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.

What parents need to know about the HPV vaccine

The vaccine that prevents infection from human papillomavirus (HPV) is nothing short of a medical marvel.

28 Jan 2020

Scientists break new ground with animal-free antibodies for diphtheria

A project taking the first steps towards ending the use of horses to treat diphtheria has succeeded.

21 Jan 2020

Malaysia announces first case of polio in the country for 27 years

Malaysia health officials have reported the first case of polio in the country for 27 years.

9 Dec 2019

Legislation and rising incidence of vaccine preventable diseases – the connection explored

There have been repeated reports of outbreaks of “vaccine-preventable disease” or VPDs across United States over the past few years. A new research letter was published this week in the JAMA Pediatrics. It was titled, “Association of Vaccine-Preventable Disease Incidence With Proposed State Vaccine Exemption Legislation.”

18 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

Homeopathy quackery - NHS leaders urge caution

A new controversy is ripe, what with the head of the UK National Health Service (NHS), Simon Stevens, publicly expressing his “serious concerns” about the “fundamentally flawed” practice of homeopathy.

29 Oct 2019

CDC advises vaccination for pregnant women against flu and whooping cough

The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) has recommended that all pregnant women should be vaccinated against influenza and whooping cough to provide protection to the baby against these deadly infections during the first few months of their lives. The CDC recommendation released this week Tuesday (8th of October 2019), is that these vaccines against flu and whooping cough are safe for pregnant women and do not affect their unborn babies adversely.

9 Oct 2019

Paid family leave increases immunization rates in infants

Parents who take paid family leave after the birth of a newborn are more likely to have their child vaccinated on time compared to those who do not, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. The effect is stronger on families living below the poverty line.

9 Sep 2019

Facebook takes a stand against Anti-vaxxers and vaccine misinformation

Vaccination conspiracy theories and false information regarding vaccination safety has led to decline in vaccine uptake among millions of parents for their children. This has resulted in the comeback of infections that could be prevented by widespread vaccination such as measles, whooping cough etc.

8 Sep 2019

Nanotechnology-based compound used to deliver hepatitis B vaccine

Nanotechnology-based compounds are now being tested as a possible delivery vehicle for vaccines. A team of researchers demonstrated how the oral delivery vehicle SBA-15, one such nanotechnology-based compound can deliver an oral vaccine against hepatitis B to the immune system.

11 Jul 2019

Australia leads the world in childhood immunization coverage

Even as Australia reels under a deadly flu season, some solace may be found in the fact that almost 95% of of five-year-old Australian children are almost completely immunized against deadly childhood diseases, according to the latest report.

8 Jul 2019

Number of fully-immunized Australian kids hits record high

New data for the March quarter in 2019 revealed the immunization rates for all five-year-old children in the country increased to 94.78 percent from the previous record of 94.67 percent in December 2018.

7 Jul 2019

Children up to date on pertussis vaccine schedule have low risk of developing whooping cough

In a large new Kaiser Permanente study, children who were up to date on their pertussis vaccine schedule were far less likely to develop the disease than unvaccinated children.

11 Jun 2019

UGA researchers create statistical method to better predict disease reemergence

Several University of Georgia researchers teamed up to create a statistical method that may allow public health and infectious disease forecasters to better predict disease reemergence, especially for preventable childhood infections such as measles and pertussis.

22 May 2019