Zika Virus Structure Mapped, Malaria Prevalence Declines in Kenya, and More

CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan laid out “The State of the World’s Antibiotics” in NIH’s 2016 John Ring LaMontagne Lecture. Laxminarayan argued that a balanced strategy of conservation and innovation is necessary to address the global problems of growing antibiotic resistance and inappropriate antibiotic use in humans and animals. Slides from the talk are available on the CDDEP website and a video recording is available online. [CDDEP, NIAID]

Ebola may no longer be a public health emergency, but its legacy is badly damaged healthcare systems. A new post on the CDDEP blog by analyst Andrea White argues that mortality due to diminished healthcare capacity in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is already greater than mortality from the Ebola virus itself. Though WHO recently declared that Ebola’s “public health emergency” is over, resources are still direly needed to minimize the damage in the region. Unglamorous solutions—public sanitation, infection control, vaccination campaigns, training new healthcare workers—are what’s needed to address the problem. [CDDEP]

Researchers from Purdue University have mapped the complete structure of the Zika virus, published in Science. Scientists report that the 3-D structure, visualized with electron microscopy, captures the shape of the virus on a near-atomic level, and will provide critical information for its control. After the U.S. Congress declined to vote on funding allocation for Zika virus before a three-week recess, President Obama shifted $589 million from other government sources to fight Zika, including $510 million originally dedicated to Ebola. The administration commented that the transfer still doesn’t provide enough funding for a comprehensive response. [The Washington Post, Science, STAT News, The New York Times]

A graded oral provocation challenge (PC test) can safely and accurately assess amoxicillin allergies in children, according to research published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers assessed 818 children with suspected amoxicillin allergies, and determined that 94 percent did not have a reaction to the test. Study author Dr. Moshe Ben-Shoshan stated that the PC test is far better than currently used skin tests: “Our study suggests that skin tests are essentially useless as diagnostic tests, and that we should go directly to the graded provocation test that is highly sensitive and specific.” [McGill University, JAMA Pediatrics]

The Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey (KMIS) found that malaria prevalence dropped from 11 percent to 8 percent between 2010 and 2015. Kenyan Principal Health Secretary Dr. Nicholas Muraguri attributed the success primarily to widespread use of long-lasting insecticidal mosquito nets (LLINs): 60 percent of households had at least one LLIN in 2015, versus 40 percent in 2010. Muraguri pointed out that there is still work to be done, particularly in Lake and Coastal endemic areas, where malaria prevalence is highest. [AllAfrica.com]

“We’ve studied a lot of science about whether or not there is a direct connection [between the use of antibiotics in livestock and spread of antibiotic resistant infections in humans]…I don’t see there is a problem,” said Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith in an interview with The Guardian. Tyson, one of the largest meat producers in the United States, recently promised to end the use of antibiotics important for human medicine in its chicken products by September 2017. Smith stated that the company’s chicken-raising practices are not dependent on antibiotics, and that they have actually seen costs go down since decreasing antibiotic use. Ultimately, the company is responding to a consumer demand for antibiotic-free meat: “If this millennial mum wants a no-antibiotic ever, or gluten-free nugget, we better supply that.” [The Guardian]

China and Kenya have reported multiple cases of yellow fever imported from Angola. The outbreak in Angola—the worst the country has seen in 30 years—has now affected 490 people, 198 of whom have died. On April 6, WHO reported eight new cases in three provinces in China and two cases in Kenya, in recent travelers to Angola. WHO’s primary containment strategy—a massive vaccination campaign—has been hindered by a global shortage of the pricey vaccine. [CIDRAP, Quartz]

A new comic series, Surgeon X, will be “set against the backdrop of an antibiotic apocalypse in near future London.” The project was announced at Emerald City Comicon, and will feature a brilliant surgeon who becomes a vigilante doctor with a godlike complex. The series’ writer and artist are collaborating with a wide variety of scientists, historians, physicians and ethicists on the project, which will launch in fall 2016. [Longitude Prize, Surgeon X]

CDDEP is hiring a Communications Associate for its Washington, D.C. office. For more information and to apply, visit cddep.org/jobs.