Vaccination News

An interesting opinion from Canada.

As a father of three daughters I have certainly taken notice of the announcement and promotion of a vaccine to treat the human papilloma virus. This virus has a strong connection to and may be the largest factor in the cause of cervical cancer.

Statistically, most women will become infected in their lifetime, 80 percent by some estimates.

But there is preliminary talk of making this vaccination mandatory for our school-aged daughters in the 11- to 16-year-old bracket. I'm afraid I must protest.

Continue reading "Weigh vaccine carefully" »

A MUSLIM doctors’ leader has provoked an outcry by urging British Muslims not to vaccinate their children against diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella because it is “un-Islamic”.

Dr Abdul Majid Katme, head of the Islamic Medical Association, is telling Muslims that almost all vaccines contain products derived from animal and human tissue, which make them “haram”, or unlawful for Muslims to take.
Islam permits only the consumption of halal products, where the animal has had its throat cut and bled to death while God’s name is invoked.

Continue reading "Muslim urged to shun 'unholy' vaccines" »

A patch which delivers a vaccine against Alzheimer's disease through the skin has been shown to be safe and effective, a study has found.

University of South Florida researchers reported the patch was able to clear brain-damaging plaques from mice.

They say it may be a simpler way of protecting people against the disease than a conventional injected vaccine.

UK experts said the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study was "potentially very exciting".

Alzheimer's is linked with the build up of a protein called beta amyloid in the brain, where it clumps together to form damaging plaques.

Continue reading "Alzheimer's vaccine 'in a patch'" »

Allergen immunotherapy is a powerful and effective treatment option for patients with allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, and allergy to stinging insects. Allergen immunotherapy (ie, "allergy shots") has been used for nearly 100 years, and has been shown to provide both short-term and often long-term relief from allergic symptoms. It may also help prevent the development of asthma, and may reduce the incidence of new allergic sensitivities. Creticos and colleagues evaluated an experimental alternative to the traditional approach to immunotherapy.

The study authors conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial with a ragweed antigen (Amb a 1), conjugated to a phosphorothioate oligodeoxyribonucleotide immunostimulatory sequence of DNA (AIC) in 25 ragweed-allergic adults. Patients were given injections once weekly for 6 weeks. Their allergic rhinitis symptoms were then followed for 2 years.

Continue reading "Ragweed Vaccine for Allergic Rhinitis" »

After parents complained the inoculations were inappropriate for such young girls, the government abandoned its proposal, but there are still plans to vaccinate 12-year-old girls against the disease, which is drawing continued fire from parents and advocacy groups. Some opponents say immunizing girls against HPV might encourage them to start having sex at a younger age.

HPV can cause genital warts and is thought to be the root cause of around 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. In Scotland alone, more than 500 women are diagnosed with the virus annually, and about 100 of them die.

Continue reading "Parents fights to save 9-year-old girls from mandatory HPV vaccinations" »

Mutations in the bird flu virus have been found in two infected people in Egypt, in a form that might be resistant to the medication most commonly used to treat the deadly disease, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

The mutations in the H5N1 virus strain were not drastic enough to make the virus infectious enough to spark a pandemic, WHO officials said. But more such mutations could prompt scientists to rethink current treatment strategies.

Samples taken from two bird flu patients in Egypt — a 16-year-old girl and her 26-year-old uncle — were not as responsive as regular H5N1 viruses to Tamiflu, a drug also know as oseltamivir that is used to treat the disease, the officials said.

The girl and her uncle died in late December, as did the man's 35-year-old sister, although she has not yet been confirmed as having had H5N1. The three — who lived together in Gharbiyah province, 50 miles northwest of Cairo — fell ill within days of one another after being exposed to sick ducks.

Continue reading "Bird flu mutations found" »

WASHINGTON - The government awarded contracts Wednesday to three drug makers tasked with developing a vaccine for bird flu using technology that will help stretch the supply of the medicine.

The contracts, valued at $132.5 million, may provide a way for more Americans to have access to a vaccine in the event of a pandemic, said Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.

The vaccines would use an immune booster called an adjuvant, which reduces the amount of active ingredient per dose that's necessary to achieve protection from the virus.

Continue reading "U.S. awards bird flu vaccine contracts" »

BASEL (AFX) - Novartis AG said it has received a contract from the US health department worth approximately 55 mln usd to further develop a novel antigen technology that could extend vaccine supplies in a pandemic outbreak.

The contract supports the company's efforts to develop and manufacture its MF59 adjuvant in the US, the Basel-based drug maker said.

An adjuvant is a substance added to a vaccine to enhance the body's immune response to the vaccine's active constituent.

source - AFX