Immunization News and Research

RSS

150 top scientists debate and offer expert advice on cutting edge vaccine research

More than 150 top scientists, researchers and public health experts from around the world will meet in Switzerland next week to present, debate and offer expert advice on cutting edge vaccine research and development, as well as vaccine policy and implementation.

3 Jun 2004

Dire health consequences for millions of people in Darfur, Sudan

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of dire health consequences for millions of people in Darfur, Sudan. A significant increase in disease and death is inevitable without a rapid increase in external help.

3 Jun 2004

Women exposed in adulthood to cytomegalovirus may be at greater risk of breast cancer

A study just published in the prestigious British Journal of Cancer by researchers at the University of Otago's Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences and Dunedin School of Medicine, and the University of Melbourne, has found evidence of a link between a common virus and breast cancer in women under the age of 40 years.

31 May 2004

Possible new second-generation multiple sclerosis therapy

Scientists from Genencor International, Inc., have demonstrated in an in vivo model that a new variant of recombinant interferon-beta reduces the immunological response to the protein.

25 May 2004

Health-care providers can now review and update immunization records for patients online

Health-care providers can now review and update immunization records for patients online using the new and improved Web-based CHILD Profile Immunization Registry. The system is operated by the Department of Health and makes it easier for health-care professionals to keep track of immunization records.

25 May 2004

New AMA guide - Adults Only Vaccination: A Step-by-Step Guide

New for physicians is “Adults Only Vaccination: A Step-by-Step Guide," a comprehensive resource by the Immunization Action Coalition that covers all aspects of a vaccination program – from assessing vaccine indications and contraindications to determining billing codes.

24 May 2004

Suspension of the initial dose of hepatitis B vaccine appears to have contributed to fewer newborns being vaccinated in 2000

A temporary suspension of the initial dose of hepatitis B vaccine appears to have contributed to fewer newborns being vaccinated for hepatitis B in 2000 than in 1998, according to a study published in the May 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

22 May 2004

WHO to tackle heart disease, diabetes, cancers, road safety as well as diseases

The World Health Assembly, the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organization, has raised global public health to a new level, by resolving to take more action to prevent death and illness resulting from heart disease, diabetes, cancers, road safety, and lack of access to health services as well as from diseases spread by viruses, bacteria and other dangerous microbes.

22 May 2004

Network formed to tackle potentially fatal reaction to smallpox vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), launched the Atopic Dermatitis and Vaccinia Network (ADVN), a nationwide research group that seeks to reduce the risk of eczema vaccinatum (EV), a severe and potentially deadly complication of smallpox immunization.

19 May 2004

CDC announces new goals and organizational structure

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Julie Gerberding announced today new goals and integrated operations that will allow the federal public health agency to have greater impact on the health of people around the world.

15 May 2004

Botswana begins massive emergency polio campaign

The Minister of Health of Botswana today kicked off a massive emergency immunization campaign in the southern African nation of Botswana, following the re-introduction of poliovirus into the country from Nigeria in February.

10 May 2004

Government of Canada today announced the release of A Canada Fit for Children

The Government of Canada today announced the release of A Canada Fit for Children , its official response to the commitments made on May 10, 2002, at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children.

10 May 2004

Australian expansion of school-based Meningococcal C Vaccination program

Australian Minister for Health, Morris Iemma today announced the expansion of the NSW school-based Meningococcal C Vaccination program to include immunisation for high school students in the new school term

5 May 2004

New license agreement for rotavirus diarrhea vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced today a new license agreement aimed at helping to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths annually from rotavirus diarrhea in children living in developing countries.

4 May 2004

New figures suggest Scotland is in the middle of a mumps epidemic

New figures raise public fears of a mumps epidemic by showing there were 370 confirmed cases of mumps in the first four months of 2001. This figure is almost an 800% increase on the total of recorded mumps cases for the whole of 2003.

3 May 2004

AAP expands recommendations for annual influenza immunizations to include children ages 6 through 23 months

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has expanded its recommendations for annual influenza immunizations to include children ages 6 through 23 months, as well as close contacts and caregivers of children under age 2.

3 May 2004

Intranasal influenza vaccine may help induce broader immunity in children than the traditional flu shot

MedImmune, Inc. has announced clinical data showing that a live, attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine (LAIV) may help induce broader immunity in children against drifted influenza strains when compared to the traditional flu shot (TIV).

2 May 2004

Immunization back on agenda as whooping cough increases

Immunization for pertussis, also known as whooping cough, began in the mid-1940s and resulted in a sharp decline of this serious illness over the next 25 years. Over the last two decades, however, as immunity has waned, pertussis has re-emerged in the United States, with the greatest increase seen in adolescents, adults and young infants.

1 May 2004

Vaccination Week in the Americas in full swing

Reports from the countries say that the immunization campaign has reached some of the most remote areas, including border regions and indigenous communities. The reports also show that the vaccination efforts, which began April 24, are reaching the most vulnerable sectors of the population.

29 Apr 2004

Canada kicks off National Immunization Awareness Week

Marking National Immunization Awareness Week, Canada's health ministers today encouraged parents and care givers across the country to have their children immunized.

28 Apr 2004