Possible Zika Virus Infection Among Pregnant Women--United States and Territories, May 2016 (MMWR) Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and brain abnormalities, and it is the first known mosquito-borne infection to cause congenital anomalies in humans. The establishment of a comprehensive surveillance system to monitor pregnant women with Zika virus infection will provide data to further elucidate the full range of potential outcomes for fetuses and infants of mothers with asymptomatic and symptomatic Zika virus infection during pregnancy. Go to article

Zika Situation Report: Zika Virus, Microcephaly and Guillain-Barre Syndrome--19 May 2016 (WHO) As of 18 May 2016, 60 countries and territories report continuing mosquito-borne transmission of which:
46 countries are experiencing a first outbreak of Zika virus since 2015, with no previous evidence of circulation, and with ongoing transmission by mosquitos. Go to article

Health Departments Cut Programs While Awaiting Zika Funding (NPR: Shots) While Congress fidgets over whether and how to pay for the fight against the Zika virus, state and local health departments are scrambling and slimming down. That's because these front-line public health agencies have already seen their budgets chopped because of the debate. Go to article

Ebola Czar: America Failing on Zika (Politico) The man who led the successful White House response to the Ebola outbreak says the Zika virus is a slow-motion public health disaster--and Congress is to blame. Go to article

Stealing from Ebola to Fight Zika (New York Times) Nobody should be surprised when the present House of Representatives, dominated by penurious reactionaries, produces a stingy response to a danger that calls for compassionate largess. But for sheer fecklessness it's hard to top the House's response this week to the Zika virus. Go to article

Pelosi: 'I don't Support' Senate Funding Deal for Zika (The Hill) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is hardening her stance against the Senate's bipartisan funding deal for the Zika virus as GOP leaders begin plotting the next steps for the package. Go to article

Zika Virus Disease in the United States, 2015-2016 (CDC) Zika virus disease and Zika virus congenital infection are nationally notifiable conditions. This update from the CDC Arboviral Disease Branch includes provisional data reported to ArboNET for January 1, 2015-May 18, 2016. Go to article

Zika Risk Communication, Community Engagement Focus of New Prevention Efforts by CDC, CDC Foundation, PAHO in US Territories and the Americas (PAHO) Educating communities and empowering women on how to prevent Zika virus transmission is the focus of a new collaborative effort by the CDC, PAHO and the CDC Foundation, aimed mainly at pregnant women in US territories and the Americas. Go to article

Cartoon Network Joins PAHO, UNICEF to Educate Kids About Preventing Zika (PAHO) "Calling all superheroes. This is not a drill. Our communities have been invaded by dangerous mosquitoes and we need help." With those words, Cartoon Network Latin America is launching "Mission Zika," an educational campaign to raise awareness about Zika in Latin America, using Public Service Announcements that raise awareness about Zika and means of prevention. Go to article

Transmission Dynamics of Zika Virus in Island Populations: A Modelling Analysis of the 2013-14 French Polynesia Outbreak (PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) Since the first reported major outbreak of Zika virus disease in Micronesia in 2007, the virus has caused outbreaks throughout the Pacific and South America. Transmitted by the Aedes genus of mosquitoes, the virus has been linked to possible neurological complications including Guillain-Barre Syndrome and microcephaly. Go to article

Why Humans (and not mice) Are Susceptible to Zika (Science Daily) Flaviviruses--such as Zika, dengue, and yellow fever--have emerged as human pathogens because of their ability to specifically overcome our anti-viral defenses. In the case of Zika, researchers that one of the virus's seven non-structural proteins (NS5) is singularly responsible for blocking the action of interferons (proteins that stop viral replication) in human cells, while mouse cells are unaffected. Go to article

Beyond Contact Tracing: Community-Based Early Detection for Ebola Response (PLOS: Currents Outbreaks) The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa raised many questions about the control of infectious disease in an increasingly connected global society. Limited availability of contact information made contact tracing diffcult or impractical in combating the outbreak. Go to article

Where Are Haiti's Zika Reports? (H5N1) I have just spent the last hour or so trying to find some kind of information on the state of Zika virus infection in Haiti. The hour has also been a kind of flashback to 2010, when the earthquake hit and I frantically tried to find Haitian online news sources. Go to article

Model-Based Projections of Zika Virus Infections in Childbearing Women in the Americas (bioRxiv) Zika virus is a mosquito-borne pathogen that is rapidly spreading across the Americas. Due to associations between Zika virus infection and a range of fetal maladies, the epidemic trajectory of this viral infection poses a significant concern for the nearly 15 million children born in the Americas each year. Go to article

Situation Report: Yellow Fever--20 May 2016 (WHO) A yellow fever outbreak was detected in Angola late in December 2015 and confirmed by the Institut Pasteur Dakar on 20 January 2016. Subsequently, a rapid increase in the number of cases has been observed. Go to article

Global Distribution and Environmental Suitability for Chikungunya Virus, 1952 to 2015 (Eurosurveillance) Recent emergence and re-emergence of chikungunya virus in several regions globally underscores the importance of implementing and strengthening surveillance systems for rapid and accurate case identification. CHIKV causes an acute febrile illness with severe arthralgia. It is a mosquito-borne pathogen of the genus Alphavirus and transmitted to and between humans by Aedes mosquitoes with four circulating genotypes. Go to article

