Leukemia

BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced positive results of a human clinical study that show that its GVAX leukemia vaccine may be able to reduce or eliminate the last remaining cancer cells in some chronic myeloid leukemia patients.

STRASBOURG, France — Transgene SA, a French biotechnology company, sold Novartis AG an option on rights to the experimental TG4010 lung cancer vaccine in a deal that may fetch as much as $960 million, Bloomberg reported.

Up to 50,000 U.S. adults die each year from vaccine preventable diseases, and the direct health care burden of vaccine preventable diseases in American adults is $10 billion a year.

Decades of vaccination and prevention efforts may have the hepatitis viruses on the run, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released March 10.

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.

HSV-2

Approximately 1 in 6 Americans (16.2 percent) between the ages of 14 and 49 is infected with herpes simplex virus type 2, according to a national health survey released March 9 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Novavax Inc. announced March 8 that more than 3,500 volunteers ages 18 to 64 in Mexico have been enrolled in Stage B of its 2009 H1N1 virus-like-particle pandemic influenza vaccine study.

With spring break coming up and large numbers of students expected to travel both domestically and internationally, getting vaccinated against 2009 H1N1 influenza is especially important.

LONDON — An investigation is under way after a newborn baby was given 10 times the normal dose of a tuberculosis vaccine at a hospital in North Lincolnshire, England.

LEIDEN, Netherlands — Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell announced March 8 that Jerald C. Sadoff was appointed chief medical officer will be a member of its management committee.

Vitamin D

LONDON — Vitamin D is vital in activating human defenses and low levels suffered by around half the world's population may mean their immune systems' killer T cells are poor at fighting infection, scientists said March 7.

Meningitis

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The seven bacterial meningitis cases at Ohio University the past two years have been declared an outbreak by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Columbus Dispatch reported March 7.

Hepatits B

About one in five babies born to mothers with hepatitis B aren't getting treatments that have been shown to prevent the infection in newborns, a study whose findings were released online March 8 in advance of the April print issue of Pediatrics.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court announced March 8 that it would decide whether a federal law protects vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits in state court seeking damages for alleged design defects.

HIV

A seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine can protect adults with HIV against recurrent pneumococcal infection, according to research published in the March 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded Abt Associates two new contracts to evaluate the effectiveness of the H1N1 vaccine among health care workers and children younger than 18, the company announced March 5.

H1N1

WASHINGTON — First, people were clamoring for H1N1 vaccines, but there were not enough to go around. By the time vaccines were available in any quantity, most of the public had lost interest.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is not planning to seek advice from its outside advisers over Dendreon Corp.'s experimental prostate cancer vaccine, Reuters reported March 5.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of several cases of malaria in Haiti since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country Jan. 12.

Mesothelioma

An investigational vaccine for the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma is safe, according to a new study cited in a press release March 4 from the American Thoracic Society.

Polio

More than 85 million children under five years old will be immunized against polio in 19 countries across West and Central Africa in a massive cooperation aimed at stopping a year-long polio epidemic the World Health Organization announced.

H1N1

NEW DELHI — The country's first indigenously produced vaccine against H1N1 virus will be ready for use from mid-May, The Times of India reported March 4.

H1N1

NEW YORK — New research from Australia confirms that the HIN1 flu hits pregnant women particularly hard — especially if they have asthma, obesity or diabetes.

Kanji Takada, a professor of pharmacokinetics, has developed a round vaccine "chip" measuring 1.5 centimeters in diameter that contains as many as 300 micro needles.

HSV2

LONDON — A new vaccine designed to prevent people with genital herpes from passing the virus on to their sexual partners has begun its first patient trials at a hospital in England.

Chikungunya

GALVESTON, Texas — The mosquito-borne virus chikungunya has already infected millions of people in recent outbreaks in South and Southeast Asia, the islands of the Indian Ocean, Africa and northern Italy.

A new coalition is calling for hearings to investigate HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government agencies for what it describes as a failure to fully address issues of vaccine safety.

The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices last week heard a report about the high-dose influenza vaccine that was recently approved for people 65 and older but voiced no preference for its use in that age group.

Health officials in the west African country of Burkina Faso are worried about an increase in deaths from meningitis which has killed about 250 people so far this year, up from 203 in the same period last year.

H1N1

MUMBAI — Panacea Biotec announced March 3 that it has signed an advance market agreement with the government of India to manufacture Pandyflu, the company's H1N1 flu vaccine.

Dengue Fever

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Health officials in Puerto Rico have declared an epidemic of dengue fever, The Associated Press reported.

H5N1

Inovio Biomedical announced March 3 that it got the go-ahead to begin human trials of a preventive vaccine for H5N1 avian flu in Korea.

NEW ORLEANS — Most children with egg protein allergies who received influenza vaccinations had no adverse reactions, researchers said at the annual meeting of American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, according to MedPage Today.

As an international crowd of athletes and supporters gathered en masse in Vancouver, some scientists used the Olympics as their virtual test tube to find out how to prevent the outbreak of diseases spread by air travel.

Virus-like Particles

Medicago Inc., and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre have been awarded a $288,000 research grant to study plant-made virus-like particles with a focus on immune response induced.

WASHINGTON — A single dose of an experimental influenza drug saves more mice from H5N1 avian influenza than the preferred drug Tamiflu, researchers reported Feb. 26, and can also protect against infection.

H5N1

Researchers from Hungary and the United Kingdom have developed a single-dose H5N1 influenza vaccine that induces a protective level of immunity against infection in healthy adult and elderly volunteers.

Cholera

GENEVA — Because deadly cholera infections are still on the rise, producing oral cholera vaccines in poor countries could help boost the immunity of those most vulnerable to the water-borne disease, a World Health Organization official said March 1.

CHICAGO — One in four U.S. parents believes some vaccines cause autism in healthy children, but even many of those worried about vaccine risks think their children should be vaccinated, The Associated Press reported March 1.

DNA

Cyto Pulse Sciences announced approval from the Swedish Medical Products Agency to conduct a phase I clinical trial evaluating an HIV/DNA vaccine in collaboration with the Karolinska Institutet and the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control.

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.

S. Aureus

PERTH, Australia — Researchers here are calling for volunteers to help test an investigational vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health unveiled an initiative designed to accelerate the process from scientific breakthrough to the availability of new, innovative medical therapies for patients.

World Health Organization

GENEVA — The current H1N1 swine flu pandemic is relatively less severe than some other influenza outbreaks, the World Health Organization said Feb. 24

BERKELEY, Calif. — Dynavax Technologies Corp. announced Feb. 25 that it has selected a clinical vaccine candidate for its novel Universal Flu program and completed key preclinical studies.

HIV

For the first time researchers from the U.S. and abroad have shown that a single-dose HIV DNA vaccine can induce a long-lasting HIV-specific immune response in nonhuman primates.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new version of the Prevnar childhood vaccine that federal regulators approved Feb. 24 will be partly produced at the company's drug factory in Sanford.

HPV

Women older than 40 are unlikely to get much benefit from the vaccine for the virus that causes cervical cancer, a new study reports.

AMSTERDAM — The Dutch health authority RIVM said Feb. 23 the deaths of three infants last year were not related to a vaccine produced by U.S. pharmaceutical company Wyeth, now part of Pfizer.

VIENNA, Va. — CEL-SCI Corp. and its scientific collaborators announced Feb. 22 that the company's CEL-2000 vaccine demonstrated that it is able to block the progression of rheumatoid arthritis in a mouse model.

BASEL, Switzerland — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novartis’ Menveo to prevent meningococcal disease, which infects more than 500,000 people each year, leading to more than 50,000 deaths globally.

H5N1

SAN DIEGO — Vical Inc. announced Feb. 24 the publication in the online edition of Vaccine1 detailed data from two Phase 1 trials of its Vaxfectin-adjuvanted DNA vaccines for H5N1 (avian-origin) influenza.

The 2009 H1N1 flu virus, which has sickened millions and killed at least 15,000 people worldwide, will be included in the United States’ next seasonal flu vaccine when it becomes available in the fall, government health experts decided.

The Texas A&M University System and a Texas company have been awarded a $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop vaccines made from tobacco rather than the antiquated egg-based technology.

HSV-2

Genocea Biosciences, a vaccine discovery and development company, announced that it has licensed an extensive patent estate for 25 pending and issued patents related to herpes simplex virus type 2 antigens.

DNA

SAN DIEGO — Inovio Biomedical Corp. announced Feb. 23 that representatives and associates of the company will make multiple presentations at the DNA Vaccines 2010 conference March 2 through 4 in New Orleans.

WASHINGTON — Genetically altered mosquitoes that cannot fly may help slow the spread of dengue fever and could be a harmless alternative to chemical insecticides, U.S. and British scientists said Feb. 22.

HIV

The head of an association that represents Canada's HIV researchers is criticizing a federal government decision to scrap plans for an $83.5 million facility that would manufacture potential vaccines.

Pneumococcal

Children younger than 5 who already got four doses of Pfizer Inc.'s Prevnar 13 vaccine should get a fifth booster dose of the new version that covers more strains of pneumonia-causing bacteria.

Humenza

LYON, France — Sanofi Pasteur announced Feb. 19 that its adjuvanted H1N1 influenza vaccine Humenza has received a positive opinion from the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency.

Hepetitis B

AltraVax Inc. has acquired a vaccine development technology package that gives AltraVax an exclusive license to develop vaccines for infectious diseases and is targeting influenza, a treatment for hepatitis B and HIV.

