Diphtheria News and Research

RSS

Diphtheria is a disease caused by a bacterium, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, that usually affects the tonsils, throat, nose and/or skin. It is passed from person to person by droplet transmission, usually by breathing in diphtheria bacteria after an infected person has coughed or sneezed. Although diphtheria disease is rare in the U.S., it appears that C diphtheriae continues to circulate in areas of the country with previously endemic diphtheria. Diphtheria also occurs in many other parts of the world.

FDA approves Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 to prevent pneumococcal disease in older children, adolescents

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for the expansion of the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]), for use in older children and adolescents aged 6 years through 17 years for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease caused by the 13 Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes contained in the vaccine.

28 Jan 2013

High vaccine prices ignored by ‘Decade of Vaccines’ blueprint

Governments meeting at the World Health Organization’s Executive Board (WHO EB) this week must seize the opportunity to improve serious shortcomings in the document that will drive the global community’s vaccines response in the next few years. If they fail to do so, key reasons why children continue to be missed by immunisation programmes will be left unaddressed.

25 Jan 2013

EC approves Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 to prevent pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the European Commission has approved expanding the use of the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevenar 13(pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]), to older children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease, pneumonia and acute otitis media caused by vaccine-type Streptococcus pneumoniae.

9 Jan 2013

Banning thimerosal from vaccines could hinder achievements in global childhood immunization

"Thanks to a herculean effort by health advocates, 78 percent of children in low-income countries receive the basic set of childhood vaccines, covering diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza," a Bloomberg View editorial states.

3 Jan 2013

Experts warn banning thimerosal from use in vaccines would harm immunization campaigns in developing world

"A group of prominent doctors and public health experts warns in articles to be published Monday in the journal Pediatrics that banning thimerosal, a mercury compound used as a preservative in vaccines, would devastate public health efforts in developing countries," the New York Times reports.

17 Dec 2012

Strengthen health systems to integrate polio vaccinations into routine childhood immunizations, Save the Children report says

Speaking at the GAVI Partners Forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, David Olayemi, senior program adviser at Save the Children in Abuja, Nigeria, said fewer than half of children in Nigeria are receiving routine immunizations for diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough (DTP), and the rate is dropping, Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog."

7 Dec 2012

MSF expresses concerns regarding global vaccination efforts ahead of GAVI forum

"This week, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) is holding a forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania," Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley writes in her "Global Health Blog," noting, "Invited are 700 experts from all the organizations and countries GAVI works with, funding immunization programs across the globe and in some of the poorest places on the planet."

6 Dec 2012

Tdap well tolerated in over-65s

Off-label use of tetanus–diptheria–acellular pertussis vaccine in senior patients results in no more adverse events than the tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, a US study shows.

30 Nov 2012

Myanmar can build more stable future by investing in vaccines, immunization

"For the first time, with support from the GAVI Alliance, a pentavalent vaccine was introduced in Myanmar this week that will defend children against five potentially fatal diseases," Dagfinn Hoybraten, vice president of the Norwegian Parliament and chair of the GAVI Alliance Board, writes in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, adding, "Over the next six months, more than half a million children in the country will be protected from diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B (hepB), and Haemophilus influenzae type b.

29 Nov 2012

Study: Tdap vaccination safe for seniors

A new study of the safety of the tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine supports the recommendation that those 65 and older get the vaccine to protect themselves and others, particularly young babies, from pertussis.

29 Nov 2012

Nearly 63,000 people visit online catch-up immunization scheduling tool

Children obtain protection against certain diseases by receiving vaccinations, but they commonly miss recommended times to receive these immunizations. Once a child falls behind, health care professionals typically have to construct a unique, personalized catch-up schedule for each child - often while the child waits in the treatment room.

29 Nov 2012

Factors increasing risk for pertussis in children evaluated

Research shows that children with pertussis infection are significantly less likely to have had all five diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine doses than uninfected children.

28 Nov 2012

Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine: an interview with Dr. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organisation

The Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine is sometimes also called the “triple vaccine” and has been around for about 50 years, and it protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. These are serious diseases caused by bacteria.

28 Nov 2012

RTS,S vaccine candidate can help protect African infants against malaria

International African Vaccinology Conference, Cape Town, South Africa-Results from a pivotal, large-scale Phase III trial, published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that the RTS,S malaria vaccine candidate can help protect African infants against malaria.

9 Nov 2012

WHO reports on global diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination efforts

"Four in five children (83 percent) worldwide received the recommended three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine during infancy in 2011, according to new data released in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER)," a WHO media note reports.

3 Nov 2012

New data: 4 in 5 children received recommended doses of DTP vaccine during infancy in 2011

Four in five children (83%) worldwide received the recommended three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine during infancy in 2011, according to new data released in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER).

2 Nov 2012