CDC/ACIP [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html
No new digest content identified.

Africa CDC [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://au.int/en/africacdc
No new digest content identified.

China CDC
http://www.chinacdc.cn/en/
New website launched…no “news” or “announcements” page identified. Link to National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China not responding at inquiry [13 Apr 2019]

Announcements

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.alleninstitute.org/news-press/
No new digest content identified.

BMGF – Gates Foundation [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
No new digest content identified.

Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.gatesmri.org/
The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is a non-profit biotech organization. Our mission is to develop products to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases—three major causes of mortality, poverty, and inequality in developing countries. The world has unprecedented scientific tools at its disposal; now is the time to use them to save the lives of the world’s poorest people
No new digest content identified.

CARB-X [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://carb-x.org/
CARB-X is a non-profit public-private partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research to tackle the global rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.
No new digest content identified.

CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://cepi.net/
No new digest content identified.

Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://clintonhealthaccess.org/about/
No new digest content identified.

EDCTP [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.edctp.org/
The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on phase II and III clinical trials
Latest news
No new digest content identified.

Emory Vaccine Center [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
No new digest content identified.

European Medicines Agency [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News and press releases
No new digest content identified.

European Vaccine Initiative [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/news-events
Latest news
New Project Manager vacancy at EVI
10 April 2019
EVI has an exciting new Project Manager position. Deadline for applications: 6th May 2019, 17:00 CET.

FDA [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
No new digest content identified.

Fondation Merieux [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
No new digest content identified.

Gavi [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.gavi.org/https://www.gavi.org/https://www.gavi.org/
Latest News
No new digest content identified.

GHIT Fund [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 2012 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that devastate the world’s poorest people. Other funders include six Japanese pharmaceutical
No new digest content identified.

Global Fund [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News
No new digest content identified.

Hilleman Laboratories [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.

Human Vaccines Project [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
No new digest content identified.

IAVI [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
No new digest content identified.

IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/library/news/press-releases/
No new digest content identified.

IFRC [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Democratic Republic of the Congo
DR Congo: “Ebola is spreading faster, and many people are no longer seeking care”
Nairobi/Geneva, 11 April 2019 –The deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is worsening as trust in the response effort falters, says the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
[See DR Congo – Ebola above for details]

IVAC [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
No new digest content identified.

IVI [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.ivi.int/
IVI News & Announcements
[Undated]
Experts find evidence of underfunding in rheumatic heart disease research
IVI’s Director General, Dr. Jerome Kim was a member of the team of experts that looked at the underfunding of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) research.
RHD, a long-term consequence of Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A streptococcus, or GAS) infection, is estimated to affect at least 33 million people globally, causing approximately 300,000 deaths yearly. Despite this huge disease burden, RHD continues to receive relatively little attention from both researchers and the global health community. This translates into little funding, which limits the opportunities for innovations in disease control.
By comparing 16 major tropical diseases, using data from the Global Burden of Disease Study and funding from the G-FINDER database, the team established that RHD is the least-funded illness relative to its disease burden. The study was published in the Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene on March 30, 2019 and can be accessed at: https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trz014

JEE Alliance [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.msf.org/http://www.msf.org/http://www.msf.org/
Selected News; Project Updates, Reports [as presented on website]
Press Release 12 April 2019
Humanitarian mechanism for vaccines used for first time in Europe to counter high prices
[See Milestones above for detail]

Cyclone Idai & Southern Africa flooding
From emergency to recovery: Mozambique one month after Cycl…
Project Update 12 Apr 2019

Cyclone Idai & Southern Africa flooding
Chimanimani: A community in distress after Cyclone Idai
Project Update 10 Apr 2019

Child health
“Children with chronic diseases need our attention”
Interview 9 Apr 2019

NIH [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
Monday, April 8, 2019
Scientists review influenza vaccine research progress and opportunities
What
In a new series of articles, experts in immunology, virology, epidemiology, and vaccine development detail efforts to improve seasonal influenza vaccines and ultimately develop a universal influenza vaccine. The 15 articles are part of a supplement in the April 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and scientists supported by NIAID, are among the contributing authors. Barney S. Graham, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director of NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC), and Michelle C. Crank, M.D., head of the Translational Sciences Core in the VRC’s Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory, edited the supplement.
Articles
Articles in the supplement from NIAID experts include:
CI Paules and AS Fauci. Influenza vaccines: good, but we can do better. Journal of Infectious Diseases DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy633 (2019)
CM Saad-Roy et al. Dynamic perspectives on the search for a universal influenza vaccine. Journal of Infectious Diseases DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiz044 (2019)
DM Morens and JK Taubenberger. Making universal influenza vaccines: lessons from the 1918 pandemic. Journal of Infectious Diseases DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy728 (2019)
MC Crank et al. Preparing for the next influenza pandemic: the development of a universal influenza vaccine. Journal of Infectious Diseases DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiz043 (2019)
M Kanekiyo et al. New vaccine design and delivery technologies. Journal of Infectious Diseases DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiy745 (2019)

April 9, 2019
NIH researchers make progress toward Epstein-Barr virus vaccine
What
A research team led by scientists from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has determined how several antibodies induced by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpesvirus that causes infectious mononucleosis and is associated with certain cancers, block infection of cells grown in the laboratory. They then used this information to develop novel vaccine candidates that, in animals, elicited potent anti-EBV antibody responses that blocked infection of cell types involved in EBV-associated cancers.
Currently, there is no licensed vaccine for EBV. The virus is associated with certain cancers (nasopharyngeal and gastric) of epithelial cells, which form the lining of the body’s surfaces, as well as Burkitt and Hodgkin lymphomas, which are cancers of the immune system’s B cells. Worldwide, about 200,000 cases of EBV-associated cancers occur annually, resulting in 140,000 deaths
Article
W Bu et al. Immunization with components of the viral fusion apparatus elicits antibodies that neutralize Epstein-Barr virus in B cells and epithelial cells. Immunity DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2019.03.010 (2019).

PATH [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.path.org/media-center/https://www.path.org/media-center/https://www.path.org/media-center/
April 10, 2019 by PATH
PATH applauds reintroduction of Global Health Security Act in U.S. Congress
Washington, D.C., April 10, 2019 — PATH applauds the bipartisan reintroduction of the Global Health Security Act in the U.S. Congress by Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Steve Chabot (R-OH). The legislation aims to reaffirm U.S. government commitments to global health security that were made in the wake of the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola crisis. As a leading funder and technical expert in the management of infectious disease outbreaks, the U.S. government plays a vital leadership role in today’s volatile world of more frequent and severe outbreaks…

April 8, 2019 by PATH
PATH CEO to step down at end of 2019; search underway for new CEO
Seattle, WA, March 8, 2019 – PATH announced today that President and CEO Steve Davis plans to step down at the end of 2019, after more than seven years leading the organization. Mr. Davis will continue to oversee PATH until a new CEO is in place, and will support the transition as a new leader comes on board. A global search will commence today to select his successor…

Sabin Vaccine Institute [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
No new digest content identified.

UNAIDS [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
12 April 2019
Malawi launches its health situation room

11 April 2019
Scaling up stigma-free services for women in Egypt

8 April 2019
Burkina Faso piloting PrEP

8 April 2019
HIV: a heavy burden on many cities

UNICEF  [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
Selected Statements, Press Releases, Reports

Statement
Nearly half a million children in Tripoli at immediate risk
Statement by Abdel-Rahman Ghandour, UNICEF Special Representative in Libya
09/04/2019

Press release
175 million children are not enrolled in pre-primary education – UNICEF
UNICEF’s first-ever global report dedicated to early childhood education highlights a lack of investment in pre-primary by the majority of governments worldwide
08/04/2019

Press release
World Bank and UNICEF partner to promote education, skills and training for young people
World Bank to invest $1 billion to boost job prospects for young people in alignment with Generation Unlimited
09/04/2019

Press release
Climate change threatens lives and futures of over 19 million children in Bangladesh
UNICEF report calls for urgent action to keep children safe and mitigate impact on vital services

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
Editorial
Reverse global vaccine dissent
Larson HJ, Schulz WS. 2019 SCIENCE VOL 364 ISSUE 6436

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
Published on Apr 10, 2019
Measles Outbreaks
In this video, Dr. Offit explains who may need measles vaccines during an outbreak. The accompanying article includes what you need to know about measles disease, the vaccine that helps to prevent it, and considerations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals during an outbreak.

Wellcome Trust [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
No new digest content identified.

The Wistar Institute [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
No new digest content identified.

World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/http://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/http://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/
No new digest content identified.

::::::

BIO [to 13 Apr 2019]
https://www.bio.org/insights/press-release
No new digest content identified.

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
No new digest content identified.

IFPMA [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
No new digest content identified.

PhRMA [to 13 Apr 2019]
http://www.phrma.org/press-room
No new digest content identified.

Industry Watch [to 13 Apr 2019]
:: Pfizer Announces Presentation of Data from a Phase 2 Study of its 20-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Candidate Being Investigated for the Prevention of Invasive Disease and Pneumonia in Adults Aged 18 Years and Older
The U.S. FDA awarded Breakthrough Therapy Designation for this potential indication based on these Phase 2 data
The Biologics License Application is expected to be submitted to the U.S. FDA by the end of 2020, subject to the successful completion of Phase 3 studies
April 13, 2019

Journal Watch

   Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review continues its weekly scanning of key peer-reviewed journals to identify and cite articles, commentary and editorials, books reviews and other content supporting our focus on vaccine ethics and policy. Journal Watch is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicative of themes and issues the Center is actively tracking. We selectively provide full text of some editorial and comment articles that are specifically relevant to our work. Successful access to some of the links provided may require subscription or other access arrangement unique to the publisher.