INDIANAPOLIS — BioCrossroads' Indiana Seed Fund has invested in Bioscience Vaccines Inc. to accelerate the development of biologic materials, which may boost the effectiveness of a wide range of life-saving vaccines.

Measles

More than 20 million Bangladeshi children will be vaccinated against measles over the next two weeks as part of a campaign backed by UNICEF to try to eradicate the deadly disease in the South Asian nation, the UN News Service reported Feb. 15.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa faces a possible health crisis if an H1N1 flu outbreak strikes during the soccer World Cup this year, the country’s health minister told parliament Feb. 15, Reuters reported.

Measles

Children younger than 5 have been the main victims of a measles outbreak sweeping Ireland that has hospitalized one in three of those affected, The Irish Independent reported Feb. 13.

BOGOTA, Colombia — An intensive effort is under way in Haiti to immunize approximately 1.5 million Haitians amid concerns of increased risks of disease outbreaks after last month's catastrophic earthquake, AlertNet reported Feb. 18.

HIV

WASHINGTON — A company using genetically engineered versions of the AIDS virus says its unusual approach is getting some results, both for treating and perhaps as a vaccine against HIV.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

WASHINGTON — An AIDS vaccine that appears to have worked at least partly in Thailand may only temporarily protect patients, with the effects starting to wane after a year or so, researchers reported Feb. 18.

Kathleen Sebelius

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius spoke at the 2010 Public Health Preparedness Summit about the lessons learned so far from the response to the H1N1 flu pandemic and efforts to strengthen health preparedness.

NEW YORK — Taking charge of your toddler's vaccination record may be the best way to ensure he or she doesn't miss any shots, a new study suggests.

World Health Organization

Scientists at England’s Oxford University have found a way of keeping vaccines stable without refrigeration, BBC News reported Feb. 19.

H1N1

LONDON — The World Health Organization is recommending that swine flu be added to regular flu vaccines next season, The Associated Press reported Feb. 18.

Andrew Wakefield

Andrew Wakefield, the British doctor whose research triggered a health scare over the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, has resigned from the autism center he founded in Texas, The Guardian reported Feb. 18.

Politecnico di Milano

LONDON — Italian scientists said Feb. 19 that they had found evidence of how viruses helped change the course of human evolution and said their discovery could help in the design of better drugs and vaccines.

King Tutankhamen

CHICAGO — King Tutankhamen, the teenaged pharaoh whose Egyptian tomb yielded dazzling treasures, limped around on tender bones and a clubfoot and probably died from malaria, researchers said Feb. 16.

Thierry Heidmann

Oncogenic retroviruses are a particular family of viruses that can cause some types of cancer.

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar's Supreme Council of Health has decided to cancel imports of the H1N1 vaccine, after a drop in the number of H1N1 influenza cases in the country, The Peninsula reported Feb. 10.

H1N1

DAKAR, Senegal — Modou Diagne Fada, Senegal’s minister of health and preventive medicine, confirmed that the country had been hit by the epidemic H1N1 influenza, AfricaNews reported Feb. 9

World Health Organization

The cause of a measles outbreak sweeping South Africa has not as yet been determined, but initial suspicions point to religious objections and unfounded fears that immunizations against the disease increase the risk of autism in children.

HPV

SAN DIEGO — Inovio Biomedical Corp. announced Feb. 8 additional interim safety and immunogenicity data from its therapeutic cervical cancer vaccine trial

Hepetitis B

BERKELEY, Calif. — Dynavax Technologies Corp. will start a 2,000-patient trial of its investigational adult hepatitis B vaccine, aiming for data in the first half of 2011, the San Francisco Business Times reported Feb. 8.

Researchers at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey are investigating the development of a series of vaccine injections to see if they will produce an immune response against pancreatic cancer, the institute said

Measles

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Measles continues to spread in Zimbabwe despite intensified efforts by the government and its partners to contain the outbreak, which has affected more than 1,200 people since October, The Herald reported Feb. 10.

World Health Organization

GENEVA — The World Health Organization will convene its emergency committee later this month to examine whether the H1N1 flu pandemic has peaked, its top influenza expert said Feb. 11.

Cholera

SYDNEY — At least 40 people are dead and 2,000 infected as Papua New Guinea struggles to contain its first cholera outbreak in 50 years, The Associated Press reported Feb. 1

World Health Organization

An immunology research institute has validated the long-held and controversial hypothesis that antibodies — usually the "good guys" in the body's fight against viruses — instead contribute to severe dengue virus-induced disease.

Ragweed

OXFORD, England — Circassia Ltd. announced Feb. 12 that its ToleroMune ragweed allergy T-cell vaccine achieved positive results in a recently completed phase II clinical trial.

Mumps

In a recent mumps outbreak occurring in the eastern United States, even some of those who were vaccinated against the infectious illness got sick, health officials report according to HealthDay News.

Social interaction between neighbors, work colleagues and other communities and social groups makes voluntary vaccination programs for epidemics such as H1N1 flu, SARS or avian flu a surprisingly effective method of disease control.

HPV

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

Hepatitis B

A Scottish life science firm has secured an additional $3.1 million in funding to develop new vaccines, BBC News reported.

Whooping Cough

The bacteria that causes whooping cough in Australia has mutated, scientists have warned, eroding the protection provided by the vaccine now given to children, the Australian Associated Press reported Feb. 10.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is partnering with the Indian Health Service to launch a campaign informing American Indian and Alaska Native parents about the importance of a preteen medical check-up and preteen vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently addressed questions about the vaccine for the 2010-11 flu season on its Web site.

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

Novavax's VLP Vaccine

Novavax Inc. announced Feb. 9 new data from a clinical study that began in May among healthy adults 18 to 49 years old with Novavax's trivalent seasonal influenza virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine.

H1N1

Growing concern in Romania about the opaque circumstances in which a vaccine against H1N1 flu is being tested on children has forced health authorities to postpone the launch of the vaccination campaign by at least one month.

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization reported that 225 cases of H1N1 flu with resistance to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) have been found worldwide, and resistant viruses have spread from person to person in several clusters but have not spilled into the community.

Mumps

NEW YORK — New York City health officials are encouraging young adults, especially males, in the Jewish communities in Brooklyn to get vaccinated for mumps, UPI reported Feb. 9.

H1N1

At the height of fears over H1N1 flu this fall, some vaccination foes claimed it was safer to get illness than to be inoculated against it.

Malaria

The first results from a study of key anti-malarial medicines reveal that a high percentage of medicines circulating on national markets are of substandard quality and may contribute to the growth of drug-resistant strains of malaria.

WASHINGTON — H1N1 flu is still circulating around the world and still killing people, although it is on the decline everywhere, global health officials said Feb. 5.

Mumps

NEW YORK — More than 1,000 people in New Jersey and New York, many of them adolescent Orthodox Jews, have been sickened with mumps since August, health authorities said Feb 8.

H1N1

BOSTON – The latest poll from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health shows that 44 percent of Americans believe the H1N1 flu outbreak is over, and levels of concern about getting sick with the virus continue to decline.

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.

NicVAX

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Nabi Biopharmaceuticals announced Feb. 8 that it has completed the manufacture and transfer of specified materials associated with the sale of the PentaStaph vaccine candidate to GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.

Polio

NEW DELHI — Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Feb. 7 launched the bivalent oral vaccine against polio in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh states to mark India’s national immunization day, The Hindu reported.

Hepatitis B

NEW YORK — Our expanding waistlines may have outgrown doctors’ needles, researchers report in the March issue of Pediatrics.

Novavax's viruslike particle vaccines

TEL AVIV, Israel — Novavax Inc. announced Feb. 8 that it ended talks aimed at a collaboration with Rovi Pharmaceuticals of Madrid to develop Novavax's viruslike particle vaccines against influenza in Spain.

Malaria

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have become the first in the world to synthesize the entire protein that is responsible for life-threatening malaria in pregnant women and their unborn children, ScienceDaily reported Feb. 5.

Adult Immunization

According to a national report, millions of adult Americans are vulnerable to diseases that can be forestalled by vaccines, CIDRAP News reported Feb. 4.

Prostate Cancer

Researchers in Cork, Ireland, have developed a vaccine that enables a person’s immune system to attack cancer cells directly, The Irish Times reported Feb. 5.

More than 75 million Americans, or close to 25 percent of the population, have been vaccinated against the pandemic H1N1 virus, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Feb. 4.

Malaria

Research done at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University's School of Biological Sciences could lead to the development of more potent drugs or a vaccine for malaria, ScienceDaily reported Feb. 5.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's budget proposes a unique new initiative — battling some tropical diseases not just to improve health but as a national security strategy, Reuters reported Feb. 2.

SANTIAGO, Chile — Dengue cases in Central and Latin America have increased almost five-fold in incidence in the last 30 years, researchers have found.

World Health Organization

There is now so much unused H1N1 pandemic flu vaccine in the world that rich nations, including the United States, are trying to get rid of their surpluses.

Malaria

A new vaccine tested in 100 West African children triggers the immune system to produce antibodies against the malaria parasite at levels normally seen only in adults who have strong resistance to the disease.

SARS

LONDON — A study that looked at how people behave during pandemics has identified key demographic and psychological factors that may predict protective behaviors.

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.

H1N1

HARTFORD, Conn. — More than 11,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine distributed in Connecticut have been recalled because of decreased potency, the third such recall in two months, The Hartford Courant reported Feb. 3.

