PharmacoEconomics
Volume 36, Issue 1, January 2018
https://link.springer.com/journal/40273/36/1/page/1

Original Research Article
Research Costs Investigated: A Study Into the Budgets of Dutch Publicly Funded Drug-Related Research
Thea van Asselt, Bram Ramaekers, Isaac Corro Ramos, Manuela Joore…

PLoS Currents: Outbreaks
http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/
[Accessed 20 January 2018]

Incidence Prediction for the 2017-2018 Influenza Season in the United States with an Evolution-informed Model
January 17, 2018 · Research Article
Introduction: Seasonal influenza is responsible for a high disease burden in the United States and worldwide. Predicting outbreak size in advance can contribute to the timely control of seasonal influenza by informing health care and vaccination planning.
Methods: Recently, a process-based model was developed for forecasting incidence dynamics ahead of the season, with the approach validated by several statistical criteria, including an accurate real-time prediction for the past 2016-2017 influenza season before it started.
Results: Based on this model and data up to June 2017, a forecast for the upcoming 2017-2018 influenza season is presented here, indicating an above-average, moderately severe, outbreak dominated by the H3N2 subtype.
Discussion: The prediction is consistent with surveillance data so far, which already indicate the predominance of H3N2. The forecast for the upcoming 2017-2018 influenza season reinforces the importance of the on-going vaccination campaign.

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
http://www.plosntds.org/
(Accessed 20 January 2018)

Research Article
Modelling the large-scale yellow fever outbreak in Luanda, Angola, and the impact of vaccination
Shi Zhao, Lewi Stone, Daozhou Gao, Daihai He
| published 16 Jan 2018 PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006158

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 20 January 2018]

Research Article
Impact of educational interventions on adolescent attitudes and knowledge regarding vaccination: A pilot study
Kate Carolan, Joanna Verran, Matthew Crossley, James Redfern, Nicola Whitton, Martyn Amos
Research Article | published 19 Jan 2018 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190984

Research Article
Event based surveillance of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS- CoV) in Bangladesh among pilgrims and travelers from the Middle East: An update for the period 2013–2016
K. M. Muraduzzaman, Manjur Hossain Khan, Rezina Parveen, Sharmin Sultana, Ahmed Nawsher Alam, Arifa Akram, Mahmudur Rahman, Tahmina Shirin
Research Article | published 16 Jan 2018 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189914

Science         
19 January 2018  Vol 359, Issue 6373
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

The 1918 flu, 100 years later
By Jessica A. Belser, Terrence M. Tumpey
Summary
Combating a disease of unknown cause is a daunting task. One hundred years ago, a pandemic of poorly understood etiology and transmissibility spread worldwide, causing an estimated 50 million deaths. Initially attributed to Haemophilus influenzae, it was not until the 1930s that an H1 subtype was identified as the causative strain. Subsequent influenza pandemics in 1957, 1968, and 2009 did not approach levels of morbidity and mortality comparable to those of the 1918 “Spanish flu,” leaving unanswered for almost a century questions regarding the extraordinary virulence and transmissibility of this unique strain. Technological advances made reconstruction of the 1918 virus possible; now, continued research, vaccine development, and preparedness are essential to ensure that such a devastating public health event is not repeated.

Science         
19 January 2018  Vol 359, Issue 6373
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Letters
Vaccine mandates in France will save lives
By Stanley A. Plotkin, Paul Offit, Pierre Bégué
Science19 Jan 2018 : 283-284

Science         
19 January 2018  Vol 359, Issue 6373
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

Research Articles
Genome-wide identification of interferon-sensitive mutations enables influenza vaccine design
By Yushen Du, Li Xin, Yuan Shi, Tian-Hao Zhang, Nicholas C. Wu, Lei Dai, Danyang Gong, Gurpreet Brar, Sara Shu, Jiadi Luo, William Reiley, Yen-Wen Tseng, Hongyan Bai, Ting-Ting Wu, Jieru Wang, Yuelong Shu, Ren Sun
Science19 Jan 2018 : 290-296 Restricted Access
Avoiding interferon avoidance
Interferon (IFN) expression is a mammal’s first response to viral infection. Many viruses have thus evolved mechanisms to evade IFN. Du et al. developed a method to systematically ablate IFN evasion genes from live, attenuated influenza virus (see the Perspective by Teijaro and Burton). A combination of mutants was assembled to construct a virus that triggered transient IFN responses in mice but that was unable to replicate effectively. The transient IFN responses led to robust antibody and memory responses that protected against subsequent challenge with different influenza viruses. This approach could be adapted to improve other RNA virus vaccines.
Abstract
In conventional attenuated viral vaccines, immunogenicity is often suboptimal. Here we present a systematic approach for vaccine development that eliminates interferon (IFN)–modulating functions genome-wide while maintaining virus replication fitness. We applied a quantitative high-throughput genomics system to influenza A virus that simultaneously measured the replication fitness and IFN sensitivity of mutations across the entire genome. By incorporating eight IFN-sensitive mutations, we generated a hyper–interferon-sensitive (HIS) virus as a vaccine candidate. HIS virus is highly attenuated in IFN-competent hosts but able to induce transient IFN responses, elicits robust humoral and cellular immune responses, and provides protection against homologous and heterologous viral challenges. Our approach, which attenuates the virus and promotes immune responses concurrently, is broadly applicable for vaccine development against other pathogens.

Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 3   Pages 343-426 (8 January 2018)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/

Commentary
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation regarding the use of live influenza vaccine: A rejoinder
Pages 343-344
Edward A. Belongia, Ruth A. Karron, Arthur Reingold, Emmanuel B. Walter, Nancy M. Bennett

Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 3   Pages 343-426 (8 January 2018)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/

Editorial
Hospital-based collaboration for epidemiological investigation of vaccine safety: A potential solution for low and middle-income countries?
Pages 345-346
Hector S. Izurieta, Pedro L. Moro, Robert T. Chen

Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 3   Pages 343-426 (8 January 2018)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/

Original research article
Operational lessons learned in conducting a multi-country collaboration for vaccine safety signal verification and hypothesis testing: The global vaccine safety multi country collaboration initiative
Pages 355-362
Christine Guillard-Maure, Varalakshmi Elango, Steven Black, Silvia Perez-Vilar, … Carlos Zunino
Abstract
Timely and effective evaluation of vaccine safety signals for newly developed vaccines introduced in low and middle- income countries (LMICs) is essential. The study tested the development of a global network of hospital-based sentinel sites for vaccine safety signal verification and hypothesis testing. Twenty-six sentinel sites in sixteen countries across all WHO regions participated, and 65% of the sites were from LMIC. We describe the process for the establishment and operationalization of such a network and the lessons learned in conducting a multi-country collaborative initiative. 24 out of the 26 sites successfully contributed data for the global analysis using standardised tools and procedures. Our study successfully confirmed the well-known risk estimates for the outcomes of interest. The main challenges faced by investigators were lack of adequate information in the medical records for case ascertainment and classification, and access to immunization data. The results suggest that sentinel hospitals intending to participate in vaccine safety studies strengthen their systems for discharge diagnosis coding, medical records and linkage to vaccination data. Our study confirms that a multi-country hospital-based network initiative for vaccine safety monitoring is feasible and demonstrates the validity and utility of large collaborative international studies to monitor the safety of new vaccines introduced in LMICs.

Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 3   Pages 343-426 (8 January 2018)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/

Original research article
Building capacity for active surveillance of vaccine adverse events in the Americas: A hospital-based multi-country network
Pages 363-370
Pamela Bravo-Alcántara, Silvia Pérez-Vilar, Helvert Felipe Molina-León, Miriam Sturkenboom, … Carlos Zunino
Abstract
New vaccines designed to prevent diseases endemic in low and middle-income countries are being introduced without prior utilization in countries with robust vaccine pharmacovigilance systems. Our aim was to build capacity for active surveillance of vaccine adverse events in the Americas. We describe the implementation of a proof-of-concept study for the feasibility of an international collaborative hospital-based active surveillance system for vaccine safety. The study was developed and implemented in 15 sentinel sites located in seven countries of the region of the Americas, under the umbrella of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Vaccine Safety Initiative. The study evaluated the associations between measles-mumps-rubella vaccines and two well-recognized adverse events: Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and aseptic meningitis. The regional network contributed 63 confirmed ITP and 16 confirmed aseptic meningitis eligible cases to the global study, representing, respectively, 33% and 19% of the total cases. To ensure long-term sustainability and usefulness to investigate adverse events following new vaccine introductions in low and middle-income countries, the network needs to be strengthened with additional sites and integrated into national health systems.

Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 3   Pages 343-426 (8 January 2018)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/3

Original research article
Implementing a province-wide mandatory vaccinate-or-mask policy at healthcare facilities in British Columbia, Canada
Alexandra Nunn, Audrey C. Campbell, Monika Naus, Jeffrey C. Kwong, … Bonnie Henry
Abstract
Objectives
In 2012, British Columbia (BC) became the first Canadian province to implement an influenza prevention policy requiring healthcare workers (HCW) to either be vaccinated annually against influenza or wear a mask in patient care areas during the influenza season. This study describes an evaluation of influenza policy implementation processes and identifies supports and challenges related to successful policy implementation at the level of healthcare facilities, during the second policy year (2013/14).
Methods
Implementation leaders from 262 long-term care (LTC) and acute care facilities, mostly in three of BC’s five regional Health Authorities, were invited to participate in an online survey following the 2013/14 influenza season. Descriptive quantitative and qualitative analyses identified common and effective strategies for improving vaccination coverage and policy compliance.
Results
A total of 127 respondents completed the survey on behalf of 33 acute care and 99 LTC facilities, representing 36% of acute care and 27% of LTC facilities in BC. Respondents agreed that the policy was successfully implemented at 89% of facilities, and implementation was reported to be easy at 52% of facilities. The findings elaborate on communication and leadership strategies, campaign logistics and enforcement approaches involved in policy implementation.
Conclusion
Implementation of a vaccinate-or-mask influenza policy is complex. This study provides insight for other jurisdictions considering implementing such a policy and offers practical recommendations for facilities and health authorities.
 

Vaccine
Volume 36, Issue 3   Pages 343-426 (8 January 2018)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/vaccine/vol/36/issue/3

Original research article
Cost-effectiveness of dengue vaccination in ten endemic countries
Pages 413-420
Wu Zeng, Yara A. Halasa-Rappel, Nicolas Baurin, Laurent Coudeville, Donald S. Shepard
Abstract
Following publication of results from two phase-3 clinical trials in 10 countries or territories, endemic countries began licensing the first dengue vaccine in 2015. Using a published mathematical model, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of dengue vaccination in populations similar to those at the trial sites in those same Latin American and Asian countries. Our main scenarios (30-year horizon, 80% coverage) entailed 3-dose routine vaccinations costing US$20/dose beginning at age 9, potentially supplemented by catch-up programs of 4- or 8-year cohorts. We obtained illness costs per case, dengue mortality, vaccine wastage, and vaccine administration costs from the literature. We estimated that routine vaccination would reduce yearly direct and indirect illness cost per capita by 22% (from US$10.51 to US$8.17) in the Latin American countries and by 23% (from US$5.78 to US$4.44) in the Asian countries. Using a health system perspective, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) averaged US$4,216/disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted in the five Latin American countries (range: US$666/DALY in Puerto Rico to US$5,865/DALY in Mexico). In the five Asian countries, the ICER averaged US$3,751/DALY (range: US$1,935/DALY in Malaysia to US$5,101/DALY in the Philippines). From a health system perspective, the vaccine proved to be highly cost effective (ICER under one times the per capita GDP) in seven countries and cost effective (ICER 1–3 times the per capita GDP) in the remaining three countries. From a societal perspective, routine vaccination proved cost-saving in three countries. Including catch-up campaigns gave similar ICERs. Thus, this vaccine could have a favorable economic value in sites similar to those in the trials.

Vaccines — Open Access Journal
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines
(Accessed 20 January 2018)
Open Access  Review

Development of Zika Virus Vaccines
by Huda Makhluf and Sujan Shresta
Vaccines 2018, 6(1), 7; doi:10.3390/vaccines6010007 – 18 January 2018
Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that emerged as a global threat following the most recent outbreak in Brazil in 2015. ZIKV infection of pregnant women is associated with fetal abnormalities such as microcephaly, and infection of adults can lead to Guillain–Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease characterized by neurological deficits. Although there are currently licensed vaccines for other flaviviruses, there remains an urgent need for preventative vaccines against ZIKV infection. Herein we describe the current efforts to accelerate the development of ZIKV vaccines using various platforms, including live attenuated virus, inactivated virus, DNA and RNA, viral vectors, and in silico-predicted immunogenic viral epitopes. Many of these approaches have leveraged lessons learned from past experience with Dengue and other flavivirus vaccines

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

 
Journal of Adolescent Health
February 2018 Volume 62, Issue 2, Supplement, S1-S140
http://www.jahonline.org/issue/S1054-139X(17)X0029-3
Abstracts of Platform Research Presentations: Global Adolescent Health Equity
14 March 2018 – 17 March 2018

Individual and Partner-Level Characteristics Associated with Vaccine-Type and Non-Vaccine-Type Human Papillomavirus Infection in Young Women after Vaccine …
C Washington, L Ding, P Gorbach, B Rosen, J Kahn

9-Valent and 4-Valent HPV Vaccine Effectiveness and Herd Protection among Young Women, 11 Years after Vaccine Introduction
C Spinner, L Ding, D Bernstein, DR Brown, EL Franco…

Differences between Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Women Explain Increase in Non-Vaccine-Type Human Papillomavirus in Unvaccinated Women after Vaccine …
LE Widdice, L Ding, JA Kahn

Importance of a Team Recommendation Approach on HPV Vaccine Uptake
HB Fontenot, ML Kornides, AL McRee, MB Gilkey

Impact of 9-Valent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine on HPV Vaccination Coverage of Youth, Ages 9–17, in North Carolina
J Trogden, B Lindsay, P Shafer, T Coyne-Beasley

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.

Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
Accessed 20 January 2018
Gates Foundation Funds Research For New Synthetic Malaria Vaccine
Jennifer Kite-Powell, Contributor
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awards the Wistar Institute $1.4 million to research new synthetic DNA malaria vaccine.

 
The Guardian
http://www.guardiannews.com/
Accessed 20 January 2018
Mother and daughter shot dead while immunising children from polio in Pakistan
Prime minister condemns attack by gunmen in south-western city of Quetta, where two policemen also died in separate incident
Fri 19 Jan 2018
Haroon Janjua in Islamabad
The attack took place as hundreds of polio teams, many of them volunteers, were out working on a campaign against the disease, police official Naseebullah Khan said.
Sakina Bibi, 50, and her 20-year-old daughter, Alizah, were providing polio immunisation drops to children when two gunmen riding on a motorcycle shot them. “Both died on their way to the hospital,” said Khan.
It is the latest in a string of attacks on attempts to prevent children from contracting the crippling and sometimes deadly disease…
 
 
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 20 January 2018
Gov’t Scientists Scramble to Save Research Ahead of Shutdown
The nation’s premier medical research institute is in “a scramble” to prepare for a partial government shutdown that could ruin costly experiments and leave sick patients unable to enter cutting-edge studies, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Inst…
January 18, 2018 – By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – U.S. – Print Headline: “Gov’t Scientists Scramble to Save Research Ahead of Shutdown”

What We Can Learn From ‘S-Hole Countries’
African nations are ahead of the U.S. in some respects.
January 18, 2018 – By NICHOLAS KRISTOF – Opinion
…Rwanda may eliminate cervical cancer before America, for Rwanda vaccinates virtually all girls against the human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer. By also employing screenings for older women who were not vaccinated, it aims to eliminate cervical cancer by 2020. In contrast, only 65 percent of American girls get vaccinated for HPV, and a woman dies every two hours in the U.S. from cervical cancer. “I wish parents in the U.S. worked as hard as those in Rwanda to get their daughters vaccinated, so that they will never need to know the horrors of cervical cancer,” says Dr. Seth Berkley, chief executive of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

After a Debacle, How California Became a Role Model on Measles
Changing minds on vaccination is very difficult, but it isn’t so important when a law can change behavior.
January 16, 2018 – By EMILY OSTER and GEOFFREY KOCKS
 
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/home-page?_wsjregion=na,us&_homepage=/home/us
Accessed 20 January 2018
Essay
An Action Plan for Averting the Next Flu Pandemic
By Jonathan D. Quick
This year’s flu outbreak is unusually bad, but it could be much worse. It’s time to accelerate a range of public-health measures, including work on a universal vaccine.

More Than 1,600 New Yorkers Hospitalized for Flu in One Week
Jan. 18, 2018 5:58 pm ET
The 1,606 New Yorkers sent to the hospital in the past week with lab-confirmed flu is the highest weekly number since the state health department’s reporting began in 2004.

Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review is a weekly digest  summarizing news, events, announcements, peer-reviewed articles and research in the global vaccine ethics and policy space. Content is aggregated from key governmental, NGO, international organization and industry sources, key peer-reviewed journals, and other media channels. This summary proceeds from the broad base of themes and issues monitored by the Center for Vaccine Ethics & Policy in its work: it is not intended to be exhaustive in its coverage. You are viewing the blog version of our weekly digest, typically comprised of between 30 and 40 posts below all dated with the current issue date

.– Request an Email Summary: Vaccines and Global Health : The Week in Review is published as a single email summary, scheduled for release each Saturday evening before midnight (EDT in the U.S.). If you would like to receive the email version, please send your request to david.r.curry@centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.org.

– pdf version:  A pdf of the current issue is available here: Vaccines and Global Health_The Week in Review_13 Jan 2018

– blog edition: comprised of the approx. 35+ entries posted below.

