent infection). Before vaccination the infected group showed lower antibody levels than uninfected
volunteers, after vaccination these differences increased. Dividing the infected volunteers according to the absence or the presence of
influenza like illness (ILI) and to the severity of the ILI, we found that, 1 month after vaccination, 80-90% of volunteers with severe
infections or with mild infections, respectively, were unprotected (HI<40). On the other hand, among the infected volunteers not
showing ILI and the non-infected volunteers, more than half were found to be protected. Although the validity of using serologic
confirmation of infection rather than virus identification to determine vaccine efficacy has been questioned, our results, though
obtained analyzing a small population, confirm the validity of the serological approach.
Biography
Barbara Camilloni is a Researcher at the University of Perugia, Italy. She has completed her Postgraduate School in Microbiology and Virology and PhD in molecular
pathogenesis, immunology and control of transmissible agents causing major illnesses associated with poverty (malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS). Her major research work
includes virological monitoring of seasonal influenza and pandemic as part of coordinated Italian surveillance network (InfluNet), evaluation of the effectiveness of influenza
vaccination in the elderly and surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (national / international program of polio eradication). virological surveillance of rotavirus infections in
children.
Barbara Camilloni et al., J Infect Dis Ther 2016, 4:6(Suppl)