A mandatory influenza vaccination policy improves immunization rates among health care workers, according to a recent study of a large health care organization.

NicVAX

Oregon Health & Science University is participating in a Phase III clinical trial to determine whether a new investigational smoking cessation aid called NicVAX is safe, effective and capable of stimulating an immune response, the school announced Feb. 3.

When it comes to vaccines, everyone now wants to get in on the action.

Flu Vaccine

NanoBio Corp. announced Feb. 2 that a sixth U.S. patent covering its novel nanoemulsion technology has been awarded. The patent encompasses composition of matter claims for the company’s lead anti-infective and vaccine product candidates.

SV40

SV40 viruses use an amazing means of communication, in order to be able to penetrate into a cell: fats, whose structure must fit like a key in a lock, ScienceDaily reported Jan. 29.

A nonprofit organization is paying the Food and Drug Administration to help develop a better vaccine against pneumococcal disease in poor countries, The New York Times reported Feb. 1.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

An experimental vaccine developed using non-infectious virus-like particles has protected macaques and mice against chikungunya virus, researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found.

LONDON — The Lancet medical journal formally retracted a paper that caused a 12-year international battle over links between the three-in-one childhood measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism.

Malaria

Médecins Sans Frontières teams in Burundi's Kayanza province assessing and treating patients in the midst of a rise in the incidence of malaria, the organization also known as Doctors Without Borders reported Jan. 29.

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.

NEW DELHI — Cadila Pharmaceuticals’ plans to manufacture H1N1 flu vaccines has hit a roadblock as the drug regulator has expressed concerns over the technology to be used.

Bill Gates

DAVOS, Switzerland — Bill and Melinda Gates announced plans Jan. 29 to invest $10 billion in the fight against a number of illnesses including AIDS and said the record donation could save nearly nine million lives.

Pneumococcal

PATH, an international nonprofit global health organization, recently signed an agreement with the University of Kansas Center for Research to support the advancement of vaccine candidates across its vaccine development portfolio.

E. coli

TD Vaccines A/S announced Jan. 25 the early results of a preliminary vaccine to combat a leading cause of bacterial diarrhea that afflicts millions of international travelers as well as children in the developing world.

Traditional vaccines can be ineffective and expensive. Now, an interdisciplinary team of Cornell researchers has devised a new way to make vaccines that promises to prevent diseases much more cheaply, the university announced Jan. 25.

World Health Organization

LONDON — Approximately 3.7 million people in England have been vaccinated against H1N1 flu, health authorities announced, and urged anyone in priority groups to have the shot now to ward off the virus in 2010, reported Jan. 21.

Salmonella

Research from Malawi, Birmingham and Liverpool has renewed hope that an effective vaccine could be developed against nontyphoidal strains of salmonella.

National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

PATH signed an agreement with the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the NIAID in Bethesda, Md., to conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial of the double mutant heat-labile toxin (dmLT) vaccine/adjuvant.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation released an open letter that addresses what he called the “miracle of vaccines.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released updated guides for relief workers and others traveling to Haiti in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake that decimated the country.

More than 30 health providers and organizations released an open letter advising people to get vaccinated. Below is the text of that letter.

Prostate Cancer Cells

In a newly published clinical trial, patients with metastatic prostate cancer who received a vaccine of harmless poxviruses lived substantially longer than patients who received a placebo vaccine.

World Health Organization

PATH has received an award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support the enhancement of sustainable influenza vaccine production in Vietnam.

Malaria

NANORO, Burkina Faso — The Phase 3 trial of GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals' RTS,S, a malaria vaccine candidate, is on track.

Chicken Pox

Health Department officials in Oakland County, Michigan, say they are seeing more children than expected being diagnosed with chicken pox for this time of year.

Malaria

A biomedical researcher at the University of Central Florida has developed what promises to be the first low-cost dual vaccine against malaria and cholera, school officials announced Jan. 26.

H1N1

TORONTO — Canada has revealed what it will do with a portion of the country's large H1N1 vaccine surplus, announcing Jan. 28 that it is giving 5 million doses to the World Health Organization.

Rotavirus

WASHINGTON — A vaccination campaign to combat rotavirus in the world's poorest countries could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, according to a pair of studies published this week.

H1N1

An Iowa legislator said she wants state health officials to disclose more details about people who die in epidemics, in part to raise more awareness than ad campaigns can.

Measles

Parents in the south of Ireland have been urged to ensure their children are protected against measles following a recent outbreak of the disease, the Irish Times reported Jan. 26.

Vical Inc. announced that it would present an overview of its DNA vaccine and adjuvant technologies and an update on its clinical-stage vaccine development programs at the Phacilitate Vaccine Forum in Washington.

Malaria

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has told the BBC that a vaccine for malaria could be just three years away.

The World Health Organization released a statement Jan. 22 addressing allegations of a conflict of interest and a fake pandemic meant to aid the pharmaceutical industry.

ROCKVILLE, Md.--Two officials from Novavax Inc. announced Jan. 25 that they will be presenting at Phacilitate's eighth annual Vaccine Forum Washington 2010.

Helicobacter Pylori

Despite a strong response from our immune defense, the body is unable to rid itself of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.

World Health Organization

Successful anti-polio action depends on vaccinators being able to reach and immunize every child under 5 years old in 13 volatile districts in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Farah.

South African vaccine maker Biovac Institute, in partnership with major pharmaceutical firms, is on track to boost annual capacity sevenfold to 35 million doses by 2013, its deputy chief executive said.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called on Washington to send medication to the quake-stricken Haiti rather than troops.

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.

Kate Rittenhouse-Olson

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A University at Buffalo cancer researcher has received a $300,000 grant from King Saud University to continue her work with a Saudi researcher on a vaccine for breast cancer, the schools announced Jan. 21.

Rotavirus

A complete three-dose series of pentavalent rotavirus vaccine was 85 percent to 89 percent effective against rotavirus gastroenteritis severe enough to cause emergency room visits or hospital admission in children aged 15 days through 23 months.

H1N1

Two weeks after A/H1N1 killed a 38-year-old woman and eight others subsequently tested positive, Lagos state government disclosed that Nigeria currently "has no vaccine to treat the flu virus in stock," AllAfrica.com reported Jan. 20

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

WASHINGTON — A vaccine additive made by Novartis and used in its European influenza shots can boost the body's immune response to a wide range of viruses, U.S. researchers reported Jan. 20 according to Reuters.

SYDNEY — Australians face the risk of catching diseases not seen in wide circulation for decades as childhood vaccination rates slip into serious decline, AAP reported Jan. 21.

H1N1 Flu Vaccine

LONDON — Just one in three nurses in London has been vaccinated against the H1N1 flu, the National Health Service has admitted.

Malaria

SYDNEY — Researchers in Australia say a group of proteins produced in the human immune system when it is infected with malaria could help lead to the creation of a malaria vaccine, Voice of America reported Jan. 20.

WASHINGTON — Most of the adverse effects to the H1N1 flu vaccine are "non-serious," according to the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, UPI reported Jan. 20.

Archie Griffin

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Health partnered with Archie Griffin, a two-time Heisman Trophy winner and Ohio State University alumnus, to encourage Ohioans to tackle H1N1 by getting a flu vaccine.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet Feb. 22 to discuss and make recommendations on the selection of strains to be included in the influenza virus vaccine for the 2010-11 season.

Measles

BIKITA, Zimbabwe — Ten infants have died of measles in the past five days, health authorities here told Radio VOP on Jan. 20.

Malaria

The parasite that causes malignant malaria in humans has been detected in gorillas, according to a study co-authored by biologist Francisco Ayala of the University of California, Irvine.

Arepanrix H1N1

TOKYO — GlaxoSmithKline PLC's Japanese unit said Jan. 20 that it has received approval from the Japanese government for its influenza vaccine Arepanrix H1N1.

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.

Ranbaxy Laboratories

MUMBAI, India — Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories on Jan. 19 signed an agreement to acquire product rights and manufacturing facility of Bangalore-based Biovel Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd., for an undisclosed sum, Reuters reported.

H3N2

One case of human infection with a novel influenza A virus was reported by the Iowa Department of Public Health, according to FluView, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the week ending Jan. 9.

Malaria

LONDON — The chief executive of the world's second biggest pharmaceutical company will announce Jan. 20 that he is putting into the public domain thousands of potential drugs that might cure malaria, The Guardian reported.

ZURICH — Switzerland's medical regulator recommended that patients with serious autoimmune diseases should not use an H1N1 flu vaccine from Novartis, saying there were no studies assessing the inoculation in that segment of the population.

HPV

The number of women under 30 diagnosed with cervical cancer will fall nearly two thirds by 2025 thanks to the vaccine against human papillomavirus, researchers say.

Hundreds of thousands of children are overdue for a second dose of H1N1 vaccine that's needed to fully protect them from swine flu, a USA Today review of data from 10 states shows.

Smallpox

Giving a vaccine through a scratch on the skin triggers a stronger immune response than injected vaccines and requires 100 times less vaccine to prompt an immune response, HealthDay News reported Jan. 17.

Malaria

BETHESDA, Md. — The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative announced a new collaboration Jan. 15 to initiate development toward a vaccine that may eventually help eliminate and eradicate malaria.

ATLANTA — About one in five Americans has been vaccinated against H1N1 flu, according to the government's first detailed estimates of vaccination rates against the pandemic, the Washington Post reported Jan. 16.

