Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Evidence of same-sex mating in nature

Cryptococcus neoformans is a major cause of fungal meningitis in predominantly immunocomprised individuals.

19 Oct 2007

Ear infection superbug found to be resistant to all pediatric antibiotics

Researchers have discovered a strain of bacteria resistant to all approved drugs used to fight ear infections in children, according to an article to be published tomorrow in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

17 Oct 2007

How clean are biometric devices?

While biometric equipment is gaining popularity in a variety of applications, such as ensuring secure access to buildings, industries are finding that many users believe the devices are unsanitary and a potential source of germs that could cause illness.

10 Oct 2007

Central nervous system infections after heart transplants

Central nervous system infections develop infrequently following heart transplants but are a significant predictor of death, according to an article posted online today that will appear in the December 2007 print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

9 Oct 2007

Brain eating amoeba in lake kills sixth victim

A Texas boy has become the sixth person this summer to die from brain eating amoeba.

7 Oct 2007

Testing women for group B strep during pregnancy could save Britain GBP37 million a year

A research paper confirms what medical charity Group B Strep Support has been saying for years - that testing pregnant women for group B strep would save lives and save the government money.

1 Oct 2007

U.S. hospitals report infections increasing in frequency and cost

A new review of inpatient data from US hospitals shows that the number of infections caused by a common bacterium increased by over 7 percent each year from 1998 to 2003.

26 Sep 2007

Cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in children reduced

The number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children has fallen since the introduction of a new vaccine a year ago. Enhanced surveillance by the UK's Health Protection Agency has shown that cases of IPD caused by the seven major types of the pneumococcus bacteria which the new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) protects against have gone down by almost 50%.

20 Sep 2007

Brooklyn woman infected with West Nile virus

According to health officials in New York a 41-year-old woman from Brooklyn has become the year's first known human case of the West Nile virus in New York State.

10 Sep 2007

Adolescents need to see their doctors more often to receive the HPV vaccine

Despite recommendations for annual preventive exams for adolescents, only 10 percent of teens have enough visits within 12 months to receive the recommended three shots needed for HPV vaccine. Ideally the three shots are delivered within six months, and only 1 percent of teens see their physicians that often.

5 Sep 2007

WHO says more killer diseases like AIDS on their way

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned the world to expect a new killer disease to emerge in the next few years which will threaten the lives of millions.

23 Aug 2007

New TB vaccine could save over a million lives

Initial trials of a new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine mean the drug will now progress to phase II trials.

31 Jul 2007

Another alert over sick air traveler in the U.S.

Another alert has been triggered in the United States over an air traveler with a serious infection.

24 Jul 2007

Listeria pathogen may be key to understanding cancer development

A research team including University of Central Florida Microbiology Professor Keith Ireton is using the bacterial pathogen Listeria Monocytogenes to understand the mechanisms of cell growth and cancer development.

29 Jun 2007

Meningococcal vaccine now recommended for ages 11 to 18

Recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), that all young people aged 11 to 18 should get a shot that protects them from the most dangerous type of meningitis, has been applauded by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

28 Jun 2007

Hib vaccine could save hundreds of thousands of children in Asia

A new study from Bangladesh published online in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal shows that routinely vaccinating infants against H. influenzae type b (Hib), a bacterium that causes deadly Hib pneumonia and meningitis, could save hundreds of thousands of children in Asia.

28 Jun 2007

New data on the performance of meningitis vaccine in West African children

The Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) today released new data on the performance of a meningitis vaccine in West African children, suggesting that the new vaccine,expected to sell initially for 40 US cents a dose,will be much more effective in protecting African children and their communities than any vaccine currently on the market in the region.

14 Jun 2007

New vaccine promises end of devastating meningitis epidemics in Africa

Scientists are optimistic that a new meningitis vaccine will end the risk of devastating major epidemics; the new vaccine protects against meningitis A, the deadliest form of the disease.

11 Jun 2007

Immune antibodies penetrate neurons to clear Alzheimer's-linked amyloid

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have gotten much closer to understanding how immune-based therapies can treat Alzheimer's disease -- by studying how antibodies go inside brain cells to reduce levels of Alzheimer's-linked amyloid peptides that form plaques between neurons.

24 May 2007