Childhood Vaccines

Saudi Arabia reports 4 new MERS cases, 3 in Hofuf
Saudi Arabia's Minister of Health (MOH) reported four more MERS-CoV cases over the weekend and today—three in the hot spot city of Hofuf—in an outbreak that still simmers even as it gets overshadowed by MERS events in South Korea. The agency also reported three deaths in previously reported cases.

UAE and Saudi Arabia report one new MERS case each

As MERS continues to spread in South Korea, two more cases have been reported in the Middle East, one in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one in Saudi Arabia.

A 77-year-old woman in Abu Dhabi, UAE, is in critical condition with MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus), the World Health Organization (WHO) reported yesterday. She fell ill May 21 and was hospitalized a week later.

Investigation reveals 100s of mishaps in US high-containment labs

An investigation into more than 200 high-containment labs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by a team of reports for USA Today Network of Gannett newspapers and TV stations revealed hundreds of lab accidents, safety violations, and "near misses," USA Today noted today in a lengthy report.

Listeria findings noted in Blue Bell, Jeni's plants

Blue Bell Creameries, which has been linked to 10 listeriosis cases in four states in an outbreak that spans several years, had evidence of Listeria in its Oklahoma plant as early as March 2013, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report today said, according to an Associated Press (AP) story.

Yet another study finds no link between MMR vaccine, autism

The alleged vaccine-autism connection has yet again been debunked. In a large retrospective cohort study of children with older siblings, the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine was shown to not be associated with autism, even in kids with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Study: Docs often bend to pressure to space primary vaccines

Pediatricians and family physicians frequently face pressure from patients to spread out early-childhood vaccines and often acquiesce, according to a study today in Pediatrics.

Proposal: Pay docs for counseling parents on childhood vaccines

Amid a widespread measles outbreak, the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) is considering recommending that physicians be compensated for counseling parents about the importance of childhood vaccines, Bloomberg News reported yesterday.

The committee is also looking at a recommendation that would set a minimum vaccination coverage goal for clinicians, the story said.

Study: HPV vaccination not associated with STI risk in girls

Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) is not associated with an increased risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) among teen girls, according to a study yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Tuberculosis rates decrease in majority of EU countries

Tuberculosis cases decreased by 6% during 2012 in 29 European countries, while hot spots in northern Europe and the Baltic states remained, according to a report issued today by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

Reports reveal over 100 safety breaches at high-security UK labs

UK labs that handle the most dangerous pathogens have reported at least 116 accidents or other biosecurity breaches in the past 5 years—about one every 2 weeks—The Guardian reported today.