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Mozzies May Be Carrying Japanese Encephalitis This Summer. Here's What To Know If You're Spending Time Outdoors

A Victorian man is reportedly in a critical condition in hospital after contracting Japanese encephalitis from a mosquito bite.

This news comes after both Victoria and New South Wales issued public health alerts in recent weeks warning about the virus.

So what is Japanese encephalitis, and how can you protect yourself and your family if you live, work or are holidaying in mosquito-prone regions this summer?

Mosquito-borne diseases in Australia

Relative to other parts of the world, Australia has traditionally been very low risk for potentially life-threatening mosquito-borne diseases.

There's no widespread dengue, yellow fever or malaria. But there are still many viruses that local mosquitoes can spread.

About 5,000 cases of mosquito-borne disease are reported in Australia each year. The vast majority of these are due to Ross River virus. The disease this virus causes is not fatal, though it can be severely debilitating.

Disease caused by two other pathogens, Japanese encephalitis virus and Murray Valley encephalitis virus, are much rarer but potentially fatal.

The symptoms of human disease caused by these two viruses are similar.

Most people infected show no symptoms. In mild cases, there may be fever, headache and vomiting. In more serious cases, people may experience neck stiffness, disorientation, drowsiness and seizures. Serious illness can have lifelong neurological complications and, in some cases, the disease is life-threatening.

There's no specific treatment for either disease, though there is a vaccine for Japanese encephalitis which may be appropriate for certain people at high risk (more on that later).

Australian mosquitoes, such as Culex annulirostris, can play an important role in the spread of viruses. A/Prof Cameron Webb/NSW Health Pathology The influence of weather patterns

Murray Valley encephalitis virus has been known in Australia for many decades. After a significant outbreak across the Murray Darling Basin region in 1974, activity has generally been limited to northern Australia.

Outbreaks in southeastern Australia often accompany flooding brought on by La Niña weather patterns. Floods provide ideal conditions for mosquitoes, as well as the waterbirds that harbour the virus.

Japanese encephalitis virus is closely related to Murray Valley encephalitis virus. Mosquitoes pick up both viruses by biting waterbirds. But Japanese encephalitis virus has only recently become widespread in Australia.

After flooding rains brought on by La Niña in 2020, conditions that persisted for three years, Murray Valley encephalitis virus returned and Japanese encephalitis virus arrived for the first time.

Japanese encephalitis virus was initially discovered in southeastern Australia during the summer of 2021–22, and the boom in mosquito and waterbird populations that followed flooding at the time contributed to its spread.

There have been around 80 cases of disease caused by these two viruses combined over the past four years. This includes seven deaths due to Japanese encephalitis across Queensland, NSW, South Australia and Victoria.

Additional deaths have been reported due to Murray Valley encephalitis in recent years – two each in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

In the summer of 2023–24, hot and dry summer conditions returned, mosquito numbers declined, and the number of cases of disease caused by Japanese encephalitis virus and Murray Valley encephalitis dropped.

Now both viruses appear to be back. So what's going on?

What's different this summer?

This summer, Japanese encephalitis virus has been detected in mosquitoes and feral pigs in NSW. The virus has also been detected in environmental surveillance in northern Victoria, and we know at least one person has been affected there.

Meanwhile, Murray Valley encephalitis virus has been detected in sentinel chicken flocks – which health authorities use to test for increased mosquito-borne disease risk – in NSW and in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Chickens can play an important role in helping warn of an increased risk of mosquito-borne disease.

It's unusual to see activity of these viruses when conditions are relatively dry and mosquito numbers relatively low.

Some regions of Australia may have experienced flooding, but for many regions of the country, conditions have been hot and dry. This is bad news for mosquitoes.

There is no evidence that mosquito numbers are booming like they did back when La Niña brought floods to the Murray-Darling Basin.

There also isn't any evidence of more waterbird activity. In fact, numbers have declined in recent years.

So why are Japanese encephalitis virus and Murray Valley encephalitis virus active again when the conditions appear to be less favourable?

Despite predictions of a rare mid-summer return of La Niña, there's still speculation about what this means for temperature and rainfall. We may not see flooding, but there is still likely to be enough water around for mosquitoes.

