Vaccine

This Beltsville-based company widened its losses during the quarter that ended June 30 but said comparisons with the second quarter of last year are misleading.North American Vaccine made a $2 million gain in the second quarter of last year by selling 200,000 shares of an affiliate, BioChem Pharma Inc.Without that gain, the company would have lost $1.9 million, or 10 cents a share, during the second quarter of 1991.Three months ended 6/30/92........Revenue...... Net...... ..... Share'92..

Middle school girls in Maryland would be required to get vaccines for a virus that causes cervical cancer under legislation being considered in Annapolis. Several state senators have introduced a bill to require the shots for sixth-grade girls. The shot would prevent a common, sexually transmitted virus that causes about 70 percent of the cases of cervical cancer. Other states also are considering a requirement for the vaccine. Supporters say the vaccine, approved last summer for girls as young as 9, is a no-brainer because it could eliminate female cases of human papilloma virus, or HPV. The virus can also cause genital lesions or warts.

A new vaccine to prevent painful attacks of shingles in people 60 and older has received federal approval and is expected to be on the market in about a week. The Food and Drug Administration announced yesterday that it has cleared the way for Merck & Co. to begin shipping the vaccine, called Zostavax. A five-year study showed it can protect about half the people who get it from developing shingles, a rash that can lead to a more devastating painful condition, post-herpetic neuralgia. As many as 1 million Americans develop shingles each year, according to the National Institutes of Health, and about 20 percent of them progress to post-herpetic neuralgia, which can cause excruciating pain for months or years.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 doctors, nurses and other health care workers in Maryland would be vaccinated against the deadly smallpox virus under a plan submitted this week to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The plan calls for the vaccination of about 5,000 hospital workers across the state, Arlene Stephenson, acting secretary of the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said yesterday. Smaller hospitals might vaccinate teams of 50 doctors and nurses, she said, while larger ones might vaccinate as many as 250. About 80 six-person "public health teams" at local health departments and at the state health department also would be vaccinated under the plan.

As another deadline looms next week for students to show proof of immunization or be kept out of class, Baltimore school principals and staff should be making every effort to ensure that parents and students comply with the vaccine requirements. And parents need to stop being a roadblock to their children's education. Required immunizations against chickenpox and hepatitis B reflect growing concerns that these diseases can have serious consequences for children well beyond kindergarten.

A recent outbreak in Maryland, including several cases in Carroll County, has raised concern about meales.Measles is caused by a virus. Common symptoms are high fever, upper respiratory symptoms and a rash.Every child should be vaccinated at 15 months. A second measles shot is recommended at age 12. The shots are usually given as MMR -- measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.More than one-third of cases occur in people 15 years and older. People born after 1957 should receive a booster MMR shot; most of those born before 1957 are considered immune to the virus.

About 5,000 Maryland middle-schoolers, mostly in Baltimore and Prince George's County, are still being kept out of school because they have not shown proof that they have been immunized against hepatitis B and chicken pox. By tomorrow, they will have been excluded from classes for two full weeks - an unacceptable interval when important subjects are being missed and state assessments are about a month away. State and local officials need to accelerate their efforts to make sure the remaining stragglers either get the necessary shots or are allowed to go back to school until they can be vaccinated.

The Harford County Health Department will conduct rabies vaccinationclinics for dogs and cats from 2 to 4 p.m. today, at the following locations:Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department, Route 7 and Mountain Road; Darlington Volunteer Fire Department, Darlington; CountyParks and Recreation Building, Old Aberdeen Elementary School, Howard and Franklin streets; Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Department, intersection of Route 136 and Old Route 23.The vaccine administered...

Profectus BioSciences Inc., a Baltimore-based biotechnology company, said Wednesday that it won a $5.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to support the development of a vaccine for a pair of contagious and deadly viruses that the U.S. government has classified as biological and agricultural threats. The viruses are found in other parts of the world. The viruses — Nipah and Hendra — are closely related and cause respiratory and encephalitic disease in humans and animals.

The Carroll County Public Schools and Carroll County Health Department will provide a free FDA-approved nasal influenza vaccine to all eligible public school elementary pupils. The vaccine will be administered by nurses in elementary schools as follows: Oct. 16, Cranberry Station, Friendship Valley, Robert Moton, Westminster, William Winchester; Oct. 17, Charles Carroll, Elmer Wolfe, Runnymede, Taneytown; Oct. 18, Hampstead, Manchester, Sandymount, Spring Garden; Oct. 19, Linton Springs, Mount Airy, Parr's Ridge, Winfield; Oct. 23, Carrolltowne, Eldersburg, Freedom, Mechanicsville, Piney Ridge.