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New Ebola Vaccine Heads to the Congo

Ebola Vaccine
On Monday, May 29 the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo approved the use of a new Ebola vaccine to address the current outbreak in the northeastern region of the country. According to Reuters, a Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) team arrived the same day to validate the protocol with technical teams. Since the beginning of the outbreak in April, the Congo has seen around 19 cases of the Ebola virus, including suspected and probable cases. There have been four deaths reported since the beginning of the outbreak.

The vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, has been in development since the 1990s. NPR notes that in the 2000s the Ebola vaccine was not produced due to a lack of funding. It was first tested in Guinea in 2015 in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), Guinea’s Ministry of Health, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. In the trial, the vaccine completely protected all 5,837 people it was administered to, with some participants feeling side effects of the vaccine. According to the WHO, “no Ebola cases were recorded 10 or more days after vaccination.” The efficacy of the Ebola vaccine is approximately 70 to 100 percent, although this will likely decrease as more people are vaccinated.

Despite the trial conducted by WHO, the vaccine has not yet been approved by the WHO or the Federal Drug Administration. According to NPR, this approval will likely happen in 2018. Development of the vaccine was largely made possible by funding from the WHO and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). GAVI provided $5 million in funding to allow for the production of the vaccine by the pharmaceutical company Merck. There are currently 300,000 doses available. Merck will submit the Ebola vaccine for approval by the WHO by the end of 2017.

The efficacy of the Ebola vaccine is so high that it will likely be effective at halting the outbreak in the Congo, thanks to the combined efforts of multiple parties like GAVI and the WHO. The development of rVSV-ZEBOV is a much-needed game-changer in the continued battle against the Ebola virus.

– Anika Lanser

Photo: Flickr

GAVI Launches Cholera Vaccine Campaign in Somalia

One of the world’s leading organizations in the fight for global health has just begun to carry out a nationwide campaign in Somalia to fight cholera. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, issued a press release on March 15 announcing its comprehensive strategy to stop the spread of cholera among Somali citizens. This Gavi cholera vaccine campaign seeks to save potentially thousands of lives in the drought-stricken African country.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the southern half of the continent (where Somalia resides) is home to the bulk of cholera cases reported worldwide, and those cases have a higher likelihood of causing death than in other regions. This is primarily due to the lack of access to safe, clean water and sanitation as the disease-causing bacteria, Vibrio cholerae, thrives in public water sources and is spread through the waste products of those infected.

The situation in Somalia has been worsened by an ongoing harsh drought, which has forced people to use contaminated water and has hastened the spread of the disease.

Notorious for its contagiousness, cholera infected over 170,000 people globally in 2015. Year to date, more than 10,500 cases of cholera have been reported across 12 regions of Somalia, resulting in nearly 270 fatalities. The spread of the epidemic has been swift, with 400 new cases appearing in a single day in early March.

The Gavi cholera vaccine campaign plans to reduce these alarming numbers by delivering 953,000 doses of oral vaccine to a population of more than 450,000 people at risk of being infected. Administration of the vaccines will be completed by the Somali government, focusing on the regions of Somalia with the highest concentration of cases: Banadir, Beledweyne, and Kismayo. The doses will be administered over two waves, the first taking place from March 15-19, and the second from April 18-22.

The campaign marks an alliance between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Gavi, who has provided the vaccines themselves as well as an additional $550,000 to support the program.

“Cholera is a major health issue in Somalia. The current drought has worsened the situation for many. Therefore we’re very glad to have the support of Gavi to implement the first oral cholera vaccine campaign in Somalia,” said Dr. Ghulam Popal, Somalia’s WHO representative.

Recognizing that cholera is not bound by political borders, Gavi is also launching a simultaneous vaccine campaign of 475,000 doses in South Sudan. This latest campaign is another step in realizing Gavi’s continuous mission to save lives and protect the health of all people in lower-income countries.

– Dan Krajewski

Photo: Flickr

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Sudan Launches New Meningitis Vaccine

Meningitis Vaccine
Meningitis is an infection, either viral or bacterial, that occurs around the brain and spinal cord. The bacterial form of this disease can have very severe consequences. According to PATH, 10% of victims die even with antibiotic treatment — 80% without any treatment — and survivors can still suffer from hearing loss or paralysis. Thankfully, a new meningitis vaccine offers hope despite these daunting statistics.

