Rotavirus News and Research

Latest Rotavirus News and Research

U.N. Secretary-General urges funding for GAVI during replenishment meeting

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged more funding for the GAVI Alliance to help achieve its childhood vaccine targets and the related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), TopNews reports.

8 Oct 2010

Dangers of not vaccinating children

Deadly diseases are making a comeback. Pertussis, or whooping cough, has killed nine infants this year in California, and outbreaks of measles and Hib meningitis have struck U.S. communities in the past three years.

5 Oct 2010

CPS recommends all Canadian babies should be vaccinated against rotavirus

All Canadian babies should be vaccinated against rotavirus, according to a new statement by the Canadian Paediatric Society. The CPS is also calling for public funding of the vaccine, which is not currently covered by provincial or territorial health plans.

5 Oct 2010

Prix Galien USA committee honors life saving innovations

The Prix Galien USA committee honored innovations that are saving lives last night during the Prix Galien Awards Gala. The Pro Bono Humanum Award, the Prix Galien USA 2010 and the Prix Galien International were presented and related accomplishments celebrated.

30 Sep 2010

Merck's ROTATEQ vaccine receives Prix Galien USA 2010 Award for Best Biotechnology Product

ROTATEQ® (Rotavirus Vaccine, Live, Oral, Pentavalent), Merck's vaccine for rotavirus gastroenteritis in infants and children, received the Prix Galien USA 2010 Award for Best Biotechnology Product, Merck announced today.

30 Sep 2010

Outbreak of whooping cough mirrors challenges in developing world, global health official says

The outbreak of whooping cough in Texas, California, and other states this year underscores the critical importance of widespread vaccination coverage, both locally as well as around the world, said a leading global health official attending conferences on world affairs and immunization in Fort Worth this week.

29 Sep 2010

Immunization is critical to reduce child deaths

Immunising children against preventable diseases is critical to achieving United Nations-led goals to reduce child deaths, global health and development chiefs said in New York today.

22 Sep 2010

August is National Immunization and Cataract Awareness Month

Childhood immunizations keep our children safe from a number of serious diseases. This is a good time of year to make sure your child is up-to-date on all of his/her immunizations. Continue reading to find out which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend for children 6 and under.

16 Aug 2010

Clinical trials in Asia, Africa confirm safety, effectiveness of rotavirus vaccine

Two studies published online Thursday in the Lancet show that the rotavirus vaccine is safe and effective at preventing much of the gastrointestinal illness in developing countries, where rotavirus kills more than 400,000 children under age 5 annually, Reuters reports. Based on the findings in Asia and Africa, the studies' authors "urged the governments of developing nations to make the vaccines a priority," the news service writes.

7 Aug 2010

Merck reports strong bottom-line performance in second quarter

Merck & Co., Inc. today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2010. The company reported non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings per share (EPS) for the second quarter of $0.86, which excludes purchase accounting adjustments, merger-related expenses, restructuring costs and the gain on AstraZeneca's asset option exercise. Second-quarter GAAP EPS was $0.24.

2 Aug 2010

Pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria cause death of 6 million of world's poorest children

A Johns Hopkins University scientist, whose team of researchers recently identified pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria as the primary causes of death of 6 million of the world's poorest children, today called on leaders in donor and developing nations to take action to address the terrible death toll.

23 Jul 2010

NACI updates, strengthens statement related to the use of rotavirus vaccines in Canada

This week, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization updated and strengthened its statement related to the use of rotavirus vaccines in Canada. Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in children under the age of three. The NACI statement now includes Grade A recommendations (good evidence to recommend immunization) for healthy and preterm infants.

21 Jul 2010

New & improved rotavirus vaccine to be trialed in Melbourne

Now a vaccine is being developed against rotavirus in Melbourne. At present Australian children were given rotavirus vaccine at the age of six to eight weeks since 2007. This new vaccine will be applicable to infants from birth.

20 Jul 2010

Recent releases in global health

Looking ahead to AIDS 2010 which will be held in Vienna, Austria, July 18-23, a Lancet editorial writes that 2010 marks "the deadline set by global leaders to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, and care. Sadly, the world will not meet these ambitious goals." However, the latest issue of the Lancet "offers some new insights to progress," the editorial notes.

3 Jul 2010

ORS, zinc supplements and rotavirus vaccine can reduce diarrheal disease

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health urge wider use of oral rehydration solution (ORS), zinc supplementation and rotavirus vaccine to reduce the deaths from diarrheal disease worldwide.

2 Jul 2010

Combination MMRV vaccine associated with increased risk of febrile seizures

The combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) is associated with double the risk of febrile seizures for 1- to 2-year-old children compared with same-day administration of the separate vaccine for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and the varicella (V) vaccine for chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study appearing online in the journal Pediatrics. A febrile seizure is a brief, fever-related convulsion but it does not lead to epilepsy or seizure disorders, researchers explained.

28 Jun 2010

Merck proposes to initiate Phase II proof-of-concept clinical study of posaconazole for chronic Chagas disease

Merck today announced plans to initiate a Phase II investigational proof-of-concept clinical study to evaluate its oral antifungal agent posaconazole for the treatment of chronic Chagas disease. Chagas disease results from infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi that is spread by biting insects. The disease is estimated to affect approximately eight million people in Latin America, of whom approximately 30-40 percent will develop serious cardiac disease, digestive disease, or both as a result of this infection.

24 Jun 2010

Financial Times examines how GAVI's $2.6B shortfall might affect new vaccine programs in developing countries

GAVI Alliance's plan to introduce new vaccine projects in the developing world "is under threat amid the international economic downturn," the Financial Times reports. "Subsidies to extend the use of vaccines against rubella, HPV to tackle cervical cancer, cholera and Japanese encephalitis in the developing world are among those likely to be cancelled or delayed," according to GAVI's CEO Julian Lob-Levyt, the newspaper writes.

17 Jun 2010

World Health Assembly news

Media outlets continue to track news emerging from the 63rd annual World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva.

20 May 2010

Cell Therapeutics' Special Meeting of Shareholders adjourned to June 4, 2010

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the Company has adjourned today's Special Meeting of Shareholders to 10:00 am Pacific Daylight Time, Friday, June 4, 2010.

15 May 2010