Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Global epidemic of avian flu - Governments bury their heads

Governments around the world must stop burying their heads in the sand over the growing threat of a global epidemic of avian flu, argues a GP in this week's BMJ.

5 May 2005

New cervical cancer drug could be a bestseller

New data released yesterday says that a new vaccine that promises to protect against cervical cancer could offer wider resistance to the disease than previously thought.

5 May 2005

Two more Polio cases reported in Indonesia

Health Officials are still investigating other suspected cases which have been reported in the same area of a West Javanese province.

5 May 2005

Polio threat originates in Nigeria 2 years after it was banished in most countries

Almost two years after radical Islamic preachers in Nigeria influenced parents against having their children vaccinated against polio for fear it was part of a U.S. plot against Muslims, a Nigerian strain of the virus that causes the crippling disease has occurred as far away as Indonesia.

4 May 2005

Fear stops some parents vaccinating their children

A new study has found that the majority of parents who choose not to vaccinate their children do so out of fear that the vaccine will cause more harm than the disease it prevents.

4 May 2005

Second polio case reported in Indonesia

Another case of polio has been diagnosed in the Javanese village where little 18-month-old Fikri Ramdani lives. Fikri is the first polio case confirmed in Indonesia in the latest re-appearance of the disease which has been virtually wiped out in the majority of developed countries.

4 May 2005

Vaccine developed at Rockefeller University boosts natural killer T cells in patients with cancer

A new vaccine designed at The Rockefeller University boosted a type of fast-responding immune system cell called the natural killer T (NKT) cell in patients with advanced cancer. The study surprised researchers by revealing the ability of these NKT cells to spur other, slower-responding immune cells to go to work.

4 May 2005

New Zealand Ministry of Health to consider Vaxigrip vaccine trial results

Pharmac and the New Zealand Ministry of Health are aware that Sanofi-Pasteur has been running a clinical trial to demonstrate the efficacy of their influenza vaccine, Vaxigrip.

4 May 2005

Polio alert after Indonesian child is stricken

After an 18-month-old boy was diagnosed with polio, Australian parents planning holidays in Indonesia have been warned to ensure babies and toddlers have been vaccinated for polio.

3 May 2005

Boostrix receives FDA approval as treatment for pertussis

GlaxoSmithKline today announced that its booster vaccine, Boostrix received approval from the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

3 May 2005

Whooping cough makes a comeback

The latest comeback in the health arena is whooping cough and experts are sufficiently concerned for the US government to approve the first whooping cough booster shot meant just for adolescents. The shot will be added to a booster shot against two other diseases, tetanus and diphtheria, that children already get sometime between ages 10 and 18.

3 May 2005

College freshies show weaker immune responses

Being a college freshie may have more ramifications than being lonely and missing Mum's cooking, according to a new study at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh which shows that first-year students had a weaker immune response to the flu shot than did other students, and confirms suspicions that going to college challenges both mind and body.

2 May 2005

Milk thistle not proven effective in lowering mortality in alcoholic or hepatitis B or C liver disease

While some studies found that liver-related mortality may be significantly reduced in patients treated with milk thistle, these findings were not duplicated in the higher quality clinical trials.

2 May 2005

E. coli poses significant public health threat to seniors in the U.S.

A new study finds that E. coli bacteremia - a potentially life-threatening bloodstream infection caused by a common bacteria also associated with less dangerous urinary tract infections - poses a significant public health threat in the United States, especially among seniors.

2 May 2005

Concern that vaccines might cause harm most common reason why parents don't immunize

Concern that vaccines might cause harm was the most common reason given by parents who choose not to have their children vaccinated for preventable diseases, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 May 2005

Loneliness and social network appear to make independent contributions to immunity

A new study at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh confirms how college challenges both mind and body, by demonstrating that lonely first-year students mounted a weaker immune response to the flu shot than did other students. The study appears in the May issue of Health Psychology, which is published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

2 May 2005

Marburg virus - 275 confirmed cases

The World Health Organization (WHO) and health authorities in Angola have confirmed 275 cases including 255 deaths, in an outbreak of Marburg virus in north-western Angola since April 27 this year.

2 May 2005

FDA to change regulations regarding side-effect information in drug ads

The Food and Drug Administration is about to make it easier for you to understand both the benefits and risks of a prescription medication, it was revealed at the Second Annual Medical Liaison Seminar sponsored here by Scientific Advantage LLC.

2 May 2005

GlaxoSmithKline to acquire Corixa Corporation

GlaxoSmithKline has announced the execution of a definitive agreement pursuant to which GSK will acquire Corixa Corporation, a developer of innovative products that regulate immunity, based in Seattle, WA (USA).

2 May 2005

Lower vaccination rates put children at risk

A study done in part by the University of Alberta shows that children treated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) have lower vaccination rates than the general population, exposing them to added risk from preventable illnesses such as mumps and measles.

1 May 2005