World Health Organization

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline confirmed Jan. 15 that approximately 130 million doses of its pandemic H1N1 adjuvanted vaccine were shipped to governments in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Many travelers are expected to visit Asia in the upcoming weeks to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Tiger when it begins Feb. 14.

Hepatitis B

Dynavax Technologies Corp. announced Jan. 12 the addition of two new senior executives to direct key commercial and clinical activities prior to the launch of Heplisav, an investigational adult hepatitis B vaccine.

Rotavirus

Rotavirus is responsible for the deaths of more than 1,500 infants and children daily, mainly in developing countries. The International Medica Foundation is sponsoring a Phase II clinical trial of its oral rotavirus vaccine, RotaShield.

NEW YORK — Merck & Co on Jan. 13 said it had provided U.S. regulators with new information needed for approval to market its Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine to women between the ages of 27 to 45, Reuters reported.

World Health Organization

WARSAW, Poland — The government here refused to import H1N1 flu vaccines amid worldwide warnings of a spreading epidemic.

A new study may explain the intense disagreement about proposals to vaccinate elementary-school girls against human papillomavirus, ScienceDaily reported Jan. 14.

Staphylococcus Aureus

Pfizer Inc. has initiated patient recruitment for 408-patient, randomized, double-blind Phase I clinical trial to evaluate three ascending dose levels of a 3-antigen Staphylococcus aureus vaccine in healthy adults.

BANGALORE, India — SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its adjuvant, Zadaxin, in combination with Novartis' H1N1 vaccine increased immune response, Reuters reported Jan. 12.

HPV

A new study of new couples found that 56 percent of young adults in a new sexual relationship were infected with human papillomavirus, ScienceDaily reported Jan. 14.

Jason Derülo

“Whatcha Say” singer Jason Derülo had a stellar 2009 — a No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 single, an opening spot on Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour — and he knows that if he wants to step it up in 2010, he's going to have to stay healthy.

H1N1

VaxInnate Corp. has granted Indian biopharmaceutical company Biological E. Ltd. a license to its recombinant H1N1 flu vaccine and is collaborating to facilitate the manufacture, clinical development and commercialization of the vaccine in India.

HiN1

VIENNA — AVIR Green Hills Biotechnology, based in Austria, announced Jan. 13 that it is embarking on the first clinical phase II study for the seasonal vaccine deltaFLU

BEIJING — Sinovac Biotech Ltd. announced Jan. 13 that it has received its fifth purchase order for its H1N1 vaccine, Panflu.1, from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for the national purchase plan.

RSV

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Novavax Inc. announced Jan. 12 that it has completed a pre-clinical safety and efficacy study of its RSV vaccine candidate in cotton rats.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston Area Medical Center plans to terminate two employees for refusing to take a seasonal flu vaccine, the Charleston Daily Mail reported Jan. 13.

Dengue Virus

Sanofi-Aventis’ experimental vaccine against dengue protected healthy volunteers against all four strains, bringing the drugmaker closer to providing the first vaccine against a disease that threatens 40 percent of the world’s population.

R. Don Elsey

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced Jan. 11 that its chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance and administration has joined the board of directors of the MdBio Foundation.

H1N1

LONDON — Sanofi-Aventis is meeting all its U.S. contracts for sales of H1N1 flu vaccine, despite Washington's decision to cut supplies from rival drugmaker CSL, a company spokesman told Reuters on Jan. 11.

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to reduce Germany’s order of Pandemrix H1N1 flu vaccine by $193 million on Jan. 12 after health officials decided they need fewer doses, the country’s Health Ministry said.

Yellow Fever

DAKAR, Senegal — Guinean health officials plan this month to vaccinate more than 250,000 people in the northeast against yellow fever after one confirmed and several suspected cases emerged in the region.

World Health Organization

GENEVA — The World Health Organization is to examine its handling of the H1N1 pandemic, the group said Jan. 12, after accusations by some politicians that it exaggerated the dangers of the virus under pressure from drug companies.

Hepatitis B

WASHINGTON — Stepped-up vaccination requirements, a boost in resources for prevention and treatment, and a public awareness campaign are needed to curb the health threats posed by hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

H1N1

Citing mistakes made in the 1957 flu pandemic, federal officials on Jan. 7 urged hesitant Americans to get vaccinated now against H1N1 flu to prevent any possibility of another wave of illness and deaths.

President Barack Obama, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a nationwide effort to encourage H1N1 flu vaccination during National Influenza Vaccination Week from Jan. 10–16.

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.

Malaria

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia has seen a rise in reported cases of dengue fever and malaria in 2009, local media reported Jan. 5, citing health officials here.

Preliminary studies show that a vaccine made with leukemia cells may be able to reduce or eliminate the last remaining cancer cells in some chronic myeloid leukemia patients taking the drug Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec).

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.

H1N1

NEW DELHI — Pune-based Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine maker in the country, has received approval from India’s drugs controller to conduct clinical trials of its H1N1 vaccine, the company announced Jan. 6.

TAMPA, Fla. — Biovest International Inc. announced Jan. 7 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to BiovaxID, Biovest’s personalized lymphoma vaccine.

Marburg

SAN ANTONIO — The Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research announced Jan. 6 that it has received a contract from the Dutch pharmaceutical firm Crucell to test a vaccine against Ebola and Marburg viruses, which cause hemorrhagic fevers.

H1N1

OTTAWA — Canada’s health minister has announced the country will provide 5 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine to Mexico to help bridge that country’s immediate pandemic vaccine requirements.

Flu Vaccine

Flu shots do not protect arthritis patients who are being treated with the intravenous drug rituximab, according to a new study by Dutch researchers, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 7.

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.

As the number of H1N1 flu cases in some regions of the world continues to fall, developing countries scheduled to receive donated H1N1 vaccines from the World Health Organization are reassessing just how many vaccines their countries need.

H1N1

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted this “fact sheet” about thimerosal in H1N1 vaccines on its Web site Jan. 4.

More American children are fully immunized against common childhood illnesses, and disparities in vaccine coverage among socioeconomic groups are shrinking, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Cepheid announced Jan. 4 that it has been granted emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Xpert Flu A Panel test.

HIV

ATLANTA — GeoVax Labs, a biopharmaceutical company that develops vaccines for diseases caused by HIV and other infectious agents, announced the appointment of a vice president of research and development.

The CDC's adult immunization guidelines includes a new recommendation that women 19 to 26 be immunized with either the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine or the recently approved bivalent HPV vaccine to reduce their risk of cervical cancer.

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.

World Health Organization

Large trials in the United States, Hungary and China recently confirmed the safety and efficacy of H1N1 vaccines, yielding new insights on how to best use vaccines in a pandemic setting, CIDRAP News reported Jan. 4.

Chicken Pox

Children whose parents refuse the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine appear more likely to develop the disease, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Bob Graham and Jim Talent

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

Mumps

Cases of mumps in Scotland have increased by almost 50 per cent in the past year, figures revealed Dec. 23.

BEIJING — The H1N1 strain of flu is rapidly spreading into China's vast countryside and there could be a spike in cases around the Lunar New Year period when millions head back to their home towns.

H1N1

More than 30 health care provider groups sent an open letter Dec. 30 to the American people emphasizing that the H1N1 vaccine is safe, effective and the best way to protect against the flu.

Leukemia

LONDON — A vaccine for leukemia is about to be tested on human patients for the first time, in a breakthrough that could offer hope to thousands of people, the Telegraph reported Jan. 4.

NEW YORK — A new study provides further evidence that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of autism, Reuters Health reported Jan. 4.

The Center for Disease Control has reported only four cases of flu-related pediatric mortality across seven states during the week ending January 2.

Squalene

Vaccines being made to protect people from H1N1 flu may not be so healthy for threatened species of sharks, National Geographic News reported Dec. 29.

Influenza Vaccine

SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. — The Trudeau Institute will receive an additional $1.6 million for its work with the U.S. Navy to research the impact and efficacy of combining influenza vaccinations with antiviral drugs.

World Health Organization

NEW YORK — Pfizer Inc. announced Dec. 30 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet completed its review of the biologics license application for Prevnar 13, its candidate pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

MTV is making sure the general public is up to date on the basics of the H1N1 virus.

Short-term school closings are not an effective way to block the spread of influenza viruses, and may even be counterproductive, Pennsylvania researchers have found.

Stomach Cancer

GOTHENBURG, Sweden — New research at Sahlgrenska Academy might be an important step toward creating a vaccine against ulcers and stomach cancer, The Local reported Dec. 30.

TB

Public health officials are concerned about the implications of the first U.S. case of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, diagnosed in a 19-year-old Peruvian who is visiting here to study English, Homeland Security Today reported Dec. 29.

World Health Organization

GENEVA — The H1N1 flu pandemic may not be conquered until 2011 and continued vigilance is required against the virus, which can still mutate, the head of the World Health Organization said Dec. 29.

HFMD

BEIJING — Sinovac Biotech Ltd. announced Dec. 28 that it has applied to China's State Food and Drug Administration to begin a human clinical trial for its vaccine against the virus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD).

TB

The number of people developing tuberculosis continues to increase despite earlier signs of stabilizing, according to a report released Dec. 2 by the United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency.

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.

BDI Pharma Inc., a national distributor of biotech therapies, unveiled an online supply solution for health care workers to acquire a wide variety of vaccines.

