An unknown, deadly disease in DRC; concern over Trump administration health picks and more! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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[link removed] December 4, 2024
AVAC's weekly Pandemic Watch is a curated news digest on the latest pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR) news and resources.


“Farmworkers have so far avoided tragedy, as the virus has not yet acquired the genetic tools to spread among humans. But seasonal flu will vastly increase the chances of that outcome… We might be fine. Viruses don’t always manage to adapt to new species, despite all the opportunities. But if there is a bird flu pandemic soon, it will be among the most foreseeable catastrophes in history.” — Zeynep Tufekci in The New York Times ([link removed])
Table of Contents
• If You Are in a Hurry (#If You Are in a Hurry)
• Malaria Vaccines Reach More Countries (#malaria)
• Climate Change Fuels Dengue (#dengue)
• Marburg Outbreak in Rwanda Appears Contained (#marburg)
• Unknown Diseases Kills 143 in DRC (#unknown)
• What Happens if Bird Flu Cases Continue to Rise in the US? (#birdFlu)
• What Will the Trump Administration Mean for Public Health? (#publicHealth)
• COVID and Heart Problems (#COVID)
• Media Consumption and COVID Vaccination (#media)
• Misinformation and Outrage (#misinformation)
Vaccines have slowly been rolled out in Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries hard hit by the mpox outbreak, but as Jon Cohen reports in Science ([link removed]) (US), children in DRC are not being vaccinated. “When children get mpox, they are more likely than adults to become severely ill and die. But despite their vulnerability, children are not eligible for the vaccines now being rolled out for the first time in the DRC. Instead, the vaccination campaign targets sex workers and their clients, health care workers, and people who have been in contact with cases…. A growing number of local physicians and international agencies agree and have urged the DRC to change course. But the government has moved slowly, apparently because of regulatory questions, concerns about liability, and bureaucracy.” Reuters
([link removed]) (UK) reports on a vaccine for children donated by Japan that could help with the problem. “But the two countries took time to negotiate over a common issue in global health: who pays if there are unexpected side effects caused by the vaccine. Congo said the issue has now been resolved. But the delay once again showed the need for a better system, global health experts said, to stop the seemingly technical point holding up life-saving responses.” In nearby Uganda, where cases are rising, The Monitor ([link removed]) (Uganda) reports, “Uganda will receive 12,000 doses of the Mpox vaccines…. the Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, said truck drivers and commercial sex workers are the targeted population in the first phase of vaccination, which will begin next year.” Uganda has
approved the vaccine for use in people 12 years and older.

While WHO says the emergency continues, in some potential good news, Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “The number of mpox cases will continue to rise during the next four weeks before starting to show signs of flattening early next year, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said [last week].”

If You Are in a Hurry
* Read BBC ([link removed]) about the rollout of malaria vaccination in the country hardest hit by the disease.
* Read MedPage Today ([link removed]) on a possible new immunization strategy for malaria.
* Read Reuters ([link removed]) on an unknown disease on DRC that has killed 143 people so far.
* Read Forbes ([link removed]) and The Guardian ([link removed]) on concerns about Trump administration health picks.
* Read David Kessler in The New York Times ([link removed]) and Zeynep Tufekci writes in an opinion in The New York Times ([link removed]) on why the US needs to do more to combat bird flu.

Malaria Vaccines Reach More Countries

People’s Gazette ([link removed]) (Nigeria) reports rollout of malaria vaccines “for children from five to 11 months” has started. Deputy Governor of Kebbi state, Umar Abubakar-Tafida is quoted: “Today, we take a monumental step in our ongoing battle against this deadly disease. The introduction of the malaria vaccine stands as a symbol of hope and a clear demonstration of our unwavering dedication to protecting the health of our citizens. Kebbi State has long remained committed to improving the health and well-being of its people.”

BBC ([link removed]) (UK) reports Nigeria has more malaria deaths than any other country. “In 2022, Nigeria accounted for 27% of global malaria cases and 31% of malaria deaths, according to the WHO, with children under five and pregnant women being the most vulnerable…. ‘We are confident that this vaccine, in combination with other preventive measures, will drastically reduce the burden of malaria in Nigeria and help us move closer to achieving the goal of a malaria-free Africa,’ said Dr Walter Mulombo, WHO representative in Nigeria.”

The Monitor ([link removed]) (Uganda) reports, “A private hospital in Kampala has started inoculating children against malaria at a cost, ahead of the government's major launch of free malaria vaccinations next year.” Minister of Health Dr. Jane Aceng is quoted: “The introduction of the malaria vaccine is a great public health intervention at least to reduce mortality as well as to reduce severe malaria and our children can be able to go to school and parents to work.”

In malaria research news, MedPage Today ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Immunization with a second-generation genetically attenuated parasite was safe and provided strong protection from malaria infection in young adults, a small clinical trial in the Netherlands suggested…. The proof-of-concept trial was among the first to test a new method of immunizing humans against malaria by genetically altering the Plasmodium falciparum parasite. The parasite spurred an immune response while replicating in the liver but died before it could leave and cause disease…”

Climate Change Fuels Dengue

NPR ([link removed]) (US) reports, “a new study awaiting peer review suggests that climate change has likely played a significant role in the expansion of [dengue fever] from 1995 to 2014, according to an analysis presented in November at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference in New Orleans. Over that time period, climate change increased the caseload by roughly 20% across the 21 countries in the study — all places where dengue fever was already established, like Indonesia, India and Brazil…. The numbers could skyrocket with further climate change, even beyond the record-breaking case numbers from the past few years, says Erin Mordecai, an infectious disease expert at Stanford University and one of the authors of the new analysis.”

