Global health news briefs
January/February 2025 | Volume 24 Number 1
Does undernutrition contribute to measles outbreaks?
Researchers tracked the weight and length/height of more than 600 fully vaccinated children in South Africa as an indicator of undernutrition and measured their antibody levels through blood tests. Children who were stunted around age three had, on average, 24% lower measles antibody levels by age five compared to their non-stunted peers. The findings, published in
Vaccine, imply that undernutrition may affect the duration of vaccine protection. The University of California at Berkeley-led researchers suggest that combatting child hunger could help prevent spread of measles, a highly contagious infection that can lead to severe complications.
Newly designed proteins could combat venom
Artificial proteins not found in nature effectively neutralized toxins in vitro and also protected mice from lethal neurotoxins, according to a study published in
Nature. The researchers, led by Susana Vázquez Torres of University of Washington, designed the proteins using computational biology, which uses computer science, statistics, mathematics, algorithms, theoretical models, and simulations. The proteins counteract certain components of snake venom found in elapid snakes (which include cobras and mambas) that live in the tropics and subtropics. Each year more than 400,000 people die or develop severe complications and lasting disability from snakebite.
TB strains already resistant to a recently adopted treatment regimen
WHO recently endorsed a new six-month regimen, BPaL/M, for treating tuberculosis (TB), a disease that leads to an estimated 1.25 million annual deaths. A study led by Swiss TPH in collaboration with the National Centre for Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases in Tbilisi, Georgia, found that resistance to the new TB drugs has already developed in at least 27 countries across four continents; and a quarter of these cases involved patient-to-patient transmission, according to a study published in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
Using nanobody technology against deadly viruses
Nanobodies are tiny antibodies derived from animals; their small size allows them to access areas of the virus particles and human tissues that larger antibodies cannot. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery Center have developed the first nanobody-based inhibitors of the Ebola virus, which causes death in half of patients with known infections. The study, published in
PLOS Pathogens, suggests that nanobodies represent a major step toward developing treatments for other viruses in the same family, such as the Marburg virus.
New pill shows promise against intestinal worms
A new pill that combines albendazole and ivermectin is safe and more effective than albendazole alone in treating Trichuris trichiura and other soil-transmitted helminths, a type of neglected tropical infection that affects 1.5 billion people worldwide. The findings, published in
The Lancet Infectious Diseases, were derived from a clinical trial conducted by a consortium led by the Barcelona Institute of Global Health. The research team say the new pill is easy to administer, in part because it does not require dose adjustment based on the subject’s weight.
Scientists identify the causes of two diseases killing cassava plants
An estimated 800 million people rely on cassava, an edible tuberous plant, for food and income. In recent decades, harvests have been decimated by rapidly spreading diseases. A series of studies published in
Scientific Reports described the pathogens and the first diagnostic tests for two of these diseases, Cassava Frogskin Disease and Cassava Witches’ Broom Disease. Based on this research, crop specialists and national institutions have already begun to deploy tests to certify cassava seeds as disease-free, monitor disease spread and pathogen evolution, identify resistant cassava varieties, and guide targeted chemical control measures.
Updated February 12, 2025
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