DNA

SAN DIEGO — Vical Inc. announced the publication of data documenting the successful pilot lot production and initiation of animal immunogenicity testing of a Vaxfectin-adjuvanted DNA vaccine for H1N1 influenza.

H1N1

WASHINGTON — The H1N1 flu outbreak has exposed serious underlying gaps in the nation's ability to respond to public health.

Measles

Measles primarily affects children younger than 5 and can lead to blindness, inflammation of the middle ear, brain damage and death.

World Health Organization

GENEVA — World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan revealed that she has yet to be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus, which has killed more than 11,500 people worldwide.

The Center for Disease Control has reported only four cases of flu-related pediatric mortality across seven states during the week ending December 26.

Chlamydia Trachomatis

Cambridge, Mass. – Genocea Biosciences has been awarded a grant from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Sexually Transmitted Infections Cooperative Research Center for the development of vaccines for Chlamydia trachomatis.

World Health Organization

TORONTO — Canada is in discussions with pandemic vaccine maker GlaxoSmithKline and with the World Health Organization about what to do with the country's expected surplus of H1N1 vaccine, the head of the Public Health Agency of Canada said Dec. 9.

TB

National Health Service efforts to tackle tuberculosis in England are improving, but worryingly nearly 18 percent TB hot spot areas, and 60 percent of all areas, still don't have a strategy in place to tackle the disease.

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA — Immunovaccine Inc. announced Dec. 9 that its Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its therapeutic cancer vaccine, DPX-0907, has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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

HIV

PHILADELPHIA — Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University are one step closer to developing a vaccine against AIDS, the school announced Dec. 14.

H1N1

The good news on the H1N1 swine flu front is that the number of cases of infection continues to decrease and the vaccine supply is now plentiful, HealthDay News reported.

Flu Vaccine

WASHINGTON — The White House confirms that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have each received the H1N1 shot.

WASHINGTON — The swine flu pandemic may have changed the U.S. approach to handling influenza forever, and for the better, U.S. officials said Dec. 17 according to Reuters.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Fluzone High-Dose, an inactivated influenza virus vaccine for people ages 65 years and older to prevent disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B.

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.

Basel, Switzerland -- Novartis announced Dec. 21 that the World Health Organization has granted prequalification for all three of its influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccines for supply to United Nations agencies.

Boston -- A new poll by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health shows the shortage of H1N1 vaccine for children is easing, according to a press release dated Dec. 22.

WASHINGTON -- Drugmaker MedImmune is recalling nearly 5 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine because the nasal spray appears to lose strength over time, federal health officials announced Dec. 22.

Australian health authorities are fighting dengue fever on two fronts and are fearful that hot summer weather will intensify the chances of more outbreaks, The Courier-Mail reported Dec. 18.

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.

Malaria

An experimental nasally administered malaria vaccine prevented parasite transmission from infected mice to mosquitoes and could play an important role in the fight against human malaria, ScienceDaily reported Dec. 20.

H1N1

ZURICH — Switzerland plans to donate or sell approximately 4.5 million excess doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine because of the low uptake of shots, the government said, according to a Reuters report Dec. 18.

H5N1

QUEBEC CITY — Medicago Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and virus-like particles.

Sanofi-aventis

Sanofi-aventis and Chattem Inc. announced Dec. 21 that they have entered into an agreement under which sanofi-aventis is to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Chattem in a cash tender offer for approximately $1.9 billion.

Mumps

NEW YORK — The largest U.S. outbreak of mumps is sweeping New York, WPIX-TV reported Dec. 20.

H1N1

The second wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic continued to fade last week, as the number of states with widespread cases dropped to 11 and reported deaths in children also declined.

Can young children get by with just one dose of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine?

Dr. Julie Gerberding

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — Merck & Co. Inc. announced that a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been named president of Merck Vaccines, effective Jan.

The Center for Disease Control has reported only nine cases of flu-related pediatric mortality across seven states during the week ending December 19.

World Health Organization

There have been more than 10,000 swine flu deaths worldwide since April, the World Health Organization said Dec. 18.

ZURICH — Europe's drugs watchdog has recommended approving a meningitis vaccine made by Switzerland's Novartis, according to Reuters.

HIV

Researchers have identified the cause of a major hurdle in efforts to develop an AIDS vaccine, according to a report Dec. 18 in HealthDay News.

Kathleen Sebelius

The nation is reaching a new milestone in its fight against pandemic flu, with the number of vaccine doses expected to reach 100 million by the end of the week and nearly half of states opening up immunization to anyone who wants it.

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.

World Health Organization

LONDON — Germany and Spain want to reduce deliveries of swine flu vaccine and potentially return excess supplies to manufacturers, because of low demand for the shots.

HIV

Kampala, Uganda — Fewer women compared to men are willing to participate in trials for a potential HIV/Aids vaccine, researchers revealed Dec. 15.

MMR Vaccine

The uptake of the MMR vaccine in Wales has reached its highest level in 12 years but health officials warn that the target rate has still not been reached, BBC News reported Dec. 17.

MF59

Novartis's pandemic H1N1 flu vaccine generated stronger immune responses when it was combined with an adjuvant than when used alone, though both formulations yielded good results, according to a report published by the New England Journal of Medicine.

H1N1

PARIS — French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA aims to double sales at its Sanofi Pasteur vaccines business by 2013, compared to the 2008 level, and reiterated it could make acquisitions in this fast-growing area.

As soon as babies are born, they are susceptible to diseases and infections, such as jaundice and E. coli. For up to a month, their immune systems aren't adequately developed to fight diseases.

Pneumococcal vaccine

While a nationwide push for vaccination against H1N1 and seasonal flu has led to long lines for shots, another vaccine against a common and deadly flu complication — pneumonia — hasn't gotten nearly as much attention.

MRSA

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Syntiron announced Dec. 16 that it has granted Sanofi Pasteur an exclusive worldwide license to its human vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus.

C. Difficile

Lyon, France and Swiftwater, Pa. — Sanofi Pasteur announced Dec. 15 that it is expanding its phase II clinical study of a vaccine against Clostridium difficile infection into the United States.

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.

Polio

KABUL — A new vaccine against polio will be used for the first time Dec. 15 in polio immunization campaigns in Afghanistan, according to the World Health Organization.

World Health Organization

AMSTERDAM — Dutch biotech firm Crucell NV will likely look to add a sixth antigen to its portfolio of childhood vaccines as part of expected product add-ons after a stake sale to Johnson & Johnson, Reuters reported Dec. 15.

National Institutes of Health

While vaccines help prevent many diseases in the United States, the nation lacks immunization protection against several serious illnesses, according a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

Manon Cox

Someday, effective vaccines might be produced two to four times the speed of vaccines manufactured in fertilized chicken eggs, according to a researcher in the Netherlands.

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.

TB

Health experts will in the coming weeks converge in Mayuge and Iganga districts for a clinical trial, to test the world's first experimental tuberculosis vaccine in nearly a century, allAfrica.com reported Dec. 9.

H1N1

Indigenous populations from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have been found to have a three to eight times higher rate of hospitalization and death associated with infection with the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza virus.

HIV

Researchers have for the first time demonstrated that human blood stem cells can be engineered into cells that can target and kill HIV-infected cells — a process that potentially could be used against a range of chronic viral diseases.

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

DAKAR, Senegal — Health experts in Africa are calling on governments to vaccinate children against rotavirus, to end an “unacceptable” yet preventable situation in which the virus kills some 1,400 children in developing countries daily

The Centers for Disease Control has reported 16 flu-related deaths among children across nine states during the week ending December 5.

SEATTLE — Oncothyreon Inc. announced Dec. 10 that its development partner Merck KGaA started a late-stage trial of its cancer vaccine in patients in Asia with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Patch-based Vaccine

LONDON and VIENNA — GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and Intercell on Dec. 11 announced an agreement to form a strategic alliance to accelerate the development and commercialization of needle-free, patch-based vaccines.

Streptococcus pneumoniae

NEW YORK — The European Commission has granted Pfizer Inc. a European marketing authorization for a more protective form of its vaccine Prevnar 13, which protects against pneumonia, the company announced Dec. 11.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

WASHINGTON — The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has completed enrollment in a small clinical trial testing a candidate DNA vaccine for 2009 H1N1 influenza, the agency announced Dec. 11.

H1N1

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's vaccination campaign against the H1N1 flu strain is not proceeding as fast as it should be partly because people are needlessly worried about the vaccine’s safety, officials said Dec. 11.

Centers for Disease Control

The Centers for Disease Control has reported only nine cases of flu-related pediatric mortality across seven states during the week ending December 12. This the lowest number reported by the CDC so far this quarter.

Hepatitis E

KAABONG, Uganda — An outbreak of Hepatitis E has killed 12 people out of 210 infected in Uganda’s northeastern region of Karamoja, The New Vision Web site reported, citing Michael Lochiyo, the health educator of Kaabong district in the region.

Helicobacter

Human trials are soon to begin on an Australian-pioneered technique that could revolutionize the way we vaccinate — by replacing the syringe with the spoon, the Australian Associated Press reported Dec. 8.

Tuberculosis

CANCUN, Mexico — Health experts called for more research funding to develop better diagnostic tests, vaccines and drugs for tuberculosis, which killed 1.8 million people around the world last year.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

HIV-infected adults are being recruited to participate in a clinical trial of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, the National Institutes of Health announced Dec. 10.

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.

Dengue Fever

MEXICO CITY — Sanofi Pasteur announced Dec. 9 that it is expanding its dengue vaccine clinical program in Latin America with a new multicenter study in children and adolescents in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and Puerto Rico.

