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In 2024, there have been several reports of avian influenza virus infections in birds, mammals, and humans. As a result, government agencies are taking measures to prepare for potential pandemics.
On February 23, 2024, the Human Medicines Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) issued its recommendations for avian influenza vaccines.
The committee adopted positive opinions for two vaccines intended for active immunization against the H5N1 subtype of influenza A virus, also called bird flu.
One of them, Celldemic (zoonotic influenza vaccine (H5N1)(surface antigen, inactivated, adjuvanted, prepared in cell cultures)), is intended for immunization during outbreaks of influenza coming from animals, including when public health authorities anticipate a possible pandemic.
The other, Incellipan (pandemic influenza vaccine (H5N1) (surface antigen, inactivated, adjuvanted, prepared in cell cultures)), is a pandemic preparedness vaccine intended for use only if a flu pandemic has been officially declared.
In the event of a pandemic, once the virus strain causing the pandemic is identified, the manufacturer can include this strain in the authorized pandemic preparedness vaccine and apply for the vaccine to be authorized as a 'final' pandemic vaccine.
Because the vaccine's quality, safety, and efficacy have already been assessed with other potential pandemic strains, the authorization of the final pandemic vaccine can be accelerated, wrote the EMA.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 20 million H5N1 and 12 million H7N9 vaccines were available in the National Strategic Stockpile in 2023.
The U.S. FDA authorized the Audenz™ (Influenza A(H5N1) Monovalent Vaccine, Adjuvanted) cell-based vaccine on January 31, 2020.
While the global dengue outbreak continues in 2024, many parts of the Americas are at risk. A trendy vacation destination in Central America reports a significant surge in dengue cases this year.
According to the Costa Rica Ministry of Health, there have been 4,787 confirmed cases of dengue during the first six reporting periods of this year.
As of February 23, 2024, Costa Rica's Central North region concentrates the highest accumulated notification of dengue cases this year with 1,228 cases, followed by the Central Pacific with 832 and the Central South with 762 cases.
During 2023, there were over 24,914 dengue cases, an increase from the 7,485 dengue patients in 2022.
To alert international travelers of this mosquito-transmitted health risk, Costa Rica was included in the U.S. CDC's Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, dengue notice on February 09, 2024.
The Ministry of Health has called on the population to constantly clean and empty the containers in which water is stored for domestic use. Likewise, residents are urged to collaborate with our officials when they visit your homes for fumigation, presenting proper identification.
The Vector Control Program team recently carried out 16,645 fumigations in the towns of La Carpio, Pavas, and Alajuela.
As of 2024, the Dengvaxia® vaccine was sold in private pharmacies in Costa Rica. The price is around $130.
However, the second-generation QDENGA® dengue vaccine is not offered in Costa Rica.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed its recommended composition for influenza vaccines for the northern hemisphere flu season of 2024-2025.
Both trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines are recommended as of February 23, 2024.
These WHO recommendations are utilized by national vaccine regulatory agencies and pharmaceutical companies to develop, produce, and license influenza vaccines for the following influenza season.
Previously, the WHO urged manufacturers to eliminate the B/Yamagata component from flu vaccines for 2024-2025.
As of February 10, 2024, over 157 million flu vaccines (egg, cell, and nasal) had been distributed in the United States during the 2023-2024 season.
Bavarian Nordic A/S, a leading pharmaceutical company, announced news today regarding its investigational chikungunya vaccine, CHIKV VLP.
The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has granted accelerated assessment for this chikungunya vaccine candidate's Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA).
The CHMP has recognized that the vaccine candidate is of significant interest to public health and therapeutic innovation.
With this positive development, the company is taking steps toward addressing the unmet medical needs of millions worldwide affected by the Chikungunya virus.
Chikungunya outbreaks continue to be reported in 2024.
Before 2013, chikungunya virus cases and outbreaks had been identified in countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In late 2013, the first local transmission of chikungunya virus in the Americas was identified in Caribbean countries and territories, according to the U.S. CDC.
Bavarian Nordic also confirmed on February 23, 2024, that it is on track to submit its MAA for CHIKV VLP to the EMA during H1 2024. As a result, the review of the MAA may now take as little as 150 days instead of the usual 210 days.
This means that the vaccine could be available in Europe sooner than expected.
"We are pleased to receive the accelerated assessment in recognition of our chikungunya vaccine candidate and our efforts to bring this novel product to the market. With this, we can accelerate the approval and launch timelines for the vaccine in Europe. As part of our global strategy, we also plan to submit our biologics license application (BLA) for the vaccine candidate to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this year," said Paul Chaplin, President and CEO of Bavarian Nordic, in a press release.
In 2023, Bavarian Nordic successfully completed two Phase 3 studies of CHIKV VLP.
The CHKV-VLA vaccine candidate received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Fast Track designation in May 2018.
Recently, the FDA issued approval for Valneva SE's IXCHIQ® Chikungunya Vaccine. However, the CDC has not given its approval.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) today reported an additional 60 laboratory-confirmed measles cases have been confirmed in England during the ongoing outbreak.
This brings the total number of measles cases since October 2023 to 581.
As of February 22, 2024, the West Midlands accounted for most of these (47%, 79 of 169) measles cases, mainly in Birmingham, the largest city in the West Midlands, with over 1.1 million residents.
Furthermore, the majority (379 of 581, 65%) of these cases are in children.
In a press release, Dr. Vanessa Saliba, UKHSA Consultant Epidemiologist, said, "We're urging parents to protect their children from this serious illness with the MMR vaccine before it spreads further."
"...but 100s of thousands of unvaccinated children are at risk of severe illness or life-long complications."
"The disease spreads very quickly among those who are unvaccinated, especially in schools and nurseries. However, measles is entirely preventable with vaccination."
In the United Kingdom, two MMR vaccine brands are available: Priorix and MMRVaxPro.
The data published in this UKHSA epidemiological overview is currently provisional.
