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In recent years, mosquito-transmitted Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) outbreaks have occurred in many parts of southern and eastern Asia.
According to health agencies, JEV has extended beyond its traditional boundaries to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Torres Strait and has been detected in Victoria, Australia, since 2022.
To help protect people from this disease, Victoria's Chief Health Officer announced on October 31, 2024, that more Victorians would have protection this mosquito season, with the Allan Labor Government expanding the eligibility of the free JEV vaccine program across the state.
This means people in Alpine, Macedon Ranges, Mansfield, and Mitchell, as well as local government areas, can access the JEV vaccine.
Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas said in a media release, "Summer provides mosquitos with an ideal breeding ground. In addition to getting vaccinated against JEV, Victorians in high-risk areas should take simple actions, like wearing loose-fitting clothes and using mosquito repellent."
This announcement means ValnevaSE's IXIARO® (JESPECT®) vaccine is now available to about seven million people in 24 regional local government areas in southeast Australia at a higher risk of exposure to the virus.
Furthermore, over 110 million international visitors are expected to visit Victoria in 2024.
IXIARO is the only JEV vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The U.S. Department of Defense has relied on IXIARO since 2010 to protect personnel deployed to JEV-endemic areas.
Valneva recently announced that IXIARO/JESPECT sales increased by 31% in the first nine months of 2024 compared to 2023.
The global shift from a 2-dose human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine regimen to a 1-dose schedule began in 2022 to address supply shortages that have historically left individuals from low- and middle-income countries unprotected.
According to a Medical News in Brief published today by The JAMA Network, this transition accelerated on October 4, 2024, when the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified Cecolin®. This HPV vaccine, which protects people against HPV 16 and 18, is the fourth vaccine for single-dose use.
Estimates from the WHO indicate that the switch to a single-dose vaccine schedule resulted in an additional six million girls being vaccinated against HPV globally in 2023.
That year, 27% of girls aged 9 to 14 received a single dose of HPV vaccine, compared with 20% in 2022.
As of September, 57 countries, up from 37 last year, had adopted the new vaccination plan. However, the U.S. CDC recommends either a 2- or 4-dose schedule.
Currently, there are six HPV vaccines in use, and various candidates are conducting clinical studies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends administering a single typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) dose to children in high-burden countries. To better determine the TCV's efficacy, researchers extended the follow-up of the TyVAC clinical trial to assess protection five years after vaccination.
Published by The Lancet (Volume 404, Issue 10461) on October 12, 2024, these researchers conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN11643110) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between 2018 and 2021.
This study identified a decline in the protection conferred by a single-dose TCV 3–5 years after vaccination, with the greatest decline in protection and immune responses observed in children vaccinated at younger ages.
These researchers suggest that a booster dose of TCV around school entry age might be needed for children vaccinated when younger than two years old to sustain protection against typhoid fever during the school years when the risk is the highest.
This recommendation is essential as about nine million typhoid cases and 93,300 related fatalities are reported annually worldwide. Typhoid fever is a life-threatening infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. It is usually spread through contaminated food or water.
The WHO currently recommends four different TCVs. These vaccines have been established as safe, well-tolerated, and effective.
The WHO writes that travelers to destinations with a high risk of typhoid fever be offered a typhoid vaccination. TVCs are available at travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded this study.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today it has identified a higher-than-expected number of chikungunya cases among U.S. travelers returning from the state of Telangana, India.
On November 8, 2024, the CDC issued a Level 2—Practice Enhanced Precautions, Travel Health Advisory to alert travelers to India's ongoing chikungunya outbreak. In 2024, India reported 69,395 chikungunya cases.
Telangana is located in the south-central region of India, with a population of about 35 million. The USA is generally the largest source of foreign tourists arriving in India annually.
As of early November 2024, the CDC reported that 153 people had been infected with chikungunya while traveling abroad. Last year, only 129 cases were confirmed.
People at risk for more severe disease include newborns infected around the time of birth, older adults, and people with medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease. The CDC stated that if you are pregnant, reconsider travel to the state of Telangana, mainly if you are close to delivering your baby.
The CDC recommends vaccination against chikungunya for (most) adults traveling to a destination with a current outbreak.
