February 10, 2025
A call for gender-transformative AMR mitigation strategies
The One Health Trust’s Dr. Deepshikha Batheja and Srishti Goel co-authored an article outlining the role that gender disparities and norms play in antibiotic overuse and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Biological, sociocultural, and behavioral factors that lead to differences in susceptibility to antimicrobial-resistant infections among men and women – such as the risk of infection associated with pregnancy and childbirth – underscore the importance of integrating these considerations into AMR mitigation policies and strategies to avoid inadvertently augmenting gender disparity. [BMJ Global Health]
The Trump administration withdraws the United States from the WHO.
In the hours following his inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization. The executive order also directs the U.S. Secretary of State to halt negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, a global treaty that aims to prevent and prepare for future pandemics. The Trump administration’s decisions pose a threat to global health security by removing U.S. political support for the WHO and the global health community and increasing the risk of future pandemics. [Science]
The United States’ exit from the WHO and potential leadership roles for India
In an opinion piece, OHT’s Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan discussed the United States’ decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), framing it as a pivotal moment for global health reform. He suggests that this development presents a significant opportunity for India to assume a leadership position within the organization. Dr. Laxminarayan further emphasizes that increased engagement with the WHO could lead to substantial improvements in India’s public health system. [Hindustan Times]
Tanzania declares an outbreak of Marburg virus disease.
Since January 20, 2025, when Tanzania declared an outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in the northwestern region of Kagera, 25 suspected cases have been identified and tested negative for MVD. The World Health Organization is working closely with Tanzanian health authorities to scale up disease surveillance, testing, and outbreak control efforts to contain the spread of this highly virulent, zoonotic pathogen. [WHO]
Mitigating Salmonella burden requires an effective, accessible vaccine.
Each year, there are approximately 95 million cases and 150,000 deaths attributed to Salmonella infection globally. A systematic review revealed a marked rise in multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains, which can be linked to antibiotic overuse in humans and livestock, with rates of AMR ranging from 50 to 80 percent. Developing an accessible Salmonella vaccine is critical, particularly in low-income countries with a high infection burden. Existing vaccines are challenged by strain specificity, but novel approaches such as recombinant vaccines and mRNA platforms warrant further exploration. [BMC Infectious Diseases]
Exploring AMR in biofilms and sediments on the Antarctic Peninsula
A sequencing study exploring levels of AMR in the Antarctic Peninsula microbiota revealed a complex AMR landscape due to competition for limited resources. The study also demonstrated enteric bacteria’s resilience to various temperatures and environmental conditions. At all study sites, levels of human enteric bacteria in biofilm and sediment samples were low, and microbial diversity was high, indicating that sewage and wastewater contributed minimally to surrounding microbial communities. [Environmental Microbiome]
Identifying novel resistance mutations using a quantitative sequencing tool
Using a high-throughput technique (QMS-seq) on four Escherichia coli strains exposed to ciprofloxacin, cycloserine, or nitrofurantoin, 812 unique resistance mutations, many of which were not previously associated with resistance, were identified across 300 coding and regulatory sequences. The QMS-seq technique provided a relatively inexpensive way to quantitatively assess the impact of experimental conditions on mutational effects and the evolution of resistance, paving the way for proactive studies exploring resistance characteristics across bacterial strains. [Nature Communications]
Prevalence and factors affecting self-medication among adults in Uganda
A systematic review and meta-analysis found a 55.63 percent pooled prevalence of self-medication in Uganda. Antibiotics, antimalarials, and painkillers were the predominantly used drugs for self-medication. Ease of access to medications, perceived severity of illness, prior drug use, recommendations from family and friends, and access to the Internet were facilitators to self-medication. [BMC Public Health]
Challenges and recommendations for research on humans and companion animals
Owner-companion animal studies are essential to investigate One Health relationships between humans, animals, and their environments. Such studies, however, are complicated by sample collection, laboratory, bioinformatics, and data analysis challenges. Creating a database tailored towards animal genetic data would help improve the quality of metagenomic data and generate more accurate and sensitive analyses of human and companion animal microbiomes. [One Health]
The role of bovines in influenza transmission
Influenza A virus (IAV) poses a substantial One Health threat worldwide, particularly in the context of the recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) in humans and dairy cattle in the United States. Wild migratory birds are considered the natural reservoir of IAV and play a role in transmitting the virus to domestic birds. While previous studies point to the generally low susceptibility of bovines to HPAIV, recent U.S. outbreaks have challenged this notion, as there were 924 confirmed cases in bovines as of January 11, 2025. Vaccine strategies should, therefore, incorporate features of the bovine mammary gland to effectively prevent bovine mastitis caused by HPAIV. [npj vaccines]
Improved nutrition could prevent more than 300,000 tuberculosis deaths in India.
A modeling study found that providing food baskets to half of the people initiating tuberculosis treatment in India and their household contacts could prevent 361,200 tuberculosis deaths and 880,700 disease episodes between 2023 and 2035 compared to a baseline of no nutritional intervention. This intervention will likely be cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of US$167 per disability-adjusted life-year averted. [The Lancet Global Health]
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