Research Focus: From AMR resistance in soil to RSV vaccine uptake

Biosolids, a by-product of municipal wastewater treatment, are increasingly used as organic fertilisers to amend farm soils. Biosolids may be associated with the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs).

In this real-world pilot study, researchers from Moredun Research Institute and Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland evaluated the diversity and relative abundance of ARGs and MGEs in pasture soils and faecal samples from sheep grazing on biosolid-treated and control fields.

Analysis revealed that all biosolid samples had Escherichia coli levels significantly below the regulatory limit, indicating effective treatment during processing.

Citation: Silva N, Huang X, Duncan R, Currie C, Hamilton S, Lawson S, Robertshaw-McFarlane E, Watson E, King G, Ewing DA, Brocklehurst S, Zadoks RN, Bellingham M. J Environ Manage. 2026 Mar 11;404:129228. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.129228. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41818979.

Researchers combined a systematic literature review, hospital records and meat inspection reports with geospatial risk mapping to comprehensively understand the distribution of the zoonotic parasite Taenia solium in Malawi. This work was instigated by, and has been published in memory of, a previous Royal (Dick) student, Camille Glazer, who sadly lost her battle with Leukaemia in 2023 and is greatly missed by her friends and colleagues at the school. 

This study was conducted with partners from ILRI, LUANAR, Malawi's Ministry of Health and Department of Animal Health and livestock development, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Unlimit Health and Imperial College London. 

Citation: Ngwili, N., Kachepa, U., Ahimbisibwe, S. et al. Spatial and temporal risk mapping of human and porcine Taenia solium infections in Malawi: a systematic review and geostatistical approach. One Health Outlook 8, 19 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42522-026-00199-3

In 2019, a “low-path” H3N1 bird flu outbreak in Belgium caused unexpectedly severe illness in poultry. 

Researchers from the Roslin Institute showed that a small change in the virus’s neuraminidase (surface enzyme) lets it latch onto plasminogen, a common blood protein, which in turn switches on the virus’s entry protein and helps it spread through the body without the usual triggers. When the team edited the virus to remove this ability, its activation and spread dropped sharply in lab-grown bird cells, chicken organoids, and chicken embryos. 

They also spotted the same genetic signature in other N1 bird flu strains (including H6N1) and confirmed similar behavior in the lab. These findings provide a simple genetic “red flag” to help surveillance teams identify low-path viruses that could still pose a high risk to poultry.

Citation: Lee HM, Sutton K, Harvey W, Sives S, Pinto RM, Gaunt E, Lycett S, de Wit S, Vervelde L, Digard P. mBio. 2026 Feb 26:e0246625. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02466-25. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41744684.

Trypanosoma brucei is a parasite with lots of repeated DNA, and it hasn’t been clear which proteins attach to these repeats or what they do.

Researchers from the School of Biological Sciences created custom “DNA readers” that latch onto specific repeats so they could pull out and identify the proteins bound there. At the ends of chromosomes, they found the expected caretaking proteins that protect DNA. Repeats beside the parasite’s “coat” genes attracted DNA repair proteins, hinting at how it changes its coat to hide from the immune system.

Repeats on small chromosomes drew the machinery that moves chromosomes during cell division, showing these mini-chromosomes use the same system as the big ones.

Citation: Carloni R, Devlin T, Tong P, Spanos C, Auchynnikava T, Rappsilber J, Matthews KR, Allshire RC. Elife. 2026 Mar 10;14:RP109950. doi: 10.7554/eLife.109950. PMID: 41805585; PMCID: PMC12975129.

Researchers from the Clinical Infection Research Group and the Institute for Regeneration and Repair looked into whether having a respiratory virus (like COVID‑19 or flu) at the same time as a serious Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection changes how sick people get. 

Reviewing 651 adult cases in Southeast Scotland (2021–2024), about two‑thirds were tested for viruses and 9% had one, mostly COVID‑19. People with a virus were much more likely to have the staph infection start in the lungs (bacteremic pneumonia), and they had a higher 30‑day death rate overall (about 32% vs 18%). 

