Meningococcal Disease News and Research

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Vaccination rates need improvement; racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination coverage

More teenagers are being vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal meningitis and pertussis (whooping cough), though the rates are still too low, according to recently released government data and a panel of experts convened by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

27 Oct 2009

News outlets examine challenges with expanding global child immunization campaigns

Wednesday's release of the WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank joint report on childhood vaccines highlighted gains in recent global vaccination campaigns and also found that nearly 24 million infants worldwide don't get the recommended first-year vaccination.

23 Oct 2009

More infants are being immunized but funding gap leaves millions of children still at risk

Reversing a downward trend, immunization rates are now at their highest ever and vaccine development worldwide is booming, according to a new assessment released today by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the World Bank.

22 Oct 2009

CDC recommends routine health examintion for all school-age children

Although school has just begun, it is already exam time for students throughout Wisconsin. That's because in addition to notebook paper and pens, back-to-school preparations should also include routine health exams to make sure students are healthy and ready to learn. These include: a doctor's exam to confirm that all immunizations are up-to-date, a dental exam and a vision exam.

3 Sep 2009

Voices of Meningitis urges parents to vaccinate preteens and teens for protection against meningococcal diseases

School nurses and families affected by a potentially deadly form of meningitis today launched a national consumer education initiative, called Voices of Meningitis. The initiative strongly urges parents to vaccinate preteens and teens, who are at greater risk of getting meningococcal disease, including meningococcal meningitis -- a rare, but serious bacterial infection.

24 Aug 2009

Seasonal flu vaccinations to cost less in Safeway's U.S. Stores

Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) added to its leadership reputation in health care reform and cost control by offering seasonal flu vaccines in its U.S. stores at a substantial savings compared with the cost of doctor-administered vaccines. The lower cost will help consumers and businesses control health care spending in a challenging economy.

20 Aug 2009

Parents need immunizations too!

Texas schoolchildren must be current on their immunizations before going back to class this fall, but it may have been decades since some of their parents have had a vaccination. August is National Immunization Awareness Month, and UnitedHealthcare wants to remind adults that immunizations are not just for children.

10 Aug 2009

Soliris (Eculizumab) granted orphan drug designation in Europe and U.S. for atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced today that Soliris® (eculizumab), its first-in-class complement inhibitor, has been granted Orphan Medicinal Product Designation by the European Commission for the treatment of patients with atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (aHUS). AHUS is an ultra-rare, inherited, and life-threatening complement-inhibitor deficiency disease that often progresses to end-stage kidney disease or failure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug designation to Soliris for the same indication in May 2009. Soliris is not approved for the treatment of patients with aHUS.

6 Aug 2009

Break through in the treatment of bacterial meningitis

It can take just hours after the symptoms appear for someone to die from bacterial meningitis. Now, after years of research, experts at The University of Nottingham have finally discovered how the deadly meningococcal bacteria is able to break through the body's natural defence mechanism and attack the brain.

13 May 2009

UK cases of bacterial meningitis in children at a record low

Cases of bacterial meningitis in children are at a record low thanks to NHS immunisation programmes, Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced.

26 Apr 2009

Universal vaccination associated with decreased Canadian cases of most deadly strain of meningitis

Universal childhood vaccination against meningococcal C appears to reduce Canadian incidence of the most deadly strain of bacterial meningitis, reports new research published in the March issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

2 Mar 2009

Meningitis bacteria dress up as human cells to evade our immune system

The way in which bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis mimic human cells to evade the body's innate immune system has been revealed by researchers at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.

20 Feb 2009

Fractional dose of scarce meningitis vaccine may be effective in outbreak control

One fifth of the standard dose of a commonly used meningitis vaccine may be as effective as using the full dose.

8 Dec 2008

Fractional dose of scarce meningitis vaccine may be effective in outbreak control

A partial dose of a commonly used vaccine against meningitis may be as effective as a full dose, according to new research published December 2 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

1 Dec 2008

Schoolies warned that after-effects of drinking or drug-taking could disguise the start of meningococcal disease

Following reports that an 18-year-old student celebrating 'schoolies' week on Queensland's Gold Coast has been hospitalised with meningococcal disease, health officials have warned schoolies that the after-effects of drinking or drug-taking could disguise the onset of the disease.

26 Nov 2008

Adults need vaccines to protect from preventable diseases, say medical societies

The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) have released a joint statement on the importance of adult vaccination against an increasing number of vaccine-preventable diseases.

19 Nov 2008

African countries commit to new meningitis vaccine

Health ministers from countries of the African meningitis belt today committed themselves to introduce a highly promising candidate meningitis vaccine. The vaccine is designed to prevent periodic epidemics of the deadly disease in these countries.

4 Sep 2008

Drop in child deaths in NSW - but aboriginal children still six times more likely to die

Recently released figures on child deaths in New South Wales have revealed that the number has dropped overall - down almost 40 per cent in the past decade - this equates to 8.6 lives per 100,000 children and young people saved, however this does not appear to apply to indigenous children.

29 Jul 2008

Corticosteroids provide no survival benefit for children with bacterial meningitis

Corticosteroids given to children who are hospitalized for bacterial meningitis do not provide a benefit in survival or in reduced hospital stays, according to a large multicenter study by pediatric researchers. This finding stands in contrast to previous studies in hospitalized adults, for which corticosteroids dramatically reduced mortality.

6 May 2008

New discovery on role of vital protein that fights meningitus

A University of Leicester researcher has discovered how a protein in the blood - linked to defence against meningitis - plays a more vital role than previously understood in the body's immune defence system.

6 May 2008

Meningococcal Disease News and Research

Vaccination rates need improvement; racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination coverage

News outlets examine challenges with expanding global child immunization campaigns

More infants are being immunized but funding gap leaves millions of children still at risk

CDC recommends routine health examintion for all school-age children

Voices of Meningitis urges parents to vaccinate preteens and teens for protection against meningococcal diseases

Seasonal flu vaccinations to cost less in Safeway's U.S. Stores

Parents need immunizations too!

Soliris (Eculizumab) granted orphan drug designation in Europe and U.S. for atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

Break through in the treatment of bacterial meningitis

UK cases of bacterial meningitis in children at a record low

Universal vaccination associated with decreased Canadian cases of most deadly strain of meningitis

Meningitis bacteria dress up as human cells to evade our immune system

Fractional dose of scarce meningitis vaccine may be effective in outbreak control

Fractional dose of scarce meningitis vaccine may be effective in outbreak control

Schoolies warned that after-effects of drinking or drug-taking could disguise the start of meningococcal disease

Adults need vaccines to protect from preventable diseases, say medical societies

African countries commit to new meningitis vaccine

Drop in child deaths in NSW - but aboriginal children still six times more likely to die

Corticosteroids provide no survival benefit for children with bacterial meningitis

New discovery on role of vital protein that fights meningitus

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