Mosquito-borne arboviral fever

THURSDAY, Dec. 12, 2024 -- There's early evidence that a mysterious flu-like illness that has sickened 416 people and left 75 dead in the Democratic Republic of Congo over recent weeks may be malaria. Laboratory samples taken from infected people are suggestive of malaria, although more research is needed to confirm that, health officials said. “Of the 12 samples taken, nine were positive for malaria but these samples were not of very good quality, so we are continuing to research to find out if this is an epidemic,” Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe , director-general of Congo's National Institute for Biomedical Research in Kinshasa, told the Associated Press. According to the World Health Organization, most of the deaths are occurring in children under the age of 14 living in Congo’s western Kwango province. Children are the most vulnerable to being killed by the mosquito-borne disease. "It is very likely that it [the outbreak] is malaria, because most of the victims are children,” Muyembe said. Symptoms have included fever, headache, cough and anemia. It's been tough to get a handle on the outbreak, because the area where it's occurring is about 435 miles from Kinshasha, Congo's capital, and it takes at least two days to get there. As well, the nearest testing facility is more than 300 miles away, the AP reported. As the outbreak began and spread, health experts were concerned that it could be due to a wholly new pathogen. Dr. Abraar Karan , an infectious disease physician at Stanford Medicine, told NBC News that the Congo outbreak “does raise alarm bells” because of its location. Humans and wildlife interact to a high degree in that country, and that could raise the risk of a pathogen moving from animals to humans, he explained. “Many animal infections that transmit from animal to human can cause pretty severe disease,” Karan added. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has an office in Congo, told NBC News that it was providing technical assistance to a rapid response team dispatched by a local emergency operations center. International teams on the ground were also collecting information about what risk factors sick people have had in common and who they’ve been in contact with, Amira Albert Roess , a professor of global health and epidemiology at George Mason University in Virginia, told NBC News . “I think pretty quickly we’ll start to have an answer as to what this is,” Roess said. Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

LEXINGTON, Ky., Dec. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just announced MosquitoMate as its first awardee in a new effort to fight the growing crisis of mosquito transmitted diseases. To help address the growing problem, in 2022 Congress mandated that the EPA create the Vector Expedited Review Voucher (VERV) program, which promotes new pesticidal measures against important mosquitoes. The VERV program is modeled after the successful Tropical Disease Priority Review Voucher Program that was legislated in 2007 at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). VERV is intended to encourage the development of novel products against selected diseases by rewarding innovative companies with a 'priority review voucher' that can expedite registration of a second product. Speeding a second product to market generates value for the manufacturer, which offsets the high development costs that are typical in registering public health products. In the same way, the EPA's VERV program stimulates the development of innovative public health pesticides to combat mosquito-related diseases. The voucher can either be used by the awarded company directly, or it can be sold to a different company, providing a financial incentive to innovate within neglected areas. Continue Reading The MosquitoMate pesticide is innovative in multiple ways: it is a new and effective active ingredient and a novel delivery method. MosquitoMate makes and releases male mosquitoes that are infected with the Wolbachia bacterium. The approach does not use genetic modification and is listed as an organic product. "The male mosquitoes are 'self-delivering' and do not bite or transmit disease-causing pathogens," describes Dr. Stephen Dobson, who is the MosquitoMate founder and CEO. Only female mosquitoes bite, and the Wolbachia-infected males cause a form of sterility known as 'Cytoplasmic Incompatibility' (CI). Those female mosquitoes that mate with the Wolbachia-infected males lay eggs that do not hatch, causing the mosquito population to decline without the need to use harsh chemicals. "It's a species-specific method," says Dobson, "because the male mosquitoes only mate with females of the same species." This specificity and chemical avoidance can be particularly important in environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, where concern exists that a chemical might harm non-target and endangered animals, including beneficial insects like bees and butterflies. The US EPA has announced MosquitoMate as its first awardee in a new effort to fight mosquito transmitted diseases. Post this MosquitoMate began working with