Pneumonia News and Research

Latest Pneumonia News and Research

British babies to get vaccine against meningitis

Babies in the UK will soon be given a vaccination against the pneumococcal disease meningitis as part and parcel of the standard infant immunisation package.

28 Aug 2006

Plan to boost access to essential medicines for children

The first international Expert Consultation on Paediatric Essential Medicines, jointly held by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF), has delivered a plan to boost access to essential medicines for children.

15 Aug 2006

Herrin twins healthy, hungry and alert

The conjoined 4 year old twins separated last week after lengthy surgery are said to be healthy, hungry and alert, but apparently are not aware they have been separated.

15 Aug 2006

China comes clean on bird flu

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the two latest suspected cases of the human form of the bird flu virus in Indonesia and Thailand have been confirmed as the H5N1 strain of the disease.

9 Aug 2006

Effectiveness of Hib vaccine introduction into routine childhood immunization in Kenya

Three years after introduction, routine vaccination of infants in Kenya against H. influenzae Type b (Hib) significantly reduced invasive Hib disease rates by 88%.

8 Aug 2006

China confirms human case of H5N1 infection dating back to November 2003

The Ministry of Health in China has today retrospectively confirmed a human case of H5N1 infection dating back to November 2003. The case occurred in a 24-year-old member of the military service based in Beijing.

8 Aug 2006

Researchers develop new technique using the abdominal cavity to deliver oxygen to assist ailing lungs

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have helped develop a technique in animal models for using the abdominal cavity to exchange gas, supplementing the function normally performed by the lungs.

8 Aug 2006

Reappraisal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa hospital-acquired pneumonia mortality

Patients suffering from hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by a type of bacteria that is highly resistant to virtually all antibiotics are twice as likely to die as patients infected with other, less resistant bacteria.

6 Aug 2006

Protein CD86 raises antibody output

Cancer immunologists here have discovered how a protein on the surface of antibody-making immune cells boosts the amount of antibody the cells make.

2 Aug 2006

Three more bird flu suspects in Indonesia

According to a senior health official in Indonesia three children have been hospitalized on suspicion of having the bird flu virus.

2 Aug 2006

New group B strep test for newborn babies approved

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a new test studied at the University of Florida that could lead to better screening for the most common cause of infection in newborn babies.

27 Jul 2006

Periodic 'deep inflation' helps prevent ventilator-induced lung injury

Ventilation therapy burst into the public consciousness more than 60 years ago with the "iron lung" and the polio epidemic.

26 Jul 2006

Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly

Although national and international health organizations urge anyone over age 65 to get yearly flu shots, the vaccinations are only modestly effective in preventing flu and its complications among older adults, according to a new review of recent studies.

19 Jul 2006

Highly active antiretroviral therapies associated with reduced infections in HIV-infected children

Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies, there has been a substantial reduction of opportunistic infections and other infections in HIV-infected children, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

19 Jul 2006

Being a whistle-blower in China could mean going to jail

According to Chinese media sources a farmer who reported bird flu outbreaks to the central government has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for fraud and blackmail.

12 Jul 2006

Focussing on performance measures may lead to inappropriate antibiotic use

Patients with suspected pneumonia may receive antibiotics unnecessarily as a result of hospital and physician efforts to meet certain performance measures.

10 Jul 2006

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients using beta-agonist inhalers are at risk

A new analysis that compares two common inhalers for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) finds that one reduces respiratory-related hospitalizations and respiratory deaths, but the other - which is prescribed in the majority of cases - increases respiratory deaths.

9 Jul 2006