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.

Virginia Tech professor uses mathematical modeling simulations to assess vaccine efficacy

The recent measles outbreaks across the country emphasize the importance of vaccinations.

11 Mar 2019

Comprehensive analysis of sewage reveals antimicrobial resistance levels worldwide

A comprehensive analysis of sewage collected in 74 cities in 60 countries has yielded the first, comparable global data, which show the levels and types of antimicrobial resistant bacteria that are present in mainly healthy people in these countries.

9 Mar 2019

Anti-vaccination activists are misusing new scientific breakthroughs on beneficial microbes

Anti-vaccination activists are capitalizing on radical new scientific insights into the beneficial effects of microbes in the human body, according to new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

8 Mar 2019

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ What’s next for the FDA?

The resignation of Scott Gottlieb as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration caught many FDA watchers by surprise. Gottlieb has been an active regulator in a very anti-regulatory Trump administration.

7 Mar 2019

A mumps quarantine in La. may encroach on rights of detained immigrants

A mumps outbreak and quarantine at the Pine Prairie Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center in Louisiana blocked immigrants from legal resources, including their lawyers and the law library, for about two weeks in January and February, according to the attorneys.

7 Mar 2019

Large study finds no connection between MMR vaccine and autism

Finally the verdict is out. A large study has proven conclusively that there is no association between Measles Mumps and Rubella combined vaccine or the MMR vaccine and autism. The results of the landmark study were published in the latest issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

6 Mar 2019

New analysis shows success of measles vaccine campaigns in saving children's lives in India

A mass measles vaccination campaign saved tens of thousands of children's lives in India between 2010 and 2013, according to a report published today in eLife.

6 Mar 2019

Ethan Lindenberger's vaccine debate heads to congress

Ethan Lindenberger, 18 from Norwalk, Ohio, started rebelling against his parents, like many other teenagers. The reason behind this making news is that his parents were against vaccination and he got himself inoculated against their wishes.

4 Mar 2019

Association found between rise of European populism and vaccine hesitancy

There is a significant association between the rise of populism across Europe and the level of mistrust around vaccines, according to a study by Queen Mary University of London.

2 Mar 2019

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ ‘Medicare-for-all’ debate: Who’s going to pay

House Democrats, led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), have formally introduced their "Medicare-for-all" legislation.

28 Feb 2019

A parent-to-parent campaign to get vaccine rates up

In 2017, Kim Nelson had just moved her family back to her hometown in South Carolina. Boxes were still scattered around the apartment, and while her two young daughters played, Nelson scrolled through a newspaper article on her phone.

25 Feb 2019

Darla Shine joins anti-vaccination campaigners, increases threat of measles outbreak in US

Darla Shine has recently joined anti-vaccination campaigners by claiming that having measles as a child could protect against cancer in later life.

15 Feb 2019

New process efficiently reprograms stem cells in one step using measles virus vector

Induced pluripotent stem cells, the workhorse of many regenerative medicine projects, start out as differentiated cells that are reprogrammed to pluripotent stem cells by exposure to a complex set of genetic cocktails.

13 Feb 2019

Measles alert at Sydney airport

Passengers passing through or visiting the Sydney airport last week were warned about a possible exposure to highly contagious viral illness measles after one of them tested positive for the disease.

11 Feb 2019

Misinformation is causing measles cases to rise worldwide

Misinformation and anti-vaccination groups have caused a rise in cases of vaccine-preventable viral disease measles around the world, according to the WHO.

8 Feb 2019

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ A ‘healthy’ state of the union

Health policy played a surprisingly robust role in President Donald Trump's 2019 State of the Union address.

7 Feb 2019

Measles outbreak sends vaccine demand soaring, even among the hesitant

Demand for measles vaccine has surged in the Washington county where the highly contagious virus is linked to more than 50 confirmed illnesses this year — including among people who had previously shunned the shots.

6 Feb 2019

Measles warning in Western Australia

A measles warning has been issued in Western Australia after a passenger was diagnosed with the illness. The passenger was travelling with Singapore Airlines.

5 Feb 2019

Having vaccine after shingles appear do not reduce the risk of stroke

Stroke risk increased significantly in the days, weeks and months after shingles appeared, despite use of the shingles vaccine and antiviral therapy to treat it, according to preliminary research to be presented in Honolulu at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2019, a world premier meeting for researchers and clinicians dedicated to the science and treatment of cerebrovascular disease.

30 Jan 2019

Measles outbreak in Clark County, Washington

A public health emergency has been declared in Washington with over two dozen cases of measles. Last Friday (25th January 2019), the Governor Jay Inslee said in a statement that there is an outbreak of measles and the Washington State Military Department and State Emergency Operations Center would be collaborating with the Department of Health to fight the outbreak.

28 Jan 2019