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WEEKLY UPDATE /
28 APR 2023
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Hello!
Thanks to an outbreak of avian influenza in some regions, chickens and other captive birds in the UK have been on house (coop?) arrest for the past few months – or “flockdown,” as many have called it (a term I’ve deemed my April Word of the Month).
But the threat doesn’t stop there. Experts have warned that a “dog flu” virus is becoming increasingly geared up to make the jump into humans. The H3N8 and H3N2 strains of canine influenza virus are both believed to have originated from avian influenza viruses. Scientists have traced H3N8 back to an equine influenza virus that jumped from horses to dogs, and was first reported in the US in greyhounds in 2004.
H3N2 – the focus of a recent study – is believed to have originated from an avian influenza virus that was transmitted to dogs in Asia around 2006. Could man’s best friend be the stepping stone between bird and humans? Bird flu is not currently transmissible between humans; however, if the virus can establish itself in mammals and become more like a mammalian virus, there are concerns that it could then transmit between mammals, including humans.
A recent study by Chen et al. found that the H3N2 strain of dog flu has adapted to better recognize the human-like SAα2,6-Gal receptor and better replicate in human airway epithelial cells. They also found that humans lacked immunity to H3N2 canine influenza viruses, and even human seasonal flu doesn’t provide protection against infection.
There is no evidence of dog flu infecting humans at this time, but, as with any potential threat, enhanced surveillance and awareness are the name of the game.
Until next week,
Liv Gaskill, Editor
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Essential Reading
From Mosquitoes to Medicine
Malaria remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world, with an estimated 247 million cases and 619,000 deaths worldwide in 2021 alone. Significant progress in malaria control measures has been made over the past few decades, but only one malaria vaccine (RTS,S) is approved and currently used in endemic areas. Given malaria’s devastating impact on global health, why do we still lack a more effective vaccine? To mark World Malaria Day earlier this week, Eric Yager explored the multifaceted challenge of malaria vaccine development.
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On the Cusp of a Candida Catastrophe
Deemed as a critical priority pathogen by the World Health Organization, Candida auris is a particularly interesting fungi that’s been receiving a lot of attention recently. Over the past five years, it has spread rapidly worldwide; reports of C. auris causing outbreaks in hospitals are coming from almost every country. We are on the cusp of declaring an outbreak of an agent that transmits very efficiently in hospitals and long-term care settings, but are we equipped for handling it? Perhaps not, suggests Luis Ostrowsky.
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Worth Your Time
Researchers identify glycomotifs of surface polysaccharides that are likely important for Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization and survival in human airway.
Link
FDA amends emergency use authorization of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines; changes simplify vaccination schedule for most individuals. Link
Research shows SARS-CoV-2 can invade macrophages and trigger inflammatory antiviral responses in those that express ACE2. Link
Researchers develop highly efficient method for rapidly testing antibiotic susceptibility using optical microscopy. Link
Study reveals resilience and vulnerabilities in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and demonstrates how future vaccines and therapeutics may target these weaknesses. Link
Proximity-induced nucleic acid degraders bind and degrade viral RNA in SARS-CoV-2 infection models. Link
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The Interview
In the second part of our interview with Dimie Ogoina (you can read part one here), we discussed his career in infectious disease, his feature in Nature’s 10, and the inequities faced by Nigeria’s healthcare system…
You were featured in Nature’s 10 in 2022. How did you feel when you found out – and how has it been for you since it was announced?
I felt very honored and privileged; it was a pleasant surprise and very unexpected. My listing in Nature’s 10 was a new height in both my professional career and personal life; however, the recognition was not just for me, but also for my institution, state, and country. The successful response to the 2017 mpox outbreak in Nigeria was a collective effort of many individuals and institutions, including the Federal and State governments and their various ministries of health. I was happy that our observations and sacrifices during the outbreak were recognized – and although I may have been the torchbearer, there were many behind me who equally deserved praise and commendation.
We hear a great deal about health inequities in low- and middle-income countries. How do you think that affects infectious disease care in Nigeria?
It has been almost a year since the 2022 mpox outbreak first began, yet Nigeria and many other countries in Africa known to be endemic for mpox have still not received access to mpox therapeutics and vaccines. However, it is important to emphasize that African countries should not always wait for handouts from the developed world. We must invest in our health systems, show commitment, and take ownership of the response to public health threats in our continent. Nobody cares about us more than us.
Read the full interview here.
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