There is a prevalence of parasitic diseases among poor urban families in the U.S., according to Dr. Peter Hotez of the George Washington University. Other ailments like dengue fever and Chagas disease associated with developing nations may also become more common in America due to climate changes.

While these ailments do not claim lives, they negatively affect the development of a child, his intellectual development, hearing and could cause heart disease. As the malady affects poor people, it perpetuates their state of poverty since the infections could last for years or lifetimes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a vaccine that treats five childhood ailments in a single dose. Pentacel would reduce the number of injections children get before they are 18 months old by as many as one-third.

It is the first 5-in-1 pediatric combination for immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). The vaccine is approved for administration as a four-dose series at two, four, six and 15 to 18 months of age. The first dose may be given as early as six weeks of age

Two United Nations agencies have signed an agreement aimed at slashing costs of vaccines for Afghans and locals living in and around Pakistan's refugee settlements.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed the agreement here on Sunday, a U.N press statement said Monday. UNICEF will obtain vaccines on behalf of the UNHCR based on the current UNICEF supply catalogue and price list or other estimates provided by UNICEF - which are lower than what the other agency pays, according to the memorandum of understanding

Britain's Department of Health has chosen GlaxoSmithKline's cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix for the country's human papillomavirus immunization programme ahead of rival Gardasil.

The vaccine offers immunity to the strains of a virus which cause 70 percent of cases. It protects against two strains of human papillomavirus

A new, faster-to-make whole-virus bird flu vaccine may protect against multiple bird flu strains, early studies in humans suggest. The new H5N1 vaccine appears to be safe, more effective than the one currently approved for human use and also able to be manufactured much more quickly than conventional vaccines, researcher said.

Current flu vaccines are grown in fertilized hens' eggs and the long process takes 22 weeks. Due to this drawback, the vaccine can only be manufacture seasonally, when the eggs are available