Pneumonia News and Research

Latest Pneumonia News and Research

Routine immunisation against meningitis and pneumonia should be introduced for children in developing countries

Routine immunisation against a bacterial microorganism that can cause meningitis and pneumonia should be introduced for children in developing countries, suggests a report published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

28 Jun 2005

$5.1 billion could save 6 million children

Six million children could be saved if $5.1 billion in new resources for preventive and therapeutic interventions were provided each year, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

27 Jun 2005

Tsunami leaves patients with unusual infections

According to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine, the December tsunami which left more than 200 000 people dead or missing in Asia and Africa, appears to have caused some unusual lung and sinus infections and also a paralysing brain infection.

27 Jun 2005

Antibiotics not effective for many coughs

In a study of more than 500 patients who were suffering from acute bronchitis or pharyngitis it was found that whether or not antibiotics were prescribed, the irritating bouts of coughing still continued for an average of almost 12 days after the visit to the doctor.

22 Jun 2005

Genetic predisposition to lung cancer exists

First-degree relatives of black individuals with early-onset lung cancer have twice the risk of lung cancer than first-degree relatives of white individuals with early-onset lung cancer, according to a study in the June 22/29 issue of JAMA.

21 Jun 2005

New Zealand Ministry of Health warns Influenza B can be serious health risk to children and young people

A currently-circulating strain of influenza has not been common in New Zealand since 1987 and means children and young people can be at particular risk of serious illness, the Ministry of Health says.

21 Jun 2005

SARS vaccine produced from plants

According to new research, a vaccine has been produced in genetically engineered tomato and tobacco plants, which triggers anti-SARS antibodies in mice.

15 Jun 2005

Medicare's investment in quality improvement may not be paying off

Medicare's quality improvement organizations are charged with improving the medical care of Medicare beneficiaries.

14 Jun 2005

'Hazardous' drinking and drug use are much less severe but much more common than dependence

Research has found that individuals with alcohol and drug dependencies have a greater occurrence of injuries, hypertension, HIV, hepatitis, acid-related peptic disorders, liver cirrhosis, depression, anxiety disorders, and major psychoses.

14 Jun 2005

Information to guide child health policy is lacking in the poorest countries with the highest rates of childhood mortality

Around 10.8 million children die worldwide each year. Credible global and national estimates of the burden of disease in childhood are essential for the development of appropriate health policy and implementation of health interventions to prevent these deaths.

9 Jun 2005

MRSA study demonstrates need for frequent hand washing and environmental disinfection in health care settings

A major cause of hospital-acquired infections can persist for days and even weeks on environmental surfaces found in healthcare settings, including bed linens, computer keyboard covers and acrylic fingernails

6 Jun 2005

New vaccine against whooping cough is effective in teens and adults

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has announced that a study to be published in the June 22/29 issue found that a new vaccine against whooping cough is effective in teens and adults, carriers of the contagious respiratory disease so dangerous to infants.

3 Jun 2005

New shingles vaccine

Doctors say they have come up with a vaccine that can reduce both the incidence and the severity of shingles by more than half.

2 Jun 2005

Disturbingly high rate of home care patients are being admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia

A two-year study showed home-care patients suffering from Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP is acquired outside of hospitals) account for 25 of every 1,000 people who visited emergency rooms suffering pneumonia.

26 May 2005

Measuring hormone procalcitonin cuts antibiotic use in half in pneumonia patients

Measuring a hormone in the blood can help doctors greatly reduce the number of days pneumonia patients have to take antibiotics to cure their infection, according to a study to be presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference.

25 May 2005

Cyclophosphamide may be a possible therapy for scleroderma

A drug that suppresses the immune system and reduces inflammation has been shown to be effective in treating lung disease associated with the devastating connective tissue disease scleroderma, according to results presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 23.

24 May 2005

China vaccinates 3 million farmyard birds in avian flu fear

In what may appear to many to be a somewhat delayed overreaction to an outbreak of bird flu in migrating geese, the Chinese government have sent some three million doses of vaccine to the vast north-west region.

24 May 2005

Rifaximin is effective in preventing attacks of diarrhea

An antibiotic can be safely used to prevent attacks of diarrhea that plague millions of globe-trotting vacationers and business travelers, a Houston research team reports this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

17 May 2005

Alcohol consumption increases movement of S. pneumoniae toward the lungs

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacterium that can infect the upper respiratory tract and cause pneumonia, as well as infections in other parts of the body such as the bloodstream (bacteremia), lining of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis), bones (osteomyelitis), joints (arthritis), ears (otitis media) and sinuses (sinusitis).

15 May 2005

Mystery respiratory disease sweeping through greyhound population

Dozens of dogs in the U.S. are dying from a mysterious respiratory disease which is sweeping greyhound tracks across the country, and race track owners are being forced to halt racing as researchers hunt for a vaccine to control the outbreak.

12 May 2005