LSHTM Viral

In this episode of LSHTM Viral, hosts Karl Byrne and Naomi Stewart explore the return of an old disease making new headlines: polio. While global health initiatives have reduced the global polio burden by more than 99% since 1988, the fight is far from over. With the virus recently detected in London's wastewater and vital surveillance funding facing cuts, the risk of resurgence is a terrifying reality. We explore the lifelong toll of the virus with polio survivor and advocate Anne Wafula Strike, tracking her journey from childhood exclusion in Kenya to a Paralympian wheelchair racer for Team GB. Professor Sir Andrew Pollard of Oxford University breaks down the critical differences between the inactivated polio vaccine used in the UK and the live oral vaccines used globally, shedding light on how logistical hurdles - like the cost of bus fare and lack of access to healthcare advice - are driving down childhood immunisation rates. Finally, Dr. Zubair Wadood from the WHO tackles vaccine misinformation and explains the complex geopolitics of conflict zones and community scepticism that stand in the way of that final 1% of global eradication. The foothold polio retains is a masterclass in what happens when we stop paying attention. Join us as we examine what it takes to hold the line for global health security. Guests:· Anne Wafula Strike: Polio survivor and Team Anti-Polio ambassador, discussing stigma, post-polio syndrome, and sport as an advocacy platform.· Professor Sir Andrew Pollard: Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, explaining wastewater detection, vaccine-derived mutations, and systemic barriers to UK vaccine access.· Dr. Zubair Wadood: Medical Epidemiologist from the WHO, debunking the myth that vaccines cause polio and outlining the strategy for eliminating the virus in its final endemic regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.Episode Chapters:· 00:00 – Introduction: An old disease making new headlines.· 00:37 – The early warning system: London's wastewater surveillance and funding cuts.· 01:19 – The lived reality: Surviving polio, childhood stigma, and post-polio syndrome.· 03:47 – From the sidelines to the Paralympics: Advocating for global awareness.· 05:51 – Breaking down the science: Inactivated vaccines versus oral vaccines.· 08:40 – Debunking the myth: Patchy coverage and variant polio strains.· 09:37 – Access and logistics: The real reasons UK vaccination rates are dropping.· 13:10 – The final 1%: Geopolitics and conflict zones.· 16:08 – Holding the line: The critical need for global health security and funding.

In this episode of LSHTM Viral, Karl Byrne speaks with Beate Kampmann, Professor of Paediatric Infection & Immunity and Director of the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. They delve into the future of vaccines, our perception of risk and how vaccination programmes are going to be monitored in the future. Beate answers burning audience questions including, “Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe for pregnant women?”. You can find the LSHTM vaccine tracker here: https://vac-lshtm.shinyapps.io/ncov_vaccine_landscape/

How do countries get access to COVID-19 vaccines in the first place? In this episode, Prof Daniel Bausch of LSHTM shares his thoughts on the global vaccine purchasing and distribution systems. An expert in the control of emerging viruses, Dan also discusses with host Naomi Stewart what the focus on COVID-19 means for other vaccination programmes and trials, how the pandemic may end, and how prepared we will be for future epidemics and pandemics. If you would like to get in contact with the team, or if you have a question you would like to ask our experts, you can email us: comms@lshtm.ac.uk.

Who are the experts and groups around the world approving and regulating the new COVID-19 vaccines? And what do they need to consider amidst the urgency of vaccinating the world? In this episode ahead of World Immunization Week, Naomi Stewart speaks to Prof Annelies Wilder-Smith from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Prof Smith sits on WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, and walks us through the decisions involved in approving different vaccines - and how it could happen so quickly. If you would like to get in contact with the team, or if you have a question you would like to ask our experts, you can email us: comms@lshtm.ac.uk

Vaccines have arguably made the greatest contribution to global health of any human intervention apart from the introduction of clean water and sanitation. With new vaccines being developed at an incredible rate to tackle the current pandemic, we take a look at how vaccines work and what goes into each shot. Karl is joined by Helen Fletcher, Professor of Immunology at LSHTM, to take a look at what goes into a vaccine, how you design one and how the COVID-19 vaccines were created so quickly and safely. They also dispel some of the myths floating around about vaccines. Professor Beate Kampmann, Director of the Vaccine Centre at LSHTM, also stops by to answer some questions sent in by you, our listeners. You can find the video on vaccine safety that Karl and Beate talk about here. Learn more about the Vaccine Centre here. If you would like to get in contact with the team, or if you have a question you would like to ask our experts, you can email us: comms@lshtm.ac.uk

