Hepatitis B

Dynavax Technologies has received funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases to study the differences between individuals who do and do not respond to vaccinations against the hepatitis B virus.

A link between the Pandemrix swine flu vaccine and the sleeping disorder narcolepsy will be probed by the European Medicines Agency after concerns have been raised in Finland and Sweden.

Whooping cough

The number of whooping cough cases in California continues to grow as San Diego county has reported three new cases this week, raising the total number of infections in the state so far this year to 3,311 cases.

Candace Parker

The WNBA has teamed with the American Red Cross to support the Measles Initiative.

Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus have been found in Boston for the first time this summer, public health officials have announced.

Measles

Malawi has seen 197 deaths so far this year as the result of a measles outbreak, which is the highest number of deaths recorded from measles in the last decade, health ministry officials recently announced.

Daniel J. Abdun-Nabi

Officials with Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., and Temasek Life Science Ventures recently announced a joint agreement to develop a vaccine to protect humans from strains of H5 influenza, or Avian flu.

Whooping cough

A seventh infant has died as a result of California's whooping cough epidemic, which officials have said could be the worst outbreak in 50 years.

Whooping cough

Oregon health officials have expressed concern that the whooping cough epidemic currently taking place in California could soon cross the border into their state.

J. Tyler Martin

J. Tyler Martin has been promoted by Dynavax Technologies to the newly-created position of president.

Polio

Fourteen provinces in Afghanistan began seeing more than 20,000 volunteers and health workers moving door-to-door to administer two drops of the oral polio vaccine to children under the age of five on Monday.

Shipments of FluMist have begun to influenza vaccine distributors servicing healthcare providers nationwide today, MedImmune has announced.

MabVax Therapeutics, Inc., has announced the enrollment of patients into a Phase II clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of a vaccine to prevent or delay the recurrence of sarcoma.

Dengue mosquito

According to government research released this week, five percent of the population of Key West, Florida, has been infected at some point with the dengue virus.

Pertussis

California county and state health reports have debunked speculation that the reason Fresno County was hardest hit by the current whooping cough epidemic was because of unvaccinated Hispanic farmworkers spreading the disease.

The drug and medical device manufacturer Abbott Laboratories is considering selling its vaccine unit.

The MMR vaccine

A higher risk of brief, fever-related seizures has been tied to a combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox as compared to giving two separate shots.

Pertussis

In the face of one of the worst whooping cough outbreaks in the state's history, California's rural doctors have raised concerns that vaccines to prevent the disease are too expensive.

H1N1

Medical News Today reports that American employers were proactive in dealing with the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic according to a recently released survey.

Polio

A polio vaccine that requires just one-fifth of what was commonly thought to be needed to defend babies from the crippling virus may be as effective as what was previously thought needed as long as the vaccine is injected just beneath the skin.

Stony Brook University biologists and computer scientists announced recently that they have used a novel approach to weaken the influenza virus.

Tamiflu

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a warning about a potentially harmful product representing itself as "Generic Tamiflu" sold over the Internet.

The FDA announced last week that it would be extending its review of Merck's application to broaden the age range for Gardasil to include women between the ages of 27 and 45.

H5N1

A new DNA-based therapy to be used in the battle against the flu could give current flu vaccine makers "a run for their money," according to the company that's developing it.

The global economic downturn is now threatening the launch of new vaccination projects, according to the head of the UN-backed Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation.

H1N1

The Gaea Times reports that a published study in the British Medical Journal links long-haul flights to possibly contracting the H1N1 virus.

Hhelicobacter pylori

According to The Global Times in China, scientists in Chongqing believe they have created an oral vaccine that can combat stomach bacteria helicobacter pylori, which is strongly tied to the development of stomach cancer.

Novavax officials announced this week that they have completed construction of a new vaccine facility in India.

Pertussis

The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department in San Luis Obispo, California, has identified more than 100 cases of whooping cough this year, according to a San Luis Obispo Tribune news report.

A solar powered refrigerator has been developed by Appropriate Technology Collaborative that will allow vaccines to be cooled in parts of the world without electricity.

Pollen

For many, hay fever could be a thing of the past, thanks to a vaccine that may be available as early as 2011, according to the London Daily Mail.

