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Despite decades of efforts to control malaria outbreaks, there were over 24 million cases in 2021. The African Region continues to shoulder the heaviest malaria burden, comprising 95% of patients globally, reports to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Unfortunately, children are particularly vulnerable during malaria outbreaks, as nearly half a million African children die from malaria every year.
In October 2023, the WHO recommended the programmatic use of malaria vaccines to prevent P. falciparum malaria in children living in endemic areas.
According to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the approved malaria vaccines are delivering positive results.
On November 7, 2023, Gavi confirmed in a news article that the Mosquirix™ (RTS,S/AS01) malaria vaccine reduced mortality from all causes by 13% in children in the age group eligible for vaccination.
In addition to the significant reduction in all-cause mortality, the vaccine was also responsible for a 22% reduction in hospitalization for severe clinical malaria in children eligible for the vaccine.
"This means.....more children are going to be saved from death in Africa," commented John Bawa, PATH Malaria Vaccine Implementation Lead for West Africa.
As of November 2023, the Mosquirix vaccine is available in African countries, including Malawi, Kenya, and Ghana. Eighteen countries across different African regions are set to receive millions of doses over the next few years.
The Mosquirix vaccine was created in 1987 as part of a collaboration between GlaxoSmithKline and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research that began in 1984.
According to new data published today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), influenza cases, hospitalizations, and deaths accelerated during the last week.
The CDC estimates that there have been at least 490,000 illnesses, 5,300 hospitalizations, and 330 deaths from influenza during the 2023-2024 flu season.
As of November 13, 2023, the CDC's Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report confirmed seasonal influenza activity increased in most parts of the country, most noticeably in the South Central, Southeast, and West Coast regions.
Additionally, the National Healthcare Safety Network Hospitalization Surveillance report for week #44 shows that 1,962 patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza were admitted to a hospital. The number of patients admitted to a hospital slightly increased compared to week #43.
Furthermore, weekly influenza-related deaths occurred during the following weeks: #44 (21), #43 (32), and #42 (43).
For the last flu season, the number of flu-related deaths reported by the National Center for Health Statistics totaled 9,697.
And the first influenza-associated pediatric death occurring during the 2023-24 season was recently reported.
A total of 182 influenza-associated pediatric deaths that occurred during the 2022-2023 season have been reported to the CDC.
With the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, the CDC's Director, Dr. Mandy Cohen, reminded everyone in a video posted on Facebook to make plans to get vaccinated.
The CDC also confirmed there are ample supplies of various flu shots this season.
As of November 4, 2023, over 147 million doses have been distributed.
Alzamend Neuro, Inc. today announced that it has submitted an investigational new drug ("IND") application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for the initiation of AL001-PTSD01, a Phase IIA plasma/brain pharmacokinetics clinical study of AL001, for treatment of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
After receipt of a "study may proceed" communication from the FDA, Alzamend plans to initiate a Phase IIA study to characterize AL001 improvements of lithium levels in the brain compared to a marketed lithium salt in PTSD patients.
Alzamend anticipates that the new drug application ("NDA") development program for PTSD may, for safety, qualify for a 505(b)(2) NDA pathway to FDA approval, which can be available to new formulations of an approved drug.
"There are only two drugs approved by the FDA and currently available in generic form for PTSD patients," said Stephan Jackman, Chief Executive Officer of Alzamend, in a press release on November 13, 2023.
"Being able to develop a next-generation lithium product (AL001) that would not routinely require therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) could positively impact the 9 million Americans afflicted with PTSD."
"We look forward to providing more details regarding the study's timeline and market opportunity in the near future."
Although lithium products do not have an FDA-approved indication for PTSD, case reports suggest that lithium treatment may be useful for treating PTSD patients. In particular, treatment with low doses (300–600 mg/day) of lithium carbonate has been reported to provide effective treatment in the reduction of inappropriate anger, irritability, anxiety, and insomnia in those patients.
The clinical observation of mood swings beyond the normal range, but milder than those associated with BD, reportedly suggested the presence of a sub-threshold mood disorder in these PTSD patients.
It has also been proposed that treatment of trauma with lithium to forestall the development of PTSD may be provided by pharmacological induction of mild transient amnesia.
Lithium was the first mood stabilizer approved by the FDA and is still a first-line treatment option for BD but is underutilized, perhaps because of the need for TDM, that is, routine monitoring of lithium drug levels in blood to help assure safety and effectiveness.
Lithium was the first drug that required TDM by regulatory authorities in product labeling because the effective and safe range of therapeutic drug blood concentrations is narrow and well-defined for treating BD when using lithium salts. Excursions above this range can be toxic, and below can impair effectiveness.
AL001 is a novel lithium-delivery system that has the potential to provide the benefits of marketed lithium salts while mitigating or avoiding currently experienced toxicities associated with lithium.
Results from Alzamend's recently completed Phase IIA multiple-ascending dose study of AL001 in Alzheimer's patients and healthy subjects identified a maximum tolerated dose ("MTD") that an independent safety review committee vetted.
This MTD is designed to distribute more lithium to the brain but at lower systemic exposure, resulting in an improved safety profile compared to currently marketed lithium salts.
This MTD was assessed to be unlikely to require TDM.
PTSD is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats to a person's life.
According to the NIH, about 3.6%, or roughly 9 million, adults in the U.S. have PTSD in a given year, and 9% of people develop it at some point in their life.
Children may also experience very stressful events that affect their thoughts and feelings.
In much of the world, rates for a given year are between 0.5% and 1% of the population.
As of November 13, 2023, the FDA has not approved an Alzheimer's disease-related vaccine candidate.
