Viruses & Vaccinations World Wide and Infectious Diseases

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The Scientist And the Bats

Funders thought watching bats wasn’t important. Then she helped solve the mystery of a deadly virus.

https://www.propublica.org/article/australia-bats-hendra-research-pandemic-prevention?

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Global Vaccine Alliance to deploy six-in-one vaccine to lower-income countries, establish innovative mechanisms to protect against future epidemic threats

Geneva, 28 June 2023 – The Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance yesterday outlined a set of decisions that will expand the portfolio of vaccine programmes available to lower-income countries in the coming years. It also committed to providing COVID-19 vaccines to high-risk groups until 2025 and approved an innovative plan to enable pilot investment in reserves of investigational candidate vaccines if appropriate candidate vaccines become available, helping respond more quickly to outbreaks of Marburg and Ebola Sudan viruses.

https://www.gavi.org/news/media-room/global-vaccine-alliance-deploy-six-one-vaccine-lower-income-countries?

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PrEP has revolutionized the war on HIV — but barriers to access remain

As a 40-year-old gay man, Trevor Hoppe still remembers a time when sex was inextricably linked to the danger of HIV infection — and HIV was considered a death sentence. As a sociologist, he’s fascinated by how Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has changed the world just in his lifetime — especially for LGBTQ people.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/12/02/prep-has-revolutionized-the-war-on-hiv-but-barriers-to-access-remain/?

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Scientists discover new method Ebola virus uses to infect cells

SAN ANTONIO (December 18, 2023) – Understanding how viruses travel once inside the human body is critical to develop effective drugs and therapies that can stop viruses in their tracks. Scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) recently published findings in the Journal of Infectious Diseases indicating that Ebola virus creates and uses intercellular tunnels to move from cell to cell and evade treatments.

https://www.txbiomed.org/news-press/news/texas-biomed-scientists-discover-new-method-ebola-virus-uses-to-infect-cells/?

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Boy, 9, dies and brother, 16, infected with lethal strain of bird flu already detected in UK

The child, from the northeastern province of Kratie, tested positive for the H5N1 strain, which has already been found in some poultry and other birds in the UK.

https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3332200813345-boy-9-dies-and-brother-16-infected-with-lethal-strain-of-bird-flu-already-detected-in-uk?

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British Measles Outbreak

England's worst measles outbreak in more than a decade has spread from its original hot spot in the West Midlands region to areas around the country, according to new government data. Roughly two-thirds of the cases have been reported in children 10 years old and younger, with almost half in children under the age of 4.   The airborne disease is highly contagious, causing rashes, fever, and respiratory issues. Most deaths in young children occur from associated pneumonia, though roughly one in 1,000 cases results in encephalitis (brain inflammation). The development of a vaccine in 1963 led to a drop in global deaths from 6 million to around 100,000 annually.   Confirmed cases in the UK have jumped from 17 in October to more than 250 in January. For comparison, the US—which has five times the population of the UK—reported 58 cases in total last year.    Take a deep dive into how measles works here (w/video).

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U.S. airport nasal swabbing expanding to Chicago and Miami

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s top public health agency is expanding a program that tests international travelers for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

https://apnews.com/article/cdc-airport-surveillance-chicago-miami-bd2eff1faf297003fc408a732c1db546?

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Bird flu

 

A group of alpacas on a farm in Idaho recently tested positive for H5N1 bird flu for the first time, according to the USDA. The gene sequence of viruses isolated from the alpacas shows it is closely related to the H5N1 viruses currently circulating in dairy cattle. For more than two decades, H5N1 has primarily affected birds. In the past two years, however, the virus has been infecting a wider variety of wild and farmed mammals, raising concern that it could be moving closer to becoming a pathogen that can transmit easily between people. Human cases have been reported sporadically around the globe over the years, including three in the US, but no person-to-person transmission has been reported in the ongoing US cattle outbreak.

