ABSTRACT

Among the tools available to control infectious diseases, vaccines rank high in effectiveness and economic feasibility. Vaccines once consisted of either live whole virus analogs or killed virus preparations. Now new viral, bacterial, and parasitic vaccines are frequently defined by gene sequences or amino acid epitopes. Likewise, vaccine testing has progressed to become a discipline of its own, which includes scientific, epidemiological, ethical, and feasibility aspects. This chapter deals with some of these issues related to Phases I and II vaccine testing.