The death toll for a Nipah virus outbreak in India's Kerala state now stands at 10, after at least 12 more people have been diagnosed as having the deadly virus, according to a Reuters report today.
Reuters said an additional nine people are being treated for infections with supportive care. Nipah virus is most commonly spread by fruit bats, and presents with severe, flu-like symptoms.
In a speech at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Medical Society on Apr 27, philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates announced the launch of a $12 million Grand Challenge to speed the development of a universal flu vaccine.
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, today weighed in on steps the FDA it taking to improve the effectiveness of seasonal flu vaccines, which includes collaborating with partners at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to use a large database that includes information on flu vaccines given to 4 million people.
Reminding people when it's time to receive immunizations—through postcards, texts, and automated phone calls—can increase vaccination numbers, a team of Cochrane researchers reported today, based on an extensive review of 75 studies from 10 countries. Their findings appear in the Cochrane Library.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in an update on an ongoing outbreak of multi-drug resistant Campylobacter infections linked to puppies sold in pet shops today, confirmed 30 new cases reported since the last outbreak update published on Oct 30.
A new report from Reuters concerning previously unreleased documents shows that the Philippines Department of Health (DOH) implemented a childhood vaccine campaign with Dengvaxia despite warnings from the country's Formulary Executive Council (FEC) that the vaccine did not have enough long-term safety data.
Panel gives a preference to Shingrix and recommends MMR for mumps outbreaks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that it is involved with efforts to curb a Marburg virus outbreak in eastern Uganda near the border with Kenya, where at least one case has been confirmed and several hundred people may have been exposed at health facilities and at a traditional burial ceremony.
The vaccine protected 78% of newborns from pertussis and 90% from hospitalized cases.
Only 54% of US workers with asthma had received the recommended pneumococcal vaccine.
