Pandemic Watch News Brief: The News You Need To Know ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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[link removed] November 29, 2023
AVAC's weekly Pandemic Watch is a curated news digest on the latest pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR) news and resources.


“This is the first definitive proof of sexual transmission of monkeypox in Africa. The idea that this kind of transmission could not be happening here has now been debunked.” Nigerian virologist, Oyewale Tomori in Al Jazeera ([link removed])
Table of Contents
• If You Are in A Hurry (#If You Are in A Hurry)
• A Wave of Childhood Pneumonia In China (#A Wave of Childhood Pneumonia In China)
• Cholera and Climate Change (#Cholera and Climate Change)
• Keeping Polio Away (#Keeping Polio Away)
• COVID and Politics (#COVID and Politics)
• COVID and Pre-Term Births (#COVID and Pre-Term Births)
• Good News for Treatment of Devasting Disease (#Good News for Treatment of Devasting Disease)
• Unknown Disease in Uganda (#Unknown Disease in Uganda)
• Egypt Spreads Hepatitis C Treatment to Other African Countries (#Egypt Spreads Hepatitis C Treatment to Other African Countries)
• A Call to Eliminate Hepatitis C in the US (#A Call to Eliminate Hepatitis C in the US)
• COVID Vaccination Cuts Risk of Long COVID (#COVID Vaccination Cuts Risk of Long COVID)
• Countries Fight for Access to TB and HIV Drugs (#Countries Fight for Access to TB and HIV Drugs)
• UK Detects Human Case of New Swine Flu (#UK Detects Human Case of New Swine Flu)

A mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has so far claimed 581 lives this year and for the first time WHO has confirmed sexual transmission of the disease in that country. CIDRAP ([link removed]) (US) reports, “This is the country's first outbreak defined by sexual transmission, with several early documented cases seen in sex workers. The outbreak likely began with a Belgian man who traveled to the DRC in March and tested positive for the disease shortly after arriving in the country…. The initial cluster of cases is the first documented sexual transmission of mpox clade 1. It is also the first described transmission of mpox clade 1 among men who have sex with men. There are two clades of mpox, with clade 1, the Congo Basin clade, known to be more virulent and deadly, with case-fatality rates of up to 10%.” Al Jazeera
([link removed]) (Qatar) quotes Oyewale Tomori, a Nigerian virologist who sits on several WHO advisory groups: “This is the first definitive proof of sexual transmission of monkeypox in Africa. The idea that this kind of transmission could not be happening here has now been debunked.”

If You Are in A Hurry
* Read Nature ([link removed]) and STAT ([link removed]) on what’s going on with a surge of respiratory illnesses among children in China.
* Read Newsday ([link removed]) on Africa CDC’s head on climate change and cholera in Africa.
* Read Nature ([link removed]) on what comes after polio elimination.
* Read The Guardian ([link removed]) on good news from a new study that a cheap, available drug can treat a devastating disease.
* Read The New York Times ([link removed]) on how Egypt is helping other African countries with access to a hepatitis C cure.
* Then read Former NIH director Francis Collins’s call to eliminate hepatitis C in the US in The New York Times ([link removed]) .


A Wave of Childhood Pneumonia In China

Nature ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “China is grappling with a surge in respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia, in children. The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that common winter infections — rather than any new pathogens — are behind the spike in hospitalizations. A surge of infections was expected in the country this winter, China’s first without COVID-19 restrictions since the pandemic began in 2020. What is unusual, say epidemiologists, is the high prevalence of pneumonia in China. When COVID-19 restrictions were eased in other countries, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) mostly drove spikes in illness.”

STAT ([link removed]) (US) reports, “The evidence presented to the WHO team pointed to what’s sometimes called an immunity gap that was created by the pandemic. A dramatic reduction in circulation of other viruses and bacteria created a cohort of kids with few immunological defenses against bugs like influenza, RSV, and other cold-causing viruses, setting the stage for large outbreaks when those pathogens returned.” WHO’s Maria Van Kerkhove believes the immunity gap makes sense: “Yes, that immunity gap opening up and new detection methods to be able to capture the incidence of these types of pathogens around the country. This is not an indication of a novel pathogen. This is expected. This is what most countries dealt with a year or two ago.”