For Japanese encephalitis virus, it may be that feral pigs are playing a more important role in its spread. We know numbers are on the rise and with drier conditions, perhaps mosquitoes and feral pigs, and other wildlife, are gathering together where they can find bodies of water.

After its unexpected arrival, it now seems Japanese encephalitis virus is here to stay. But how this virus interacts with local mosquitoes and wildlife, under the influence of increasing unpredictable climatic conditions, requires more research.

How can you reduce your risk this summer?

The public health alerts in Victoria and NSW focus especially on specific regions in northern Victoria and around Griffith and Narromine in NSW where the virus has been detected.

If you live or work in areas at risk of Japanese encephalitis, seek advice from your local health authority to see if you are eligible for vaccination. Residents in specified local government areas in affected regions in both states are currently eligible for a free vaccine.

But there is no vaccine available for Murray Valley encephalitis or Ross River viruses.

Wherever you live, mosquito bite prevention is key. Apply insect repellent when outdoors, especially during dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active or at any time of the day if you're in bushland or wetland areas where numbers of mosquitoes may be high.

You can get better protection by also covering up with a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and covered shoes.

Vaxxas And CEPI Advance US$4.8 Million (AU$7.2 Million) Program For Needle-Free Thermostable MRNA Vaccines

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & BRISBANE, Australia, January 22, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vaxxas, a clinical-stage biotechnology company commercializing a novel high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) vaccination platform, today announced that CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, has approved the progression of a US$4.8 million (AU$7.2 million) program to develop heat-stable, dried-formulation mRNA vaccines delivered using Vaxxas' needle-free high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP).

The approval follows promising results from Vaxxas' preclinical work, including expression of a seasonal influenza antigen that demonstrated dose-dependent immunogenicity of mRNA in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) when delivered by Vaxxas' HD-MAP technology. The studies also showed that, once loaded onto the HD-MAP, the mRNA-LNPs could maintain stability at 2–8°C and 25°C for at least 12 months, and 40°C for at least one month.

Vaxxas will partner with leading global vaccine developer SK bioscience in this next phase of the program, advancing the company's mRNA vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) on Vaxxas' HD-MAP towards a Phase I clinical study.

The work will focus on further optimising mRNA vaccine formulations for assessment by in vitro and in vivo preclinical studies. Vaxxas expects the development work performed with the JEV vaccine candidate to be transferrable across all mRNA vaccine antigens delivered by LNPs, providing a platform approach that can be advanced to human trials.

Currently, mRNA vaccines require expensive and challenging end-to-end, ultra-cold-chain distribution and storage requirements, a significant barrier to vaccine accessibility in low-and middle-income countries and hard-to-reach areas around the world.

Vaxxas' HD-MAP technology has demonstrated improved thermostability with several vaccines, with the potential to reduce the cost and complexities associated with current cold-chain requirements. The technology is also easy to use, potentially requiring less training to administer, and even supporting self-administration.

The continued success of this program could enable increased global access to innovative, life-saving mRNA vaccines.

"Our HD-MAP technology offers a potential solution to the growing need to significantly expand global access to innovative mRNA vaccines by eliminating the current ultra-cold storage requirements for these vaccines," said David L. Hoey Vaxxas CEO and President.

"With compelling proof-of-concept results in hand, we're excited to have CEPI's commitment to advance to the next stage of development. We're equally excited to be working with SK bioscience and its JEV mRNA vaccine on this program to realize the promise of our HD-MAP technology to move the world closer to a commercially available, thermostable patch-based mRNA vaccine."

This program was funded by CEPI in 2023, as part of its aim to improve the thermostability, and therefore equitable access, of mRNA vaccines.

"The tremendous success of mRNA vaccines in recent years provides the world with a powerful alternative to traditional vaccines for fighting global infectious diseases – but only if we can get them to the regions and people who need them most," said Dr Raafat Fahim, Executive Director of Vaccine Manufacturing Supply Chain, CEPI (Acting).

"Vaxxas' technology has the potential to help address current inequities in access to mRNA vaccines, by eliminating the need for ultra-cold storage to increase equitable global distribution, while also being needle-free and easy to use."

