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.

New discovery brings scientists closer to developing an RSV vaccine

Scientists have made an important discovery that could lead to a vaccine that will protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

9 Oct 2019

Vaccine for deadly RSV could be on the way, scientists say

A vaccine for the common and sometimes deadly RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) has been elusive, but scientists say a new discovery puts them much closer to success.

9 Oct 2019

30 percent of the world’s children not protected against rubella

A new study carried out by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that a historic milestone has been crossed – over 50% of the world’s babies are now safe from rubella, or German measles. The disease has not been detected for a year or more in more than 80 countries all over the world.

7 Oct 2019

EIB and Univercells sign EUR 20 million loan agreement to advance delivery of vaccines

The European Investment Bank and Univercells S.A have signed a EUR 20 million loan agreement to support the development of a portfolio of four essential and undersupplied vaccines to be delivered at an affordable price.

4 Oct 2019

Australians traveling overseas urged to make sure their measles vaccinations are up to date

Measles outbreaks are happening across the globe and are reaching Australia. In the past month, there have been confirmed cases in Perth, Sydney, the Gold Coast and Cairns.

4 Oct 2019

Fewer than half of U.S. adults get annual flu shot, shows study

So far this calendar year, 1,243 people scattered around 31 states had confirmed measles, the highest number of measles cases reported in the U.S.

3 Oct 2019

UK health secretary “seriously” considering mandating childhood vaccination

The UK is “looking very seriously” at making vaccinations compulsory for all children attending school in England, according to the health secretary Matt Hancock.

1 Oct 2019

UK government considers compulsory immunization for all school children

Immunization efforts have been implemented across the globe. But, the rates of immunized children are dropping. In the United Kingdom, health officials have expressed alarms the drop in take-up of routine childhood vaccinations, leaving thousands of children under-protected from 13 different diseases.

30 Sep 2019

WHO begins emergency vaccination campaign to slow measles outbreak in DR Congo

The WHO and government of the DR Congo have begun an emergency vaccination program to stop the spread of measles in the country.

27 Sep 2019

Facebook takes a stand against Anti-vaxxers and vaccine misinformation

Vaccination conspiracy theories and false information regarding vaccination safety has led to decline in vaccine uptake among millions of parents for their children. This has resulted in the comeback of infections that could be prevented by widespread vaccination such as measles, whooping cough etc.

8 Sep 2019

As measles outbreak fades, N.Y. sets in motion new rules on school vaccinations

As children head to school this fall, the number of measles cases in New York has slowed to a trickle, and officials this week declared that the outbreak in New York City, which largely affected Orthodox Jewish families who avoided immunizations, is over.

5 Sep 2019

Study highlights the need to better understand immunity against mumps virus

Immunity against mumps virus appears insufficient in a fraction of college-aged people who were vaccinated in childhood, research from Emory Vaccine Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates.

3 Sep 2019

Pins and needles: Pinterest tackles spread of vaccine misinformation

Pinterest, the social media web and mobile application company which collates information on a variety of sites by topic, recognizes the critical role that social media plays in spreading health misinformation, and has taken several radical steps to correct this.

30 Aug 2019

Individual’s trust and proximity to disease outbreak may affect vaccination attitudes

An individual’s trust in institutions such as the CDC, and how close they live to a recent measles outbreak, may affect their attitudes on measles vaccination, according to a study published August 28, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Florian Justwan of the University of Idaho, USA, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 26 Aug 2019

Measles back in UK three years after elimination

The United Kingdom was declared to be free of measles infection three years back in 2016 by the World Health Organization (WHO). In a recent development, due to the increasing number of cases of measles among unvaccinated children, the WHO has declared that UK can no longer be called measles-free.

20 Aug 2019

Study provides 'strongest evidence' yet for autism being a genetic condition

A new study has found that approximately 80 percent of a person’s risk of developing autism stems from inherited genetic factors.

22 Jul 2019

Fear, trust, likelihood of exposure influence people’s willingness to be vaccinated

Fear, trust, and the likelihood of exposure are three leading factors that influence whether people are willing to be vaccinated against a virulent disease, according to a new study in the journal Heliyon, published by Elsevier.

19 Jul 2019

Australia leads the world in childhood immunization coverage

Even as Australia reels under a deadly flu season, some solace may be found in the fact that almost 95% of of five-year-old Australian children are almost completely immunized against deadly childhood diseases, according to the latest report.

8 Jul 2019

Number of fully-immunized Australian kids hits record high

New data for the March quarter in 2019 revealed the immunization rates for all five-year-old children in the country increased to 94.78 percent from the previous record of 94.67 percent in December 2018.

7 Jul 2019

New statement lays down recommendations to combat fall in vaccination rates

Search engines and social media organizations must do more to prevent the spread of inaccurate information on childhood vaccination, and governments must better support mandatory immunization programs, says an international group of leading public health scientists in a statement published in the Journal of Health Communication.

2 Jul 2019