Melissa Lauro

Houston Public Media today reported on a “smart trap” by 

 that Harris County Mosquito Control has been testing since summer 2016.

 The traps will help entomologists to (1) track mosquitoes that are carrying Zika virus or other harmful diseases and (2) collect data for ongoing research.

With such warm and humid conditions, Houston is a favorite environment for all types of mosquito species, including ones that carry and spread the Zika virus and other diseases, such as West Nile virus. That makes it a good place for pilot-testing the trap, part of Project Premonition, which designs automated tasks to assist entomologists in their work.

With 80% to 90% accuracy and growing, the smart trap has an infrared light beam that distinguishes between mosquito species and the trap’s doors close on the ones carrying a virus. “[With] the other traps … you could also find some other creatures or other organisms. The Microsoft trap is programmed to the wing span of the mosquitoes. We know exactly what the temperature was, what was the humidity [was], and what kind of mosquito was in the trap,” said Dr. Mustapha Debboun, with Harris County Public Health in an interview.

Microsoft isn’t setting out to cure Zika or other mosquito-carried diseases, but rather to help detect them and to help prevent spread. Douglas Norris, professor of molecular biology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health, explains: “[The trap] collects a lot of data that normally we don’t get. We can use that to figure out real-world solutions, like that bed nets might work.”

 before it causes irreparable harm. Part of prevention, of course, is making sure that patients are educated 

. Clinicians and pharmacists have many opportunities to educate patients about the 

 and other birth defects that are known to result from the infection.

		Linn A. Building a better mosquito trap: how a Microsoft research project could help track Zika’s spread. Microsoft News website. 

news.microsoft.com/features/building-a-better-mosquito-trap-how-a-microsoft-research-project-could-help-track-zikas-spread/#KdywHMOLtgCAADFP.97

. Published June 21, 2016. Accessed May 22, 2017.

		Mayberry E. “Smart” mosquito trap used to prevent spread of Zika and West Nile Virus. Houston Public Media website. houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/05/22/201795/monday-story-smart-mosquito-trap-used-to-prevent-spread-of-zika-and-wet-nile-virus/. Published May 22, 2017. Accessed May 22, 2017. 

Articles

Traps help entomologists track mosquitoes that are carrying Zika or other harmful diseases.

Smart Trap Could Lower Spread of Zika, West Nile Mosquitoes

Linn A. Building a better mosquito trap: how a Microsoft research project could help track Zika’s spread. Microsoft News website. 

Mayberry E. “Smart” mosquito trap used to prevent spread of Zika and West Nile Virus. Houston Public Media website. houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/05/22/201795/monday-story-smart-mosquito-trap-used-to-prevent-spread-of-zika-and-wet-nile-virus/. Published May 22, 2017. Accessed May 22, 2017. 

Houston Public Media today reported on a “smart trap” by Microsoft that Harris County Mosquito Control has been testing since summer 2016.

Smart Trap Increasingly Accurate in Catching Zika, West Nile Mosquitoes

The results of a recent study from Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, show that Zika virus can be identified by a urine test that does not require administration by a doctor and that delivers results in less than 30 minutes.

The test and study’s developer, urologist Laura Lamb, PhD, sees great promise for identifying not only Zika but also other viruses and infections for which they are now working to develop similar urine-based testing. “Detecting these viruses earlier allows us to provide treatment faster and potentially save lives,” she said in a press release.

The Zika virus can be transmitted from infected mothers to their unborn babies and cause microcephaly and other lifelong birth defects. Dr. Lamb noted, “Couples trying to conceive might not even know they are infected and at risk.” More than 5200 cases of Zika virus have been reported in the United States over the past 2 years, according to the CDC.

As soon as the test completes the research phase and receives additional funding, it is expected to benefit at-risk individuals worldwide.

		New research finds urine test could detect Zika virus quickly, protect unborn babies. Beaumont Health website. 

beaumont.org/health-wellness/news/new-research-finds-urine-test-could-detect-zika-virus-quickly-protect-unborn-babies

		 Urine test could detect Zika virus quickly, protect unborn babies. Science Daily website. 

sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170515111837.htm

An improved test for Zika virus could prevent birth defects.

Urine Test Could Improve Zika Virus Diagnosis

 interviewed Nanaz Amini, PharmD, RPh, MS, of the Angeles Clinic & Research Institute, regarding the 

, as well as T-VEC treatment and everything involved in its administration. The following are some key points she made, which have been edited and condensed.

