Title: Vaccines and infectious diseases

Biography:

Ivana Haluskova Balter is a Medical and cosmopolitan professional specialized in infectious diseases and travel medicine, internal medicine covering various therapeutic axes, certified in Immunology and Pediatric, MBA vaccinology and years of clinical practice. Lived multi-country medical “field “experience in Southeast Asia (India in particular), West/Central/East Europe. Speaking French, English, Russian, Italian, Czech, Slovak with notion of Mandarin. Over 12 years of experience in pharmaceutical research and development for European and USA companies at global level. Active member of French immunology society (SFI) administrative board and several international  academic societies (focus on innovation of R&D reflecting immunology and genetic variability,  role of immunologic approach for treatment and diagnostic, tackle problem  of resistance for antimicrobials, antimalarial, antivirals etc). Member of advisory Health concern (India) and think tank group in order to attract attention to role of immunology, personalized and preventive medicine   and accurate diagnostic and   global cooperation in this area. Years of expertise to work globally within Europe, USA  but recently more focused on  BRICS - Asia (India in Particular) as a Medical advisor promoting partnership to bring science into clinic.

Abstract

A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular microorganism. The working principle is to stimulate the body's immune system to recognize the agent as foreign, destroy it, and "remember" it. Vaccines are recognized for highly potent tool of public health. Accurate diagnostic and surveillance with better understanding of genetic and immunologic background of host specific response and pathogen evolution drives adapted vaccine research. Pandemics, drug resistance and neglected diseases framing health as a “global security issue”.  The list was drawn up in a bid to guide and promote research and development (R&D) of new antibiotics, as part of WHO’s efforts to address growing global AMR (27th Feb 2017) and it highlights in particular the threat of gram-negative bacteria. Although initially omitted from the list, tuberculosis (MDR/XDR) and latent tuberculosis represent still a major issue to tackle. XDR tuberculosis has evolved in several tuberculosis endemic countries to drug incurable or programmatically incurable tuberculosis (totally drug-resistant tuberculosis). BCG vaccine successfully helped to interrupt transmission cycle and large reduction of mortality. HIV/AIDS has known link with tuberculosis but other risk factors have also emerged in recent years as important determinants of the TB epidemic, one of which is diabetes mellitus. Noted risk or new emerging and re-emerging pathogens originated from animals after having crossed the species barrier (e.g Ebola) and re-appearance of “old diseases” like pertussis, measles. Finally, neglected tropical diseases represent a vast area where innovative vaccines might have strong economic impact. Live attenuated vaccines elicit a broad immune response (humoral and cellular) and there is a strongly expected disease nonspecific effect to be looked in depth. This direction along with improving of host immune system capacities (known microbiota and immune cell “training” and immune cell metabolic profiling) seems to be a promising path to explore further.