Welcome to the May edition of IslandWatch, your source for the latest updates on dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses around the world.
During the past month, there have been several important developments in countries tackling dengue fever, including Bali implementing a climate-based early warning system for the virus. Speaking of Bali, the Western Australian government issued an official warning against travelling to the area, in light of the recent spike in dengue fever cases there. There has also been much discussion in the media of dengue affecting the upcoming 2024 Olympics in Paris, with reports of tiger mosquitos carrying the disease plaguing France.
The link between climate change and vector-borne disease is garnering increasing attention from various fronts. Researchers from the World Health Organisation (WHO) identified the link between climate change and vector-borne disease an urgent need for scientists to further investigate, while analysts predict the climate resilient and sustainable health systems market will experience a compound annual growth rate of 12.6% from 2024 to 2031.
Closer to home at Island Pharmaceuticals, we had some very positive news to share this month regarding the reallocation of grant funding for our Phase 2a trial for ISLA-101, our lead drug candidate. More on this below.
Dengue Live Map, as of 28th May 2024
Credit (click to check live dengue status): https://www.healthmap.org/dengue/en/
HEADLINES OF THE MONTH
 |
Dengue ahead of Olympics
Dengue fever cases surge in France ahead of the Olympics, with the virus now present in 80 per cent of areas in the country.
Read more
|
 |
Aussie tourist hospitalised
An Aussie tourist in Bali was hospitalised for dengue fever even after receiving a vaccine.
Read more
|
 |
Western Australia warns the first case of mosquito-borne disease
The WA government has announced the first case of flavivirus encephalitis in 2024.
Read more
|
 |
Are we ready for more vector-borne disease?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says the threat of existing and emerging vector-borne diseases continues to grow as the geographic ranges of vectors expands.
Read more
|
|
“Bone-crushing” fever a costly recovery for Aussie tourists
Dengue fever described as “being hit by a bus” by tourists. Travel insurance provider warns that contracting dengue disease abroad can be extremely expensive.
Read more
|
LATEST ISLAND PHARMACEUTICAL UPDATES
Grant funding to directly support Phase 2a trial
As reported in The Australian, US$625k (A$962K) in funding has been reallocated to directly support our planned ISLA-101 Phase 2a human clinical trial in dengue fever. The reallocation of these funds will significantly reduce our capital requirements for the study. More here.
Island Executive Chairman Dr Paul MacLeman spoke with ausbiz in detail about this funding reallocation and future milestones for the company.
Watch the full interview >>
What is a Challenge study?
A human Challenge study is a type of clinical trial where healthy individuals are intentionally exposed to the condition being tested in a strictly controlled environment. Challenge trials are incredibly informative and thanks to the volunteers; provide data that would be very hard to obtain if the study was conducted in the field.
Island Pharmaceuticals will be conducting our Phase 2a clinical trial in a Dengue Challenge Model.
DID YOU KNOW
Female mosquitoes, responsible for biting, surprisingly have picky tastes when it comes to blood. Studies show they prefer Type O blood nearly twice as much as Type A. This preference likely stems from the unique chemical makeup and scent of Type O blood, making those with this blood type the unlucky choice to mosquitoes.
.png){kind=logo}
