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.

Neuronal subtypes that drive locomotion in fruit fly reveal an unexpected diversity

A new study by MIT neuroscientists into how seemingly similar neuronal subtypes drive locomotion in the fruit fly revealed an unexpected diversity as the brain's commands were relayed to muscle fibers.

8 Jul 2020

Scientists find way to prevent warmed-up vaccines from degrading

Vaccines are notoriously difficult to transport to remote or dangerous places, as they spoil when not refrigerated.

8 Jun 2020

Researchers decipher deadly bacterial infection in pigs

The Clostridium perfringens bacterium is part of the large Clostridium genus which can cause various fatal illnesses in animals and humans.

4 Jun 2020

Study highlights the importance of child vaccine against infections

In the U.S., our children rarely fall ill to grave infections because they are protected by vaccines.

2 Jun 2020

Experts highlight triumph over polio and hope to do the same for COVID-19

For much of the 20th century, summer was considered "polio season," and people were accustomed to seeing swimming pools and movie theaters closed to stave off the latest epidemic. Shaking hands was off limits, and even touching money was perilous.

14 May 2020

COVID-19 progression linked to B cell activation

The disease course of COVID-19 is diverse, ranging from asymptomatic to fatal respiratory failure. Scientists have been working to uncover the immunological reasons behind this heterogeneity. A recent study on B cells, published on the preprint server medRxiv in April 2020, shows that extrafollicular B cells could be a marker of severe infection in the early stages, predicting the need for earlier immunomodulatory therapy.

4 May 2020

New Australian pilot program to monitor the effects of flu vaccines

A new Australian pilot program led by The University of Western Australia, in partnership with SmartVax, MedAdvisor and the Queensland University of Technology, will monitor the effects of flu vaccines administered by pharmacists this flu season.

24 Mar 2020

Tapping pre-existing immunity to enhance therapeutic cancer treatment

A new research from the University of Helsinki showed for the first time how the pre-immunization acquired through common childhood vaccines can be used to enhance therapeutic cancer treatment.

2 Mar 2020

Tetanus diphtheria booster shots not needed by adults says study

According to the latest research, if adults have been entirely vaccinated as children, they need not get booster shots for diphtheria and tetanus. The study is published today in the latest issue of the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and is titled, "Incidence of Tetanus and Diphtheria in Relation to Adult Vaccination Schedules."

25 Feb 2020

Scientists developing a combined vaccine to fight most malignant brain tumor

Scientists are developing a combined vaccine to fight the most deadly form of brain cancer.

25 Feb 2020

Novel formulation allows use of toxin from rattlesnake venom to control neuropathic pain

Crotoxin, extracted from the venom of the South American rattlesnake Crotalus durissus terrificus, has been studied for almost a century for its analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antitumor activities and as an even more powerful muscle paralyzer than botulinum toxin.

16 Feb 2020

Developing enhanced personalized cancer vaccines

Therapeutic cancer vaccines were first developed 100 years ago and have remained broadly ineffective to date. Before tangible results can be achieved, two major obstacles must be overcome.

11 Feb 2020

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

Brown, Insight Therapeutics partnership to accelerate research on flu vaccines for older adults

With support from a three-year $2.1 million agreement with Insight Therapeutics, a private company that focuses on the health care of older adults, a team of Brown University public health researchers will look to identify the most effective flu vaccines for elderly nursing home residents.

14 Dec 2019

People who eat bushmeat may be at risk of contracting life-threatening diseases

People who eat wildebeests, wart hogs and other wild African animals may be at risk for contracting potentially life-threatening diseases, according to an international team of researchers.

2 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

Chest infections cause 1 in 7 child deaths

The number of deaths in children due to lower respiratory infections (LRIs) such as pneumonia and influenza has come down considerably. Yet, they still account for the highest number of deaths in children under 5 years of age, at one in seven of all deaths in this age group, according to a detailed study published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

31 Oct 2019

Universal influenza vaccine developed at Cornell is set for human clinical trials

A universal influenza vaccine with the potential to be longer lasting and more effective than commercially available vaccines is destined for human clinical trials, thanks to a $17.9 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

24 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

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