– Twitter:  Readers can also follow developments on twitter: @vaxethicspolicy.
.
– Links:  We endeavor to test each link as we incorporate it into any post, but recognize that some links may become “stale” as publications and websites reorganize content over time. We apologize in advance for any links that may not be operative. We believe the contextual information in a given post should allow retrieval, but please contact us as above for assistance if necessary.

Support this knowledge-sharing service: Your financial support helps us cover our costs and to address a current shortfall in our annual operating budget. Click here to donate and thank you in advance for your contribution.

.
David R. Curry, MS
Executive Director
Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy

Milestones :: Perspectives
 
IAVI  [to 13 January 2018]
https://www.iavi.org/
January 11, 2018
Bonnie Mathieson: Awesome, Fearless and Witty
Reflections from Colleagues Pat Fast, Mark Feinberg, Margaret McCluskey, and Bill Snow
We celebrate the life, and mourn the loss, of Bonnie Mathieson who left her career as a laboratory scientist to guide HIV vaccine research as a scientific administrator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bonnie had insatiable interest in HIV and immune response to the virus and an unwavering belief that immune-mediated protection against HIV infection was possible. Joining in this fight when the AIDS vaccine effort was in its infancy, Bonnie spent three decades doing everything in her power to speed the arrival of a vaccine, working at the Division of AIDS at NIAID and later at the NIH Office of AIDS Research. She enthusiastically supported, advised, critiqued and cajoled co-workers in government and academe to promote vaccine research and helped the scientist–especially young ones–find the right collaborations to carry out well-planned and well-funded research. She was endlessly interested in the people doing the work, and many of us can point to a time when she helped us overcome a barrier and go on to succeed. Bonnie was particularly supportive toward women scientists, some young, some not-so-young, when they ran into barriers that hindered their progress…

 
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Here’s why global health suffers in a fractured world
Seth Berkley CEO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
10 Jan 2018  – World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
The world is today more fractured than at any time since the Cold War, with a new fortress narrative now emerging. But is it really possible for countries to reap the benefits of globalization and shun the responsibilities that come with a globalized economy, while avoiding the consequences of doing so?

Globalism may have fallen out of favour with some, but the forces driving it are not likely to be so easily swayed. Formidable trends will continue to drive both globalization and globalism, and in doing so will bring new challenges that will threaten us all by, among other things, making it harder to prevent the spread of deadly infectious disease. So, in the face of such growing threats to global health security, it should become increasingly clear that putting national interests first doesn’t always mean focusing all your attention at home.

The fact is that the same aspects of the modern world that have helped to make global trade and economic growth possible have also helped promote some of the biggest challenges we are likely to face in the 21st century. Climate change, population growth, human migration and urbanization are just some examples. All have an impact on global health security.
Just as it is possible to have dinner in Nairobi, breakfast in London and lunch in New York, you can now also order goods from halfway around the world and receive them within a timeframe shorter than the incubation period of many infectious diseases.

With more than a billion people travelling outside their country or region every year, it has never been easier for viruses to move around the world. We saw this recently, first with the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which spread to 10 countries infecting nearly 29,000 people globally, killing 11,000 of them; and then with Zika, which affected more than 80 countries and territories, resulting in more than 220,000 confirmed cases.

If we want to keep the bugs at bay, border security and immigration control will only get us so far. Instead we need to look at how we can prevent outbreaks in the first place. That means embracing globalism by investing in global health to help to strengthen national health systems, disease surveillance and routine immunization in poor countries. By recognizing that infectious disease is not some far away exotic issue, but a global problem, and by sharing the responsibility for its prevention, diagnosis and control, the whole world will be a lot safer.

The problem is, thanks to the combined effects of population growth, climate change, migration and conflict, global health security is likely to become more challenging in the years to come. Land degradation, rising sea levels, famine and conflict will continue to drive people from their homes and towards cities, with megacities like Mexico City and Lagos becoming increasingly common in some of the poorest parts of the world. Without action, the effects of this on global health security could be profound, because as urban density increases, so too can the risk of urban epidemics.

More people living in less space can put greater strain on already limited sanitation resources, and this can create a fertile breeding ground for waterborne infectious disease and the insects spreading them. At the same time, the sheer scale of cities, and the number of vulnerable people living in them, has the potential to overstretch vaccine and antimicrobial supplies, limiting our ability to prevent or respond to outbreaks.

This is not just a hypothetical scenario. In 2016, we saw precisely this play out with the world’s largest yellow fever outbreak in three decades in Angola’s capital Luanda, which spread across Angola and to two other African countries, including threatening Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). During this outbreak, vaccine shortages made the situation so desperate that the World Health Organization and UNICEF had to resort to recommending fractional dosing in Kinshasa as part of its response, administering one-fifth of a normal dose to people.

We got lucky, and not just in averting major urban epidemics in two overcrowded capital cities, but also in preventing the spread of yellow fever to Asia. No one really knows why yellow fever has never taken hold in Asia, but with 1.8 billion unvaccinated people living in a region where the mosquito responsible for transmitting the disease – Aedes aegypti – is endemic, and with no cure for the disease, the potential of it doing so is a huge concern (particularly, when two other Aedes transmitted infections – dengue and chikungunya – are causing major epidemics).

With a large Chinese workforce in Angola, 11 yellow fever cases did manage to reach China, but were thankfully contained and the virus spread no further. And despite facing further vaccine shortages when another large outbreak occurred just a few months later in Brazil, the global health community rallied and was able to prevent this too from turning into an urban epidemic. But these were close calls.

As the global population continues to grow and become ever more urban, it is important that we are prepared for what it will bring. While it will almost certainly help boost globalization by opening up new markets, without a continued global effort to prevent outbreaks wherever they occur, through routine immunization and strengthened health systems, then such close calls could become full blown pandemics threatening us all with catastrophic human and economic consequences.
 
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Who will answer the call in the next outbreak? Drug makers feel burned by string of vaccine pleas
STAT News | 11 January 2018
By Helen Branswell
Every few years an alarming disease launches a furious, out-of-the-blue attack on people, triggering a high-level emergency response. SARS. The H1N1 flu pandemic. West Nile and Zika. The nightmarish West African Ebola epidemic.

In nearly each case, major vaccine producers have risen to the challenge, setting aside their day-to-day profit-making activities to try to meet a pressing societal need. With each successive crisis, they have done so despite mounting concerns that the threat will dissipate and with it the demand for the vaccine they are racing to develop.

Now, manufacturers are expressing concern about their ability to afford these costly disruptions to their profit-seeking operations. As a result, when the bat-signal next flares against the night sky, there may not be anyone to respond

GSK has made a corporate decision that while it wants to help in public health emergencies, it cannot continue to do so in the way it has in the past. Sanofi Pasteur has said its attempt to respond to Zika has served only to mar the company’s reputation. Merck has said while it is committed to getting its Ebola vaccine across the finish line it will not try to develop a vaccine that protects against other strains of Ebola and the related Marburg virus.

Drug makers “have very clearly articulated that … the current way of approaching this — to call them during an emergency and demand that they do this and that they reallocate resources, disrupt their daily operations in order to respond to these events — is completely unsustainable,” said Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, an organization set up after the Ebola crisis to fund early-stage development of vaccines to protect against emerging disease threats.

Hatchett and others who plan for disease emergencies worry that, without the involvement of these types of companies, there will be no emergency response vaccines.

“The only real expertise in the world to make these vaccines in a quantity and a safety environment is in the private sector,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy. “If the private sector isn’t fully engaged and involved, it’s a show stopper.”

Nearly all the major pharmaceutical companies that work on these vaccines have found themselves holding the bag after at least one of these outbreaks.

GSK stepped up during the Ebola crisis, but has since essentially shelved the experimental vaccine it once raced to try to test and license. Two other vaccines — Merck’s and one being developed by Janssen, the vaccines division of Johnson & Johnson — are still slowly wending their ways through difficult and costly development processes. Neither company harbors any hope of earning back in sales the money it spent on development.

A number of flu vaccine manufacturers were left on the hook with ordered but unpaid for vaccine during the mild 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. By the time the vaccine was ready — after the peak of the outbreak — public fear of the new flu had subsided. Many people didn’t want the vaccine, and some countries refused to take their full orders. GSK, Sanofi Pasteur, and Novartis — which has since shed its vaccines operation — produced flu vaccine in that pandemic.

Dr. Rip Ballou, who heads the U.S. research and development center for GSK Global Vaccines, told STAT it’s not in the “company’s DNA” to say “no” to pleas to respond to appeals in an emergency. But the way it has responded in the past is no longer tenable.

“We do not want to have these activities compete with in-house programs,” said Ballou. “And our learnings from Ebola, from pandemic flu, from SARS previously, is that it’s very disruptive and that’s not the way that we want to do business going forward.”

GSK has proposed using a facility it has in Rockville, Md., as a production plant for vaccines needed in emergencies, but the funding commitments that would be needed to turn that idea into reality haven’t materialized.