DARPA Develops Tool That Can Remotely Survey Buildings Before Soldiers Enter (Fierce Government IT) Researchers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are working on technology that can tell soldiers what is in a building or room before they go inside. Go to article

County Distributes Sample Medication in Anthrax Release Drill (Emergency Management) In a training exercise, the Frederick County Health Department practiced distributing medication to the public last week in a scenario in which thousands may have been exposed to aerosolized anthrax. Go to article

Emergency Personnel Evaluate Resources, Response in Chemical Spill Training Scenario (Emergency Management) Drone footage from Twin Falls County Sheriff's Department reveals the scene that unfolded at Henningsen Cold Storage Wednesday morning. To the casual observer, it would appear as the site of a gruesome accident - paramedics and firefighters respond to victims on the ground near an overturned school bus, a railroad car and multiple crashed cars. Go to article

Joplin Study Spawns Code Recommendations (Emergency Management) Though building codes for schools and a range of other structures provide for protection of winds up to 115 mph, that's not nearly enough to protect against a strong tornado like an EF4, an EF5 or even an EF3. In fact, building codes don't even mention tornadoes unless discussing a safe room or shelter. Go to article

Protecting Human Security: Proposals for the G7 Ise-Shima Summit in Japan (The Lancet) In today's highly globalised world, protecting human security is a core challenge for political leaders who are simultaneously dealing with terrorism, refugee and migration crises, disease epidemics, and climate change. Promoting universal health coverage (UHC) will help prevent another disease outbreak similar to the recent Ebola outbreak in west Africa, and create robust health systems, capable of withstanding future shocks. Go to article

See Also: No Health Workforce, No Global Health Security (The Lancet) Since the recent epidemics of Ebola, MERS, and Zika viruses, the ever-present threat of pandemic influenza, and now the menace of a yellow fever crisis, the notion of global health security has risen to the top of concerns facing the 194 member states attending next week's 69th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. Without global health security, the common goal of a more sustainable and resilient society for human health and wellbeing will be unattainable. Go to article

Influenza Update--263 (WHO) Influenza activity in the northern hemisphere continued to decrease. A predominance of influenza B virus activity continued to be reported in most of the northern hemisphere and in some tropical areas. In a few countries in the southern hemisphere, slight increases in influenza-like illness activity were reported. Go to article

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Transmission in Extended Family, Saudi Arabia, 2014 (Emerging Infectious Diseases) Risk factors for human-to-human transmission of MERS-CoV are largely unknown. After MERS-CoV infections occurred in an extended family in Saudi Arabia in 2014, relatives were tested by using real-time reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) and serologic methods. Go to article

Introducing Dengue Vaccine: Implications for Diagnosis in Dengue Vaccinated Subjects (Vaccine) Diagnosis of dengue virus infections is complicated by preference for different diagnostic tests in different post onset days of illness and the presence of multiple serotypes leading to secondary and tertiary infections. The sensitivity of the most commonly employed diagnostic assays such as anti dengue IgM capture (MAC) ELISA and non structural protein (NS) 1 capture ELISA are lower in secondary and subsequent infections. Go to article

Emergency Deployment of Genetically Engineered Veterinary Vaccines in Europe (Vaccine) On the 9th of November 2015, preceding the World Veterinary Vaccine Congress, a workshop was held to discuss how veterinary vaccines can be deployed more rapidly to appropriately respond to future epizootics in Europe. Considering their potential and unprecedented suitability for surge production, the workshop focussed on vaccines based on genetically engineered viruses and replicon particles. Go to article

Ten Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Became a Health Officer (AJPH) Public health, like politics, is the art of the possible. To maximize effectiveness, public health officers in any jurisdiction should (1) get good data and ensure timely and effective dissemination; (2) prioritize and tackle more difficult initiatives first; (3) find, fight, and win winnable battles in areas where progress is possible but not ensured without focused, strategic effort; (4) support and hire great people and protect them so they can do their jobs; (5) address communicable diseases and environmental health effectively; (6) do not cede the clinical realm-public health programs depend on clinical care and on effective coordination between health care and public health; (7) learn and manage the budget cycle; (8) manage the context; (9) never surprise their boss; and (10) follow core principles. Go to article

Rise of the City (Science) In 2014, 54% of the world's population, or 3.9 billion people, lived in urban areas. That's up from one-third in 1950, and forecasters say the proportion will rise to 66% by 2050. This two-page infographic highlights the geography of urbanization, and the impacts that cities can have on the environment. Go to article

A Plague of Rats (Science) Rats have long been one of the world's most ubiquitous--and infamous--forms of urban wildlife, synonymous with pestilence and squalor. They've attracted only sporadic attention from scientists, however, and much about the secretive city rat--chiefly the Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, remains a mystery. Go to article

Meta-Principles for Developing Smart, Sustainable, and Healthy Cities (Science) Policy directives in several nations are focusing on the development of smart cities, linking innovations in the data sciences with the goal of advancing human well-being and sustainability on a highly urbanized planet. To achieve this goal, smart initiatives must move beyond city-level data to a higher-order understanding of cities as transboundary, multisectoral, multiscalar, social-ecological-infrastructural systems with diverse actors, priorities, and solutions. Go to article