News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – 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.

(CIDRAP News) – Satellite tracking of wild birds in Asia suggests they may be spreading H5N1 avian influenza from India or Tibet to Mongolia when they fly north in the spring, according to a recent report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

(CIDRAP News) – A recently identified enzyme that can make gram-negative bacteria resistant to nearly all antibiotics is back in the news with reports of several recent cases in Canada and two in Austria.

(CIDRAP News) – In a flu vaccine update at a federal advisory meeting today, officials with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said early signs suggest flu vaccine uptake in children is on par with last year and that enhanced monitoring for narcolepsy and seizures has turned up no signals of trouble.