Sudan is one of 26 countries in Africa located in the “meningitis belt,” an area with a total population of about 450 million that has been deeply affected by meningitis over the past century. Epidemics arose about once every eight to 12 years according to PATH, and in 1996 25,000 people were killed in the largest meningitis epidemic.

Addressing meningitis in Africa is difficult because although meningitis A is one of the main causes of epidemics in Africa, most industrialized countries have meningitis C posing the largest problem. As a result, vaccine manufacturers focus on designing vaccines for industrialized countries to net more profit, and unfortunately, African countries then fail to receive the types of vaccines they need to combat meningitis A.

MVP to the Rescue

The creation of the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) via a collaboration between the WHO and PATH in 2001 did much to help the situation. MVP was able to create a meningitis A vaccine, trademarked as MenAfriVac, that could also be cheaply administered for less than 50 cents for one dose.

MVP then introduced the vaccine in mass vaccination campaigns, and as a result, 235 million people gained immunity. Amazingly, only 80 cases of meningitis A were recorded in 2015 — a huge improvement compared to the 250,000 reported cases from the 1996 epidemic.

Continuing the Success

So why then is Sudan incorporating the vaccine into its routine immunization program important if so much progress has been made in reducing meningitis outbreaks? Despite the success of the current round of immunizations, if the vaccines are not continually administered in the future, epidemics could begin again in as early as 15 years.

The fact that the meningitis A vaccine is now part of Sudan’s routine immunization program means that at birth children will automatically receive the vaccine. As long as this program remains in effect, Sudan will likely not have to worry about meningitis. This year, 720,000 Sudanese children less than one year of age are expected to receive the vaccine.

Additionally, another vaccination campaign targeting children between one and five years old will go into effect this September. These children might have missed out on the Sudanese vaccination campaign that took place in 2012 and 2013, so the additional vaccinations provide another precaution against an outbreak.

Other countries should follow Sudan in adopting the meningitis vaccine into routine immunization programs. That way, these countries will be able to suppress meningitis on their own even without vaccination campaigns and help hundreds to combat the deadly infection.

– Edmond Kim

Photo: Flickr

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World’s First Vaccine for Dengue Fever

Health_vaccine

Over the past several decades, the global health community has taken on the challenge of eradicating diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and malaria.

Dengue fever (pronounced den’gee), a mosquito-borne viral infection, is another agenda item, which the World Health Organization (WHO) notes “has rapidly spread in all regions” putting about half of the world’s population at risk.

Similarly, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls dengue fever a “leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics.”

The WHO estimates that nearly 400 million people are infected with dengue fever each year. Close to 500,000 individuals who have developed severe dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever will require hospitalization and about “2.5 percent of those affected die.”

Symptoms of severe dengue fever include sharp abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, fatigue, restlessness and blood in vomit. The WHO highlights that the first 24-48 hours after initial symptoms begin can be lethal without proper medical attention and care.

Currently, there is no cure for dengue fever. However, the WHO has now approved a vaccination called Dengvaxia, which took 20 years to be developed at a cost of $1.8 billion.

Dengvaxia, developed by Sanofi Pasteur is being released in the Philippines this month in the first ever public immunization program for the virus. The Philippines has had the highest rates of dengue fever in the pacific region with over 200,000 cases reported in 2013.

A report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer notes that the vaccination “prevents dengue hospitalizations by 80 percent and severe dengue cases by 93 percent.” The program was launched in Manila’s Marikina city to hundreds of public school children and is being administered in three courses, separated by six months.

The Philippines Health Secretary Janette Garin called the program a “historic milestone”. Garin continued, “We are the first country to introduce, adopt and implement the first-ever dengue vaccine through (the) public health system and under a public school setting.”

– Michael A. Clark

Photo: Flickr

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6 Facts You Didn’t Know about the Zika Mosquito

Zika Mosquito
In Brazil, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are rapidly transmitting the Zika virus. Save for common protection against the Zika mosquito, such as chemical repellent or mosquito nets, there is no vaccination or specific treatment to stop the disease from spreading.

Symptoms are not fatal but can cause fevers, rashes and muscle pain. The most damaging aspect of the virus is its link to birth defects among the newborn babies of those who suffered from the disease.

