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New data published today by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows whooping cough cases continue to increase in England, reaching 7,599 at the end of May 2024.
On July 11, 2024, the UKHSA also confirmed there have been nine infant deaths since the current whooping cough (pertussis) outbreak began in November last year.
Whooping cough is a cyclical disease that peaks every 3 to 5 years. The last cyclical increase in England occurred in 2016.
The UKHSA says timely vaccination in pregnancy and childhood is important to protect vulnerable young infants from serious disease.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, Director of Immunisation at the UKHSA, said in a press release, "Vaccination is the best defense against whooping cough, and it is vital that pregnant women and young infants receive their vaccines at the right time."
The latest uptake data for the vaccination offered to pregnant women to protect newborn infants against whooping cough continues to decline, with coverage at 58.9% in March 2024 compared to the peak coverage (72.6%) in March 2017.
Evidence from England shows that vaccination at the right time in pregnancy is highly effective, giving 92% protection against infant death.
Texas public health officials announced today that they are urging Texans to protect against mosquito bites after confirming ten travel-associated dengue cases for 2024.
As of July 11, 2024, all of the dengue cases reported in Texas this year were acquired while traveling internationally.
However, a small number of dengue cases have been acquired from mosquito bites in southern Texas in recent years. Mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus are found in both Mexico and Texas.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirmed the new dengue cases were reported in Collin, Dallas, Fort Bend, McMullen, Montgomery, and Travis counties.
In 2023, there were 79 cases of dengue in Texas, including one locally acquired case in Val Verde County.
To the south of Texas, Mexico has reported about 1,000 dengue cases in 2024. In 2023, Mexico reported over 277,000 dengue cases.
“Unfortunately, many mosquitoes in Texas can spread diseases, such as West Nile and dengue. These diseases are often mild, but some people will develop severe illness,” said DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH, in a press release.
According to DSHS, about 25% of dengue infections become symptomatic.
Most people recover completely within two weeks. However, about one in 20 symptomatic people develop a severe infection called Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever that can be fatal if untreated.
From a prevention perspective, two dengue vaccines are used in various countries but not in the U.S. as of July 11, 2024.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Influenza Update N° 483, elevated influenza activity was reported in countries in Central America and the Caribbean, Western Africa, Southern Asia, and South East Asia due to various virus types.
As of July 10, 2024, in the Southern Hemisphere, influenza activity continues to be elevated in South America and Oceania countries. There are indications that activity may have peaked in some South American and Southern African countries.
In the United States, influenza case reports for the 2024-2025 flu season are reduced.
However, flu shots for the new season have already been distributed to pharmacies in the U.S.
Biotechnology company Apriori Bio recently announced it was awarded $1.1 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to advance its biology-informed artificial intelligence platform Octavia™, aimed at protecting humanity against rapidly evolving viruses by designing variant-resilient vaccines.
The new seed funding from CEPI will focus on pandemic influenza strain H3N2, which has previously affected pigs, birds, and humans.
The Octavia platform works by characterizing large libraries of viral variants on their ability to bind to cells in the human body and evade the immune response. Then, using machine learning, Octavia generates maps to identify the mutations that have the greatest ‘escape potential’ and could, therefore, pose the greatest threat.
Octavia builds and trains its algorithms using computational insights and experimental biological data. This includes studying viral evolutionary trees to identify the point at which viral variability is most likely to occur and exploring how mutations could affect each other.
These insights can guide the design and updating of new vaccines and existing vaccines so that they can protect against worrisome variants for years to come.
Lovisa Afzelius, Ph.D., MBA, Co-founder and CEO of Apriori, said in a press release on July 7, 2024, “We are honored to be recognized by a global leader in pandemic preparedness who shares our commitment to better protecting humanity from rapidly evolving viruses."
CEPI’s 2022-2026 plan, known as CEPI 2.0, will help the world make the scientific progress needed to respond to the next Disease X threat with a new vaccine in just 100 days. This goal is known as the 100 Days Mission.
Colossal today announced that the first elephant in captivity at the Houston Zoo has been administered an experimental herpesvirus mRNA vaccine. The Houston Zoo approved the vaccine and has inoculated Tess, a 40-year-old Asian elephant.
On July 9, 2024, Colossal stated the elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) is the number one killer of Asian elephant calves living under managed care in North America and Europe and significantly impacts free-ranging populations of Asian elephants as well.
Recent EEHV-related deaths in several African elephants in the U.S. have raised concerns about EEHV in this elephant species.
Following encouraging results from the initial vaccine trials, the mRNA vaccine will be offered to more facilities, especially those with vulnerable young elephants.
“Colossal supported our efforts to work on an mRNA solution approach,” shared Dr. Paul Ling, Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Virology at Baylor College of Medicine, in a press release.
“It quickly became evident that the mRNA solution was going to be feasible, so we prioritized implementing that approach. We are much further along today than we would have been without Colossal’s scientific support, research teams, and funding.”
In the next three to five years, Dr. Ling hopes this vaccine will be applied to the broad population of elephants under human care worldwide. Following that, the team would look to applications with animals in the wild.
This represents a massive step forward for the protection of elephants globally and a huge step forward for science.
According to the Houston Zoo, Tess, mother to Tucker (19), Tupelo (13), Tilly (6), and Teddy (3) and grandmother to Winnie (3), is currently doing well post-vaccination.
Upon the successful outcome of this first vaccination, the Houston Zoo plans to vaccinate additional animals under its care.
As of July 9, 2024, the U.S. FDA has not approved a herpes vaccine for humans.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Disease Outbreak News confirmed the mpox outbreak in South Africa has expanded.
The sudden appearance of unlinked mpox cases in South Africa without a history of international travel, the high HIV prevalence among confirmed cases, and the high case-fatality ratio suggest that community transmission of the mpox virus is underway
As of July 9, 2024, 20 confirmed mpox cases, with three related fatalities in Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natalhave provinces, have been reported since May 2024.
These mpox cases are South Africa's first since 2022, when five cases were reported, none fatal.
The WHO stated, 'Discussions are underway regarding options for vaccine procurement.'
Currently, two mpox vaccines are being deployed in other African countries.