And as Ebola and Zika recede ever further in the rearview mirror, the chances governments and philanthropy institutions will seize on this type of paradigm-shifting proposal appear to be slight. The threat of new outbreaks is still top of mind for organizations in this area, like BARDA and CEPI — the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and the Oslo, Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. But there appears to be little discussion of the issue among governments facing perennial funding shortfalls.

“The people that are concerned about this haven’t lost focus,” Ballou said. “We’re still very concerned about it. I know BARDA hasn’t lost focus. CEPI hasn’t lost focus. But the rest of the world probably has.”

Sanofi Pasteur has also taken several enormous hits in the successive rounds of disease emergency responses. In the early 2000s, the company worked on a West Nile virus vaccine. Though the disease still causes hundreds of cases of severe illness in the U.S. every year and is estimated to have been responsible for over 2,000 deaths from 1999 to 2016, public fear abated, taking with it the prospects for sales of a vaccine. Sanofi eventually pulled the plug.

In 2016, Sanofi was the only major manufacturer to commit to trying to make a Zika vaccine on an expedited basis. But BARDA, which had been helping to fund the work, told Sanofi last year that it would not support the company’s Phase 3 trial – the large and expensive study needed to prove a vaccine works — and instead backed an effort by Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

At the same time, the company bore the brunt of a barrage of criticism for not publicly committing to a low-price guarantee for developing countries. Facing horrible PR and no sales prospects, Sanofi announced late last summer that it was out.

“It was a bruising experience,” admitted John Shiver, Sanofi’s head of vaccine research and development. “Honestly, we really were trying to be good citizens.”

As was the case with Zika, emergency vaccine development efforts are often at least partially funded from government coffers. But Hatchett said the sacrifices of pharmaceutical companies in outbreak response work are still underappreciated.

“If you look at the performance of the vaccine companies, it’s hard to think of an example going back 30 or 40 or 50 years where they haven’t stepped up to the plate. I think their record of corporate social responsibility is a story that they don’t get nearly enough credit for, given the risks and what they take on and how little they get out of responding,” he said.

Even if governments help fund vaccine work, money can dry up and costs can add up. Scientists reassigned to work on emergency vaccines have to put aside other work that their company — and its shareholders — hope will earn profits.

“There are opportunity costs, especially if you’re trying to do something fast. I mean, we put the equivalent of a couple of programs worth of people on Zika,” Shiver said. “They were all working on high-priority projects for us and we switched them off those projects. … And those programs slowed down or stopped.”

Shiver said particularly problematic for vaccine manufacturers is the fact that it is extraordinarily difficult to run the clinical trials needed to persuade regulatory agencies that emergency vaccines are safe and effective. Conducting research during a crisis is notoriously tough and, with diseases like these, after outbreaks end, there’s typically no way to mount a standard Phase 3 trial.

In an emergency, regulatory agencies may be willing to bend some rules. But once the crisis subsides, they revert to normal operating procedures — as Merck has found out as it tries to persuade regulators to accept data from an innovative ring-vaccination trial conducted on its Ebola vaccine.

“This is sort of ahuman nature problem. People pay attention to the burning house, and maybe not the one that’s got bad wiring, right, that’s down the street,” Shiver said.

Finding a way that allows vaccine makers to help without sustaining these kinds of operational costs is critical to the success of future disease outbreak responses, experts say. Because the reality is that even if a government or academic laboratory designs and tests a promising vaccine for a dangerous pathogen, someone has to make it — and potentially make large amounts of it.

“These repeated incidences where people were left hanging is going to make it a lot harder for companies to be able to make the case internally that they should get involved. And if that happens — which I think it is happening — the world is going to be in a much riskier place,” said Dr. Mark Feinberg, president of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and formerly Merck’s chief science officer.

Information, Communication & Society
Published online: 27 Dec 2017
Original Articles
Mapping the anti-vaccination movement on Facebook
Naomi Smith & Tim Graham
Pages 1-18
ABSTRACT
Over the past decade, anti-vaccination rhetoric has become part of the mainstream discourse regarding the public health practice of childhood vaccination. These utilise social media to foster online spaces that strengthen and popularise anti-vaccination discourses. In this paper, we examine the characteristics of and the discourses present within six popular anti-vaccination Facebook pages. We examine these large-scale datasets using a range of methods, including social network analysis, gender prediction using historical census data, and generative statistical models for topic analysis (Latent Dirichlet allocation). We find that present-day discourses centre around moral outrage and structural oppression by institutional government and the media, suggesting a strong logic of ‘conspiracy-style’ beliefs and thinking. Furthermore, anti-vaccination pages on Facebook reflect a highly ‘feminised’ movement ‒ the vast majority of participants are women. Although anti-vaccination networks on Facebook are large and global in scope, the comment activity sub-networks appear to be ‘small world’. This suggests that social media may have a role in spreading anti-vaccination ideas and making the movement durable on a global scale.

Emergencies
 
POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 10 January 2018 [GPEI]
:: New on www.polioeradication.org: We join Dr Urs Herzog, polio eradicator, National PolioPlus Advocacy Advisor for Rotary Switzerland and polio survivor himself, as he explains the financial costs of the programme and why it is critical that we eradicate every last trace of the virus.

:: Summary of newly-reported viruses this week:
…Afghanistan:  Three new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) positive environmental samples have been reported, one collected from Kandahar, one from Hilmand, and one from Nangarhar provinces.
… Pakistan: Four new WPV1 positive environmental samples have been reported, three collected from Sindh province, and one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
…Democratic Republic of the Congo: Advance notifications have been received of five cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). These will be confirmed in next week’s data reporting.

::::::
 
Syria cVDPV2 outbreak situation report 29, 9 January 2018
Situation update 9 January 2018
:: No new cases of cVDPV2 were reported this week. The total number of cVDPV2 cases remains 74.
:: The most recent case (by date of onset of paralysis) is 21 September 2017 from Boukamal district, Deir Ez-Zor governorate.
:: Preparations continue at national and governorate levels for the upcoming first round of the second phase of the outbreak response. mOPV2 and IPV will be used in two immunization rounds through house-to-house and fixed centre vaccination.
:: mOPV2 stocks have arrived in Beirut, Lebanon, for onward transportation to Damascus. The shipment process for IPV is underway.
 

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 13 January 2018]
The Syrian Arab Republic
:: Syria cVDPV2 outbreak situation report 29, 9 January 2018
[See Polio above for detail]

Yemen
:: Weekly epidemiology bulletin, 25–31 December 2017
Cumulative figures
-The cumulative total from 27 April 2017 to 31 December 2017 is 1,019,044 suspected cholera cases and 2,237 associated deaths,
(CFR 0.22%), 1094 have been confirmed by culture.
– 59.3 % of death were severe cases at admission
– The total proportion of severe cases among the suspected cases is 16.9%
– The national attack rate is 370 per 10,000. The five governorates with the highest cumulative attack rates per 10,000 remain  Amran (870), Al Mahwit (824), Al Dhale’e (644), Hajjah (498) and Abyan (494).
– Children under 5 years old represent 28.6% of total suspected cases.
– In total, 25,889 rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) have been performed which represents 24.3% coverage.
– 2,651 cultures have been performed which represents 25.4% coverage.
– The last positive culture was on 19 Dec 2017 in Al-Sabeen distric in Amanat Al-Asimah
– 70 districts did not report any suspected case the last three consecutive 3 weeks
Governorate and District level
– At governorate level, the trend from W50-W52 decrease or was stable in all governorates except (Sana’a governorate (+25%),
Hajjah governorate (+16%), Sada’a (+17%) .
Trends
– The weekly number of cases is decreasing for the 16 consecutive weeks.
– The weekly proportion of severe cases has significantly decreased representing now 10% of the admitted cases.
Week 52
– 9,169 suspected cases and 4 associated deaths were reported
– 11 % are severe cases
– 740 RDTs were performed, 136 were positive
– 0 Positive culture

::::::
 
WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 13 January 2018]
Myanmar 
:: Weekly Situation Report # 9
Date of issue: 6 January 2018; Period covered: 31 December – 6 January
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
…As of 6 January 2018, a total of 3 523 cases clinically suspected with diphtheria and 58 laboratory confirmed cases (out of 185 cases tested) have been reported. 104 clinically suspected cases were admitted at diphtheria treatment facilities on 6 January 2018. A total of 30 deaths have been recorded so far. The last reported death was on 2 January.
…Preparations are underway for the second round of Penta/Td vaccination for Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN), which will occur in January.
…A vaccination campaign targeting children in the host community was held on 02 January during free book distribution day across 104 schools in Ukhia. A total of 29 377 children were vaccinated – 6 514 children 6 weeks to under 7 were vaccinated with pentavalent vaccine and 22 823 children 7 to 15 years were vaccinated with Td.
…The upgraded EWARS system was launched on 1 January. Training is ongoing for DGHS representatives, agency focal

::::::
::::::
 
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
:: Syria: UN Humanitarian Chief sees first hand “colossal toll that the brutal and sustained hostilities have taken”  11 January, 2018
:: Health Cluster Weekly Situation Report: Whole of Syria, Week 2, 5-11 January 2018
:: Turkey | Syria: Recent Developments in Northwestern Syria (as of 10 January 2018)

Yemen 
:: Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick,on the vital importance of keeping Yemen’s entry points open, 11 January 2018 [EN/AR]
 
::::::

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.
ROHINGYA CRISIS
:: WASH Sector Cox’s Bazar Situation Report, 13 January 2018

Ethiopia   
:: 11 Jan 2018 – Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 44 | 25 Dec. 2017 – 7 Jan. 2018
 
::::::
::::::
 
Editor’s Note:
We will cluster these recent emergencies as below and continue to monitor the WHO webpages for updates and key developments.