In late 2023, the U.S. FDA approved Valneva SE's IXCHIQ®, the first vaccine to address chikungunya virus infections in adults. IXCHIQ is commercially available in the U.S. at most travel clinics and pharmacies.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) confirmed that seven countries reported new polio cases involving wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) last week.
As of November 6, 2024, Pakistan reported 45 WPV1 cases this year. With 53 WPV1-positive environmental samples collected in September and October, Pakistan's outbreak may continue for months.
Five countries in Africa reported more vaccine-derived poliovirus cases, including Senegal, which had its first circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) case for the year. The other four are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, and Nigeria.
In the Middle East, Yemen reported two cVDPV2 cases with paralysis onset in September.
The U.S. CDC's travel health advisory continues to identify 37 countries at risk for poliovirus outbreaks.
The CDC says that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series may receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine before traveling to any destination listed. Pre-departure polio vaccination services are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.
Health authorities recently reported a yellow fever virus outbreak in the Republic of Colombia.
As of November 7, 2024, the government announced that 26 yellow fever cases were reported primarily in the Tolima province during 2024.
For this reason, Columbia's Ministry of Health and Social Protection and regional health authorities activated the "Epidemic Logical Barrier."
One of the measures taken was to advance a mass vaccination campaign in the priority municipalities. This vaccination activity was carried out on November 2, 2024. In Columbia, the Stamaril yellow fever vaccine is available.
As of week #35 of 2024, 38 confirmed cases of yellow fever have been reported in the Americas Region, including 19 deaths. Outbreaks were reported mainly throughout the Amazon region of Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and Guyana.
Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Its symptoms may include fever, muscle aches, headache, and, in some severe cases, jaundice and bleeding. The fatality rate is up to 50%. Early identification of symptoms is crucial as they can be confused with other diseases.
According to the U.S. CDC, yellow fever vaccination is required and/or recommended for visitors, depending upon specific criteria. In the U.S., the YF-Vax vaccine is available at travel vaccine clinics and pharmacies in 2024.
The CDC has also alerted visitors to Columbia of health risks for chikungunya, dengue, and, most recently, Oropouche outbreaks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced in early 2024, then in October 2024, that the global demand (74 million) for oral cholera vaccine (OCV) has exceeded the supply (38 million). According to news announced today, the OCV shortage could be ending.
Valneva SE announced on November 7, 2024, that DUKORAL® sales in the third quarter of 2024 grew 85% year-over-year as marketing investments resumed following a successful regulatory inspection of the company’s new vaccine manufacturing site in Sweden.
The WHO has prequalified the DUKORAL vaccine, and it is authorized in Europe, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, Thailand, and the United Kingdom to protect people against cholera and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.
Dukoral is used in people aged from 2 years who will be visiting areas with a high risk of cholera.
The WHO classified the global resurgence of cholera as a grade 3 emergency. As of the end of September 2024, a total of 439,724 cholera cases and 3,432 deaths were reported across five WHO regions this year.
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. The Company's press release disclosed that Third-Quarter 2024 total revenues were $293.8 million, an increase of 9% compared to the prior year.
And that revenues from Smallpox Medical Countermeasures (MCM) products increased 437% compared with Q3 2023.
Smallpox MCM revenues were $108.0 million from ACAM2000®, VIGIV, and TEMBEXA® product transactions. The revenue increase was primarily due to the timing of U.S. government purchases of ACAM2000® and VIGIV.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Emergent a contract in September 2019 valued at approximately $2 billion over ten years for the continued supply of ACAM2000 into the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.
"Through disciplined execution and steady, measurable progress, Emergent's financial position is the strongest it has been since 2021, as evidenced by our favorable third-quarter results," stated CEO Joe Papa on November 6, 2024.
ACAM2000 is a second-generation live vaccinia virus, cell-cultured, replication-competent, single-dose vaccine that protects people against mpox and smallpox diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published 'Vaccines and Immunization for mpox: Interim Guidance, as did the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which expanded access via the Investigational New Drug Protocol, allowing ACAM2000 use to prevent mpox on June 30, 2022.
In August 2024, the WHO declared the increasing number of mpox cases reported in the African Region a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
