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The lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) among health-care workers in the UK has been an integral part of the debate on the UK Government's failure in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.1 Similar to the close contact that is expected between patients and health-care staff, which could put both at risk of transmissible disease in the absence of appropriate measures, members of the public can also come in close contact with police staff during the process of frisking. Because the officers had no gloves at the time, I was walked to a police van about 200 m away where PPE was available. The official guidance on the use of PPE among the police force in the UK4 recommends their use to protect police staff but critically, the four-page document pays no attention to the safety of the public who are especially exposed during body searches.

Purpose Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are a promising class of nanocarrier with applications in both small and large molecule drug delivery. Here we report a comprehensive evaluation of the uptake and transport pathways that contribute to the lung disposition of dendrimers. Methods Anionic PAMAM dendrimers and control dextran probes were applied to an isolated perfused rat lung (IPRL) model and lung epithelial monolayers. Endocytosis pathways were examined in primary alveolar epithelial cultures by confocal microscopy. Molecular interactions of dendrimers with protein and lipid lung fluid components were studied using small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Results Dendrimers were absorbed across the intact lung via a passive, size-dependent transport pathway at rates slower than dextrans of similar molecular sizes. SANS investigations of concentration-dependent PAMAM transport in the IPRL confirmed no aggregation of PAMAMs with either albumin or dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine lung lining fluid components. Distinct endocytic compartments were identified within primary alveolar epithelial cells and their functionality in the rapid uptake of fluorescent dendrimers and model macromolecular probes was confirmed by co-localisation studies. Conclusions PAMAM dendrimers display favourable lung biocompatibility but modest lung to blood absorption kinetics. These data support the investigation of dendrimer-based carriers for controlled-release drug delivery to the deep lung.

Ivermectin is a potential new vector control tool to reduce malaria transmission. Mosquitoes feeding on a bloodmeal containing ivermectin have a reduced lifespan, meaning they are less likely to live long enough to complete sporogony and become infectious. We aimed to estimate the effect of ivermectin on malaria transmission in various scenarios of use. We validated an existing population-level mathematical model of the effect of ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA) on the mosquito population and malaria transmission against two datasets: clinical data from a cluster- randomised trial done in Burkina Faso in 2015 wherein ivermectin was given to individuals taller than 90 cm and entomological data from a study of mosquito outcomes after ivermectin MDA for onchocerciasis or lymphatic filariasis in Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Liberia between 2008 and 2013. We extended the existing model to include a range of complementary malaria interventions (seasonal malaria chemoprevention and MDA with dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine) and to incorporate new data on higher doses of ivermectin with a longer mosquitocidal effect. We consider two ivermectin regimens: a single dose of 400 μg/kg (1 × 400 μg/kg) and three consecutive daily doses of 300 μg/kg per day (3 × 300 μg/kg). We simulated the effect of these two doses in a range of usage scenarios in different transmission settings (highly seasonal, seasonal, and perennial). We report percentage reductions in clinical incidence and slide prevalence. We estimate that MDA with ivermectin will reduce prevalence and incidence and is most effective in areas with highly seasonal transmission. In a highly seasonal moderate transmission setting, three rounds of ivermectin only MDA at 3 × 300 μg/kg (rounds spaced 1 month apart) and 70% coverage is predicted to reduce clinical incidence by 71% and prevalence by 34%. We predict that adding ivermectin MDA to seasonal malaria chemoprevention in this setting would reduce clinical incidence by an additional 77% in children younger than 5 years compared with seasonal malaria chemoprevention alone; adding ivermectin MDA to MDA with dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine in this setting would reduce incidence by an additional 75% and prevalence by an additional 64% (all ages) compared with MDA with dihydroartemisinin–piperaquine alone. Our modelling predictions suggest that ivermectin could be a valuable addition to the malaria control toolbox, both in areas with persistently high transmission where existing interventions are insufficient and in areas approaching elimination to prevent resurgence. Imperial College Junior Research Fellowship.

