Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

RapidChek- SELECT Salmonella highly sensitive to the presence of S. Typhi vaccine in stool

Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) is the causative agent of typhoid fever, a serious health threat resulting in some 22 million new cases yearly and approximately 217,000 fatalities. A number of novel vaccine candidates using live attenuated strains of Salmonella are being developed, but care must be taken to ensure the bacteria are not excreted into the environment following vaccination.

29 Jun 2012

Flu immunity depends on number of viruses involved during initial infection

Not only does the type of flu virus affect a patient's outcome, but a new research report appearing in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology suggests that the number of viruses involved in the initial infection may be important too.

29 Jun 2012

AASLD, EASL to hold special conference on therapy of HCV

The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), together with the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), will be holding an exciting "Special Conference" dedicated to the timely topic of: Therapy of Hepatitis C: Clinical Application and Drug Development.

29 Jun 2012

Swine-flu deaths far greater than reported

The true number of deaths from the 2009 H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic may be 15 times higher than the number confirmed by laboratory testing and previously reported to the World Health Organization, study findings indicate.

28 Jun 2012

UTMB researchers improve existing experimental vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus

University of Texas Medical Branch researchers have significantly improved an existing experimental vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus, making possible the development of a more effective defense against the dangerous mosquito-borne pathogen.

28 Jun 2012

U of S training program receives $1.65 million over six years from NSERC

A new University of Saskatchewan training program that will produce future leaders in food safety, infectious disease control and public policy has been awarded $1.65 million over six years through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program.

28 Jun 2012

Senior Taliban commander bans polio vaccination efforts in Southern region of Pakistan

"A senior Taliban commander has effectively banned polio eradication in one of the most troubled areas of the Pakistan frontier in an effort to force the U.S. to end drone strikes," the Guardian reports. "Leaflets distributed in South Waziristan on behalf of Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Federally Administered Tribal Agencies (Fata), accused health workers who administer anti-polio drops of being U.S. spies" and "questioned the sincerity of international efforts to tackle the highly infectious disease," the newspaper adds.

28 Jun 2012

Vaccine for nicotine addiction developed

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed and successfully tested in mice an innovative vaccine to treat nicotine addiction.

28 Jun 2012

FDA approves test for dengue virus infection

The first test that can detect the presence of the dengue virus itself rather than antibodies to the virus has been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration.

27 Jun 2012

Scientists discover new flu-fighting role for IL-15 protein

University of Georgia scientists have discovered a new flu-fighting role for a well-known component of the immune system. Kimberly Klonowski, assistant professor of cellular biology in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and her colleagues found that administering a cell-signaling protein known as IL-15 to mice infected with influenza reduces their peak viral load by nearly three times.

27 Jun 2012

GlobalPost blog interviews GAVI Board Chair about role of vaccines in ending preventable child deaths

At the Child Survival Call to Action summit in Washington, D.C. earlier this month, GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog spoke with Dagfinn Hoybraten -- Norway's former health minister, current vice president of the Norwegian Parliament, and the Board chair of the GAVI Alliance -- "about why he believes vaccines are essential to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's goal of ending preventable child deaths."

27 Jun 2012

Swine flu vaccination programme a success in Scotland

The H1N1 (“Swine flu”) vaccination programme introduced in Scotland in October 2009 had a positive effect in reducing the number of hospital admissions and deaths as a result of H1N1 infection, according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme.

26 Jun 2012

Sinovac provides update on EV71 vaccine Phase III trial on HFMD

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today provided an update on its Phase III clinical trial progress and commercialization preparation for its proprietary inactivated Enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine against hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

26 Jun 2012

Oxytocin hormone plays an important role in Williams syndrome

The hormone oxytocin - often referred to as the "trust" hormone or "love hormone" for its role in stimulating emotional responses - plays an important role in Williams syndrome (WS), according to a study published June 12, 2012, in PLoS One.

23 Jun 2012

Censoring 'dual-use' scientific research not an effective strategy to mitigate security risks

"It's easy to get the impression that recent controversy over research into mutated versions of the H5N1 flu virus has created a clear split between a scientific community that wants the research to proceed and the results to be published and a biosecurity community that doesn't," biological-weapons expert Tim Trevan writes in this Nature opinion piece.

23 Jun 2012

Researchers identify new virus alert signal that triggers the human immune system

Researchers from Aarhus University have now located the place in the human body where the earliest virus alert signal triggers the human immune system. They have also discovered a new alarm signal, which is activated at the very first sign of a virus attack.

23 Jun 2012

Success in fighting malaria helping to fuel Africa's economic growth, Reuters reports

Reuters examines how the fight against malaria in Africa is helping to fuel the continent's economic growth. "

22 Jun 2012

Longer looks: Alzheimer's researcher turns to drug she helped invent

Given her relatively young age, Dr. Rae Lyn Burke didn't think much about her family history of Alzheimer's disease -- a grandmother and an aunt had suffered from it, but they were much older. Ironically, Burke was just in her late 50s when she started having her own symptoms of early onset Alzheimer's. Even more ironic is that Burke had been one of the key developers of the Alzheimer's drug bapineuzumab, which she now takes herself to reduce the progression of the disease in her own brain.

22 Jun 2012

London family planning summit 'must be about enabling women to choose'

"As the London family planning summit looms closer, the debate begins over how much money is needed, what it should pay for and whether the fundamentally important issues of women's reproductive rights will be addressed," Sarah Boseley, health editor of the Guardian, writes in her "Global Health Blog."

22 Jun 2012

Polio eradication efforts threatened by funding shortfall, vaccination resistance in some countries, experts say

Marking the 10th anniversary since Europe was declared polio-free, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative on Wednesday released a report saying there is "a unique window of opportunity to stamp out polio for good," with the number of reported cases at historical lows, but a funding shortfall of about $1 million is threatening eradication progress, Reuters reports.

22 Jun 2012