Diphtheria News and Research

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Diphtheria is a disease caused by a bacterium, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, that usually affects the tonsils, throat, nose and/or skin. It is passed from person to person by droplet transmission, usually by breathing in diphtheria bacteria after an infected person has coughed or sneezed. Although diphtheria disease is rare in the U.S., it appears that C diphtheriae continues to circulate in areas of the country with previously endemic diphtheria. Diphtheria also occurs in many other parts of the world.

The effect of COVID-19 on routine immunizations for vaccine-preventable diseases

A new study has focussed on determining the impact of COVID-19 associated interferences with different recovery scenarios for ten vaccine-preventable diseases.

11 Jan 2022

Routine immunization coverage declined in first year of COVID

A new study published on the medRxiv* preprint server investigated changes in RI coverage using two key indicators – diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis first-dose (DTP1) and third-dose (DTP3). DTP3 serves as a general marker for immunization system performance, while DTP1 is used as a proxy for inequity - quantifying Zero Dose (ZD) children––those that receive no childhood vaccinations

8 Dec 2021

New nanoparticle adjuvant could help make vaccines more powerful

A common strategy to make vaccines more powerful is to deliver them along with an adjuvant -; a compound that stimulates the immune system to produce a stronger response.

3 Dec 2021

Schools, pediatricians look to make up lost ground on non-covid vaccinations

Melissa Blatzer was determined to get her three children caught up on their routine immunizations on a recent Saturday morning at a walk-in clinic in this Denver suburb. It had been about a year since the kids' last shots, a delay Blatzer chalked up to the pandemic.

18 Nov 2021

Researchers explain why decaying SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood are not a problem after vaccination

A new study published in the preprint bioRxiv* server suggests vaccination helps to inflate the number of somatic hypermutations acquired by B cells. The increase in somatic hypermutations allows for an accumulation of highly matured bone marrow plasma cells.

8 Nov 2021

Young people aged 12 to 15 in England to be offered one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

People aged 12 to 15 in England will be offered one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, following advice from the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), the Health and Social Care Secretary has announced today (Monday 13 September).

13 Sep 2021

India's Mission Indradhanush improves vaccination outcomes for children

Researchers at CDDEP recently published 'Improving vaccination coverage and timeliness through periodic intensification of routine immunization: evidence from Mission Indradhanush' where they evaluated the performance of India's Mission Indradhanush (MI) child vaccination campaign -- a periodic intensification of the routine immunization program.

16 Jul 2021

23 million children missed out on basic vaccines in 2020 due to COVID-19, new data shows

23 million children missed out on basic vaccines through routine immunization services in 2020 – 3.7 million more than in 2019 - according to official data published today by WHO and UNICEF.

15 Jul 2021

Public opinion surveys could be used to understand regional variation in vaccine hesitancy, say experts

Public opinion surveys could be used more widely to understand regional variation in vaccine hesitancy, experts have recommended.

29 Jun 2021

First spatial scan analysis helps identify hotspots of undervaccinated children

The map of Montana Kayla Irish pulls up is peppered with red circles, each cluster providing details behind one of today's timely topics - childhood vaccination.

23 Jun 2021

Prior vaccination against diphtheria and tetanus associated with less severe COVID-19

The researchers found that individuals with registered diphtheria or tetanus vaccinations were less likely to develop severe COVID-19 than people who had only received other vaccinations. The results of this study are posted to the medRxiv* preprint server.

16 Jun 2021

Study shows pertussis is still common among middle-aged adults in European countries

Although vaccination programmes against pertussis are very effective in Europe, new Finnish study shows that the disease is still very common among middle-aged adults in various European countries.

27 May 2021

Study shows more evidence that vaccines are safe for children, adults

A new study looking across a large body of research finds further evidence for the safety of vaccines that are Food and Drug Administration-approved and routinely recommended for children, adults and pregnant women.

27 May 2021

Prior MMR or Tdap vaccination may reduce risk of severe COVID-19

Researchers in the United States have shown that prior Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) or Tetanus-Diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap) vaccination may reduce the risk of severe outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

5 May 2021

Vaccines can save lives and safeguard health and well-being

Effectively and safely protecting against disease--this is what makes vaccines a vital and successful public health tool that saves lives and safeguards health and well-being. Today, vaccines shield us from more than 20 life-threatening diseases.

30 Apr 2021

Government mistrust plays a vital role in slowing down child vaccination progress in Africa

Mistrust in local and national government plays a significant role in slowing down child vaccination progress in Africa - the continent home to half of the world's unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children, new research reveals.

30 Apr 2021

World Immunization Week: Vaccination in 2021

News-Medical talks to experts in different areas of the medical sector on why immunization week is so prevalent in 2021.

27 Apr 2021

Can vaccination and infection rates add up to reach Covid herd immunity?

It's been a long, dark winter of Covid concerns, stoked by high post-holiday case counts and the American death tally exceeding 530,000 lives lost.

17 Mar 2021

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine elicits antibodies in blood and breastmilk simultaneously, finds study

A new study adds to the sum of knowledge around this issue, showing a highly synchronized and rapid development of an antibody response in breast milk and serum, which reached stable levels around two weeks after the second dose of the vaccine was administered.

10 Mar 2021

Diphtheria is evolving to become antibiotic-resistant and could lead to vaccine escape

Diphtheria - a relatively easily-preventable infection - is evolving to become resistant to a number of classes of antibiotics and in future could lead to vaccine escape, warn an international team of researchers from the UK and India.

8 Mar 2021