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Viruses surge worldwide

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

A slew of once-controlled diseases are roaring back to prominence all over the globe — and scientists don't fully know why. Measles, tuberculosis, strep throat and dengue are all surging, according to an analysis from Bloomberg and disease forecasting firm Airfinity. Flu cases in the U.S. are up 40% over pre-pandemic levels. Cases of whooping cough in China are 45 times higher than pre-pandemic levels. Australia has seen RSV cases double in just the past year. ? What they're saying: A lot of this has been blamed on "immunity debt" — the idea that COVID lockdowns softened people's immune systems, so now they're more vulnerable to other diseases. But the opposite may also be true: Countries that contained COVID well are now seeing high rates of excess deaths, while many places where it spread widely are back to their pre-pandemic baselines. "Why would it be worse in places that did a good job? That seems a bit strange. Some of this is the idea that those countries kept frail, elderly people alive," Christopher Murray, the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told Bloomberg. Rising global poverty and declining vaccination rates — driven by a combination of pandemic-era interruptions and anti-vaccine movements — are also partly to blame. Go deeper.

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?️ 1 for the road: Biodefense rises on Plains

Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Two hours west of Kansas City, a multibillion-dollar research hub is emerging on the prairie as a new first line of defense against animal diseases that can decimate livestock, rattle financial markets and potentially spill over into humans, Axios managing editor Alison Snyder reports. Why it matters: The growing avian flu outbreak in the U.S., plus highly contagious swine fever circulating in Europe and Asia, have put a premium on the ability to amp up production of vaccines. That's pulling more of that work back to the U.S. from overseas. Keep reading.

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Experts say a twice-yearly injection that offers 100% protection against HIV is ‘stunning’

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Twice-yearly shots used to treat AIDS were 100% effective in preventing new infections in women, according to study results published Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/africa-aids-hiv-infection-prevention-shot-sunlenca-a94b83717f5b61987822335e11398428?

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What is mpox, where are the outbreaks and what is the WHO doing? The World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the increasing spread of mpox in Africa is a global health emergency, warning the virus might ultimately spill across international borders. Read more.

What to know: Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was first identified by scientists in 1958 when there were outbreaks of a “pox-like” disease in monkeys. In 2022, the virus was confirmed to spread via sex for the first time and triggered outbreaks in more than 70 countries across the world that had not previously reported mpox.   The WHO’s emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. But the global response to previous declarations has been mixed. Africa CDC Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya said the agency’s declaration of a public health emergency was meant “to mobilize our institutions, our collective will and our resources to act swiftly and decisively.”   So far, more than 96% of all cases and deaths are in a single country — Congo. Congo has said it’s in talks with donors about possible vaccine donations and has gotten some financial aid from Britain and the U.S. while the WHO had already released $1.45 million from its emergency fund to support the response to mpox in Africa.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ BREAKING: White House says deals struck to reduce cost of 10 drugs, saving taxpayers and Medicare recipients billions of dollars   COVID-19 falls to No. 10 cause of death in US   Celebrities are getting $2,000 MRI scans to learn about their health. Should you?   Mpox outbreak   The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that can spread easily between people and from infected animals. WHO said it convened its emergency committee amid concerns that a deadlier strain of the virus, clade Ib, had reached four previously unaffected countries in Africa. This strain had previously been contained to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak a public health emergency of continental security on Tuesday, the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017. No cases of clade I mpox have been identified in the US, the CDC says, but it is monitoring the situation.

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Marburg virus

The CDC announced Monday that health officials will soon start screening travelers from Rwanda to the US for Marburg virus. There are no confirmed cases of Marburg virus disease — a rare but deadly hemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola — outside of Rwanda, and officials have said that the current risk to the US is low. However, the Department of Health and Human Services said the CDC will begin public health entry screening next week in an effort to reduce the risk of the importation and spread of cases. As of Monday, there have been 56 confirmed cases of Marburg in Rwanda, with 36 people in isolation and treatment, and 12 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. Many of the cases are in health care workers, the CDC says.

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Measles

Global measles cases surged by more than 20% to an estimated 10.3 million last year, the CDC and WHO said Thursday. Around 107,000 people, mostly young children, died — an "unacceptable" death toll from a disease that's preventable through vaccination, the health groups said. Measles can be deadly and debilitating, but it is preventable with two doses of the highly effective measles vaccine. One dose is 93% effective against measles, and two doses are 97% effective. But since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a global decline in the number of people getting even standard vaccinations. In the US, a dip in measles vaccination rates among kindergartners meant coverage has been well below the federal target for four years in a row.

ps:That and many more should be taking over the US soon!!

