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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.

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.