Cancer Vaccine Breaking News

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) today declared the recent outbreak of measles in the City of Chicago officially over. Two full incubation periods (42 days) have passed without any new measles cases.

On March 7, 2024, CDPH confirmed the first case of measles in Chicago in five years. In total, 64 individuals tested positive for measles, 57 of whom were associated with a shelter setting.

Over 30,000 measles-mumps-rubella vaccine doses have been administered to Chicago residents.

CDPH Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige said in a press release on May 31, 2024, “Our goal is the elimination of measles in Chicago and everywhere, and with proper vaccination coverage, we know that zero is possible.”

For those who are traveling internationally, additional measles vaccinations may be recommended. Talk with your healthcare provider (doctor, nurse, pharmacist) before traveling about vaccinations you and your family may need, wrote CDPH.

As of May 30, 2024, the U.S. CDC reported a total of 146 measles cases in 21 jurisdictions: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

There have been 11 outbreaks (three+ cases) reported in 2024.

Globally, measles cases have been confirmed in 52 countries in the past year by the CDC.

Valneva SE today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending authorization of Valneva's IXCHIQ® single-dose vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by the chikungunya virus in adults.

The European Commission will review the CHMP recommendation, and a decision on the marketing authorization application (MAA) of IXCHIQ in the European Union (EU), Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland is expected in the third quarter of 2024.

It will become the first chikungunya vaccine available in the EU under the International Reliance Procedure to address this unmet medical need if approved. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved IXCHIQ in 2023. In February 2024, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  vaccine committee voted to recommend using IXCHIQ.

Valneva is also preparing an MAA for submission to the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Two additional MAAs are under review by Health Canada and the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency, with potential approvals in 2024.

Dr. Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, commented in a press release on May 31, 2024, "Over one billion people live in areas where Chikungunya is endemic, and recent large outbreaks underline the urgent need for safe and effective vaccines against this debilitating disease."

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus, which is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Infection leads to symptomatic disease in up to 97% of humans four to seven days after the mosquito bite.

According to the U.S. CDC, chikungunya outbreaks have accelerated in 2024.

For example, the CDC recently issued a Level 2 Travel Health Advisory for the Maldives. Local authorities reported elevated chikungunya activity in multiple areas in the Maldives in May 2024.

CSL Seqirus today announced it was selected by the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to complete the fill-and-finish process of the pre-pandemic vaccine for the U.S. government as part of the National Pre-Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Stockpile program.

Under the terms of the agreement revealed on May 30, 2024, CSL Seqirus will deliver approximately 4.8 million doses of a pre-pandemic vaccine well-matched to the H5 of the currently circulating H5N1 strain.

This acquisition of a pre-pandemic vaccine will increase BARDA's vaccine stockpile to support the U.S. government's pre-pandemic response. It is the fourth award CSL Seqirus has received from BARDA in response to sustained highly pathogenic avian influenza activity.
 
"The U.S. CDC maintains the risk to public health as low. We are closely monitoring the situation because we are acutely aware of the threat that influenza virus strains like H5N1 can pose and take seriously our role in preparedness efforts alongside our government and public health partners," said Marc Lacey, CSL Seqirus, Global Executive Director for Pandemic, in a press release.

"This agreement, building upon prior agreements with BARDA, will help support the U.S. government's ability to respond swiftly if the current avian flu situation changes."

On April 1, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Peter Marks informed the media that the U.S. stockpile of avian flu-specific vaccines would work well if deployed.

As of May 2024, FDA-approved avian influenza vaccines are not commercially available in the U.S. The FDA says annual flu shots are unlikely to protect people during avian influenza (bird flu, cow flu) outbreaks. 

In Europe, the European Commission (EC) signed a framework contract on July 28, 2022, for the joint procurement of GSK's Adjupanrix, a pandemic influenza vaccine. That contact enables EC Member States to purchase up to 85 million vaccine doses during an influenza pandemic.

BARDA is part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

CSL Seqirus is a business of Australia-based CSL.

NanoViricides, Inc. today elaborated on its development of a first-in-class, broad-spectrum antiviral agent that could revolutionize the treatment of viral infections, including RSV, Influenza, and other viruses.