If you would like to suggest other journal titles to include in this service, please contact David Curry at: david.r.curry@centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.org

EMBO Reports
Volume 20, Number 4 01 April 2019
http://embor.embopress.org/content/20/4?current-issue=y
Science & Society

Open Access
The Third Cognitive Revolution – The consequences and possibilities for biomedical research
The Third Cognitive Revolution poses particular challenges for biomedical research to adopt new knowledge. Interdisciplinary education at all levels would help to address these.
EMBO Reports (2019) 20: e47647
James B Hittner, Almira L Hoogesteijn, Jeanne M Fair, Marc HV van Regenmortel, Ariel L Rivas

EMBO Reports
Volume 20, Number 4 01 April 2019
http://embor.embopress.org/content/20/4?current-issue=y
Science & Society

Changing times for science and the public – Science journalists’ roles for the responsible communication of science
The increasing number of corrections in the scientific record and the debate about reproducibility affect journalists’ reporting about science and thereby public opinion on scientists and research.
EMBO Reports (2019) 20: e47906
Suzana Liskauskas, Mariana D Ribeiro, Sonia MR Vasconcelos

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 24 Nov 2018]

Research
|   11 April 2019
Public health law coverage in support of the health-related sustainable development goals (SDGs) among 33 Western Pacific countries
A resilient health system is inevitable in attaining the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One way of strengthening health systems is improving the coverage of public health laws for better health governance. The aim of this study is to describe the public health law situation in the Western Pacific Region and analyse the association of public health law coverage with health-related SDGs statistics.
Authors: Yuri Lee and So Yoon Kim

Health Economics, Policy and Law 
Volume 14 – Special Issue 2 – April 2019
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/health-economics-policy-and-law/latest-issue
SPECIAL ISSUE: Frontiers of Health Policy Research
If the enhancement of human freedom is both the main object and the primary means to development (Sen, 1999), then good individual and population health are both ends and means to development and freedom in all countries, regardless of their current ranking on the Human Development Index or other indexes on wealth, prosperity and well-being…
This special issue on the ‘frontiers in health policy research’ focuses attention on three distinct areas of inquiry. One set of papers analyses efforts to improve the quality of care and increase the value of care that health systems purchase. A second set of articles focuses on issues of health behaviour and social determinants of health. Finally, the third set of articles presents differing views on how to predict the adequacy of supply of medical professionals. The range of these articles illustrates, not only the exciting breadth of health policy research, but the degree to which scholars within this field are addressing issues of high importance to policy makers around the world. We think it is fair to claim that all of the articles address issues that are on the ‘frontier’ of health policy in the sense that they attempt to provide answers to questions that policy makers around the world are currently grappling with…

Humanitarian Exchange Magazine
Number 74, February 2019
https://odihpn.org/magazine/communication-community-engagement-humanitarian-response/https://odihpn.org/magazine/communication-community-engagement-humanitarian-response/https://odihpn.org/magazine/communication-community-engagement-humanitarian-response/
Communication and community engagement in humanitarian response
This edition of Humanitarian Exchange, co-edited with Charles-Antoine Hofmann from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), focuses on communication and community engagement. Despite promising progress, coherent and coordinated information is still not provided systematically to affected communities, and humanitarian responses take insufficient account of the views and feedback of affected people. In 2017, UNICEF, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other partners came together under the auspices of the Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network to establish the Communication and Community Engagement (CCE) initiative, which aims to organise a collective service for communications and community engagement. The articles in this edition take stock of efforts to implement this initiative.

Drawing on lessons from 23 Peer 2 Peer Support missions, Alice Chatelet and Meg Sattler look at what’s needed to integrate CCE into the humanitarian architecture. Viviane Lucia Fluck and Dustin Barter discuss the institutional and practical barriers to implementing community feedback mechanisms. Bronwyn Russel analyses the performance of the Nepal inter-agency common feedback project; Justus Olielo and Charles-Antoine Hofmann outline the challenges of establishing common services in Yemen; and Gil Francis Arevalo reports on community engagement in preparedness and response in the Philippines. Ian McClelland and Frances Hill discuss emerging findings from a strategic partnership in the Philippines between the Humanitarian Innovation Fund and the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network.

Charlotte Lancaster describes how call centres in Afghanistan and Iraq are enhancing two-way communication with crisis-affected people. Mia Marzotto from Translators without Borders reflects on the importance of language and translation in communication and community engagement, and Ombretta Baggio and colleagues report on efforts to bring community perspectives into decision-making during an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ayo Degett highlights emerging findings from a Danish Refugee Council project on participation in humanitarian settings, and Jeff Carmel and Nick van Praag report on the Listen Learn Act (LLA) project. Geneviève Cyvoct and Alexandra T. Warner write on an innovative common platform to track the views of affected people in Chad. The edition ends with an article by Stewart Davies on collective accountability in the response to the Central Sulawesi earthquake.

International Health
Volume 11, Issue 3, May 2019
http://inthealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

EDITORIAL
We need to monitor mortality to improve public health programs: here’s why and how to do it
Charles B Holmes; Izukanji Sikazwe; Elvin Geng
International Health, Volume 11, Issue 3, May 2019, Pages 159–162, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihy039

 
International Health
Volume 11, Issue 3, May 2019
http://inthealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

ORIGINAL ARTICLES
The promise, problems and pitfalls of mass drug administration for malaria elimination: a qualitative study with scientists and policymakers
Nils Kaehler; Bipin Adhikari; Phaik Yeong Cheah; Nicholas P J Day; Daniel H Paris …
International Health, Volume 11, Issue 3, May 2019, Pages 166–176, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihy079

International Health
Volume 11, Issue 3, May 2019
http://inthealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

Herd protection of unvaccinated adults by oral cholera vaccines in rural Bangladesh
Mohammad Ali; Peter Kim; K Zaman; John Clemens
International Health, Volume 11, Issue 3, May 2019, Pages 229–234, https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihy085

The Lancet
Apr 13, 2019  Volume 393Number 10180  p1477-1568, e37
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
Artificial intelligence in global health: a brave new world
The Lancet
Despite decades of progress in global health, many low and middle income countries are not reaching their health Sustainable Development Goals, creating a sense of urgency to prioritise health in resource-strained environments. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly attractive to the health-care industry. The accompanying enthusiasm remains awkwardly placed somewhere between aspiration and reality.

The Artificial Intelligence in Global Health report, published on April 1, 2019, was funded by the USAID’s Center for Innovation and Impact and the Rockefeller Foundation, in close coordination with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The report looks at 27 cases of AI use in health care and distils them into four key groupings—population health, patient and front-line health worker virtual assistants, and physician clinical decision support. It hypothesises how AI solutions could improve access, quality, and efficacy of global health systems while accounting for their technological maturity and feasibility. The identified challenges, the most highly volatile being privacy, ethics, and data ownership, are in line with recent debates on regulation and policy for AI technology implementation in health care. To mitigate these challenges, stakeholders would need to be held accountable and be transparent whether supporting innovation, interoperability, or capacity building. The report sets the framework for a proactive and strategic approach to accelerate the development of cost-effective use of AI in global health by investing in case-specific, systematic, and technology-related key areas.

This report outlines an aspirational yet pragmatic framework for better coordination for AI investment between donors, governments, and the private sector, while harnessing a futuristic vision—the digitisation of global health. Because the cost-effectiveness of these AI solutions has yet to be validated, the call for investments feels somewhat premature. Traditionally, the global health community is a late adopter of new technologies. Hence, it is imperative that they have an integral and active role in the dialogue early on. As this report rightfully stipulates, technology will get there, but will the world follow?

The Lancet
Apr 13, 2019  Volume 393Number 10180  p1477-1568, e37
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Articles
Efficacy and risk of harms of repeat ivermectin mass drug administrations for control of malaria (RIMDAMAL): a cluster-randomised trial
Ivermectin is widely used in mass drug administrations for controlling neglected parasitic diseases, and can be lethal to malaria vectors that bite treated humans. Therefore, it could be a new tool to reduce plasmodium transmission. We tested the hypothesis that frequently repeated mass administrations of ivermectin to village residents would reduce clinical malaria episodes in children and would be well tolerated with minimal harms.
Brian D Foy,Haoues Alout, Jonathan A Seaman, Sangeeta Rao, Tereza Magalhaes, Martina Wade, Sunil Parikh, Dieudonné D Soma, André B Sagna, Florence Fournet, Hannah C Slater,
Roland Bougma, François Drabo, Abdoulaye Diabaté, A Gafar V Coulidiaty, Nöel Rouamba,
Roch K Dabiré,
Open Access

Nature 
Volume 568 Issue 7751, 11 April 2019
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

World View | 10 April 2019
Train students to navigate ethical swamps
A protocol can help with the tricky conversations essential to responsible research conduct, says Mary A. Allen.