MERS-CoV [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/
DONs
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Malaysia 8 January 2018 [one case]
Zika virus  [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/zika/en/
– No new announcements identified.
[See NIH announcement below]
 
::::::
::::::
 
WHO & Regional Offices [to 13 January 2018]

UN Environment and WHO agree to major collaboration on environmental health risks
News release
10 January 2018 | Nairobi – UN Environment and WHO have agreed a new, wide-ranging collaboration to accelerate action to curb environmental health risks that cause an estimated 12.6 million deaths a year.
Today in Nairobi, Mr Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment, and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, signed an agreement to step up joint actions to combat air pollution, climate change and antimicrobial resistance, as well as improve coordination on waste and chemicals management, water quality, and food and nutrition issues. The collaboration also includes joint management of the BreatheLife advocacy campaign to reduce air pollution for multiple climate, environment and health benefits.
This represents the most significant formal agreement on joint action across the spectrum of environment and health issues in over 15 years…

Highlights
Short period of postoperative bladder catheterization effective for repair of simple urinary fistula
January 2017 – WHO has issued a new recommendation on the length of bladder catheterization following surgical repair of a simple obstetric urinary fistula. Currently the length of catheterization is not standard and ranges from 5 to 42 days.

WHO supports the immunization of 1 million people against cholera in Zambia
January 2018 – The Government of Zambia has launched a campaign on Wednesday (January 10) to vaccinate residents of Lusaka against cholera with support from WHO and partners. Two million doses of the oral cholera vaccine from the Gavi-funded global stockpile were delivered to the southern African country in January, enough to immunize 1 million people.

::::::
 
Weekly Epidemiological Record, 12 January 2018, vol. 93, 02 (pp. 9–16)
:: Detection of influenza viruses by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction: WHO external quality assessment programme summary analysis, 2017

::::::
 
WHO Regional Offices
Selected Press Releases, Announcements
WHO African Region AFRO
:: WHO Director General Dr Tedros visits Kenya  12 January 2018
:: Newly appointed NAFDAC DG seeks to strengthen partnership with WHO Nigeria  12 January 2018
:: The Ministry of Health reiterates its commitment to ending the cholera epidemic through a multi-sectoral response as the oral cholera vaccination commences in Lusaka. 11 January 2018
:: WHO supports the immunization of 1 million people against cholera in Zambia 10 January 2018
:: South Sudan investigates the suspected Viral Haemorrhagic Fever outbreak in Yirol East, Eastern Lakes State  10 January 2018
:: Hexavalent vaccine: less injections and more protection for babies  09 January 2018
:: Listeriosis outbreak in South Africa  09 January 2018
:: Community engagement to find solutions to the ongoing Hepatitis E Virus outbreak in Windhoek informal settlements  08 January 2018
 
WHO European Region EURO
::  WHO/Europe launches online course for clinicians on prescribing and using antibiotics wisely 11-01-2018
:: Turning the tide on obesity and unhealthy diets in the WHO European Region – new publication presents novel insights and effective solutions 10-01-2018

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: One million children in Puntland and 4.2 million nationwide vaccinated against measles
Mogadishu, Somalia, 7 January 2018 –  he Ministry of Health of the Federal Government of Somalia, in partnership with WHO and UNICEF, today concluded a 5-day national measles campaign, targeting 1 million children aged 6 months to 10 years in Puntland, and 4.2 million across the country.
In 2017, amidst a drought emergency, a total of 23 002 suspected measles cases were reported, which is alarmingly high compared to previous years. Among these cases, 83% were children under 10 years of age…

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: More action needed to achieve universal health coverage in Asia and the Pacific by global deadline  13 December 2017
 

CDC/ACIP [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/index.html
Thursday, January 12, 2018
CDC Update on Widespread Flu Activity – Transcript

Announcements

 
Gavi [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.gavi.org/library/news/press-releases/
09 January 2018
Cyrus Ardalan becomes new Chair of IFFIm Board
Ardalan succeeds René Karsenti, who oversaw nearly US$ 2.5 billion in bond issuances, entry into Sukuk markets.
 
 
GHIT Fund   [to 13 January 2018]
https://www.ghitfund.org/
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 ·
2018.01.10    News
Announcement of New Board Member
The GHIT Fund today announced that Mr. Daikichi Momma, Special Researcher at the Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, and Former Director-General of the International Bureau, Ministry of Finance, has been appointed as a new member of the Board of Directors of the GHIT Fund.
 
 
Hilleman Laboratories   [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.hillemanlabs.org/
Date: 09/01/2018
Hilleman Laboratories partners with innovative Future Vaccine Manufacturing
Hilleman Laboratories, an equal joint-venture partnership between MSD and Wellcome Trust, is honored to be one of the key partners of the new Future Vaccine Manufacturing Hub led by Imperial College London. The hub has been established to increase immunisation coverage across the globe and improve the response to disease outbreaks through the rapid and cost-effective deployment of vaccines. £10 million of funding has been granted by the UK Department for Health, and will be managed by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)…
 
 
IFFIm
http://www.iffim.org/library/news/press-releases/
09 January 2018
Cyrus Ardalan becomes new Chair of IFFIm Board
Ardalan succeeds René Karsenti, who oversaw nearly US$ 2.5 billion in bond issuances, entry into Sukuk markets.

IVAC  [to 13 January 2018]
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/ivac/index.html
January 9, 2018
5 Reasons the Global Gap in Rotavirus Vaccine Access is Shrinking
This article was originally posted on the Impatient Optimists Blog on January 9, 2018.
45 million children have access today, millions more expected to gain access to vaccine in 2018
 
 
IVI   [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.ivi.int/
January 8, 2018
Euvichol-Plus®, ‘the world’s first plastic vial oral cholera vaccine,’ ready for global use
:: First shipment of new OCV from EuBiologics in South Korea to Zambia and Somalia from January 5 follows WHO approval in August 2017
:: Innovative packaging makes vaccine more affordable and easier to use
:: Up to 50 million doses in production to supply the global market
:: Developed by global public-private partnership to advance vaccines for global public health
SEOUL, January 8, 2018 — ‘Euvichol-Plus®’, the world’s first oral cholera vaccine (OCV) presented in plastic tube vials, is now available for purchase by international procurement agencies and United Nations (UN) agencies following the first shipment of 2.45 million doses to Zambia and Somalia from January 5. The vaccine, produced by EuBiologics, a South Korean pharmaceutical company, was prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in August 2017.
Euvichol-Plus® is a low-cost oral cholera vaccine presented in innovative plastic packaging, and is an improved version of Euvichol®, an OCV presented in glass vials also produced by EuBiologics and WHO-approved in 2015. The new plastic packaging reduces the vial’s volume by nearly 30 percent and weight by over 50 percent, allowing easier transport and distribution of the vaccine and waste management. Compared with conventional glass vials, the plastic packaging is easier to open and administer.
Notably, Euvichol-Plus, priced at about $1.30 per dose, is 25 percent cheaper than Euvichol, which will enable aid and vaccine delivery organizations to procure more vaccines at the same cost. If Euvichol-Plus had existed just one year ago – and had been shipped in place of Euvichol – more than US $2.3 million would have been saved. These cost savings could have been used to purchase nearly 1.8 million more doses of Euvichol-Plus…
 
 
MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières  [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/press/press-releases
Press release
Syria: Demining Urgently Needed in Raqqa as MSF Treats 33 Blast Victims in One Week
RAQQA, SYRIA/AMSTERDAM/NEW YORK, JANUARY 12, 2018—Teams from Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) treated 33 patients with blast injuries in Raqqa city, Syria, during the first week of 2018, underlining the urgent need for demining in and around the war-torn city.

Press release
MSF: End of Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans Puts Lives at Risk
January 08, 2018
The decision by the Trump Administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 200,000 Salvadorans living in the US threatens to directly endanger their lives, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today
 
 
NIH  [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases
January 12, 2018
The coming of age of gene therapy: A review of the past and path forward
— No longer the future of medicine, gene therapy is part of present-day clinical treatment.
After three decades of hopes tempered by setbacks, gene therapy—the process of treating a disease by modifying a person’s DNA—is no longer the future of medicine, but is part of the present-day clinical treatment toolkit. The Jan. 12 issue of the journal Science provides an in-depth and timely review of the key developments that have led to several successful gene therapy treatments for patients with serious medical conditions.