Marburg Outbreak in Rwanda Appears Contained

Africa Science News ([link removed]) (Kenya) reports the Rwanda Marburg outbreak remains contained. “As per WHO guidelines, Africa CDC will continue to support Rwanda in monitoring and preparing for the official declaration of the end of the Marburg outbreak, expected on December 12, 2024, following 42 days with no new confirmed cases since October 30, 2024.”

Unknown Diseases Kills 143 in DRC

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “An unknown disease killed 143 people in Democratic Republic of the Congo's southwestern province in November, local authorities told Reuters. Infected people had flu-like symptoms, including high fever and severe headaches, Remy Saki, deputy governor of Kwango province, and Apollinaire Yumba, provincial minister of health, said on Monday. A medical team has been sent to the Panzi health zone to collect samples and carry out an analysis in order to identify the disease.”

What Happens if Bird Flu Cases Continue to Rise in the US?

Concern about further spread of avian flu among humans is rising as more cases are found and as the US and state government response remains slow under the Biden administration. Many experts fear continued spread under the incoming Trump administration will be met with an even slower or non-existent response.

The New York Times ([link removed]) (US) reports Trump’s health picks, “have one thing in common. They are all considered Covid contrarians whose views raise questions about how they would handle an infectious disease crisis.” Virologist John Moore is quoted: “If the worst case scenario happens and we have a serious public health crisis, the body count is going to be enormous because these guys don’t have the skills or the will to do anything about it.”

Two Times opinion pieces lay out clear concerns:

David Kessler, who worked on the US COVID response under Biden writes in a guest essay in The New York Times ([link removed]) (US), “Without mandatory testing, bird flu will continue circulating at farms across the country, which substantially increases the risk that the virus mutates and evolves to allow a human-to-human transmission that will be hard to stop….If the virus begins to transmit efficiently among humans, it will be very difficult to contain, according to the Johns Hopkins assessment, and ‘the likelihood of a pandemic is very high.’ The incoming Trump administration needs to be prepared.”

Zeynep Tufekci writes in an opinion in The New York Times ([link removed]) (US), “The H5N1 avian flu, having mutated its way across species, is raging out of control among the nation’s cattle, infecting roughly a third of the dairy herds in California alone. Farmworkers have so far avoided tragedy, as the virus has not yet acquired the genetic tools to spread among humans. But seasonal flu will vastly increase the chances of that outcome…. We might be fine. Viruses don’t always manage to adapt to new species, despite all the opportunities. But if there is a bird flu pandemic soon, it will be among the most foreseeable catastrophes in history.”

What Will the Trump Administration Mean for Public Health?

The Guardian ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “When Donald Trump nominated David Weldon, a 71-year-old doctor from Florida who has long questioned the safety of vaccines, to lead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anti-vaccine activists celebrated. Law professor Dorit Reiss is quoted about Weldon and other nominees that hold anti-science opinions: “I think it increases their legitimacy. It gives them a microphone … to express their views and promote this information. It sends a message that the Trump administration is willing to work with the anti-vaccine movement. And I think it also sends a message that science-based decisions are not the priority.”

Forbes ([link removed]) (US) reports on Trump NIH nominee Jay Bhattacharya, “once dismissed as ‘fringe’ by [former NIH director] Francis Collins….” Bhattacharya has been a harsh critic of NIH and others involved in the COVID response: “’Fire all the people currently responsible for pandemic preparedness. They likely caused the pandemic, locked you down, kept your kids out of school, demolished economies, and want more power to do it again,’ Bhattacharya posted on X in January of this year. And just last week, he added ‘it is not a virtue to exaggerate an infectious disease threat at the start of a pandemic to panic the population into compliance. It's not a vice to ask for data to understand the true risk.’ Further, in response to his nomination by Trump, he wrote ‘we will reform American scientific institutions so that they are worthy of trust again.’”

Perhaps as a sign of things to come, the Republican-led House subcommittee evaluating the COVID response released a report this week claiming the virus “likely” originated from a Wuhan, China lab. The Independent ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “In a 60-page report released on Tuesday, ([link removed]) Democrats on the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic chastised their GOP colleagues for concluding that the virus “likely” originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, baselessly accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci of trying to cover up the virus’ origins, and downplaying the efficiency of masks…. Democrats accused the Republicans of abandoning their shared goal to ‘prevent and prepare for future pandemics’ in order to advance ‘a pol
itical agenda.’”

COVID and Heart Problems

New York Times ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Since nearly the start of the pandemic, scientists have known that a Covid-19 infection increases the risk of heart problems. A growing body of research now suggests that this risk can last until well after the infection has cleared…. Given the volume of evidence now linking Covid-19 to heart inflammation, heart failure, arrhythmia and other cardiovascular issues, experts said, doctors should be taking a closer look at patients’ Covid history.” Read a recent study ([link removed]) .

Media Consumption and COVID Vaccination

A US-based study in Nature Scientific Reports ([link removed]) (UK) looking at COVID vaccination rates found, “regardless of personal ideology, individuals who consumed less conservative media and had a more ideologically diverse media diet were more likely to be fully vaccinated and boosted. Additionally, consuming more conservative media was negatively associated with trust in science, but this relationship was weaker among those with a more ideologically diverse media diet.” The authors conclude, “Promoting a diverse media diet, much like encouraging a balanced diet for better health, could enhance vaccine acceptance.”

Misinformation and Outrage

A study in Science ([link removed]) (US) “examined the role of emotions, specifically moral outrage (a mixture of disgust and anger), in the diffusion of misinformation [through social media]…. Users were motivated to reshare content that evoked outrage and shared it without reading it first to discern accuracy. Interventions that solely emphasize sharing accurately may fail to curb misinformation because users may share outrageous, inaccurate content to signal their moral positions or loyalty to political groups.”
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