Research in brief

Section snippets

mRNA vaccine targeting Clostridioides difficile

Researchers in the USA investigated an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (LNP) vaccine platform to prevent Clostridioides difficile infection and disease. The vaccine constructs contained TcdA, TcdB, and PPEP-1 sequences that were well conserved across genetically diverse strains of C difficile. In mice, a bivalent (TcdA–TcdB) or trivalent (TcdA–TcdB–PPEP-1) vaccine elicited IgG responses that were two to four times higher than those elicited by a trivalent recombinant protein vaccine with alum adjuvant.

Doxycycline PEP effects on gut microbiome

To investigate the effects of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) on the gut microbiome and antimicrobial resistance, investigators obtained rectal swabs from participants in the DoxyPEP clinical trial of doxy-PEP versus standard of care, and undertook metagenomic DNA sequencing for 127 samples from 89 participants and metatranscriptomic RNA sequencing for 86 samples from 70 participants. Between day 0 and month 6, no differences were noted between the groups in total bacterial

T-cell based vaccines for flaviviruses

Zika virus and dengue virus are two closely related flaviviruses that are endemic in the same geographical areas. Transgenic mice expressing HLA class I peptides were vaccinated with a DNA encoding Zika virus non-structural (NS) poly-epitope. T-cell responses were elicited against more than 20 Zika virus epitopes previously identified in humans, without inducing neutralising antibodies. Following infection with Zika virus on day 36 after vaccination, two of five mice given the Zika virus

Leishmania infection in Thailand

Researchers assessed the burden of Leishmania infection in a cohort of immunocompromised people with HIV in Trang Province (Thailand) during 2018–19, 373 of whom had initially tested negative for Leishmania in 2015–16, and 133 who had initially tested positive. One case of Leishmania orientalis infection and 11 seropositive cases (ie, a titre of ≥1:100 for Leishmania antibodies) were identified in the initially negative group, equating to a cumulative incidence of 3·2% and an incidence density

First fatal borealpox virus infection

A case study described the first known fatality from borealpox virus (formerly known as Alaskapox). The patient, a man aged 69 years living in the Kenai Peninsula (Alaska, USA), was receiving anti-CD20 therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. He presented to an Alaskan health clinic in September 2023, reporting 5 days of fever, headache, and myalgia, with 4 days of new skin lesions in the right axilla and right inner thigh. The lesions worsened and spread despite treatment with vancomycin and