Hepatitis B

Dynavax Technologies Corp. announced Dec. 9 that its manufacturing facility in Dusseldorf, Germany, has been approved for the commercial production of hepatitis B surface antigen.

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

In fatal cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza, the virus can damage cells throughout the respiratory airway, much like the viruses that caused the 1918 and 1957 influenza pandemics.

The H1N1 swine flu has sickened at least 22 million and killed almost 4,000 in the United States since April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

GRNVAC1

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Geron Corp. announced Dec. 8 the presentation of interim data from its phase II trial of GRNVAC1, an autologous dendritic cell vaccine, in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of

Hartmut Schubert

Six weeks after Germany began vaccinating against swine flu, only about five percent of the population has gotten the shots.

H1N1 Vaccine

Fewer Europeans are getting pandemic flu vaccine than typically get seasonal flu shots, as safety concerns and lower-than-expected death rates have damped demand, Bloomberg reported Dec. 8.

Flu vaccine shortages in developing nations may destabilize global security should the H1N1 virus become more deadly, said David Heymann, a former deputy head of the World Health Organization.

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.

United Arab Emirates

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — A new electronic system for reporting infectious diseases in the capital has been launched by the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, The National reported Dec. 6.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — NanoBio Corp. announced Dec. 7 that its recombinant H5N1 pandemic flu antigen combined with the company’s novel nanoemulsion vaccine elevated immune responses when administered via injections.

Universal Flu Vaccine

RECHOVOT, Israel — BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. announced the success of the Phase I/II clinical trial of its Multimeric-001 universal flu vaccine on Dec. 7.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — A union is taking the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to arbitration because five people who refused to get the seasonal flu vaccine said they were fired.

Flu Vaccine

WASHINGTON — Congress, the Obama administration and taxpayers need to accept that drugmakers are not going to pursue discovery and development of emergency medical countermeasures out of the kindness of their hearts.

Donating Blood

SHANGHAI — City health authorities launched their latest drive in the fight against swine flu, calling on people who have been vaccinated against the virus to donate blood for emergency-treatment storage.

H1N1

DETROIT — Whether it's mistrust of the government or confusion in the message, minorities aren't lining up to get vaccinated against H1N1 as they should.

Human Papillomavirus

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervarix protects women from infection for longer than six years, new research has found, HealthDay News reported Dec. 2.

Herpes Zoster

OAKLAND, Calif. — Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is very rare among children who have been vaccinated against chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the December issue of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal.

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.

world health organization

Two recently treated patients at the Johns Hopkins Hospital had drug-resistant forms of the 2009 H1N1 flu virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Americans Speak Out: Why We Got the Flu Vaccine, a video that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, features Americans talking about why they chose to get vaccinated against the 2009 H1N1 flu virus.

H1N1

The relatively low number of new cases created by a single case of H1N1 influenza indicates that mitigation strategies such as vaccination, social distancing and the use of antiviral drugs may help lessen the final impact of the virus.

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.

Measles

LONDON -- Global deaths from measles fell by 78 percent between 2000 and 2008 thanks largely to mass childhood vaccination campaigns, but experts say death rates may rise again if complacency allows immunization efforts to lag.

Harald zur Hausen

CALCUTTA, India — Cervical cancer vaccines should cost less to be more effective in lowering the death rate caused by the disease a Nobel laureate said, according to a report in The Times of India on Dec. 3.

Since the national voluntary H1N1 vaccination campaign began in early October, more than 70 million doses of vaccine have been allocated by the federal government to all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia.

Thomas Frieden

Decreasing pandemic flu activity and growing supplies of vaccine offer a window of opportunity for people to protect themselves from the virus, especially if the nation experiences a third wave of infections.

COX-1

With flu season in full swing and the threat of H1N1 looming, demand for vaccines is at an all-time high. However, researchers suggest that over-the-counter drugs may lessen their effect, ScienceDaily reported Dec. 2.

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.

Anthony Fauci

WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies are testing 97 medicines and vaccines to treat or prevent HIV/AIDS and related conditions.

H1N1

The number of states with widespread pandemic flu activity dropped for the third week in a row, but the virus continued to take a heavy toll on children, with at least 27 more pediatric deaths reported the week of Nov 15 to 21.

H1N1 Flu Vaccine

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Health submitted an order for 259,800 doses of H1N1 flu vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Nov. 25.

Anders Hedegaard

KVISTGARD, Denmark — Bavarian Nordic A/S announced Nov. 30 that it expects to file a new drug submission for its third-generation smallpox vaccine, Imvamune with Health Canada in the second half of 2010.

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline announced Dec. 1 that the World Health Organization has awarded prequalification for global use of Arepanrix, its adjuvanted H1N1 pandemic vaccine manufactured in Canada.

J. Joseph Kim

SAN DIEGO — Inovio Biomedical Corp. announced Nov. 30 that its partner Tripep AB of Sweden has completed its phase I clinical study of its ChronVac-C hepatitis C virus DNA vaccine delivered using Inovio's electroporation technology.

The Center for Disease Control has reported 35 flu-related pediatric deaths across 19 states during the week ending November 21, which brings the total to 301 cases so far in 2009. There were 90 in 2008, 77 in 2007, 43 in 2006 and 45 in 2005.

Flu Vaccine

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Novavax announced Nov. 30 that it has completed enrollment in the Phase II clinical study of its trivalent seasonal influenza virus-like particle vaccine candidate in healthy adults 60 years of age or older.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Agriflu for people ages 18 years and older to prevent disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B.

H1N1 Vaccine

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Health reminded parents and health care providers Nov. 30 that children younger than 10 should receive two doses of H1N1 flu vaccine in order to achieve optimal protection against pandemic flu.

GlaxoSmithKline announced Nov. 30 that it has filed its vaccine for the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis (approved as Rotarix in several countries outside of Japan).

Avian flu

The Ministry of Health of Egypt has reported a new confirmed human case of avian influenza A (H5N1), the World Health Organization said Nov. 27.

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of Congo — An unknown epidemic caused three deaths and affected more than 100 people in the last few days in the Republic of Congo.

MANILA, Philippines — The World Health Organization promised on Nov. 26 to donate 9 million H1N1 flu shots to the Philippines, and assured the country the vaccines were safe, Reuters reported.

"America needs to produce vaccines and therapeutics faster and less expensively than we have been because we might not have six months of advance warning for the next pandemic."

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Baxter International Inc. says it is looking into building a cell-based vaccine manufacturing plant in the U.S. to produce seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines, the Chicago Tribune reported Nov. 26

H1N1

GENEVA — Tamiflu resistance in some H1N1 patients with badly weakened immune systems does not seem to reflect a major change in the virus' susceptibility to the frontline drug, the World Health Organization said Nov. 26.

Weidong Yin

BEIJING — Sinovac Biotech Ltd. announced Nov. 25 that it executed a joint venture agreement to establish Sinovac (Dalian) Vaccine Technology Co. Ltd. to research, develop, produce and commercialize human-use vaccines.

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.

HIV

World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 is intended to draw together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization.

GENEVA and SHANGHAI — According to new data in the 2009 AIDS epidemic update, new HIV infections have been reduced by 17 percent over the past eight years, the World Health Organization and United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS announced Nov. 24.

ATLANTA, Ga. — The Centers for Disease Control issued a warning Nov. 25 that catching the H1N1 virus can put patients at risk, not only of developing complications, but also serious bacterial pneumonia.

Mark Horton

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Department of Public Health announced the tally for filling H1N1 vaccine orders stands at nearly 5.2 million doses.

H1N1 Vaccine

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Department of Health submitted an order for 438,900 doses of H1N1 flu vaccine to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Nov. 20.

Joel Kettner

LONDON -- Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines after six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients.

H1N1

LONDON -- Britain's Health Protection Agency is working with colleagues from the Public Health Service of Wales to investigate several possible cases of person-to-person transmission of oseltamivir-resistant H1N1 flu, the agency reported Nov. 20.

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.

Jean Stephenne

LONDON -- GlaxoSmithKline announced Nov. 23 that more than 40 million doses of its adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 vaccine have been distributed to countries globally for use in government-initiated vaccination programs.

Anne Schuchat

Every holiday season, millions of Americans travel through the nation's airports, seaports, and train stations to spend time with loved ones.

Flu Vaccine

WASHINGTON -- Novartis will officially open the first next-generation flu vaccine plant in the United States on Nov. 24, but it will be years before it makes its first vaccine.

GENEVA -- The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has informed the World Health Organization of a mutation detected in three H1N1 viruses.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Tests have confirmed that samples from four patients with H1N1 influenza were found to be resistant to oseltamivir, known by the brand name Tamiflu.

Daisy Mafubelu

New data, released by the GAVI Alliance this week, shows that by the end of 2009 more than 4 million premature deaths caused by pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and hepatitis B will be prevented through GAVI support.

HANOI, Vietnam — Through its commitment to immunization and other child health interventions, Vietnam has drastically reduced its child deaths, the GAVI Alliance announced Nov. 20 during its partner forum.

Santa-America

Santa-America, a service charity, recommends that all Kris Kringles get their jolly old selves vaccinated against H1N1 influenza and pneumonia.

Leaders of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee sharply critiqued the federal government's H1N1 vaccination strategy saying health officials should have recommended targeting only the highest-risk groups as soon as the vaccine delays came.