The Med Guru reports that the World Health Organization is under fire for declaring that the H1N1 virus was a pandemic.

H1N1

There is no more notable risk of a form of paralysis for people who received H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccine compared to those who received a seasonal flu shot.

Dengue fever

There are no approved vaccines for the prevention of Dengue virus, but that could change, according to NanoVircides, Inc.

Pertussis

Whooping cough is making a comeback on the West Coast, HealthNews reports in a May 30 article.

Melanoma

British researchers have begun testing a new vaccine that could potentially end up reversing the deadly skin cancer melanoma, according to a recent report by TopNews.in.

Scientists at the University of California - Berkeley have found that molecular pumps in Listeria bacteria that expel antibiotics, which make the bug harder to kill with standard drugs, also expel small signaling molecules that stimulate a strong immune r

Tevi Troy

Tevi Troy, the former Deputy Secretary of United States Department of Health and Human Services, says in an an article penned for the National Review that disgraced British doctor Andrew Wakefield "has a lot to answer for" about his study linking the meas

At the conclusion of their five-day meeting, World Health Organization delegates decreed that they will promote efforts to reduce the child morality rate, according to CIDRAP News.

Flu vaccine

A new influenza vaccine has been developed by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine that brings a universal influenza vaccine one step closer and would eliminate the need for seasonal flu shots.

Measles

Children may not be able to avoid the trip to the doctor, but they may soon be able to avoid getting a measles shot if a new vaccine makes it through human trials successfully.

Mumps virus

The Associated press reports that more mumps cases have been confirmed in Iowa this week.

Measles

A U.S. News & World Report article states that babies can become vulnerable to measles as early as two to three months after they are born.

Polio

The Eurasia Review reports that Tajikistan is expected to see a sharp decrease in polio cases thanks to a nationwide immunization effort.

Smallpox

Danish biopharmaceuticals group Bavarian Nordic began deliveries of its Imvamune smallpox vaccine to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile on Monday, the 30 year anniversary of the eradication of smallpox.

Rotavirus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says two vaccines created to combat rotavirus are safe to use despite the presence of a pig virus found in each.

Dr. Klaus Stohr

CIDRAP News reports that the former head of the World Health Organization's flu program, Dr. Klaus Stohr, believes scientists should attempt to develop a prepandemic vaccine in an effort to "get the jump" on the next flu pandemic.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced in April that it has entered into an agreement that provides the company with exclusive rights to market and distribute a tetanus and diphtheria toxoids adsorbed vaccine produced by vaccine maker MassBiologics in 49 states.

Giardia lamblia

A Howard Hughes Medical Institute international research scholar has reported in the journal Nature Medicine that advances have been made in creating a vaccine against the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia.

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is not advising international travel restrictions to South Africa for those attending this summer's World Cup tournament despite a recently reported Rift Valley Fever outbreak.

Harvard Professor Bruce Walker

A study published in the online journal Nature says that a small percentage of people who are slow to progress to AIDS are helping researchers learn why some have a natural protection against HIV and may help in developing a vaccine for AIDS.

Measles

Authorities in British Columbia confirmed 83 measles cases in the Canadian province, according to The Province, and said the high number is due in part to many in Western Canada who refuse to be vaccinated.

Pentacel

One of the world's largest vaccine producer's Canadian branch will pay more than $2.5 million after government regulators found the company overcharged for two vaccines that protect against childhood illnesses.

The People's Daily Online reports that the A/H1N1 flu continues to affect Brazil.

Zostavax

Merck & Co.'s shingles vaccine does not appear to have a risk of serious side effects, according to a new study.

V. M. Katoch

Proper guidelines for trials of an HPV vaccine among young girls in India were not followed, the Union Health Ministry admitted this week.

Dr. Markus Mohrs

Researchers at the Trudeau Institute have made a new discovery that may allow for the delivery of more effective vaccines to prevent chronic parasitic worm infections.

Alzheimer's

Testing is expected to begin soon on a new vaccine developed by Affiris, an Austrian biotechnology firm, to fight Alzheimer's.

World Health Organization

An expert on influenza with the World Health Organization has said that it is unlikely that the bad reactions seen in western Australian children are the result of a bad batch of seasonal flu vaccine.