Ivermectin is being considered for mass drug administration for malaria due to its ability to kill mosquitoes feeding on recently treated individuals. However, standard, single doses of 150–200 μg/kg used for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis have a short-lived mosquitocidal effect (<7 days). Because ivermectin is well tolerated up to 2000 μg/kg, we aimed to establish the safety, tolerability, and mosquitocidal efficacy of 3 day courses of high-dose ivermectin, co-administered with a standard malaria treatment. We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, superiority trial at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (Kisumu, Kenya). Adults (aged 18–50 years) were eligible if they had confirmed symptomatic uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria and agreed to the follow-up schedule. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1) using sealed envelopes, stratified by sex and body-mass index (men: <21 vs ≥21 kg/m2; women: <23 vs ≥23 kg/m2), with permuted blocks of three, to receive 3 days of ivermectin 300 μg/kg per day, ivermectin 600 μg/kg per day, or placebo, all co-administered with 3 days of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine. Blood of patients taken on post-treatment days 0, 2 + 4 h, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 28 was fed to laboratory-reared Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto mosquitoes, and mosquito survival was assessed daily for 28 days after feeding. The primary outcome was 14-day cumulative mortality of mosquitoes fed 7 days after ivermectin treatment (from participants who received at least one dose of study medication). The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02511353. Between July 20, 2015, and May 7, 2016, 741 adults with malaria were assessed for eligibility, of whom 141 were randomly assigned to receive ivermectin 600 μg/kg per day (n=47), ivermectin 300 μg/kg per day (n=48), or placebo (n=46). 128 patients (91%) attended the primary outcome visit 7 days post treatment. Compared with placebo, ivermectin was associated with higher 14 day post-feeding mosquito mortality when fed on blood taken 7 days post treatment (ivermectin 600 μg/kg per day risk ratio [RR] 2·26, 95% CI 1·93–2·65, p<0·0001; hazard ratio [HR] 6·32, 4·61–8·67, p<0·0001; ivermectin 300 μg/kg per day RR 2·18, 1·86–2·57, p<0·0001; HR 4·21, 3·06–5·79, p<0·0001). Mosquito mortality remained significantly increased 28 days post treatment (ivermectin 600 μg/kg per day RR 1·23, 1·01–1·50, p=0·0374; and ivermectin 300 μg/kg per day 1·21, 1·01–1·44, p=0·0337). Five (11%) of 45 patients receiving ivermectin 600 μg/kg per day, two (4%) of 48 patients receiving ivermectin 300 μg/kg per day, and none of 46 patients receiving placebo had one or more treatment-related adverse events. Ivermectin at both doses assessed was well tolerated and reduced mosquito survival for at least 28 days after treatment. Ivermectin 300 μg/kg per day for 3 days provided a good balance between efficacy and tolerability, and this drug shows promise as a potential new tool for malaria elimination. Malaria Eradication Scientific Alliance (MESA) and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The control of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK has necessitated restrictions on amateur and professional sports due to the perceived infection risk to competitors, via direct person to person transmission, or possibly via the surfaces of sports equipment. The sharing of sports equipment such as tennis balls was therefore banned by some sport’s governing bodies. We sought to investigate the potential of sporting equipment as transmission vectors of SARS-CoV-2. Ten different types of sporting equipment, including balls from common sports, were inoculated with 40 μl droplets containing clinically relevant concentrations of live SARS-CoV-2 virus. Materials were then swabbed at time points relevant to sports (1, 5, 15, 30, 90 min). The amount of live SARS-CoV-2 recovered at each time point was enumerated using viral plaque assays, and viral decay and half-life was estimated through fitting linear models to log transformed data from each material. At one minute, SARS-CoV-2 virus was recovered in only seven of the ten types of equipment with the low dose inoculum, one at five minutes and none at 15 min. Retrievable virus dropped significantly for all materials tested using the high dose inoculum with mean recovery of virus falling to 0.74% at 1 min, 0.39% at 15 min and 0.003% at 90 min. Viral recovery, predicted decay, and half-life varied between materials with porous surfaces limiting virus transmission. This study shows that there is an exponential reduction in SARS-CoV-2 recoverable from a range of sports equipment after a short time period, and virus is less transferrable from materials such as a tennis ball, red cricket ball and cricket glove. Given this rapid loss of viral load and the fact that transmission requires a significant inoculum to be transferred from equipment to the mucous membranes of another individual it seems unlikely that sports equipment is a major cause for transmission of SARS-CoV-2. These findings have important policy implications in the context of the pandemic and may promote other infection control measures in sports to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and urge sports equipment manufacturers to identify surfaces that may or may not be likely to retain transferable virus.