So what do we know about this mosquito that has been causing widespread fear? Here are 6 facts you might not know about the Zika mosquito.

  1. They thrive in urban areas.
    Unlike many mosquitoes that tend to dwell in tropical jungles to breed in natural water sources, the mosquitoes that are spreading the Zika virus love living in built-up areas. There, they find areas of stagnant water to lay eggs, such as gutters, potholes or flower pots that have collected rainwater that has not evaporated. There is also a concentration of humans to feed on in cities.
  2. Only the females bite.
    The females feed on the protein in blood in order to produce eggs. They feed almost exclusively on humans, and if they to pick up a disease from one person, they are likely to pass it on to their next victim.
  3. Mosquitos detect your location by smelling your breath.
    The bugs have receptors on their antennae that detect the carbon dioxide that you exhale. They can also smell your sweat – the more you sweat, the more they bite.
  4. Most mosquitoes like tropical climates.
    The Aedes aegypti resides in tropical and subtropical climates, which is why many worry that this species of mosquito could spread Zika across South America. According to the WHO, the Zika virus is known to circulate in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
  5. The Aedes aegypti has a cousin that could bring Zika to Europe.
    Its cousin, Aedes albopictus, otherwise known as the Asian Tiger mosquito, likes cooler environments. It has been linked to chikungunya virus outbreaks, a disease with similar symptoms to Zika, in Italy and France. Therefore, there is the possibility this species could contribute to the spread of Zika in Europe.
  6. Mosquitoes feed in the day and the night.
    Mosquitos feed in the day and the night. This means mosquito nets are not a very effective prevention method. Insect repellents, such as DEET, have worked in the past, but they are chemical-ridden and toxic for the human skin.

For the most part, symptoms of the Zika virus are relatively mild. Until another preventative measure or vaccine is available, the best way to avoid being bitten by Zika-carrying mosquitoes is to use common protection against mosquitoes, such as repellent, sprays and mosquito nets.

The WHO recommends that those suffering from the disease should rest, drink fluids and use common medicines to treat pain. Some strategies for controlling the spread of the disease are enhancing the surveillance of the virus, providing training on clinical management and strengthening the capacity of laboratories to detect the virus.

– Michelle Simon

Sources: WHO, CDC, Megacatch, BBC
Photo: Flickr

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Tropical Countries to Administer New Dengue Fever Vaccine

Dengue FeverCountries in tropical climates, including Mexico and the Philippines, have started to approve the usage of a vaccine to prevent dengue fever.

Dengue fever is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne virus in the world today. The virus is currently present in 150 countries and over 390 million people are infected per year, with many cases being under-reported.

According to the World Health Organization, half of the world’s population is in danger of developing dengue fever. Patients inflicted with the disease are typically advised to rest, drink plenty of fluids and consume paracetamol, a widely used over-the-counter medicine to reduce fever.

Several tropical countries recently announced their plans to help prevent and reduce the number of dengue fever cases, with the world’s first dengue vaccine. Dengvaxia, a live attenuated version of the virus, will combat all four strains of the disease. The drug is scheduled to go on the market this month.

In the Philippines, health officials have started filing orders for Dengvaxia, aiming to bring the vaccine into its national market as soon as possible. Janette L. Garin, the Secretary of the Philippines Department of Health told GMA News that her country “is the only [location] where three phases of the clinical trial were done… it’s a reflection of how good our researchers are.”

Garin stated that officials will initially administer vaccines to students from eight to 10 years old, since they are the most likely candidates to fall victim to dengue fever. The vaccine is also less effective and more unpredictable in older patients.

“We don’t recommend it to [elder individuals] because there would be other interactions… That is why we want to play on the safe side,” Garin explained.

– John Gilmore

Sources: GMA Network, WHO, Impatient Optimists, News Medical
Photo: Scientific American

Global Fund for Vaccines

Global_FundOne lesson that health care workers and medical teams learned from the Ebola crisis in Africa was “that disease prevention should not be held back by lack of money at a critical juncture when a relatively modest, strategic investment could save thousands of lives and billions of dollars further down the line.” That is why a $2 billion global fund has been proposed to create and research vaccines for priority killer diseases such as West Nile Virus, Ebola and MERS.

