At this present stage of COVID-19 re-emergence, designing an effective candidate vaccine for different variants of SARS-CoV-2 is a study worthy of consideration. This research used bioinformatics tools to design an mRNA vaccine that captures all the circulating variants and lineages of the virus in its construct. Sequences of these viruses were retrieved across the six continents and analyzed using different tools to screen for the preferable CD8⁺ T lymphocytes (CTL), CD4⁺ T lymphocytes (HTL), and B-cell epitopes. These epitopes were used to design the vaccine. In addition, several other co-translational residues were added to the construct of an mRNA vaccine whose molecular weight is 285.29686 kDa with an estimated pI of 9.2 and has no cross affinity with the human genome with an estimated over 68% to cover the world population. It is relatively stable, with minimal deformability in its interaction with the human innate immune receptor, which includes TLR 3 and TLR 9. The overall result has proven that the designed candidate vaccine is capable of modulating cell-mediated immune responses by activating the actions of CD4⁺ T cells, natural killer cells, and macrophages, and displayed an increased memory T cell and B cell activities, which may further be validated via in vivo and in vitro techniques.

Schistosoma haematobium has been identified as a significant cause of urogenital disease, as well as a risk factor for bladder cancer and HIV/AIDS. The parasites are obtained trans-dermally by swimming or wading in contaminated freshwater, and they are also transmitted to humans by freshwater snails. The organisms infect the vasculature of the gastrointestinal or genitourinary tracts. Worms live in blood vessels and lay eggs that become embedded in the bladder wall, causing chronic immune-mediated disease and squamous cell carcinoma growth. The primary goal of this research is to predict and design a novel synthetic protein containing multiple immunodominant B cell epitopes using three schistosome proteins: XP-012801068.2, XP-012801892.2, and XP-012793835.2 softwares were used to analyze the proteins’ primary, secondary, and tertiary structures (BepiPred, BcPred).The B cell construct was then evaluated using I-TASSER server, and physicochemical properties, as well as homology modeling of the 3 D structure of the protein, was obtained. In silico analyses revealed regions with high immunogenicity. For XP-012801068.2, three epitopes are found between residues 292–334, 3–22, and 314–333; for XP-012801892.2, three epitopes are found in the residues 184–236, 81–100, and 329–348 for XP-012793835.2, four epitopes are found in the residues 185–222, 469–512, 649–713, and 338–357. The construct’s has an average length of 308 bp, instability index of 49.96, theoretical PI of 4.2 and a C score −1.59. Furthermore, these parameters analyzed reveals that the constructed multi-epitope peptide has the potential to provide a theoretical basis for the development of a Schistosoma haematobium diagnostic kit. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

The rampant spread of the COVID-19 infection poses a grave and formidable challenge to global healthcare, with particular concern to the inhabitants of the African continent. In response to these pressing concerns, different strategies have been employed to combat the emergence of this insidious disease, encompassing crucial measures such as physical distancing, the utilization of face masks, meticulous hand hygiene, and widespread vaccination campaigns. Nevertheless, the economic realities faced by numerous African nations, characterized by their classification as “low-income countries (LICs)”, present a formidable barrier to accessing and distributing approved vaccines to their populations. Moreover, it is essential to discuss the hesitancy of the European Union (EU) in releasing intellectual property rights associated with the transfer of vaccine technology to Africa. While the EU has been a key player in global efforts to combat the pandemic, there has been reluctance in sharing valuable knowledge and resources with African countries. This hesitancy raises concerns about equitable vaccine access and the potential for a prolonged health crisis in Africa. This review underscores the urgent imperative and need of establishing localized vaccine development and production facilities within Africa, necessitating the active involvement of governments and collaborative partnerships to achieve this crucial objective. Furthermore, this review advocates for the exploration of viable avenues for the transfer of vaccine technology as a means to facilitate equitable vaccine access across the African continent and also the cruciality and the need for the EU to reconsider its stance and actively engage in transferring vaccine technology to Africa through sharing intellectual property. The EU can contribute to the establishment of localized vaccine production facilities on the continent, which will not only increase vaccine availability but also promote self-sufficiency and resilience in the face of future health emergencies.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has significantly extended the lifespan of people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), thereby transforming the disease into a manageable chronic condition. However, this increased longevity has led to a higher incidence of non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) among this population. In this holistic review, we explore the complex interactions between HIV, ART, and cancer development, focusing on how ART influences tumor initiation and progression in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Our findings from this reveal several critical aspects of cancer risk in PLWHA. Firstly, while ART restores immune function, it does not fully normalize it. Chronic immune activation and persistent inflammation continue to be prevalent, creating a conducive environment for oncogenesis. Additionally, PLWHA are more susceptible to persistent infections with oncogenic viruses such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), further increasing cancer risk. Some ART drugs have been implicated in genotoxicity and mitochondrial dysfunction, potentially promoting tumorigenesis. ART-induced metabolic changes, including insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, are also associated with heightened cancer risk. Common NADCs in PLWHA include lung cancer, liver cancer, anal cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma, each with distinct etiologies linked to both HIV-related and ART-related factors. The interplay between HIV infection, chronic inflammation, immune restoration via ART, and the direct effects of ART drugs creates a unique cancer risk profile in PLWHA. Although ART reduces the incidence of AIDS-defining cancers, it does not confer the same protective effect against NADCs. Persistent HIV-related inflammation and immune activation, despite viral suppression, are key factors in cancer development. Additionally, long-term exposure to ART may introduce new oncogenic risks. These insights highlight the need for integrated cancer screening and prevention strategies tailored to PLWHA. Future research is needed to focus on identifying biomarkers for early cancer detection and developing ART regimens with lower oncogenic potential. Healthcare providers should be vigilant in monitoring PLWHA for cancer and adopt comprehensive screening protocols to mitigate the increased cancer risk associated with ART.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem in African cattle production systems, posing a threat to human and animal health and the associated economic value chain. However, there is a poor understanding of the resistomes in small-holder cattle breeds in East African countries. This study aims to examine the distribution of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes (ARGs) in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda cattle using a metagenomics approach. We used the SqueezeMeta-Abricate (assembly-based) pipeline to detect ARGs and benchmarked this approach using the Centifuge-AMRplusplus (read-based) pipeline to evaluate its efficiency. Our findings reveal a significant number of ARGs of critical medical and economic importance in all three countries, including resistance to drugs of last resort such as carbapenems, suggesting the presence of highly virulent and antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens (ESKAPE) circulating in East Africa. Shared ARGs such as aph(6)-id (aminoglycoside phosphotransferase), tet (tetracycline resistance gene), sul2 (sulfonamide resistance gene) and cfxA_gen (betalactamase gene) were detected. Assembly-based methods revealed fewer ARGs compared to read-based methods, indicating the sensitivity and specificity of read-based methods in resistome characterization. Our findings call for further surveillance to estimate the intensity of the antibiotic resistance problem and wider resistome classification. Effective management of livestock and antibiotic consumption is crucial in minimizing antimicrobial resistance and maximizing productivity, making these findings relevant to stakeholders, agriculturists, and veterinarians in East Africa and Africa at large.