New England Journal of Medicine
April 11, 2019   Vol. 380 No. 15
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Perspective
Shifting the Paradigm — Applying Universal Standards of Care to Ebola Virus Disease
William A. Fischer, II, M.D., Ian Crozier, M.D., Daniel G. Bausch, M.D., Jean-Jacques Muyembe, M.D., Ph.D., Sabue Mulangu, M.D., Janet V. Diaz, M.D., Richard Kojan, M.D., David A. Wohl, M.D.,  and Shevin T. Jacob, M.D., M.P.H.
[Conclusion]
… It should no longer be acceptable to have two standards of care — one for patients in resource-constrained settings and another for those in countries where resources are more readily available. The ongoing response to EVD is teaching us that higher standards are no longer aspirational but are possible, and that during inevitable future outbreaks of EVD, no matter how remote the setting, we can provide people who are sick and suffering with the type of care that we would want to receive.

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
http://www.plosntds.org/
(Accessed 13 Apr 2019)

Viewpoints
Broken drug markets in infectious diseases: Opportunities outside the private sector?
Jonathan D. Alpern, Stephen J. Dunlop, William M. Stauffer
| published 11 Apr 2019 PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007190
Author summary
A subset of anti-infective drugs are increasingly unavailable for patients in the United States due to pricing or withdrawal from the market. Timely market solutions are needed. We assert that solutions to ensure access to some essential anti-infective agents lie outside capital markets and that public-private partnerships may be the most viable solution.

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 13 Apr 2019]

Research Article
Knowledge, attitudes and practices of hepatitis B prevention and immunization of pregnant women and mothers in northern Vietnam
Thi T. Hang Pham, Thuy X. Le, Dong T. Nguyen, Chau M. Luu, Bac D. Truong, Phu D. Tran, Mehlika Toy, Samuel So
Research Article | published 10 Apr 2019 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208154

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 13 Apr 2019]

Willingness to pay for hepatitis B vaccination in Selangor, Malaysia: A cross-sectional household survey
Yogambigai Rajamoorthy, Alias Radam, Niazlin Mohd Taib, Khalid Ab Rahim, Subramaniam Munusamy, Abram Luther Wagner, Mudatsir Mudatsir, Abdullatif Bazrbachi, Harapan Harapan
Research Article | published 09 Apr 2019 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215125

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 13 Apr 2019]

Community-based surveillance: A scoping review
Involving community members in identifying and reporting health events for public health surveillance purposes, an approach commonly described as community-based surveillance (CBS), is increasingly gaining interest. We conducted a scoping review to list terms and definitions used to characterize CBS, to identify and summarize available guidance and recommendations, and to map information on past and existing in-country CBS systems.
José Guerra, Pratikshya Acharya, Céline Barnadas
Research Article | published 12 Apr 2019 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0215278

Preventive Medicine
Volume 121  Pages 1-166 (April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/preventive-medicine/vol/121/suppl/C

Review article  Abstract only
Measles outbreaks in Italy: A paradigm of the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases in developed countries
Alessandro Siani
Pages 99-104

Preventive Medicine
Volume 121  Pages 1-166 (April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/preventive-medicine/vol/121/suppl/C

Review article  Abstract only
Prenatal vaccination of mothers and hepatitis B vaccination of their infants
Erika L. Fuchs, Jonathan M. Starkey, Richard E. Rupp, Abbey B. Berenson
Pages 68-73
 

Preventive Medicine
Volume 121  Pages 1-166 (April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/preventive-medicine/vol/121/suppl/C

Review article  Abstract only
Tiempo de Vacunarte (time to get vaccinated): Outcomes of an intervention to improve HPV vaccination rates in a predominantly Hispanic community

1. Molokwu, A. Dwivedi, I. Mallawaarachchi, A. Hernandez, N. Shokar

Pages 115-120

Science         
12 April 2019  Vol 364, Issue 6436
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

EDITORIAL
Reverse global vaccine dissent
Heidi J. Larson1, William S. Schulz2
[See Milestones above for full text]
 

Science Translational Medicine
10 April 2019  Vol 11, Issue 487
http://stm.sciencemag.org/

Research Articles
Maternal immunization confers protection against neonatal herpes simplex mortality and behavioral morbidity
By Chaya D. Patel, Iara M. Backes, Sean A. Taylor, Yike Jiang, Arnaud Marchant, Jean M. Pesola, Donald M. Coen, David M. Knipe, Margaret E. Ackerman, David A. Leib
Science Translational Medicine10 Apr 2019 Full Access
Maternal immunization confers antibody-mediated protection against neonatal HSV, preventing mortality and long-term behavioral sequelae in a mouse model.

Systematic Reviews
https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles
[Accessed 13 Apr 2019]

Methodology
Searching for health equity: validation of a search filter for ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in transport
Efforts to improve health equity should be informed by the best available evidence. However, equity-related research is inconsistently indexed, and uses a variety of terms to describe key concepts, making it difficult to reliably identify all relevant studies. We report the development and validation of a search strategy for studies investigating whether the effects of interventions differ by ethnicity or socio-economic status, using the field of transport and health as an example.
Authors: Jamie Hosking, Alexandra Macmillan, Rhys Jones, Shanthi Ameratunga and Alistair Woodward
Citation: Systematic Reviews 2019 8:94
Published on: 11 April 2019

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 17 Pages 2285-2426 (17 April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/17

Discussion  No access
Avoiding preventable deaths: The scourge of counterfeit rabies vaccines
Emma Taylor, Ashley C. Banyard, Hervé Bourhy, Florence Cliquet, … Anthony R. Fooks
Pages 2285-2287

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 17 Pages 2285-2426 (17 April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/17

Short communication  Abstract only
Management of reduced vaccine coverage due to 6 years of failure to vaccinate – The Codroipo case, Italy
Laura Brunelli, Federico Romanese, Pier Paolo Benetollo, Andrea Iob, … Erica Vacchiano
Pages 2294-2297

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 17 Pages 2285-2426 (17 April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/17

Review article  Abstract only
Systematic review of health economic evaluation studies of dengue vaccines
Patrícia Coelho de Soárez, Aline Blumer Silva, Bruno Azevedo Randi, Laura Marques Azevedo, … Ana Marli Christovam Sartori
Pages 2298-2310
Objectives
To review the literature on economic evaluation of dengue vaccination to produce evidence to support a local cost-effectiveness study and to subsidize the decision to introduce a dengue vaccine in the Brazilian National Immunization Program. Methods: We systematically searched multiple databases (MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, SCOPUS, NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED), HTA Database (via Centre for Reviews and Dissemination – CRD) and LILACS), selecting full HEEs of dengue vaccine. Two independent reviewers screened articles for relevance and extracted the data. The methodology for the quality reporting was assessed using CHEERS checklist. We performed a qualitative narrative synthesis. Results: Thirteen studies conducted in Asian and Latin America countries were reviewed. All studies were favorable to the incorporation of the vaccine. However, the assumptions and values assumed for vaccine efficacy, safety and duration of protection, as well as the choice of the study population and the type of model used in the analyses, associated to an insufficient reporting of the methodological steps, affect the validity of the studies’ results. The quality reporting appraisal showed that the majority (8/13) of the studies reported less than 55% of the CHEERS checklists’ items. Conclusions: This systematic review shows that the economic evaluation of dengue vaccination did not adhere to key recommended general methods for economic evaluation. The presented cost-effectiveness results should not be transferred to other countries. It is recommended to conduct studies with local epidemiological and cost data, as well as assumptions about vaccination that reflect the results observed in clinical trials.

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 17 Pages 2285-2426 (17 April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/17

Review article  Abstract only
A systematic review of vaccine preventable disease surveillance cost studies
Ngozi Adaeze Erondu, Lisa Ferland, Betiel Hadgu Haile, Taiwo Abimbola
Pages 2311-2321

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 17 Pages 2285-2426 (17 April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/17

Research article  Abstract only
Delayed vaccination and its predictors among children under 2 years in India: Insights from the national family health survey–4
Tarun Shankar Choudhary, N. Samarasimha Reddy, Aditi Apte, Bireshwar Sinha, … Ranadip Chowdhury
Pages 2331-2339

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 17 Pages 2285-2426 (17 April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/17

Research article  Abstract only
Economic value of vaccinating geographically hard-to-reach populations with measles vaccine: A modeling application in Kenya
Bruce Y. Lee, Shawn T. Brown, Leila A. Haidari, Samantha Clark, … Sachiko Ozawa
Pages 2377-2386

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 17 Pages 2285-2426 (17 April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/17

Research article  Abstract only
Economic value of vaccinating geographically hard-to-reach populations with measles vaccine: A modeling application in Kenya
Bruce Y. Lee, Shawn T. Brown, Leila A. Haidari, Samantha Clark, … Sachiko Ozawa
Pages 2377-2386

Vaccine
Volume 37, Issue 17  Pages 2285-2426 (17 April 2019)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/37/issue/17

Research article  Open access
Process mapping of vaccines: Understanding the limitations in current response to emerging epidemic threats
Georgina Drury, Siobhan Jolliffe, Tarit K. Mukhopadhyay
Pages 2415-2421

Value in Health
April 2019 Volume 22, Issue 4, p385-502
http://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/current

COMPARATIVE-EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH/HTA
A Review of Clinical Trials With an Adaptive Design and Health Economic Analysis
An adaptive design uses data collected as a clinical trial progresses to inform modifications to the trial. Hence, adaptive designs and health economics aim to facilitate efficient and accurate decision making. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the methods are considered together in the design, analysis, and reporting of trials. This review aims to establish how health economic outcomes are used in the design, analysis, and reporting of adaptive designs.
Laura Flight, Fahid Arshad, Rachel Barnsley, Kian Patel, Steven Julious, Alan Brennan, Susan Todd
p391–398
Published online: March 13, 2019

