Don’t wait for an Ebola outbreak to vaccinate people against it
Nature, Published online: 24 January 2023; doi:10.1038/d41586-023-00184-0The Ebola outbreak in Uganda was a wake-up call. We need preventive vaccination. (Source: Nature AOP)
Source: Nature AOP - January 24, 2023 Category: Research Authors: Henry Kyobe Bosa Source Type: research
Ebola Vaccines Safe and Immunogenic in 2 Trials
Three vaccine regimens against Zaire Ebola virus disease safely produced immune responses for up to 12 months, according to 2 trials of adults and children reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Source: JAMA)
Source: JAMA - January 24, 2023 Category: General Medicine Source Type: research
U.S. should expand rules for risky virus research to more pathogens, panel says
U.S. health officials should expand oversight of federally funded research that tweaks deadly viruses to include some less risky types of pathogens, an expert panel has concluded. Its
draft report
, released today, also recommends funding agencies share more information about decisions to approve such work.
The recommendations are welcome news for scientists, lawmakers, and others who have worried the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has revealed gaps in the rules for so called gain-of-function (GOF) research. The report recommends “significant improvements in policy,” says Stanford University microbiologist David R...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - January 20, 2023 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Leveraging electronic logistics management information systems to enhance and optimize supply chain response during public health emergencies: lessons from COVID-19 response in Uganda
ConclusionsAvailability of reliable, quality real-time data are essential for effective decision making during public health emergencies. The emergency Electronic Logistic Management Information Systems supported health authorities to mount coordinated and effective responses to ensure timely availability of commodities and supplies to support the COVID-19 pandemic response. Lessons learnt from the Ebola epidemic response were translated into actions that enabled effective preparedness and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice)
Source: Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice - January 17, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: research
News at a glance: ‘Cherry-picked’ vaccine guidance, AI-written papers, and an apology for prisoner research
ENVIRONMENT
Utah’s Great Salt Lake may dry up within 5 years
North America’s largest saline lake could be gone by 2028 if water inflows are not restored, researchers warned last week. The Great Salt Lake in Utah has lost nearly three-quarters of its water and 60% of its surface area since 1950, a report from 32 scientists at multiple institutions concludes, and a recent drought has accelerated the losses. To restore the lake, farmers, homeowners, and others
will need to reduce the amount of water they take from feeder streams by 30% to 50%
. If they don’t, the continent could lose a ...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - January 12, 2023 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
History and impact of the mouse-adapted Ebola virus model
Antiviral Res. 2022 Dec 22:105493. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105493. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEbola virus (EBOV) is a member of the filoviridae family, which are comprised of negative sense, enveloped RNA hemorrhagic fever viruses that can cause severe disease and high lethality rates. These viruses require BSL-4 containment laboratories for study. Early studies of EBOV pathogenesis relied heavily on the use of nonhuman primates, which are expensive and cumbersome to handle in large numbers. Guinea pig models were also developed, but even to this day limited reagents are available in this model. In 1998, Mike Bray...
Source: Antiviral Research - December 25, 2022 Category: Virology Authors: Steven B Bradfute Source Type: research
History and impact of the mouse-adapted Ebola virus model
Antiviral Res. 2022 Dec 22:105493. doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2022.105493. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEbola virus (EBOV) is a member of the filoviridae family, which are comprised of negative sense, enveloped RNA hemorrhagic fever viruses that can cause severe disease and high lethality rates. These viruses require BSL-4 containment laboratories for study. Early studies of EBOV pathogenesis relied heavily on the use of nonhuman primates, which are expensive and cumbersome to handle in large numbers. Guinea pig models were also developed, but even to this day limited reagents are available in this model. In 1998, Mike Bray...
Source: Antiviral Research - December 25, 2022 Category: Virology Authors: Steven B Bradfute Source Type: research
Viruses, Vol. 15, Pages 43: Inactivation of Ebola Virus and SARS-CoV-2 in Cell Culture Supernatants and Cell Pellets by Gamma Irradiation
Robert A. Davey
Viral pathogens with the potential to cause widespread disruption to human health and society continue to emerge or re-emerge around the world. Research on such viruses often involves high biocontainment laboratories (BSL3 or BSL4), but the development of diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics often uses assays that are best performed at lower biocontainment. Reliable inactivation is necessary to allow removal of materials to these spaces and to ensure personnel safety. Here, we validate the use of gamma irradiation to inactivate culture supernatants and pellets of cells infected with a representative m...
