Amid Ebola surge, experts don't give nod to vaccine in pregnancy

-

In the latest Ebola developments, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today reported six more cases in Beni, the outbreak's current epicenter, and the World Health Organization's (WHO's) vaccine advisory group said there's still not enough evidence to recommend Ebola vaccination for pregnant women.

Officials probe 47 suspected cases

The 6 new illnesses in Beni, part of a steady stream of cases from the region, bring the outbreak total to 257 cases, which includes 222 confirmed and 35 probable infections.

Two more deaths were reported, one from Beni and the other from Butembo, the city that continues to report cases and deaths. So far 164 people have died in the DRC's latest outbreak, which is affecting North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the northeast part of the country.

Another 47 suspected Ebola cases are under investigation.

The number of people reached with the ring vaccination campaign continues to increase, with 22,811 immunized so far, about half of them in Beni.

In another response development, the DRC's health ministry said the capacity of the Ebola treatment center in Mangina, the earlier outbreak hot spot, had been reduced by 16 beds, while the one in Beni has been increased to 60 beds to allow for the best quality of care given the high volume of suspected and confirmed cases in that health zone.

Vaccine data lacking for pregnant women

Ebola vaccine was among the topics that the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunizations discussed this week at its meeting in Geneva.

At a media telebriefing today, the group's chair Alejandro Cravioto, MD, with the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said the group examined data on using Ebola vaccine in pregnant women. The VSV-EBOV vaccine contains live virus, which typically isn't recommended for use in pregnant women. He said health officials are following a small number of women who didn't know they were pregnant when they received the VSV-EBOV vaccine and some who were inadvertently vaccinated.

Joachim Hombach, PhD, MPH, executive secretary of SAGE and senior advisor at the European Vaccine Initiative, said the risk-benefit analysis suggests that risk of contracting Ebola is very low for nonvaccinated people—including pregnant women—in settings where ring vaccination is under way.

In the months ahead, health officials hope to have more information from detailed follow-up on pregnant women who were vaccinated, officials said, adding that there's not enough evidence for SAGE for make a final conclusion. They added that local ethics committees may also be taking up the issue, based on the situation on the ground.

Advisors foresee role for second vaccine

During their meeting this week, SAGE members also heard status reports on several other Ebola vaccines that are in the development pipeline.

Cravioto said the only other vaccine that the group sees being used in the near future is the prime-boost regimen that combines a priming dose of the adenovirus-vectored Ad26.ZEBOV vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson and a booster dose of MVA-BN-Filo from Bavarian Nordic. He said SAGE advisors heard a presentation on phase 2 findings for the vaccine.

Over the past few years, experts have said they see roles for different Ebola vaccine formulations. For example, VSV-EBOV has been useful in outbreak settings, because it induces rapid protection, but researchers are exploring vaccines that could provide long-lasting protection for preventive vaccination campaigns, including protecting health workers in outbreak zones.

The vaccines in the Johnson & Johnson regimen are genetically modified so they can't replicate, which might provide an option that health officials would be more comfortable recommending for pregnant women.

Cravioto said it's up the company to decide the next steps for the clinical trial, but the group suggested including pregnant women.

See also:

Oct 26 DRC update

Oct 26 WHO SAGE telebriefing audio file



https://ift.tt/2RiMjet

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Azar calls for transparency in Ebola-like death in Tanzania | TheHill - The Hill

-
Image
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Monday called for transparency from Tanzanian officials in the case of a patient who recently died after suffering Ebola-like symptoms, The Associated Press  reported . Azar told reporters in Uganda that he and others are “very concerned” and urged Tanzania’s government to share lab results related to the case. ADVERTISEMENT Congo, which borders Tanzania, is in the midst of the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, with confirmed cases now exceeding 3,000. Azar said efforts were underway to secure Tanzania’s compliance with international health regulations and obligations to the World Health Organization (WHO) “to protect Tanzanians as well as all people in the region," according to the AP. Tanzania’s government said Saturday there is no confirmed case of Ebola inside its borders. According to an internal WHO document obtained by AP, the patient, a 34-year-old woman, died on Sept. 8 and was bu...
Read more

A Russian lab containing smallpox and Ebola exploded - Vox.com

-
Image
Russia’s State Research Center of Virology, in the city of Koltsovo in Siberia, has one of the largest collections of dangerous viruses anywhere in the world. During the Cold War, the lab developed biological weapons and defenses against them, and it reportedly stored dangerous strains of smallpox, anthrax, and Ebola among other viruses. So lots of people were concerned when an explosion ripped through the facility on Monday. According to Russian independent media , the laboratory was undergoing repairs when a gas bottle exploded, sparking a 30-square-meter fire that left one worker severely burned. Glass throughout the building was reportedly destroyed in the blast, and the fire reportedly spread through the building’s ventilation system . The lab is one of only two in the world known to still have samples of smallpox, which was eradicated from the wild in 1977. The other is in the United States . Experts say that under certain circumstances, an explosion could lead to the releas...
Read more

Distinguishing viruses responsible for influenza-like illness

-
Image
bird flu 2021 :: Article Creator Bird Flu Pandemic Preparedness Activities Are Not Evidence Of A Conspiracy Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino. Flu viruses have a long history of making animals and humans sick. This includes a track record of causing pandemics, which can occur when unfamiliar viruses begin to spread widely among humans. Recently, a type of bird flu — called H5N1 — has been spreading among poultry, dairy cows and wild animals in the U.S. And infecting some farmworkers, adding to existing concerns about the virus's pandemic potential. The U.S. Government, in collaboration with others around the world, has a history of flu pandemic preparedness activities, including monitoring the flu viruses circulating in people and certain animals and stockpiling relevant vaccines and antivirals. These activities are meant to ensure scientists spot any concerning changes to flu viruses' genetics or circulati...
Read more