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.

State highlights: Texas immigrant surge brings health crisis

Large stores in California need not keep automated external defibrillators for customers who suffer heart attacks, the California Supreme Court decided. In a unanimous ruling Monday, the state's highest court said California law requires only that fitness centers have such potentially life-saving devices and encourages most public buildings to keep them (Dolan, 6/23).

25 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 24, 2014

Today's headlines include news about the latest report detailing problems at the VA.

24 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: Concerns about ACOs; problems in Va. gov.'s strategy; Medicaid 'black hole'

Although Obamacare's health insurance expansion has directly provided coverage to only about 4 percent of Americans, changes embedded in the Affordable Care Act could affect many more people, and not always in good ways.

24 Jun 2014

Patient injuries mean Medicare payment penalties for some hospitals

The preliminary analysis of penalties would lower Medicare payments to these hospitals by 1 percent for a year. Elsewhere, lawmakers introduce legislation to change how hospitals that serve a large number of poor patients are affected by Medicare's penalties.

23 Jun 2014

Combined MMRV vaccine slightly increases risk of febrile seizures in children

The combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine shows a slightly increased risk of febrile seizures in children, compared with the previously separate vaccines for MMR and varicella (chickenpox) (MMR+V), according to an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

10 Jun 2014

Studies confirm importance of men seeing physician on regular basis

For many men being a father is about staying strong as they protect and care for their family. Some men see going to the doctor as a weakness or nuisance, but protecting your health is one of the best things a father can do for his family.

6 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: The case for doctors making house calls; the measles threat; the VA's value

At a time when burdensome restrictions enacted in Republican-led states are threatening women's access to abortion care, it is all the more vital that courts scrutinize phony claims that new laws actually protect women's health and safety (Dorothy J. Samuels, 6/4).

6 Jun 2014

Viewpoints: VA's problems begin with Congress; costly hepatitis drug may be a good buy

Politically, this critique of the VA is a no-brainer. After all, denying, delaying or incompetently delivering benefits to veterans who are entitled to them and have sacrificed so much for us is grotesque: the moral equivalent of kicking dogs and stealing food from children.

31 May 2014

Hand sanitizer powerful weapon against current measles outbreak

With measles cases in the U.S. at a 20-year high, it's more important than ever to keep your hands clean. Measles, caused by an airborne virus that's spread by breathing, coughing, and sneezing, can linger for up to two hours in the air or on surfaces.

30 May 2014

New project aims at saving lives of mothers, newborns in developing countries

Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, today announces investments of $12 million in projects worldwide, aimed squarely at improving the health and saving the lives of mothers, newborns and children in developing countries.

22 May 2014

Depression is the leading cause of illness in adolescents, shows WHO's report

WHO's "Health for the world's adolescents" report reveals that depression is the predominant cause of illness and disability for both boys and girls aged 10 to 19 years.

15 May 2014

Reduced exposure to microbes triggers chronic inflammation

The greater prevalence of asthma, allergies and other chronic inflammatory disorders among people of lower socioeconomic status might be due in part to their reduced exposure to the microbes that thrive in rural environments, according to a new scientific paper.

25 Apr 2014

Evidence-based interventions provide promising strategies for reducing racial, ethnic health disparities

Evidence-based interventions at the local and national levels provide promising strategies for reducing racial and ethnic health disparities related to HIV infection rates, immunization coverage, motor vehicle injuries and deaths, and smoking, according to a new report by the CDC's Office of Minority Health and Health Equity.

21 Apr 2014

Research: Novel antiviral drug may reduce spread, severity of measles without vaccination

A novel antiviral drug may reduce the spread and severity of measles without a vaccination. Dr. Richard Plemper from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University and Dr. Michael Natchus of the Emory Institute for Drug Discovery (EIDD) will be available to answer questions from the media at a live virtual press conference at 1 PM EDT, Wednesday, April 16th.

17 Apr 2014

Scientists develop novel antiviral drug that may prevent spreading of measles

A novel antiviral drug may protect people infected with the measles from getting sick and prevent them from spreading the virus to others, an international team of researchers says.

17 Apr 2014

Sneeze and cough generate cloud of invisible gas that propels droplets of infectious material

Each sneeze, cough or burp generates a cloud of invisible gas that propels droplets of infectious material farther than originally thought, and smaller droplets actually travel farther than larger ones. A new study from MIT researchers published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics says this gas cloud extends the reach of droplets by 5 to 200 times.

16 Apr 2014

Viewpoints: Sebelius withstood attacks, but wasn't 'warrior' for law; Burwell offers GOP chance to focus on law's problems

Kathleen Sebelius was known for her patience and cool under savage attack by Republicans, who treated her as a stand-in for the health law. She sat through hearings calmly reciting talking points while they fumed and fulminated for their audience. But that turned out to be one of her biggest liabilities ... What the health law needed in its first years was a cheerful, populist warrior who could laugh at the truly ridiculous distortions and lies Republicans invented about it, and roar back with the truth. Instead, she came across as a mild technocrat. She never emerged from the defensive crouch she assumed after the law's calamitous debut (David Firestone, 4/11).

15 Apr 2014

CDC receives 2014 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and Management Sciences

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which collaborated with Kid Risk, Inc. to use analytics and operations research to combat the remaining pockets of polio around the world, last night won the 2014 Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and the Management Sciences at a banquet sponsored by the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) in Boston.

2 Apr 2014

Nearly 4 million infants die from vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide each year

Nearly 4 million children under 5 die from vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide each year, and two University of Michigan doctoral ecology students are working to change that.