Zika Breaking News

After 42 days without detecting a new case, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) outbreak in the Republic of Rwanda had ended.

The outbreak, confirmed in late September 2024, was the first Marburg Virus Disease outbreak Rwanda has experienced. A total of 66 confirmed cases and 15 deaths (23%) were recorded. Almost 80% of the cases were among infected health workers while providing clinical care to their colleagues and other patients.

"The robust response by Rwanda shows how committed leadership, concerted efforts by partners, and a strong health system are crucial in addressing public health emergencies, saving and protecting lives, as well as safeguarding the health of individuals and communities," said Dr. Brian Chirombo, WHO Representative in Rwanda, in a media release issued on On December 20, 2024.

The virus which causes Marburg is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola Virus Disease. Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces, and materials. 

In October 2024, the Sabin Vaccine Institute announced it dispatched investigational vaccine doses for a randomized clinical trial targeting Rwanda's outbreak.

As of December 2024, there are no approved Marburg virus vaccines.

LimmaTech Biologics AG announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had granted Fast Track designation to the company's multivalent toxoid vaccine candidate, LBT-SA7.

This innovative vaccine is designed to prevent skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) caused by the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

It is estimated that more than 1 million deaths are attributed to S. aureus each year. Notably, 90% of all community-acquired S. aureus infections are SSTIs.

S. aureus has been designated as a "high priority" pathogen by the World Health Organization, highlighting the urgency for innovative vaccine approaches and effective treatment strategies.

Dr. Franz-Werner Haas, CEO of LimmaTech, commented in a press release on December 19, 2024, "Staphylococcus aureus infections are a major cause of global mortality and morbidity, with traditional antibiotic treatments becoming increasingly ineffective due to rising antibiotic resistance."

LBT-SA7 will be tested in a Phase 1 study at a clinical trial center in the U.S., including 130 adult participants, with initial results anticipated in the second half of 2025.

Several cases of East African sleeping sickness have been reported among travelers returning from areas in Zambia and Zimbabwe, which often conduct safaris for visitors.

According to the WHO, sleeping sickness, also called African trypanosomiasis, is caused by a parasite transmitted by an infected tsetse fly, which is found only in sub-Saharan Africa.

There are two types of sleeping sickness, East African and West African. East African sleeping sickness progresses more quickly, within one to several weeks of exposure.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on December 18, 2024, that it had issued a Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, Travel Health Advisory regarding this unusual, potentially fatal situation.

Expidiated diagnosis and treatment can be lifesaving.

According to the WHO, anti-trypanosomals are donated and distributed free to endemic countries.

The CDC wrote that people should seek medical care immediately if they develop headache, fever, fatigue, skin rash, muscle aches, or a red sore, called a chancre, during or after travel to safari regions of Zambia or Zimbabwe, and they think a tsetse fly may have bitten you.

As of December 2024, no vaccines are authorized to prevent either type of sleeping sickness.

Merck today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Biologics License Application (BLA) for clesrovimab, the company’s investigational prophylactic long-acting monoclonal antibody designed to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease during their first RSV season.

The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act date of June 10, 2025.

Dr. Paula Annunziato, senior vice president of infectious diseases and vaccines, Global Clinical Development, Merck Research Laboratories, commented in a press release on December 17, 2024, “We look forward to working alongside the FDA on the review of clesrovimab, which, if approved, would be the first and only single-dose immunization for infants regardless of weight designed to protect them for the duration of their first RSV season.”

If approved, Merck anticipates that clesrovimab shipments will arrive in time for the 2025 RSV season.

Currently, Beyfortus™, an FDA-approved extended half-life monoclonal antibody, is available in the U.S.

The World Health Organization recently reported that measles outbreaks have been reported in 103 countries over the last five years. There were an estimated 10.3 million measles cases in 2023, a 20% increase from 2022.

According to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 59 countries outside the Region of the Americas, which includes Canada and the U.S., have reported measles outbreaks this year.

In 2024, the CDC reported 283 measles cases (49 imported) in 32 U.S. jurisdictions, led by Minnesota, with 70 patients.

Additionally, recent bursts of measles cases in Ontario and New Brunswick have increased Canada's total to 160, the highest number in nearly a decade.

On December 16, 2024, the CDC republished its Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, Global Measles Outbreak Advisory. The CDC wrote that all international travelers should be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, including an early dose for infants.

Insurance policies generally fund MMR vaccines, available at travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.

Furthermore, travelers to at-risk areas should seek medical care if they develop measles symptoms. However, they should alert their healthcare provider before visiting a clinic.

During the peak influenza season in the Northern Hemisphere, health officials strongly encourage most people to get an annual flu shot for protection against respiratory disease.

In Europe, influenza vaccination rates have varied over the years.

Eurostat reported on December 16, 2024, that 48.2% of individuals aged 65 or over in the EU were vaccinated against influenza in 2022.

Among EU countries in 2022, Denmark reported the highest vaccination rate for people aged 65 and older at 78.0%, followed by Portugal (75.8%) and Ireland (75.4%). In contrast, Slovakia (5.6%), Poland (8.6%) and Bulgaria (10.4%) had the lowest rates.

The U.S. CDC recommends getting a flu shot before visiting Europe during the 2024-2025 influenza season. Various vaccines are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.

Stanford University scientists recently reported findings in a mouse study that could lead to a needle-free vaccination approach that eliminates reactions such as fever, swelling, and pain.

Published in the journal Nature on December 11, 2024, Fischbach and colleagues stated the ubiquitous skin colonist  Staphylococcus epidermidis elicits a CD8+ T cell response pre-emptively in the absence of an infection.

They wrote that this colonist also induces a potent, durable, and specific antibody response that is conserved in humans and non-human primates.

These specialized proteins can stick to specific biochemical features of invading microbes, often preventing them from getting inside cells or traveling unmolested through the bloodstream to places they should not go.

The initial experiments included dipping a cotton swab into a vial containing S. epidermidis. Rub the swab gently on the head of a regular mouse — no need to shave, rinse, or wash its fur — and put the mouse back in its cage. Draw blood at defined time points over six weeks, asking: Has this mouse’s immune system produced antibodies that bind to S. epidermidis?

The mice’s antibody response to S. epidermidis was “a shocker,” Fischbach said.

“Those antibodies’ levels increased slowly, then some more — and then even more.” At six weeks, they’d reached a higher concentration than expected from a regular vaccination — and they stayed at those levels.

“It’s as if the mice had been vaccinated,” Fischbach said. Their antibody response was as strong and specific as if it had been reacting to a pathogen.

“The same thing appears to be occurring naturally in humans,” Fischbach said. “We got blood from human donors and found that their circulating levels of antibodies directed at S. epidermidis were as high as anything we get routinely vaccinated against.”

That’s puzzling, he said: “Our ferocious immune response to these commensal bacteria loitering on the far side of that all-important anti-microbial barrier we call our skin seems to have no purpose.”

“We think this will work for viruses, bacteria, fungi, and one-celled parasites,” he said. If things go well, he expects this vaccination approach to enter clinical trials within two or three years.

The completed, unedited Stanford news article written by Bruce Goldman is posted at this link.