Dr. Stephen Lockhart

When researchers at Oxford University took their development of a vaccine candidate against tuberculosis as far as they could, they found a commercial partner in Emergent BioSolutions.

Walter Plowright

Walter Plowright, the British veterinarian often called one of the "heroes of the 20th century" because of his invention of a vaccine that has almost totally eliminated the cattle disease rinderpest, died recently in London. He was 86.

Tuberculosis

A booster shot has shown promise in improving tuberculosis resistance in previously vaccinated adults, according to new research in South Africa.

NicVax

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Nabi Pharmaceuticals said March 8 that it closed an option and license agreement for the smoking vaccine candidate NicVAx with GlaxoSmithKline, the Associated Press reported.

TEL AVIV — Israel's said Feb. 21 it had signed an agreement with Novartis to jointly investigate the feasibility of developing vaccines using its VaxiSome technology, including an improved flu vaccine, Reuters reported Feb. 21.

HPV

A second vaccine to protect against human papillomavirus, or HPV, has been approved for use in Canada, CBC News reported Feb. 9.

JERUSALEM —There are currently 4.6 million doses in the country as only 700,000 have been used, The Jerusalem Post reported Feb. 9.

A vaccine introduced in 2000 has been highly effective in reducing the number of severe lung, blood and brain infections in infants and children. But at the same time, a serious and sometimes fatal complication has become more common.

Manufacturer Bharat Biotech on Feb. 3 delivered its billionth vaccine dose and announced plans to invest Rs. 250 crore in two years to carry forward clinical trials in different disciplines, the India Gazette announced Feb.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

A vaccine could cut tuberculosis cases among HIV-positive Africans by almost two-fifths, a U.S. study suggests.

World Health Organization

United Nations officials have stressed the need for a strongly coordinated effort to bring vital assistance to the roughly 3 million people affected by last week’s earthquake in Haiti.

Dr. Eric von Hofe

WORCESTER, Mass. — Generex Biotechnology Corp. announced Jan. 19 the presentation of the immuno-therapeutics vaccine technology platform and product pipeline of its wholly owned subsidiary, Antigen Express Inc.

Dengue Transmission

HONOLULU — Hawaii Biotech Inc. announced Jan. 7 that it has completed recruitment and dosing in a multiple dose Phase 1 clinical study of its dengue virus monovalent vaccine.

Flu Vaccine

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG announced Jan. 8 that France canceled 7 million of the 16 million ordered doses of H1N1 pandemic flu vaccine.

WASHINGTON — The United States has not made a decision on whether to cancel or sell any of its orders for the H1N1 vaccine, unlike some countries in Europe, a federal health official said Jan. 7.

H1N1

Scientists in Vienna have developed a new technique for producing vaccines for H1N1 based on insect cells, according to a report by ScienceDaily on Jan. 4.

Bob Graham and Jim Talent

This commentary was written by Bob Graham and Jim Talent ?and published in The Washington Post on Jan. 4.

Needle-free Vaccine

Intercell is offering free flights and hotel accommodation to 900 volunteers being recruited in the UK and Germany who are prepared to test a remedy for travelers’ diarrhea.

Streptococcus Pneumoniae

Along with rolling out the (five-in-one vaccine to check pneumonia as planned, the union health ministry will launch an impact study in one high-mortality state before deciding on introducing pneumococcal conjugate vaccine as part of the India’s national

SAN DIEGO -- Vical Inc. announced Dec. 22 that it and the University of Washington received U.S. Patent No. 7,628,993 covering DNA vaccines for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2).

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. was recently selected by China Business Media as one of China's Top 10 most competitive companies listed overseas for 2009.

SAN DIEGO — Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology will take aim at several of the world's most dangerous infectious diseases — tuberculosis, malaria and dengue virus.

World Health Organization

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, and Mongolia will be the first three countries to receive donated supplies of pandemic H1N1 vaccine funneled through the World Health Organization.

WASHINGTON — Vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur is recalling 800,000 doses of its pediatric H1N1 swine flu vaccine because it is not as potent as it should be, U.S. officials said Dec. 15.

