In a medical advance that may revolutionize the battle against one of the globe's most deadly bacterial infections, researchers have pinpointed individual antibodies that protect children naturally from Strep A. The find not only deconstructs how early childhood immunity is acquired but also paves the way for quicker, more directed development of vaccines — a step that could save as many as half a million lives annually.

Strep A, or Group A Streptococcus, is an extremely prevalent bacterium. At its least severe, it produces sore throats, scarlet fever, and skin infections. But when invasive, it can cause life-threatening disease such as toxic shock syndrome, necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease), and serious post-infectious disease such as acute rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, and kidney damage.

Worldwide, Strep A infects an estimated 750 million individuals each year and kills over 500,000 — more than influenza, typhoid, or whooping cough. Fatalities are disproportionately found in low- and middle-income nations, where opportunities for timely diagnosis and treatment are poor. In high-income countries, deaths are much less frequent but outbreaks do occur. Late in 2022, a UK and European surge resulted in hundreds of fatalities, many among children.

The World Health Organization has also seen the pressing need for a global, coordinated response to deal with Strep A and its complications. An effective and safe vaccine would be a game-changer, not only avoiding infections but also limiting long-term complications such as rheumatic heart disease.

The most recent breakthrough is from a collaboration of the University of Sheffield, the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and global partners. Scientists monitored the development of natural immunity to Strep A by children over a period in The Gambia.

The research, published in Nature Medicine, found that babies are born with certain maternal antibodies against Strep A. These provide temporary protection but wane rapidly, making children susceptible. Repeated exposure to the bacteria throughout early childhood provokes the immune system to generate its own antibodies — aimed at certain parts of Strep A associated with protection.

"Finding this critical window for building immunity is a finding that has implications for future vaccine approaches," study authors said. By identifying when and how immunity is formed, vaccine developers can create immunization schedules that follow natural defense patterns.

Finding the Protective Antibodies

Lead author Dr Alex Keeley, a Wellcome Clinical PhD Fellow in Global Health at the MRC Unit The Gambia and the Florey Institute of Infection at the University of Sheffield, said the research was a game-changer in the fight against Strep A vaccines.

For the first time in humans, we have seen how antibodies that developed following vaccination may prevent infection," said Dr. Keeley. "This knowledge eliminates a significant barrier to vaccine development."

The antibodies found in the research bind directly to proteins on the surface of the Strep A bacterium. By identifying and targeting these proteins, the immune system can inactivate the bacteria before it develops into disease.

For affected communities, the stakes are not just medical but also economic. Gambian researcher and study co-author Fatouamta Camara said the impact of the infection was "devastating" — affecting school enrollment, household income, and health systems.

"A vaccine would bring hope to end this cycle and enable children to flourish," she said.

This finding is one of a larger, multi-institutional effort spearheaded by researchers from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) in Australia, Monash University, University of New South Wales, University of Auckland, and the University of Sheffield. The program also involves significant vaccine makers as members of an advisory board.

Funding from the UK-based Wellcome Trust has enabled researchers to use the world’s only Strep A human challenge model, developed by the MCRI team. This model allows scientists to safely expose healthy adult volunteers to controlled doses of Strep A in order to study immune responses in detail.

Dr. Hannah Frost, from MCRI, said the model is accelerating the vaccine timeline:

"With this investment by Wellcome, we will be responding to some of the largest and most intransigent questions that are blocking the development, licensing, and delivery of an effective Strep A vaccine."

Testing the Immune Blueprint

The study enrolled 25 healthy adults in Melbourne who received a low dose of Strep A under close clinical supervision. Blood and saliva samples were collected pre- and post-exposure to assess antibody response.

The results verified that specific antibodies — the same ones found in Gambian children — are associated with immunity against the bacteria. If a vaccine can consistently induce these antibodies, scientists think it could protect individuals through the entire range of Strep A-related illnesses.

Why This Vaccine Affects Beyond Infection Prevention?

MCRI Professor Andrew Steer also underlined that an effective vaccine would have implications far greater than protecting against sore throats or skin infections. "Another significant benefit of this vaccine would be decreasing rates of rheumatic heart disease around the world — a disease that can be prevented and has been recognized as a global priority," he said.

Rheumatic heart disease, resulting from untreated or repeated Strep A infections, causes permanent damage to heart valve tissue and is a leading cause of mortality in young adults in most low-resource environments.

Despite being known for decades, vaccine development has trailed behind. The bacterium's complexity, along with the incomplete knowledge of how immunity is acquired, have hindered advancement.

By tracing the development of natural antibodies in children and validating which antibodies offer immunity, researchers now have a definitive target for vaccine design. This could greatly compress the timeline for getting a vaccine to market.

Professor Thushan de Silva, Sheffield's Co-Director of the Florey Institute of Infection, emphasized the value of cross-border collaboration: "This study illustrates the strength of working across institutions to produce high-quality, impactful research in global health."

The second stage of studies will try out various vaccine candidates to determine which one can elicit the same protective antibodies seen in the research. Both high-burden populations such as The Gambia and lower-burden populations such as Australia will have trials, making sure that the vaccine is effective under various populations and conditions.

