Background - To determine the response of Iranian children to CUBAN hepatitis B VACCINE. Methods - A total of 538 children who had received three doses of CUBAN hepatitis B VACCINE were classified into 4 groups of 6, 12, 24, and 36 months after the third dose of vaccination. Every group was subdivided into nonresponders, hyporesponders, and good-responders. Results - Of 538 VACCINEes, 240 (44.6%) were females. In Group I, of 230 (42.75%) VACCINEes, 25 (10.9%) were nonresponders, 51 (22.1%) hyporesponders, and 154 (67%) good-responders. In Group II, consisting of 98 (18.2°/x), 18 (18.4°/x) were nonresponders, 38 (38.8°/x) hyporesponders, and 42 (42.6%) good-responders. In Group III, of 100 (18.58%) VACCINEes, 8(8%) were nonresponders, 32 (32%) hyporesponders, and 60 (60%) good-responders. In Group IV, with 110 (20.4%) VACCINEes, 31 (28.1%) were nonresponders, 30 (27.3%) hyporesponders, and 49 (44.5%) good-responders. Conclusion- Of the total 538 VACCINEes, 305 (56.7%) were good-responders, 149 (27.7%) hyporesponders, and 84 (15.6%) nonresponders. Both rates of VACCINEes and concentration of anti-HBs in the good-responders were low and the number of hyporesponders and nonresponders were high.

Background: Acute hepatitis B infection can debilitate a patient for weeks and occasionally has a fatal outcome, while chronic infection is a major threat to the individual. To assess the response of nonresponder and hyporesponder children to the booster dose of CUBAN recombinant hepatitis B VACCINE is the background of this survey.Methods An interventional, descriptive study has been conducted on children who had been immunized with CUBAN recombinant hepatitis B VACCINE and if their antibody titers were ≤10 mIU/ml (nonresponder) or 10-100 mIU/ml (hyporesponder) booster doses of the same VACCINE were administered in their deltoid muscle. Findings: The response of 141 children, with a mean age of 1.9 years, to the first and second booster dose of VACCINE was 94.3% and 100% respectively. The anti-HBs titers in nonresponders and hyporesponders were 468 ± 383 and 783 ± 346 mIU/ml respectively with significant differences between the two groups (P=0.001).Conclusions: This study demonstrates moderately increased antibody production in the majority of VACCINEs with single booster dose of the VACCINE.

Since 1962 and despite a lot of changes in American policies and international political system during these years, U.S foreign policy toward Cuba was fixed and based on containment and pressuring on its government. Power of CUBAN lobby is one of the most important reasons of this matter. Sources of power and the way this lobby was formed, its political agenda and considerable successes in U.S foreign policy, the reason of importance of CUBAN lobby and CUBAN-American in domestic politics of the United States, current U.S politics toward Cuba and prospect on CUBAN lobby in U.S politics are mentioned in this essay. Actually, a small group of CUBAN-American with internal solidarity and specific objects effects U.S foreign policy toward Cuba and conducts it in favorite direct.

Background and Aims: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is an important public health problem. Hepatitis B VACCINE induces protective response in the majority of vaccinated persons. In our country, we do not have any evaluation for the efficacy of each type of VACCINEs used in adult and our objective was therefore to evaluate the efficacy of VACCINEs. Methods: In a randomized double-blind clinical trial 347 military personnel and their family in Kashan city, central Iran, were studied during August 2007 to April 2008. Participates who did not have history of HBV vaccination were included in this study. Five-mL blood samples were taken from each person and tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) and total hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb). If the test results were negative, they were then divided into two groups and vaccinated with either recombinant CUBAN or Korean VACCINE. One month after the latest VACCINE dose, we assessed the antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs Ab) titer.Results: 347 subjects (207 men, 140 women) were studied. All participants were more than 15 years old. The mean±SD age of participants was 32.3±7.2 years. The mean±SD titer of anti-HBs Ab was 253.6±95.4 MIU/mL in CUBAN group and 315.7±163.5 in Korean VACCINE group (P<0.001). The Korean VACCINE induced a higher titer of antibody in ages less than 40. Four (2.3%) subjects in the CUBAN and 2 (1.1%) in the Korean VACCINE group did not develop protection.Conclusions: The Korean VACCINE induces more protection and higher titer in subjects aged less than 40 years than the CUBAN VACCINE. Therefore, we believe that the Korean hepatitis B VACCINE is a better choice in comparison to the CUBAN VACCINE for prevention of hepatitis B virus infection and mass vaccination in our country. 

