Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Sinovac's inactivated EV71 vaccine clinical trial against HFMD receives Chinese SFDA approval

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that it received approval from the China State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to commence clinical trials for its proprietary inactivated EV71 vaccine against Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).

28 Dec 2010

Pfizer seeks FDA and EMA approval for expanded use of Prevnar 13 for pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc today announced that it has submitted supplemental applications to both the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to expand the use of Prevnar 13® (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]) to adults 50 years of age and older for the prevention of pneumococcal disease caused by the 13 serotypes contained in the vaccine.

23 Dec 2010

AIDS patients with serum biomarkers are predisposed to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome

A study in this week's PLoS Medicine suggests that AIDS patients with cryptococcal meningitis who start HIV therapy are predisposed to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome - an exaggerated inflammatory immune response that kills up to one-third of affected people - if they have biomarkers in their blood showing evidence of a damaged immune system that is not capable of clearing the fungal infection.

22 Dec 2010

Prevenar 13 launched in first childhood immunization program for PD in Nicaragua

Pfizer Inc. announced that Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]) was introduced into the first childhood immunization program for pneumococcal disease (PD) in the developing world under the auspices of the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) when Nicaragua launched its program today. The AMC is an innovative program which involves private-public partnerships to help make newer vaccines available on a sustainable, affordable and accelerated basis to the least developed countries.

13 Dec 2010

Vaccine World Summit to be held in New Delhi 1-3 March, 2011

From the 1st to the 3rd of March 2011, vaccine leaders from developing and developed world will meet at Vaccine World Summit in New Delhi. The event will be hosted by IMAPAC, in partnership with DCVMN (Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network).

8 Dec 2010

Financial Times contrasts 'bottom up' and 'top down' approaches to developing country drugs

The Financial Times contrasts the model of drug development for developing countries being used by non-profit groups like the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP), which recently rolled out the MenAfriVac, to that of some pharmaceutical companies.

8 Dec 2010

Campaign to inoculate millions across Africa against meningitis kicks off in Burkina Faso

On Monday, a campaign started in Burkina Faso to "inoculate tens of millions of West Africans with a new vaccine in what scientists hope will be the beginning of the end of ravaging meningitis epidemics" across the continent, the New York Times reports.

7 Dec 2010

One shot, cheap meningitis vaccine now available in Africa

As a boon to millions of children who die of meningitis, a cheap new vaccine for bacterial meningitis debuted today with the launching of an immunization drive in the West African country of Burkina Faso, in the first stage of an effort that could rid sub-Saharan Africa of the primary cause of meningitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced.

6 Dec 2010

MenAfriVac to help health workers eliminate meningococcal A epidemics

The West African nation of Burkina Faso today became the first country to begin a nationwide campaign to introduce a new meningitis vaccine that promises to rid the entire region of the primary cause of epidemic meningitis. The first vaccine designed specifically for Africa, MenAfriVac is expected to help health workers eliminate meningococcal A epidemics in the 25 countries of the meningitis belt, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east.

6 Dec 2010

New laboratory test for pregnant women to detect GBS infections

A more rapid laboratory test for pregnant women to detect Group B strep (GBS), the most common cause of life-threatening infections in newborns, is being studied by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

29 Nov 2010

Bacterial study confirms TLR2 signaling vital for activating human airway epithelial cells

Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have demonstrated that commensal species of the genus Neisseriae are low inducers of human airway epithelial cell responses as compared to the pathogenic species.

24 Nov 2010

Meningitis immunization program to launch in 3 African countries next month

At a press conference in London, health officials said that the anticipated roll-out of the MenAfriVac for meningitis in three African countries will start on Dec. 6, the BBC reports.

24 Nov 2010

Children's Surgical Centre offers no-cost surgery for children with frontoethmoidal meningoencephalocele

Frontoethmoidal meningoencephalocele is a type of facial malformation that is rarely seen in developed countries, but is quite common in many Southeast Asian countries, occurring in 1 of every 5,000 live births.

20 Nov 2010

Statins activate bacterial-killing properties of white blood cells

Widely prescribed for their cholesterol-lowering properties, recent clinical research indicates that statins can produce a second, significant health benefit: lowering the risk of severe bacterial infections such as pneumonia and sepsis.

18 Nov 2010

Sinovac third quarter sales decrease 7% to $9.6 million

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today its unaudited financial results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2010.

15 Nov 2010

Discovery on immune system paves way to new vaccine against pneumococcal disease

A new breakthrough in the fight against pneumonia, meningitis and septicaemia has been announced today by scientists in Leicester and Dublin. The discovery will lead to a dramatic shift in our understanding of how the body's immune system responds to infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and pave the way for more effective vaccines.

12 Nov 2010

Nature News examines meningitis vaccine program to roll out in Africa

Nature News reports on an immunization campaign kicking off in Africa in December that will offer protection to some areas of Africa's meningitis belt. Millions will receive a new vaccine, MenAfriVac, that promises protection against the meningococcal bacterium Neisseria meningitides, the news service writes, noting the effort is the culmination of ten years' work by an international consortium to develop a vaccine at a price low enough for massive use in Africa: just US$0.40 a dose.

12 Nov 2010

GBS meningitis in infants still very serious

Although now less frequent because of preventive antibiotics, meningitis caused by group B streptococcal (GBS) bacteria is still a serious illness causing a high rate of death and severe complications in infants, reports a study in the November issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

9 Nov 2010

Experts develop tools to educate people about health risks associated with global travel

More than 30 million people in the United States travel to resource-limited areas of the world each year. This global mobility may contribute to the spread of infectious diseases such as influenza, measles, and meningitis and may also put individual travelers at risk for malaria, typhoid, dengue fever and hepatitis.

4 Nov 2010

Scientists develop new method to analyze early detection of virus

The virus, called enterovirus 71, is closely related to poliovirus, and was first detected in California in the 1960s. Since then the virus has spread across Asia, affecting mostly children and some adults. Serious cases of the disease can include neurological disorders such as meningitis, paralysis and encephalitis.

29 Oct 2010

Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Sinovac's inactivated EV71 vaccine clinical trial against HFMD receives Chinese SFDA approval

Pfizer seeks FDA and EMA approval for expanded use of Prevnar 13 for pneumococcal disease

AIDS patients with serum biomarkers are predisposed to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome

Prevenar 13 launched in first childhood immunization program for PD in Nicaragua

Vaccine World Summit to be held in New Delhi 1-3 March, 2011

Financial Times contrasts 'bottom up' and 'top down' approaches to developing country drugs

Campaign to inoculate millions across Africa against meningitis kicks off in Burkina Faso

One shot, cheap meningitis vaccine now available in Africa

MenAfriVac to help health workers eliminate meningococcal A epidemics

New laboratory test for pregnant women to detect GBS infections

Bacterial study confirms TLR2 signaling vital for activating human airway epithelial cells

Meningitis immunization program to launch in 3 African countries next month

Children's Surgical Centre offers no-cost surgery for children with frontoethmoidal meningoencephalocele

Statins activate bacterial-killing properties of white blood cells

Sinovac third quarter sales decrease 7% to $9.6 million

Discovery on immune system paves way to new vaccine against pneumococcal disease

Nature News examines meningitis vaccine program to roll out in Africa

GBS meningitis in infants still very serious

Experts develop tools to educate people about health risks associated with global travel

Scientists develop new method to analyze early detection of virus

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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