Tetanus News and Research

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Tetanus is a severe, frequently fatal disease caused by an exotoxin produced by Clostridium tetani, a bacterium that is found in the environment. Tetanus is not transmitted from person to person. Rather, Clostridium tetani enters the body through an open wound, including lacerations, abrasions and puncture wounds. The toxin causes neuromuscular dysfunction, with rigidity and spasms of skeletal muscles. The muscle spasms usually start in the jaw (which is why the disease is sometimes called "lockjaw") and neck and may spread to many other muscles, leading to generalized paralysis.

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

Checklist to stay healthy and active in summer

The summer is a great season for getting in shape. Whether by playing a sport, doing an aerobic exercise routine, or just returning to that familiar running path -- this is the time for activity.

2 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

MinuteClinic, OhioHealth enter affiliation to enhance high quality care services

MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark, and OhioHealth, a nationally recognized not-for-profit, charitable health care organization based in Columbus, Ohio, have entered into a clinical affiliation that will enhance the high quality, affordable health care services they provide in central Ohio.

13 Jun 2011

New vaccines on the horizon

In a report published in The Lancet, researchers say there is the potential to develop 20 new or improved vaccines over the next decade. They emphasize that funding is crucial - but so is trust and confidence in vaccines. It is said that AIDS and malaria vaccines as the most important areas for research. Authors further suggest that neglected tropical diseases, such as leprosy, should also be investigated.

9 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

16 Countries announce new commitments to reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality

Today 16 countries announced new commitments to dramatically reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality, as part of the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health.

21 May 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

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

Illicit drug users may face increased risk of microbial infections

Illicit drug users are at increased risk of being exposed to microbial pathogens and are more susceptible to serious infections say physicians writing in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

10 Mar 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

Vaccine lawsuit rejected by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday against the parents of Hannah Bruesewitz, 18, who suffered seizures and permanent brain damage after receiving a diptheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine in 1993. The Bruesewitz family had sued Wyeth who was then the parent company of the maker of the DTP vaccine that Hannah received as an infant.

27 Feb 2011

Symposium examines Bruesewitz vs. Wyeth Supreme Court case

A March 29 symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences, "Vaccines Under the Gun: Politics, Science, Media and the Law," will feature a presentation by Daniel J. Thomasch, JD, national lead trial counsel for Wyeth, who was involved in the case decided by the Supreme Court yesterday in which the justices rejected a lawsuit claiming injury from a Wyeth vaccine.

25 Feb 2011