World Health Organization

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two more people died of H1N1 flu in the Gaza Strip on Dec. 13, bringing to 10 the total number of Gazans who have been killed by the disease, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Gum Disease

A vaccine to treat severe gum disease is being developed in a new collaboration announced Dec. 10 between Sanofi Pasteur and CSL Limited.

World Health Organization

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has accepted South Korea's offer of drugs to stem an outbreak of H1N1 influenza, in what will be the first direct government aid since relations soured last year.

Blood Collection

A German research team has discovered that a severe pandemic scenario could quickly lead to a deficit of up to 96,000 red blood cell (RBC) transfusion units in Germany alone, creating potentially fatal outcomes.

h1N1

WASHINGTON — One of the most systematic looks yet at the H1N1 flu pandemic confirms that it is at worst only a little more serious than an average flu season and could well be a good deal milder, researchers said.

Pandemrix Vaccine

LONDON — The European Medicines Agency warned Dec. 4 that young children might experience fever after their second dose of the pandemic influenza vaccine Pandemrix.

Malaria

Malaria parasites are able to disguise themselves to avoid the host's immune system, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and published Dec. 1 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Computer Virus

BOSTON — Hackers are spreading a vicious computer virus through spam e-mail messages that urge recipients to visit a bogus Web site offering vaccinations to protect them against another virus — the one that causes swine flu, Reuters reported Dec. 1.

Michael Pichichero

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Do all vaccines boost immunity for the same period of time? And, if not, when are additional “booster shots” needed to keep immunity strong? One researcher is looking for answers, the Rochester General Health System announced Nov. 27.

H1N1 Vaccine

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- More than 700 of Vermont's licensed emergency medical technicians and paramedics are now eligible to serve as vaccinators at public and school clinics across the state.

Gov. Martin O’Malley

ANAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley praised Emergent BioSolutions for its upcoming expansion in East Baltimore during his online economic update released Nov. 19.

BETHESDA, Md. — More safety data would be needed before a new type of influenza vaccine made in insect cells should get approval, federal advisers said Nov. 19.

H1N1 Vaccine

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Some health authorities across the country have tossed out hundreds of doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine because of miscalculations over how many of the time-sensitive dosages are needed at community clinics.

H1N1

Public health officials walking a tightrope between massive demand for vaccines and intense public scrutiny of side effects now have a new standard for evaluating the safety of their vaccination programs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Nov. 16 that it has approved a fifth vaccine for protection against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. The vaccine is manufactured by ID Biomedical Corp. of Quebec, Canada, owned by GlaxoSmithKline PLC.

SAN DIEGO — Vical Inc. on Nov. 4 reported financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Dr. Anthony Fauci

The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said the unpredictable H1N1 flu pandemic is not over and implored parents to get their children vaccinated.

Randal Chase

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Immunovaccine Inc. announced Nov. 2 that it entered into an agreement with Cato Research Canada Inc. to assist it in managing an upcoming Phase 1 clinical trial for DPX-0907.

Beijing

BEIJING — Beijing health authorities said Nov. 6 that they would extend the H1N1 flu vaccine inoculation to all the city's 16

A joint public meeting focused on improving the system for tracing food products and ingredients that are causing illness outbreaks or presenting other risks to the health of consumers is scheduled for Dec. 9 and 10 in Washington.

Jim Talent

The United States is failing to address its most urgent threat — biological proliferation and terrorism — concluded a report issued Oct. 21 by the bipartisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.

Dr. Francis Collins

CHICAGO — There is nothing unique or scary about the new H1N1 flu vaccine that should keep people from getting it, said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

With all the attention on H1N1 and the seasonal flu, it might be easy to forget about other infectious diseases.

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech will use $27 million to support infectious disease research around the world.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — If you are concerned about allergic reaction to the influenza vaccine, Mayo Clinic offers an influenza vaccine allergy clinic.

Don Elsey

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced June 15, 2009, that Don Elsey, its chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance and administration, has been named 2009 SmartCFO of the Year by SmartCEO Magazine.

BioThrax

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced Sept. 26, 2008, that it has signed a government contract valued at up to $29.7 million to further development of AV7909, a next generation anthrax vaccine candidate.

Fuad El-Hibri

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions announced that it acquired England-based Microscience Ltd., a privately held vaccine company primarily involved in the research and development of proprietary vaccines and immunotherapeutics.