Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2015/11/news-scan-nov-25-2015
News Scan for Nov 25, 2015
South Korea MERS death; Chikungunya vaccine trial
Filed Under:
MERS-CoV; Chikungunya
[h=3]South Korean man dies from MERS after 6-monthbattle[/h] A South Korean man who recently suffered a MERS-CoV relapse died from his illness today, according to a report from the Korea Herald, which cited the country's health ministry. The 35-year-old man had also been battling lymphoma.
He initially contracted MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) in May while he was being treated at Samsung Medical Center's emergency department in Seoul. His illness was confirmed on Jun 7, and he was treated at an isolation unit until Oct 3, when two rounds of tests showed that he was clear of the virus.
He was hospitalized again on Oct 11, however, and again tested positive for the virus.
South Korea's health ministry said the man's illness was the longest ever recorded for MERS-CoV. His death raises the country's fatality total for the outbreak, which largely ended in July, to 38. Overall, 136 cases were linked to the hospital-related outbreak.
Nov 25 Korea Herald story
In other MERS developments, a research team led by Saudi Arabia recently published a protocol for studying the impact of convalescent therapy for patients. The report was published online Nov 19 in SpringerPlus. The study will enroll 20 consecutive critically ill patients, who will receive 2 units of convalescent plasma. The trial is also designed to gauge the feasibility and safety of the treatment.
No MERS cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia for 13 straight days, and, according to today's Ministry of Health (MOH) report, only one patient remains in treatment.
Nov 19 SpringerPlus abstract
Nov 25 Saudi MOH update
[h=3]NIH announces phase 2 trial of experimental chikungunya vaccine[/h] Researchers will begin testing an experimental vaccine for the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya in a 400-person phase 2 trial, the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said in a news release yesterday.
Study participants age 18 to 60 years old will be divided equally into two groups: those who receive either two doses of the candidate vaccine spaced 28 days apart or those who get two doses of an inactive placebo.
The trial will be conducted in the Caribbean, where the virus appeared for the first time in the Americas in December 2013. The outbreak in regions of the Caribbean and Americas has since grown to more than 1.7 million cases.
"The recent re-emergence of chikungunya virus in this hemisphere has rapidly become a significant health burden," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD. "Our chikungunya vaccine development efforts are part of a broader research effort to prevent, diagnose, treat, and ultimately control this painful illness, which can strike anyone unlucky enough to be bitten by an infected mosquito."
The experimental vaccine, developed by NIAID investigators, uses virus-like particles instead of either inactivated or weakened whole virus. A phase 1 trial conducted last year demonstrated a good immune response and no serious safety concerns in 25 volunteers, the NIAID said in the release.
Nov 25 NIAID news release
News Scan for Nov 25, 2015
South Korea MERS death; Chikungunya vaccine trial
Filed Under:
MERS-CoV; Chikungunya
[h=3]South Korean man dies from MERS after 6-monthbattle[/h] A South Korean man who recently suffered a MERS-CoV relapse died from his illness today, according to a report from the Korea Herald, which cited the country's health ministry. The 35-year-old man had also been battling lymphoma.
He initially contracted MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) in May while he was being treated at Samsung Medical Center's emergency department in Seoul. His illness was confirmed on Jun 7, and he was treated at an isolation unit until Oct 3, when two rounds of tests showed that he was clear of the virus.
He was hospitalized again on Oct 11, however, and again tested positive for the virus.
South Korea's health ministry said the man's illness was the longest ever recorded for MERS-CoV. His death raises the country's fatality total for the outbreak, which largely ended in July, to 38. Overall, 136 cases were linked to the hospital-related outbreak.
Nov 25 Korea Herald story
In other MERS developments, a research team led by Saudi Arabia recently published a protocol for studying the impact of convalescent therapy for patients. The report was published online Nov 19 in SpringerPlus. The study will enroll 20 consecutive critically ill patients, who will receive 2 units of convalescent plasma. The trial is also designed to gauge the feasibility and safety of the treatment.
No MERS cases have been reported in Saudi Arabia for 13 straight days, and, according to today's Ministry of Health (MOH) report, only one patient remains in treatment.
Nov 19 SpringerPlus abstract
Nov 25 Saudi MOH update
[h=3]NIH announces phase 2 trial of experimental chikungunya vaccine[/h] Researchers will begin testing an experimental vaccine for the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya in a 400-person phase 2 trial, the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said in a news release yesterday.
Study participants age 18 to 60 years old will be divided equally into two groups: those who receive either two doses of the candidate vaccine spaced 28 days apart or those who get two doses of an inactive placebo.
The trial will be conducted in the Caribbean, where the virus appeared for the first time in the Americas in December 2013. The outbreak in regions of the Caribbean and Americas has since grown to more than 1.7 million cases.
"The recent re-emergence of chikungunya virus in this hemisphere has rapidly become a significant health burden," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD. "Our chikungunya vaccine development efforts are part of a broader research effort to prevent, diagnose, treat, and ultimately control this painful illness, which can strike anyone unlucky enough to be bitten by an infected mosquito."
The experimental vaccine, developed by NIAID investigators, uses virus-like particles instead of either inactivated or weakened whole virus. A phase 1 trial conducted last year demonstrated a good immune response and no serious safety concerns in 25 volunteers, the NIAID said in the release.
Nov 25 NIAID news release