💉 Knock, knock. Who's there? Nobel; A new polio vaccine in the works; Africa is hearing less and less
#538 | The WHO says vaccines can prevent AMR deaths; AI discovers viruses; Humans won't live much longer
Hello, and welcome back to The Kable, your favourite Friday read. As you might have gathered from the news, this is the week when the Nobel Prizes are announced. And the Nobel for Medicine went to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for their discovery of microRNA. Interesting - and the subject of many debates around the world - were the Nobel choices for Physics and Chemistry, because both marked a first for AI. The Physics Nobel was awarded to Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield for their discoveries that have now become the foundation for many of the recent breakthroughs in AI while the Chemistry Nobel went to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, the developers of the AlphaFold AI that predicts protein structures.
Since we're on the subject of Nobels, we believe it is safe to conclude which country won't be winning the Peace Nobel. Almost exactly a year after the WHO warned of a precipitating health crisis in Gaza, the agency is issuing a similar warning about Lebanon too. For pretty much the exact same reason.
Last week, Gilead announced a licensing program to expand access to its HIV treatment in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This week, ViiV Healthcare follows suit with a pledge to make at least 2 million doses of its long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) available in LMICs in the next two years. This drug has already been rolled out in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Ukraine and this new announcement, following on from its previous tie-ups, including a licensing partnership with the MPP, should go a long way in making HIV treatments more accessible, especially in Africa.
Inspite of an immunisation protocol with approved vaccines in place, cervical cancer still poses a huge threat because vaccine supply is limited. At last count, HPV vaccine coverage was only at 33%, way below the global target of 90%. The WHO's approval of a fourth HPV vaccine this week should go some way toward closing that gap.
Another new vaccine that we might be seeing in public health settings in some time is a new polio vaccine being developed by China's CanSinoBio. The company announced that it has received over $17 million in fresh funding from the Gates Foundation to accelerate development on this vaccine.
In Pakistan, health authorities have confirmed the very first case of MERS-CoV in a person who recently returned from an unnamed Middle Eastern country. According to officials, the person actually tested positive in the source country but authorities there kept the diagnosis a secret, even from the patient. 🙄
In India, the ministry for traditional medicine has said it is illegal for makers of Ayurveda and Siddha drugs to advertise these drugs and their "miraculous" healing powers.
Just a day after announcing its third human case of bird flu, California also announced its fourth human case of bird flu. Of course, contacts are being "monitored." Will bird flu become a human pandemic? Well, the US government has awarded vaccine contracts worth $75 million to CSL Seqirus, Sanofi, and GSK.
And finally, in good news for (some) dogs, scientists in Chile have developed a reversible vaccine to neuter dogs that doesn't involve any snipping. Who's a good boy, huh?
Stories Of The Week
Marburg marches on. The most interesting development in the ongoing outbreak of the Marburg virus disease in Rwanda is that they're already launching vaccination campaigns over there, even if with an experimental vaccine. It is a pity that an experimental vaccine is all we have but that is what happens when the world ignores Africa and her problems. Gavi has a little bit of a breakdown on where we stand when it comes to a vaccine and treatments for this disease. Anyway, the latest update from Rwanda is that the number of confirmed cases has gone up to 58 with 13 fatalities. In the first hint of a geopolitical conflict stemming from this outbreak, the US issued a Level 3 travel advisory, cautioning against travel to the country. The Africa CDC, in a strong rejoinder to this advisory, called it unfair and baseless and accused the US of spreading panic, a sentiment that the WHO head echoed in a tweet. More power to Africa, we say.
(MoH Rwanda, Gavi, MoH Rwanda, US CDC, Africa CDC, WHO)
Mpox marches on too. Mpox is continuing to spread across Africa. The latest available updatefrom the WHO reports 6,752 confirmed cases this year with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alone recording 5,610 cases. The DRC has launched a vaccination campaign which should go some way towards quelling the outbreak. Zambia also reported its first case, although the variant has not yet been determined. Worryingly, Uganda reported a case in a densely packed prison. Prison officials said it is likely the person entered prison with the infection and they're being managed with Covid isolation protocols in place. So far, the world has largely not been overly concerned with the mpox situation in Africa. However, that might now change with the discovery of a cluster of drug-resistant mpox cases in the US. As the old phrase goes, all good things come to those who wait.
(WHO, UNICEF, AllAfrica, Reuters, Reuters)
Africa has a hearing problem. The WHO, in a new report, warns that the number of people in Africa living with hearing loss could rise from 40 million today to 54 million by 2030 without urgent action. Hearing loss already costs the continent $27 million annually, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations. A severe shortage of ear and hearing care (EHC) specialists, especially in rural areas, worsens the situation, with many countries lacking adequate ENT specialists, audiologists, and speech therapists. Preventable causes like infections and birth complications contribute to hearing loss in children, yet newborn screening is rarely done. The WHO recommends integrating EHC into existing health programs and increasing financing to address these challenges.
(WHO)
Another day, another report. In another report the WHO released this week, the agency says increased investment in vaccines could prevent deaths from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and reduce antibiotic use by 2.5 billion doses annually. Existing vaccines, such as those for pneumococcus and typhoid, could prevent 106,000 AMR-related deaths annually, while developing new vaccines for diseases like tuberculosis could prevent an additional 543,000 deaths. Vaccination efforts could also reduce the economic burden of AMR, with global hospital costs currently reaching $730 billion annually.
(WHO)
Breakthroughs
AI not to the rescue. In a week where AI has been at the forefront of several discussions, thanks to its association with a couple of Nobel Prizes, comes this study that AI has discovered over 160,000 new viruses. When all the doomsayers predicted that AI would cause the end of human existence, surely this is not what they had in mind?
(Cell)
Bottom line
Perilous times indeed. According to a new report - The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth, Earth stands on the brink of an unpredictable new phase in the climate crisis, with vital signs flashing red across the board. A staggering 25 out of 35 indicators have reached record extremes, signaling the unraveling of the planet's stability. Fossil fuel emissions are at an all-time high, human and livestock populations surge, and the Earth's surface temperature, ocean acidity, and sea levels are at their most dangerous peaks. Ice is vanishing, forests are shrinking, and methane emissions accelerate, driving us toward a future where entire societies could collapse. The time for decisive action is slipping away.
(BioScience)
Let the world die. Quite unrelated to the previous story but somehow very fitting is this new study that says we have reached the upper limit of human longevity. So while techbros keep talking about reverse ageing and how they're pushing the envelope, the science seems to very clearly be holding up a finger to them. Anyway, if Planet Earth itself is perishing, what do you want to live longer for?
(Nature Aging)
Cheers. Salud. Slainte. Did the previous two stories depress you a bit? Maybe you want to down a little single malt to dull the pain a bit? Excellent. Because this next study is just for you. It says a majority of new cancer diagnoses around the world have one common factor. And if you correctly guessed alcohol, congratulations and pour yourself one.
(American Association for Cancer Research)
Long reads
Take a deep breath. And hold it. Because the time is soon coming when deep breaths might be a thing of the past. Bhekisisa has a (scary) read for you on how climate change and rising heat will leave you short of breath.
(Bhekisisa)
Oh, and Gopal Nair doesn't want you to see this.