Global health briefs
NINDS and SymBio continue joint research of Epstein-Barr associated MS
Recent studies have shown a strong association between infection with Epstein-Barr virus and onset of multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that causes a breakdown of the protective covering of nerves leading to numbness, weakness, trouble walking, and vision changes. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and SymBio Pharmaceuticals Limited recently announced a three-year extension of their Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. SymBio's novel treatment for Epstein-Barr virus-associated multiple sclerosis targets the Epstein-Barr virus and markedly suppresses its activity. Results from studies of the new treatment in marmosets have set the stage for evaluating its safety and efficacy in humans, according to the company. SymBio, a drug company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with subsidiaries in the United States, published its results in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Healthcare systems often struggle to reach and retain people who need HIV prevention and care. A new strategy tested in Africa could become a model for reducing HIV incidence worldwide. Rural communities in Kenya and Uganda saw a substantial reduction in new HIV cases by practicing a new intervention, say University of California, San Francisco, researchers who presented their findings at the 33rd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. The researchers paired eight rural communities in Kenya with eight Ugandan communities with similar characteristics and then randomly assigned one community in each pair to receive the new intervention, while the other received the standard of care (visiting the local clinic for consultation and treatment as usual). The new intervention had three components: home visits for testing and referrals, personalized HIV prevention and care, and a new app linking the visiting community health care workers to clinics to enable home delivery of drugs and follow-up care. All individuals were evaluated for a change in HIV status. Two years after the study began, seven of about 42,000 people in the intervention communities and 22 of about 42,000 people in the standard treatment communities had acquired HIV. The NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism helped fund this research. An estimated 30,000 people in the United States become infected with HIV each year.
Because it often grows without symptoms, gallbladder cancer is usually detected late and prognosis for patients is poor. Researchers at Tezpur University in Assam, India, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have identified chemical signatures of gallbladder cancer in blood, raising the possibility of developing non-invasive tests for diagnosis. The study team analyzed blood samples from three different groups of people: gallbladder cancer patients without gallstones; cancer patients with gallstones; and individuals with gallstones, but no cancer. The researchers detected hundreds of altered metabolites and identified distinct markers in the blood related to each of the three groups. The study highlights the value of international collaborations enabling research where incidence is highest. Incidence of gallbladder cancer varies widely; it is relatively rare in the United States (12,640 new diagnoses of cancer of the gallbladder and nearby large bile ducts are estimated for 2026), yet among the most common cancers in northern India's Assam state. Larger, multicenter studies are still needed to verify these results, say the researchers who published their findings in the Journal of Proteome Research.
New research from the University of Notre Dame has helped nongovernmental organizations in Ethiopia, Malawi and the Central African Republic provide more consistent access to clean water for more than a million people. In rural sub-Saharan Africa, roughly 184 million people rely on shared handpumps for clean water, yet too often these pumps break, preventing water flow until they're fixed. The researchers examined data on mechanic visits and water-point functionality from three countries that use very different approaches to water handpump maintenance. Next, they developed a dynamic optimization model, based on the Markov Decision Process, that identified optimal schedules for mechanics to visit and conduct maintenance and repair services. Well-timed preventive maintenance not only substantially reduces downtime but frequently lowers logistical costs, the researchers note. Their paper, published in the journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, won an award from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, an international applied science society.
A five-year, multi-million-dollar award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases established a multinational Hepatitis B and HIV Cure Consortium led by Johns Hopkins Medicine. Hepatitis B is a vaccine preventable yet currently uncurable viral infection that can cause chronic disease, which may lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer. About 300 million people worldwide are already infected with hepatitis B virus, while another million people acquire a new infection each year. The consortium is composed of research groups in Brazil, India, Senegal, Uganda, and the United States. In its first year it aims to enroll a multinational group of participants, some with both HIV and chronic hepatitis B and others with just chronic hepatitis B, to serve as a source for blood, liver tissue and other specimens used in the consortium's studies.
Existing tuberculosis (TB) screening, treatment and follow-up protocols can significantly reduce TB transmission and TB burden among refugee schoolchildren in high-prevalence areas of India, researchers find. (Burden refers to the total impact of health problems — death, morbidity, and disability — on a population.) The researchers conducted a prospective analysis, following the subjects of their study beginning in 2017, when the Johns Hopkins Medicine-led Zero TB in Kids program was first implemented in northern Indian schools, monasteries, and nunneries where Tibetan refugee schoolchildren congregate. Over the eight-year period, screening combined with TB preventive treatment led to an 83% reduction in TB incidence. After a single round of screening and TB preventive treatment, the occurrence of new TB infections declined by 59%. The Johns Hopkins team worked with colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Indian government agencies. Their study, funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appears in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia.
Researchers at Griffith University, Australia, and Washington University School of Medicine, United States, are working on a new vaccine to prevent chikungunya. Chikungunya virus, transmitted by infected mosquitos, has been reported in more than 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, including the United States. The virus enters the bloodstream and begins affecting the immune system, joints, muscles, and sometimes the nervous system. Chikungunya can cause direct tissue damage, intense inflammation, and even immune-mediated attacks, with the immune system continuing to attack joint tissues even after the virus has left the body. Up to 60% of patients experience joint pain for months or years. A paper published in Biomaterials describes how the researchers created a mimic of the part of the virus that triggers the immune response by engineering E.coli to assemble biopolymer particles displaying chikungunya antigens. Tested in mice, the immune system recognized the engineered particles, a type of subunit vaccine, as a virus and mounted a response. The next stage of this vaccine's development involves safety testing in humans.
A recent opinion piece on Type 5 diabetes in The Lancet Global Health calls for "establishing multicountry registries, promoting collaborative research, and embedding nutrition-focused interventions into diabetes programs." Type 5 diabetes, previously known as malnutrition-related diabetes, was officially recognized by the International Diabetes Federation last year. Scientists believe Type 5 diabetes is primarily caused by impaired pancreatic development due to early or chronic malnutrition. It is estimated to affect between 20 and 25 million people worldwide, primarily in Asia and Africa. Most commonly it is diagnosed in lean people, who are younger than 30 years old. Current treatment includes both insulin and nutritional rehabilitation. Greater understanding of diabetes' different phenotypes helps scientists learn more about its development, prevention, and treatment.
Updated April 22, 2026
Key Insights
- This topic is currently trending
- Experts are closely monitoring developments
- It may impact future decisions
