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.

Study sheds new light on the immune system’s ability to deal with co-infection

The body’s immune response to fungal infections changes when a patient is also infected by a virus, according to new research which investigated the two types of infection together for the first time.

26 Feb 2020

As the coronavirus spreads, Americans lose ground against other health threats

Antibiotics revolutionized the care of infections. Vaccines turned deadly childhood diseases into distant memories. Americans lived longer, healthier lives than their parents.

26 Feb 2020

Scientists developing a combined vaccine to fight most malignant brain tumor

Scientists are developing a combined vaccine to fight the most deadly form of brain cancer.

25 Feb 2020

Social media users most misinformed about vaccines

With the advent of the coronavirus outbreak and other viral outbreaks that are taking the lives of many people worldwide, vaccination is more important today than ever. But, recently, immunization rates have drastically decreased due to information people receive through social media platforms.

18 Feb 2020

Measles re-emerging globally

Measles is a common childhood illness but can cause more than a passing fever with rash. It could turn out to be a complicated and severe illness, warn doctors in a new paper published in February 2020 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

17 Feb 2020

Researchers map key atomic structures in measles, mumps, flu and RSV

Northwestern University researchers have, for the first time, determined the 3D atomic structure of a key complex in paramyxoviruses, a family of viruses that includes measles, mumps, human parainfluenza and respiratory syncytial virus.

17 Feb 2020

England reports highest rates of mumps

Mumps is a contagious condition affecting the parotid glands. In some cases, mumps can lead to complications, especially in men, including sterility. Other serious complications of mumps include meningitis, encephalitis, and pancreatitis. There is a readily available vaccine against mumps, but despite this, there has been a sharp rise in mumps cases in England.

17 Feb 2020

Social media more likely to provide misinformation about vaccines

People who rely on social media for information were more likely to be misinformed about vaccines than those who rely on traditional media, according to a study of vaccine knowledge and media use by researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

17 Feb 2020

Facts vs. fears: Five things to help weigh your coronavirus risk

The news about the novel coronavirus in China grows more urgent daily. The number of related deaths is now greater than 1,300, while tens of thousands of people have been infected — most of them in China. People returning to the U.S. from China are quarantined for 14 days.

14 Feb 2020

Coronavirus tests public health infrastructure in the heartland

Every weekday at noon since Jan. 27, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams gathers his outbreak response team for a meeting on coronavirus.

13 Feb 2020

Developing enhanced personalized cancer vaccines

Therapeutic cancer vaccines were first developed 100 years ago and have remained broadly ineffective to date. Before tangible results can be achieved, two major obstacles must be overcome.

11 Feb 2020

When it comes to the new coronavirus, just who is a ‘close contact’?

Even as U.S. authorities have taken the drastic steps of quarantining residents returning from China, and temporarily banning foreign visitors who recently traveled to affected Chinese regions, they have urged the vast majority of U.S. residents to go about their regular activities.

10 Feb 2020

Coronavirus update: Crucial information about transmission, diagnosis, treatment

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that has spread from China to more than 25 countries, is more difficult to contain than previously thought. The death toll from the infection soars past 565, with more than 28,256 confirmed cases. Scientists from around the globe are racing to determine the mode of transmission and how the virus spreads at such a rapid pace.

6 Feb 2020

Public health officials offer scant details on U.S. coronavirus patients

Disclosure this week of a sixth case in the United States of a new viral infection emerging from China — and the first confirmed case of the virus passing from person to person in this country — is fueling public concerns about how easily the deadly virus can spread.

3 Feb 2020

No masking the best way to avoid the scary coronavirus: Wash your hands

Americans are watching with alarm as a new coronavirus spreads in China and cases pop up in the United States. They are barraged with information about what kinds of masks are best to prevent viral spread. Students are handing out masks in Seattle. Masks have run out in Brazos County, Texas.

31 Jan 2020

UMSOM experts call for influenza vaccinations to prevent outbreaks in U.S. border detention centers

Over the past year, at least seven children have died from diseases including influenza while being detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection agency. Infectious disease experts at the University of Maryland School of Medicine called for protections like influenza vaccinations to prevent serious outbreaks.

30 Jan 2020

Response to nation’s 1st coronavirus case draws on lessons from measles outbreak

When the first U.S. case of a new coronavirus spreading throughout China was confirmed last week in Washington state, public health workers were well prepared to respond, building on lessons learned during the outbreak of measles that sickened 87 people in the state in 2019.

28 Jan 2020

Something far deadlier than the Wuhan virus lurks near you

There's a deadly virus spreading from state to state. It preys on the most vulnerable, striking the sick and the old without mercy. In just the past few months, it has claimed the lives of at least 39 children.

24 Jan 2020

Antiviral compound from banana plants shows potential for clinical use against influenza

What keeps most infectious disease researchers up at night aren't infamous viruses like Ebola. Instead, influenza, commonly known as the flu, continues to be a clear and present danger to humanity.

21 Jan 2020

Survey finds US adults see vaccines as less important than they did in 2001

A new survey reveals that US parents are increasingly opting to not vaccinate their children, with support for vaccines down 10% since 2001 and the concern that they may cause autism, still being a major factor preventing adults from trusting vaccinations.

15 Jan 2020