Cholera and Climate Change

Newsday ([link removed]) (Zimbabwe) reports, “Director-General for Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Jean Kaseya says 18 African countries are being ravaged by the cholera outbreak, a problem he has attributed to the effects of climate change which according to the African Development Bank is chewing away 5-15% of the continent’s gross domestic product every year…. Kaseya says cholera continues to be a public health threat due to the effects of climate change. ‘As I speak, we have 18 countries affected by cholera with more than 4,000 deaths. We have multiple West African countries affected by dengue (fever). The flooding in a number of countries including Libya, the earthquake in Morocco and a number of other natural disasters are showing the linkage of climate change and health in Africa,’ he said.”

The Herald ([link removed]) (Zimbabwe) reports that as Zimbabwe’s cholera outbreak continues, “Cholera treatment camps have been set up while oral rehydration points are being established in communities to bring services closer to the people as the Government deepens the fight against cholera. In addition, case management and rapid response team training sessions are ongoing as part of several methods to contain the spread of cholera.”

Keeping Polio Away

Nature ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Although the world has not yet eliminated poliovirus, many observers think it could be gone within three years. The polio-eradication campaign has increased its intensity and funding in the past year in the hope of finally meeting a deadline that’s been postponed many times since efforts were launched in 1988. The front lines are Afghanistan and Pakistan, where pockets of wild polio persist but are shrinking and a swathe of Africa, where a polio vaccine that includes live virus has itself seeded outbreaks. There are signs that health campaigns are now bringing these vaccine-derived episodes under control…. The end of polio is only the beginning of another effort: developing the resilience to keep it away, says Liam Donaldson, a public-health specialist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK, and the lead author of a series of independent reports on the campaign’s progress. ‘People have signed up to
polio eradication, but they’ve not signed up to the longer journey.’”

COVID and Politics

Nature ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Politicians and civil servants didn’t have the scientific knowledge necessary to understand research-based advice during the COVID-19 pandemic, a public inquiry into the UK government’s response to the crisis has heard…. ‘Most politicians are honest about not knowing enough science and rely on experts. The onus is thus on scientists to offer the right advice based on science and evidence,’ says Shahid Jameel, a virologist at the University of Oxford, UK, who advised the Indian government during COVID-19. ‘In a fast-moving situation such as a pandemic, the evidence itself changes in time. That is where it gets difficult. Science is a process, which most people, including politicians — and some scientists — do not understand.’”

COVID and Pre-Term Births

CIDRAP ([link removed]) (US) reports, “The COVID-19 pandemic significantly raised the risk of preterm birth for expectant California mothers, and vaccination likely prevented thousands of them, according to a study today published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. But within 1 year of the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines, that risk virtually disappeared in ZIP codes reporting high vaccination coverage, suggesting vaccination was a key strategy in mitigating preterm birth risks caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read the study ([link removed]) .

Good News for Treatment of Devasting Disease

The Guardian ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “A cheap and easily taken drug used to treat fungal nail infections has been found to work against a devastating flesh and bone-eating disease found across Africa, Asia and the Americas. Researchers say the breakthrough offers hope to thousands of patients who have suffered decades of neglect and can face amputations if the disease is left untreated. Results of the clinical trial for a new treatment for mycetoma, which took place in Sudan, have shown that the oral drug fosravuconazole is up to 85% effective and has no side-effects.

Unknown Disease in Uganda

The Telegraph ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “African health experts are urgently investigating a mystery disease outbreak in Uganda which has killed at least 14 people and seen some 40 fall ill. The mystery disease is being probed by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO) after doctors have so far been unable to identify it…. The disease appears to pass from animals to humans, and medics had at first suspected anthrax, a bacterial infection typically infecting cows, sheep, and goats. But tests have now ruled out anthrax, said Dr Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC.”

