Notably, a Beijing-based JE-MB vaccine is not available for international travelers and was thus not included in the present study. The study population consisted of JE vaccinees whose early immune responses were reported in the two former studies. In this follow-up we included subjects who had received (1) a JE-VC primary

series (group VC), (2) a JE-MB primary series followed by a single booster dose of JE-VC (group MB-VC), and (3) a JE-MB primary learn more series followed by a single booster dose of JE-MB (group MB-MB). In the booster groups, the median intervals between primary and booster vaccinations were 5.2 (range 1.1–20.5) years (group MB-VC) and 3.7 (range 1.0–12.2) years (group MB-MB). Eligibility criteria for the participants have been described previously [5] and [16]. Briefly, the subjects were adult volunteers who received JE primary or booster vaccination as part of their pre-travel consultation at two travel clinics in Finland and Sweden. The following exclusion criteria JQ1 were used: age <18 years, acute disease at the time of enrollment, pregnancy or lactation, clinically significant immunosuppression, known history of JE, alcohol or drug abuse, or suspected hypersensitivity to any

of the vaccine components. The initial study comprised 31 volunteers in group VC, 42 in MB-VC and 32 in MB-MB [5]. For this research project, we collected follow-up serum samples from all volunteers available around two years after their last vaccine dose: 15/31 participants (48%) in group VC, 19/42 (45%) in group MB-VC, and 14/32 (44%) in group MB-MB. The samples were evaluated for persistence and cross-reactivity of the JEV neutralizing antibodies. Of the subjects in the JE-VC primary vaccination group (group VC), only those were included in the analyses who showed no antibodies against the JEV strains prior to administering the vaccine series. The these study (EudraCT: 2010-023300-27) was approved by the appropriate ethics

committees and registered in the databases required. All volunteers provided informed consent. Titers of neutralizing antibodies were determined by the plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT), which is currently regarded the method of choice for assessment of seroprotection elicited by JE vaccines [17]. The neutralization tests were performed as described previously [5] and [18]. All serum samples were tested against seven different JEV strains representing genotypes I–IV: SM-1 (GI; isolated in Thailand 2002), 1991 (GI; Korea 1991), B 1034/8 (GII; Thailand 1983), Nakayama (GIII; Japan 1935, strain in JE-MB), SA14-14-2 (attenuated GIII strain, strain in JE-VC; parental strain China 1954), Beijing-3 (GIII, China 1949), and 9092 (GIV; Indonesia 1981). The analyses were performed in a blinded manner.