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.

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

Pre-travel consultation can help international travelers to prepare for trip

International tourism exceeds 1.2 billion persons each year, with more than 20 percent of travelers reporting some type of illness.

31 Aug 2016

Leading Chikungunya vaccine in clinical trial phase 2

With the first patient vaccinated, a Phase 2 clinical trial of a promising prophylactic vaccine candidate against Chikungunya fever has now commenced. The product is the most advanced Chikungunya vaccine candidate globally and is developed by the Austrian biotech company Themis Bioscience GmbH.

29 Aug 2016

Mayo Clinic expert offers tips to avoid illness at major events

Zika isn't the only health concern now that the games have begun in Rio. Massive crowds from around the globe will be at the Olympics, and that means a world-class array of germs will mix with them.

8 Aug 2016

WHO works with Ministry of Health to ramp up disease surveillance, treatment efforts to prevent cholera outbreak

In a move to prevent a cholera outbreak from spreading, the Ministry of Health of South Sudan with support from the World Health Organization and health partners are ramping up disease surveillance and treatment efforts.

29 Jul 2016

Exposure to infections in early life not linked to higher mortality risk during adulthood

A new biological study by the University of Stirling has found that exposure to infections in early life does not have long-lasting consequences for later-life survival and reproduction.

26 Jul 2016

New research highlights need to abandon modern hygiene hypothesis

The July issue of Perspectives in Public Health (published by the Royal Society of Public Health) takes an objective view of ongoing research showing that the hygiene hypothesis – the idea that allergies are the price we are paying for our “modern obsession with cleanliness” – is a misleading misnomer.

6 Jul 2016

Health strategies for families when traveling abroad with kids

Before your family heads to Mexico, Asia or beyond this summer, do a little planning to keep everyone healthy during their journey. Dr. Nava Yeganeh, an assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases and director of the Pediatric International Travel and Adoption Clinic at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA, explains three important strategies.

27 Jun 2016

Researchers to explore how Zika virus enters human cells

A group of Western Illinois University student and faculty researchers are spending the summer conducting surveillance of tick-borne diseases and mosquito-borne arboviruses in regional counties.

25 Jun 2016

SLU to conduct human clinical trial of vaccine to protect people from Zika virus

Saint Louis University's vaccine center has been tapped by the National Institutes of Health to conduct a human clinical trial of a vaccine to prevent the Zika virus, which can cause devastating birth defects in babies.

24 Jun 2016