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.

Need for shelter in Haiti; Avoiding disease outbreaks; Presidential election

USAID Director Rajiv Shah "says shelter and rubble removal are immediate priorities in the reconstruction efforts in earthquake-devastated Haiti," VOA News reports. Shah briefed the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Thursday, and also "said between 300,000 and 400,000 units of shelter are needed. He said aid workers are trying to provide about 135,000 transitional structures right now."

31 Jul 2010

Experts urge community to get behind bowel cancer screening

University of Sydney experts say around 1000 bowel cancer deaths could be prevented every year if a fully-funded, evidence-based bowel cancer screening program was implemented by the Australian Government.

5 Jul 2010

Researchers study mechanism of human brain

Because of its intricate organization, figuring out the wiring diagram that explains how the billions of neurons in the brain are connected, and determining how they work together, remains a formidable task.

29 Jun 2010

Rubella epidemic played a major role in shifting public attitudes toward abortion laws

Ten years before the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion - which likely will be a focus of Senate confirmation questions for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan next week - German measles probably played the biggest part in starting to shift public attitudes about the criminal abortion laws, University of Illinois historian Leslie J. Reagan says in a new book.

29 Jun 2010

Combination MMRV vaccine associated with increased risk of febrile seizures

The combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) is associated with double the risk of febrile seizures for 1- to 2-year-old children compared with same-day administration of the separate vaccine for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and the varicella (V) vaccine for chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study appearing online in the journal Pediatrics. A febrile seizure is a brief, fever-related convulsion but it does not lead to epilepsy or seizure disorders, researchers explained.

28 Jun 2010

Merck's DULERA Inhalation Aerosol for asthma receives FDA approval

Merck today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved DULERA® (mometasone furoate and formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol, a new fixed-dose combination asthma treatment for patients 12 years of age and older. DULERA is not indicated for the relief of acute bronchospasm. DULERA combines an inhaled corticosteroid (mometasone furoate) with a long-acting beta2-agonist (formoterol fumarate).

24 Jun 2010

Researchers to provide real-time analyses on potential disease threats during World Cup

Two Canadian researchers will be keeping a close eye on what hundreds of thousands of soccer fans take to the World Cup in South Africa _ and what they potentially bring home.

11 Jun 2010

Innovaro facilitates protein transduction technology licensing between Trojan Technologies, Trojantec

Innovaro, a comprehensive innovation solutions company, is pleased to announce that it has facilitated the completion of a licensing transaction between Trojan Technologies USA, a company recently formed by Verdant Ventures Advisors II, LLC, and Trojantec Ltd, a London and Cyprus based biopharmaceutical company.

11 Jun 2010

Modified measles virus may hold potential for treatment of medulloblastoma

The use of modified measles virus may represent a new treatment for a childhood brain tumor known as medulloblastoma, according to a new study appearing in Neuro-Oncology.

27 May 2010

WHA endorses interim targets to eradicate measles as WHO warns disease on the rise

"Measles is making a rapid comeback in African, Asian and even some European countries despite being easily avoided through vaccination, the World Health Organization said Friday as countries pledged to sharply cut infections and deaths worldwide by 2015," the Associated Press reports (Jordans, 5/22). On the final day of the 63rd Annual World Health Assembly, the assembly endorsed a series of interim targets towards the global eradication of measles, VOA News reports.

25 May 2010

Delegates at the World Health Assembly adopt resolutions on variety of global health issues

The 63rd World Health Assembly, which brought together Health Ministers and senior health officials from the World Health Organization's Member States, concluded business and closed Friday evening.

24 May 2010

South Dakota State University mathematicians design mathematical models to treat cancer

South Dakota State University mathematicians are helping doctors of the Mayo Clinic build mathematical models to fine-tune an innovative strategy to treat cancer.

24 May 2010

WHA passes a new resolution to combat childhood pneumonia

For the first time ever, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution today focused on the prevention and treatment of pneumonia, the world's leading killer of children.

24 May 2010

Vaccinations recommended for adults

Yearly vaccinations aren't just for kids any more. You probably heard a lot about a seasonal or H1N1 flu shot last fall, but you should know that a battery of other adult vaccinations might also become part of your health care routine. Pneumonia and shingles vaccines are preventive-care essentials for older adults, and meningitis and tetanus shots are now college rites of passage. Even the vaccines of childhood—measles, mumps and rubella, and whooping cough—are recommended for adults who missed out in their younger years.

19 May 2010

Sex can affect frequency and severity of adverse effects of vaccination

Biological differences between the sexes could be a significant predictor of responses to vaccines, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They examined published data from numerous adult and child vaccine trials and found that sex is a fundamental, but often overlooked predictor of vaccine response that could help predict the efficacy of combating infectious disease.

13 May 2010

Two-thirds of child deaths in 2008 due to infectious diseases, report finds

Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and other infectious diseases accounted for two-thirds of the 8.8 million deaths in 2008 among children under age 5 around the world, according to a Lancet study published on Wednesday, HealthDay News/Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports. The highest numbers of childhood deaths were in Africa (4.2 million) and Southeast Asia (2.39 million), according to the news service (5/11).

13 May 2010

Preventable infectious diseases cause two-thirds of child deaths: The Lancet

Preventable infectious diseases cause two-thirds of child deaths, according to a new study published today by The Lancet. Experts from the World Health Organization and UNICEF's Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group assessed data from 193 countries to produce estimates by country, region and the world.

12 May 2010

New York Times examines global fight against HIV/AIDS

Several articles in the New York Times examine the global fight against HIV/AIDS. "Uganda is the first country where major clinics routinely turn people away" because they lack funding, the newspaper writes in an article that reports "money for [HIV/AIDS] treatment has stopped growing."

11 May 2010

Scientists develop dry, inhalable measles vaccine, will begin testing in India this summer

CBSNews.com reports on the development of a dry, inhalable measles vaccine by researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU-Boulder), who hope that their work will "help pave the way for the inexpensive treatment of a range of other illnesses" (Cooper, 5/5).

10 May 2010

CU-Boulder develops inhalable vaccine for measles prevention

A team of researchers led by the University of Colorado at Boulder believe a dry powder, inhalable vaccine developed for measles prevention and slated for human clinical trials later this year in India will lead to other inhalable, inexpensive vaccines for illnesses ranging from tuberculosis to cervical cancer.

6 May 2010