Value in Health
April 2019 Volume 22, Issue 4, p385-502
http://www.valueinhealthjournal.com/current

Conditional Financing of Drugs in the Netherlands: Past, Present, and Future—Results From Stakeholder Interviews
Amr Makady, Sandine van Acker, Hugo Nijmeijer, Anthonius de Boer, Hans Hillege, Olaf Klungel, Wim Goettsch
p399–407
Published in issue: April 2019

From Google Scholar & other sources: Selected Journal Articles, Newsletters, Dissertations, Theses, Commentary

Journal of Immunology Research
Volume 2019, Article ID 6491738, 11 pages
Review Article
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV): Infection, Immunological Response, and Vaccine Development
A Mubarak, W Alturaiki, MG Hemida – Journal of Immunology Research, 2019
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) first emerged in late 2012. Since its emergence, a total of 2279 patients from 27 countries have been infected across the globe according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report (Feb. 12th, 2019). Approximately 806 patients have died. The virus uses its spike proteins as adhesive factors that are proinflammatory for host entry through a specific receptor called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4). This receptor is considered a key factor in the signaling and activation of the acquired and innate immune responses in infected patients. Using potent antigens in combination with strong

adjuvants may effectively trigger the activation of specific MERS-CoV cellular responses as well as the production of neutralizing antibodies. Unfortunately, to date, there is no effective approved treatment or vaccine for MERS-CoV. Thus, there are urgent needs for the development of novel MERS-CoV therapies as well as vaccines to help minimize the spread of the virus from infected patients, thereby mitigating the risk of any potential pandemics. Our main goals are to highlight and describe the current knowledge of both the innate and adaptive immune responses to MERS-CoV and the current state of MERS-CoV vaccine development. We believe this study will increase our understanding of the mechanisms that enhance the MERS-CoV immune response and subsequently contribute to the control of MERS-CoV infections.

Public Health Reports
First Published April 5, 2019
Research Article
Social Determinants of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Uptake: An Assessment of Publicly Available Data
SB Maness, EL Thompson
Abstract
Objectives:
Despite cancer prevention benefits associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, uptake in the United States is relatively low among males and females. Our objective was to use the Healthy People 2020 social determinants of health framework to determine the availability and characteristics of data on economic, educational, social, health care, and community factors affecting HPV vaccine uptake in the United States.
Methods:
We included the most recent data sets from 6 publicly available, US-based, federally funded surveys that contained at least 1 measure of HPV vaccination among adolescents and young adults. We searched each data set for any social determinants of health measures within the 5 domains of the framework: economic stability, education, social and community context, health and health care, and neighborhood and built environment.
Results:
The social determinants of health domains of education, economic stability, and health and health care appeared in all data sets. The domains of social and community context and neighborhood and built environment appeared in only 3 data sets. Even when domains were represented, we discovered gaps in the data sets, in which only limited measures of the social determinants were available.
Conclusion:
The addition of questions about the social determinants of health to the surveys that generate these data sets, particularly in the domains of social and community context and neighborhood and built environment, would strengthen the ability of public health researchers, policy makers, and professionals to identify associations between the social determinants of health and HPV vaccine uptake.

Media/Policy Watch

This watch section is intended to alert readers to substantive news, analysis and opinion from the general media and selected think tanks and similar organizations on vaccines, immunization, global public health and related themes. Media Watch is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicative of themes and issues CVEP is actively tracking. This section will grow from an initial base of newspapers, magazines and blog sources, and is segregated from Journal Watch above which scans the peer-reviewed journal ecology.

We acknowledge the Western/Northern bias in this initial selection of titles and invite suggestions for expanded coverage. We are conservative in our outlook in adding news sources which largely report on primary content we are already covering above. Many electronic media sources have tiered, fee-based subscription models for access. We will provide full-text where content is published without restriction, but most publications require registration and some subscription level.
 
 
The Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
 
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
 
The Economist
http://www.economist.com/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
 
Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/home/uk
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
 
Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019

Apr 9, 2019
How A Gates Foundation-Backed Fund Is Revolutionizing Global Health Impact Investing
The Gates Foundation initially structured the fund and Gates believes that the Foundation can support early, high-risk product development, while GHIF can support companies more mature in their development that need help with late-stage development and commercialization of their products.

Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
 
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
In the United States, Russian Trolls Are Peddling Measles
Not content to cause political problems, Moscow’s trolls are also undermining public health.
Moscow’s willingness to undermine public health initiatives shows that its disinformation efforts aren’t confined to partisan struggles.
April 9, 2019, 2:48 PM
Katherine Kirk

The Guardian
http://www.guardiannews.com/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
Opinion  Internet
Editorial
The Guardian view on online harms: white paper, grey areas
The internet needs regulation. People and societies need protection. But this will be harder than the government’s new white paper makes it look
Mon 8 Apr 2019 13.47 EDT Last modified on Mon 8 Apr 2019 14.44 EDT

The white paper announced by the government on Monday attempts to steer a middle course, as most of the world does. There is to be real regulation, with painful fines, for almost all of the public internet. Persistent offenders against codes of conduct as yet unspecified will, so far as possible, be rendered inaccessible to British web users. The platforms are no longer to be regarded as entirely neutral conduits, with no more responsibility for the content they spread – and in most cases sell advertising against – than the telephone company has for the content of telephone conversations…

There is no doubt that some forms of disinformation, such as anti-vaccination propaganda, do serious harms both to individuals and to society as a whole. But does the government really want fines levied on the executives of YouTube when the platform promotes conspiracy theories or anti-vaxx videos? Regulating the internet is necessary, but it won’t be easy or cheap. Too much of this white paper looks like an attempt to find cheap and easy solutions to really hard questions…
 
 
New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new, unique, relevant content]
 
 
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
U.S.
Cuomo: Ending Exemption for Vaccines ‘Legally Questionable’
New York’s governor says legislation that would end the ability of parents to object to vaccinations for their children on religious grounds is “legally questionable.”
April 12

New York
Measles Outbreak: Tensions Rise as New York City Steps Up Response
An order to require immunizations in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community seemed to mobilize vaccine skeptics. Others worried that the effort did not address the root of the problem: misinformation.
April 11

U.S.
NYC Orders Mandatory Vaccines for Some Amid Measles Outbreak
New York City has declared a public health emergency over a measles outbreak and ordered mandatory vaccinations for some people who may have been exposed to the virus.
 
 
U.S.
Yeshiva Schools Must Exclude Unvaccinated Amid Measles Surge
The New York City Health Department has ordered all ultra-Orthodox Jewish schools in a neighborhood of Brooklyn to exclude unvaccinated students from classes during the current measles outbreak.

Middle East
Vaccines Blocked as Deadly Cholera Raged in Yemen
An Associated Press investigation has found that Yemen’s massive cholera epidemic was aggravated by official intransigence and potential corruption.

Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/home-page?_wsjregion=na,us&_homepage=/home/us

Accessed 13 Apr 2019
U.S.
As Measles Spreads, Schools Turn Away Unvaccinated Students
By Tawnell D. Hobbs
Some school districts in the U.S. are booting unvaccinated students from campuses where infectious-disease cases have been confirmed, as the spread of measles accelerates in some states.
April 13

World
WhatsApp Users Spread Antivaccine Rumors in India
By Newley Purnell
Antivaccine misinformation, some of it from social media posts in the West, is spreading in India on the WhatsApp messaging app, undermining efforts to root out measles and rubella there.
April 13

 
 
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
Apr 10, 2019
Anti-vaxxers are comparing themselves to Holocaust victims – who relied on vaccines to survive
Helene Sinnreich ·

Think Tanks et al
 

Brookings
http://www.brookings.edu/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
Apr  15  Upcoming Event
Development Seminar | Smallpox eradication: Inclusive histories as meaningful roadmaps for global health
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM IST
New Delhi, India

TechTank
How should social media platforms combat misinformation and hate speech?
Niam Yaraghi
Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Center for Global Development  
http://www.cgdev.org/page/press-center
[No new relevant content]

CSIS
https://www.csis.org/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new relevant content]

Council on Foreign Relations
http://www.cfr.org/
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new relevant content]

Kaiser Family Foundation
https://www.kff.org/search/?post_type=press-release
Accessed 13 Apr 2019
[No new relevant content]

Milestones :: Perspectives :: Research

New report by PAHO and PATH details strategies to improve vaccine programs through effective data use

Washington, D.C. / Seattle, WA, April 2, 2019 —A new report from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and PATH, Immunization Data: Evidence for Action (IDEA), has launched to provide the immunization community with clear, proven strategies for improving the quality and use of immunization data.

Strategies to improve data use
While advances in information technology have led to continuous increases in the amount of health data available, data remain an underutilized resource in the design and implementation of immunization programs throughout the world. The IDEA review identifies five proven strategies to improve data use and outlines how funders, policymakers, and program implementers can incorporate these best practices to improve the efficacy of state, regional, and national immunization programs:

[1] Strategies that address barriers to immunization should be interconnected and mutually reinforcing.
[2] The more data are used, the more likely data quality will improve.
[3] Data should be an integral part of health decision-making.
[4] Digital information systems should be utilized to provide high-quality data to decision-makers in real time.
[5] The use of digital systems should be phased to ensure that the proper infrastructure is in place to manage them.

