February 9, 2016
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Public Health & Healthcare Preparedness
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PRESS RELEASE New Lyme Disease-Causing Bacteria Species Discovered. The newly recognized species was discovered when six of approximately 9,000 samples drawn from residents of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota with suspected Lyme disease between 2012 and 2014 were found to contain bacteria that were genetically distinct from B. burgdorferi. (CDC, 2/8/16)
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PRESS RELEASE NIH Seeks Research Applications to Study Zika in Pregnancy, Developing Fetus. Given recent reports that Zika virus may be sexually transmitted, studies also are needed to determine if the virus is present in reproductive fluids, such as semen or vaginal secretions, and whether it can cause infection via the reproductive tract. Evidence from such studies might prove important in informing guidance for preventing the spread of Zika virus through intimate contact, particularly for women who are pregnant or likely to become pregnant. (NIH, 2/5/16)
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REPORT Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report. The most frequently identified influenza virus type reported by public health laboratories during week 4 was influenza A, with influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 viruses predominating. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories increased. (CDC, 2/5/16)
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GUIDANCE Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Often called "the voice of CDC," the MMWR series is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. (CDC, 2/5/16)
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TRAVEL ALERT Zika Virus: Alert Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions. CDC has updated travel alerts for Cape Verde, the Pacific Islands, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, and Central America. (CDC, 2/5/16)
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NEWS USDA, Obama Commit to Food Safety Research. The US Department of Agriculture is providing grants totaling more than $30 million to fund 80 research projects aimed at improving food safety, reducing antibiotic resistance in food and increasing the resilience of plants. President Obama's 2017 budget also proposes investing $700 million for the USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. (Food Safety News, 2/5/16)
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BLOG Working Together for Flint: A Personal Perspective. Two weeks ago, President Obama asked Dr. Nicole Lurie (ASPR) to head the federal response to the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Since then, she has spent time in Flint, talking with community members, government officials, and technical experts about what's going on there. (ASPR, 2/4/16)
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FACT SHEET New US Assistance to Respond to Syria Crisis. This new funding brings US humanitarian assistance in response to this conflict to more than $5.1 billion since the start of the crisis. Through this humanitarian funding, the United States continues to provide food, shelter, water, medical care, humanitarian protection, and other urgent relief to millions of people suffering inside Syria and 4.6 million refugees from Syria in the region. (Department of State, 2/4/16)
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BLOG Building a Modern Generic Drug Review Process. Recent hearings on Capitol Hill highlighted an issue of growing importance for patients and for public health: access to quality, affordable medicines, in particular generic drugs. FDA's generic drug program promotes access to quality affordable medicines by reviewing Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs), the pathway that allows generic drugs to come to market. (FDA, 2/4/16)
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WORKSHOP Achieving Data Quality and Integrity in Maximum Containment Laboratories. The course, offered by FDA and University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston National Laboratory, includes expert lectures on Good Laboratory Practice requirements and hands-on laboratory activities conducted in BSL-2 and BSL-4 training laboratories to emphasize the differences between biosafety levels, and the complexity of conducting laboratory activities in a BSL-4 environment. Registration required by February 19th. (FDA, 2/3/16)
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BLOG Influenza is for the Birds...and Dogs, Pigs, Horses, and Humans. One Health, the concept that animal, human and environmental health are connected, can help us work more effectively with partners across different disciplines, such as doctors, veterinarians, ecologists, and public health experts, to identify and address emerging threats to health that start in animal populations. (ASPR, 2/3/16)
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Q&A Former FDA Commissioner Reflects on Public Health Regulation. Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg reflected on her six-year tenure at the agency and shared her thoughts about the future of public health regulation. She noted a few of the highlights of her tenure, including a Gallup poll ranking FDA as most improved in public confidence and the passage of legislation in food safety, drug regulation, and tobacco regulation. (Harvard Law Today, 2/3/16)
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COMMENTARY Dr. Thomas Frieden: The Patient Isn't Always Right, But Should Always be the VIP. Not only did the Ebola epidemic in West Africa unexpectedly hit densely populated urban areas, it hit hardest in communities with 70 percent illiteracy, a mistrust of both government and modern medicine, and burial practices that helped spread the Ebola virus. The only way the affected countries and global health community were able to stop the epidemic was by treating patients as VIPs and providing them with the services they said they needed most. (STAT, 2/2/16)
