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.

Mayo Clinic vaccine expert, pediatrician refute 3 common myths about child vaccine safety

In the limited time of an office visit, how can a primary care physician make the case to parents that their child should be vaccinated? During National Infant Immunization Week, a Mayo Clinic vaccine expert and a pediatrician offer suggestions for refuting three of the most common myths about child vaccine safety. Their article, The Clinician's Guide to the Anti-Vaccinationists' Galaxy, is published online this month in the journal Human Immunology.

24 Apr 2012

Herpes zoster vaccine safe and well tolerated: Study

The herpes zoster vaccine, also known as the shingles vaccine, is generally safe and well tolerated according to a Vaccine Safety Datalink study of 193,083 adults published online in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

23 Apr 2012

Measles report card for 2011 shows too many cases

According to the CDC in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, last year was the worst year for measles in the U.S. in 15 years. They report that there were 222 cases of measles, a large jump from the 60 or so seen in a typical year. Most of the cases last year were imported — either by foreign visitors or by U.S. residents who picked up the virus overseas.

22 Apr 2012

Large childhood immunization campaign begins in Haiti, with support from U.S., other international partners

Haiti, the U.S. and other international partners on Monday launched "a nationwide vaccination campaign in the Caribbean country that seeks to curb or prevent infectious diseases, health officials said," the Associated Press/Fox News reports.

18 Apr 2012

New brain cancer vaccine with material from own tumors proves effective in clinical trial

A new brain cancer vaccine tailored to individual patients by using material from their own tumors has proven effective in a multicenter phase 2 clinical trial at extending their lives by several months or longer. The patients suffered from recurrent glioblastoma multiforme-which kills thousands of Americans every year.

18 Apr 2012

Cholera vaccination pilot project begins in Haiti

"A year and a half after cholera first struck Haiti, a tiny portion of the population on Thursday began getting vaccinated against the waterborne disease that has infected more than 530,000 Haitians and killed more than 7,040," the New York Times reports.

16 Apr 2012

Study finds feasible and impactful solutions for Nigeria's immunization program

A study released today by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has identified the most feasible and impactful solutions for Nigeria's immunization program that could offer the best hope yet for scaling up vaccine access to the nation's most rural areas and taking aim at the country's precipitous number of child deaths.

16 Apr 2012

HPA urges routine vaccination after surge of whooping cough cases

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said there have been 665 confirmed cases already this year, compared with 1,040 in the whole of 2011. Cases have been reported across all regions in England with some areas reporting clusters in schools, universities and healthcare settings.

15 Apr 2012

GAVI announces HPV, rubella vaccines will be available to developing countries

"The GAVI Alliance has announced that it will include human papillomavirus (HPV) and combined measles-rubella vaccines in its portfolio for the first time" to help protect women from cervical cancer and children from disability or premature death, Africa Science News reports.

6 Apr 2012

Rare T follicular helper cells essential for developing antibody responses to infectious agents

The characterisation of a rare immune cell's involvement in antibody production and ability to 'remember' infectious agents could help to improve vaccination and lead to new treatments for immune disorders, say researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.

2 Apr 2012

Vaccines for measles may not increase risk of febrile seizures in 4-6 year olds

Vaccines for measles were not associated with an increased risk of febrile seizures among 4-6 year olds during the six weeks after vaccination, according to a study by the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center that appears in the current issue of Pediatrics.

2 Apr 2012

Rare immune cells found to play a major role in lasting immunity

According to the latest research from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute the characterization of a rare immune cell’s involvement in antibody production and ability to ‘remember’ infectious agents could help to improve vaccination and lead to new treatments for immune disorders.

1 Apr 2012

FDA approves Teva's QNASL nasal aerosol corticosteroid

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved QNASL Nasal Aerosol, a new, "dry" nasal aerosol corticosteroid that treats seasonal nasal and year-round nasal allergy symptoms in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older.

26 Mar 2012

Cote d'Ivoire working to rebuild health care system under new presidential administration

"Ten months after the West African country of Cote d'Ivoire started to emerge from a presidential election crisis during which almost all hospitals and clinics had to shut down for a good six months because they had been vandalized, looted and occupied, the new government under President Alassane Ouattara is trying to make public health care a priority," including implementing "a new national health regulation, which came into effect on Mar. 1, that offers free health services to pregnant women, children under five years and people suffering from malaria," Inter Press Service reports.

15 Mar 2012

ScienceInsider reports on Lancet letters regarding CDC Center for Global Health

In a letter published Wednesday in the Lancet, officials from the CDC refute "point by point" three letters previously published in the journal that were critical of the agency's Center for Global Health, ScienceInsider reports.

11 Mar 2012

Doctor associated with MMR vaccine and autism link wins High Court appeal

Professor John Walker-Smith had been found guilty of professional misconduct following claims he took part in unapproved research that suggested links between the vaccine, bowel disease and autism. Professor Walker-Smith lost his license to practice in May 2010 along with Dr Andrew Wakefield, who led the research. A General Medical Council’s ‘fitness to practice’ panel found both men guilty of misconduct over the way the work was conducted after 217 days of deliberation – the longest disciplinary case in the body’s 150- year history.

8 Mar 2012

Yemen to launch measles vaccination campaign after increase in number of cases, deaths

"Measles has killed 126 children in Yemen since mid-2011, a consequence of the breakdown of basic health services during the year-long political crisis," and "in response ... , the Yemeni government has appealed for international assistance and an outbreak-response vaccination campaign will begin in the hardest-hit regions on 10 March," IRIN reports.

7 Mar 2012

Cities, states balancing health costs amid continuing economic problems

Some 29 states are dealing with a total budget deficit of $47 billion for fiscal 2013, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Unlike the federal government, nearly all states must balance their budgets every year. Though tax revenues are slowly recovering after bottoming out in 2010, they're still not back to pre-recession levels.

2 Mar 2012

WHO removes India from list of countries with endemic Polio

India is nearly free of deadly paralyzing viral infection polio. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad says the WHO removed India from the list Saturday after the country passed one year without registering any new cases. This means only three countries with endemic polio — Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. India must pass another two years without new cases to be declared polio-free.

27 Feb 2012

India taken off WHO list of polio endemic countries

"India was taken off a list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organization on Saturday, marking a massive victory for health workers battling the crippling disease" and "leav[ing] just three countries with endemic polio -- Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria," Agence France-Presse reports (2/26).

27 Feb 2012