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.

Researchers develop technology to preserve vaccines in tropical temperatures

A team of British researchers have developed a simple, low-cost method to preserve vaccines in tropical climates, which they say could help to revolutionalize vaccination campaigns in developing countries, Reuters reports.

19 Feb 2010

Merck announces global sales of $27.4 billion for full-year 2009

Merck & Co., Inc. today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2009 which include the results of legacy Schering-Plough operations from the close of the merger on Nov. 3, 2009 through Dec. 31, 2009.

16 Feb 2010

American Red Cross raises $32M in mobile giving for ongoing relief efforts in Haiti

Hundreds of thousands of cell phone users have made $10 donations to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund by sending the word "Haiti" to 90999, raising a record-shattering $32 million in mobile giving for the ongoing relief efforts.

12 Feb 2010

Also in global health news: N. Korea harvest; Zimbabwe’s health system; malaria parasite; training India's rural health workers; Myanmar recovery; health in Uganda

ZimOnline examines Zimbabwe's health system, which the country's health minister, Henry Madzorera, says has improved, but is still in need of additional progress.

11 Feb 2010

VSV has potential to be genetically modified to serve as anti-cancer agent

Vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV, has long been a model system for studying and understanding the life cycle of negative-strand RNA viruses, which include viruses that cause influenza, measles and rabies.

10 Feb 2010

Measles vaccine does not increase risk of autism in children, reveals Polish study

As a pivotal paper linking childhood vaccinations to autism is discredited, a new study finds no evidence that the measles vaccine—given alone or as part of a combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine—increases the risk of autism in children. The study appears in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (www.pidj.com), published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

10 Feb 2010

$1.2B needed to aid women, children in 28 countries 'in crisis,' UNICEF says

UNICEF on Thursday launched a $1.2 billion appeal aimed at providing "life saving emergency assistance to millions of children and women in dire need," VOA News reports (Schlein, 2/4). "The appeal is part of UNICEF's Humanitarian Action Report 2010, released in Geneva ... which spotlights the desperate situation of children and women in 28 countries and territories facing deep humanitarian crises," the U.N. News Centre writes (2/4).

6 Feb 2010

Expert available to discuss Lancet’s retraction of paper on autism study

Rae Sonnenmeier, clinical associate professor of communication sciences and disorders at the University of New Hampshire and staff member at UNH's Institute on Disability, is available to discuss the announcement yesterday (Feb. 2, 2010) by the medical journal The Lancet regarding the retraction of a paper that caused a 12-year international battle over the links between the three-in-one childhood vaccine MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and autism.

4 Feb 2010

Mandatory flu shot program increases vaccination rate to more than 98% in BJC HealthCare

Making flu shots mandatory in 2008 dramatically increased the vaccination rate among St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare's nearly 26,000 employees to more than 98 percent, according to a report now online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

4 Feb 2010

Despite improvements, aid delivery bottlenecks persist in Haiti

Three weeks after a major earthquake struck Haiti, challenges in getting aid to those in need persist, the Washington Post reports. "Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said the relief effort has escalated in recent days and will continue to do so.

4 Feb 2010

Research retraction underscores the safety and efficacy of MMR vaccines

The Lancet, a premier British medical journal, today retracted a study published in 1998 that drew a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and increased incidence of autism.

3 Feb 2010

Study linking autism and vaccines is retracted by medical journal

The Lancet has formally retracted a controversial paper published 12 years ago that purported the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism.

3 Feb 2010

U.S. government resumes medical evacuations from Haiti; new food voucher distribution targeting women begins

"The U.S. government said on Sunday it would resume military evacuation flights" within 12 hours for critically ill and injured Haitians who were harmed in the Jan. 12 earthquake, Reuters reports (Rosenberg/Brown, 1/31). Medical evacuations had been suspended for a few days, but the reason for the suspension "is unclear as various government authorities have provided different explanations," the Wall Street Journal reports.

2 Feb 2010

U.N. Secretary-General focuses on MDGs during African Union Summit

Addressing the 14th African Union (AU) Summit on Sunday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for African countries to maintain their commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), "which include reducing poverty, disease and child mortality, ahead of their target date of 2015," BBC reports (1/31).

2 Feb 2010

At World Economic Forum, Gates Foundation announces 10-year, $10B vaccine commitment

Bill and Melinda Gates announced Friday during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that their foundation would commit $10 billion over the next decade to research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world's poorest countries, the New York Times reports (McNeil, 1/29). The Gateses "said they hope the commitment would spur support by governments, corporations, and other donors for vaccinations efforts," the Chronicle of Philanthropy writes (Wilhelm, 1/29).

30 Jan 2010

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commits $10 billion for vaccine research and development

Bill and Melinda Gates announced today that their foundation will commit $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world's poorest countries.

29 Jan 2010

Haitian President asks for better aid coordination, tents, jobs

Haitian President Rene Preval said the country is in need of sturdy tents and jobs to prevent an ongoing crisis, the Miami Herald reports. At a press conference, Preval said, "Help the people with tents. Create employment so people can buy food in the country. That is what's most important."

28 Jan 2010