What can we learn from historical pandemics? A systematic review of the literature

Dose-Dependent Effect of DNA Vaccine pVAX-H5 Encoding a Modified Hemagglutinin of Influenza A (H5N8) and Its Cross-Reactivity Against A (H5N1) Influenza Viruses of Clade 2.3.4.4b

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 clade 2.3.4.4b viruses are widespread in wild and domestic birds, causing severe economic damage to the global poultry industry. Moreover, viruses of this clade are known to cause infections in mammals, posing a potential pandemic threat. Due to the ongoing evolution and change in the dominant strains of H5 clade 2.3.4.4b, it is important to investigate the cross-reactivity of vaccines in use and under development against clade 2.3.4.4b viruses. In this study, the immunogenicity of the previously developed DNA vaccine encoding a modified hemagglutinin of the influenza A/turkey/Stavropol/320-01/2020 (H5N8) virus, administered by jet injection at doses of 1, 10, 50, 100, and 200 μg, was investigated. The highest titer of specific to recombinant hemagglutinin antibodies was detected in the group of animals injected with 100 µg of DNA vaccine. The cross-reactivity study of sera of animals immunized with 100 µg of DNA vaccine in a microneutralization assay against the strains A/chicken/Astrakhan/321-05/2020 (H5N8), A/chicken/Komi/24-4V/2023 (H5N1), and A/chicken/Khabarovsk/24-1V/2022 (H5N1) showed the formation of cross-neutralizing antibodies. Moreover, the study of protective properties showed that the DNA vaccine protected animals from mortality after infection with A/chicken/Khabarovsk/24-1V/2022 (H5N1) virus.

Managing and mitigating future public health risks: Planetary boundaries, global catastrophic risk, and inclusive wealth

There are two separate conceptualizations for assessing existential risks: Planetary Boundaries (PBs) and global catastrophic risks (GCRs). While these concepts are similar in principle, their underpinning literatures tend not to engage with each other. Research related to these concepts has tended to be siloed in terms of the study of specific threats and also in terms of how these are assumed to materialize; PBs attribute global catastrophes to slow-moving and potentially irreversible global changes, while GCRs focuses on cataclysmic short-term events. We argue that there is a need for a more unified approach to managing global long-term risks, which recognizes the complex and confounded nature of the interactions between PBs and GCRs. We highlight where the PB and GCR concepts overlap and outline these complexities using an example of public health, namely, pandemics and food insecurity. We also present an existing indicator that we argue can be used for monitoring and managing risk. We argue for greater emphasis on national and global ''inclusive wealth'' as a way to measure economic activity and thus to monitor and mitigate the unintended consequences of economic activity. In sum, we call for a holistic approach to stewardship aimed at preserving the integrity of natural capital in the face of a broad range of global risks and their respective regional or global manifestations.

Social histories of public health misinformation and infodemics: case studies of four pandemics

Recognition of misinformation as a public health threat and interest in infodemics, defined as an inundation of information accompanying an epidemic or acute health event, have increased worldwide. However, scientists have no consensus on how to best define and identify misinformation and other essential characteristics of infodemics. We conducted a narrative review of secondary historical sources to examine previous infodemics in relation to four infectious diseases associated with pandemics (ie, smallpox, cholera, 1918 influenza, and HIV) and challenge the assumption that misinformation is a new phenomenon associated with increased use of social media or with the COVID-19 pandemic. On the contrary, we found that the spread of health misinformation has always been a public health challenge that has necessitated innovative solutions from medical and public health communities. We suggest expanding beyond the narrow scope of addressing misinformation to manage information ecosystems, defined as how people consume, produce, interact with, and behave around information, which include factors such as trust, stigma, and scientific literacy. Although misinformation can spread on a global scale, this holistic approach advocates for community-level interventions that improve relationships and trust between medical or public health entities and local populations.

Power spectral density and similarity analysis of COVID-19 mortality waves across countries

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) established a comprehensive database detailing daily mortality rates across countries. This dataset revealed fluctuating global mortality trends attributable to COVID-19; however, the specific differences and similarities in mortality patterns between countries remain insufficiently explored. Consequently, this study employs Fourier and similarity analyses to examine these patterns within the frequency domain, thereby offering novel insights into the dynamics of COVID-19 mortality waves across different nations.

Methods

We employed the Fast Fourier transform to calculate the power spectral density (PSD) of COVID-19 mortality waves in 199 countries from January 22, 2020, to March 9, 2023. Moreover, we performed a cosine similarity analysis of these PSD patterns among all the countries.

Results

We identified two dominant peaks in the grand averaged PSD: one at a frequency of 1.15 waves per year (i.e., one wave every 10.4 months) and another at 2.7 waves per year (i.e., one wave every 4.4 months). We also found a cosine similarity index distribution with a skewness of -0.54 and a global median of cosine similarity index of 0.84, thus revealing a remarkable similarity in the dominant peaks of the COVID-19 mortality waves.

Conclusion

These findings could be helpful for planetary health if a future pandemic of a similar scale occurs so that effective confinement measures or other actions could be planned during these two identified periods.

The Scabbard of Excalibur: An Allegory on the Role of an Efficient and Effective Healthcare System under Universal Health Coverage during the Pandemic Response

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while some countries succeeded in reducing their rate of death after SARS-CoV-2 infection via vaccination by the end of 2021, some of them also faced hospital capacity strain, leading to social anxiety about delays in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with other diseases. This essay presents an allegory to explain the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through an allegory and Le Morte d'Arthur (Arthur's Death), this essay indicates that "the scabbard of Excalibur" that we are looking for is an efficient and effective healthcare system that can diagnose patients who might become severely ill due to COVID-19 and to treat them without hospital capacity strain. In Le Morte d'Arthur, the scabbard of Excalibur was lost, and we have not been able to find any alternatives to end the COVID-19 pandemic. We can choose a future in which "the scabbard of Excalibur" exists, providing a different ending for the next pandemic.

Avian Influenza A Viruses Modulate the Cellular Cytoskeleton during Infection of Mammalian Hosts

Influenza is one of the most prevalent causes of death worldwide. Influenza A viruses (IAVs) naturally infect various avian and mammalian hosts, causing seasonal epidemics and periodic pandemics with high morbidity and mortality. The recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic showed how an animal virus strain could unpredictably acquire the ability to infect humans with high infection transmissibility. Importantly, highly pathogenic avian influenza A viruses (AIVs) may cause human infections with exceptionally high mortality. Because these latter infections pose a pandemic potential, analyzing the ecology and evolution features of host expansion helps to identify new broad-range therapeutic strategies. Although IAVs are the prototypic example of molecular strategies that capitalize on their coding potential, the outcome of infection depends strictly on the complex interactions between viral and host cell factors. Most of the studies have focused on the influenza virus, while the contribution of host factors remains largely unknown. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of mammals' host response to AIV infection is crucial. This review sheds light on the involvement of the cellular cytoskeleton during the highly pathogenic AIV infection of mammalian hosts, allowing a better understanding of its modulatory role, which may be relevant to therapeutic interventions for fatal disease prevention and pandemic management.