Diphtheria News and Research

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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 issues 90-day extension for Pfizer's Prevnar 13 sBLA to treat pneumonia in adults

Pfizer Inc today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a 90-day extension to the action date for the Company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for use of Prevnar 13, in adults aged 50 and older.

30 Jul 2011

Majority of parents unaware of medical research participation opportunities for children

One in nine adults have participated in medical research. In contrast, only one in 20 children have done so. Those are the findings of a poll earlier this year by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. The poll asked adults and parents about their views on medical research and past participation for themselves and their children.

26 Jul 2011

FDA warns consumers not to drink raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy

The FDA is working with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina to investigate an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in three people who consumed raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C. The three confirmed cases and another five probable cases are from three different households and each case reports that prior to becoming ill they consumed raw milk that was obtained from Tucker Adkins Dairy on June 14, 2011.

18 Jul 2011

GlaxoSmithKline's Boostrix receives FDA approval to prevent tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Boostrix vaccine to prevent tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough) in people ages 65 and older.

11 Jul 2011

FDA approves BOOSTRIX to prevent tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis in older people

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BOOSTRIX for use in adults 65 years of age and older for active booster immunization against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.

11 Jul 2011

Sanofi Pasteur establishes new vaccine research and development facility in Canada

Mark Lievonen, President of Sanofi Pasteur Limited, and Premier Dalton McGuinty today opened a $101 million dollar vaccine research and development facility at Sanofi Pasteur's Connaught Campus in north Toronto. This new facility establishes the Connaught Campus as the North American Centre of Excellence in analytical and bioprocessing R&D for Sanofi Pasteur globally.

23 Jun 2011

Novartis Bexsero pivotal study data on meningococcal serogroup B presented at ESPID

New data from a pivotal study in more than 1,800 infants show that Novartis candidate vaccine Bexsero induces a robust immune response to meningococcal serogroup B when given alone or when co-administered with other routine vaccines.

15 Jun 2011

Free access to enteric pathogen's genetic regulation data

Just a few genes make enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) extremely dangerous to humans. If it were not for these genes, EHEC would hardly differ from harmless enteric bacteria. Bioinformatics scientists from the Saarbr-cken Cluster of Excellence want to exploit this similarity to find starting points for effective drugs against the EHEC pathogen.

10 Jun 2011

Tikcro reports net loss of $30,000 for first quarter 2011

Tikcro Technologies Ltd. today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

7 Jun 2011

GAVI welcomes lower pentavalent vaccine price

In the lead up to its first pledging conference on June 13, the GAVI Alliance announced today it has achieved commitments from two emerging market vaccine manufacturers to lower prices for the life-saving pentavalent vaccine, which protects against five deadly diseases. Developed country manufacturers have also offered price reductions on rotavirus and human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccines.

5 Jun 2011

Department of Health urges caregivers, parents to update students' immunizations

Parents and caregivers are urged to use the summer break to make sure all students' immunizations are up to date before new regulations take effect in August, the Department of Health said today.

4 Jun 2011

Afghan Acting Health Minister says country wants to boost immunization access

Reuters featured an interview with Afghanistan's Acting Health Minister Suraya Dalil on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in Geneva. "Afghanistan, whose government is fighting a worsening insurgency that has dragged on for nearly a decade since the U.S.-backed overthrow of the Taliban, is also plagued by poverty, malnutrition and corruption," Reuters writes, adding that the government and donors together spend "barely" $10 per person on health annually.

19 May 2011

Haiti presents plan to immunize 90 percent of newborns

Haiti has a plan to vaccinate 90 percent of newborns by 2015, according to PAHO, but "whether the plan works will depend on Haiti's ability to reverse decades of incompetent government and bad coordination among aid groups," as well as whether there will be funding, the New York Times reports.

18 May 2011

NBA Cares, SAHM and Tulsa Shock guard partner for teen vaccine awareness campaign

Tulsa Shock guard Andrea Riley and Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Lanier teamed up with NBA Cares and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine today to bring Vaccines for Teens to the Tulsa community.

5 May 2011

Rwanda, QIAGEN and Merck launch comprehensive national cervical cancer prevention program

The Government of Rwanda, together with QIAGEN N.V. and Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the launch, in Kigali, Rwanda, of a comprehensive national cervical cancer prevention program that includes vaccination with GARDASIL [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] for appropriate girls 12 to 15 years of age and modern molecular diagnostic screening for women between the ages of 35 and 45.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 25 Apr 2011

Ahead of Immunization Week, WHO calls for countries to come together to control measles outbreak in Europe

WHO is urging countries in Europe to join together to help control the measles outbreak that has grown to more than 6,500 cases in 33 countries and the potential for worsening outbreaks "in the days ahead as people travel during the Easter holidays," U.N. News Centre reports.

25 Apr 2011

FDA approves Sanofi Pasteur's meningococcal vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted licensure to expand the indication for its meningococcal conjugate vaccine, Menactra, to include a two-dose schedule for infants and children 9 months through 23 months of age.

25 Apr 2011

Merck and Sanofi Pasteur commence Phase III trial of pediatric hexavalent combination vaccine

Merck and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, announced today the initiation of a Phase III clinical program to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of an investigational pediatric hexavalent combination vaccine.

21 Apr 2011

Nuron Biotech announces acquisition of Wyeth's HibTITER vaccine assets

Nuron Biotech Inc., a specialty biologics and vaccines company, today announced that it has acquired assets relating to the vaccine HibTITER from Wyeth LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer Inc, for the U.S. and many other markets, including Japan and Korea. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

7 Apr 2011

Lancet Infectious Diseases examines how resource gaps are creating barriers to reduce child mortality

The Lancet Infectious Diseases' Newsdesk examines how resource gaps in immunizations, health workers and financing are creating barriers to efforts to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development Goal target to reduce child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, as highlighted in a recent Save the Children report.

3 Mar 2011