Pentavalent Vaccine

HANOI, Vietnam — Following the increasing impact of the GAVI Alliance on the vaccine market, the price of one of the major combination vaccines, the pentavalent, is falling considerably.

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.

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci wrote this commentary, posted Nov. 17, for msnbc.com. He is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md.

Anne Schuchat

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal officials, along with representatives from four vaccine companies, appeared before two U.S. House of Representatives committees to answer questions about why the nation hasn't stretched scarce pandemic vaccine supply.

Sid the Science Kid

A special episode of PBS KIDS’ TV show, "Sid the Science Kid," where Sid explores the science behind flu vaccinations is now available for free download on flu.gov.

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.

BETHESDA, Md. — Federal health experts said Nov. 17 that an updated version of Pfizer's best-selling anti-infection vaccine is safe and effective for infants and toddlers, despite company studies that failed to meet certain goals.

Yellow Fever

GENEVA and NEW YORK — The largest-ever yellow fever mass vaccination campaign is set to kick off next week across three African countries, the World Health Organization announced Nov. 17.

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.

Staph Leavenworth Bakali

Genocea Biosciences, a vaccine discovery and development company, announced Nov. 16 that it was named one of BusinessWeek’s “World’s Most Intriguing Startups” for 2009.

Dr. Emilio Emini

WASHINGTON — Pfizer Inc's next-generation Prevnar vaccine missed some of the main goals in a study testing its ability to protect against bacteria that cause ear infections, pneumonia and other diseases.

Andrin Oswald

Novartis’ recently sanctioned unadjuvanted influenza H1N1 2009 monovalent vaccine may be effective at just half the dose currently stipulated under its FDA approval, according to interim data from ongoing clinical trials.

HIV

The recent failure of an HIV vaccine was probably caused by the immune system reacting to the virus “shell” used to transmit the therapy around the body, according to research published Nov. 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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.

H1N1

LYON, France — Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group announced that the French drug agency Afssaps has granted marketing authorization in France for Panenza, its non-adjuvanted Influenza H1N1 2009 monovalent vaccine.

Jeeseong Hwang

Medical clinics could benefit from new software created at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where a team of scientists has found a way to improve the efficiency of a pneumonia vaccine testing method.

Alon Monsonego

JERUSALEM — An Israeli researcher working on a vaccine to combat Alzheimer's disease said Nov. 9 that he had made important progress following tests on gene-altered laboratory mice.

Kansas University has been awarded a five-year, $6.85 million research contract with the goal of boosting the effectiveness and safety of vaccines that treat infectious diseases.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the CSL Limited’s 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine to include children ages 6 months and older. This vaccine was previously approved only for use in adults, ages 18 years and older.

Jean Stephenne

LONDON and ROCKVILLE, Md. — GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals have announced an exclusive worldwide option and licensing agreement for a vaccine for the treatment of nicotine addiction.

President Bill Clinton

CHICAGO — Former President Bill Clinton says he believes there's going to be a vaccine for AIDS found before anyone discovers a cure for the disease, WBBM Radio reported.

H1N1

OTTAWA — Canada's top medical official defended the national H1N1 vaccination campaign on Nov. 12, and said the costs of doing nothing would be far higher than the money spent immunizing millions of people.

World Health Organization

MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. — Temptime Corp. announced that it will donate its vaccine vial monitors to the World Health Organization to monitor potential heat damage of H1N1 vaccines.

Mumps Virus

ATLANTA — U.S. health officials say the largest U.S. outbreak of mumps in three years is occurring in New York and New Jersey, The Associated Press reports.

Fuad El-Hibri

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of a 55,000-square-foot manufacturing facility from MdBio Foundation and the land on which the facility stands from the city of Baltimore.

The Center for Disease Control has reported 21 flu-related deaths among children across 15 states during the week ending November 14. The numbers went down from the previous 35 cases in 17 states.

Malaria

ATLANTA -- There were ten cases of malaria reported across the United States during the week ending October 10th, four of which occurred in Virginia.

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

GALVESTON, Texas — Vical Inc. reported Nov. 10 that it has a strong rationale advocating the use of DNA vaccine technology for emerging and/or pandemic infectious diseases.

Dr. Michael Gale Jr.

SEATTLE— Kineta Inc. has announced that it has been awarded a $6.8 million subcontract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop novel vaccine adjuvants (agents that help boost the immune system).

Dr. Rahul Singhvi

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Novavax Inc. has begun a Phase IIa clinical study of its trivalent seasonal influenza VLP vaccine candidate in healthy adults over age 60.

The Center for Disease Control has reported 18 flu-related deaths among children that occurred in nine states during the week ending October 31.

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.

Andrew Witty

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline on Nov. 10 announced that it has signed an agreement with the World Health Organization to donate 50 million doses of its adjuvanted pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine for distribution to developing countries most in need.

Jean Stéphenne

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline announced Nov. 9 the results from the clinical trial assessing Pandemrix, GSK’s adjuvanted H1N1 influenza vaccine, administered at the same time as the annual seasonal influenza vaccine, Fluarix.

LONDON and PHILADELPHIA — GlaxoSmithKline announced Nov. 10 that the Food and Drug Administration has approved a supplemental biologics license application for its unadjuvanted H1N1 influenza vaccine.

The following is an open letter dated Nov. 10 to health care professionals from Margaret A. Hamburg, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

S. Munir Alam

A study of how the most robust antibodies work to block HIV as it seeks entry into healthy cells has revealed a new direction for researchers hoping to design an effective vaccine, ScienceDaily reported Nov. 10.

Flu Finder

This year, it's especially important to have clear information on what you can do to prepare for the flu season.

Ebola

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — U.S. military officials sent a medical team to a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan this week to take blood samples from members of an Army unit after a soldier in the unit died from an Ebola-like virus.

Polio

GOZ BEIDA, Chad —A three-day nationwide polio vaccination campaign began Oct. 30 throughout Chad, including in the east where according to the World Health Organization the rate of routine immunizations is among the weakest nationwide, IRIN news reported.

Jean Stéphenne

BRUSSELS —The World Health Organization has endorsed for global use a vaccine against pneumonia, a life-threatening disease affecting many children younger than 5 in developing countries.

VIENNA — Austrian biotech company Intercell scrapped its full-year profit target after third-quarter revenue for its Ixiaro vaccine against Japanese encephalitis fell short of expectations.

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.

Tatyana Golikova

MOSCOW — Russia's health minister warned the media against spreading panic over a swine and seasonal flu outbreak and said the situation was under control.

Arthur Griffin Jr

NEW YORK — School district leaders planning for H1N1 pandemics should update emergency plans using a four-step process, according to the McGraw-Hill Education Urban Advisory Resource.

Kazakhstan Flag

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan will start testing a domestically produced H1N1 vaccine soon, the country's chief sanitary official Kenes Ospanov said Nov. 4.

Dr. Gemma Kenter

BOSTON — An experimental vaccine cured nearly half of women with pre-cancerous growths on their genitals, producing major improvement in nearly four out of five, researchers in the Netherlands reported in a small study Nov. 4.

Beijing

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

Andrin Oswald

BASEL, Switzerland — Novartis announced Nov. 5 that it received approval from the German regulatory authorities for its adjuvanted cell culture-based Influenza H1N1 2009 monovalent vaccine, Celtura.

Robert J. Blendon

BOSTON — A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so.

The Center for Disease Control has reported 35 flu-related pediatric deaths that occurred in 17 states during the week ending November 9. The previous week only reported 18 deaths in nine states.

Richard T. Clark

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. — Merck & Co. Inc. outlined its global plans following the completion of Merck's merger with Schering-Plough Corp. announced Nov. 3.

Dengue mosquito

NEW DELHI -- Twenty five new dengue cases were recorded in Delhi on Friday, taking the number of people affected by the vector-borne disease to 489, health officials told The Times of India on Nov. 6.

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.

MALAKAL, Sudan — Southern Sudan is facing a "serious outbreak" of the deadly kala azar tropical disease, the aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned Friday.

Sweet wormwood

HONG KONG — In a laboratory in China's southern city of Guangzhou, scientists are trying to enhance the rare sweet wormwood shrub, from which artemisinin — the best drug to fight malaria — is derived.

R. Don Elsey

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced Nov. 5 its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30.

Dr. Thomas Farley

New Yorkers have turned out in record numbers for seasonal flu shots this fall – depleting vaccine supplies and prompting the Health Department to issue new recommendations for vaccination.

Dr. Thomas Frieden

NEW YORK — Some of New York's biggest companies received doses of swine flu vaccine for at-risk employees, drawing criticism that the hard-to-find vaccine is going first to the privileged.

Bevan Baker

MILWAUKEE — More than 900 doses of Milwaukee's allotted H1N1 flu vaccine will have to be returned to the manufacturer, officials said, after a truck used to transport the vaccine was stolen.

Anthony S. Fauci

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded approximately $208 million to two programs that support research to better understand the human immune response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.

Sharon Hillier

An early clinical study shows that a vaccine to prevent Group B Streptococcus infection is safe and modestly effective, according to findings presented Oct. 30 at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Dr. Brian J. McMahon

The hepatitis B vaccine – given to protect against infection by a virus that can cause severe liver damage and cancer — may protect for more than two decades, according to a new study.

Jaap Goudsmit

Calmune Corp. announced Nov. 3 that it has entered an agreement with Crucell N.V. that will focus on research development, production and marketing of vaccines, proteins and antibodies that prevent and/or treat infectious diseases.

