Meningococcal Disease News and Research

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Scientists uncover how microbes invade the brain in bacterial meningitis

Simon Fraser University researcher Lisa Craig is part of an international team that has uncovered new details about a microbe that invades the brain, sometimes with fatal results.

6 Oct 2016

CHORI scientists reveal improved protective antibody responses to new meningococcal vaccine

A study conducted by UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists shows greatly improved protective antibody responses to a new mutant vaccine antigen for prevention of disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis - also known as meningococcus - that has the potential to improve the current vaccines for meningitis.

9 Sep 2016

GSK launches educational campaign to help raise awareness of meningitis

GSK today launched an educational campaign to help raise awareness of meningitis, a rare but potentially deadly disease.

8 Aug 2016

Personal anxiety, mass media coverage interact to determine what people remember about specific disease

The health facts presented by mass media in the midst of a disease outbreak are likely to influence what we remember about the disease -- new research suggests that the same mass media coverage may also influence the facts that we forget.

2 Nov 2015

Scientists identify key groups of bacteria responsible for majority of meningococcal cases in England, Wales

Scientists at Oxford University have identified the key groups of bacteria responsible for the majority of meningococcal disease cases in England and Wales over the past 20 years.

29 Oct 2015

CDC publishes reports on infectious and noninfectious diseases

Beginning with the Oct. 23, 2015, Supplements to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), CDC will publish the summaries of all notifiable conditions – infectious and noninfectious – at the same time.

23 Oct 2015

GSK welcomes U.S. CDC's vote on use of meningococcal group B vaccines

GlaxoSmithKline announced today that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted for a Category B recommendation for meningococcal group B vaccination, including BEXSERO (Meningococcal Group B Vaccine), in individuals aged 16 to 23 (with a preferred age of 16-18).

25 Jun 2015

Study suggests new approach to help prevent meningococcal outbreaks

Nasal drops of harmless bacteria can inhibit a related bug that sometimes causes meningococcal disease, according to new findings published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The study--conducted among college students, a group at higher risk for this often serious illness--suggests a new approach that could help suppress outbreaks of the disease, if supported by future research.

30 Mar 2015

FDA approves use of Menactra for booster vaccination against meningococcal disease

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of Menactra® [Meningococcal (Groups A, C, Y and W-135) Polysaccharide Diphtheria Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine] for booster vaccination against meningococcal disease in persons 15 years through 55 years of age.

9 Sep 2014

AHF welcomes passage of new HIV transmission bill

Marking the first change in state health code regarding HIV transmission in nearly a decade, Iowa Governor Terry E. Branstad signed a landmark bill on May 30 that will curb rampant convictions of people living with HIV for transmitting the virus by redefining the law to ensure only those who intend to spread HIV or behave with "reckless disregard" are penalized.

11 Jun 2014

Scientist wins 2014 Maurice Hilleman/Merck Award for developing vaccine against meningococcal disease

Dan Granoff, MD, of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland's research arm CHORI, has been named the 2014 Maurice Hilleman/Merck Award Laureate by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).

15 May 2014

Pfizer reports positive results from rLP2086 Phase 2 study for invasive meningococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. announced today the results from two Phase 2 studies of bivalent rLP2086, Pfizer's recombinant vaccine candidate, currently under development for the prevention of invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B in 10 to 25 year olds.

12 May 2014

Roundup: Battles fought over Lyme disease, autism and abortion

In Texas, abortion providers file suit to block a state rule that could shut down many of the state's remaining clinics, while lawmakers in Vermont and N.Y. seek to immunize doctors who prescribe long-term antibiotics for patients with lasting symptoms attributed to Lyme disease.

3 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 3, 2014

Today's headlines include reports on how Paul Ryan's budget is playing on Capitol Hill as well as news that the Obama administration is releasing a trove of data on physician services and payments.

3 Apr 2014

Landes Bioscience releases special issue on sepsis

A special issue on sepsis has been released by the publisher Landes Bioscience (Austin, TX USA). The articles contained in this special issue of the journal Virulence have been authored by world-class investigators and provide new insights into both the pathogen-related factors and the host defense mechanisms that lead to septic shock and contribute to its resolution or fatal outcome.

7 Jan 2014

Researchers find more accurate method to screen for meningococcal infection

Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have found a more accurate method to screen for bacterial meningococcal infection in its early stages, when it's hardest to detect. According to the researchers, the method for diagnosis could save lives by getting patients treatment earlier, when the infection is most treatable.

31 Oct 2013

MenAfriVac reduces incidence of meningitis by 94%

A new meningitis vaccine (MenAfriVac) is highly effective at protecting against epidemic A meningococcal disease, common in Africa’s meningitis belt where it accounts for at least three quarters of cases, and against transmission of the bacterium that causes these epidemics, according to new research published in The Lancet.

13 Sep 2013

Neisseria meningitidis causes life threatening meningitis, meningococcal sepsis in humans

"Neisseria meningitidis is an important human pathogen that can cause rapidly progressing, life threatening meningitis and meningococcal sepsis in humans," Professor Jennings said.

24 May 2013

Pneumococcal vaccine: an interview with Graham Clarke, CEO ImmBio

The pathogen that we are talking about is called streptococcus pneumoniae. That is a fairly common bacteria and if you did a nasal swab you would find that quite a lot of people have this bacterium living in their nasal passages.

16 Apr 2013

Pneumococcal vaccine pre-clinical development supported by £0.2 million award from Biomedical Catalyst

ImmBio (Immunobiology Ltd), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative vaccines against serious infectious diseases, today announced that the UK government-backed Biomedical Catalyst has awarded the company approximately £0.2 million ($0.3 million) to support pre-clinical development of its pneumococcal vaccine, PnuBioVax™, which targets a wide range of strains of the bacteria.

12 Mar 2013