The point is to invest money upfront to have these vaccines ready when outbreaks occur. People could be vaccinated before the outbreak became extremely critical in the case of the recent Ebola crisis. Thousands of lives would be saved, as well millions of dollars. The Ebola case is reported to have cost $8 billion, if not more, in an attempt to control the spread. If vaccines had been readily available at the outbreak, then millions could have been saved from treating and burying victims.

The global fund would pay for the production of the vaccine as well as early and mid-stage testing of the vaccine. Thus, the money would close an existing gap between research done at universities and large-scale clinical trials that take vaccines to the market. In the case of Ebola, several successful vaccines showed positive signs in animal testings. If the funds had been in place at the beginning of the outbreak, testing could have been moved to initial human field-testing and vaccines would have been available to stop Ebola.

The $2 billion would come from governments, foundations, pharmaceutical industry and any other industries willing to donate. In return, the donors would sit on a panel with scientists to determine which proposals for vaccines to fund.

Any vaccine project is welcome to apply for financial aid, as it costs about $500 million or more to develop one vaccine. This is a chance for vaccines for diseases not targeted by governments, the World Health Organization or the U.N. to get funding for developing cures. This also provides the chance for older vaccines to be updated and become more effective.

– Katherine Hewitt

Sources: Reuters, CIDRAP
Photo: Flickr

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Off-Grid Vaccine Refrigerators Improve Immunization

Immunization
Most vaccines are heat-sensitive and must remain in a cool, controlled environment. However, this is easier said than done when the vaccines must be transported over a great distance, arriving at a remote location with frequent power outages or no electrical grid at all.

Introducing the direct-drive solar refrigerators: a solar-powered fridge that keeps vaccines cool for long periods of time without relying on gas or kerosene. Off-grid refrigerators were introduced in the 1980s in areas without electricity, but recent technological improvements have made them more efficient and accessible than ever before.

The new technology, sponsored by PATH and the World Health Organization, has “direct drive” technology that uses the sun’s energy to freeze water, creating an ice “bank” that the fridge can tap into during the nights and cloudy days.

A direct-drive solar refrigerator could prove to be invaluable to developing countries. Immunizations would be more stable and more accessible, meaning people would get treated faster.

But the fridges are not the simplest of innovations—any given country will need a long-term plan upon making the initial investment for semi-regular maintenance and repair. On top of that, an experienced professional would have to install the fridge to ensure it is done correctly, and then train local technicians to maintain and repair them.

Despite the drawbacks, the direct-drive solar refrigerator is already working. In the Philippines, a solar refrigerator called the Sure Chill is storing vaccines for longer than previously possible, helping rebuild the cold chain infrastructure after the typhoon in 2014. The Sure Chill fridges uses solar and water power and can run without electricity for up to 10 days. These fridges have a big price tag, about $2,600 each, but are already proving to be extremely worthwhile.

– Hannah Resnick

Sources: Alternative Energy, Science Dev, WHO
Photo: Flickr

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Celebrities High-Five For UNICEF

UNICEF In association with the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015, Canadian and U.S. celebrities are participating in the #HighFiveIt campaign for UNICEF with the universal high-five gesture.

According to UNICEF, almost one thousand children die every day worldwide because of the lack of clean water. Conditions are worsened for those without proper nutrition, immunizations, safety and infant health.

The #HighFiveIt campaign raises money to develop strategies to solve these issues as well as implement the plans created. UNICEF will also help to educate the areas that suffer from these problems with techniques that continue to improve upon the tactics that UNICEF will put in place.

In Canada, Karina LeBlanc, the Canadian Women’s National Team goalkeeper and UNICEF ambassador, helped start the campaign by high-fiving Christine Sinclair, the captain of Canada’s team.
UNICEF asks that supporters take part in #HighFiveIt by posting a photo or video of a high-five during a sporting match, tagging five friends in the post and donating to UNICEF.

Among the supporters are many celebrities who have pledged to help save lives of children in poor areas. Disney Channel stars Calum Worthy, Raini Rodriguez and Laura Marano are giving their high-fives for UNICEF, and so are Rico Rodriguez from “Modern Family” and Peter Mooney, Missy Peregrym, Priscilla Faia and Erin Karpluck from “Rookie Blue.”

In addition, several other Canadian and American politicians, athletes and celebrities are pledging to #HighFiveIt to save citizens in poor areas.

