On this note:

Huge progress being made by Penda Johm in establishing a community advisory board for Strep A research...

Many new projects underway, lots of opportunity to collaborate...

And substantial momentum towards Strep A vaccine trials @mrcunitgambia.bsky.social

fin/

But biggest thanks to the families, the Alkalo, and community of Sukuta, The Gambia.

Sharing the first results with you was a special moment (x.com/edwinarmitag...)

We look forward to the next event to show just how impactful your contribution has been.

13/

So many collaborators and partnerships made this happen. Plus the amazing SpyCATS field team (led by Gabou de Crombrugghe and Musukoi Jammeh), lab teams and RSO @mrcunitgambia.bsky.social .

12/

What did we find?

🖐️📢 Higher IgG levels to SLO, SpyAD, SpyCEP, but not GAC were associated with protection.

We defined protective thresholds allowing comparison with upcoming phase 1 vaccine trials. But.. to be more relevant we need universal reference sera.

7/

We measured IgG antibodies 1987 timepoints, linked to dense culture-based surveillance for Strep A. This allowed us to explore the association between antibody level and risk of infection.

Collaboration with @adamjkucharski.bsky.social and @hsalje.bsky.social

6/

Thanks to a collaboration with GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health and @njmoreland.bsky.social, and along with our team (esp lab superstar Fatoumata Camara) @mrcunitgambia.bsky.social, we measured antibodies to vaccine-relevant antigens, including:

GAC
SLO
SpyAD
SpyCEP
DNAseB
M proteins

5/

SpyCATS recap:

We did a household cohort study in The Gambia - funded by @wellcometrust.bsky.social as a clinical PhD fellowship to @earmitage.bsky.social to detect Strep A carriage and disease

And.. it is a unique platform to understand immunity.

Read about that: tinyurl.com/4d9pfxwc

4/

NmCV-5 met noninferiority for ACWY and showed strong immunogenicity for serogroup X. Seroresponses and GMTs exceeded MenACWY-D in key measures; safety profile comparable with no major adverse events.