💉 Humans will cause the next pandemic; Polio will be around for a bit more; We can still make babies live longer
#539 | Bacterial vaccines for cancer; Regulations assemble in the Americas; Do AI-imagined proteins actually work?
Hello, and welcome back to The Kable. We have quite a light issue for you this week.
First some good news. Rwanda's outbreak of Marburg virus disease seems to be under control with no new cases being reported in three days. At the last update, the number of cases is stagnant at 62, with fatalities having risen to 15. The Africa CDC says if this progress continued, the emergency could be downgraded in three weeks. However, one dark spot on this shiny prognosis is a disagreement between the WHO and health authorities in Rwanda on the treatment protocols against this disease. The WHO has launched a clinical trial to test Remdesivir and another mAB but when it comes to vaccination, Rwandan officials are vaccinating everybody they deem at risk.
In not so good news, Africa's mpox outbreak continues unabated with the death toll going past 1,100 and 18 countries now reporting cases. Zimbabwe too has now reported two cases, variant unknown while the vaccination campaign in the epicenter - the Democratic Republic of Congo - seems to have stalled. In an encouraging announcement, the WHO has approved Bavarian Nordic's vaccine for use in adolescents too.
In Gaza, the WHO began a second round of polio vaccinations, aiming to vaccinate more than half a million children. However, no food has entered Gaza in weeks, even as the violence continues unabated. The FAO says pretty much everybody in Gaza is at risk for famine and the WHO chief has questioned whether the polio vaccinations even serve a purpose with peace as illusory as ever. Maybe, by the time the WHO’s vaccination campaign ends, there may not even be half a million children in Gaza.
Elsewhere, the WHO also secured $1 billion in pledges at a fundraiser in Germany earlier this week. This includes $700 million in new pledges from European nations and philanthropies to go with $300 million in previous commitments by the European Union and African Union.
In Kenya, a vaccine for human Rift Valley fever is entering Phase 2 trials, with backing from CEPI. The trial is being led in Kenya by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), who is also running a phase 3 trial for a TB vaccine.
In India, the first reported case of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever this year has also resulted in the first reported death from it.
The world was looking forward to seeing the end of polio in 2026. But now, the agency in charge of making that end happen - the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) - says it will take a wee bit longer for that to happen. And yes, it will cost more money too. The coalition now says it will hopefully declare an end to both the wild virus and the vaccine-derived variant by 2027 and 2029 respectively.
And finally, bird flu. France has upped its bird flu risk estimates. In the US, California has once again more than doubled the number of human bird flu cases, with the latest reports taking the total to 11. And over in the deep South, a solitary penguin from Antarctica somehow made it all the way to New Zealand and is now in isolation while authorities figure out if it has brought bird flu with it.
Stories Of The Week
Let them eat cake. A new Lancet report presented at the World Health Summit in Berlin highlights that countries, regardless of income level, can halve premature death rates by 2050 by addressing 15 key health threats, with tobacco use as the leading cause. Focusing on maternal, newborn, child, and infectious diseases could significantly reduce deaths before age 70, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The report also stresses the importance of investing in health, scaling up financing, and increasing access to essential medicines. Tobacco taxation remains the most effective policy tool, while the rising risk of future pandemics poses a major challenge to progress. Despite these headwinds, the report argues that halving premature mortality by 2050 is achievable and would yield substantial health, welfare, and economic benefits globally. Duh.
(The Lancet Commission)
Together we can-can. In a quite busy week, the WHO also conducted the first Quality Management Systems (QMS) workshop for national regulatory authorities (NRAs) in the Americas, with PAHO, a move that could mark a pivotal step toward regulatory harmonisation in the region. By aligning NRAs with WHO's QMS guidelines, the workshop lays the groundwork for stronger, more transparent regulatory systems, ensuring equitable access to safe and effective medical products. This initiative could even serve as a benchmark for other regions, particularly Africa, as it fosters collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and capacity-building among NRAs. This hopeful first step in creating a unified regulatory framework could well be instrumental in managing health emergencies and promoting long-term public health resilience.
(WHO)
Breakthroughs
Bacteria for the gutwin. Researchers have engineered a groundbreaking probiotic bacterial vaccine that trains the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells. These microbial vaccines, personalised for each patient, effectively attack both primary tumours and metastases, showing promise in preventing future recurrences. In mouse models of advanced colorectal cancer and melanoma, the vaccine significantly suppressed or eliminated cancer growth, outperforming traditional peptide-based cancer vaccines. By using bacteria's natural ability to target tumours, this approach could become a new benchmark in cancer immunotherapy. The vaccine’s precision in targeting cancer-specific mutations, while sparing healthy tissue, marks a significant advancement in personalised cancer treatments and highlights the potential for future human trials.
(Nature)
Bottom line
Doomed we are. The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), in a new report, has highlighted that while the next pandemic may emerge from a distant animal, human behaviors such as global mobility, farming practices, misinformation, and a lack of trust in science and governments will drive its spread. The GPMB's first pandemic risk report emphasises that pandemics are not random but linked to human-environment interactions, exacerbated by climate change and inequality.
(Global Preparedness Monitoring Board)
Long reads
A protein for everyone. Nature has an interesting piece about all the gazillion proteins that various AI models have now conjured up. The important question in there: do any of these proteins actually work?
(Nature)
Oh, and Gopal Nair doesn't want you to see this.