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The journal NPJ Vaccines recently reported that researchers have developed and characterized a novel dual-target single-shot vaccine candidate that protects against Ebola (EBOV) and Yellow Fever (YFV) infection.
Announced on July 11, 2023, the YF-EBO pre-clinical vaccine candidate could help communities combat simultaneous EBOV and YFV epidemics, such as in Africa.
While there are approved vaccines for Ebola (Ervebo®) and Yellow fever (Stamaril®) in 2023, a single combo vaccine could enhance vaccination campaigns.
EBOV is a member of the Filoviridae family that causes severe and acute systemic disease in humans, known as Ebola virus disease, with mortality rates up to 80%.
YFV is a mosquito-borne flavivirus causing severe hemorrhagic disease in humans.
Yellow fever is endemic in Central and South America, as well as sub-Saharan Africa, where EVD surges.
Despite the availability of a very efficient live-attenuated yellow fever vaccine (Stamaril), annually, an estimated 51,000–380,000 severe cases of YF still occur, resulting in 19,000–180,000 deaths.
The re-emergence of YF outbreaks can be mainly attributed to low vaccine coverage due to supply issues.
Therefore, alike for EVD, a second-generation YFV vaccine with a sustainable supply could deliver measurable benefits during dual outbreaks.
Future studies must address whether this observed cross-reactive humoral immunity is sufficient to also provide cross-protection against heterologous challenge, ideally in step-up models using original filoviruses under BSL4 conditions, wrote these researchers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced a case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases was confirmed in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
According to the WHO's Disease Outbreak News on July 24, 2023, this MERS-CoV case had no history of direct or indirect contact with camels, goats, or sheep.
Prior to this WHO notification, the last MERS-CoV infection reported from the UAE was in November 2021.
Since July 2012, the UAE has confirmed 94 MERS-CoV cases and 12 related fatalities.
The WHO expects that additional cases of MERS-CoV infection will be reported from the Middle East.
MERS-CoV cases have reached 2,605 globally, including 936 associated deaths as of July 2023.
These are MERS vaccine candidates in development, but the WHO has not approved any.
Bavarian Nordic A/S recently announced that its Phase 3 clinical trial of MVA-BN® RSV, a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine candidate for adults ≥60 years of age, did not meet all the primary endpoints of preventing lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) from RSV.
Based on this outcome, Bavarian Nordic will discontinue its RSV program, including its partnership with Nuance Pharma to develop and launch the vaccine for selected Asian markets.
“We are disappointed that our RSV vaccine candidate was not successful in this pivotal trial,” said Paul Chaplin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bavarian Nordic, in a press release on July 22, 2023.
The final study results showed that the vaccine candidate had a 59% efficacy in preventing at least two pre-defined LRTD symptoms meeting one of the efficacy criteria of the study.
However, when measuring more severe LRTD based on at least three pre-defined symptoms, the vaccine candidate only demonstrated a 42.9% efficacy and missed the co-primary endpoint of the study.
As of July 24, 2023, there are two approved RSV vaccines in the U.S. and several late-stage vaccine candidates conducting research.
With 117 confirmed cases of circulating variant polioviruses and 107 detections in sampled wastewater in the WHO African Region as of July 2023, the Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) recently urged partners to address gaps in polio immunity urgently.
The ARCC, which held its 31st meeting in early July 2023, called for accelerated implementation of supplementary immunization activities.
"We are looking forward to implementing the additional ARCC recommendations to guide how we can deliver on the promise of the polio-free Democratic Republic of the Congo and Africa," said Dr. Serge Emmanuel Holenn, Deputy Minister of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In this response, @WHOAFRO Tweeted on July 24, 2023, that the Republic of Madagascar recently launched a polio vaccination campaign to reach over 18 million people.
Madagascar has reported 13 cVDPV1 cases in 2023. Last year, there were 16 cVDPV1 cases.
And 8 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) positive environmental samples were reported in Analamanga in July 2023.
Countries with cVDPV1 have the risk of international spread. Therefore, they are subject to WHO temporary recommendations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says polio is a vaccine-preventable disease.
As of July 2023, 670 million doses of the nOPV2 vaccine had been administered, primarily in Africa. On March 28, 2023, the WHO's SAGE recommended that it be the preferred polio vaccine for response to cVDPV2 outbreaks wherever possible.
The nOPV2 vaccine is not authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, it is not available in the U.S.
The ARCC is an independent body established in 1998 to oversee the certification status of the African region as free from indigenous wild poliovirus.
Updated: On July 25, 2023, the WHO confirmed the priority regions (Analamanga, Vakinankaratra, Alaotra Mangoro, and Atsimo Andrefana) and those under 15 in the 19 other regions.
Over the past three years, the People's Republic of Bangladesh has been confronted with a dengue outbreak, with Dhaka being the hotspot.
According to media sources, July 2023 has become Bangladesh's deadliest month. The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) confirmed about 156 deaths were reported from dengue disease between January 1 and July 21.
Local health experts fear August and September will be more severe as the weather is more suitable for breeding the disease-spreading Aedes mosquitoes.
"The number of dengue patients had been increasing alarmingly since January this year giving a signal of dengue pandemic during the rainy season as 566 dengue cases were reported in the first month of the year, which is almost five times higher than that of the same period of past three years," a DGHS official added.
Dengue is a vaccine-preventable disease, with two vaccines approved in 2023.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reissued a Travel Health Advisory regarding dengue outbreaks in Africa and the Middle East.
While over 120 countries have recently reported dengue cases, the CDC's Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions notice issued on July 21, 2023, highlights dengue outbreaks in Egypt, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, and Sudan.
These countries are reporting higher-than-usual numbers of dengue cases, and travelers visiting these countries may be at increased health risk.
This CDC notice was initially published on August 27, 2019.
In the U.S., Florida issued a state-based alert in 2023 regarding both locally-acquired and travel-related dengue cases.
Dengue is a vaccine-preventable disease caused by viruses spread through mosquito bites. The disease can take up to 2 weeks to develop, with illness generally lasting less than a week.
In severe cases, health effects can include bleeding, shock, organ failure, and death.
Recently, dengue outbreaks of significant magnitude have been recorded in the Region of the Americas, with close to three million suspected and confirmed cases of dengue reported in 2023.
As of July 23, 2023, two dengue vaccines are being offered in certain countries.
