Posts Tagged ‘vaccine’

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10th Anniversary of the Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative

January 6th, 2011

2010 marked the 10-year anniversary of the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Human Hookworm Vaccine Initiative (HHVI), the world’s first and only product development partnership (PDP) aimed at developing a vaccine to combat human hookworm infection.
In the past 10 years, the HHVI has taken three single-antigen human hookworm vaccine candidates from bench-top research into process development, two vaccine candidates through pilot production, and one vaccine candidate into clinical trials. In the fall of 2010, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded a €5.9 million grant to the PDP in support of research and development of a vaccine to combat human hookworm infection.

In recognition of the tremendous milestones accomplished by the HHVI partners including Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Instituto Butantan, James Cook University, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China, and The George Washington University, Sabin President Dr. Peter Hotez was interviewed about the need for a human hookworm vaccine and gave his thoughts on milestones for the near future.

Click here to watch an audio slideshow featuring commentary from Dr. Hotez and photos from the PDPs clinical trial site in Americaninhas, Brazil; and to learn more about the HHVI’s resolve to eliminate human hookworm infection.

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Posted in hookworm, NTDs, Public Health

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Sabin Vaccine Institute Receives €5.9 Million from Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Advance Development of Human Hookworm Vaccine

December 8th, 2010

Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin) announced receipt of a four-year, €5.9 million grant from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the development of a vaccine to combat human hookworm infection.

Hookworm infection, an intestinal parasitic disease most commonly found in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, affects an estimated 600 million people.

» Read more: Sabin Vaccine Institute Receives €5.9 Million from Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Advance Development of Human Hookworm Vaccine

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Posted in Africa, Global Development, Global Health, hookworm, Latin America and the Caribbean, NTDs, poverty, Public Health

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Smallpox Eradication Taught Us How to Fight Polio: Now We Need to Win the Battle

August 27th, 2010

Reprinted with permission from Foundation Blog, The official blog of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

By: Dr. Tadataka Tachi Yamada

When I was growing up in Japan, my close friend Keichi Maruyama, who lived right next door to me, was crippled from polio.

Most people today are too young to remember, but it was a disease that struck fear into every family. We knew it could hit home at any time.

Dr. Tadataka Tachi Yamada watches as a boy receives a polio vaccination at Bhairon Mandir Temple. Tachi was there to understand the importance of transit and migratory populations in contributing to polio transmission. New Delhi, India. April 5, 2009. Photo courtesy of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation / Prashant Panjiar.

Polio is no longer a threat in most of the world, thanks to a polio vaccine and an enormous global commitment. We are now locked in a mortal battle to completely eradicate the disease and have reduced the fight to just four countries – Nigeria, India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

This week I attended a symposium to commemorate the 30th anniversary of smallpox eradication. Thanks to the development and delivery of a vaccine, we achieved one of the greatest global health victories of all time. Vaccines are the most important and cost-effective intervention available to prevent illnesses and death.

I believe the fundamental lessons from smallpox can be applied to many diseases, especially the fight against polio. We need political will, sufficient human and financial resources, and ongoing scientific innovation

Of course there will be challenges along the way. I think the biggest lesson from the smallpox success is that we must approach each new challenge with the spirit of continuous learning and be flexible enough to adjust along the way. We must do the same until the world is polio-free, so that our children’s children will never have to say: “You came this close and gave up.”

Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the foundation’s Global Health Program, leads the foundation’s efforts to help develop and deliver low-cost, life-saving health tools for the developing world. He oversees Global Health’s grantmaking, which focuses on four major activities: discovery, development, delivery, and advocacy.

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Posted in Africa, Global Development, Global Health, India, poverty, Public Health

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Lessons Learned from Smallpox – When Eradication is the Goal, One Case is One Too Many

August 26th, 2010

Reprinted with permission from Foundation Blog, The Official Blog of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

By: Walt Orenstein

I will never forget March 16, 1975.  It had been almost four months since I began working in India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh (UP), to try to eradicate smallpox. 

On that morning, I was contacted about a new case of smallpox.  I reached the patient about 1 ½ hours after she died from an unusual complication, late hemorrhagic smallpox.  Her name was Shanti, a 7 month old child, the daughter of Pyari Lal. She was probably infected by her sibling.  Her death was totally preventable, but fortunately she turned out to be the last case of smallpox in UP.

We finally broke the human chains of transmission of that terrible virus.  That experience in India taught me how serious vaccine preventable diseases could be and how powerful vaccines are in preventing these types of tragedies.

Walter A. Orenstein, M.D doing community outreach in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India during the successful 1975 smallpox eradication campaign. Photo Credit: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The eradication of smallpox showed that effective vaccines can lead to the ultimate goal: the permanent end of a serious affliction of humankind. Smallpox eradication is our generation’s gift to all future generations. » Read more: Lessons Learned from Smallpox — When Eradication is the Goal, One Case is One Too Many

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Posted in Global Development, Global Health, India, poverty, Public Health

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