Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Meningitis vaccine showing success in West Africa

The New York Times reports on the success of a new meningococcal vaccine in West Africa, where very few cases of the disease have been detected in countries that use MenAfriVac, which costs 50 cents per dose.

15 Jun 2011

Low-cost meningitis vaccine cuts cases in African countries, data show

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger recorded the lowest number of meningitis A cases in an epidemic season this year after the MenAfriVac vaccine was introduced, data from the WHO show, the nonprofit that helped develop the shot, Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP), said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

13 Jun 2011

New opportunities to save another 6.4 million lives

Vaccinating children around the world against infectious diseases has saved the lives of millions over the past several decades. Now new opportunities exist to overcome remaining challenges-and save another 6.4 million lives over the current decade, according articles in the June 2011 edition of Health Affairs. The issue was produced under the journal's grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

10 Jun 2011

The ‘decade of vaccines’ has the potential to save lives, many challenges ahead

Vaccinating children around the world against infectious diseases has saved the lives of millions over the past several decades. Now new opportunities exist to overcome remaining challenges—and save another 6.4 million lives over the current decade, according articles in the June 2011 edition of Health Affairs. The issue was produced under the journal’s grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

9 Jun 2011

New vaccine leads to dramatic fall in meningitis A cases

Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger report the lowest number of confirmed meningitis A cases ever recorded during an epidemic season this year following the successful introduction of a new vaccine that could eliminate the primary cause of the deadly disease from Africa's meningitis belt, announced the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) today, which spearheaded development of the vaccine.

9 Jun 2011

Medical management preferred over surgery for pediatric orbital cellulitis

Researchers from Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, R.I., report that medical management may be preferred over surgery for children with orbital cellulitis, an acute infection of the tissues surrounding the eye. They have determined the criteria for surgical intervention should be dependent upon the size of a subperiosteal abscess (SPA).

9 Jun 2011

University of Perugia researcher to lead BioNanoFilter European clinical trial on Group B Strep

NanoLogix, a biotechnology innovator in the rapid detection and identification of live-cell bacteria and microorganisms, announced today its BioNanoFilter (BNF) technology will undergo a clinical trial, led by Dr. Gian Carlo Di Renzo of the University of Perugia in Italy.

7 Jun 2011

Bristol-Myers Squibb's second YERVOY Phase 3 trial on metastatic melanoma meets primary endpoint

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced results from a second Phase 3 randomized, double blind study demonstrating that YERVOY (ipilimumab) prolonged the lives of patients with metastatic melanoma.

6 Jun 2011

Department of Health urges caregivers, parents to update students' immunizations

Parents and caregivers are urged to use the summer break to make sure all students' immunizations are up to date before new regulations take effect in August, the Department of Health said today.

4 Jun 2011

Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb to evaluate YERVOY and vemurafenib treatment for metastatic melanoma

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced today it has entered in to a clinical collaboration agreement with Roche to evaluate the utility of Bristol-Myers Squibb's CTLA-4 inhibitor, YERVOY (ipilimumab), in combination with Roche's investigational oral BRAF inhibitor, vemurafenib, in treating patients with a specific type of metastatic melanoma.

4 Jun 2011

Lund University researcher discovers new sepsis biomarker in blood

Sepsis is the name of an infection that causes a series of reactions in the body, which in the worst case can prove fatal. The problem for both patients and doctors is that the early symptoms are difficult to distinguish from less dangerous infections such as a severe flu or winter vomiting disease.

23 May 2011

Bill Gates calls for greater immunization efforts in World Health Assembly address

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Tuesday called for a "Decade of Vaccines" in a keynote address at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, saying strengthening immunization programs against infectious diseases worldwide could save 10 million lives by 2020, Reuters reports.

18 May 2011

Bill Gates urges wiser vaccine coverage worldwide to save millions

Tuesday this week, Bill Gates called for strengthened immunization programs against infectious diseases to save 4 million lives by 2015 and 10 million lives by 2020, calling it the best possible investment in global health. He was addressing the annual assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, attended by health ministers from the U.N. agency's 193 member states.

17 May 2011

Sinovac first quarter sales increase 5.3% to $4.7 million

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today its unaudited first quarter financial results for the period ended March 31, 2011.

13 May 2011

Filipino children with KD at greater risk for inflammation of heart blood vessels

While children of all ethnicities can contract Kawasaki disease (KD), a study led by researchers at the Kawasaki Disease Research Center at the University of California, San Diego and Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego finds that Filipino children with KD are at a higher risk for inflammation of the blood vessels of the heart than those of other Asian and non-Asian backgrounds.

7 May 2011

NBA Cares, SAHM and Tulsa Shock guard partner for teen vaccine awareness campaign

Tulsa Shock guard Andrea Riley and Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Lanier teamed up with NBA Cares and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine today to bring Vaccines for Teens to the Tulsa community.

5 May 2011

New research sheds light on origins of cryptococcal fungal infection

New research has shed light on the origins of a fungal infection which is one of the major causes of death from AIDS-related illnesses. The study, published today in the journal PLoS Pathogens, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the BBSRC, shows how the more virulent forms of Cryptococcus neoformans evolved and spread out of Africa and into Asia.

4 May 2011