the EPA years before the VERV was proposed. "We are thrilled that the WB1 male mosquitoes are being recognized by the EPA's new VERV program," exclaims Dobson. The WB1 male mosquito is effective against the Aedes aegypti mosquito (commonly known as the Yellow Fever mosquito), which occurs around the world and is responsible for transmission of dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever pathogens. This mosquito prefers to feed on people, and it is perfectly adapted to live and breed in the communities that humans create. One published study from California shows the reduction of an Ae. aegypti population by more than 95% following the release of WB1 males. With the EPA's registration, MosquitoMate can now begin to offer WB1 males nationally. "The problem is growing," describes Dobson, "and the combination of climate change and increasing globalization of goods and human travel is making matters worse, both inside the USA and beyond." As an example, in 2023 the USA reported cases of local malaria transmission for the first time in two decades. This follows cases of local US transmission of the chikungunya and Zika viruses by mosquitoes in 2014 and 2016, respectively. "Exotic diseases that were 'over there,' are now occurring right here at home," says Dobson. Also contributing to the problem is the current lack of effective pesticides. "We have only a few tools that we can use in our fight against mosquitoes," he says. The number of effective insecticides has been declining at an alarming rate, as more mosquitoes develop resistance to existing insecticides. "The Ae. aegypti mosquito is an invasive species in the USA," says Dobson. "It was accidentally introduced from Africa during early trade by European colonists of North America." The MosquitoMate WB1 method is a species-specific approach. There are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes on the planet, and most of them do not bite people or cause disease. "We're not trying to eliminate all mosquitoes," says Dobson, "many of which are important to the local ecosystem." The VERV program was championed by a consortium that includes Duke University's Global Health Institute and the Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) program. Contact: [email protected] SOURCE MosquitoMate, Inc WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

Antibody levels remained high at 96% seroresponse in line with the two-year persistence data This long-lasting antibody persistence was comparable in older (65+) and younger adults December 3, 2024 – Valneva SE (Nasdaq: VALN; Euronext Paris: VLA), a specialty vaccine company, today reported positive antibody persistence data three years after vaccination with a single dose of its chikungunya vaccine IXCHIQ®. The results are in line with Valneva’s expectations for this vaccine, confirming a strong and long-lasting antibody persistence across all age groups investigated. The three-year persistence data are also in line with positive twelve-month and two-year persistence data the Company reported in December 20221 and 20232, respectively. Among the 278 healthy adults still enrolled in the trial, 96% maintained neutralizing antibody titers well above the seroresponse threshold3 three years after the single-dose vaccination. The primary endpoint was therefore met. Persistence of antibodies in older adults (age 65+) in terms of geometric mean titers (GMTs) and seroresponse rates (SRRs) was comparable to younger adults (18-64 years of age). Study VLA1553-303, which has received funding support from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the European Union’s (EU) Horizon Europe program, also collected long-term safety data by following any ongoing Adverse Event of Special Interest (AESI) from the preceding study and collecting new-onset Serious Adverse Events (SAEs). The latest analysis does not include a further safety evaluation since safety data collection was concluded at two years after vaccination according to the Clinical Trial Protocol. No safety concerns were reported or identified during the two-year follow-up and no AESI were ongoing at the time of participant enrollment in the trial. Juan Carlos Jaramillo M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Valneva, said, “We are extremely pleased about these three-year data which further highlight IXCHIQ®'s differentiated product profile and ability to induce a robust, long-lasting antibody response in both younger and older adults with a single vaccination. Whether you are a traveler or live in an endemic region, the potential for long-term protection against a mosquito-borne disease with a single dose is crucial, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where vaccine access is often limited.” IXCHIQ® is the world’s first and only licensed chikungunya vaccine available to address this significant unmet medical need. The vaccine is currently approved in the U.S.4, Europe5, and Canada6 for the prevention of disease caused by the chikungunya virus in individuals 18 years of age and older. Valneva recently submitted label extensions applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)7, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Health