The target is a single vaccine that will guard against the full spectrum of diseases Strep A can cause — from trivial to fatal.

Despite the obstacles, the convergence of international cooperation, sophisticated lab models, and new insights into immunology brings researchers closer than ever to a solution. Strep A continues to kill hundreds of thousands of people every year, but the finding of naturally protective antibodies in children provides genuine hope. For the first time, scientists now have a definite blueprint to developing a vaccine that might protect the most susceptible — and end one of the world's most enduring infectious threats.

The UKHSA has noted that a new strain of COVID-19 virus, called Stratus, with two variants, XFG and XFG.3, has accounted for a high proportion cases in England, reports the Independent. Among these two variants, XFG.3 has accounted for 30% of cases in the country.

However, experts have suggested to not panic on the arrival of this new strain. Dr Alex Allen, consultant epidemiologist of UKHSA said, "It is normal for viruses to mutate and change over time," as reported by the Independent. However, the UKHSA has also confirmed that it continues to monitor all strains of COVID in the UK. For now, experts are not concerned over the spread.

What Is Stratus XFG and XFG.3?

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), XFG is a "variant under monitoring" and that any health risk posed by this variant remain low at the global level.

As of now, globally, XFG has the highest relative growth when compared to the other variants that are currently active and circulating, including "Nimbus" NB.1.8.1.

The WHO also confirmed that current data does not indicate that this variant leads to more severe illness or deaths than the other currently active variants in circulation.

Unique Symptoms Of Stratus COVID Strain

While the strain is said to be not a cause of concern, the symptoms may be unique from what we traditionally know COVID symptoms to be.

The WHO however, time and again has said that there is no increase in severity. It said, "While there are reported increases in cases and hospitalisations in some of the [South-east Asia Region] countries, which has the highest proportion of XFG, there are no reports to suggest that the associated disease severity is higher as compared to other circulating variants."

Dr Allen also seconded the opinion and said, "Based on the available information so far, there is no evidence to suggest that the XFG and XFG.3 variants cause more severe disease than previous variants, or that the vaccines in current use will be less effective against them.”

The unique symptoms of Stratus COVID strain includes:

• Sore throat or hoarseness, as experts have also claimed that Stratus can give patients a "hoarse voice".
• Headaches that can last several days
• Nasal congestion and mild fever
• Fatigue that lingers beyond acute phase

Other than these unique symptoms, the common COVID symptoms like change in smell or taste, shortness of breath and chest discomfort remain, however, it may be uncommon in vaccinated individuals.

Are There Any Risks Around The New Stratus Strain?

XFG is growing rapidly compared to co-circulating variants globally. However, XFG exhibits only marginal additional immune evasion over [other varient] LP.8.1. While there are reported increases in cases and hospitalizations in some of the [South-east Asia Region] countries, which has the highest proportion of XFG, there are no reports to suggest that the associated disease severity is higher as compared to other circulating variants. The available evidence on XFG does not suggest additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendant lineages," said WHO.

Do We Need New Vaccines For The New Strain?

The WHO said that as per the current available data, the currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective against symptomatic and severe diseases, including caused by the new strain.

However, Dr Kaywaan Khan, Harley Street GP and founder of Hannah London Clinic told Cosmopolitan UK that due to certain mutations in the spike protein in Stratus strain, it could evade antibodies "developed from prior infections or vaccinations".

While WHO noted that the risk of vaccine evasion is low, it also noted that more studies must be added to assess the risk of antibody escape.

Every year, on August 13, World Organ Donation Day is observed, globally, to spread awareness about the importance of organ donation and to make people aware about the misconceptions that surround organ donation.

World Organ Donation Day 2025 Theme And Significance

This year's theme for World Organ Donation Day is 'Answering the Call'. This theme highlights the important function played by the professionals in the organ donation community. What it means is to encourage more to strengthen their dedication to save as many lives as possible through organ donation and transplantation.

The Pace Hospital notes that as of 2021, globally, 1,44,302 organ transplantations had occurred, of which, 26.44% were of deceased organ donation. India performed a total of 12,259 transplantation, contributing to 8% in global transplantations. In India, the most transplants that took place were for kidneys at 74.27%, liver at 23.33%, heart at 1.23%, lung at 1.08%, pancreas at 0.15%, and small intestine at 0.03%.

The overall number of deceased donors transplantation in India was 4.5%. While the deceased donors transplantation in India was reported 759 for kidney, 279 for liver and 99 for heart, the Indian Ministry of Health's estimated that it needs 175,000 kidneys, 50,000 livers, hearts, and lungs and 2,500 pancreas to meet the demand.

The Indian Ministry of Road and Transport and Highway's 2021 report notes that more than 1.5 lakh were reported as accident-related mortalities, however, only 552 deceased brain deaths organ transplantations took place in 2021. This is why it is more so important to raise awareness about organ donation to help those in requirement and reducing the number of patients on the waiting list.