Egypt Spreads Hepatitis C Treatment to Other African Countries

The New York Times ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Egypt is on track to be the first country to achieve the World Health Organization goal of eliminating hepatitis C, and it is leveraging that victory into a campaign of “health diplomacy,” pledging to donate drugs and share expertise, with the goal of treating a million African patients. It is an unusual gesture in the world of global health, where largess is typically delivered to developing countries from high-income nations.

A Call to Eliminate Hepatitis C in the US

Former NIH director Francis Collins The New York Times ([link removed]) (US) calls on the US Congress to support "a five-year project to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States", arguing “we are squandering one of the most important medical advances of the 21st century. It’s time to eliminate this threat to the health of Americans. It’s no secret what has gone wrong. The cost of curative medications remains stubbornly high, so many insurance companies and Medicaid programs have erected barriers to coverage, requiring, for instance, abstinence from drugs and alcohol before people can receive treatment, referral to a specialist, or that the patient already shows liver scarring. Relatively few doctors offer treatment, and many sites where people at risk come for care do not even offer testing, let alone the cure. The result is that fewer than one in three people diagnosed with active infection get timely treatment.”

COVID Vaccination Cuts Risk of Long COVID

CIDRAP ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Two new analyses from Sweden and Pakistan published in BMJ highlight the benefits of partial or full COVID-19 vaccination in preventing persistent symptoms. [In Sweden] Of all participants vaccinated before infection, 0.4% were diagnosed as having long COVID during follow-up, compared with 1.4% of their 290,030 unvaccinated peers, a nearly four-fold difference.” The study authors are quoted: "The results of this study suggest a strong association between COVID-19 vaccination before infection and reduced risk of receiving a diagnosis of PCC. The findings highlight the importance of primary vaccination against COVID-19 to reduce the population burden of PCC." Read the Swedish study ([link removed]) and the Pakistan study ([link removed]) .

A BMJ ([link removed]) (UK) editorial linked to the Swedish study argues, “The evidence so far, including from Lundberg-Morris and colleagues’ study, underlines the importance of timely vaccination during pandemics. Future pandemic preparedness plans should continue to prioritise prompt manufacture, evaluation, and distribution of vaccines, and mass vaccination to reduce a pandemic’s impact on health. Although vaccines have adverse effects, including some that are rare but can lead to considerable disability, the benefits of vaccination for both individuals and populations far outweigh the risks. In future viral pandemics, a cautious vaccination programme that avoids use in individuals with known reactions to previous vaccines, can help minimise these complications. Given a plausible link between viral illnesses and long term syndromes such as chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalitis9 and fibromyalgia,10 it would be prudent to advocate timely vaccination to
reduce the healthcare burden and adverse impact on the economy.”

Countries Fight for Access to TB and HIV Drugs

AP ([link removed]) (US) reports, “South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV. Experts see it as a shift in how such countries deal with pharmaceutical behemoths and say it could trigger more efforts to make lifesaving medicines more widely available…. One of the targets is a drug, bedaquiline, that is used for treating people with drug-resistant versions of tuberculosis. The pills are especially important for South Africa, where TB killed more than 50,000 people in 2021, making it the country’s leading cause of death. In recent months, activists have protested efforts by Johnson & Johnson to protect its patent on the drug. In March, TB patients petitioned the Indian government,
calling for cheaper generics; the government ultimately agreed J&J’s patent could be broken. In July, J&J’s patent on the drug expired in South Africa, but the company had it extended until 2027, enraging activists who accused it of profiteering…. In September, about a week after South Africa’s [government] probe [of pricing] began, J&J announced that it would drop its patent in more than 130 countries, allowing generic-makers to copy the drug.”

UK Detects Human Case of New Swine Flu

The Guardian ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “Health officials are scrambling to trace contacts of a person infected with a new form of swine flu, after the UK detected its first human case of H1N2. Fifty human cases of the strain have been reported globally since 2005. The new case is the first to be detected in the UK and is unrelated genetically to the previous cases…. The person infected, who has not been identified, had a mild illness and has recovered. They were not hospitalised and were not known to have worked with pigs, the Guardian understands. How they came to be
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