NOte: On Dec. 11, 2023, the headline was updated.
The Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) recently announced one confirmed active tuberculosis disease (TB) case at Westview YMCA, located near 156th and Ida Streets in the Bennington area in Omaha, Nebraska.
As of November 9, 2023, DCHD confirmed it is investigating more than 500 possible TB exposures that may have happened at the YMCA daycare. Those potential TB exposures could have occurred from late spring into late October 2023.
Children’s Nebraska has planned clinics to test children four years of age and under who were potentially exposed in the last ten weeks.
DCHD will hold clinics at Westview YMCA on November 15-17, 2023, to test anyone identified as exposed from late May until August 21, 2023.
County Health Director Dr. Lindsay Huse, MPH, DNP, RN, said in the news release that testing for TB is recommended only for those who had close contact on one or more occasions.
TB cases are relatively rare in Nebraska.
However, Douglas County confirmed 15 TB cases through September 2023 and had 15 confirmed cases in 2022.
Tuberculosis cases in the United States increased about 5% last year, led by California and Texas.
According to the U.S. CDC, TB is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any body part, such as the kidney, spine, and brain.
Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal, says the CDC.
While TB infections can be cured, it is also a vaccine-preventable disease.
Versions of the BCG vaccine have been used throughout the world for about 100 years.
According to a recent study, a seasonal analysis revealed that Brazil's most significant risk of Zika and Chikungunya disease occurs during the summer when higher temperatures occur.
The resurgence was identified in northeast Brazil between 2019 and 2021 for Zika and in 2021 for Chikungunya.
As of November 8, 2023, over 26,659 Zika cases have been reported in Brazil this year.
Published by the journal Scientific Reports on October 21, 2023, this trend is related to the increased Ae. aegypti mosquito infestation levels due to the decreased time for larval development.
And the increased proportion of infectious mosquitoes, given the decreased intrinsic incubation periods of the viruses in the vector.
Studies conducted in China, the United States, and the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo also indicated that temperature influenced the distribution patterns of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, consequently affecting the incidence of diseases they transmit.
The small but significant differences (from 0.7 to 2.6 ∘C) in the average temperature between the high-risk and no-risk areas for both diseases are worth consideration, wrote these researchers.
For example, Banu et al. showed that an increase of 1 ∘C could be related to a future rise in arbovirus disease cases.
In recent decades, consistent and widespread warming has been observed throughout Brazil, with greater extreme heat occurring during spring and summer.
From a prevention perspective, Zika vaccine candidates continue in clinical trials. However, the U.S. FDA recently approved the first Chikunynga vaccine.
A recent study published by the journal Cell Host & Microbe shows that gender-neutral vaccination can achieve population-level human papillomavirus (HPV) immunity.
Published on November 1, 2023, this study evaluated the long-term effect of community-randomized gender-neutral and girls-only HPV vaccination on the ecology of the remaining oncogenic HPVs among young adult women vaccinated as early adolescents.
These researchers observed a significant depletion of high-oncogenicity vaccine-targeted HPV types 16/18/31/45 in gender-neutral and girls-only vaccination communities four years post-vaccination.
However, this depletion was consistent eight years post-vaccination only among gender-neutral vaccination communities.
'Our most important finding, however, was the significantly increased (PFDR = 1.1 × 10−8) oncogenic HPVs ecological diversity from 4 to 8 years post-vaccination exclusively in gender-neutral vaccination communities despite the clearance of the vaccine-targeted types in these communities.'
'This rising ecological diversity of the oncogenic HPVs in gender-neutral vaccination communities with a stronger herd immunity compared with girls-only vaccination communities is likely the first recorded sign of ecological niche occupation by the non-vaccine-targeted HPV post-population-level vaccination,' wrote these researchers.
Previously, the Lancet Global Health released a report in September 2023 report showing that almost 33% of men over the age of 15 were infected with at least one genital HPV type, and 20% are infected with one or more high-risk or oncogenic HPV types.
Additionally, a study published by the Journal of Infectious Diseases on October 12, 2023, found genital HPV infections within two years in about 40% (CI:33.4-48.4) of unvaccinated young women who started a new heterosexual relationship.
In the United States, about 76% of adolescents have received one or more HPV vaccine doses by 2022.
As of November 11, 2023, various HPV vaccines are available at most clinics and pharmacies.
During the early months of the 2023-2024 flu season in the United States, most of the influenza activity was reported in Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama.
However, updated data from the Walgreen's Flu Index indicates increased flu activity in most southern areas
As of November 4, 2023, the Top 10 Designated Market Areas with Flu Activity are as follows:
- Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen, Texas
- Lafayette, La.
- Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
- Houston, Texas
- Montgomery-Selma, Ala.
- New Orleans, La.
- Puerto Rico
- Columbus-Tupelo-West Point-Houston, Miss.
- Bakersfield, Calif.
- Mobile, Ala.-Pensacola (Ft. Walton Beach), Fla.
Walgreens has produced this data for ten flu seasons to show trends in flu activity week-over-week.
From a severity perspective, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an updated respiratory disease season outlook on November 3, 2023. During week #43, the first influenza-associated pediatric death was reported, as well as 14 other flu-related fatalities.
Walgreens launched the 2023-2024 Walgreens Flu Index to help communities track flu activity in their area and serve as an essential reminder to take preventive measures, including an annual flu shot.
As of October 28, 2023, 145.42 million influenza vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and are generally available at clinics and pharmacies.
Globally, the World Health Organization published Influenza Update N° 457 on October 30, 2023, indicating that influenza detections remained low globally, with activity in the temperate Northern Hemisphere and Western and Eastern Asia.