UNICEF Canada’s Chief Development Officer, Sharon Avery, said that she is very pleased with the support from these celebrities as their backing will draw a lot of attention to the cause.

“It’s wonderful to see our homegrown talent, along with several American celebrities, taking part in this campaign to save lives,” Avery said. “I’ve seen the impact of UNICEF’s work with children in Honduras and Dominica and am excited to have my passions — soccer and reaching children through UNICEF — come together with #HighFiveIt.”

Though their involvement was very important, celebrities were not the only people taking part in #HighFiveIt. 7,238 UNICEF fans took part in the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people simultaneously giving a high-five. This event broke the previous record by 2,542 people.

With such a large number of supporters giving high-fives, UNICEF hopes to reach their goals. The organization’s website offers five different life-saving options to donate to, the first being “greatest gift.” If the donator chooses to give to “greatest gift,” the money will be presented to areas that need change the most.

“Children living in conflict and vulnerable situations will benefit from your generosity,” UNICEF said.

By selecting “infant health,” the donator will fund the implementation of baby-friendly hospitals, training of health-care workers and breastfeeding education for mothers. If the supporter chooses “vaccines,” the donation will be used to provide vital vaccinations for tetanus, polio, measles and other life-threatening diseases. By clicking on “nutrition,” the funding will go to efforts to end starvation and malnutrition, and with the selection of “water,” the donation will be used to create water-catchment devices for a better opportunity to provide clean water to developing areas.

Because UNICEF presents the chance of choosing to give directly to causes that the supporter prefers, the organization has created a more personal donation experience. That being said, each dollar the supporter gives to their choice source will be matched by UNICEF, up to two million dollars.

Celebrities and fans of UNICEF can potentially raise more than four million dollars with this promise. To join the cause and help save the lives of people in need, go to unicef.ca or search #HighFiveIt.

– Fallon Lineberger

Sources: Look to the Stars, UNICEF 1, UNICEF 2, UNICEF 3
Photo: Newswire

Vaccine-Resistant Polio: the 2010 Congo Outbreak

Vaccine-Resistant Polio
On August  18, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discovered the cause of the particularly deadly 2010 polio outbreak in Congo: a mutated strain that is resistant to vaccination.

Of the 445 infected, almost half of them succumbed to the virus. The outbreak’s high death rate of 47 percent was originally attributed to low immunization coverage but is now thought to be caused by a mutated strain originating from Southeast Asia. The vaccine-resistant polio strain featured a combination of two mutations that both affected the proteins of the strain’s coat, effectively making it more difficult for the antibodies to recognize and stick on the virus.

The research team tested blood samples from Gabon and from German medical students that had been vaccinated. They found that their antibodies were less effective against the Congo variant and that approximately 15 to 29 percent of the students would have been unprotected from the Congo version.

The vaccine used in Congo and in most developing countries is a weaker, dead serum and was not sufficient in providing protection. In contrast, individuals that receive the live, oral polio vaccine are provided with the strongest immunity and are protected from this polio variant.

The spread in the Congo was stopped by the administration of oral vaccine to the entire population of the surrounding areas.

While the disease is only widespread in three countries, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the larger concern is that similar outbreaks will appear as the world is on the cusp of completely eradicating polio. Areas where dominant strains have been eradicated but vaccine coverage is low are at risk of mutated strains in particular.

However, there are a number of promising methods for prevention and the eventual eradication of polio.

By simply increasing vaccine coverage and surveillance, outbreaks can be detected earlier or completely prevented with high vaccine implementation.

In addition, double vaccination has also proved effective in boosting immunity. By combining the oral vaccine with an additional injection of the inactivated virus, the provided immunity is much more effective than the typical application of two drops of the oral vaccine.

On the other hand, there are still many barriers impeding efforts to eliminate polio.

Delays with updating the public database with the most recent poliovirus sequences have been impeding research among the wider scientific community.

Moreover, security issues in high-conflict regions where vaccination is used as a political tool prevent successful vaccination coverage. The effectiveness of the double vaccination approach is especially promising due to its efficiency under limited access. With a brief period of time, the double vaccination method achieves much more than with the oral vaccination method.

While much has been done to almost eradicate polio, there must still be efforts to achieve the complete annihilation of the virus.

– William Ying

Sources: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Nature, Yahoo News, Live Science, BBC
Photo: flickr