Health

USask-led research team aims to develop vaccines for prion diseases – USask News

Published

2 years ago

September 20, 2022

“But that’s what I love about it – it’s so interesting and so very important,” said Napper, a scientist with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask).

Napper has a lead role in the search for vaccines to treat diseases caused by misfolded proteins. His original research focused on prion diseases, which include mad cow disease, scrapie in sheep, and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk.

However, several similar neurodegenerative diseases in humans are also on his radar, including Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

“Is CWD the priority? Yes. Is Alzheimer’s the priority? Yes. We do this work on both human and animal vaccines in parallel,” he said.

Napper explained these diseases result when a protein misfolds and takes on new and devastating characteristics. And once misfolded, the new protein becomes self-propagating.

When the misfold comes in contact with a properly folded version of itself, that protein also misfolds, “so one becomes two and two become four, and you get a cascade of misfolding that ends in deadly disease.”

Prion diseases first rose to attention in the early 1950s with the discovery of Kuru, a neurodegenerative disease found in the Fore people of Papua New Guinea, said Napper. It was linked to funerary cannibalism—the Fore people cooked and ate their deceased family members, thus spreading the disease.

When the cause of Kuru was identified about 20 years later as a proteinaceous infectious particle or prion, “it was mind blowing,” said Napper. “It completely changed the way we think about infectious diseases because this is not a bacteria or virus.”

This prion-like mechanism is now known to be responsible for other human neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. And the quest for a cure recently got a boost.

The Alberta Conservation Association, in partnership with Alberta Environment and Parks, and Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment, has provided $1.2 million to fund research on an oral vaccine to manage CWD, which poses significant risk to wild populations in four provinces and 28 states.

A team of scientists at four western Canadian universities, including Napper, Dr. Philip Griebel (DVM, PhD) and Dr. Suresh Tikoo (DVM, PhD) at VIDO, as well as Dr. Sidney Hayes (PhD) in the College of Medicine, aim to develop oral vaccines for CWD that can be released in affected habitats. The other researchers are from the Universities of British Columbia, Alberta and Calgary.

The scientists will work collaboratively with wildlife groups to develop and deliver an effective real-world solution.

“We’re in lab coats and they’re in camo, but we can all work together,” Napper said.

On the human front, the Weston Family Foundation through the Weston Brain Institute is providing $1.2 million to Napper and three research colleagues at other Canadian universities to develop a vaccine for misfolded protein diseases in humans. Building on previous developments, the scientists will generate antibodies that attach to misfolded proteins—one has already been selected for pre-clinical development—to prevent disease development.

In both cases, Napper appreciates the team approach.

“Just as we saw with COVID when the global science community came together to develop a vaccine, we’re better, stronger and smarter if we work together, and leave our self-interest and egos at the door.”

That’s not to say the work will be easy, but the early results are highly encouraging, Napper said. “The pipeline is there, and once we have the target protein, we’ve been able to get the required types of immune responses. All the diseases we’ve talked about have a different target protein but developing the vaccines all use similar processes.”

Napper, who is also a professor of biochemistry in the USask College of Medicine, believes VIDO’s unique culture and expertise will make it a significant contributor.

Created in 1975 to focus on infectious diseases in Canada’s livestock industry, VIDO expanded its mission to include research and vaccine development related to human diseases, with COVID-19 being one example. The breadth of talent among VIDO scientists means the organization “can take a team approach to complex problems,” he said.

“I’m not an immunologist but the guy in the office next door is, and there’s a scientist who’s been developing oral vaccines for 20 years just one floor down. We all want to make the world a better place.”

Napper admitted it’s faster to develop and market a vaccine for animals than for humans, “so it isn’t unreasonable to imagine a CWD vaccine in seven to 10 years.” A human vaccine will take longer but Napper is undeterred.

“Our initial success might be to simply slow down the progression of the diseases, but we’ll take incremental successes as they come. There’s hope.”

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Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

Published

1 day ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.

It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.

Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”

Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.

Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.

Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”

But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”

“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.

Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.

Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.

Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.

“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.

“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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How many Nova Scotians are on the doctor wait-list? Number hit 160,000 in June

Published

3 days ago

September 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.

The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.

Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.

“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”

The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.

A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.

Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.

“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.

Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.

The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.

“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.

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Newfoundland and Labrador monitoring rise in whooping cough cases: medical officer

Published

4 days ago

September 10, 2024

Anne Joseph

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.

Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.

The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.

“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.

Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.

Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.

Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.

A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.

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