However, after accounting for other factors, it was the presence of staph pneumonia in the bloodstream—not the virus itself—that independently predicted death. Treatments that dampen the immune system for COVID‑19 were not linked to higher mortality. The takeaway: respiratory viruses raise the risk of severe staph pneumonia that can spill into the blood, and it is this pneumonia that drives worse short‑term outcomes.

Citation: Roberts K, Dewar S, Sutherland RK, Russell CD. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2026 Mar 3;13(3):ofag113. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofag113. PMID: 41859699; PMCID: PMC12996906.

Helminths have co-evolved with humans and developed sophisticated mechanisms to manipulate the host immune system, allowing them to persist for years. Chronic helminth infection can compromise host immunity to other infections, and, in some cases, result in reduced vaccine efficacy. Studies have shown that anthelminthic treatment can reverse parasite host immunomodulation. However, there is evidence that helminth-induced immune changes may persist months after parasite clearance. 

With the widespread rollout of preventive chemotherapy via mass drug administration (MDA) across the continent, many African populations have now received at least one round of deworming treatment. This raises critical questions about the nature, persistence, and public health significance of anthelminthic treatment-related immunological shifts in endemic settings with repeated exposures. In Africa, which bears a disproportionate share of the global helminth burden, there is growing interest in how these factors shape immune responses. In this review, researchers from the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research summarise current knowledge and key research gaps regarding mechanisms that contribute to immune variation in helminth-endemic populations and the broader implications for disease control, vaccine response, and health policy in endemic settings.

Citation: Benos EJ, Mutapi F (2026). PLoS Negl Trop Dis 20(3): e0014084. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0014084

Researchers from Institute for Regeneration and Repair in collaboration with researchers from the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme investigated the longevity of protection conferred by the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) against pneumococcus serotype 6B (SPN6B) carriage, assessed via a one-year post-vaccination rechallenge with SPN6B in a longitudinal follow-up of a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial and controlled human infection model in Malawian adults.

First, the study found that PCV13 provided 73% protection against nasal experimental pneumococcal carriage upon rechallenge with SPN6B one year after vaccination. Second, prior exposure to pneumococcus 6B protected against subsequent carriage of the same serotype. Third, regardless of PCV13 vaccination status, a subset of individuals remained vulnerable to pneumococcus and demonstrated experimental carriage initially, at one month post-vaccination, and again one year following vaccination. Overall, these results support the efficacy of PCVs and suggest the potential of nasal pneumococcal vaccination to prevent carriage.

Citation: Dula D, Morton B, Chikaonda T, Chirwa AE, Nsomba E, Nkhoma V, Ngoliwa C, Sichone S, Galafa B, Tembo G, Chaponda M, Toto N, Kamng'ona R, Makhaza L, Muyaya A, Thole F, Kudowa E, Howard A, Kenny-Nyazika T, Ndaferankhande J, Mkandawire C, Chiwala G, Chimgoneko L, Banda NPK, Rylance J, Ferreira D, Jambo K, Henrion MYR, Gordon SB; Malawi Accelerated Research in Vaccines, Experimental and Laboratory Systems (MARVELS) consortium. Lancet Microbe. 2023 Sep;4(9):e683-e691. doi: 10.1016/S2666-5247(23)00178-7.

Researchers from Usher Institute reviewed real‑world studies from 2023–2025 covering over 121 million older adults in several countries to see how often RSV vaccines are used, how well they work, and their safety. In the U.S., about 18% of people aged 60+ got an RSV shot in the 2023/24 season, with lower uptake in some social and clinical groups. 

The vaccines worked well: roughly 75% protection against RSV infection, emergency/urgent care visits, and hospital admissions, and about 80% protection against severe illness. Overall safety looked good. A very rare nerve condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome was reported after vaccination at about 5–7 cases per million doses with Arexvy and 9–18 per million with Abrysvo. These findings support wider use of RSV vaccination in older adults.

Citation: Trusinska D, Lee B, Ferdous S, Lansbury L, Burden C, Anand A, Stowe J, Mensah A, Lim W, Marsh K, Gibbons C, Shi T. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2026 Feb 20;64:101623. doi: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2026.101623. PMID: 41767892; PMCID: PMC12936786.