Background and objective: The live attenuated oral poliovirus VACCINE (OPV), used for many years resulted in obviously reducing the poliomyelitis cases world wide. Most RNA viruses have highly mutable genomes and polioviruses are among the most rapidly evolving of all RNA viruses. Mutations naturally occur during their replication in recipients or their contacts and in rare circumstances it can be caused reversion to neorovirulance (VACCINE-associated paralytic poliomyelitis). For many years the role of some critical nucleotides in 5 non-coding region in VACCINE-associated paralytic poliomyelitis was known but these years investigators have focused on the importance of other nucleotides in capsid regions such as VP1. So, mutations in this region of polioviruses isolated from acute flaccid paralysis cases are analyzed. In Iran the WHO eradication program has been done since 1373 and all acute flaccid paralysis has been studied.Materials and methods: During the years 1380-1381 from all AFP cases, we found 5 patients with residual paralysis which 5 VACCINE-like polioviruses were isolated from them by using micronutralization test and intratypic differentiation tests (ELISA, probe-hybridization and RTPCR). Three isolates(no:1,3 and4) were VACCINE-like polioviruses type 1 and 2 other isolates (no:2 and 5) were VACCINE-like polioviruses type 2.The VP1 region of theses isolates was sequenced and analyzed.Results: Sequence analysis showed that 3 VACCINE-like polioviruses type 1(no:1,2,4) had 4,2 and1nucleotide substitutions in VP1 region in comparison with reference Sabin strain 1 and in VACCINE-like polioviruses type2(no:2,5) there were 1 and 2 nucleotide substitutions in this region in comparison with reference Sabin strain 2 respectively.Conclusion: Eradication of wild polioviruses is near and it is time to identify any mutations in all three Sabin strains and improve our knowledge about molecular pathogenesis of theses viruses.

Background: The efficacy of biolarvicides may be influenced by species of mosquito, larval age and density, tem-perature, water quality, bacterial formulation, and others. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of tem-perature and chlorine on larvicidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis CUBAN isolates against Aedes aegypti. Methods: The influence of temperature (25, 30, 35 ° C) and chlorine (2. 25mg/L) on the larvicidal activity of eleven B. thuringiensis CUBAN isolates (collected between 2007 and 2009) were tested under laboratory conditions following WHO protocols. Bioassay data were analyzed by Probit program. The effect of chlorine and temperature (25, 30, 35 and 40 ° C) on the Cry and Cyt proteins of these isolates was determined by SDS-PAGE polyacrylamide gel electro-phoresis. Results: The pathogenicity of the isolates U81, X48 was affected at 35 ° C. However, A21, A51, L910, and R89 isolates increase their entomopathogen activity at 35 ° C. No differences were observed in toxicity of M29, R84, R85 and R87 isolates at different temperatures. The Cry 4, Cry 10 and Cry 11 proteins were reduced in A21, X48, R85 isolates at 35 and 40 ° C. The Cyt proteins were reduced at 35 and 40 ° C in A21, X48, R85, and A51 isolates. In L910 and R84 isolates, the Cyt toxin was degraded only at 40 ° C. In chlorinated water, the lethal concentrations 50 and 90 in A21, A51, M29, R84, U81, and X48 isolates were increase. Conclusion: A21, A51, L910, R85, and X48 isolates have a strong larvicidal activity for the treatment of Ae. aegypti breeding’ s sites exposed to high temperature and chlorine.