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GlaxoSmithKline files European meningococcal conjugate vaccine

GlaxoSmithKline has announced the submission of a regulatory file to European Medicines Agency (EMEA) under Article 58 for the combination vaccine candidate Globorix (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitides serogroups A and C).

1 Apr 2007

Parents often the source of whooping cough

Infants with whooping cough were most likely infected by the people they live with, according to a multi-country study led by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.

30 Mar 2007

Study reveals impact of the MMR controversy on parents of children with autism

Researchers have found that the MMR controversy caused parents of children with autism feelings of stress, guilt and frustration. Their study is published in Archives of Disease Childhood.

29 Mar 2007

HPV vaccine proposals in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Dakota

Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases.

22 Mar 2007

Canada budgets $258 million for human papillomavirus vaccination programs

The Canadian government on Monday announced that it is including about $258 million in the 2007-2008 budget to help pay for provincial human papillomavirus vaccination programs, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports.

22 Mar 2007

15,595 meningitis cases this season in Africa

Two months into the dry season in the African "Meningitis Belt", 15,595 cases including 1,670 deaths have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from four countries: Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Uganda.

19 Mar 2007

Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B cases at lowest levels ever reported

The three most common forms of acute viral hepatitis in the United States -- hepatitis A, B and C -- declined dramatically between 1995 and 2005, with hepatitis A and B at the lowest levels ever recorded since the government began collecting surveillance data more than 40 years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hepatitis B and C are diseases that can lead to liver cancer and death.

15 Mar 2007

CDC releases safety data on rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released today new safety data on a recently licensed rotavirus vaccine given to infants that indicate the vaccine does not pose an elevated risk for intussusception, the most common cause of bowel obstruction in infants.

15 Mar 2007

Researchers use poliovirus to destroy neuroblastoma tumors in mice

The cause of one notorious childhood disease, poliovirus, could be used to treat the ongoing threat of another childhood disease, neuroblastoma.

15 Mar 2007

Interferon gamma identified as one of the signaling proteins involved with tumor relapse

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Cancer Center studying the interaction between the immune system and cancer cells have identified interferon gamma as one of the signaling proteins involved with tumor relapse.

13 Mar 2007

Gardasil not provided at most New York City health clinics

Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil is not provided at most New York City health clinics, and girls and women who are eligible for no-cost or low-cost vaccination often are told they must pay for it, according to a report released on Wednesday by Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the New York Sun reports.

11 Mar 2007

Debate over HPV vaccine 'clouded' by worries about promiscuity

The debate over the Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil has been "clouded" by "worries about promiscuity," New York Times reporter Denise Grady writes in a column

8 Mar 2007

Bird flu vaccine - experts say let's try harder

Experts on viruses are calling for a bigger effort to be made in developing vaccines to tackle pandemics.

6 Mar 2007

Debate over mandatory HPV vaccination

The Washington Post on Sunday examined the "widespread backlash" toward proposals to mandate human papillomavirus vaccination for school attendance after dozens of states "enthusiastic[ally] embraced" HPV vaccines.

5 Mar 2007

Safety of Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil 'lost' in debate

The effectiveness and safety of Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil has "been lost" because of Merck's lobbying campaign for mandating vaccination for school attendance, and the "real losers" might be "girls and women who need access" to the vaccine, Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman writes in an opinion piece .

5 Mar 2007

Actions taken on HPV vaccine proposals in Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Virginia

4 Mar 2007

One billion battling with neurological disorders

According to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), neurological disorders ranging from migraines to epilepsy and dementia, affect up to 1 billion people worldwide and that number is destined to rise as populations age.

1 Mar 2007

Lawmakers should not make HPV vaccination mandatory, CDC advisory panel chair says

Jon Abramson, chair of CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, recently said that he does not support mandating human papillomavirus vaccination for school attendance, the Washington Times reports.

1 Mar 2007

About 26% of U.S. girls, women ages 14 to 59 have HPV

Of U.S. women and girls ages 14 to 59, about 24.9 million women, or 26.8%, have the human papillomavirus, and about 2% of women and girls in the age group have HPV strains 16 or 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases, according to a study published in the Feb. 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Wall Street Journal reports.

1 Mar 2007

Neurological disorders a global problem

A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that neurological disorders, ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer disease, from stroke to headache, affect up to one billion people worldwide. Neurological disorders also include brain injuries, neuroinfections, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson disease.

27 Feb 2007