January 11, 2018
NIH study supports use of short-term HIV treatment interruption in clinical trials
— Findings may aid design of trials to assess strategies to control HIV without drugs.
 
 
PATH  [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.path.org/news/index.php
Press release | January 08, 2018
PATH names Elaine Gibbons vice president for Global Engagement and Communications
Global leader combines more than 15 years of experience with multisector partnerships, marketing and strategy with a demonstrated passion for human rights and international development

Sabin Vaccine Institute  [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.sabin.org/updates/pressreleases
January 8, 2018
Sabin to tackle pandemic flu
WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Sabin Vaccine Institute, a non-profit global health organization dedicated to enabling vaccine innovation, making vaccines more accessible and expanding immunization across the globe, is pleased to announce a new three-year $6.6 million grant to help speed the development of next generation influenza vaccines and support related immunization issues. This work is generously supported by the Page Family Donor Advised Fund.
 

UNAIDS [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.unaids.org/en
12 January 2018
UNAIDS and Australia strengthen ties to end AIDS

12 January 2018
UNAIDS mourns the death of Jimmie Earl Perry
Jimmie Earl Perry, the first UNAIDS National Goodwill Ambassador for South Africa, has died.

10 January 2018
UN urges comprehensive approach to sexuality education
Close to 10 years after its first edition, a fully updated International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education published today by UNESCO advocates quality comprehensive sexuality education to promote health and well-being, respect for human rights and gender equality, and empowers children and young people to lead healthy, safe and productive lives…

UNICEF  [to 13 January 2018]
https://www.unicef.org/media/
9 January 2018
Geneva Palais Briefing Note: The situation of children in Rakhine State, Myanmar
GENEVA, 9 January 2018 – This is a summary of what was said by Marixie Mercado, UNICEF spokesperson in Geneva – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Wellcome Trust  [to 13 January 2018]
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news
News / Published: 10 January 2018
Investing in medical research yields healthy returns
Every £1 invested in medical research delivers a return equivalent to 25p every year, a new study shows.
Through taxes and donations, the government, charities and the public invest significant sums of money into medical research. The peer-reviewed ‘What’s it worth?’ study shows that this investment delivers outstanding benefits for the economy, as well as for people’s health.

::::::
 
BIO    [to 13 January 2018]
https://www.bio.org/insights/press-release
Jan 9 2018
BIO Applauds Support for Innovation in Trump Administration Task Force Report
 “Biotechnology Sector is a Driver of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’”
Washington, D.C. (January 9, 2018) – The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is applauding a new report from the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, which encourages growth and continued innovation in America’s biotechnology sector…
:: Report pdf: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/rural-prosperity-report.pdf

 
PhRMA    [to 13 January 2018]
http://www.phrma.org/press-room
January 12, 2018
ICYMI: Why 2017 medicine approvals matter
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) released its 2017 New Drug Therapy Approvals report. Last year marked an extraordinary milestone for the biopharmaceutical industry and the FDA with major medicine approvals. According to the report, the FDA approved 46 new molecular entities for a range of disease states — the highest number of new medications in 21 years.
Of the 46 new medicines, 15 are first in class treatments, including the first treatment approved for the primary progressive form of multiple sclerosis and a medicine that provides an entirely new way of treating severe eczema. The agency also approved 10 biological therapeutics through the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Other notable approved medicines include a treatment for Parkinson’s, the first in more than 10 years, along with the first drug for the treatment of patients with ALS in 22 years. Cancer treatment also made great strides in 2017, with the approval of 16 oncology medications. And significantly, a new era of cell and regenerative medicine brought the approval of the first gene therapies…

Industry Watch   [to 13 January 2018]
:: GSK receives FDA approval for expanded indication for FLUARIX® QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Vaccine) for persons 6 months and older
Jan 12, 2018, – QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Vaccine) to include use in persons 6 months and older. Prior to this, the vaccine was only approved for active immunization against influenza A subtype viruses and type B viruses, in persons 3 years of age and older.

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

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 98, Issue 1, 2018
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/14761645/98/1

Articles
Reflections on a Community Engagement Strategy for Mass Antimalarial Drug Administration in Cambodia
Authors: Thomas J. Peto, Rupam Tripura, Chan Davoeung, Chea Nguon, Sanann Nou, Chhouen Heng, Pich Kunthea, Bipin Adhikari, Renly Lim, Nicola James, Christopher Pell and Phaik Yeong Cheah
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.17-0428

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 13 January 2018)

Research article
The impact of regular school closure on seasonal influenza epidemics: a data-driven spatial transmission model for Belgium
School closure is often considered as an option to mitigate influenza epidemics because of its potential to reduce transmission in children and then in the community. The policy is still however highly debated…
Authors: Giancarlo De Luca, Kim Van Kerckhove, Pietro Coletti, Chiara Poletto, Nathalie Bossuyt, Niel Hens and Vittoria Colizza
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2018 18:29
Published on: 10 January 2018

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 13 January 2018)

Research article
Factors contributing to measles transmission during an outbreak in Kamwenge District, Western Uganda, April to August 2015
In April 2015, Kamwenge District, western Uganda reported a measles outbreak. We investigated the outbreak to identify potential exposures that facilitated measles transmission, assess vaccine effectiveness (V…
Authors: Fred Nsubuga, Lilian Bulage, Immaculate Ampeire, Joseph K. B. Matovu, Simon Kasasa, Patricia Tanifum, Alex Ario Riolexus and Bao-Ping Zhu
Citation: BMC Infectious Diseases 2018 18:21
Published on: 8 January 2018

BMC Medicine
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/content
(Accessed 13 January 2018)

Research article
Influence of demographic changes on the impact of vaccination against varicella and herpes zoster in Germany – a mathematical modelling study
Epidemiological studies suggest that reduced exposure to varicella might lead to an increased risk for herpes zoster (HZ). Reduction of exposure to varicella is a consequence of varicella vaccination but also …
Authors: Johannes Horn, Oliver Damm, Wolfgang Greiner, Hartmut Hengel, Mirjam E. Kretzschmar, Anette Siedler, Bernhard Ultsch, Felix Weidemann, Ole Wichmann, André Karch and Rafael T. Mikolajczyk
Citation: BMC Medicine 2018 16:3
Published on: 9 January 2018

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 13 January 2018]

Research
Applied global health diplomacy: profile of health diplomats accredited to the UNITED STATES and foreign governments
Global health diplomacy (GHD) is a burgeoning field bridging the priorities of global health and foreign affairs. Given the increasing need to mobilize disparate global health stakeholders coupled with the nee…
Authors: Matthew D. Brown, Julie N. Bergmann, Thomas E. Novotny and Tim K. Mackey
Citation: Globalization and Health 2018 14:2
Published on: 11 January 2018

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 13 January 2018]

Commentary
Good collaborative practice: reforming capacity building governance of international health research partnerships
In line with the policy objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, this commentary seeks to examine the extent to which provisions of international health research guidance promote capacit…
Authors: Claire Leonie Ward, David Shaw, Dominique Sprumont, Osman Sankoh, Marcel Tanner and Bernice Elger
Citation: Globalization and Health 2018 14:1
Published on: 8 January 2018

Health Affairs
January 2018; Vol. 37, No. 1
https://www.healthaffairs.org/toc/hlthaff/current
Culture Of Health, Medicare & More

Research Article  Global Health
Child Mortality In The US And 19 OECD Comparator Nations: A 50-Year Time-Trend Analysis
Ashish P. Thakrar, Alexandra D. Forrest, Mitchell G. Maltenfort, and Christopher B. Forrest
Abstract
The United States has poorer child health outcomes than other wealthy nations despite greater per capita spending on health care for children. To better understand this phenomenon, we examined mortality trends for the US and nineteen comparator nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for children ages 0–19 from 1961 to 2010 using publicly available data. While child mortality progressively declined across all countries, mortality in the US has been higher than in peer nations since the 1980s. From 2001 to 2010 the risk of death in the US was 76 percent greater for infants and 57 percent greater for children ages 1–19. During this decade, children ages 15–19 were eighty-two times more likely to die from gun homicide in the US. Over the fifty-year study period, the lagging US performance amounted to over 600,000 excess deaths. Policy interventions should focus on infants and on children ages 15–19, the two age groups with the greatest disparities, by addressing perinatal causes of death, automobile accidents, and assaults by firearm.

