Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (13)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Smith, P G
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Smith, P G
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

British Medical Bulletin 44:679-690 (1988)
© 1988 The British Council

research-article

Epidemiological methods to evaluate vaccine efficacy

P G Smith

Tropical Epidemiological Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine London

Abstract

The proper way to measure the protective efficacy of a new vaccine is in a randomised controlled trial. About 10 such trials have been conducted to assess the protection that BCG confers against tuberculosis and four to assess the protective efficacy of this vaccine against leprosy. For both diseases, great variations in efficacy have been observed in different parts of the world. Because of this variation there is a need for evaluation methods which can be used by disease control programmes to estimate vaccine efficacy locally at a national or regional level. In these circumstances, randomised controlled trials are usually ruled out on grounds of both cost and the time that such studies take to complete. Alternative methods, which are both quicker and cheaper, are required. It is suggested that case-control studies provide an acceptable, though methodologically inferior, approach to estimate vaccine efficacy. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of this approach are discussed and guidelines are outlined for the conduct of such studies.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am J Trop Med HygHome page
F. NACKERS, M. DRAMAIX, R. C. JOHNSON, C. ZINSOU, A. ROBERT, E. DE BIURRUN BAKEDANO, J. R. GLYNN, F. PORTAELS, and R. TONGLET
BCG VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS AGAINST BURULI ULCER: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY IN BENIN.
Am J Trop Med Hyg, October 1, 2006; 75(4): 768 - 774.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J EpidemiolHome page
M. P. Arbelaez, K. E Nelson, and A. Munoz
BCG vaccine effectiveness in preventing tuberculosis and its interaction with human immunodeficiency virus infection
Int. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2000; 29(6): 1085 - 1091.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.