History Of Organ Donation

It was in 1954, when the first successful organ transplant was performed. It was a kidney transplant by Dr Joseph Murray and his team at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

The donor was Ronald Lee Herrick, who donated his organ to his twin brother Richard Herrick. Later in 1990, the doctor was honored with Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for bringing advances in organ transplantation.

Th United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) highlights the timeline of the first donations and transplants performed of different organs.

• 1996: First simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplant performed.
• 1967: First successful liver transplant performed.
• 1968: The Southeast Organ Procurement Foundation implemented the first computer-based organ matching system, which was dubbed as UNOS. It successfully performed the first isolated pancreas transplant and heart transplant.
• 1981: First successful heart-lung transplant performed.
• 1983: First successful single-lung transplant performed. Cyclosporine, the first of a number of drugs that effectively treat organ rejection by suppressing the human immune system, introduced.
• 1984: National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) was passed.
• 1986: First successful double-lung transplant performed.
• 1987: First successful intestinal transplant performed.
• 1988: First split-liver transplant performed.
• 1989: First successful living donor liver transplant performed.
• 1990: First successful living donor lung transplant performed.
• 1992: UNOS helped found Donate Life America to build public support for organ donation.
• 1998: First successful adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant performed.

How Organ Donation Can Change A Life?

In March 2024, a dedicated Delhi-based teacher, Meena Mehta was declared brain dead and her organs were donated to many, including her hands, shared her nephew Jawed Mehta. A 45-year-old Delhi-based painter had lost both his hands in a 2020 train accident, who received hand transplant. The hands were of Meena Mehta. After a 12-hour long surgery, the painter was able to paint again. Meena Mehta also donated her kidney, liver, and corneas, which has changed lives of three more people.

Nine-time Grand Slam champion Monica Seles is using her popularity and platform to shed light on a rare chronic neuromuscular condition that has changed her life. Myasthenia Gravis.

In an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday, the former World No. 1 revealed for the first time that she was diagnosed three years ago with myasthenia gravis, or MG, an autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness.

"It was 30 years ago that I came back to the [U.S.] Open ... It was like a reset, and this was one of the reasons I decided to go public with my myasthenia gravis," Seles said. "It’s been a huge reset not just in my professional life as a tennis player, but also in my personal life."

Seles, who last played professionally in 2003 and officially retired in 2008, said she hopes her story will help others who may be struggling with unexplained symptoms.

Recognizing the Signs

The 51-year-old said her training as a professional athlete helped her notice early changes in her body.

"I started experiencing these symptoms of extreme leg weakness, arm weakness, double vision. So I realized, ‘This is very unusual,’" she explained. "Once I was diagnosed, it was like a relief, but also it was a challenge."

Travel, once routine during her tennis career, has become more complicated. "Even coming here today, in the old days, traveling would be a no-brainer. Now I had to get packing tips. I had to learn a new way to live with MG," she said.

Speaking Out to Help Others

Seles admitted she had never heard of myasthenia gravis before her diagnosis. "I had no clue what it was. I had a hard time pronouncing it," she said with a smile.

She hopes that talking about her experience will encourage people to seek medical advice if they notice changes in their health.

"It’s been a very challenging time dealing with it," she added. "But knowing there’s hope out there and a great community has helped me tremendously."

Her message to others: "Advocate for yourself and know your symptoms."

Also Read: Tennis Player Monica Seles Opens Up About Her Myasthenia Gravis Diagnosis

What Is Myasthenia Gravis?

According to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), myasthenia gravis is a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in voluntary muscles, the muscles responsible for movements like walking, swallowing, breathing, and facial expressions.

MG occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy muscle receptors, disrupting the signals needed for muscle contraction. Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that the condition is not inherited or contagious and often develops later in life.

The disease can affect anyone, but it most commonly impacts women under 40 and men over 60. Symptoms may include:

• Drooping eyelids (ptosis) and double vision (diplopia)
• Muscle weakness that worsens with activity
• Trouble swallowing or speaking clearly
• Weakness in the arms, legs, neck, or face
• Shortness of breath in severe cases

Symptoms can vary widely between individuals. In rare situations, a myasthenic crisis may occur, affecting breathing muscles and requiring emergency medical care.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Because the symptoms of MG can resemble other health conditions, diagnosis involves a combination of physical and neurological exams, blood tests, and nerve stimulation studies.

There is currently no cure, but treatments can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life. These may include medications that enhance communication between nerves and muscles, immunosuppressive drugs, and in some cases, surgery to remove the thymus gland.

Temporary forms of MG can occur in newborns if a mother has the disease, but these cases usually resolve within two to three months.

Looking Ahead

While managing myasthenia gravis has brought challenges, Seles continues to find joy in life and in the sport she loves. She still follows tennis closely and is excited about the current generation of players.

"I wish I had a crystal ball," she said. "I love Coco Gauff, the electricity she brought to the U.S. Open. As a tennis fan, we just want great matches and the excitement of the fans."

By sharing her personal journey, Seles hopes to break the silence around MG and help others feel less alone. "When I got diagnosed, I wished I had heard someone talk about it. Now, I hope my story can be that for someone else."