💉 2024 was hot indeed; A maternal RSV vaccine gets the WHO nod; Eat all your food now, there may not be much tomorrow
#556 | Africa gets hungrier, and thirstier; The antifungal to end them all; Didn't kill Covid, might kill Ebola
Countries are running out of HIV drugs, organisations are running out of funds to fight TB, measles is taking kids in the US and Europe back to their makers while in Gaza, Israel continues to redefine what it means to forsake all humanity. Well, hello, and welcome back to The Kable for a not-at-all dire catch-up of all things life sciences from the week past.
In what should be good news, the WHO has prequalified Pfizer's maternal RSV shot, making it the world's first such vaccine to be prequalified by the agency. Now to see if enough funds are available for this shot to be procured and distributed where needed most.
Elsewhere, Burundi became the newest African country to launch the malaria vaccine.
There was a brief period a little over 10 years ago when everybody and their uncle was making a change dot org petition and garnering oh-so-many signatures on it and claiming how real change was in the offing as a consequence. In a bit of a nostalgic throwback, the WHO has done something similar, getting 50 million people to sign up for an online petition for improved air quality. Wow, we can already feel the improved oxygen.
Coming to bird flu, a study released in Nature Microbiology this week claims currently available antivirals stand no chance against the H5N1 virus in cows' milk. Another study released in Nature Medicine says antibodies against H5N1 are more likely in adults with a history of flu infections. That Typhoid Mary you know? Yeah, they may just end up saving your life, even if it means getting ill a few times first. In a little bit of good news, that cash-strapped pharma firm AstraZeneca has received a little over $43 million from CEPI to further research into a novel antibody that might help prevent infections during outbreaks of four pandemic influenza virus strains - H1, H3, H5 and H7. Yay!
In the US, signs were not encouraging for a positive change in the relationship between drug regulators and Indian drugmakers.
And finally, there is an old joke often reposted on Reddit about kidney donations. "Donate one kidney and they call you an angel. Donate 15 and they call the cops." Pretty much what happened in Poland, except for the donations part.
Stories Of The Week
It's getting hot in here. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s State of Global Climate report confirms 2024 was the toastiest year on record - 1.55°C above 19th-century norms - and we’re inching dangerously close to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. Greenhouse gas concentrations soared to levels not seen in 800,000 years, and ocean heat soared right along with them, intensifying storms and slicing off chunks of ice that won’t grow back for centuries. Polar regions are haemorrhaging sea ice, sea levels are rising at double the rate they did in the ‘90s, and glaciers just registered their worst three-year meltdown on record. Meanwhile, extreme weather displaced more people than ever, hammered food supplies, and racked up monstrous bills. The WMO insists we can still slam on the brakes if world leaders ditch the foot-dragging and invest in reliable early warning systems, climate resilience, and clean energy. Fast. But if 2024 taught us anything, it’s that Earth is warming up a whole lot quicker than our political will.
(WMO)
Hunger soars, water vanishes. A new Oxfam report reveals Eastern and Southern Africa are deep in a water crisis, fueling an almost 80% spike in hunger over five years. With 116 million people lacking safe drinking water - and glaciers on the verge of extinction - small-scale farmers, pastoralists, and fisherfolk are watching livelihoods slip away. Flash floods are now 20 times more common than two decades ago; droughts last longer; and climate change’s culprits (big polluters and their profit margins) won’t lose sleep over it. Meanwhile, millions - especially women and girls - trek ridiculous distances for a single sip. Governments are investing far below needed levels, leaving communities in the crosshairs of intensifying cyclones, more powerful El Niños, and catastrophic crop failures.
(Oxfam)
Breakthroughs
The unstoppable bacterial fungus-buster. Researchers from China Pharmaceutical University have unearthed a potent bacterial compound called mandimycin, which wipes out even the most hardened, drug-resistant fungi without letting them develop new defences. The team tested it against nasty strains like Candida auris, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus - and it prevailed every time by binding fungal cell membranes in a totally new way. Scouring the genomes of 316,000+ bacteria led them to Streptomyces netropsis, the microbe behind this new superweapon. Unlike standard antifungals, mandimycin never let the fungi adapt, suggesting this tiny bacterial warrior might give clinicians a real leg up in the endless battle against tough-to-treat infections.
(Nature)
Hope repurposed for Ebola. Researchers believe Obeldesivir, an antiviral pill originally developed for Covid, might be the magic bullet we need against Ebola. In studies, the drug nailed a 100% survival rate in rhesus macaques (and 80% in cynomolgus macaques) infected with high-dose Ebola. This oral polymerase inhibitor blocks viral replication and boosts immune defences - no hospital infusions or refrigeration required. Though it hasn’t been tested in humans yet, scientists are calling for speedy clinical trials. If successful, Obeldesivir could become the first pill-based Ebola treatment, making future outbreaks much easier - and cheaper - to control. Does it work against Covid though? We dunno yet.
(Science Advances)
Bottom line
Food crop? What food crop? Way back in 2008, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault became operational in Norway, freezing and safeguarding seeds from across the globe - an insurance policy we might be forced to cash in sooner than anyone hoped. New findings from Aalto University paint a grim picture: as temperatures climb beyond 1.5°C, countries in equatorial regions risk losing a third - and eventually half - of their arable land for staple crops like rice, wheat, and maize. Hungry populations in already vulnerable areas stand to lose the most, with crop diversity dwindling just when we need it most.
(Nature Food)
Long reads
Vaccine, vaccine everywhere. In an increasingly vaccine-hesitant world, where vaccine sceptics are in positions of outsized influence when it comes to the dispensation of vaccines, does it even make sense to manufacture vaccines anymore? This piece in Nature contends it does.
(Nature)
End TB? Or end talk? In a place where talk is cheap and action is scarce, will TB actually be ended? This piece in IndiaSpend takes a look at India's grand vision to eliminate TB.
(IndiaSpend)
Birds are flying but for how much longer? This piece in The Verge says the threat of a bird flu pandemic is now permanent, especially considering that the epicentre of the now-relentless outbreak is all about letting it rip.
(The Verge)
Oh, and Gopal Nair doesn't want you to see this.