“The Region of the Americas has some of the highest levels of vaccination coverage in the world, but despite this, many hard-to-reach populations are still left behind,” said Dr. Martha Velandia, regional immunization advisor at PAHO. “Ensuring that practitioners have access to rigorous immunization data is vital for the design and implementation of evidence-based programs that we know will work. The IDEA review is a huge step towards compiling this evidence and highlighting the areas where more data are needed,” she added.

IDEA review
The IDEA review, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, draws on findings from nearly 550 documents—including published literature, working papers, project evaluations, and reports—distilled and prioritized by global immunization experts. The resulting report provides a concise guide for global and public health practitioners, explaining what works to improve data quality and use, why it works, and how the immunization community can take evidence-based action to improve immunization outcomes around the world.

“PATH and PAHO conducted the IDEA review to systematically gather available evidence and identify where interventions are working to improve immunization data use and where we have gaps in information,” said Laurie Werner, global director of the BID Initiative with PATH. “The five strategies described by the review are intended to serve as a resource for all of us working in the immunization community and help to advance and refine the efforts that are really working.”…

Featured Journal Content

Nature 
Volume 568 Issue 7750, 4 April 2019
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

Editorial | 02 April 2019
Court ruling highlights the threat of vaccine misinformation
Distorted facts that undermine uptake of the human papillomavirus vaccine could leave a generation at risk.

Anti-vaccination campaigns and misinformation are a pernicious threat to public health. Outbreaks of measles — a serious disease that vaccination should have nearly eliminated — are rising around the world, for example. In this climate, it’s heartening to see any effort to combat misinformation about vaccine safety. Over the past few months, tech giants such as Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram have announced that they are taking at least small steps to reduce the spread of such content on their platforms.

But some scientists who publicly call out ‘anti-vaxxers’ are still under pressure. One of them is Japanese physician and writer Riko Muranaka, who now lives in Germany and lectures part-time at the Kyoto University School of Medicine in Japan. Muranaka has written extensively about the safety of a vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), a major cause of cervical and other cancers — despite experiencing attacks on her integrity, and even threats of violence. Her persistence won her the 2017 John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science, awarded by the UK charity Sense About Science and Nature.

On 26 March, a court in Tokyo ruled that Muranaka had defamed a medical scientist who claimed that the HPV vaccine could cause brain damage. Although the case against Muranaka was confined to a single charge of libel and did not address the underlying science, the repercussions of the ruling are cause for concern.

The World Health Organization recommends that teenaged girls be vaccinated against HPV (some countries extend this to boys). The Japanese government endorsed this recommendation in April 2013, but only two months later — after unconfirmed media reports of adverse reactions — it suspended all active promotion of the vaccine. It investigated the reports and, in 2014, announced them to be unsubstantiated. Still, it did not lift the suspension, with devastating effects: although overall vaccination rates are not publicly available in Japan, a study in Sapporo showed that uptake fell from around 70% before the suspension to 0.6% after (S. J. B. Hanley et al. Lancet 385, 2571; 2015). The affair has also contributed to declines in HPV vaccination elsewhere in the world.

Muranaka’s case centred on work by neurologist Shuichi Ikeda, who at the time was dean of medicine at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan. In March 2016, Ikeda declared in a televised research presentation that the HPV vaccine had caused brain damage in mouse experiments. In June, Muranaka criticized the work in the Japanese-language business magazine Wedge, calling his presentation a fabrication.

The university subsequently investigated Ikeda’s research and concluded that Ikeda did not commit scientific misconduct, but did overstate the conclusions of tentative results. Given this, the ministry wrote on its website that Ikeda’s research had “proved nothing” about whether the side effects were caused by the HPV vaccine, and that Ikeda bears responsibility for misleading the public with an inappropriate presentation. But Ikeda, who left the university after the accusations and is now a physician in a general hospital, sued Muranaka for defamation. She lost, and she and Wedge were ordered to pay a fine of ¥3.3 million (US$29,700). Wedge was told to delete mention of data fabrication from the article, and to publish an apology. Muranaka says that she will appeal.

Still, the wider damage is done. Misinformation about the vaccine has left thousands of people at unnecessarily high risk of cancer. Despite mounting evidence of the vaccine’s safety, the ministry is still debating whether to fully endorse it again. It should, as most countries do. And it should not let the ruling be wrongly used as fodder for anti-vaxxers.

If there is a silver lining for those who support Muranaka, it is this: the investigation that led Ikeda’s university and the health ministry to censure him for misrepresenting his research was triggered by Muranaka’s remarks, and the issue has since won global attention. She may have lost a battle, but the bigger war against vaccine misinformation goes on.

Featured Journal Content

JAMA
April 2, 2019, Vol 321, No. 13, Pages 1229-1320
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

Viewpoint
Current and Future Challenges for Children Across the World
Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, MBBS, FRCPCH, PhD; Robert E. Black, MD, MPH
free access
JAMA. 2019;321(13):1251-1252. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.1840

there have been substantial gains in global health in the past decade. Access to energy, communications, and clean water has increased and extreme poverty has continued to decline (from >40% in 1990 to <10% in 2018).1 Child mortality has declined substantially, with approximately 10 million children younger than 5 years dying in 2000 compared with 5.4 million in 2017.2 Gains in the health of children worldwide accelerated in part because of the global compacts made in the Millennium Development Goals. The goals were developed by the United Nations system and signed by 189 countries in September 2000 to reduce maternal and child mortality by 75% and 66%, respectively, from an estimated 0.5 million maternal deaths and 12.4 million child deaths annually in 1990. These global gains were possible because of alignment among development agencies, academia, national governments, and community-based organizations for introducing globally evidence-based and effective interventions, such as vaccines, effective care of sick infants, and other interventions.

Notwithstanding these gains, many challenges remain. The daily toll of nearly 15 000 deaths of children before their fifth birthday, with many of these deaths preventable, is unacceptably high, and progress in reducing newborn deaths and stillbirths is especially inadequate. In addition, the 0.9 million annual deaths among older children (5-9 years) and young adolescents (10-14 years) have received relatively little attention.2 Although ample preventive and curative interventions addressing newborn, child, and adolescent health exist, there is no strategy to integrate planning and health care for children in health systems and their linkage to sectors outside of health, such as education, social safety nets, housing, and environmental health. Inequalities persist and are often associated with poverty, conflict, migration, ethnicity, and urbanization. These challenges are insufficiently highlighted in current global strategies or in action plans for child health and development.

In addition, global child health efforts still mainly focus on survival. The importance of early child development and the effects of poor nutrition on children for long-term outcomes were absent in the Millennium Development Goals. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by 193 countries in September 20153 are ambitious, advocate for more holistic definitions of health, and include aspirational targets addressing social determinants of health across diverse sectors. The increased recognition that cognitive abilities, health, and productivity in adults are the consequence of exposures and opportunities in childhood has led to calls for investments in improving maternal and child nutrition, nurturing care of children, and involvement of other sectors, such as education, leading to enhanced human capital, defined as the stock of knowledge, skills, attitudes, health, and other personal characteristics that enable individuals to realize their potential as productive and responsible members of society.4

Early exposures of children to violence, stress, and displacement could have serious long-term consequences. These include children and families living in the midst of conflict, in neighborhoods of high crime, as well as refugees and migrants. Such considerations for improving the health of women and children using the basic principles of human rights5 should not be restricted to low- and middle-income countries. The recent episodes of forced separation of children from migrant families seeking asylum at the US-Mexican border and preventable child deaths highlight the importance of these concepts even in the best-developed democracies.

The prioritization of noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes, in the Sustainable Development Goals is welcome but also presents challenges. The prevention of many noncommunicable diseases needs to begin in childhood with healthful diets and exercise and avoidance of risks, such as smoking. Current programs for child health and nutrition are poorly linked to noncommunicable disease prevention but offer an opportunity to address these emerging public health priorities in childhood with benefits for current and future generations. These approaches are integral to optimizing child health and not additional or optional strategies for action.

The current global focus on universal health coverage and primary health care by the World Health Organization should be a cornerstone for accelerating child health and development, yet there are strong signals that attention may be shifting. Concentrating on such issues may lead to a disproportionate allocation of public resources to tertiary health facilities serving urban adult populations, especially in countries with limited national allocations for health and diminishing donor assistance. It is notable that the most recent World Health Organization executive board resolution on universal health coverage adopted for discussion at the World Health Assembly in May 2019 does not mention children or child health—even once.6 Neither do the long-awaited restructuring and new initiatives of the World Health Organization mention mothers and children or child health explicitly.7 One challenge is ensuring a focus on child health without distraction by the large number of strategies involving health issues such as programs to treat noncommunicable diseases affecting older populations.

What is needed to improve child global health in the future?

First, to promote global child health and accelerate progress to eliminate preventable child deaths by 2030 and improve child development, it is imperative to continue to focus on quality and coverage of primary care and preventive programs8 and on reaching marginalized and at-risk populations, especially those living in insecure environments or conflict zones. This will require additional resources and different approaches to delivery of services, including engagement of communities, especially women, and working with a range of lay health workers in community settings.