Over 90% of human pathogenic viruses are known to use one or more "landing sites" in the Sulfated Proteoglycans ("SPG") family. NanoViricides says a successful host-mimetic nanoviricide drug using SPG as the key feature to attracting viruses could theoretically attack most, if not all, such viruses.

NV-387 is designed to mimic SPG and attack the virus as a cell-mimicking decoy. 

For example, in a recent RSV study, extended orally administered NV-387 was compared with a high dose of ribavirin. Two doses were given on the first day of dosing, followed by one daily dose for the next nine days (11 doses). NV-387 given by this dosing regimen led to complete survival of the mice beyond the 21-day study period, with no signs of pathology apparent on the last day of observation.

"An antiviral agent with an extra-ordinary broad spectrum of antiviral activity, coupled with strong safety, is a 'holy grail' of antiviral medicines," said Anil R. Diwan, Ph.D., President and Executive Chairman of the Company, in a press release on May 29, 2024 

"Our host-mimetic, direct-acting, nanoviricide™ platform technology capable of destroying virus particles has made this possible, we believe. NV-387 is now ready for Phase II studies towards the goal of regulatory approvals worldwide."

He further commented, "If and when approved, NV-387 could be as revolutionary an antiviral agent as penicillin was as an anti-bacterial agent."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced an outbreak of chikungunya in Malé and Hulhumalé regions of Maldives.

Crisis24 recently reported 389 total cases from March to May 11, 2024.

On May 28, 2024, the CDC Level 2 Travel Health Advisory recommended that adults traveling to a destination with a current chikungunya outbreak be vaccinated.

The U.S. FDA recently approved Valneva SE's IXCHIQ® monovalent, single-dose, live-attenuated chikungunya vaccine.

Furthermore, the CDC says if you are pregnant, reconsider travel to Maldives, particularly if you are close to delivering your baby. Mothers infected around the time of delivery can pass the virus to their baby before or during delivery.

According to the CDC, newborns infected in this way or by a mosquito bite are at risk for severe illness, including poor long-term outcomes.

Additionally, people can protect themselves from chikungunya infection by preventing mosquito bites, including using insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, staying in places with air conditioning, or using window and door screens.

Increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are reported globally, and new interventions are needed, wrote researchers in a recent article published by The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

STIs continue to pose significant public health challenges, causing 2.5 million deaths each year, according to a new World Health Organization report.

On May 23, 2024, these France-based researchers wrote, 'We aimed to assess whether post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with doxycycline could reduce the incidence of chlamydia or syphilis (or both) and whether the meningococcal group B vaccine (4CMenB) could reduce the incidence of gonorrhea in this population.

Results from the ANRS 174 Doxyvac phase 3 clinical trial concluded Doxycycline PEP strongly reduced the incidence of chlamydia and syphilis.

These researchers said it did not show the efficacy of the 4CmenB vaccine for gonorrhea.

Still, doxycycline PEP should be assessed in other broader populations, and its effect on antimicrobial resistance carefully monitored.

A new framework was recently released by the World Health Organization (WHO) that will guide health authorities, communities, and other stakeholders in preventing and controlling mpox outbreaks, eliminating human-to-human transmission of the disease, and reducing spillover of the virus from animals to humans.

Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV).

There are two different clades of the MPXV: clade I and clade II. Clade I outbreaks are deadlier than clade II outbreaks. 

In the United States, clade II cases were reported to have a fatality rate of .002%.

A significant outbreak of the clade I virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues today, where cases have been detected for decades. Since the beginning of 2024, over 6,500 cases and 345 deaths have been reported in the DRC.

This data reflects a fatality rate of .05%.

As of May 26, 2024, most U.S. mpox cases continue to be in people who are not vaccinated or have only received one dose of the JYNNEOS® (MVA-BN®, IMVAMUNE®) vaccine. The U.S. CDC recommends that persons at risk for mpox exposure complete the 2-dose  vaccination.

In the U.S., the JYNNEOS vaccine is offered at clinics and pharmacies in select cities.