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The measles situation worldwide: Fewer vaccinations and more outbreaks The U.S. registered its first death from measles since 2015 this week, as a child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in Texas. Experts point to declining measles vaccination rates worldwide since the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

Why this matters: Normally, most U.S. cases are brought into the country by people who have traveled overseas. So far, Texas officials have reported 124 cases. New Mexico has reported nine. In the United States, most states now are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Who are the Mennonites in a Texas community where measles is spreading?   Measles is one of the world’s most contagious viruses. Here’s what to know and how to avoid it   WATCH: RFK Jr. describes major measles outbreak as ‘not unusual’ during Cabinet meeting

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Global vaccination efforts stall, leaving millions of children vulnerable to preventable diseases

LONDON (AP) — Efforts to vaccinate children globally have stalled since 2010, leaving millions vulnerable to tetanus, polio, tuberculosis and other diseases that can be easily prevented.

https://apnews.com/article/measles-tetanus-vaccine-children-preventable-disease-e33a36e55d70381e4659874a2ecb371a?

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Infant Malaria Drug

A malaria treatment for newborns has received approval from Switzerland’s medical regulator, marking the world’s first specifically for infants battling the deadly mosquito-borne illness. Named Coartem Baby, the drug combines artemether and lumefantrine—the same ingredients used for older children and adults—and is authorized for infants weighing between 4.4 and 11 pounds.   Developed by Swiss drugmaker Novartis and the Medicines for Malaria Venture, the dissolvable, cherry-flavored medication can be mixed with breast milk to make it easier to administer. Eight African countries participated in clinical trials and are expected to approve the treatment within weeks. Novartis has said it will distribute the drug on a not-for-profit basis in malaria-risk regions.   In 2023, an estimated 597,000 people died from malaria worldwide, with 95% occurring in sub-Saharan Africa—and roughly three-quarters of those among children under age 5. About 30 million babies are born each year in high-risk regions, and infection rates in infants under 6 months can range from 3.4% to 18.4%. Malaria vaccines are typically administered starting around 5 months of age.

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Chikungunya virus

China is battling another virus, one that has prompted the US to issue a travel advisory. The chikungunya virus, which is transmitted by infected mosquitoes, can cause fever and joint pain. As of Wednesday, authorities have reported more than 7,000 cases, mostly in the southern manufacturing hub of Foshan. Unusually heavy rains and high temperatures have worsened the crisis, which one expert said appears to be the largest chikungunya outbreak ever documented in China. In response, authorities have begun using nets and spraying insecticide around city streets, residential areas and anywhere people may come in contact with mosquitoes. Drones have been deployed to find standing water because that's where mosquitoes lay eggs. And residents who fail to remove water from outdoor receptacles could face fines and the possibility of having their electricity turned off.

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Halal concerns drive vaccine hesitancy as Indonesia fights measles outbreak

SUMENEP, Indonesia (AP) — Three health care workers rode motorbikes into the Indonesian city of Sumenep, carrying doses of measles vaccine and a list of children who needed them. With blue medical boxes in hand, they went from house to house administering the life-saving shots.

https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-islam-halal-measles-vaccine-9b6e631e78ed77bdd08bc19e60ede647?

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Ebola and hantavirus have Africa talking 'health sovereignty' as donor support fades

A new and deadly Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda is the latest health emergency forcing African governments to break free of dependency on global donors like the United States as international support has been slashed in half over the past five years. Shrinking assistance worsened by the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts is colliding with Africa’s fast-growing population of over 1.5 billion people. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

An American doctor is among the newest cases in rare Ebola outbreak in Congo Argentina’s icy outpost at the end of the world fears the hantavirus will chill tourism  France says cruise ship Andes virus matches known South American viruses Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship docks in the Netherlands for disinfection  Canadian national health agency confirms 1 positive hantavirus test