Second, the move beyond survival to enhance or improve early child development is welcome. Such efforts require developing strategies for implementing nurturing care of children, including health, nutrition, and social protection, and ensuring that interventions linking early child health with the care of school-aged children and adolescents are prioritized.9 Community and outreach programs designed to reach marginalized populations must be prioritized and interventions beyond health services expanded, such as living conditions, environmental exposures, food security, and education.

Third, a revolution in information systems is needed to improve the monitoring, evaluation and population effects of health services. For example, registration of births and deaths, with information on the medical and social causes of death, along with illness surveillance, would enable targeting resources and responses to health threats. Granular information is critical to identify and reach the most vulnerable populations; child mortality is increasingly concentrated in certain hot spots that require focused attention.10 Better data and feedback are critical to optimize coverage and quality of services in both the public and private health sectors and to determine the most cost-effective integrated interventions from birth through adolescence.

The next global challenge is to develop a unifying plan for reducing the gap in child health and development between resource-limited and resource-rich countries as well as gaps within countries. Addressing the social determinants of health in all settings, tackling the needs of children living in adverse conditions, and getting governments to recognize that optimizing child health is a fundamental human right are central to the mission and future of the Sustainable Development Goals.

[Citations available at title link above]

Featured Journal Content

1 in 4 health care facilities lacks basic water services – UNICEF, WHO

WHO-UNICEF Press release
GENEVA/NEW YORK 03 April 2019
One in four health care facilities around the world lacks basic water services, impacting over 2 billion people, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP).

The WHO/UNICEF JMP report, WASH in Health Care Facilities, is the first comprehensive global assessment of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in health care facilities. It also finds that 1 in 5 health care facilities has no sanitation service*, impacting 1.5 billion people. The report further reveals that many health centres lack basic facilities for hand hygiene and safe segregation and disposal of health care waste.

These services are crucial to preventing infections, reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance and providing quality care, particularly for safe childbirth.

“Water, sanitation and hygiene services in health facilities are the most basic requirements of infection prevention and control, and of quality care. They are fundamental to respecting the dignity and human rights of every person who seeks health care and of health workers themselves,” said António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General.  “I call on people everywhere to support action for WASH in all health care facilities.  This is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The WHO/UNICEF JMP report found that just half – 55 per cent – of health care facilities in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) had basic water services. It is estimated that 1 in 5 births globally takes place in LDCs, and that, each year, 17 million women in these countries give birth in health centres with inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene.

“When a baby is born in a health facility without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, the risk of infection and death for both the mother and the baby is high,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “Every birth should be supported by a safe pair of hands, washed with soap and water, using sterile equipment, in a clean environment.”

In an accompanying report, Water, sanitation, and hygiene in health care facilities: Practical steps to achieve universal access for quality care, WHO and UNICEF researchers note that more than 1 million deaths each year are associated with unclean births. Infections account for 26% of neonatal deaths and 11% of maternal mortality…

Both reports can be downloaded from www.washdata.org.

Featured Journal Content

DRC – Ebola

35: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu 
2 April 2019
[Excerpts]
Situation update
This past week saw a notable increase in the number of Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases, with 72 newly confirmed cases and one new probable case reported in the last seven days; the largest proportion of which were from Katwa and Vuhovi health zones…

…Despite these setbacks, it should be noted that the recent shift in strategy of increasing community outreach from earlier weeks, is gradually yielding tangible results on the ground. In Katwa, the Ebola Treatment Centre was reopened after frank and open dialogue with the community. Previously reluctant communities are now permitting access to healthcare providers once again, with residents actively participating in the renewed response efforts at times. Incidents in the community are now also rigorously followed up to minimize any potential misunderstanding, which may inadvertently contribute to community reluctance, refusal, or resistance to response efforts. In the outbreak hotspots of Katwa, Butembo and Vuhovi, persistent efforts aimed at encouraging community dialogues saw the establishment of Ebola community committees across 16 health areas. Although these community engagement interventions take time to win over the trust and cooperation of the local population, they are an integral tool in aiding the acceptance of WHO response efforts to curtail the spread of EVD in these challenging social/geographic settings. Successes observed this past week are positive indicators that these measures should be maintained whilst continually adapting to the evolving context.

Implementation of ring vaccination protocol
There are 19 vaccination teams made up of 226 Congolese vaccinators with basic GCP training, 50 Congolese formally trained in GCP and 43 GCP trained and experienced Guinean/African researchers.

As of 31 March, 93 686 contacts and contacts of contacts have been vaccinated.

The 2016 SAGE guidelines recommend that all HCWS and FLWS at risk of Ebola in the affected areas and in the areas where the outbreak is likely to spread are offered rVSV ZEBOV GP vaccine.

Since the start of the outbreak, healthcare workers and front-line workers at risk of Ebola are also being offered preventive vaccination. Almost 27 000 have been vaccinated in the health areas affected by the outbreak. In addition, over 15 000 HCWs and FLWs have been vaccinated in neighbouring areas where the risk of spread is significant (i.e Goma, South Sudan, Uganda, and soon Rwanda and Burundi)…

Risk communication, social mobilization and community engagement
Community dialogues taking place in hotspots of Butembo, Katwa and Vuhovi health zones have led to the establishment of Ebola community committees in four health areas in Katwa, six health areas in Butembo, and six health areas in Vuhovi.

House to house visits and discussions in public forums, including in market places, schools and churches to raise awareness on the evolving Ebola outbreak and clarify related community concerns are ongoing in Beni, Bunia, Butembo, Katwa, Mabalako, Oicha, Lubero, and Goma.

A strategic meeting with key operational partners, including NGOs was held in Goma on 25-26 March with a clear objective for stronger collaboration and alignment of work at the health area level to strengthening risk communication and community engagement, informed by social science evidence. These include addressing community needs beyond the immediate Ebola response interventions.

Community related incidents are systematically being followed up to ensure that any misunderstanding leading to reluctance, refusal or resistance of the Ebola response is followed up and resolved as quickly as possible…

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 3 April 2019
:: The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization (SAGE) met on 2-4 April 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. Among other immunization topics, SAGE was provided an update on the latest global epidemiology on polio eradication efforts and an overview of the GPEI Endgame Strategy 2019-2023. In addition, SAGE endorsed the guidelines for surveillance of vaccine-derived polioviruses in persons with primary immunodeficiency diseases.
:: The Pakistan Regional Polio Laboratory is nearing completion with funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency. Read more here.
:: Read about the smart interactive visualization being used for disease surveillance and routine immunization assessments for polio eradication efforts in South Sudan.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Afghanistan— one wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case;
:: Pakistan –six WPV1-positive environmental samples;
:: Nigeria— two circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2)-positive environmental isolates.

::::::

Around 9.3 million children to be vaccinated in first round of polio campaign in 2019
[WHO EMRO website]

Kabul, 1 April, 2019 – The first round of polio national immunization days began on 1 April 2019 in Afghanistan. The 5-day campaign will target over 9.3 million children under-5 years of age in all of Afghanistan’s provinces, except Bamiyan, Daikundi and Ghor provinces due to bad weather.

During the campaign about 8.4 million children aged between 6 months to 5 years will also be given vitamin A capsules.  Vitamin A helps to build a child’s immunity and reduces the risk of diarrhoea, respiratory infections and measles.

The most recent case of polio was reported from the Shahid-e-Hassas district of Uruzgan province, which permanently paralysed a 26-month-old male child. This is third case in Afghanistan in 2019; 2 other cases were reported from Kandahar province.

Dr Feroz emphasized the importance of the campaign and called on all people to work together to eradicate polio. “This is the first national campaign this year and we couldn’t stress this enough, but please open your doors when the vaccinators come knocking, bring out your children, protect them against this incurable disease.”

Dr Peeperkorn highlighted the effort to eradicate polio globally, calling on all partners to “keep the eyes on the prize, as humanity is on the verge of one of the greatest public health achievement in history – eradicating polio. Afghanistan can end polio for the world, so let us work together, keep our neutrality, work with all layers of society and achieve our goal together.”

Polio is incurable and can paralyse children for life. The only way to prevent polio is to vaccinate all children with 2 drops of polio vaccine, every time it is offered, until they are 5 years of age. Children are protected more with every additional dose of oral polio vaccine. Repeated vaccines help to build strong immunity of the child and the whole community.

In addition to highlighting the importance of eradicating polio, all parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen routine immunization, stressing that expanding access to immunization is vital for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, poverty reduction and universal health coverage.

The polio vaccine is safe and effective and has no side-effects. It has been strongly endorsed by prominent local and international Islamic scholars. It is critical to vaccinate all children under 5 across the country to stop the virus, including all sick children and newborns, whose immunity is weak against this disease.

[Editor’s Note: We recognize serious inaccuracies about OPV in this WHO EMRO announcement].

