Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

We need to put the power of HIV prevention in the hands of women

Bill and Melinda Gates has called upon world leaders to "put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women" by accelerating the search for microbicides and other new HIV prevention tools.

14 Aug 2006

Lebanon update from the World Health Organization

Still no fuel for hospitals and health facilities: The lack of fuel remains a grave concern. Earlier this week, WHO warned that many health facilities will not be able to function if fuel isn't delivered this week.

10 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

Do regulatory T cells have a role in human ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection?

Trachoma, which is caused by ocular infection with Chlamydia trachomatis, remains the leading infectious cause of blindness and in 2002 was responsible for 3.6% of total global blindness.

8 Aug 2006

Scientists find new lead in hunt for a SARS vaccine

SARS coronavirus protein called "nsp1" causes the breakdown of biochemical messages that normally prompt the production of a protein critical to defending the body against viruses.

8 Aug 2006

WHO urges all parties to ensure safe passage of fuel to hospitals in Lebanon

WHO warns that if fuel is not delivered this week, 60% of all hospitals in Lebanon, in addition to other health facilities will simply cease to function.

7 Aug 2006

Pennsylvania starts annual oral rabies vaccination baiting

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff today announced that the annual oral rabies vaccination baiting (ORV) program, which helps control rabies in wild animals, will begin on Monday, Aug. 7.

4 Aug 2006

Turning the immune system against cancer

Medicine can now prevent a host of diseases with a mere shot of vaccine. Polio and smallpox are almost non-existent, and mumps and chicken pox are rarely seen nowadays.

4 Aug 2006

Longer needles best for infant immunisation

Infants vaccinated with a long needle experience fewer reactions but get the same protection (immunogenicity) as a shorter needle, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

3 Aug 2006

Genomic expansion and diversification in a African sleeping sickness parasite allow it to evade host detection

A team of scientists headed by Dr. Sara Melville at the University of Cambridge has shown that the parasite known to cause African sleeping sickness has evolved an unusual chromosomal structure as a result of environmental adaptation.

3 Aug 2006

Global sharing of avian influenza virus samples

OFFLU, the OIE/FAO joint network of expertise on avian influenza, will systematically make avian influenza virus sequences accessible to the entire scientific community.

2 Aug 2006

FDA approves next seasons flu vaccines

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has approved this year's seasonal influenza (flu) vaccines that include the new strains of virus judged likely to cause flu in the Northern Hemisphere in 2006-2007.

2 Aug 2006

Scientists identify genetic element that the dengue virus uses to replicate

The first step in the transmission of mosquito-borne viruses is no mystery: it's the pesky insect's bite that allows the virus to enter its victim's bloodstream.

2 Aug 2006

Innovative approach for creating a cytomegalovirus vaccine

Each year, about 40,000 children are born infected with human cytomegalovirus, or CMV, and about 8,000 of these children suffer permanent disabilities due to the virus - almost one an hour.

2 Aug 2006

Anti-obesity vaccine keeps rats trim

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California in the U.S. have developed an anti-obesity vaccine that significantly slowed weight gain and reduced body fat in rats even when they over ate.

1 Aug 2006

Doctors say HPV vaccine should be given to everyone

A new vaccine which will protect women against four types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) known to cause cervical cancer will be available within weeks in the UK.

31 Jul 2006

Polio making a comeback

The World Health Organization (WHO) says increasing numbers of people around the world are vulnerable to polio because they have not been previously exposed to the disease.

30 Jul 2006

New bird flu vaccine has 80% protection rate

According to the manufacturer the latest bird flu vaccine is more than 80% effective in protecting people against the virus.

26 Jul 2006

Research findings may speed the development of vaccines for Chlamydia and other STDs

Using a novel mouse model that allows scientists to study how the immune system’s fighter cells respond to invaders in the genital tract during the initial stage of infection, researchers have found a way to track immunity against Chlamydia trachomatis.

26 Jul 2006

Vaccination with irradiated Listeria induced protective T cell immunity

Vaccines made with bacteria killed by gamma irradiation, rather than by standard methods of heat or chemical inactivation, may be more effective, say researchers.

26 Jul 2006