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Research Roundup: Nanopatch technology, agriculture and antibiotics, and a first-time pledge

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PATH/Gabe Bienczycki

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.

October 8, 2017 by Taylor Capizola

In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.

A new study suggests the Nanopatch vaccine delivery system is more efficacious in protecting against poliovirus than typical syringes or needles. Nanopatch, defined as “a microscopic vaccine delivery platform,” targets immune cells in the outer layers of the skin, as opposed to typical syringes and needles, requiring injection into the muscle. The change from muscle to immune cells results in easier administration of the vaccine as well as a reduction in the required dosage. While initial data on Nanopatch is promising, more research is needed.

The World Health Organization has warned that an increase in antibiotic use in livestock will result in increased antibiotic resistance humans, potentially causing one of the biggest threats to human health. The agricultural sectors in both Europe and North America are advancing efforts to curb antibiotic use, but many countries are still lagging behind in efforts to scale back use of antibiotics. While new policies and reform around livestock antibiotic use are needed, experts note there is still a need to treat health complications in livestock, through antibiotic alternatives like animal vaccines, as well as a need for improved diagnostics.

The World Health Organization, numerous aid agencies, and relevant stakeholders have announced the first global pledge to end cholera by 2030, following one of the worst outbreaks of cholera in modern history. Cholera is considered a “disease of the poor,” affecting individuals living in areas with poor sanitary and water conditions. The recent outbreak is associated with and exacerbated by weak health systems, poor infrastructure, and a lack of necessary supplies to prevent, diagnose, or treat cholera. The pledge will focus on a multifaceted approach involving improving water and sanitation as a long-term solution and use of an oral, three-year cholera vaccine to provide immediate protection.

Categories: Child health, Diarrhea, Polio, Research Roundup, Vaccines, WHO

About the author

Taylor CapizolaGHTC

Taylor Capizola is a program assistant at GHTC who supports GHTC's communications and member engagement activities.

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Research Roundup: The immunization edition

Written by Taylor Capizola / GHTC
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In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.Two male health workers on a motorcycle carrying a vaccine carrier and supplies, pulling up in front of a building where women and children are waiting. (PATH/Doune Porter)A breakthrough leprosy vaccine candidate will soon enter a Phase I clinical trial. The vaccine—LepVax—is the first vaccine specifically developed for leprosy, marking a critical step forward in efforts to eradicate the disease. Leprosy is a painful bacterial disease that causes nerve damage, skin disfiguration, and issues with mucous membranes. While treatment options exist, there are many side effects, and these treatments are not capable of reversing the permanent skin and nerve damage. Early results from the trial should be available in 2018. A massive cholera immunization campaign recently launched near the border of Bangladesh in an effort to provide emergency immunizations to host families and displaced Rohingya families and children. Over 200 mobile vaccination teams delivered 900,000 cholera vaccines to the border regions currently affected by both a cholera outbreak and a refugee crisis. A main target of the campaign is children ages one to five, though individuals of all ages will receive vaccines. This immunization campaign follows a recent global pledge to end cholera by 2030. Results from a clinical trial launched in 2015 at the end of Liberia’s Ebola outbreak have demonstrated that two Ebola vaccine candidates are safe and effective in promoting an immune response. The first vaccine—ChAd3—developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and GlaxoSmithKline, resulted in an immune response in 64 percent of recipients one year-post vaccination, while the second vaccine—VSV-EBOV—developed by Merck and Canadian scientists resulted in an immune response in 80 percent of recipients at the one-year mark. These results will help inform continued development of both vaccines.
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Research Roundup: An effective Rotavirus vaccine, prioritizing pediatric TB diagnostics, and a powerful HIV antibody

Written by Taylor Capizola / GHTC
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In this regular feature on Breakthroughs, we highlight some of the most interesting reads in global health research from the past week.A new low-cost and heat-stable vaccine—ROTASIL—has been found effective against severe rotavirus in phase III clinical trials. The vaccine, which was developed by the Serum Institute of India and tested in partnership with PATH, had an efficacy of nearly 39 percent in children with severe rotavirus and 55 percent against a very severe form of rotavirus. The vaccine is a hybrid of bovine and human rotavirus and is capable of targeting all five rotavirus serotypes. Indian children face a high burden of rotavirus, as the country accounts for 22 percent of all rotavirus deaths worldwide. {% component type: A GeneXpert machine. (Photo: PATH/Georgina Goodwin)India is rolling out a new program to expedite the diagnosis of pediatric tuberculosis (TB) and multi-drug resistant TB cases to speed treatment. While children generally respond well to TB treatments, a pediatric TB case is usually severe and requires a quick, accurate diagnosis to ensure effective treatment. FIND and the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program have worked in India to establish an infrastructure to aid in accurately and quickly diagnosing children, developing a courier system to quickly relay samples from clinic to lab for diagnosis and relay results back to the health provider via text message within 24 hours. The organizations have also led an initiative that has added over 600 GeneXpert diagnostic machines throughout India. India’s goal is to make the GeneXpert machines a front-line tool for TB diagnosis.Research conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Sanofi has created an antibody capable of killing 99 percent of HIV strains. Fighting HIV is difficult because of the virus’ ability to mutate quickly, which often results in the presence of numerous different HIV strains in a single patient. NIH and Sanofi harnessed the natural defense system of a small number of people who produce broadly neutralizing antibodies,” which can kill up to 90 percent of HIV strains in the body. The researchers combined three antibodies to produce a tri-specific antibody that has proved to be more effective than any naturally occurring antibody yet discovered. The first human clinical trial is planned for 2018.