::::::
::::::

 
Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 6 Apr 2019]
Cyclone Idai
:: Cholera vaccination campaign begins in Mozambique 3 April 2019

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Youth speaking to youth about dodging bullets and Ebola in Democratic Republic of the Congo  April 2019
:: 35: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu  2 April 2019
:: DONs – Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo   4 April 2019

Syrian Arab Republic
::  Al-Hol Camp, Al-Hasakeh Governorate health situation report  1 April 2019

Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar  – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen  – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 6 Apr 2019]
Iraq
:: Vaccination campaign against measles, mumps and rubella concludes in Iraq 1 April 2019

occupied Palestinian territory 
:: ·  Mobile clinic brings mammography services to remote communities in the West Bank
April 2019

Libya
:: Workshop reviews community health workers’ training modules for adaption for Libya
3 April 2019

Zimbabwe
:: Zimbabwe Launches Mental Health Strategy   1 April 2019

Brazil (in Portugese) – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon  – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic  – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 1 Emergencies  [to 6 Apr 2019]
Afghanistan
:: Around 9.3 million children to be vaccinated in first round of polio campaign in 2019
1 April 2019

Chad  – No new digest announcements identified
Indonesia – Sulawesi earthquake 2018  – No new digest announcements identified
Kenya   – No new digest announcements identified
Lao People’s Democratic Republic  – No new digest announcements identified
Mali  – No new digest announcements identified
Namibia – viral hepatitis  – No new digest announcements identified
Peru  – No new digest announcements identified
Philippines – Tyhpoon Mangkhut  – No new digest announcements identified
Tanzania  – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

 
WHO AFRO – Outbreaks and Emergencies Bulletin
Week 13: 25 – 31 March 2019
The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 65 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:
:: Response to the tropical cyclone in southern Africa
:: Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Meningitis outbreak in Togo
:: Lassa fever outbreak in Liberia.

::::::
::::::

UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic   
:: Humanitarian Update Syrian Arab Republic – Issue 02 | 4 April 2019

FIGURES
People in need of humanitarian assistance 13M
People in acute need of humanitarian assistance 5.2M
Internally displaced people (as of August) 6.2M
Returnees (January – December 2018) 1.4 M
People in need in UN-declared hardto-reach areas 1.1M

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Ethiopia 
:: Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue #6 | 18 – 31 March 2019

 
Somalia 
:: Somalia Humanitarian Bulletin, 1 March – 3 April 2019

::::::
::::::

WHO & Regional Offices [to 6 Apr 2019]
4 April 2019   News release
Uneven access to health services drives life expectancy gaps: WHO

3 April 2019   News release
Cholera vaccination campaign begins in Mozambique

3 April 2019   News release
1 in 4 health care facilities lacks basic water services – UNICEF, WHO

::::::

 
Weekly Epidemiological Record, 5 April 2019, vol. 94, 14/15 (pp. 169–188)
:: Surveillance to track progress towards polio eradication worldwide, 2017–2018
:: Epidemic meningitis control in countries in the African meningitis belt, 2018

::::::

GIN March 2019  pdf, 2.89Mb
2 April 2019

::::::

WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
:: South Africa attends capacity building Workshop to accelerate implementation of the Regional Oral Health Strategy 2016-2025  04 April 2019
:: Moving towards malaria elimination in Namibia  04 April 2019
:: Youth speaking to youth about dodging bullets and Ebola in Democratic Republic of the Congo  03 April 2019
:: Cholera Vaccination Campaign Begins in Mozambique  03 April 2019
:: WHO scales up health response to Cyclone Idai in Mozambique  01 April 2019
 
 
WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: World Health Day: PAHO calls for equitable access to health care (04/03/2019)
:: New report by PAHO and PATH seeks to improve vaccine programs through effective data use (04/02/2019)
 
 
WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
– No new digest announcements identified
 
 
WHO European Region EURO
:: Primary health care helps extend sexual and reproductive health services in North Macedonia 05-04-2019
:: Out-of-pocket payments for health, particularly for medicines, are unaffordable for many in Europe 05-04-2019

 
WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: Vaccination campaign against measles, mumps and rubella concludes in Iraq  1 April 2019
:: Afghanistan to vaccinate 9.3 million children against polio  1 April 2019

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: Immunization gaps threaten gains on measles   29 March 2019   News release
Measles outbreaks in the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region are putting babies, children and young people at risk and threatening progress towards wiping out the disease…

::::::
::::::

CDC/ACIP [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html

MMWR News Synopsis for Friday, April 5, 2019
Tracking Progress Toward Polio Eradication — Worldwide, 2017–2018
Poliovirus outbreaks are primarily detected by surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) among children under 15 years old and testing stool specimens for wild poliovirus (WPV) and vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs). A new CDC report finds that the majority of the high-priority countries evaluated for polio surveillance have met their national AFP surveillance targets, but there was substantial subnational variation in surveillance performance. The report presents 2017-2018 poliovirus surveillance data, with focus on 31 countries in endemic and polio-free World Health Organization regions identified as surveillance-high-priority countries due to “high risk of poliovirus transmission and limited capacity to adequately address those risks.” These surveillance systems need continued strengthening through monitoring, supervision, and improvements in specimen collection and transport to provide sufficient evidence for interruption of poliovirus circulation.

Africa CDC   [to 6 Apr 2019]

https://au.int/en/africacdc
No new digest content identified.

China CDC 

http://www.chinacdc.cn/en/
New website launched…no “news” or “announcements” page identified. Link to National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China not responding at inquiry [6 Apr 2019]

Announcements

Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group    [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.alleninstitute.org/news-press/
No new digest content identified.
 
 
BMGF – Gates Foundation  [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute    [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.gatesmri.org/
The Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute is a non-profit biotech organization. Our mission is to develop products to fight malaria, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases—three major causes of mortality, poverty, and inequality in developing countries. The world has unprecedented scientific tools at its disposal; now is the time to use them to save the lives of the world’s poorest people
No new digest content identified.
 
 
CARB-X   [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://carb-x.org/
CARB-X is a non-profit public-private partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research to tackle the global rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.
No new digest content identified.
 
 
CEPI – Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations  [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://cepi.net/
29 Mar 2019
The woman who helped to stop an Ebola epidemic in Nigeria
By Niniola Soleye
In 2014-2016, West Africa experienced the largest Ebola outbreak to date. Thanks to the heroic work of Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh and others, Nigeria steered clear of what could have been a very deadly outbreak of the disease. Tragically Dr Adadevoh lost her life to Ebola, but her legacy lives on today through the Dr Ameyo Stella Adadevoh Health Trust…

29 Mar 2019 – Comment
You can’t beat epidemics without equitable access to vaccines
By Richard Hatchett, CEPI CEO
We’re developing vaccines against emerging infectious diseases. Getting them to the people who need them, when they need them, regardless of ability to pay, is not just important for access, it’s the only way to beat epidemic… CEPI is 100% committed to equitable access. This commitment drives every aspect of our work and is key to our success as a global health organisation…

Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI)  [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://clintonhealthaccess.org/about/
No new digest content identified.

EDCTP    [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.edctp.org/
The European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) aims to accelerate the development of new or improved drugs, vaccines, microbicides and diagnostics against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as well as other poverty-related and neglected infectious diseases in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on phase II and III clinical trials
Latest news
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Emory Vaccine Center    [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/
No new digest content identified.
 
 
European Medicines Agency  [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/
News and press releases
News: EU recommendations for 2019/2020 seasonal flu vaccine composition
01/04/2019
 
 
European Vaccine Initiative  [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.euvaccine.eu/news-events
Latest news
No new digest content identified.
 
 

FDA [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/default.htm
April 03, 2019 –
Statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., and Biologics Center Director Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D. on FDA’s continued efforts to stop stem cell clinics and manufacturers from marketing unapproved products that put patients at risk, while progressing the agency’s commitment to help advance legitimate stem cell product development under existing agency regulations
 
 
Fondation Merieux  [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.fondation-merieux.org/
No new digest content identified.

Gavi [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.gavi.org/
Latest News
03 April 2019
Cholera vaccination campaign begins in Mozambique
Following Cyclone Idai devastation, nearly 900,000 people will receive the vaccine from the Gavi-funded stockpile.
Geneva, 3 April 2019 – An oral cholera vaccination campaign to protect survivors of Cyclone Idai begins today in Beira, Mozambique. Funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the campaign will be carried out by the Mozambique Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, including UNICEF, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and Save the Children.
There has already been one reported cholera death and almost 1,500 reported cases following the cyclone, which caused severe flooding in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Madagascar after making landfall in March. Nine cholera treatment centres, with 500-bed capacity, are already admitting patients.
“Cyclone Idai’s trail of devastation has left the city of Beira’s water and sanitation infrastructure in ruins, providing the perfect conditions for cholera to spread,” said Gavi CEO, Dr Seth Berkley. “This cyclone has already caused enough devastation and misery across south east Africa; we have to hope these vaccines will help stop a potentially major outbreak and prevent yet more suffering.”

02 Apr…il 2019
Japan to host major event to boost vaccination in world’s poorest countries
Opportunity to save lives through immunisation to be unveiled at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) 7
Geneva, 2 April 2019 – Japan will host a launch meeting for Gavi’s third replenishment at August’s TICAD 7 in Yokohama that will set out how Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, on the eve of its 20th anniversary, will continue its work vaccinating millions of children in the world’s poorest countries.
“Japan has been a strong supporter of our mission for many years and we’re delighted they have offered to host this milestone event,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi. “The core aim of TICAD – to help build a healthy and prosperous Africa – couldn’t be closer to Gavi’s mission. Vaccines are a crucial platform for primary health care, which is itself a cornerstone of universal health coverage. They also prevent the diseases that stop children going to school and finding work later in life. Vaccines not only build healthy societies, they build healthy economies.”
The Japanese government has supported Gavi since 2011, providing about US$ 130 million in the years since for Gavi’s programmes around the world…

  
GHIT Fund [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.ghitfund.org/newsroom/press
GHIT was set up in 2012 with the aim of developing new tools to tackle infectious diseases that devastate the world’s poorest people. Other funders include six Japanese pharmaceutical
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Global Fund [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/
News
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Hilleman Laboratories [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
No new digest content identified.
 