Humanitarian Exchange Magazine
http://odihpn.org/magazine/the-humanitarian-consequences-of-violence-in-central-america/
Number 70   October 2017
Special Feature: The Lake Chad Basin: an overlooked crisis?
by Humanitarian Practice Network October 2017
The 70th edition of Humanitarian Exchange, co-edited with Joe Read, focuses on the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin. The violence perpetrated by Boko Haram and the counter-insurgency campaign in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger has created a humanitarian crisis affecting some 17 million people. Some 2.4 million have been displaced, the vast majority of them in north-eastern Nigeria. Many are living in desperate conditions, without access to sufficient food or clean water. The Nigerian government’s focus on defeating Boko Haram militarily, its reluctance to acknowledge the scale and gravity of the humanitarian crisis and the corresponding reticence of humanitarian leaders to challenge that position have combined to undermine the timeliness and effectiveness of the response…
[Reviewed earlier]

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 14, Issue 1 2018
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Profile
European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)
Ole F. Olesen
Pages: 14-16
Published online: 17 Nov 2017

Article
Cost-effectiveness of the Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine for infants in mainland China
Guijun Ning, Zundong Yin, Yixing Li, Huaqing Wang & Weizhong Yang
Pages: 36-44
Published online: 27 Nov 2017

Article
Cost-effectiveness analysis of infant pneumococcal vaccination with PHiD-CV in Korea
Xu-Hao Zhang, Oscar Leeuwenkamp, Kyu-Bin Oh, Young Eun Lee & Chul-Min Kim
Pages: 85-94
Published online: 08 Nov 2017

Article
Beliefs, attitudes, and activities of healthcare personnel about influenza and pneumococcal vaccines
Fatma Çiftci MD, Elif Şen MD, Nalan Demir MD, Orçun Çiftci MD, Serhat Erol MD & Oya Kayacan MD
Pages: 111-117
Published online: 29 Nov 2017

Review
Factors involved in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine hesitancy among women in the South-East Asian Region (SEAR) and Western Pacific Region (WPR): A scoping review
Diviya Santhanes, Che Pui Wong, Yan Ye Yap, Saw Pui San, Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk & Tahir Mehmood Khan
Pages: 124-133
Published online: 17 Nov 2017

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 14, Issue 1 2018
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article
HPV vaccine acceptability in high-risk Greek men
Lea Hoefer BA, BS, Savas Tsikis BS, George Bethimoutis MD, Electra Nicolaidou MD, Vassilios Paparizos MD, Christina Antoniou MD, Antonios Kanelleas MD, Leonidas Chardalias, Georgios-Emmanouil Stavropoulos, John Schneider MD, MPH & Angella Charnot-Katsikas MD
Pages: 134-139
Published online: 24 Oct 2017

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 14, Issue 1 2018
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Article
Addressing barriers to vaccine acceptance: an overview
Noni E. MacDonald, Robb Butler & Eve Dubé
Pages: 218-224
Published online: 29 Nov 2017
ABSTRACT
Addressing the drivers of vaccine hesitancy and the barriers to vaccine acceptance is a complex but important task. While the percentage of hesitant does vary from country to country and in time few, if any, countries are ever free from this problem. Overcoming hesitancy requires detection, diagnosis and tailored intervention as there is no simple strategy that can address all of the barriers to vaccine acceptance. Immunization program managers and health care workers need to become adept at recognizing and tackling hesitancy in all of its incarnations if high levels of vaccine acceptance are to be achieved but must also actively support immunization acceptors in order to build and support vaccine acceptance resiliency. This paper presents evidence-informed strategies to achieve these goals

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
Volume 14, Issue 1 2018
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/khvi20/current

Commentary
Improving vaccine coverage in adolescence and beyond
Michelle Falconer
Pages: 225-228
Published online: 01 Dec 2017

Infectious Diseases of Poverty
http://www.idpjournal.com/content
[Accessed 13 January 2018]

Research Article
Catastrophic total costs in tuberculosis-affected households and their determinants since Indonesia’s implementation of universal health coverage
As well as imposing an economic burden on affected households, the high costs related to tuberculosis (TB) can create access and adherence barriers. This highlights the particular urgency of achieving one of the End TB Strategy’s targets: that no TB-affected households have to face catastrophic costs by 2020. In Indonesia, as elsewhere, there is also an emerging need to provide social protection by implementing universal health coverage (UHC). We therefore assessed the incidence of catastrophic total costs due to TB, and their determinants since the implementation of UHC.
Authors: Ahmad Fuady, Tanja A. J. Houweling, Muchtaruddin Mansyur and Jan Hendrik Richardus
Citation: Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2018 7:3
Published on: 12 January 2018

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
Vol 5, No 1 (2018)  January 2018
http://www.ijcmph.com/index.php/ijcmph/issue/view/34

Original Research Articles
The feasibility of using remote data collection tools in field surveys
The objectives of the study were to conduct a field survey to measure the prevalence of chronic diseases by taking history, to assess the feasibility of using remote data collection tools in field surveys and to create the map of the survey area using global positioning system (GPS).
Sherin Susan Paul N., Philip Mathew, Felix Johns, Jacob Abraham
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20175514

Original Research Articles
Measles occurrence, vaccination coverages and malnutrition in India: correlations, trends, and projections by time series analysis
Siddalingaiah H. S., Aditi Chaudhuri, Chandrakala D.
DOI: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20175532

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
January 2018 Volume 66, p1-156
http://www.ijidonline.com/issue/S1201-9712(17)X0013-1

Editorials
From mass gatherings medicine to mass gatherings health: Conclusions from the 3rd International Conference on Mass Gatherings Medicine, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Yezli, WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings Medicine, A. Assiri, H. Nabulsi, A. Awam, WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings Medicine, L. Blumberg, T. Endericks, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mass Gatherings and Global Health Security, A. Stergachis, WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings Public Health, S. Reicher, B. McCloskey, WHO Collaborating Centre for Mass Gatherings and Global Health Security, E. Petersen, B. Alotaibi, WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings Medicine
p128–130
Published in issue: January 2018
Conclusions
At the conclusion of 40 presentations, discussion sessions and deliberations among expects, the conference:
:: Recognised the key contribution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the international knowledge regarding MGs planning and management including the leadership of the Global Centre for Mass Gatherings Medicine (GCMGM), MOH.
:: Highlighted the importance of mass gatherings health as set out in the 2010 Jeddah declaration including the significance of the multidisciplinary approach that has been applied. This, in recognition that ensuring the health and wellbeing of people attending MGs as well as the communities hosting them, requires a move from the limiting concept of “Mass Gatherings Medicine” to the more encompassing field of “Mass Gatherings Health”.
:: Called for the incorporation of newer areas to the discipline of “Mass Gatherings Health” such as the socio-psychological dimension of MGs.
:: Demonstrated the critical importance of knowledge and experience sharing in promoting MGs planning and called for wider commitment to expanding collaboration
:: Recognized the vital contribution of mass gatherings health to health system strengthening, public health and global health security.
:: Identified a clear need for expanding the evidence base for mass gatherings health which requires committed research in priority areas of the discipline supported by effective knowledge dissemination.
:: Highlighted the importance of integration of mass gatherings health and management into professional education and training to build human capacity and expertise in the field.
:: In relation to Hajj, emphasised the need to address the impact of climate change on the event and consider innovative approaches including engineering solutions, called for standardized definitions and approaches to heat-related illnesses and for more research related to the burden of non-communicable diseases and interventions to mitigate their negative effect. 

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
January 2018 Volume 66, p1-156
http://www.ijidonline.com/issue/S1201-9712(17)X0013-1

Perspective
Emergent lineages of mumps virus suggest the need for a polyvalent vaccine
Meghan May, Courtney A. Rieder, Rebecca J. Rowe
p1–4
Published online: October 5, 201

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
January 2018 Volume 66, p1-156
http://www.ijidonline.com/issue/S1201-9712(17)X0013-1

Original Reports
Effectiveness of varicella vaccine as post-exposure prophylaxis during a varicella outbreak in Shanghai, China
Qiang-Song Wu, Jing-Yi Liu, Xian Wang, Yuan-Fang Chen, Qi Zhou, An-Qi Wu, Lan Wang
p51–55
Published online: October 28, 2017

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
January 2018 Volume 66, p1-156
http://www.ijidonline.com/issue/S1201-9712(17)X0013-1

Original Reports
Use of oral cholera vaccine as a vaccine probe to define the geographical dimensions of person-to-person transmission of cholera
Mohammad Ali, Deok Ryun Kim, Suman Kanungo, Dipika Sur, Byomkesh Manna, Laura Digilio, Shanta Dutta, Florian Marks, Sujit K. Bhattacharya, John Clemens
p90–95
Published online: November 21, 2017
Abstract
Background
Cholera is known to be transmitted from person to person, and inactivated oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) have been shown to confer herd protection via interruption of this transmission. However, the geographic dimensions of chains of person-to-person transmission of cholera are uncertain. The ability of OCVs to confer herd protection was used to define these dimensions in two cholera-endemic settings, one in rural Bangladesh and the other in urban India.
Methods
Two large randomized, placebo-controlled trials of inactivated OCVs, one in rural Matlab, Bangladesh and the other in urban Kolkata, India, were reanalyzed. Vaccine herd protection was evaluated by relating the risk of cholera in placebo recipients to vaccine coverage of surrounding residents residing within concentric rings. In Matlab, concentric rings in 100-m increments up to 700 m were evaluated; in Kolkata, 50-m increments up to 350 m were evaluated.
Results
One hundred and eight cholera cases among 24 667 placebo recipients were detected during 1 year of post-vaccination follow-up at Matlab; 128 cholera cases among 34 968 placebo recipients were detected during 3 years of follow-up in Kolkata. Consistent inverse relationships were observed between vaccine coverage of the ring and the risk of cholera in the central placebo recipient for rings with radii up to 500 m in Matlab and up to 150 m in Kolkata.
Conclusions
These results suggest that the dimensions of chains of person-to-person transmission in endemic settings can be quite large and may differ substantially from setting to setting. Using OCVs as ‘probes’ to define these dimensions can inform geographical targeting strategies for the deployment of these vaccines in endemic settings.

