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.

First symptoms of meningitis

Thankfully, meningitis is a rare condition. Although it can occur in anyone, it's more prevalent in babies and young children, with young people and students being the next most at risk group. In the early stages, it can be very difficult to tell meningitis apart from milder diseases, as it often resembles other common viral illnesses. Symptoms of the disease can develop very quickly.

19 Jan 2017

Research shows role played by PAMPs in immune system signaling and response

How big you are may be as important as what you look like, at least to immune system cells watching for dangerous bacteria and viruses.

18 Jan 2017

Important vaccines that should not be missed by adults, elders and pregnant women

Vaccines are an important part of routine healthcare for adults, seniors and women who are pregnant.

16 Jan 2017

Could pathogen infection really lead to Alzheimer’s?

New concepts of infectious disease are evolving with the realization that pathogens are key players in the development of progressive chronic diseases that originally were not thought to be infectious. Infection is well-known to be associated with numerous neurological diseases for which...

12 Jan 2017

New database of PCR primers enables effective detection and identification of RNA viruses

Scientists at Korea's Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology scientists have compiled a comprehensive new public database of genetic information to enable the detection and identification of RNA viruses using the polymerase chain reaction assay.

28 Dec 2016

Researchers engineer promising live-attenuated RSV vaccine candidate

Crafting a vaccine against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) has been a minefield for 50 years, but scientists believe they have found the right balance.

21 Dec 2016

Texas A&M specialist explains what people need to know about mumps

Mumps may seem like a contagion relegated to history books, but like many other diseases of the past now preventable with a vaccine, mumps has been making a resurgence.

20 Dec 2016

Awareness of signs and symptoms of meningitis remains worryingly low among UK parents, research reveals

Thirty-eight per cent of parents in the UK think a distinctive rash is the first symptom of meningitis, despite the fact it often appears after other symptoms, or not at all, according to new research from GSK.

26 Nov 2016

Measles can spread more quickly in schools than previously thought

Measles, one of the world's most contagious diseases, can spread more quickly in schools than previously thought, according to Princeton University-led research.

22 Nov 2016

Vaccine-related rubella virus causes harm in some patients with primary immunodeficiency disorders

Some patients with rare primary immunodeficiency disorders may be at risk for infection by rubella virus, and possibly serious skin inflammation, after receiving the rubella vaccine, usually administered as part of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.

7 Nov 2016

Research findings lay groundwork for early warning system to predict disease outbreaks

The delay between the time when a disease outbreak becomes possible and when it actually happens depends chiefly on how frequently infection is introduced to the population and how quickly the number of cases caused by a single individual increases, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

1 Nov 2016

Measles complication that kills children more common than previously thought

A complication of measles that kills children years after they have the infection is more common than thought, according to a study being presented at IDWeek 2016.

31 Oct 2016

Poor, remote Indigenous Australians have increased risk of sexually transmissible infections

A unique 21-year study of more than 2.4 million cases of infectious disease across Australia reveals a major social divide where being poorer, living remotely or being an Indigenous Australian means having an increased risk of sexually transmissible infections (STIs).

25 Oct 2016

Research findings underscore striking heterogeneity of depression

Depression is generally considered to be a specific and consistent disorder characterised by a fixed set of symptoms and often treated with a combination of psychotherapy and medication.

24 Oct 2016

Wyss Institute wins 'Best of What's New' award for paper-based rapid Zika test

A rapid Zika test, developed by an international, multi-institutional team of researchers led by synthetic biologist James Collins, Ph.D., at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, has today been named a 2016 "Best of What's New" awards winner by Popular Science magazine in the Health category.

20 Oct 2016

Satellite images can help vaccination campaigns achieve better coverage

Satellite images that capture short-term changes in population size in communities in the developing world can help vaccination campaigns achieve more complete coverage to help prevent and control disease outbreaks.

7 Oct 2016

Region of the Americas becomes first in world to eradicate measles

The Region of the Americas is the first in the world to have eliminated measles, a viral disease that can cause severe health problems, including pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death. This achievement culminates a 22-year effort involving mass vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella throughout the Americas.

30 Sep 2016

Tips to prevent back-to-school illnesses in children

The backpacks are packed, lunchboxes are filled and the little ones are back in school. Kids have returned to their classrooms with stories of their summer vacations, and, unfortunately, with a host of germs ready to spread quickly in a close environment.

20 Sep 2016

People in Europe are most skeptical about vaccines

The largest ever global survey of attitudes towards vaccines reported today that public confidence in vaccines varies widely between different regions of the world, with European respondents being most sceptical.

9 Sep 2016