PCR of upper respiratory specimens is the diagnostic standard for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. However, saliva sampling is an easy alternative to nasal and throat swabbing. We found similar viral loads in saliva samples and in nasal and throat swab samples from 110 patients with coronavirus disease.

The treatment of enteric fever is complicated by the emergence of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella Typhi. Azithromycin is commonly used for first-line treatment of uncomplicated enteric fever, but the response to treatment may be sub-optimal in some patient groups when compared with fluoroquinolones. We performed an analysis of responses to treatment with azithromycin (500mg once-daily, 14 days) or ciprofloxacin (500mg twice-daily, 14 days) in healthy UK volunteers (18-60 years) enrolled into two Salmonella controlled human infection studies. Study A was a single-centre, open-label, randomised trial. Participants were randomised 1:1 to receive open-label oral ciprofloxacin or azithromycin, stratified by vaccine group (Vi-polysaccharide, Vi-conjugate or control Men-ACWY vaccine). Study B was an observational challenge/re-challenge study, where participants were randomised to challenge with Salmonella Typhi or Salmonella Paratyphi A. Outcome measures included fever clearance time, blood-culture clearance time and a composite measure of prolonged treatment response (persistent fever ≥38.0°C for ≥72 hours, persistently positive S. Typhi blood cultures for ≥72 hours, or change in antibiotic treatment). Both trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02324751 and NCT02192008). In 81 participants diagnosed with S. Typhi in two studies, treatment with azithromycin was associated with prolonged bacteraemia (median 90.8 hours [95% CI: 65.9-93.8] vs. 20.1 hours [95% CI: 7.8-24.3], p<0.001) and prolonged fever clearance times <37.5°C (hazard ratio 2.4 [95%CI: 1.2-5.0]; p = 0.02). Results were consistent when studies were analysed independently and in a sub-group of participants with no history of vaccination or previous challenge. A prolonged treatment response was observed significantly more frequently in the azithromycin group (28/52 [54.9%]) compared with the ciprofloxacin group (1/29 [3.5%]; p<0.001). In participants treated with azithromycin, observed systemic plasma concentrations of azithromycin did not exceed the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), whilst predicted intracellular concentrations did exceed the MIC. In participants treated with ciprofloxacin, the observed systemic plasma concentrations and predicted intracellular concentrations of ciprofloxacin exceeded the MIC. Azithromycin at a dose of 500mg daily is an effective treatment for fully sensitive strains of S. Typhi but is associated with delayed treatment response and prolonged bacteraemia when compared with ciprofloxacin within the context of a human challenge model. Whilst the cellular accumulation of azithromycin is predicted to be sufficient to treat intracellular S. Typhi, systemic exposure may be sub-optimal for the elimination of extracellular circulating S. Typhi. In an era of increasing antimicrobial resistance, further studies are required to define appropriate azithromycin dosing regimens for enteric fever and to assess novel treatment strategies, including combination therapies. ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02324751 and NCT02192008).