BURDEN AND DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS OF MELANOMA

Melanoma is the second in line for life years lost for our patients who are in their 20s and 30s. It seems that the younger the patients are, the burden of loss is a lot more, obviously. And the prognosis when you have melanoma at a younger age is very grim. One person dies of melanoma every hour. They project that in just this year, there will be about 9700 patients diagnosed with melanoma.

Obviously, the staging of melanoma is stage 0, which is really nothing, and then stages I through IV. Patients who are in stage 1 usually have about a 5-year survival rate of 95%. It also depends on age. A patient could have a mole, which is stage I. It may be removed and there’s no reoccurrence, but it depends on if it’s ulcerated or not, and that can increase within 1 year. There are patients who are diagnosed—but not until they have like a stage III. So, that prognosis is very grim in the sense of going from stage III to stage IV. It may take not a lot of time. It also depends on the kind of melanoma they have. 

[Many] patients go to dermatologists and they have just an annual checkup to see if they have moles, if they need to be removed, and then those are biopsied. However, sometimes assessment is as simple as when a patient feels a lump or something they think is a problem, and then they go to the doctor. So, it’s self-assessment. [Those] who are little more vigilant might go to a dermatologist and it’s assessed there.

Staging is basically done based on the thickness, the size of the tumor, whether the tumor is ulcerated or not ulcerated, and whether there’s nodal involvement and it’s metastasized. Usually that staging is done by the medical oncologist. But..., if there is a mole that’s removed...surgically or just by a biopsy in the dermatologist’s office and sent for pathology, that is the other method that’s used. 

Regarding diagnostic tools that are used, as a whole, the first thing you’re going to do is assess a patient’s medical history to determine what drugs can be used. Also, you’ll see there are a lot of patients who come in and, long term, there’s a lot of family cancer in them. You might see that they have a sister, a brother, a mother, someone who has had a cancer or melanoma itself. So, that also helps. Basically, doctors realize that it runs in the family tree. 

And then, in addition to that now—pretty much standard for not just for clinical trials, but just standard, especially in the field of melanoma&mdash;there’s genetic testing that’s done straight out the gate. We can now know if the patient is BRAF-positive or BRAF-negative. The original targeted therapy that was first approved, which was Zelboraf

(vemurafenib), was actually approved with an FDA-approved lab test. And that’s what has been the trend. 

Immunotherapy is first line. Yervoy (ipilimumab) is one. If you ... fail with Yervoy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab) or Opdivo (nivolumab) can be used. These therapies are wonderful in the sense that the adverse effects relative to what was standard of care, and the cytotoxic agents that were used previously are fewer. Infusion reactions are truly minimal, and I can say for the hundreds of patients that we’ve treated with just Keytruda, I have seen 1 patient who had a reaction. These therapies have been good for nurses, for the practice as a whole because infusion reactions [bring other patients’ infusions to a halt] because [staff must] manage that one patient.

Combination therapy, I would say, is going to become first line, as opposed to just immunotherapy, because you’re hitting a cancer from 2 different pathways. These days, if somebody has BRAF-positive disease, we will give them Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib), or Cotellic (cobimetinib) and Zelboraf (vemurafenib), with an immunotherapy tacked on. 

The targeted therapy is basically targeting the proteins that are sitting on the cancer cells. It attacks and really reduces the size of the tumor, and then the immunotherapy that you’re giving as an infusion helps boost the immune system to fight the cancer. So, you’re working in 2 different pathways to come out with the same results. And the adverse effects, not that they don’t exist, but you’re going to get a much more durable response with combinatorial therapy down the line. 

USE, PRODUCT STORAGE, DISPENSING, AND ADMINISTRATION OF T-VEC

In the final 3 segments of her interview, Dr. Amini discusses patient appropriateness and her protocol for administering T-VEC in melanoma patients. Additionally, she provides suggestions to health care professionals and patients alike for consideration before and after an injection. She further advises health care professionals on the proper storage and administration of T-VEC for appropriate patients with melanoma.

Finally, she highlights additional considerations that are important for both patients and health care professionals to acknowledge when handling and administering, or receiving, T-VEC treatment. 

In March, Pharmacy Times® interviewed Nanaz Amini, PharmD, RPh, MS, of the Angeles Clinic & Research Institute, regarding the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma, as well as T-VEC treatment and everything involved in its administration. 
