China investigates after vaccine suspected in seven deaths

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese health authorities are investigating after seven infants died following inoculation with a hepatitis B vaccine, state media reported on Monday.

China has been beset by a series of product safety scandals over the past few years.

At least six children died in 2008 after drinking milk contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine, and there have also been reports of children dying or becoming seriously ill from faulty encephalitis, hepatitis B and rabies vaccines.

State news agency Xinhua said that of the seven deaths from the hepatitis B vaccine in the latest case, four were in the southern province of Guangdong. The other cases were in the provinces of Hunan and Sichuan.

The official China Daily said that all hospitals using the vaccine, made by Shenzhen-based BioKangtai, had been ordered to take it off their shelves while the Health Ministry investigates the company's products and the deaths.

The company said in a statement last week, carried by state media, said that it rigorously followed safety rules but that they were testing the batches suspected of causing the deaths.

The topic has been widely discussed on China's popular Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo, with many people worried about the safety of China's vaccines and calling on the government to make more information public.

"Why was this allowed onto the market? The government needs to come clean about this," wrote one Weibo user.

Many Chinese people are suspicious that the government tries to cover up bad news about health problems, despite assurances of transparency. In 2003, the government initially tried to cover-up the outbreak of the SARS virus.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Hui Li; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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Potential immune therapy target for the treatment of malignant melanoma of the identification of seven

Use your own digital technology to count the NCI scientists and tumor tissue of small RNA molecules for identifying melanoma treatment of seven potential immune therapy target. Immunotherapy works by that increase the body's immune system or by using immune cells to attack the cancer cells of a particular type. Overexpression of the success of this treatment for melanoma and cancers of all forms, or very active, is contingent upon finding a protein target cancerous tumor cells have limited expression in normal tissues. 7 That is identified in this work meets the requirements of these gene target. The results of this study led by NCI Division of Cancer Research Center for tumor immunology, surgery branch Morgan Dr. Richard a. 9/10/2013, appeared in clinical cancer research.

Designed a genetic probe containing 97 Morgan and his colleagues looking for a target on the new treatment for malignant melanoma, 72, was considered immune therapy for potential candidate genes and gene sets. Genetic probes for each permit individual RNA molecules accurately count NCI research team, a unique fluorescent barcode had. 59 By using probe isolated researcher in melanoma tumor samples and genetic material RNA to protein, the code sets, and counted each time the barcode gene have been observed. The results of this experiment, scientists concluded 33 of 72 potential target genes overexpression of more than 20% of the malignant melanoma tumor samples. 20 And is expressed in normal tissue samples of tumors of those genes, different methods were identified. Based on this analysis, the researchers conclusions 7 gene warrant potential as a target for immunotherapy of further consideration: found high expression in a large percentage of CSAG2, MAGEA3, MAGEC2 and IL13RA2, PRAME, CSPG4, and SOX10, tumor samples that had limited expression in normal tissues.

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