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According to estimates, infant vaccine uptake fell 26% this year
According to a report from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), nine million childhood vaccines are expected to be lost in the United States by the end of this year – a 26% decrease from 2019. This decline would cause a gap between the vaccination rate and that required for herd immunity of 4.8 percentage points for measles and 12.7 percentage points for whooping cough (pertussis). Polio would still maintain a buffer of 2.9 percentage points.
According to BCBS medical claims, childhood vaccination rates for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DtaP) fell by 26% from January to September year-over-year, with an expected rate of late 2020 of 88.2% and 79.3%, respectively. This compares to herd immunity requirements of 93.0% and 92.0%, respectively, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Polio vaccination rates have dropped 16% since 2019 and have an 88.9% coverage forecast for 2020, but the BCBSA does not specify why the decline was smaller for this vaccine.
In a BCBSA survey of 2,000 parents, 40% cited COVID-19 outages as why they didn’t complete their child’s vaccinations. Most of the postponements occurred during the onset of the pandemic, from March to May, and then again in August, when vaccinations will normally be part of the back-to-school routine.
“The United States is on the verge of a major immunization crisis among children,” said Vincent Nelson, MD, BCBSA medical director, in a news release. “The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted adherence to vaccination programs and the possibility that preventable diseases, such as polio, may again become a public health threat is particularly concerning.”
November 18 BCBSA press release
November 18 BCBSA Infographic
CARB-X to finance the development of monoclonal antibodies for biofilm infections
CARB-X announced today that it is awarding up to $ 2.42 million to Clarametyx Biosciences of Columbus, Ohio to develop a monoclonal antibody treatment for severe infections caused by bacterial biofilms.
The money from CARB-X (the biopharmaceutical accelerator of antibiotic resistant bacteria) will help fund the preclinical development of CMTX-101, a monoclonal antibody designed to rapidly collapse bacterial biofilms by targeting a region of DNABII-binding proteins that help to stabilize and maintain the integrity of the biofilm.
Biofilms are communities of microbes that can grow on medical devices and human tissues and form a protective layer around bacteria. They are highly resistant to antibiotics and the immune system and are therefore difficult to treat.
“Bacterial biofilms are a serious global health concern due to their ability to resist both antibiotics and the host’s immune system,” Erin Duffy, PhD, director of research and development at CARB, said in a news release. X. “We urgently need new therapies to tackle life-threatening bacterial infections. Clarametyx is developing an exciting new approach that could be effective against a wide range of serious drug-resistant pathogens as well as numerous types of infections.”
Clarametyx will be entitled to an additional $ 11.85 million if it meets the project milestones.
Since launching in 2016, CARB-X has awarded over $ 259 million to 73 projects focused on antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
November 18 CARB-X press release
Avian influenza H5N8 causes more outbreaks in European poultry and wild birds
According to the latest notifications from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), three European countries – Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands – have reported outbreaks of the most highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza in wild birds and poultry.
Denmark reported an event at a poultry farm in Randers, located in the central part of the country. It started on November 15 and killed 1,500 of the 25,000 sensitive birds, and the rest were slated for culling.
Germany reported 19 wild bird detections, all in the state of Lower Saxony, which had previously reported one. The events started from November 2 to November 13 and 16 of the 19 infected waterfowl and seabirds died.
The Netherlands reported new H5N8 outbreaks in both poultry and wild birds. The poultry outbreak began on November 12 on a farm in the province of Gelderland in the central-eastern part of the country. The virus killed 3,840 out of 22,040 birds and the rest were destroyed to curb the spread of the virus. Additionally, the country has reported two other wild bird events, both in the South-West province of South Holland. Between the two events, five mute swans were found dead.
18 November OIE report on H5N8 in Denmark
17 November OIE report on H5N8 in Germany
17 November OIE report on H5N8 in Dutch poultry
17 November OIE report on H5N8 in Dutch wild birds
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