The 1970 international conference convened with 315 scientists from 41 nations, a striking increase in the number of participants and a more diverse representation of countries with differing health care needs, goals, and mechanisms for implementation of vaccine programs than that of the previous conference in 1966. The 1970 conference gave special emphasis to the utilization of existing vaccines, economic analysis, and the impact of vaccine practice and surveillance techniques. The formal papers and lively discussion focused on infectious diseases as the critical problem in many countries which had established health care services as a high national priority.
A broad spectrum of viral, rickettsial, and bacterial vaccines was reviewed. Some of the highlights included discussion of the development of new cell types for the propagation of a safer rabies vaccine, the use of recombinant strains of influenza virus for more effective immunization, and the intranasal inoculation of temperature selected mutants