The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General recently convened the thirty-fifth meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations on the international spread of poliovirus.
On May 3, 2023, the Committee reviewed data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV) in the context of the global target of eradication of WPV and cessation of outbreaks of cVDPV2 by the end of 2023.
A Better But Not Perfect Polio Vaccine
Controlling Meningococcal Disease with Innovative Vaccines
The human pathogen Neisseria meningitidis has been feared worldwide for more than 215 years and has caused epidemics, pandemics, and sporadic cases of meningitis, fatal sepsis, and, less commonly, pneumonia, wrote David S. Stephens, M.D. in an Editorial published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
Although disease rates have decreased in many regions partly due to the introduction of highly effective vaccines, Neisseria meningitidis case fatality remains high at 10 to 20%.
Smallpox Vaccination Effective Against Mpox
Researchers from Karolinska Institutet recently reported vaccines used against smallpox given until the mid-1970s offer continuing cross-reactive immunity to mpox.
A study published in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe on April 25, 2023, reports robust effector memory MPXV-specific T cell responses in mild mpox and long-lived TCF-1+ VACV/MPXV-specific CD8+ T cells decades after smallpox vaccination.
Study Looks at Trends in Pediatric Mental Health Diagnoses During Pandemic
Prevalence of eating disorders more than doubled during pandemic in 13- to 18-year-old girls, with similar trend, but lower prevalence, in boys
FDA Grants Full Approval to Paxlovid to Treat COVID-19
Paxlovid has been taken by seniors and others at high risk for severe COVID-19 under an emergency use approval
Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Dispensed More After Medicare Policy Change
Methadone dispensing up after 2020 without displacing use of buprenorphine
Oral Gonorrhea Treatment Study Proceeds
Without an approved vaccine preventing gonorrhea infections, there is significant demand for innovative treatments for millions of people each year.
To meet that need, the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) and Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics today announced the completion of recruitment for their global phase 3 pivotal registration trial of oral zoliflodacin, an investigational, first-in-class antibiotic being developed for the treatment of uncomplicated gonorrhoea infection in patients.
Old Vaccine Associated with a Significantly Lower Rate and Risk of Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias
A recent study conducted in Boston, MA, found patients appear to live longer and have a reduced incidence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) after BCG vaccine treatment.
This Original Investigation was published by the peer-review journal The JAMA Network Open on May 19, 2023, and found the 100-year-old Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine was associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Low Risk of Recurrent Thrombotic Events After COVID-19-Linked VTE
Risk of recurrent thrombotic events similar to that of patients with VTE linked to hospitalization for other acute medical illness
Global Data Network to Analyze, Detect and Prevent Infectious Disease Threats
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced a global network had been launched to help protect people from infectious disease threats through the power of pathogen genomics.
The International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) will provide a platform to connect countries and regions, improving systems for collecting and analyzing samples, using these data to drive public health decision-making, and sharing that information more broadly.