Immunization News and Research

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Uncovering the secret weapon of rabies viruses

In a new study published in the journal Cell Reports, scientists have discovered the exact site at which the immune system is disabled by the rabies virus, opening the way for a new and highly effective means of rabies prevention. This is a long-awaited discovery and could transform the field of rabies immunization.

13 Nov 2019

FIRS calls for an end to preventable deaths from pneumonia

In support of World Pneumonia Day, Nov. 12, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies, of which the American Thoracic Society is a member, calls for an end to preventable pneumonia deaths, ensuring equitable access to interventions for prevention and control of pneumonia.

12 Nov 2019

Vaccine decreases chances of severe pneumonia in children

A new study has found severe pneumonia decreases by 35 per cent in children who receive a vaccine against a pneumonia-causing bacteria.

12 Nov 2019

New vaccine strategy shows promise against HIV

A collaborative team of scientists has made a successful proof-of-principle demonstration of an advanced HIV vaccine strategy--an approach that may also work in protecting people from an array of other deadly infectious diseases.

7 Nov 2019

Intergenerational cooperation is the center of humans' demographic success

Humans may owe their place as Earth's dominating species to their ability to share and cooperate with each other, according to a new study published in the Journal of Anthropological Research.

6 Nov 2019

Chest infections cause 1 in 7 child deaths

The number of deaths in children due to lower respiratory infections (LRIs) such as pneumonia and influenza has come down considerably. Yet, they still account for the highest number of deaths in children under 5 years of age, at one in seven of all deaths in this age group, according to a detailed study published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

31 Oct 2019

Study shows how measles virus causes immune amnesia

Over the last decade, evidence has mounted that the measles vaccine protects in not one but two ways: Not only does it prevent the well-known acute illness with spots and fever that frequently sends children to the hospital, but it also appears to protect from other infections over the long term.

31 Oct 2019

New TB vaccine: mid-phase trials confirm safety, long-term prevention

A new study published on October 29, 2019, in the New England Journal of Medicine, reports a new vaccine which could change the face of tuberculosis prevention. The disease kills 1.5 million people worldwide each year.

30 Oct 2019

Vaccine for Lassa fever set to enter clinical testing in humans

There is currently no vaccine for the Lassa arenavirus, which causes Lassa fever. This hemorrhagic fever, endemic in West Africa, infects up to 300,000 people each year.

24 Oct 2019

School-based HPV immunization program dramatically reduces rates of cervical pre-cancer

A school-based human papillomavirus immunization program in British Columbia, Canada, is dramatically reducing rates of cervical pre-cancer in B.C. women, according to a new study.

21 Oct 2019

Lyme vaccine on the horizon, says new study

Lyme disease is a dreaded disease caused by the bite of an infected tick. The only way to prevent it is by not getting bitten by the tick. However, this is not a practical recommendation, since even today about 300,000 thousand people are diagnosed with this infection, in the US alone, and over 100,000 in Europe, each year.

17 Oct 2019

New paper defines strategy for developing effective vaccines for Lyme disease

There is no effective vaccine currently available to prevent Lyme disease in humans.

17 Oct 2019

Rotavirus infection may play a role in type 1 diabetes development

Rotavirus infection may play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes, according to a front matter article published October 10 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Leonard C. Harrison of the University of Melbourne in Australia, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 10 Oct 2019

Fetal gut has more well-developed immune capabilities than previously thought

Most biology textbooks explain that the fetal immune system is largely undeveloped and that it learns after being exposed to the world at birth. New research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh challenges that paradigm, and provides the first comprehensive look at the immune system of the developing gut.

10 Oct 2019

30 percent of the world’s children not protected against rubella

A new study carried out by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that a historic milestone has been crossed – over 50% of the world’s babies are now safe from rubella, or German measles. The disease has not been detected for a year or more in more than 80 countries all over the world.

7 Oct 2019

Australians traveling overseas urged to make sure their measles vaccinations are up to date

Measles outbreaks are happening across the globe and are reaching Australia. In the past month, there have been confirmed cases in Perth, Sydney, the Gold Coast and Cairns.

4 Oct 2019

Discovery of neoantigens could widen the possibilities for universal cancer vaccine

For more than a decade, scientist Stephen Albert Johnston and his team at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute have pooled their energies into an often scoffed-at, high-risk, high-reward goal in medicine: to develop a universal vaccine to prevent cancer.

2 Oct 2019

UK health secretary “seriously” considering mandating childhood vaccination

The UK is “looking very seriously” at making vaccinations compulsory for all children attending school in England, according to the health secretary Matt Hancock.

1 Oct 2019

UK government considers compulsory immunization for all school children

Immunization efforts have been implemented across the globe. But, the rates of immunized children are dropping. In the United Kingdom, health officials have expressed alarms the drop in take-up of routine childhood vaccinations, leaving thousands of children under-protected from 13 different diseases.

30 Sep 2019