July 31, 2015
A weekly roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
The GARP-Mozambique Working Group has launched its Situation Analysis and Recommendations on Antibiotic Use and Resistance in Mozambique. The report, which is now available on the CDDEP website in both English and Portuguese, was launched by the working group at a meeting in Maputo. It details the current state of antibiotic use and resistance in Mozambique and culminates in a series of recommendations for combating antibiotic resistance in the country, laying the groundwork for development of a national action plan, as called for by the World Health Organization in its Global Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance. The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Mouzinho Saide, expressed government support and commitment in developing the plan collaboratively with a wide range of partners. [CDDEP]
The July issue of GARPNet News, the newsletter of the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership, is now available online. Featured items in the issue include the publication of situation analyses from three GARP Phase 2 countries: Nepal, Tanzania and Mozambique. Sign up to receive the bi-monthly newsletter on global antibiotic resistance and GARP projects here. [CDDEP]
CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan was interviewed for an article on falsified medicines for this month’s digital edition of Pharma Technology Focus. Citing a recent CDDEP study estimating poor-quality antimalarials in sub-Saharan Africa, Laxminarayan explains that the problem is multi-sectoral and requires greater documentation of falsified medicines to adequately assess the extent of the problem. [Pharma Technology Focus]
Results of an Ebola vaccine trial in Guinea published by The Lancet online today showed 100 percent effectiveness at preventing infection in Ebola patient contacts. The cluster-randomized trial used a “ring vaccination” strategy, targeting contacts of people with lab-confirmed Ebola—reminiscent of the strategy that eventually eradicated smallpox. Researchers randomly assigned contacts to immediate or delayed (by 21 days) vaccination. In an interim analysis, none of the immediately vaccinated 4123 contacts (in 48 clusters) became infected, while 16 of 3528 with delayed vaccination (in 42 clusters) did. On July 26, the trial was stopped, the results considered sufficient to conclude that the vaccine was likely highly effective. WHO Director Margaret Chan hailed the results as a “game changer” and an “extremely promising development.” [The Lancet, Reuters]
Klebsiella pneumoniae, a pathogen that causes pneumonia and other serious infections, has been detected in meat sold in U.S. grocery stores. A study conducted by researchers at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health found the pathogen, including some strains containing antibiotic-resistance genes, in samples of pork, chicken and turkey in Arizona supermarkets. The strains identified matched those in patients with Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in a nearby hospital. The authors concluded that foodborne pathogens are more widespread—and potentially dangerous—than public health researchers have heretofore believed. [Emerging Infectious Diseases, National Geographic]
The world’s first malaria vaccine has received positive review from the European Medicines Agency. The vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, was in development for over 30 years and received mixed results in a large trial, but when given to infants with two booster shots, reduced malaria cases by a third over the course of four years. The World Health Organization will decide later in 2015 whether to recommend the vaccine for children. [BBC]
The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics issued an online-only special supplement this month devoted to antibiotic resistance. The issue, which includes a dozen articles, focuses on how global collective action can address the growing public health problem of antimicrobial resistance—and in particular, the need for an international agreement for antibiotic policy. According to the Journal’s editors, “The authors argue that such an agreement should address access, surveillance, prevention, infection control, the needs of the under-served, accountability, and which forums, such as WHO, can help facilitate this policy.” [Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics]
A glaucoma medication may be effective in treating tuberculosis, including multi-drug resistant strains. The compound, ethoxzolamide, affects the TB bacterium’s ability to detect acidity in its surroundings—a signal that typically alerts the pathogen of immune cell attack. With its detection abilities inhibited, the bacterium is stopped from invading certain white blood cells, giving the host’s immune system a chance to “fight back” and potentially shorten treatment duration and slow the development of drug resistance. [Michigan State University, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy]
Antibiotic resistance may make some bacteria strains stronger and more virulent—contrary to some previously held views on bacterial fitness. Antibiotic resistance mutations are known to interfere with the pathogen’s physiology to the detriment of its “fitness” to survive within a host, and can diminish its virulence. In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers report that this is not always the case, however, as often posited. They document strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that have acquired a genetic mutation for antibiotic resistance which also confers increased fitness and virulence compared with susceptible strains. [The Conversation, Science Translational Medicine]
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