Source: Viruses - December 23, 2022 Category: Virology Authors: RuthMabel Boytz Scott Seitz Emily Gaudiano J. J. Patten Patrick T. Keiser John H. Connor Arlene H. Sharpe Robert A. Davey Tags: Article Source Type: research
News at a glance: Ebola vaccine trial on hold, Oppenheimer ’s name cleared, and the return of a long-forgotten coffee bean
PUBLIC HEALTH
Ebola vaccine trial on hold
A planned clinical trial of vaccines against the Sudan ebolavirus likely will not go forward, after traditional containment methods appear to have stamped out the outbreak of Ebola that surfaced in Uganda on 20 September. An international effort moved at record speed to deliver two experimental vaccines against the virus, which differs from the Zaire ebolavirus that caused the massive West Africa outbreak in 2014–16. The vaccines arrived in Uganda last week, and a third is on the way. But the planned “ring trial” depended on vaccinating recent contacts ...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - December 22, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Targeted preventive vaccination campaigns to reduce Ebola outbreaks: An individual-based modeling study
Vaccine. 2022 Dec 14:S0264-410X(22)01449-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.11.036. Online ahead of print.NO ABSTRACTPMID:36526505 | DOI:10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.11.036 (Source: Vaccine)
Source: Vaccine - December 16, 2022 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Donal Bisanzio Ashley E Davis Sandra E Talbird Thierry Van Effelterre Laurent Metz Maren Gaudig Val érie Oriol Mathieu Anita J Brogan Source Type: research
Viruses, Vol. 14, Pages 2784: Maternal Immunization Using a Protein Subunit Vaccine Mediates Passive Immunity against Zaire ebolavirus in a Murine Model
T. Lehrer
The Ebola virus has caused outbreaks in Central and West Africa, with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Clinical trials of recombinant virally vectored vaccines did not explicitly include pregnant or nursing women, resulting in a gap in knowledge of vaccine-elicited maternal antibody and its potential transfer. The role of maternal antibody in Ebola virus disease and vaccination remains understudied. Here, we demonstrate that a protein subunit vaccine can elicit robust humoral responses in pregnant mice, which are transferred to pups in breastmilk. These findings indicate that an intramuscular protein su...
Source: Viruses - December 14, 2022 Category: Virology Authors: Caitlin A. Williams Teri Ann S. Wong Aquena H. Ball Michael M. Lieberman Axel T. Lehrer Tags: Article Source Type: research
Randomized Trial of Vaccines for Zaire Ebola Virus Disease
New England Journal of Medicine, Ahead of Print. (Source: New England Journal of Medicine)
Source: New England Journal of Medicine - December 14, 2022 Category: Internal Medicine Source Type: research
Jeremy Farrar leaves top job at Wellcome Trust to become chief scientist at WHO
Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, one of the largest nongovernmental science funders, will step down early next year to become the chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO). He will replace Soumya Swaminathan, the first person to hold the post. Swaminathan, a pediatrician,
announced last month
that she would be leaving to focus on public health in India.
During Farrar’s decade at the helm of Wellcome, the organization’s focus has broadened from basic biomedical science to global health concerns, including
mental health, the health effects of climate change, and infectious ...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - December 13, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Uganda ’s disappearing Ebola outbreak challenges vaccine testing
Last week, Uganda announced uplifting news about the Ebola outbreak that surfaced there in mid-September: The last known patient had recovered and been discharged from a hospital. Health officials hope that signals the spread of the virus has slowed dramatically, if not stopped altogether. Yet the aggressive containment efforts that led to the waning of the outbreak also means a quickly arranged trial of experimental ebolavirus vaccines faces formidable hurdles. The goal of the so-called ring trial is to test the efficacy of the vaccines by giving them to contacts of known cases. But the number of potential participants is...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - December 5, 2022 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research
Genes, Vol. 13, Pages 2287: Third-Generation Vaccines: Features of Nucleic Acid Vaccines and Strategies to Improve Their Efficiency
Batista
Antonio Carlos de Freitas
Gene immunization comprises mRNA and DNA vaccines, which stand out due to their simple design, maintenance, and high efficacy. Several studies indicate promising results in preclinical and clinical trials regarding immunization against ebola, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza, and human papillomavirus (HPV). The efficiency of nucleic acid vaccines has been highlighted in the fight against COVID-19 with unprecedented approval of their use in humans. However, their low intrinsic immunogenicity points to the need to use strategies capable of overcoming this characteristic a...
Source: Genes - December 4, 2022 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Alanne Rayssa da Silva Melo Larissa Silva de Mac êdo Maria da Concei ção Viana Invenção Ingrid Andr êssa de Moura Marco Antonio Turiah Machado da Gama Cristiane Moutinho Lagos de Melo Anna J éssica Duarte Silva Marcus Vinicius de Arag ão Batista A Tags: Review Source Type: research
