Health

No 10 to buy new antiviral treatments for Covid in time for winter

No 10 has made deals to buy hundreds of thousands of doses of two new antiviral treatments for coronavirus, ministers have announced, at least one of which it is hoped will be approved for use in the UK ahead of the winter.

One deal covers 480,000 courses of molnupiravir, which can be taken as a pill twice a day. In trials, the drug, made by Merck, known as MSD outside the US, has been shown to cut the risk of hospitalisation or death for patients not in hospital by half.

The other treatment is PF-07321332/ritonavir, a combination of another oral antiviral treatment with ritonavir, a drug usually used to treat HIV/Aids. Made by Pfizer, the UK has a deal for 250,000 courses, the announcement said.

Neither treatment would be used in patients before approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA); trials for PF-07321332/ritonavir are still under way. The supply of molnupiravir is expected to arrive no earlier than mid-November, with the Pfizer antivirals expected in late January.

Ministers and health advisers said the deals, made by the government’s antivirals taskforce, could play a significant role in reducing the extent of serious Covid cases over the winter. The health secretary, Sajid Javid, said they would form part of “an armoury of lifesaving measures to tackle the virus”.

Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, said antivirals would be “particularly vital in protecting those who may not get the same antibody response to the vaccines as the majority of the population”. He added: “We will now work quickly to ensure the right cohorts of people receive these treatments as soon as possible, should they be approved by the MHRA.”

Health officials expect that most of the antivirals will be used to treat elderly people and immunocompromised individuals, who are most likely to be hospitalised with severe disease. The drugs work in different ways and could be used in combination in the future. The supplies are expected to last this winter and next.

Antivirals, which can be used to either treat those infected with a virus or protect people from becoming infected, have become an increasingly important part of the response to Covid. The health department says the first treatment used for Covid, dexamethasone – a steroid that dampens lung inflammation rather than an antiviral – has since saved 22,000 lives in the UK and about a million worldwide.

One key aim for the taskforce has been to find an antiviral pill that people can take at home before winter sets in.

Health

WHO sets targets to end Mpox outbreaks in Africa

The World Health Organisation, WHO, has set a target of halting mpox outbreaks in Africa within the next six months.

This announcement came as the first vaccine shipments are expected to arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, in the coming days.

Africa, particularly the DRC, with over 18,000 suspected cases and 629 deaths, has received only a fraction of the vaccines to combat the virus.

At a press briefing on Monday, September 2, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed confidence in ending the outbreaks, citing strong government leadership and collaborative partnerships.

In August, WHO declared mpox outbreaks a global emergency to spur a more robust international response even though a new strain of mpox known as clade1b, has been identified in many countries, including Burundi, Cameroon, Rwanda, and Kenya.

The potentially more contagious variant of the virus was detected in Congo in May, prompting heightened concerns among health officials.

WHO estimates that approximately 230,000 vaccines could soon be sent to Congo and other affected countries. The WHO is also implementing educational campaigns to inform people in outbreak areas about preventing the spread of the disease.

Africa’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it aims to receive 380,000 vaccine doses from donors, including the US and the EU, which falls short of the quantity required to eradicate the outbreaks.

Health

No recorded case of mpox in Ogun- Govt

The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomo Coker, on Wednesday said the state has not recorded any case of Mpox across the 20 local government areas of the state.

She disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Abeokuta, saying that the state has maintained a high level of surveillance since the global outbreak in 2022.

“Mpox is a disease of public health importance and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared outbreaks of a more virulent strain in some countries. Some states in Nigeria have also reported outbreaks of Mpox,” she said.

“Ogun State Ministry of Health is aware of this public health threat and has instituted appropriate measures to prevent it, detect it early, and respond as appropriate.

“The last case of Mpox in Ogun State was in May 2023 and no confirmed case has been reported in Ogun State to date.

“As of 18th August 2024, the state surveillance system has reported 151 suspected cases of Mpox across the state but none of the suspected cases has been confirmed to be Mpox though 53 returned positive for Chicken Pox.

“We are aware of the Chicken Pox cases in the state and the necessary measures are already in place.

“Sensitization of the public on Mpox, Chickenpox, and other priority diseases is ongoing through established platforms. Therefore, there is no need to panic.”

Health

US donates 10,000 monkeypox vaccine doses to Nigeria

The United States government donated 10,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to Nigeria to aid in the fight against monkeypox on Tuesday.

The Jynneos vaccine, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is designed to prevent smallpox and monkeypox in adults aged 18 and older who are at risk of infection.

During the official handover ceremony in Abuja, Prof. Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, expressed gratitude to the U.S. government for the generous donation.

Represented by Permanent Secretary Daju Kachollom, Pate emphasised the Federal Government’s commitment to improving public health in Nigeria.

He said, “This is a spirit of cooperation and collaboration through the years, and this vaccine will be of great help to us.

“The Federal Ministry of Health understands the importance of having a healthy nation, so all the policies that we implement and the collaborations are focused on ensuring our citizens’ health.”

Pate also extended thanks to other development partners, including USAID, PEPFAR, WHO, UNICEF, and various UN organisations, for their continued support.

He highlighted the importance of addressing public health concerns, particularly diseases like monkeypox that pose significant risks to the population.

Monkeypox, a rare viral zoonotic disease, primarily affects remote villages in Central and West Africa near tropical rainforests.

It is caused by the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the orthopoxvirus genus, including smallpox and cowpox.

Following the eradication of smallpox, monkeypox has become a prominent concern within the orthopoxvirus family.

On August 13, 2024, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared monkeypox a public health emergency of continental security.

As of last Friday, Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported 40 confirmed cases of monkeypox out of 830 suspected cases nationwide.