A successful drug needs to combine several properties including high potency and good pharmacokinetic (PK) properties to sustain efficacious plasma concentration over time. To estimate required doses for preclinical animal efficacy models or for the clinics, in vivo PK studies need to be conducted. Although the prediction of ADME properties of compounds using machine learning (ML) models based on chemical structures is well established in drug discovery, the prediction of complete plasma concentration–time profiles has only recently gained attention. In this study, we systematically compare various approaches that integrate ML models with empiric or mechanistic PK models to predict PK profiles in rats after intravenous administration prior to synthesis. More specifically, we compare a standard noncompartmental analysis (NCA)‐based approach (prediction of CL and Vss), a pure ML approach (non‐mechanistic PK description), a compartmental modeling approach, and a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) approach. Our study based on internal preclinical data shows that the latter three approaches yield PK profile predictions of comparable accuracy across a large data set (evaluated as geometric mean fold errors for each profile of over 1000 small molecules). In summary, we demonstrate the improved ability to prioritize drug candidates with desirable PK properties prior to synthesis with ML predictions.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and solid cancers with liver metastases are indications with high unmet medical need. Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a proinflammatory cytokine with substantial anti-tumor properties, but its therapeutic potential has not been realized due to severe toxicity. Here, we show that orthotopic liver tumors in mice can be treated by targeting hepatocytes via systemic delivery of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors carrying the murine IL-12 gene. Controlled cytokine production was achieved in vivo by using the tetracycline-inducible K19 riboswitch. AAV-mediated expression of IL-12 led to STAT4 phosphorylation, interferon-γ (IFNγ) production, infiltration of T cells and, ultimately, tumor regression. By detailed analyses of efficacy and tolerability in healthy and tumor-bearing animals, we could define a safe and efficacious vector dose. As a potential clinical candidate, we characterized vectors carrying the human IL-12 (huIL-12) gene. In mice, bioactive human IL-12 was expressed in a vector dose-dependent manner and could be induced by tetracycline, suggesting tissue-specific AAV vectors with riboswitch-controlled expression of highly potent proinflammatory cytokines as an attractive approach for vector-based cancer immunotherapy.

ObjectiveTo conduct a head-to-head diagnostic accuracy evaluation of anterior nares (AN) and nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs for SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection using two brands of rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDT).MethodsTwo prospective diagnostic evaluations were carried out at different time points and participant cohorts to evaluate the performance of paired AN and NP swabs in two Ag-RDT brands: Sure-Status (PMC, India) and Biocredit (RapiGEN, South Korea). The sensitivity and specificity of AN and NP swabs for each of the index test cohorts were calculated against the reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) TaqPath COVID-19 (ThermoFisher, UK) using NP swabs as reference standard.ResultsA total of 372 participants were recruited for the Sure-Status cohort and 232 for the Biocredit, of which 119 (32.1%) and 122 (53.7%) were SARS-CoV-2 positive by RT-qPCR, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of AN swabs were equivalent to those obtained with NP swabs in both cohorts: 83.9% (95% CI 76.0–90.0) and 98.8% (95% CI 96.6–9.8) using NP swabs and 85.6% (95% CI 77.1–91.4) and 99.2% (95% CI 97.1–99.9) with AN swabs for Sure-Status and; 81.2% (95% CI 73.1–87.7) and 99.0% (95% CI 94.7–86.5) with NP swabs and 79.5% (95% CI 71.3–86.3) and 100% (95% CI 96.5–100) with AN swabs for Biocredit. The agreement of the AN and NP swabs was high for both brands with an inter-rater reliability (κ) of 0.918 and 0.833 for Sure-Status and Biocredit, respectively. The overall 50% limits of detection (LoD50) and 95% LoD (LoD95) were 0.9–2.4×104 and 3.0–3.2×108 RNA copies/mL for NP swabs and 0.3–1.1×105 and 0.7–7.9×107 RNA copies/mL for AN swabs, with no significant difference in LoD for any of the swab types or test brands.ConclusionsThe diagnostic accuracy of the two SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDT brands evaluated in this study was equivalent using AN swabs than NP swabs. However, test line intensity was lower when using AN swabs, which could negatively influence the interpretation of the Ag-RDT results by lay users.Trail registration numberNCT04408170.