This program is Vaxxas' second collaboration with global vaccine developer SK bioscience. The companies are also working on a program, funded by global charitable organisation Wellcome, to advance the development of a HD-MAP/Typhoid conjugate vaccine candidate.

"We are excited to extend our collaboration with Vaxxas, whose innovative HD-MAP technology has the potential to transform mRNA vaccine delivery, aiming to overcome the challenges of cold-chain dependency," said Jaeyong Ahn, CEO and President of SK bioscience. "This partnership underscores our shared mission to contribute to global public health and ensure equitable access to life-saving vaccines for communities worldwide. We are committed to working together to create solutions that drive innovation in vaccine technology."

Vaxxas plans to progress this stage two program of work from Q1 2025.

About HD-MAP needle-free vaccines

The Vaxxas HD-MAP is comprised of thousands of microscopic projections molded into a small patch. Each microprojection is coated with a small dose of vaccine in a dried formulation. When applied to the skin using a proprietary, easy-to-use applicator, the patch delivers the vaccine to the abundant immune cells that naturally reside immediately below the skin surface.

HD-MAP vaccine delivery offers many potential benefits over more traditional ways of administering vaccines. For example, the dried form of the vaccine is more stable at higher temperatures than vaccines in liquid formulations, therefore potentially reducing the need for cold-chain storage and distribution.

Vaxxas' HD-MAPs have proven safe and tolerable in hundreds of trial participants to date, and have been shown to induce equal or greater immune responses to injected vaccines at lower doses. Compared with needle and syringe systems, HD-MAP vaccines are also much easier to administer and are likely to have greater acceptability by healthcare workers and vaccine recipients.

Ultimately, HD-MAPs could enable a future in which vaccine patches could be shipped directly to peoples' homes, workplaces, and schools, avoiding the delay, inconvenience, and safety challenges associated with traditional needle-and-syringe vaccine scheduling and administration.

About Vaxxas

Vaxxas is a privately held biotechnology company focused on enhancing the performance of existing and next-generation vaccines with its proprietary HD-MAP. Vaxxas is targeting initial applications in infectious diseases and oncology.

With success in several completed human clinical trials involving more than 500 participants; additional ongoing Phase I clinical studies for seasonal influenza and COVID-19; and other vaccine studies targeting pandemic influenza, funded by the United States Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Vaxxas' HD-MAP vaccine delivery platform is advancing toward commercialization.

Vaxxas' core technology was initially developed at The University of Queensland (UQ), and the company was established as a start-up in 2011 by UQ's commercialization group UniQuest. The company was founded with the completion of an initial equity financing led by OneVentures Innovation Fund I with co-investors Brandon Capital Partners and US-based HealthCare Ventures, followed by a further financing led by OneVentures with UQ joining the most recent financing.

OneVentures Innovation Fund I and Brandon BioCatalyst are supported by the Australian Government's Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) program. The IIF is an Australian Government venture capital initiative that provides investment capital and managerial expertise through licensed venture capital fund managers to investee companies. Learn more at OneVentures and Brandon Capital.

About CEPI

CEPI was launched in 2017 as an innovative partnership between public, private, philanthropic and civil organisations. Its mission is to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats so they can be accessible to all people in need. CEPI has supported the development of more than 50 vaccine candidates or platform technologies against multiple known high-risk pathogens or a future Disease X. Central to CEPI's pandemic-beating five-year plan for 2022-2026 is the '100 Days Mission' to compress the time taken to develop safe, effective, globally accessible vaccines against new threats to just 100 days.

About SK bioscience

SK bioscience is an innovative vaccine and biotech company, committed to vaccine development and manufacturing to enable more equitable access to vaccines around the world. Leveraging strengths on cutting-edge technologies, SK bioscience has been dedicated to promoting human health from prevention to cure across the globe. With the cooperation of domestic and international governments, regulatory agencies, healthcare providers, doctors, and medical experts, all of the SK colleagues are passionately committed to providing high-quality vaccines to those who need them and better public healthcare solutions.

SK bioscience WebsiteSK bioscience Linkedin

Note to Editor:

CEPI and Vaxxas are committed to enabling global equitable access to the vaccines they develop including those incorporating patch technology. Under the terms of the funding agreement, Vaxxas has committed to achieving equitable access to the outputs of this project including prioritization of supply for low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), production of vaccine volumes required to meet public health needs, with affordable pricing, and the potential technology transfer to LMIC manufacturers in line with CEPI's Equitable Access Policy.