XOMA CEO Steven Engle

BERKELEY, Calif. — XOMA Ltd. and Kaketsuken have entered into a collaboration involving multiple proprietary XOMA antibody resea

WASHINGTON —The Defense Department has started receiving H1N1 vaccines and will begin distributing doses in the coming weeks, the American Forces Press Service reported Nov. 4.

Dr. Rahul Singhvi

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Novavax, Inc. announced Nov. 2 that its seasonal flu vaccine candidate met key goals in a midstage clinical trial.

Richard Blumenthal

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has written 13 makers and distributors of scarce seasonal flu vaccine regarding allegations of price fixing and preferential treatment for big retailers.

CEO Fuad El-Hibri

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. will webcast its presentation at two investor conferences in November.

Dr. Christian Loucq

NAIROBI, KENYA — A pivotal efficacy trial of RTS,S, the world’s most clinically advanced malaria vaccine candidate, is under way in seven African countries.

Dr. Roger Beachy

WASHINGTON — An international team of scientists has completed the first draft of the genome of a domesticated pig. This first draft sequence will spur advancements in swine production and human medicine.

Anthony Fauci

Healthy pregnant women mount a robust immune response following just one dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, according to initial results from an ongoing clinical trial.

NIAID

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced interim trial results showing that children 9 years old and younger have improved immune response when given a second 15-microgram dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine.

Shahul H. Ebrahim

The 2009 Hajj pilgrimage, expected to draw more than 2.5 million people from more than 160 countries to Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia, may present a serious public health challenge.

Bill Frist

Nearly 100 leading global health organizations from around the world joined forces to recognize the first World Pneumonia Day on Nov. 2 and urge governments to take steps to fight pneumonia, the world’s leading killer of children.

Guantanamo

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Terrorism suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base will soon get swine flu vaccines, despite complaints that American civilians should have priority, a military spokesman said Nov. 1 in a report by the Associated Press.

Bill and Melinda Gates

WASHINGTON — In a joint speech to policymakers Oct. 27, Bill and Melinda Gates made the case that U.S. initiatives to fight AIDS, malaria and other diseases in poor countries are “America’s best investment for saving lives.”

Dr. Anne Gershon

To better protect patients and health care workers, the Infectious Diseases Society of America recently strengthened its policy on mandatory immunization of workers. The strengthened statement applies to both seasonal influenza and 2009 H1N1 influenza.

Dr. William Schaffner

PHILADELPHIA — Pregnant women who get the flu vaccine are less likely to have babies who are premature or are small for their gestational age, according to two new studies.

Smallpox

ALACHUA, Fla. — Nanotherapeutics Inc. has been awarded a $30.9 million, five-year contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to develop an inhaled version of the injectable antiviral drug cidofovir.

Sen. Bob Graham

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The current shortage of H1N1 vaccine underscores the severe lack of U.S. preparedness in responding to pandemics, whether through natural disease transmission or manmade bioterrorist attacks.

FDA demands that vaccines undergo a rigorous and extensive development program in the laboratory, as well as in animal studies and human clinical trials, to determine their safety and effectiveness.

Dr. Francis Collins

Efforts to develop a vaccine capable of preventing tobacco addiction got a $10 million shot in the arm in the form of an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant.

Marietta Vázquez

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Infants born to women who received influenza vaccine during pregnancy were hospitalized at a lower rate than infants born to unvaccinated mothers, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study.

First Family

WASHINGTON — Yes, President Barack Obama and his family have had their shots. According to the White House, all four members of the Obama family have received their seasonal flu vaccine.

Christian Loucq

LONDON —More than 5,500 children across Africa have been given an experimental new malaria vaccine and the British drugmaker behind it, GlaxoSmithKline, promised Oct. 28 that price would be no hurdle if it works.

Dr. Luis Estruch

HAVANA — Cuba is ready to use just about everything at its disposal, from its well-oiled civil defense system to the soldiers of a totalitarian government, to keep swine flu cases to a minimum.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula

PRETORIA, South Africa — Dozens of measles cases has led to a 10-day quarantine and massive vaccination program at a correctional center in Johannesburg.

Anthrax

WASHINGTON — Federal advisers said more data is needed to judge the effectiveness of Human Genome Sciences' anthrax treatment compared with existing anti-bacterial drugs, The Associated Press reported Oct. 27.

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.

Kathleen Sebelius

WASHINGTON — Conceding that their original predictions about pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine supplies were too optimistic, the government's top government health and safety officials today told vaccine-seekers to be patient — more is coming.

Irva Hertz-Picciotto

Researchers at the University of California – Davis’ MIND Institute report that typically developing children and children with autism have similar levels of mercury in their blood streams.

Gov. Paterson

The mandatory influenza immunization requirement for New York health care workers was suspended Oct. 22 so that the limited vaccine supplies can be used for populations most at risk of serious illness and death.

Sandhya Vasan

Brief electric shocks may help the body better respond to certain kinds of experimental AIDS vaccines, U.S. researchers said Oct. 22.

Dr Margaret Chan

Reversing a downward trend, immunization rates are at their highest ever and vaccine development worldwide is booming, according to an assessment released Oct. 21 by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Bank.

Dr. Tachi Yamada

ARUSHA, Tanzania — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced 76 grants of $100,000 each to pursue bold ideas for transforming health in developing countries.

Dr. Anthony Fauci

The priority for AIDS virologists in coming months, a leading researcher said, is to find out exactly how the Thailand vaccine, which gave 30 percent protection against HIV, worked.

Rahul Singhvi

Novavax Inc. announced Oct. 23 that it has initiated a two-stage clinical study of its virus-like-particle (VLP) H1N1 influenza vaccine in Mexico in collaboration with Avimex Laboratories and GE Healthcare.

Dora Anne Mills, Maine CDC

Maine’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the state Department of Health and Human Services, will offer funding to provide seasonal influenza and H1N1 influenza vaccines in K-12 schools.

Margaret Donnelly

Missouri’s top public health official granted an exemption Oct. 22 to allow pregnant women and parents of children younger than 3 to choose whether or not to receive flu vaccine containing a mercury-based preservative.

Leona Aglukkaq

OTTAWA - Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq announced that Health Canada has approved Arepanrix, a vaccine against the H1N1 flu virus.

A U.S. government formulation designed to defend against a bio-terrorism attack is available for commercial use to eliminate the H1N1 Virus, MRSA, SARS and other dangerous bacterium and pathogens found in hospitals, schools and public institutions.

Do 1 Thing readies for its annual emergency preparedness campaign designed to help Michigan residents better prepare for emergencies and disasters.

A new emergency preparedness toolkit from www.Do1thing.us is designed to help its partners better prepare employees, members and individuals for emergencies and disasters.

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.

Anthony S. Fauci

The first clinical trials to test whether the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine can safely elicit a protective immune response in HIV-infect

Gregory A. Poland

Infectious disease experts warn that many adults haven't received vaccinations for at least half a dozen other preventable diseases —

Dr. Jane Kim

BOSTON — Persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted virus, is known to be a cause of cervical cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Oct. 16 that it approved the use of the vaccine Gardasil to prevent genital warts caused by the human papillomavirus types 6 and 11 in males ages 9 to 26.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of the seasonal influenza vaccine Fluarix for children ages 3 to 17.

Internet scams are taking advantage of the public’s concern over H1N1, forcing two government agencies to act.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Albany Medical College has been awarded a $4.6 million grant to fund its biodefense research against Francisella tulare

MEXICO CITY — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jane Holl Lute joined her Mexican and Canadian counterparts in Mexico City to discuss continued collaboration to confront the spread of global H1N1 flu.

Dr. Blendon

BOSTON — Harvard School of Public Health researchers found that only one third of American companies believe they could sustain their business without severe operational problems if half their workforce were absent for two weeks because of H1N1.

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

The United States expects 200 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine by the end of the year, the result of a process that occurred at "unprecedented speed" since H1N1 was detected in April.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions has launched www.biothrax.com, a website that provides information about BioThrax, its vaccine for the prevention of anthrax infection.

The Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium Ltd. has signed an agreement with Vivalis to evaluate large-scale commercial production capabilities for MVA85A, the consortium’s new TB vaccine candidate.

CSL Limited, Australia’s leading biopharmaceutical company, has announced that it is donating 3 million doses of pandemic H1N1 2009 vaccine to the World Health Organization.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Novavax has received a grant to support preclinical research of a vaccine for the most commonly identified cause of lower respiratory illnesses in infants and young children.

When promising results from a large clinical trial of an AIDS vaccine regimen were announced recently, it was good news to the inventor of one of the vaccines used in the trial.

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

The FDA approved Cervarix, a new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and precancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus types 16 and 18.

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

A cholera vaccine has proved to be safe and effective in young children in a part of India where the disease is endemic, a new study in The Lancet says.

BETHESDA, Md. — The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded six research contracts on Oct. 9 to discover novel adjuvants, substances that can be added to vaccines to boost their effectiveness.

PHILADELPHIA — Infectious disease experts are awaiting an infinitesimal event of momentous importance: the mutation of the H1N1 influenza virus.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Mass vaccination clinics to protect against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus offer public health officials a chance to hone their procedures and prepare for future emergencies, according to a University of Maryland expert.

BETHESDA, Md. — People with asthma, especially those with severe cases, may need different doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced in September 2009 that it received a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to continue the development of an advanced anthrax vaccine candidates known as dmPA7909.