Measles News and Research

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Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. It remains a leading cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. An estimated 197 000 people died from measles in 2007, mostly children under the age of five.

Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family. The measles virus normally grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and the lungs. It is a human disease not known to occur in animals.

Azelastine antihistamine inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection in nasal tissue in vitro

In a study published on the bioRxiv preprint server, researchers from the University of Pécs, University of Vienna, and CEBINA GmbH, Vienna, show the ability of the antihistamine azelastine to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection in human nasal tissue in vitro.

16 Sep 2020

Should a COVID-19 vaccine be mandatory for children?

As the search for a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine continues, with some candidate vaccines nearing the completion Phase III clinical trials, a trio of experts weighs in with some sound reasoning as to whether any future vaccine should be considered mandatory for children. The viewpoint article is published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in September 2020.

14 Sep 2020

Ghana’s community-based surveillance is enabling early detection of preventable diseases

Members of the public trained on how to collect health information in Ghana are enabling early detection and reporting of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, a study says.

11 Sep 2020

Convalescent plasma fails to improve outcome of COVID-19 in India

A new study based in India and published on the medRxiv preprint server explores the role of convalescent plasma (CP) in the treatment of moderate COVID-19 within the limitations on resources faced in a developing country.

9 Sep 2020

With schools starting online, vaccinations head for recess

As co-director of school-based health centers at Bassett Healthcare Network, the pediatrician oversees about 21 school-based health clinics across the region — a poor, rural area known for manufacturing and crippled by the opioid epidemic.

8 Sep 2020

Seasonal influenza and COVID-19 risk

In a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv, researchers from Laval University and McGill University in Canada reviewed evidence from 18 relevant studies on a possible interaction between influenza vaccines on non-influenza respiratory disease (NIRD).

6 Sep 2020

Dozens of U.S. hospitals poised to defy FDA’s directive on COVID plasma

Dozens of major hospitals across the U.S. are grappling with whether to ignore a federal decision allowing broader emergency use of blood plasma from recovered COVID patients to treat the disease in favor of dedicating their resources to a gold-standard clinical trial that could help settle the science for good.

3 Sep 2020

VUMC receives $34 million grant for nationwide convalescent plasma study

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been awarded a one-year, $34-million grant by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a nationwide study of "convalescent plasma" as a treatment for COVID-19.

21 Aug 2020

Study: Many COVID-19 patients suffer cardiovascular damage even after recovery

One of the most harrowing effects of COVID-19 is severe damage to the lungs, which makes breathing hard or impossible for those who're severely affected.

21 Aug 2020

California’s data failures stymie efforts to curb the virus

The failure of California's infectious disease monitoring system for a stretch of at least 20 days in July and August triggered potentially deadly fallout that continues to reverberate across the state.

21 Aug 2020

Yellow fever vaccination campaign launched to target 1.6 million people in the West-Nile region of Uganda

Mr Mark Oguma Oguti and his daughter Claudia are thrilled about the launch of the Yellow Fever Vaccination campaign.

20 Aug 2020

Trust, fear and solidarity will determine the success of a COVID vaccine

Thousands of letters stuffed with money flooded Jonas Salk's mailbox the week after his polio vaccine was declared safe and effective in 1955. Everybody wanted his vaccine.

17 Aug 2020

Scientists claim signs of lasting SARS-CoV-2 immunity

Questions have been raised by many health experts on whether being infected with SARS-CoV-2 brings lasting immunity. Now, scientists have uncovered signs of strong and lasting immunity in people who even had a mild illness of COVID-19.

17 Aug 2020

Diversions in malaria prevention efforts during the pandemic may cost thousands of lives

As COVID-19 threatens to derail more than a decade’s worth of hard-won gains in the fight against malaria, Dr Benjamin Pretorius, managing director at ERADA Technology Alliance, warns that diversions of malaria resources and interruptions to prevention programmes may cost thousands of lives.

13 Aug 2020

Higher BCG vaccination coverage associated with improved COVID-19 outcomes

A tuberculosis vaccine administered during the past 15 years is associated with significantly improved COVID-19 outcomes, according to a new study published in Vaccines.

12 Aug 2020

Researcher uses in silico analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to fast-track passive immunity

With millions of COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, people are turning to antibody tests to find out whether they have been exposed to the coronavirus that causes the disease. But what are antibodies? Why are they important? If we have them, are we immune to COVID-19? And if not, why not?

30 Jul 2020

Exciting cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate using Newcastle disease

Experts warn that the world may see repeated waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, scientists around the world are working hard to create a protective vaccine or antiviral, which could help to reduce the number of deaths and cases the next time around.

29 Jul 2020

Researchers unlock new insights that may help inform vaccine design for infectious diseases

Vaccination is the most effective public health measure to prevent infectious diseases. Vaccines can greatly reduce the risk of infection by working with the body's natural defenses to safely develop immunity to disease.

28 Jul 2020

Iron deficiency during infancy may reduce protective effect of vaccines

Despite the fact that global immunization programmes are now reaching more people than ever, about 1.5 million children still die every year from diseases that vaccination could have prevented. Vaccination is also less effective in low-income countries than in high-income countries, although it is not yet clear why.

28 Jul 2020

Scientists want to know more about using UV light to fight COVID-19 spread

High up near the ceiling, in the dining room of his Seattle-area restaurant, Musa Firat recently installed a “killing zone” — a place where swaths of invisible electromagnetic energy penetrate the air, ready to disarm the coronavirus and other dangerous pathogens that drift upward in tiny, airborne particles.

22 Jul 2020