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BLOG CDC Director: What We're Doing About the Zika Virus. Vaccines and antibiotics have made many infectious diseases a thing of the past; we've come to expect that public health and modern science can conquer all microbes. But nature is a formidable adversary. And Zika is our newest threat, particularly to pregnant women. (CDC, 2/1/16)
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WEBINAR ASPR's Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange. ASPR's Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) is a healthcare emergency preparedness information gateway, that ensures that all stakeholders -- at the federal, state, local, tribal, territory, non-profit, and for-profit levels -- have access to information and resources to improve preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, February 10, at 2 PM EST. (ASPR, 2/16)
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REQUEST FOR APPLICANTS Senior International Health Economist: US Department of the Treasury. The US Treasury seeks a Senior International Health Economist for its Office of African Nations. The incumbent will engage with the State Department's Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and African governments to review, evaluate, and provide policy recommendations with regard to the financial impact of HIV/AIDS and health on African budgets, on policies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HIV/AIDS expenditures, and on implementation of health financing regimes. Deadline: March 4, 2016. (International Health Economics Association, 2/16)
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GUIDANCE Zika Virus. The Medical Reserve Corps has made available several webcasts relating to the prevention, mitigation, and management of Zika virus outbreaks. (Medical Reserve Corps, 2/16)
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MEMORANDUM Updated Diagnostic Testing for Zika, Chikungunya, and Dengue Viruses in US Public Health Laboratories. Laboratory evidence of recent chikungunya, dengue, or Zika virus infection is generally accomplished by testing serum to detect viral nucleic acid or virus-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) M and neutralizing antibodies. However, serological cross-reactivity is strong between Zika and dengue viruses, so emphasis should be placed on molecular detection in acute specimens. Laboratory testing for all of these agents is currently available at CDC and several state health departments. (CDC, 1/13/16)
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Homeland Security & Disaster Preparedness
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EXECUTIVE ORDER Establishing a Federal Earthquake Risk Management Standard. It is the policy of the United States to strengthen the security and resilience of the Nation against earthquakes, to promote public safety, economic strength, and national security. To that end, the Federal Government must continue to take proactive steps to enhance the resilience of buildings that are owned, leased, financed, or regulated by the Federal Government. (The White House, 2/2/16)
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITY 2016 PHMSA HMEP States and Territories Grant Opportunity. The purpose of this grant program is to increase State, Territorial, Tribal, and local effectiveness in safely and efficiently handling hazardous materials incidents, enhance implementation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, and encourage a comprehensive approach to emergency training and planning by incorporating the unique challenges of responses to transportation situations. (Grants.gov, 2/1/16)
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Science & Technology Policy
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NEWS What Makes DARPA Tick? "The public gives DARPA $3 billion a year, in round numbers, and every decade out pops an Internet, or synthetic biology, or carbon nanotubes, or another significant technology," says Zach Lemnios, the Pentagon's chief technology officer during the first Obama administration. (Science, 2/5/16)
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NEWS US House Tees Up Controversial Bill on NSF Research. Depending on whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, passage of the Scientific Research in the National Interest Act (HR 3293) is either a simple reminder that federal dollars should be spent wisely, or an unwise and unwarranted intrusion into NSF's grantsmaking process. (Science, 2/5/16)
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NEWS NSF Breaks New Ground in Reprimanding Authors of Flawed Science Paper. The case highlights the sometimes fraught relationship between journals, researchers, and funding agencies. And it has drawn attention to some apparently rare steps that NSF took against researchers who the agency says engaged in unacceptable research practices -- but not misconduct. (Science, 2/4/16)
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Executive Session: S.2030, S.1622, S.2014, S.800, S.849, S._, Preventing Superbugs and Protecting Patients Act, and S._, Improving Health Information Technology. US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. 2/9/16, 10 AM, Dirksen 430. More
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The Global Zika Epidemic: Emerging in the Americas. US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittees on the Western Hemisphere and Africa; and Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. 2/10/16, 1:15 PM, Rayburn 2172. More
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Foot and Mouth Disease. US House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. 2/11/16, 2 PM, Longworth 1300. More
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Outbreaks, Attacks, and Accidents: Combatting Biological Threats. US House Committee on Energy & Commerce, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 2/12/16, 9 AM, Rayburn 2123. More
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Improving the Department of Homeland Security's Biological Detection and Surveillance Programs. US House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications. 2/11/16, 2 PM, Cannon 311. More
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