Researchers report that more effective flu vaccines might be on the horizon. While researchers have already deciphered the molecular structures of essentially all flu virus strains, less is understood about how the immune system recognizes these pathogens. Researchers 58 strains of influenza A virus.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued its annual recommended immunization schedules for children and adolescents in the United States -- these include extending the age range for influenza vaccination and giving the new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, to girls between 11 and 12 years old.
Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children and kills roughly 500,000 children a year globally. In the United States, rotavirus affects 2.7 million children in an average year and 75 percent of children get diarrhea from rotavirus by their 5th birthday.