 
Human Vaccines Project [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.humanvaccinesproject.org/media/press-releases/
No new digest content identified.

IAVI [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.iavi.org/newsroom
No new digest content identified.

IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/library/news/press-releases/
1 April 2019
​Moody’s  Investors Service has today assigned a Aa1 senior unsecured rating (outlook stable) to the trust certificate issued by IFFIm Sukuk Company III Limited (“the Issuer”), a special purpose vehicle established in the Cayman Islands by the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm).

IFRC   [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://media.ifrc.org/ifrc/news/press-releases/
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
Iran, Middle East and North Africa
“Iran is under water” – IFRC announces support as flood crisis worsens
Beirut/Geneva, 3 April 2019 – As the flooding emergency in Iran worsens, the world’s largest humanitarian network has released just under 500,000 Swiss francs to bolster local Red Crescent relief efforts. The funds released from IFRC’s Disaster Relief …
3 April 2019

Africa, Mozambique
Mozambique: Aid reaches community cut off since cyclone
Beira/Geneva, 3 April 2019 – More than 2,300 people isolated since Cycone Idai struck Mozambique received a major delivery of Red Cross emergency supplies late yesterday. The community of Buzi, which lies to the south of the city of Beira, had been alm …
3 April 2019

Europe, Middle East and North Africa
Red Cross Red Crescent Mediterranean National Societies to tackle cross-cutting migration issues
More than 150 Red Cross Red Crescent delegates from 23 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are meeting in Sarajevo this week to discuss approaches to aiding vulnerable migrants and the communities receiving them.
2 April 2019

IVAC  [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
No new digest content identified.

IVI   [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.ivi.int/
IVI News & Announcements
No new digest content identified.

JEE Alliance  [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.jeealliance.org/
Selected News and Events
No new digest content identified.
 
 
MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières  [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.msf.org/
Selected News; Project Updates, Reports [as presented on website]
Rwanda
Rwandan genocide 25 years on: MSF caught in spiral of extreme violence from Rwanda to Zaire
Voices from the Field 5 Apr 2019

Cyclone Idai & Southern Africa flooding
MSF emergency response to Cyclone Idai and flooding
Crisis Update 5 Apr 2019

Palestine
Gaza’s numbing routine of injury and death
Voices from the Field 4 Apr 2019

Niger
Violence, humanitarian needs and fear mount in Diffa
Project Update 4 Apr 2019

Nigeria
Over 30,000 people in acute need in northern Borno state
Press Release 4 Apr 2019

Yemen
Medical admissions in Aden suspended after patient kidnapped and killed
Press Release 4 Apr 2019

DRC 2018 Ebola outbreaks
Crisis update – April 2019
Crisis Update 3 Apr 2019

Iraq
Triaging patients in one of Baghdad’s busiest emergency departments
Voices from the Field 2 Apr 2019

Libya
Migrants in Libya: “We were able to make their time in that horrible place slightly better.”
Voices from the Field 2 Apr 2019
 
 
NIH  [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
April 4, 2019
Scientists explore new roles for RNA
— Cells use RNA to communicate; researchers may be able to translate this information into clinical applications.

FDA-approved drug effectively treats rare chronic immune disorder
April 3, 2019 — Small NIH clinical trial conducted in partnership with AstraZeneca [hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES)].

Opioid epidemic is increasing rates of some infectious diseases
April 3, 2019 —
Health, substance use professionals must work together to thwart public health crisis.
The United States faces a converging public health crisis as the nation’s opioid epidemic fuels growing rates of certain infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, heart infections, and skin and soft tissue infections. Infectious disease and substance use disorder professionals must work together to stem the mounting public health threat, according to a new commentary in the Journal of Infectious Diseases…

NIH begins first-in-human trial of a universal influenza vaccine candidate
April 3, 2019 —
Investigational vaccine [H1ssF_3928] designed to provide broad, durable protection from flu.
…The clinical trial is being conducted at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. It is being led by Grace Chen, M.D., of NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC) Clinical Trials Program. The trial will gradually enroll at least 53 healthy adults aged 18 to 70 years. The first five participants will be aged 18 to 40 years and will receive a single 20-microgram (mcg) intramuscular injection of the experimental vaccine. The remaining 48 participants will receive two 60-mcg vaccinations spaced 16 weeks apart. They will be stratified by age into four groups of 12 people each: 18 to 40 years, 41 to 49 years, 50 to 59 years, and 60 to 70 years. Investigators hope to understand how participants’ immune responses to the experimental vaccine may vary based on age and the likelihood of their previous exposure to different influenza variants…

Acute flaccid myelitis requires galvanized research response
April 2, 2019 — NIH experts review puzzling muscle paralysis condition in children.

New $22 Million Project Targets Deadly Viruses
BRONX, N.Y., April 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded an international consortium led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine, part of Montefiore, a five-year, $22 million grant to develop antibody-based therapies against four highly lethal viruses for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

The viruses are the tick-borne Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and three hantaviruses, which are spread by rodents: Andes virus (ANDV), Sin Nombre virus (SNV), and Puumula virus (PUUV). The NIAID has designated all but PUUV as Category A agents—emerging infectious diseases or pathogens that pose the highest risk to national security and public health.

The project, called the Prometheus Center for Excellence in Translational Research (Prometheus), focuses on viruses that spread from animals to people. It builds on a 2017 study involving ebolaviruses, believed to spread to people from fruit bats or primates. In addition to Einstein, the participating institutions leading the project are the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc., The University of Texas at Austin, and Adimab, LLC, a biotech company…

PATH  [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.path.org/media-center/
April 2, 2019 by PATH
New report by PAHO and PATH details strategies to improve vaccine programs through effective data use
[See Milestones above for detail]

Sabin Vaccine Institute  [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Dr. Carol Baker Receives 2019 Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal
Washington, D.C. – The Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin) today announced it will present its annual Albert B. Sabin Gold Medal to Dr. Carol J. Baker, whose groundbreaking research in group B Streptococcus (GBS) is accelerating progress toward a much-needed vaccine to prevent a bacterial infection that can cause lifelong illness or death in newborns.

UNAIDS [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.unaids.org/en
Selected Press Releases/Reports/Statements
2 April 2019
Helping the forgotten generation  [Burkina Faso,]

2 April 2019
Learning lessons on evaluation  [UNAIDS’ first consultation on evaluation]

1 April 2019
Key populations are being left behind
In 2017, approximately 47% of new HIV infections globally were among key populations and their sexual partners.
Members of key populations are at a significantly higher risk of contracting HIV. The available data suggest that the risk of HIV acquisition among gay men and other men who have sex with men was 28 times higher in 2017 than it was among heterosexual men. Similarly, the risk of acquiring HIV for people who inject drugs was 22 times higher than for people who do not inject drugs, 13 times higher for female sex workers than adult women aged 15–49 years and 13 times higher for transgender women than adults aged 15–49 years.

UNICEF  [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.unicef.org/media/press-releases
News note
Venezuela crisis: UNICEF ramps up support for children and families amidst electricity blackouts
05/04/2019

Press release
Venezuela migrant crisis: 1.1 million children across the region will need assistance in 2019, up from nearly half a million today – UNICEF
UN children’s agency calls on host and transit countries to protect uprooted children from discrimination and ensure access to essential services
05/04/2019

Press release
Opening Remarks by Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, At opening of Sanitation and Water for All Sector Ministers’ Meeting San José, Costa Rica April 4, 2019
04/04/2019

Press release
Islamic Development Bank and UNICEF to establish a Global Muslim Philanthropy Fund for Children
03/04/2019

Statement
Only quality education and an end to violence can offer hope and better opportunities for children in Honduras
Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore following visit to Honduras
03/04/2019

Press release
1 in 4 health care facilities lacks basic water services – UNICEF, WHO
02/04/2019
[See Milestones above for detail]

Press release
Cyclone Idai: 900,000 cholera vaccine doses arrive in Beira, Mozambique
02/04/2019
Nearly 900,000 doses of the cholera vaccine, procured by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), arrived in Beira, Mozambique, on Tuesday afternoon and the vaccination campaign will begin imminently. The vaccines are funded by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance.
Mozambique’s Ministry of Health has confirmed 1,052 cases of cholera in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai. The vast majority of these (959 cases) are in Beira where one death has also been confirmed, followed by Nhamatanda (87 cases). The disease is spreading rapidly…
 
 

Vaccine Confidence Project [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.vaccineconfidence.org/
No new digest content identified.

Vaccine Education Center – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center
No new digest content identified.

Wellcome Trust [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
No new digest content identified.

The Wistar Institute   [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.wistar.org/news/press-releases
Press Release   Apr. 5, 2019
Synthetic DNA-encoded Antibodies Against Zika Virus Shown to be Effective in Preclinical Studies
The DNA-encoded monoclonal antibody platform provides rapid and sustained protection against Zika virus infection.
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/
No new digest content identified.

::::::

BIO [to 6 Apr 2019]
https://www.bio.org/insights/press-release
No new digest content identified.

DCVMN – Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers Network [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.dcvmn.org/
No new digest content identified.

IFPMA [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.ifpma.org/resources/news-releases/
No new digest content identified.

PhRMA [to 6 Apr 2019]
http://www.phrma.org/press-room
No new digest content identified.