Canada8 to potentially extend the use of its chikungunya vaccine IXCHIQ® to adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. In addition to the adolescent data, the U.S. and Canadian label extension applications included IXCHIQ®’s two-year antibody persistence data for potential addition to the product label. These persistence data were already included in the initial EMA filing. The vaccine was launched in the U.S. at the beginning of March 2024, following adoption of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)’s recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and launches in France and Canada are currently underway. In addition to ramping up sales, Valneva is focused on expanding the vaccine’s label and access. The Company expects a marketing authorization in Brazil before the end of the year and expanded its partnership with CEPI earlier this year9 to support broader access to the vaccine in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) including outbreak-affected countries, post-marketing trials and potential label extensions in children and adolescents. CEPI is providing Valneva up to $41.3 million of additional funding over the next five years, with support from the EU’s Horizon Europe program. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne viral disease spread by the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes which causes fever, severe joint and muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue and rash. Joint pain is often debilitating and can persist for weeks to years.10 In 2004, the disease began to spread quickly, causing large-scale outbreaks around the world. Since the re-emergence of the virus, CHIKV has now been identified in over 110 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.11 Between 2013 and 2023, more than 3.7 million cases were reported in the Americas12 and the economic impact is considered to be significant. The medical and economic burden is expected to grow with climate change as the mosquito vectors that transmit the disease continue to spread geographically. As such, the World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted chikungunya as a major public health problem.13 We are a specialty vaccine company that develops, manufactures, and commercializes prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases addressing unmet medical needs. We take a highly specialized and targeted approach, applying our deep expertise across multiple vaccine modalities, focused on providing either first-, best- or only-in-class vaccine solutions.\ We have a strong track record, having advanced multiple vaccines from early R&D to approvals, and currently market three proprietary travel vaccines, including the world’s first and only chikungunya vaccine, as well as certain third-party vaccines. Revenues from our growing commercial business help fuel the continued advancement of our vaccine pipeline. This includes the only Lyme disease vaccine candidate in advanced clinical development, which is partnered with Pfizer, the world’s most clinically advanced Shigella vaccine candidate, as well as vaccine candidates against the Zika virus and other global public health threats. More information is available at www.valneva.com. 1 Valneva Reports Positive 12-Month Antibody Persistence Data for Single-Shot Chikungunya Vaccine Candidate - Valneva 2 Valneva Reports Positive 24-Month Antibody Persistence Data for its Single-Shot Chikungunya Vaccine IXCHIQ® - Valneva 3 A neutralizing antibody titer of ≥150 determined by µPRNT50, i.e. the antibody level agreed with regulators as endpoint under the accelerated approval pathway. 4 Valneva Announces U.S. FDA Approval of World’s First Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ® - Valneva 5 Valneva Receives Marketing Authorization in Europe for the World’s First Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ® - Valneva 6 Valneva Announces Health Canada Approval of the World’s First Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ® - Valneva 7 Valneva Submits Label Extension Application for its Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®, to the U.S. FDA - Valneva 8 Valneva Submits Label Extension Applications for its Chikungunya Vaccine, IXCHIQ®, to EMA and Health Canada - Valneva 9 CEPI Expands Partnership with Valneva with a $41.3 Million Grant to Support Broader Access to the World’s First Chikungunya Vaccine - Valneva 10 https://jvi-asm-org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/content/jvi/88/20/11644.full.pdf 11 https://cmr-asm-org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/content/31/1/e00104-16 12 PAHO/WHO data: Number of reported cases of chikungunya fever in the Americas (Cumulative Cases 2018-2023 and Cases per year 2013-2017). https://www.paho.org/data/index.php/en/mnu-topics/chikv-en/550-chikv-weekly-en.html. Last accessed 01 Aug 2023. 13 Geographical expansion of cases of dengue and chikungunya beyond the historical areas of transmission in the Region of the Americas (who.int) The content above comes from the network. if any infringement, please contact us to modify.