Welcome back to a new season of LSHTM Viral, where we will be taking a deep-dive into vaccines and speak to experts working real-time on COVID-19. LSHTM modeller Roz Eggo reacts to the UK’s roadmap announcement on 22 February for easing lockdown restrictions, explaining the science behind the government's decision and how vaccination will forge a way out of the pandemic. John Edmunds, a UK government science advisor and professor of infectious disease at LSHTM discussed how new, potentially dangerous variants of the virus can emerge and key considerations for vaccination at this scale.

How exactly did planetary health come to be, and where is it headed? In this season finale, we speak to two pioneers of the field - Prof Andy Haines of LSHTM and Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet. They discuss the urgency of embedding planetary health into the policy agenda, the benefits of increased public engagement with science during COVID-19, and how to address the inequalities that could hamper our efforts.

We hear a lot about reducing air pollution, but why do we need to? Join Amy, Naomi and Karl exploring the ins and outs of air pollution including, how the particles affect the human body, and where they come from. We turn to new research that uses machine learning, satellite data and on-the-ground monitors to build a highly detailed pollution map of Great Britain, revealing exciting avenues for the future of air pollution and health research. Contributions from LSHTM's Prof Paul Wilkinson and Prof Antonio Gasparrini.

From Africa’s meningitis belt to the link between malaria and rice cultivation, and from mosquitoes in the Mekong Delta to mangoes in Mexico, the links between environmental change and infectious diseases are complex and, at times, surprising. Join Karl Byrne, Amy Thomas and guests as they delve into this fascinating topic. Karl and Amy chat about the US Presidential election and how it could impact America’s efforts towards curbing climate change going forward. Karl is also joined by Professor Martin Antonio from MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM and LSHTM PhD candidate Kallista Chan to talk about their research on two very different infectious diseases that are affected by environmental changes - bacterial meningitis and malaria - as well as the complex interactions between human impact on the environment and its effects on other diseases. If you would like to get in touch with the team , you can email us at comms@lshtm.ac.uk You can find out more about the Centre of Climate Change and Planetary Health here.

Healthy and sustainable diets are essential for planetary health. Poor diets are a leading cause of ill health and death globally, and the food system is responsible for between 20% and 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. On-going environmental changes are also having a direct impact on food production, and without substantial efforts to adapt to the new environmental conditions, the food system will struggle to deliver healthy and sustainable diets for all. In this episode, Karl Byrne has a chat with Professor Alan Dangour, the Director of LSHTM's Centre of Climate Change and Planetary Health, and Pauline Scheelbeek, Assistant Professor of Nutritional and Environmental Epidemiology, about the challenges our food systems face and what we have to do to ensure healthy, nutritional and sustainable food supplies to feed the world's ever growing population. Find out more about the Centre of Climate Change and Planetary Health.  

In our final episode of LSHTM Viral's first season, we dive into the history of pandemics and public health in the last few centuries, from the bubonic plague to AIDS and H1N1. Researchers from the Centre for History in Public Health explore how COVID-19 fits into this history, and how the past has shaped how we are responding to the crisis now.

COVID-19 cases are starting to rise across Africa. Researchers at The MRC Unit The Gambia, LSHTM, have developed a COVID-19 rumour tracking app to combat rumours and misinformation about COVID-19 circulating amongst the populations in The Gambia and neighbouring Senegal. Social Scientific Lead Dr Melisa Martinez-Alvarez, and Social Scientific Officer Lamin Leigh explain why the tracking app is needed and how it works. Link to the tracker: https://apps.mrc.gm/informationtracker

Next Tuesday 28th July we are hosting our fourth COVID-19 Live Q&A with Peter Piot, Director of LSHTM, and John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC. Join our Q&A streamed on LSHTM’s Twitter and YouTube channels to ask your questions direct to world-leading experts with moderation by Sarah Boseley, Health Editor at The Guardian.