Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Suspension of the initial dose of hepatitis B vaccine appears to have contributed to fewer newborns being vaccinated in 2000

A temporary suspension of the initial dose of hepatitis B vaccine appears to have contributed to fewer newborns being vaccinated for hepatitis B in 2000 than in 1998, according to a study published in the May 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

22 May 2004

Clusters of viral meningitis found in two Manhattan schools

Working closely with the New York City Department of Education (DOE), the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is investigating clusters of viral meningitis in two Manhattan schools (4 students at La Guardia High School, 2 students at Stuyvesant High School).

21 May 2004

Network formed to tackle potentially fatal reaction to smallpox vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), launched the Atopic Dermatitis and Vaccinia Network (ADVN), a nationwide research group that seeks to reduce the risk of eczema vaccinatum (EV), a severe and potentially deadly complication of smallpox immunization.

19 May 2004

$20.7 million to make smallpox vaccine safer

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a five-year, $20.7 million grant to National Jewish Medical and Research Center to lead a consortium of academic medical centers trying to make smallpox vaccines safer for millions of people with atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema.

19 May 2004

Multimillion-dollar electron microscope unveils shapes of viruses and proteins

With a multimillion-dollar electron microscope and computer programs that can pick out the shapes of structures only six atoms wide, Dr. Wah Chiu and his colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are attempting to explain the intricate structures of viruses and proteins.

19 May 2004

Report rejects childhood vaccines as a cause of autism

A pivotal report issued today by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) rejects childhood vaccines as a cause of autism. The findings, based on reviews of current scientific evidence, are a significant affirmation of vaccine safety, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

19 May 2004

GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim agree to assess the development of important HIV medicines for the developing world

GlaxoSmithKline plc and Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that both companies welcome the United States' continued involvement in the global response to HIV/AIDS.

17 May 2004

Higher rate of cardiac complications from smallpox vaccinations for US military

While adverse reactions from smallpox vaccinations given to military personnel in the wake of renewed threats of bioterrorism remain minimal, the rate of cardiac complications has been higher than expected, according to a clinical review presented at an American Medical Society media briefing on cardiology today.

16 May 2004

Canada announces new HIV/AIDS funding of $84.4 million annually

Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew today announced that funding for the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS (CSHA) will double over the next five years to $84.4 million annually. In the first year, funding will be targeted to support community-based organizations working with populations most at risk of infection.

15 May 2004

Influenza vaccine does provide protection against influenza in most asthma patients taking inhaled steroids

The influenza vaccine protected asthma patients who use inhaled steroids against type A flu, although its protection against type B flu was significantly reduced in those taking high doses of inhaled steroids, said a researcher from Baylor College of Medicine in a recent publication.

15 May 2004

Genetically engineered viruses may create new class of cancer therapies

A genetically engineered virus can selectively kill cancerous cells in the lung and colon while leaving healthy cells intact, according to new research published today in Cancer Research by William Wold and colleagues at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

15 May 2004

Women are not checking for colon cancer

Many women who regularly get checked for breast cancer and cervical cancer still don’t go for a test that could save them from another big killer -- colon cancer – according to new University of Michigan research. But perhaps their mammogram and Pap smear appointments could be used as “teachable moments” to help prompt them to get their colons checked, the researchers suggest.

15 May 2004

Genomed treatment helps bald eagles with West Nile virus encephalitis

GenoMed, Inc. a Next Generation Disease Management company that uses its expertise in genomics to improve clinical outcomes in as many species as possible, announced today that two non-profit groups which care for wild birds with West Nile virus encephalitis, including American bald eagles, will be using the Company's patent-pending treatment this season.

13 May 2004

Australian researchers are working on a vaccine to prevent rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease

The Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) Australia, is working on a vaccine to prevent rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are a secondary complication of a bacterial infection.

12 May 2004

Botswana begins massive emergency polio campaign

The Minister of Health of Botswana today kicked off a massive emergency immunization campaign in the southern African nation of Botswana, following the re-introduction of poliovirus into the country from Nigeria in February.

10 May 2004

Government of Canada today announced the release of A Canada Fit for Children

The Government of Canada today announced the release of A Canada Fit for Children , its official response to the commitments made on May 10, 2002, at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children.

10 May 2004

Scientists closer to a potential vaccine or treatment for botulism

By deciphering the near atomic-level structure of the catalytic domain of botulinum toxin type E — one of seven neurotoxins that cause botulism, a disease that paralyzes victims by blocking nerve cells’ ability to communicate — scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory are one step closer to a potential vaccine or treatment.

10 May 2004

Alternative vaccine to Dryvax for smallpox

Not everybody can safely be vaccinated against smallpox using the current FDA-approved vaccine. Scientists hope another study vaccine, now undergoing its first testing in the United States at Saint Louis University, will give a choice to people who can't be given the current vaccine, known as Dryvax®.

10 May 2004

Belarus to collaborate with GenoMed on West Nile virus encephalitis

GenoMed, Inc. has announced that the leading experts in West Nile virus encephalitis in Belarus will collaborate with the Company in treating cases of suspected West Nile virus encephalitis this summer. Belarus, formerly part of the USSR, is now a democratic country of 10.5 million people lying between Poland and Russia; its capital is Minsk.

7 May 2004

International research team have decoded the genetic blueprint of the tularemia (rabbit fever) bacterium

Two teams of researchers, one based in the United States and the other in Europe, have decoded the genetic blueprint of the tularemia (rabbit fever) bacterium, a highly infectious human and animal pathogen.

6 May 2004