Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Protection against 12 different communicable diseases available for infants and toddlers

In recognition of National Infant Immunization Week (April 24, 2005 through April 30, 2005), the Nassau County Department of Health urges all parents to ensure that their infants and toddlers are fully protected from the following vaccine preventable diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza (meningitis), varicella (chickenpox), pneumococcal disease and influenza.

12 Apr 2005

Pneumonia jab now available for over 65s in UK

People over 65 in the UK are to be offered a routine jab to help protect against diseases, including pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia. Two in 1,000 over-65s are admitted to hospital with pneumococcal pneumonia each year and the infection can cause serious diseases.

5 Apr 2005

E.Sakazakii Meningitis to become a notifiable disease

A potentially fatal form of meningitis in premature babies linked to contaminated milk powder should be made a notifiable disease according to a report released today.

5 Apr 2005

Meningitis epidemics driven by the wind

A meningitis epidemic hits West Africa every year, affecting 25 000 to 200 000 people. It has long been known that the timing of this epidemic and its spatial distribution within the “Meningitis Belt”, situated between 10° and 15° North, are closely linked to climatic conditions. Involved in the AMMA programme, IRD and University of Paris-VII researcher produced the first quantified description of this relationship using statistical methods.

5 Apr 2005

Scientists find how pneumonia bacteria get sugar boost to survive

Meningitis and pneumonia bacteria smash into our lungs and cells to steal sugar, which helps them survive, according to research presented from King's College and Guy's Hospital London, (Monday, 04 April 2005) at the Society for General Microbiology's 156th Meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.

4 Apr 2005

Surprising discovery about natural immunity to pneumococcus

Since 2000, U.S. infants have been routinely immunized against pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) infection. Now, Boston researchers have made a surprising discovery about natural immunity to pneumococcus.

29 Mar 2005

Vaccine prevents deadly pneumonia in African children

Global health leaders today presented new research showing that vaccinating infants against Streptococcus pneumoniae -- a bacterium that causes deadly pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis -- could substantially reduce death and serious illness among children in the developing world. If used widely, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine could prevent hundreds of thousands of child deaths each year.

28 Mar 2005

Child care may affect entire community's risks of infection

Any parent knows how quickly a cold or a cough can spread between children who play together. However, child care may also affect an entire community's carriage of potentially dangerous bacteria known as Streptococcus pneumoniae, according to an article in the April 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

28 Mar 2005

Vaccine against pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease shows promise

A vaccine against pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease, a severe form of bacterial infection, can substantially reduce hospital admissions and improve the survival of children in developing countries, concludes a trial published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

28 Mar 2005

Miami baby possibly USA's 1st case of West Nile virus

West Nile Virus is a flavivirus commonly found in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East and is related to the St. Louis encephalitis virus found in the United States. Preliminary tests suggest a 14-month-old baby hospitalized in Miami may be the nation's first case of West Nile virus this year.

22 Mar 2005

African genome research given impetus

Millions of victims in Africa, die each year from preventable diseases like tuberculosis and malaria and researchers say only a relatively small proportion of money is spent on developing vaccines, much more is spent on drugs aimed at tackling diseases more prevalent among rich, Western consumers.

21 Mar 2005

Invasive pneumonia and antibiotic resistance decreased after childhood streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine introduced

The problem of increasing antibiotic resistance in cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, was dramatically reversed following the licensing and use of a new conjugate vaccine for young children in February 2000, according to research conducted at Emory University, the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Georgia Division of Public Health.

21 Mar 2005

Autism and MMR, no link found

Fears that the triple vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella could cause autism were first raised in 1998 by a gastroenterologist, Andrew Wakefield, his research has been largely discredited. and any lingering doubt of a link between autism and MMR has been completely dispelled by a new study that found withdrawing the vaccine did nothing to slow the rise in children diagnosed with the condition.

3 Mar 2005

Health risks increase in Guyana with leptospirosis

Leptospirosis has become a health concern in Guyana, as the number of cases continues to rise and 43 people were being treated for suspected cases of the bacterial disease, which is usually caused by exposure to water contaminated with the urine of infected animals.

8 Feb 2005

Bacterial spread all down to chance: some strains 'just the luckyones'

Scientists have discovered that factors such as human immunity and drug resistance are less important to the success of bacterial spread than previously thought.

3 Feb 2005

Scientists are a step closer to developing drug targets to treat fungal meningitis

Scientists are a step closer to developing drug targets to treat fungal meningitis -- the infection linked to at least three deaths on Vancouver Island -- thanks to the sequencing of two Cryptococcus genomes by an international team that included researchers at the University of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Agency's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver.

17 Jan 2005

FDA licenses Sanofi pasteur vaccine for protection against meningococcal disease

Sanofi pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis Group, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed Menactra (Meningococcal [Groups A, C, Y and W-135] Polysaccharide Diphtheria Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine) for protection against meningococcal disease in adolescents and adults aged 11-55 years.

17 Jan 2005

Pilgrimage to Mecca comes with a few medical risks

The Hajj or Haj is the Pilgrimage to Mecca (or, "Makkah") and is the fifth of the "Five Pillars of Islam". Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. Later this month about three million Muslims will gather for this major pilgrimage. But two doctors in this week's BMJ warn that the Hajj carries considerable health risks if the pilgrim is unprepared.

13 Jan 2005

For uncomplicated colds antibiotics are not necessary

If a runny nose and congested chest have you thinking of antibiotics, think again.

3 Jan 2005

Gene therapy effective in helping children with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)

A UK study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET provides further evidence that gene therapy can be effective in creating a functional immune system for infants with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

20 Dec 2004