Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Texas Biomed applies patent for new genetically-engineered vaccine strategy to prevent HIV

The Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio has applied for a patent for a genetically-engineered vaccine strategy to prevent HIV infection that targets the outer layers of body structures that are the first sites of contact with the virus.

20 Nov 2012

Aradigm’s Lipoquin provides full protection in murine models of pneumonic plague

Scientists from the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) report, in a preliminary study, that they have demonstrated that a single dose of Aradigm Corporation's liposomal ciprofloxacin formulation Lipoquin administered 24 hours after exposure to a lethal dose of the bacterium Yersinia pestis provided full protection in a murine model of pneumonic plague.

20 Nov 2012

Interim results from RTS,S vaccine on-going phase III trial on malaria

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 250 million clinical malaria cases are attributed to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) annually, with over 1.1 million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

17 Nov 2012

New pneumococcal vaccine highly effective in infants

A new conjugate vaccine is highly effective (93–100%) at preventing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD; meningitis, sepsis, bacteremic pneumonia, and other blood-borne infections) in infants younger than 2 years who are the most vulnerable to infection, according to new research published Online First in The Lancet.

16 Nov 2012

Vaccinating families could protect young babies against RSV infection

Research by the University of Warwick indicates that vaccinating families could protect young babies against a common winter virus which can be fatal for infants under six months.

16 Nov 2012

Meningitis vaccine declared usable without refrigeration for up to four days

"In a breakthrough for the fight against meningitis in poor countries, researchers say the WHO has ruled that a key vaccine can be transported or stored for up to four days without refrigeration," Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Nov 2012

Study finds specific way in which Salmonella counteract defense mechanisms of human cells

A new study by researchers at Imperial College London has identified a way in which Salmonella bacteria, which cause gastroenteritis and typhoid fever, counteract the defence mechanisms of human cells.

16 Nov 2012

Number of polio cases worldwide reaches record low, but experts say challenges remain

"The number of polio cases worldwide reached a record low in 2012, giving experts confidence that the disease can finally be eradicated, according to presentations made at" the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) in Atlanta on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports (11/13).

15 Nov 2012

Money spent on presidential campaigns could go far in fighting NTDs

Noting that an estimated $2 billion was spent on the U.S. presidential campaigns, Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, writes in the Huffington Post "Healthy Living" blog, "Many of us in the global health community can only look upon that $2 billion figure in awe because of the potential for those dollars to be repurposed to immediately and dramatically improve the lives of the poorest people who suffer from disease."

15 Nov 2012

Yellow fever kills more than 100 people in Darfur; WHO, health ministry to provide immunizations

"More than two million people in Sudan's Darfur region will be vaccinated against a rare yellow fever outbreak suspected of killing 107 people since late September, health officials said on Tuesday," Agence France-Presse/France 24 reports (11/13). In a joint statement, the WHO and the Sudanese Ministry of Health said the mosquito-borne disease has spread throughout the western territory, which "has been plagued by conflict since rebels took up arms in 2003," Reuters notes.

15 Nov 2012

Paxvax PXVX0200 cholera vaccine demonstrates safety and immunogenicity in Phase 1 clinical trial

PaxVax Inc, which develops and commercializes innovative vaccines against infectious diseases in a socially responsible manner today announced results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of PaxVax's single-dose oral cholera vaccine candidate at the 2012 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

15 Nov 2012

Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses must be designated as emerging diagnoses

The Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses are commonly referred to as emerging diseases, but leading scientists say these life-threatening viruses have been around for centuries.

15 Nov 2012

Polio vaccination refusal in Nigeria continues to thwart eradication efforts

The number of reported cases of wild poliovirus infection in northern Nigeria has risen significantly in the last few years, which researchers say is largely due to vaccine refusals and problems with healthcare infrastructure in the country.

14 Nov 2012

Blog examines RTS,S malaria vaccine trial results

In a post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Owen Barder, a senior fellow and director for Europe at the CGD, reports on the results of a large Phase III clinical trial conducted in Africa on the malaria vaccine candidate RTS,S, published online in the New England Journal of Medicine on Friday.

14 Nov 2012

NPR, GlobalPost examine polio in Nigeria

NPR's "Shots" blog reports on an update about the polio situation in Nigeria, published Thursday in the CDC's latest issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), writing, "Despite beefed-up efforts to vaccinate kids and a flood of new resources, ... there have been twice as many polio cases as last year, and a few communities, where kids chronically miss vaccines, are serving as 'sanctuaries' for the poliovirus, giving it a place to replicate and survive."

14 Nov 2012

Topically applied DMPS not effective in children with autism

Metal-binding agents rubbed into the skin, prescribed by some alternative practitioners for the treatment of autism, are not absorbed and therefore are unlikely to be effective at helping the body excrete excess mercury. The study by Jennifer Cohen and Michelle Ruha from Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in the US, and their colleagues, provides evidence against the use of these treatments in children with autism.

14 Nov 2012

Close contact at school led to mumps outbreak in Orthodox Jewish communities

A 2009 outbreak of mumps in the USA that primarily affected Orthodox Jewish teenage boys may have been perpetuated by close schooling conditions, say the authors of a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

9 Nov 2012

Malaria vaccine reduced severe and uncomplicated malaria by a third in young infants when given with other routine vaccines

Experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine today comment on the results of a malaria vaccine trial.

9 Nov 2012

New vaccines and drug treatments urgently needed for bacterial meningitis

New vaccines and drug treatments are urgently needed for bacterial meningitis, a devastating disease which kills or maims around a fifth of people who contract it, according to medical experts writing in a new Series on bacterial meningitis, published in The Lancet.

9 Nov 2012

RTS,S vaccine candidate can help protect African infants against malaria

International African Vaccinology Conference, Cape Town, South Africa-Results from a pivotal, large-scale Phase III trial, published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that the RTS,S malaria vaccine candidate can help protect African infants against malaria.

9 Nov 2012