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Experimental Hookworm Vaccine Shows Promising Protection

Newswise | Vaccination

Experimental Hookworm Vaccine Shows Promising Protection

“Researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine report encouraging results from a phase 2 clinical trial evaluating a candidate vaccine to prevent hookworm infection – one of the world’s most common parasitic diseases.

The findings, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, show that a formulation of the investigational vaccine significantly reduced the intensity of infection in healthy adult volunteers exposed to the parasite under carefully controlled conditions…

  • Participants who received the Na-GST 1/Al–CpG vaccine showed a dramatically lower intensity of infection after exposure: maximal hookworm egg count was median 0.0 eggs per gram of feces compared with the placebo group (median 66.7 eggs)
  • Peak eosinophil levels – a blood marker linked to parasitic infection – were significantly lower in the Na-GST-1/Al–CpG group of participants.
  • This group of participants also produced the highest levels of anti–Na-GST-1 antibodies, suggesting these antibodies may help protect against infection.”

From Newswise.

World Health Organization | Communicable Disease

Bhutan Ends Dog-Transmitted Rabies as a Public Health Problem

“The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Bhutan’s elimination of dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem in the country. Bhutan is the first country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve this success.

Rabies is a viral disease that is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear. However, rabies deaths are preventable. On one hand, vaccinating dogs curbs the disease at its source; on the other, prompt use of post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) stops the virus from reaching the central nervous system after a bite. PEP consists of thorough wound washing, administration of a course of human rabies vaccine and, when indicated, rabies immunoglobulins (RIG) injection.”

From World Health Organization.

World Health Organization | Communicable Disease

Thailand Eliminates Rubella as a Public Health Problem

“The World Health Organization today announced that Thailand has been verified for eliminating rubella as a public health problem, marking a major milestone in the country’s efforts to protect children, women and families from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Rubella, also known as German measles, is a contagious viral infection. Rubella infection during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or congenital rubella syndrome, a condition associated with lifelong birth defects. Rubella can be prevented through safe, effective and affordable vaccines…

Thailand is now the seventh country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve rubella elimination, joining Bhutan, DPR Korea, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste. Four countries in the Region – Bhutan, DPR Korea, Maldives and Timor-Leste – have eliminated both measles and rubella.”

From World Health Organization.

World Health Organization | Communicable Disease

Trachoma No Longer a Public Health Problem in Southeast Asia

“The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Timor-Leste as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. Trachoma is the world's leading infectious cause of blindness. Timor-Leste was the last country in WHO’s South-East Asia Region with suspected endemic trachoma. With this validation, trachoma has been eliminated as a public health problem throughout the region.”

From World Health Organization.

Streamline | Communicable Disease

Zanzibar Finds Malaria Breeding Sites Faster With AI Drones

“The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has triggered an aggressive final push to eradicate malaria, rolling out artificial intelligence and drone technology to hunt down the archipelago’s last remaining mosquito breeding sites.

With malaria prevalence plummeting to just 0.04 percent from a historic high of 40 percent two decades ago, Zanzibar is shifting from broad control to precise elimination…

The Ministry of Health, acting through the Zanzibar Malaria Elimination Programme (ZAMEP), officially launched the drone initiative in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), Japan’s SORA Technology, and the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI). The high-tech approach replaces manual, time-consuming field surveys.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Miraji Mngereza Mzee, confirmed that the AI-powered drones can map and identify larval breeding habitats in hard-to-reach terrain within hours—a task that previously took public health teams up to three days. Once identified, the exact GPS coordinates are targeted for immediate biolarviciding.”

From Streamline.