Caution

The Vaxxas HD-MAP delivered vaccines are under investigation and available only for investigational uses. They are not available anywhere in the world for sale or purchase. As such, Vaxxas makes no claim that the vaccines are reliable, durable, dependable, safe, or effective, and makes no claim that it is superior to any other vaccine or vaccine delivery technology.

View source version on businesswire.Com: https://www.Businesswire.Com/news/home/20250122250281/en/

Contacts

MediaVaxxasIn United States:Kathryn Morris The Yates Network+1 914 204 6412kathryn@theyatesnetwork.Com

In Australia:Amy MillerWE Communications+61 431 072 422amymi@we-worldwide.Com

CEPIE: press@cepi.NetP: +44 7387 055214

SK bioscienceJeannie S. PakE: j.Pak@sk.Com

RFK Jr. Confirmation: Mike Pence's Group Urges Senators To Reject Trump's HHS Pick

Topline

A conservative group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence is urging Republicans to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As Health and Human Services Secretary, citing his support for abortion access—as some GOP senators who have expressed concerns about his controversial vaccine views have not said whether they will vote to confirm Kennedy.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Attends inauguration ceremonies in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, ... [+] 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque - Pool/Getty Images)

Getty Images Timeline

Jan. 22, 2025Pence's group announced it's launching a six-figure ad campaign to oppose his confirmation.

The group believes there is "little reason for confidence" that Kennedy will "have a firm commitment to protect unborn children," Advancing American Freedom President Tim Chapman and Board Chairman wrote in a recent letter to senators, echoing a previous statement from Pence, who is staunchly anti-abortion.

In an ethics form submitted by Kennedy and made public Wednesday, he said he would continue to receive fees related to cases he referred to the law firm Wisner Baum—which is suing Merck over the vaccine that protects against the human papillomavirus, or HPV—that do not involve the U.S. And "in which the United States does not have a direct and substantial interest," The New York Times reported.

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When Will Senators Vote Whether To Confirm Rfk Jr.?

Kennedy's confirmation hearing before the Senate has yet to be scheduled. Kennedy, or any of President Donald Trump's nominees, can afford to lose only three Republican votes assuming all Democrats vote against them. Secretary of State Marco Rubio became the first Trump nominee approved by the Senate on Monday.

What Is Rfk Jr.'s Background?

The son of late Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Kennedy is a longtime environmental lawyer and activist. He formally entered the presidential race in April 2023 as a Democratic candidate challenging former President Joe Biden for the party's nomination, before switching to run as an independent in October that year. He dropped out of the race in August and endorsed Trump. Both suggested in subsequent months that Kennedy would be offered a job in the Trump administration, and Trump nominated him to lead HHS in November. Prior to Kennedy's entrance into the presidential race, he was a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement, including during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is also married to actress Cheryl Hines.

What Is Rfk Jr.'s Stance On Abortion?

Kennedy supports "the principles laid out in Roe v. Wade," according to his campaign website, which quotes him saying "abortion is a tragedy, but I don't trust the government to make these decisions for Americans." He said in 2023 he supports a 15-week abortion ban, but later retracted the statement.

What Are Rfk Jr.'s Views On Vaccines?

Kennedy has a long history of promoting conspiracies about childhood vaccines, including the theory that the preservative thimerosal—which has been phased out of most modern vaccine formulas—is linked to autism, a claim that's been thoroughly discredited by medical studies. In a podcast last year with Lex Fridman, Kennedy said "there's no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective." He walked back the statement in a subsequent interview with CNN, calling it a "bad use of words" and has often denied that he's anti-vaccine. He gained notoriety during the Covid-19 pandemic for fueling conspiracies about the vaccines. He suggested they were related to a "wave of suspicious deaths," according to The New York Times, and told Louisiana lawmakers it was the "deadliest vaccine ever made." Medical authorities have said the vaccines do not increase the risk of death from non-Covid causes, and are a safe and effective means of preventing the virus, with serious side-effects extremely rare. Kennedy was the top "superspreader" of misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine on Twitter, accounting for 13% of daily retweets of low-credibility information, according to a study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. His Children's Health Defense nonprofit filed multiple legal actions against pandemic-related public health directives and vaccine mandates, including a petition in 2021 asking the Food and Drug Administration to revoke authorization of the vaccine, The New York Times reported. In the petition, the group advocated for other treatments instead of vaccines, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, despite them having already been deemed ineffective.

