July 02, 2016
A weekly roundup of news on drug resistance and other topics in global health.
Sin taxes: the next generation. On the CDDEP blog, Research Analyst Amit Summan examines debate surrounding a recent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in light of the global experience with similar taxes. Summan notes current research being done by CDDEP’s Fiscal Instruments for Health project on SSB and other sin taxes and subsidies that could improve health (and add to national treasuries, in some cases) in India and South Africa. The SSB tax, he concludes may be a sweet deal all around. [CDDEP]
The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine performed poorly in a study published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine. The vaccine was given to 200 children in Tanzania and Kenya, and just 28 percent of children who received three doses and 36 percent who received four doses were protected against all malaria episodes. In a 7-year follow-up, children who received three doses were more likely to contract malaria in the later years than those in a control group, indicating a possible rebound effect. [CIDRAP, NEJM]
Mass distribution of topical mosquito repellent did not reduce malaria incidence in Cambodia, report researchers in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Study authors divided 98 single- or multiple-village clusters into two groups of 49 clusters: 1) in the control villages, everyone was given a long-lasting insecticidal bednet and a placebo topical mosquito repellent, and 2) in the treatment group, everyone got the same bednet and picaridin KBR3023, an active mosquito repellent. Malaria incidence after 7 months was about the same in the two groups—ranging between 3 and 5 percent in all villages. Compliance may be one factor explaining why the repellent didn’t work better: only 59 percent of study respondents reported proper daily use. There may also be other reasons. [The Lancet Infectious Diseases, CIDRAP]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a rapid genetic diagnostic test for carbapenem-resistant bacteria. The Xpert Carba-R Assay, manufactured by Cepheid, can detect five genes associated with production of carbapanemases (enzymes that inhibit carbapenem antibiotics) in less than an hour, compared with up to four days for standard culture techniques. The test does not enitrely replace culturing, as it does not allow bacterial identification and detects only the most common carbapenem resistance genes. FDA recommends that labs continue their standard culture testing alongside the new test. [FDA]
The first Zika-related microcephaly case in Florida was announced this week, along with 10 new Zika cases for the highest single-day total. Overall, Florida has recorded 246 cases, including 43 pregnant women. The U.S. House of Representatives approved $1.1 billion to combat Zika, taking much of the money from funds set aside for Ebola, but the Senate blocked the bill due to “poison pill” measures. President Obama said this week that he is confident a Zika vaccine can be developed if funding comes through, but that if funds aren’t available soon, some American families could face “tragedies that could last a lifetime.” [Miami Herald, The Washington Post]
Combination antibiotic Zavicefta (ceftazidime-avibactam) has been approved for use in the European Union. AstraZeneca’s drug, marketed in the United States as Avycaz, is approved in the EU for serious Gram-negative bacterial infections requiring hospitalization, including complicated intra-abdominal infections, complicated urinary tract infections, hospital-acquired pneumonia, and aerobic Gram-negative infections in adults with limited treatment options. [Medscape News]
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns of a globally emerging yeast infection Candida auris, with high levels of drug resistance. C. auris was first described in a Japanese patient in 2009, and has since emerged independently in eight other countries, often with deadly results. No affected patients have been identified in the United States, but because of potential resistance to all major classes of antifungal drugs, CDC asks hospitals to report C. auris infections and isolate affected patients. [CIDRAP]
U.K. researchers have isolated the “maleness” gene in Anopheles gambiae, the dominant malaria vector in Africa. Writing in Science, they note that in male mosquitoes, the gene they call Yob first appears about two hours after an egg is laid and is transcribed until the mosquito dies. When injected into female mosquitoes, the gene kills them before they can lay eggs. Because it is only females that bite and transmit malaria, this could lead to a new control strategy. [The Pirbright Institute, Science]
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Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
