Upper Respiratory Illness Vaccines

Abstract

Studies with new experimental upper respiratory disease vaccines have shown the feasibility of multivalent vaccines in protecting against illnesses. Various monovalent and complex vaccines were investigated during the past four years and effectiveness could be correlated with antigenicity of the preparation. Protective effects were demonstrable in industrial and university groups with a single virus vaccine containing murivirus 1 (2060/JH) and a complex vaccine that included influenza A2, B1, parainfluenza 1 and murivirus 1. The latter vaccine in an industrial group protected against a third of the illnesses that influenza vaccine alone did not prevent. Effectiveness of this preparation was probably due to the antigenicity of the components that resulted in formation of homologous as well as heterotypic antibodies. Thus, parainfluenza 1 responses sometimes cross reacted with parainfluenza 2 and 3 viruses and murivirus 1 antibody with other respiroviruses. Immunogenity and preliminary field investigations with several other polyvalent vaccines did not yield equivalent results because of lack of antigenic potency. Selection of viruses for a vaccine, methods of preparation and current thinking about respiratory disease vaccines are discussed. The importance of preventing upper respiratory illnesses in persons with cardiac, pulmonary or other chronic diseases was noted. It was emphasized that complete evaluation of new vaccines should include determinations of etiology of all respiratory illnesses in the immunized and control groups.