Measles News and Research

RSS

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.

Halting rabies in the brain

While rabies, an ancient scourge that still kills 70,000 every year in developing countries worldwide can be combated with a series of vaccines today, it nearly is always fatal when it reaches the brain.

5 Sep 2007

A little dirt never hurt!

A little dirt never hurt. But in today's super-clean world, vaccinations, anti-bacterial soaps, and airtight doors and windows are keeping dirt and disease-causing germs at bay.

5 Sep 2007

New understanding of how HSV-1 attacks cells

A team of University of Kentucky researchers has identified the roles that herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) proteins play during the invasion of cells and the formation of skin lesions known as cold sores and fever blisters.

17 Aug 2007

Vaccines approved by the FDA are at least a million times safer than the viruses that they prevent

For more than 200 years, vaccines have played an important role in the prevention of infectious diseases.

2 Aug 2007

New studies emphasize need for influenza and measles vaccinations in HIV-infected patients

Two new studies emphasize the importance of delivering measles and influenza vaccines to HIV-infected individuals.

24 Jul 2007

Test of universal influenza vaccine

A universal influenza vaccine that has been pioneered by researchers from VIB and Ghent University is being tested for the first time on humans by the British-American biotech company Acambis.

18 Jul 2007

HIV-infected children may require repeat measles vaccination

The researchers found that only half of the HIV-infected children who survived without antiretroviral therapy maintained protective antibody levels 27 months after receiving measles vaccine.

18 Jul 2007

Children at birthday party paid by 'MMR row' doctor for their blood

The General Medical Council (GMC) in Britain has heard that Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who is facing allegations of serious professional misconduct with regard to research on the triple measles-mumps-rubella MMR vaccine, paid children £5 to take their blood samples at his son's birthday party.

16 Jul 2007

Experts in Britain wholeheartedly back MMR jab

A disciplinary hearing due to begin this week in the UK may well settle the debate over any link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and autism.

16 Jul 2007

Vaccine for human cytomegalovirus

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have patented a strategy for developing a human vaccine to prevent against Human Cytomegalovirus (hCMV) infection and disease.

23 Jun 2007

New infectious diseases blueprint for action

New vaccines are available to make significant gains against cervical cancer deaths and debilitating pain from shingles, but infectious diseases experts warn that their full potential will not be realized without changes in the way vaccines for adults and adolescents are promoted, financed, and delivered in the United States.

19 Jun 2007

How 'memory' T cells protect the body from viral diseases

A scientific discovery by Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers helps explain how 'memory' T cells protect the body from viral diseases.

19 Jun 2007

Common DNA variations underlie susceptibility to fever after smallpox vaccination

Their finding is the first to link individual differences written into the genetic code with a vaccine-related complication, albeit a mild one.

19 Jun 2007

Autism - MMR vaccine has it's day in court

A test case in an American court could in one way or another settle the debate on the possible link between autism and childhood vaccines.

11 Jun 2007

Preparing for a baby

Planning for pregnancy can help your baby get the best possible start in life. Here are eight valuable tips from Barbara Coulter-Smith, D.O., an obstetrician/gynecologist on the medical staff at Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine.

8 Jun 2007

Sailors sent home because of mumps

A Canadian naval vessel had been forced to send almost it's entire crew home after one of the crew members developed a case of the mumps.

28 May 2007

U.S. parents not in favor of HPV vaccine mandates

While debate in several state governments continues to grow over school mandates for Gardasil – a vaccine recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for girls ages 11 to 12 that is designed to provide protection against human papillomavirus, or HPV, the virus linked to cervical cancer and genital warts – the majority of U.S. parents have already reached a decision on the issue: They do not want the vaccine to be mandated.

24 May 2007