Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine explained

Verifiedfields:changed
Verifiedrevid:376123091
Type:vaccine
Target:Tick-borne encephalitis virus
Vaccine Type:inactivated
Tradename:Encepur N, FSME-Immun CC, Ticovac, others
Legal Uk:POM
Legal Uk Comment:[1]
Legal Us:Rx-only
Legal Us Comment:[2] [3]
Routes Of Administration:Intramuscular
Atc Prefix:J07
Atc Suffix:BA01
Chemspiderid:none
Cas Number:1704520-39-7
Kegg:D12206
Drugbank:DB16611

Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). The disease is most common in Central and Eastern Europe, and Northern Asia. More than 87% of people who receive the vaccine develop immunity.[4] It is not useful following the bite of an infected tick. It is given by injection into a muscle.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends immunizing all people in areas where the disease is common. Otherwise the vaccine is just recommended for those who are at high risk. Three doses are recommended followed by additional doses every three to five years. The vaccines can be used in people more than one or three years of age depending on the formulation. The vaccine appears to be safe during pregnancy.

Serious side effects are very uncommon. Minor side effects may include fever, and redness and pain at the site of injection. Older formulations were more commonly associated with side effects.

The first vaccine against TBE was developed in 1937.[5] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[6] [7] The vaccine was approved for medical use in the United States in August 2021.[8] [9]

Medical uses

In the United States, tick-borne encephalitis vaccine is indicated for active immunization to prevent tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in individuals one year of age and older.

The efficacy of these vaccines has been well documented.[5] They have also been shown to protect mice from a lethal challenge with several TBE-virus isolates obtained over a period of more than 30 years from all over Europe and the Asian part of the former Soviet Union. In addition, it has been demonstrated that antibodies induced by vaccination of human volunteers neutralized all tested isolates.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

The vaccine appears to be safe during pregnancy,[5] but because of insufficient data the vaccine is only recommended during pregnancy and breastfeeding when it is considered urgent to achieve protection against TBE infection and after careful consideration of risks versus benefits.[10]

Schedule

Two to three doses are recommended depending on the formulation. Typically one to three months should occur between the first doses followed by five to twelve months before the final dose. Additional doses are then recommended every three to five years.[5] A study from 2006 suggests that the FSME-Immun/Ticovac and Encepur are interchangeable for booster vaccination, but cautions against change during the primary immunization course.[11]

History

The first vaccine against TBE was developed in the late 1930s in the Soviet Union, based on the Sofyin strain of the TBE virus. The vaccine was prepared from a suspension of infected mouse brain, inactivated with formalin. Initial trials were conducted on forced Gulag laborers, before research was replicated in other countries.[12]

As there were frequent reports of negative side effects towards the mouse brain components of the vaccine, scientists across countries worked on developing new vaccines. The Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitis developed new TBE vaccines in the late 1950s based on cell cultures from chicken embryos.

Later, in 1972, the veterinary microbiologist James Keppie at Porton Down in the United Kingdom led development into a new TBE vaccine. It was based on the Neudörfl strain of the TBE virus provided by Christian Kunz, an Austrian virologist. Kunz then led human trials in Austria; after these trials were successful, public vaccination campaigns soon began.[13] [14] This vaccine was patented in 1980 in Austria by Immuno AG, which was later purchased by Baxter International.

Society and culture

Economics

Per dose it costs between and in the United Kingdom.[15]

Brand names

Brand names of the vaccines include Encepur N,[16] FSME-Immun CC[17] and Ticovac, Encevir-Neo, Klesh-E-Vak.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: TicoVac 0.5 ml Suspension for injection in a prefilled syringe - Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) . (emc) . 23 August 2021.
  2. Web site: Ticovac . U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) . 16 August 2021 . 23 August 2021 . STN: 125740 .
  3. U.S. FDA Approves Ticovac, Pfizer's Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) Vaccine . Pfizer . 23 August 2021.
  4. Demicheli V, Debalini MG, Rivetti A . Vaccines for preventing tick-borne encephalitis . The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . 2009 . 1 . CD000977 . January 2009 . 19160184 . 6532705 . 10.1002/14651858.CD000977.pub2 .
  5. Vaccines against tick-borne encephalitis: WHO position paper . Relevé Épidémiologique Hebdomadaire . 86 . 24 . 241–256 . June 2011 . 21661276 . World Health Organization . 10665/241769 .
  6. Book: ((World Health Organization)) . World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019 . 2019 . 10665/325771 . World Health Organization . World Health Organization . Geneva . WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO . free .
  7. Book: ((World Health Organization)) . World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 22nd list (2021) . 2021 . 10665/345533 . World Health Organization . World Health Organization . Geneva . WHO/MHP/HPS/EML/2021.02 . free .
  8. Web site: First Tick-Borne Encephalitis Vax Approved in the U.S.. 16 August 2021.
  9. Book: CDC Health Information for International Travel 2016. 1 June 2015. Oxford University Press. 978-0199379156. 3: Infectious Diseases Related to Travel. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160611133327/http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2016/infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/tickborne-encephalitis. 11 June 2016.
  10. Gabutti G, Conforti G, Tomasi A, Kuhdari P, Castiglia P, Prato R, Memmini S, Azzari C, Rosati GV, Bonanni P . 6 . Why, when and for what diseases pregnant and new mothers "should" be vaccinated . Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics . 13 . 2 . 283–290 . February 2017 . 27929742 . 5328236 . 10.1080/21645515.2017.1264773 .
  11. Bröker M, Schöndorf I . Are tick-borne encephalitis vaccines interchangeable? . Expert Review of Vaccines . 5 . 4 . 461–466 . August 2006 . 16989626 . 10.1586/14760584.5.4.461 . 32915267 .
  12. Mazanik . Anna . Arbovirology and Cold War Collaborations: A Transnational History of the Tick-borne Encephalitis Vaccine, 1930-1980 . Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences . 2023 . 10.1093/jhmas/jrad054 . 37681759 . free . 11302950 .
  13. Kunz . C. . TBE vaccination and the Austrian experience . Vaccine . 21 . S50–S55 . 2003 . 10.1016/S0264-410X(02)00813-7 . 12628814 .
  14. Heinz . FX . Development of a highly purified tick-borne encephalitis vaccine: A personal historical account . Wien Klin Wochenschr . 136 . 7–8 . 215–219 . 2024 . 10.1007/s00508-023-02240-1 . 37391599 . 11006719 .
  15. Web site: Tick-borne encephalitis - Prevention. NHS.uk . 15 December 2015. 15 October 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222092835/http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Tick-borne-encephalitis/Pages/Beforeyougopage.aspx. 22 December 2015.
  16. Web site: Encepur N. compendium.ch. 21 January 2018. 28 April 2016.
  17. Web site: FSME-Immun CC. compendium.ch. 21 January 2018. 11 August 2017.