TY - JOUR
T1 - Vaccines against lyme disease
T2 - What happened and what lessons can we learn?
AU - Poland, Gregory A.
PY - 2011/2/1
Y1 - 2011/2/1
N2 - This article reviews events that led to the withdrawal of the only vaccine to prevent Lyme disease licensed in the United States. The primary issues that led to the vaccine's withdrawal appear to be a combination of vaccine safety concerns, sparked by a molecular mimicry hypothesis that suggested that the vaccine antigen, outer surface protein A, serves as an autoantigen and hence was arthritogenic; concerns raised by anti-vaccine groups regarding vaccine safety; vaccine cost; a difficult vaccination schedule and the potential need for boosters; class action lawsuits; uncertainty regarding risk of disease; and low public demand. This article reviews lessons learned from these events and proposes that future candidate Lyme disease vaccines are unlikely to be developed, tested, and used within the United States in the near future, thus leaving at-risk populations unprotected.
AB - This article reviews events that led to the withdrawal of the only vaccine to prevent Lyme disease licensed in the United States. The primary issues that led to the vaccine's withdrawal appear to be a combination of vaccine safety concerns, sparked by a molecular mimicry hypothesis that suggested that the vaccine antigen, outer surface protein A, serves as an autoantigen and hence was arthritogenic; concerns raised by anti-vaccine groups regarding vaccine safety; vaccine cost; a difficult vaccination schedule and the potential need for boosters; class action lawsuits; uncertainty regarding risk of disease; and low public demand. This article reviews lessons learned from these events and proposes that future candidate Lyme disease vaccines are unlikely to be developed, tested, and used within the United States in the near future, thus leaving at-risk populations unprotected.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79952569307&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79952569307&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/cid/ciq116
DO - 10.1093/cid/ciq116
M3 - Article
C2 - 21217172
AN - SCOPUS:79952569307
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 52
SP - S253-S258
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - SUPPL. 3
ER -