Rotavirus Infections

ATLANTA, Oct. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- HIV and AIDS activist Zackie Achmat today received the 2024 James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health. Achmat is honored for his groundbreaking work in increasing access to life-saving therapies for people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries. His efforts have led to millions of lives saved and substantial increases in life expectancy. Continue Reading Zackie Achmat, 2024 James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health recipient. The James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health award was presented this afternoon at the American Public Health Association's (APHA) annual meeting, which is taking place in Minneapolis. The award recognizes an outstanding leader who is making major contributions to the improvement of public health. It is intended for those who have done the most to improve health for the greatest number of people. The monetary award for the James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health is $100,000. "Zackie's heroic advocacy for South Africans to get fair and equitable access to lifesaving therapies for HIV and AIDS exemplifies the true meaning of the James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health—doing the most good for the most people," said Martha Katz, MPA, board chair of the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation. "We are so honored to present Zackie with this year's award." In response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Achmat co-founded the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in 1998. TAC led a robust effort to guarantee that all South Africans in need, regardless of their financial situation, could have anti-retroviral drugs. His leadership has changed South Africa's strategy for treating HIV/AIDS. Remarkably, more South Africans are now receiving treatment than ever before, despite the country once having one of the highest rates of HIV infections worldwide. Sandra Thurman, senior advisor, Bureau of Global Health Security & Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State Director, who nominated Achmat for the Fries award stated, "I witnessed first-hand how the determination of one thoughtful and passionate individual could impact the lives of thousands. In the midst of extreme stigma and discrimination, political apathy and misinformation, Zackie co-founded the Treatment Action Campaign, a grassroots organization that literally altered the course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa and beyond. Zackie exemplifies everything about contemporary public health practice: the right to health, the importance of science and principled advocacy." Achmat has spent his life fighting for justice, equality, dignity and freedom, particularly for working-class people and vulnerable minorities in South Africa and throughout the world. In addition to TAC, he co-founded several other influential organizations including Equal Education, the Social Justice Coalition, Ndifuna Ukwazi, Reclaim the City and #UniteBehind. These organizations focused on political education, research, mobilization and litigation. Achmat's contributions to public health and social justice have earned him numerous accolades including the Desmond Tutu Leadership Awards, the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. His work continues to inspire activists and public health professionals worldwide, embodying the principles of health for all and human rights. The James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1991. The mission of the foundation is to identify and honor individuals, organizations or institutions that have made great contributions to the health of the public. The foundation seeks to reward accomplishment rather than promise, practicality rather than theory. The CDC Foundation is honored to partner with the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation, which established and funds the award. The CDC Foundation manages and administers the Fries Foundation's public health award programs, which include the James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health and the Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award. Nominations for the James and Sarah Fries Prize for Improving Health will open on December 2, 2024, please visit the Fries Awards for Health nomination page for more information. About the CDC Foundation The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC's critical health protection mission. Since 1995, the CDC Foundation has raised over $2.2 billion and launched more than 1,400 programs impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola. The CDC Foundation managed hundreds of programs in the United States and in nearly 80 countries last year. Learn more at . Follow the CDC Foundation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter and TikTok. SOURCE CDC Foundation WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

Sept. 26, 2024 -- Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: COCP) (“Cocrystal” or the “Company”) announces dosing of the first subjects in the multiple-ascending dose (MAD) portion of the Phase 1 study with CDI-988, its potent, broad-spectrum, oral pan-viral protease inhibitor. Topline study results are expected in late 2024 or early 2025. CDI-988 was specifically designed and developed using Cocrystal’s proprietary structure-based drug discovery platform technology and is being developed as the first-in-class pan-viral antiviral for the treatment of viral gastroenteritis and COVID-19 caused by noroviruses and coronaviruses, respectively. “We are delighted to advance the clinical evaluation of CDI-988, a novel direct-acting antiviral (DAA) targeting the viral proteases of noroviruses and coronaviruses,” said Sam Lee, Ph.D., Cocrystal’s President and co-CEO. “Multiple-ascending dose results will further evaluate safety and tolerability of this potentially groundbreaking antiviral therapeutic.” This randomized, double-blind Phase 1 study, which is being conducted at a single center in Australia, is evaluating the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of orally administered CDI-988 compared with placebo in healthy adults. In July 2024 Cocrystal reported favorable safety and tolerability results from study participants in the single-ascending dose (SAD) portion of the trial. All SAD participants completed the study with no reported serious adverse events or severe treatment-emergent adverse events. No clinically significant observations were noted in laboratory assessments, physical exams or electrocardiograms. Human noroviruses are highly contagious, constantly evolving, extremely stable in the environment and associated with debilitating illness. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea, with or without nausea and abdominal cramps. Norovirus infection can be much more severe and prolonged in specific risk groups including infants, children, the elderly and people with immunodeficiency. In the U.S. alone, noroviruses are responsible for an estimated 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis annually, including 109,000 hospitalizations, 465,000 emergency department visits and nearly 900 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The estimated annual burden of noroviruses to the U.S. at $10.6 billion, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Outbreaks occur most commonly in semi-closed communities such as nursing homes, hospitals, cruise ships, schools, disaster relief sites and military settings. To date, no antiviral treatment or vaccine is approved for norovirus infections. Coronaviruses (CoV) are a family of viruses that historically have been associated with a wide range of symptoms, ranging from no symptoms at all to more severe disease that includes pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), kidney failure and death. By targeting the viral replication enzymes and protease, Cocrystal believes it is possible to develop an effective treatment for all coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19) and its variants, ARDS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The ability of an asymptomatic individual to transmit infection heightened the public health challenge of COVID-19. Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing novel antiviral therapeutics that target the replication process of influenza viruses, coronaviruses (including SARS-CoV-2), noroviruses, and hepatitis C viruses. Cocrystal employs unique structure-based technologies and Nobel Prize-winning expertise to create first- and best-in-class antiviral drugs. For further information about Cocrystal, please visit www.cocrystalpharma.com. The content above comes from the network. if any infringement, please contact us to modify.

THURSDAY, Sept. 19, 2024 -- Among military children, there has been an improvement in vaccine completion and timeliness, but the risk for noncompletion is higher among children born to younger parents and those with a well-child care location change, according to a study published online Sept. 19 in Pediatrics . Celeste J. Romano, from the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, and colleagues identified children born at military hospitals from 2010 through 2019 and examined vaccine completion and timeliness for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis; polio; measles, mumps, and rubella; hepatitis B; Haemophilus influenzae type b; varicella; and pneumococcal conjugate individually and as a combined seven-vaccine series through 24 months. The researchers found that 74.4 percent of 275,967 children completed the combined seven-vaccine series; delays occurred in 36.2 percent of those who completed the series. Among children born in 2016 and 2017, completion peaked at 78.7 percent. Completion was lowest for rotavirus (77.5 percent); diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (83.1 percent); Haemophilus influenzae type b (86.6 percent); and pneumococcal conjugate (88.4 percent). Children born to younger parents had a higher risk for noncompletion (adjusted risk ratio, 1.33), as did children with a well-child care location change (adjusted risk ratio, 1.10). Parallel risk was seen for delays and noncompletion. "Identified patterns in undervaccination indicate continued challenges to immunization services delivery," the authors write. "Further work is needed to address these barriers to vaccination and improve access to care."