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
January 2018 Volume 66, p1-156
http://www.ijidonline.com/issue/S1201-9712(17)X0013-1

Short Communications
Infectious disease risks among refugees from North Korea
Hiroshi Nishiura, Hyojung Lee, Baoyin Yuan, Akira Endo, Andrei R. Akhmetzhanov, Gerardo Chowell
p22–25
Published online: November 7, 2017

The Lancet
Jan 13, 2018 Volume 391 Number 10116 p95-178
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
A new vaccine for typhoid control
The Lancet
Last week, WHO announced prequalification of the first conjugate vaccine to prevent typhoid (Typbar TCV, manufactured by Bharat Biotech, India) after the publication of randomised controlled trials, including that by Celina Jin and colleagues in The Lancet on Sept 28, 2017. WHO has decided that Typbar TCV was successfully assessed for quality, safety, and efficacy, and it is now approved for distribution by UN agencies. Already in use in India and Nepal in babies older than 6 months, the vaccine is to be licensed for use in infants younger than 2 years. Currently, licensed typhoid vaccines are either not immunogenic in early childhood (parenteral Vi capsular polysaccharide vaccine) or are unsuitable for administration in young children because of formulation in capsules (oral live attenuated typhoid vaccine, Ty21a).

There are an estimated 12·5–20·6 million cases of typhoid worldwide each year, with a mortality rate of one per 100 cases. Typhoid is caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S Typhi bacteria), which is spread by poor sanitation conditions, contaminated food, and poor quality water. Effective treatment with antibiotics is increasingly impeded by resistance to antibiotics. Children are the most susceptible group, but, without a vaccine, widespread immunisation programmes for young infants have not been possible.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has confirmed allocation of US$85 million of funding to roll out the vaccine in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond between 2019 and 2020. Priced by Bharat Biotech at US$1-1·50 per dose, Typbar TCV will potentially protect millions of children and greatly reduce mortality from typhoid. Other UN agencies including UNICEF are now able to procure the vaccine, in line with the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts’ recommendation to roll out to all infants over 6 months of age in at-risk endemic countries. Once a successful programme of prevention is in place, phase 3 and 4 trials will lead to a better understanding of long term efficacy and side-effects, and to further refine future strategies of immunisation.

Nature Medicine
January 2018, Volume 24 No 1 pp1-112
http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v24/n1/index.html

Review
The role of vaccines in preventing bacterial antimicrobial resistance
Kathrin U Jansen, Charles Knirsch & Annaliesa S Anderson
doi:10.1038/nm.4465
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the associated morbidity and mortality due to bacterial pathogens have been increasing globally to alarming levels. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for global action on AMR, supported worldwide by governments, health ministries and health agencies. Many potential solutions to stem AMR are being discussed and implemented. These include increases in antimicrobial stewardship, investment in research and development to design new classes of antibiotics, and reduction of antibiotic use in rearing of livestock. However, vaccines as tools to reduce AMR have historically been under-recognized in these discussions, even though their effectiveness in reducing disease and AMR is well documented. This review article seeks to highlight the value of vaccines as an additional modality to combat AMR globally, using select examples. It also will provide perspectives on how vaccines could be more effectively used in this effort.

New England Journal of Medicine
January 11, 2018  Vol. 378 No. 2
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Perspective
Plague in Madagascar — A Tragic Opportunity for Improving Public Health
P.S. Mead
[Free full text]

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 13 January 2018]

Research Article
Field effectiveness of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 vaccination in commercial layers in Indonesia
Simson Tarigan, Michael Haryadi Wibowo, Risa Indriani, Sumarningsih Sumarningsih, Sidna Artanto, Syafrison Idris, Peter A. Durr, Widya Asmara, Esmaeil Ebrahimie, Mark A. Stevenson, Jagoda Ignjatovic
Research Article | published 10 Jan 2018 PLOS ONE
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190947

Public Health Reports
Volume 133, Issue 1, January/February 2018
http://phr.sagepub.com/content/current

Case Study/Practice
Demonstration of the Use of Remote Temperature Monitoring Devices in Vaccine Refrigerators in Haiti
Kathleen F. Cavallaro, MS, MPH, Jeannot Francois, MD, MPH, Roody Jacques, Derline Mentor, Idrissa Yalcouye, MS, Karen Wilkins, MPH, Nathan Mueller, Rebecca Turner, MA, Aaron Wallace, MPH, MBA, Rania A. Tohme, MD, MPH
First Published December 20, 2017; pp. 39–44
Abstract
After the 2010 earthquake, Haiti committed to introducing 4 new antigens into its routine immunization schedule, which required improving its cold chain (ie, temperature-controlled supply chain) and increasing vaccine storage capacity by installing new refrigerators. We tested the feasibility of using remote temperature monitoring devices (RTMDs) in Haiti in a sample of vaccine refrigerators fueled by solar panels, propane gas, or electricity. We analyzed data from 16 RTMDs monitoring 24 refrigerators in 15 sites from March through August 2014. Although 5 of the 16 RTMDs exhibited intermittent data gaps, we identified typical temperature patterns consistent with refrigerator door opening and closing, propane depletion, thermostat insufficiency, and overstocking. Actual start-up, annual maintenance, and annual electricity costs for using RTMDs were $686, $179, and $9 per refrigerator, respectively. In Haiti, RTMD use was feasible. RTMDs could be prioritized for use with existing refrigerators with high volumes of vaccines and new refrigerators to certify their functionality before use. Vaccine vial monitors could provide additional useful information about cumulative heat exposure and possible vaccine denaturation.

Public Health Reports
Volume 133, Issue 1, January/February 2018
http://phr.sagepub.com/content/current

Research
Authority of Pharmacists to Administer Human Papillomavirus Vaccine: Alignment of State Laws With Age-Level Recommendations                      
One strategy to increase the uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among adolescents is through the use of pharmacists. Our objectives were to (1) use a publicly available database to describe the statutory and regulatory authority of pharmacists to administer the HPV vaccine in the United States and (2) discuss how the current status of laws may influence achievement of the Healthy People 2020 goal of 80% HPV vaccination rate for teenagers aged 13-15.
Deirdre A. Dingman, DrPH, Cason D. Schmit, JD
First Published December 19, 2017; pp. 55–63

Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health (RPSP/PAJPH)
http://www.paho.org/journal/index.php?option=com_content&view=featured&Itemid=101

Opinion and analysis
Zika virus infection and congenital anomalies in the Americas: opportunities for regional action [La infección por el virus del Zika y las anomalías congénitas en la Región de las Américas: oportunidades para la acción regional]
Mariela Larrandaburu, Fernanda Sales Luiz Vianna, André Anjos da Silva, Luis Nacul, Maria Teresa Vieira Sanseverino, and Lavínia Schuler-Faccini
|PDF (English) | Published 12 January 2018 |

Risk Analysis          
January 2018  Volume 38, Issue 1  Pages 1–211
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/risa.2018.38.issue-1/issuetoc

Original Research Articles
Public Understanding of Ebola Risks: Mastering an Unfamiliar Threat (pages 71–83)
Baruch Fischhoff, Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Dana Rose Garfin, E. Alison Holman and Roxane Cohen Silver
Version of Record online: 8 JUN 2017 | DOI: 10.1111/risa.12794
Abstract
Ebola was the most widely followed news story in the United States in October 2014. Here, we ask what members of the U.S. public learned about the disease, given the often chaotic media environment. Early in 2015, we surveyed a representative sample of 3,447 U.S. residents about their Ebola-related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. Where possible, we elicited judgments in terms sufficiently precise to allow comparing them to scientific estimates (e.g., the death toll to date and the probability of dying once ill). Respondents’ judgments were generally consistent with one another, with scientific knowledge, and with their self-reported behavioral responses and policy preferences. Thus, by the time the threat appeared to have subsided in the United States, members of the public, as a whole, had seemingly mastered its basic contours. Moreover, they could express their beliefs in quantitative terms. Judgments of personal risk were weakly and inconsistently related to reported gender, age, education, income, or political ideology. Better educated and wealthier respondents saw population risks as lower; females saw them as higher. More politically conservative respondents saw Ebola as more transmissible and expressed less support for public health policies. In general, respondents supported providing “honest, accurate information, even if that information worried people.” These results suggest the value of proactive communications designed to inform the lay public’s decisions, thoughts, and emotions, and informed by concurrent surveys of their responses and needs.