What Else Has Kennedy Said About The Covid-19 Pandemic?

In his 2021 book, "The Real Anthony Fauci," he accused the former National Institutes of Health chief of working with Bill Gates to wage a "a historic coup d'état against Western democracy" by exaggerating the effects of the pandemic to control the media and public health sphere. He also falsely claimed at a July 2023 dinner party that "Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people" and "the people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese," according to video footage of the remarks published by the New York Post.

What Other Health-Related Conspiracies Has Rfk Jr. Promoted?

He's suggested wireless technology contributes to cancer, alleging WiFi "radiation" causes what he referred to as "cellphone tumors" and "opens your blood brain barrier" to toxins in a June 2024 interview with Joe Rogan. He's implied that HIV might not cause AIDS, and he's insinuated a link between school and a rise in the use of antidepressant drugs. There is no credible medical evidence to support the theories.

What Are Rfk Jr.'s Plans For Health And Human Services?

Kennedy has promised that he would allow people to make their own assessments of whether they want to receive vaccines, telling NBC News in November "if vaccines are working for somebody, I'm not going to take them away" and explaining that their choices "ought to be informed by the best information." In the interview, he promised to "end the chronic disease epidemic," including by assessing food ingredients. He vowed to eliminate "entire departments" he believes have been ineffective, including nutrition departments at the Food and Drug Administration. Addressing his views on fluoride in water, he said he would warn water districts about their "legal liability" to deliver safe drinking water.

What Are The Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Rfk Jr.?

A former live-in nanny for the Kennedy family, Eliza Cooney, told multiple outlets last year he groped her and made repeated sexual advances while she was working for him in the 1990s. Kennedy texted her an apology when the story broke, writing, "I have no memory of this incident but I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings," according to NBC and The Washington Post, which reviewed the text messages. When asked about a Vanity Fair story that revealed the allegation, he called the article a "lot of garbage," but didn't address Cooney's allegation.

Do Any Democratic Senators Support Rfk Jr.?

None have said definitively they'll vote for him, though Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., hasn't ruled out the prospect. Sanders told CBS in December he hadn't decided how he'll vote, calling Kennedy's stance that fluoride should be removed from water "extremely dangerous" and his views on vaccines "very wrong," but telling the network his criticism of food ingredients is "exactly correct." Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is also considered a swing vote on all of Trump's nominations, as he's urged his party to stop "freaking out" over every controversial move Trump makes.

Have Any Republican Senators Come Out Against Rfk Jr.?

No. While some, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, expressed some tempered skepticism about his initial nomination, he has reportedly retooled his anti-vaccine image in meetings with senators. "He told me he is not anti-vaccine. He is pro-vaccine safety, which strikes me as a rational position to take," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Politico. While on Capitol Hill last month, Kennedy told reporters he is "all for the polio vaccine," despite saying in recent years the first polio vaccine might have caused cancers "that killed many, many, many, many, many more people than polio ever did," and disputing the fact that the vaccine reduced polio cases, The New York Times reported. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a polio survivor issued a statement in defense of the polio vaccine when the Times reported in December that a Kennedy confidant helping him make HHS hiring decisions, lawyer Aaron Siri, petitioned the government to revoke the polio vaccine. "Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they're dangerous," McConnell said. "Anyone seeking the Senate's consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts." Neither McConnell nor Cassidy, a physician who told Fox News earlier this month Kennedy is "wrong" about vaccines, have said publicly how they plan to vote. Murkowski also told Politico she was undecided after meeting with Kennedy on Capitol Hill.

What Does Trump Say About Rfk Jr.?

In announcing Kennedy's nomination, Trump said "HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country." In October, Trump said he would let Kennedy "go wild on health . . . Food" and "medicines."

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