Latest meningitis Stories

SEATTLE, Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Low rates of meningococcal vaccination among adolescents in Washington has triggered King County Executive Dow Constantine, Neighborcare Health and the Immunization Action Coalition of Washington (IACW) to join forces with the School Nurses Organization of Washington (SNOW) to declare today King County Meningitis Awareness Day. A recent national public health survey shows that meningococcal vaccination rates among adolescents in Washington have...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released by Meningitis Angels: A broad coalition of organizations - made up of patient groups, consumer advocates, health professionals, and members of the immunization community - joined together on Capitol Hill to encourage the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recommend life-saving infant meningococcal vaccines, which will be available for the first time, pending FDA approval. In the coming...

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Low rates of meningococcal vaccination among adolescents in California has triggered The San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) to join forces with the California School Nurses Organization (CSNO) to declare this week San Diego Meningitis Awareness Week. A national public health survey released last month shows that more than one third of adolescents in California have not been vaccinated against meningococcal disease, which is below the...

ORLANDO, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Low rates of meningococcal vaccination among adolescents in Florida has triggered Mayor Teresa Jacobs and the Orange County Health Department to join forces with the Florida Association of School Nurses (FASN) to declare Meningitis Awareness Day in Orange County. A recent national public health survey shows that approximately 55 percent of adolescents in Florida have been vaccinated against meningococcal disease, which is far below the U.S....

CLEVELAND, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Low rates of meningococcal vaccination among adolescents in Ohio has triggered the Cleveland Department of Public Health, Cuyahoga County Board of Health and the Consortium for Healthy and Immunized Communities, Inc. (CHIC) to join forces with the Ohio Association of School Nurses (OASN), to declare Meningitis Awareness Day in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. A recent national public health survey shows that nearly 40 percent of adolescents in Ohio...

Interventions targeting malaria, such as insecticide-treated bed nets, antimalarial drugs and mosquito control, could substantially reduce cases of bacteraemia, which kill hundreds of thousands of children each year in Africa and worldwide. This is the conclusion of research published today in the Lancet and funded by the Wellcome Trust. Researchers at the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kilifi, Kenya, examined two major killer diseases, malaria and bacteraemia, or invasive...

DENVER, Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado State University and Sierra's Race Against Meningitis joined the Colorado Association of School Nurses (CASN) today in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the Fort Collins meningitis outbreak, to urge local parents to vaccinate their preteen and teenage children against meningococcal disease this back-to-school season. A recent national public health survey shows that only...

-- Group Launches National Petition to Recognize National Immunization Awareness Month -- HOUSTON, Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In recognition of August as National Immunization Awareness Month, the patient advocacy group, Meningitis Angels, is launching an online petition to provide people across the country the opportunity to urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to add life-saving infant meningitis vaccines to the routine infant immunization schedule....

NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A new national survey shows most preteens and teens engage in day-to-day activities that may put them at risk of contracting meningococcal meningitis, a rare, but serious bacterial infection that can cause meningitis and take the life of an otherwise healthy child in just a single day. The National Association of School Nurses (NASN), in collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur, conducted the survey as part of its Voices of Meningitis back-to-school...

-- At Final CDC Regional Meeting, Pro-vaccine Community Presses CDC for Greater Use and Availability of Life-saving Vaccines -- DENVER, July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Frankie Milley, Colorado Meningitis Angels and advocates for minority and underserved communities gathered during a press conference on Monday, July 25, in Denver, to add their voices to the widespread public and stakeholder support for infant meningitis vaccines being considered by the Centers for Disease Control...