Praveen Kumar

https://doi.org/10.64823/ijmhs.2601008

Melioidosis is a serious infectious disease caused by the environmental Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderiapseudomallei. The organism is naturally found in soil and stagnant water, particularly in tropical regions. The disease is a major public health challenge, but it is frequently unrecognized in endemic areas such as Southeast Asia and northern Australia. Individuals with occupations that involve agricultural work pose a greater risk to infection, with exposure to contaminated environments being common. However, despite many people having contact with the pathogen, only a small proportion develop melioidosis. This evidence suggests the presence of both bacterial and individual host factors that influence the risk of infection and the severity of the disease. Recent advances in genomic research provide new opportunities to explore the interplay between bacterial variation and human genetic diversity in infectious diseases. Ongoing research investigates combined analyses of the pathogen and the host in the context of integrated genomic approaches. Projects such as BurkHostGEN obtain biological samples from infected patients but also healthy populations and analyze host DNA, gene expression, and the genetic variation of the bacterium. Researchers investigate environmental sources, such as the presence of B. pseudomallei in household water, to determine the presence and diversity of the pathogen. Integrating microbial genome-wide association studies in conjunction with host genetic data represents an emerging strategy to identify the genetic factors associated with the risk for infection, disease progression, and clinical outcomes in patients with melioidosis. In the long term, such comprehensive genomic studies can improve the overall understanding of melioidosis and further contribute to research of infectious diseases with environmental transmission.

Dengue is among the fastest-growing mosquito-borne viral infections worldwide and continues to pose a major public health challenge because no approved antiviral treatment is available. As a result, vaccination has become a cornerstone of dengue prevention. Several vaccine candidates have progressed through clinical development; however, questions remain regarding their efficacy, long-term safety, and ability to provide consistent protection against all four dengue virus serotypes. Over the last five years, findings from phase II and phase III clinical trials, post-licensure safety monitoring, and real-world effectiveness studies have substantially advanced the understanding of vaccine performance and influenced both regulatory recommendations and future vaccine development strategies. Despite these advances, important immunological issues remain unresolved, including the induction of balanced and durable immunity against all serotypes, identification of reliable correlates of protection, and clarification of how age and pre-existing dengue immunity affect vaccine responses. Clinical studies have reported variable outcomes, with several vaccines offering moderate protection against symptomatic dengue while showing differences in efficacy among serotypes and lower effectiveness in individuals without prior dengue exposure. Consequently, vaccination policies have evolved toward more targeted approaches, including pre-vaccination serological testing in selected settings, preferential use among seropositive populations, and integration of immunization programs with vector control and disease surveillance measures. Current research is focused on developing next-generation vaccines that provide stronger tetravalent immune responses, longer-lasting protection, and improved safety for seronegative individuals. In parallel, innovative clinical trial methodologies and detailed immunological analyses are being employed to better define the mechanisms underlying protective immunity. This review summarizes recent clinical evidence, emerging immunological knowledge, and evolving public health policies to provide an updated assessment of dengue vaccines and to identify key research priorities for achieving safe, effective, and equitable dengue prevention through vaccination.

Drug repurposing (DR) also known as drug repositioning, is a strategy used to identify new therapeutic uses for existing drugs. Instead of developing a completely new drug from the beginning, DR explores the possibility of using already approved or previously studied drugs to treat other disease. This approach can significantly reduce the time, cost, and risk involved in traditional drug discovery and development. Drug repurposing can be carried out using experimental methods as well as computational or in silico approaches to identify new drug-target interactions and potential therapeutic applications. Since many repurposed drugs already have established safety and pharmacokinetics information in humans, their development for new indications can be faster and more efficient. This strategy is particularly useful for rare, neglected, and difficult-to-treat diseases where conventional drug discovery may be challenging. In recent years, pharmaceutical companies have increasingly embraced the drug repurposing strategy in their drug discovery and development programs, leading to the identification of new biological targets. Overall, drug repurposing provides an efficient and cost-effective approach to maximize the therapeutic potential of existing medicines. It offers a promising pathway for discovering new treatments, reducing development time, and improving patient care.