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Today's Headlines: June 14, 2016 
 
Zika Virus

Zika: CDC Draft Interim Response Plan (CDC) The purpose of this document is to describe the CDC response plan for the 1st locally acquired cases of Zika virus infection in the continental US and Hawaii. Go to article

Zika Diagnostic Tools, Testing Algorithms, and Interpretation Guide (CDC) In May 2015, the PAHO issued an alert regarding the 1st confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil. Go to article

The Zika Virus Has Changed Little Over 70 Years--So Why Is It a Problem Now? (Scientific American) Scientists have sequenced the genomes of several Zika strains as they look for answers about the virus's sudden appearance. Go to article

Summer Tourism Could Spread Zika in Parts of Europe (STAT News) Regular summer travel to and from Zika-affected areas will place some parts of Europe at risk of local spread of the virus in the coming months, a new study suggests. Go to article

Digital Participatory Surveillance and the Zika Crisis: Opportunities and Caveats (PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) Managing the global threat of Zika requires innovative solutions. This article examines the potential of Digital Participatory Surveillance to support the management of global disease outbreaks by enabling citizens to report signs of infection. Go to article

FLIRT-ing with Zika: A Web Application to Predict the Movement of Infected Travelers Validated Against the Current ZIka Virus Epidemic (PLOS Currents: Outbreaks) Managing the global threat of Zika requires innovative solutions. This article examines the potential of Digital Participatory Surveillance to support the management of global disease outbreaks by enabling citizens to report signs of infection. Go to article


Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

Influenza Update--265 (WHO) Influenza activity in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere continued to decrease to inter-seasonal levels. In temperate countries in the southern hemisphere, influenza activity started to increase in South America and South Africa, but remained low overall in most of Oceania. Go to article

Epidemiology of a Novel Recombinant MERS-CoV in Humans in Saudi Arabia (Journal of Infectious Diseases) We assessed routinely collected epidemiologic data for MERS-CoV cases reported in Saudi Arabia during January 01-June 30, 2015, and conducted a more detailed investigation of cases reported during February 2015. Available respiratory specimens were obtained for sequencing. Go to article
 

Government Affairs & National Security

GAO: FDA Could Improve Tool for Assessing Imported Food Risk (Food Safety News) A computerized tool used by the FDA to assess the safety risk of food imported into the US could be more effective, according to a recent analysis from the US Government Accountability Office. Go to article

 
Global Health Security

Annual Report of the Director--2015 (ECDC) The Director's Annual Report provides an overview of the Centre's accomplishments for the previous year and a summary of the Centre's financial and administrative operations. Go to article

Public Health Risks Related to Communicable Diseases at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games, Brazil 2016, First Update (ECDC) This risk document updates ECDC's initial assessment of the potential health risks related to communicable diseases and other health threats for European citizens during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the public health implications for European countries after travellers return to Europe. In addition, the document assesses the risk of disease importation from Europe to Brazil. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

Single-Dose Oral Cholera Vaccine is First to Get US Approval (CIDRAP) A single-dose oral cholera vaccine intended for international travelers has been approved by the FDA, making a cholera vaccine available to US travelers for the 1st time. Go to article

Why the FDA Should Lift the Blood Donation Ban on Sexually Active Gay Men (Public Health Perspectives) On June 12, following the mass shooting at Pulse, a gay dance club in Orlando, Florida, sexually active gay men were denied the chance to donate blood to members of their community, because of the FDA's arbitrary and unnecessary ban on blood donation by any man who has had sexual contact with another man in the previous year. Go to article

Heterologous Vaccine Effects (Vaccine) The heterologous or non-specific effects of vaccines, at times defined as "off-target effects" suggest that they can affect the immune response to organisms other than their pathogen-specific intended purpose. These NSEs have been the subject of clinical, immunological and epidemiological studies and are increasingly recognized as an important biological process by a growing group of immunologists and epidemiologists. Go to article

Orlando Health's Response to America's Deadliest Shooting at Nightclub: 5 Things to Know (Becker's Hospital Review) Orlando Health, a 6-hopsital system with 2 affiliated hospitals, led the emergency response. Here are 5 things to know about how the health system handled the deadliest mass shooting in US history. Go to article


Science & Technology

DNA Shaping Up to Be Ideal Framework for Rationally Designed Nanostructures (eScience News) A cube, an octahedron, a prism--these are among the polyhedral structures, or frames, made of DNA that scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed to connect nanoparticles into a variety of precisely structured 3D lattices. Go to article

Vibrio Natriegens, A New Genomic Powerhouse (bioRxiv) Here we report the development of Vibrio natriegens, a free-living bacteria with the fastest generation time known, into a genetically tractable host organism. We systematically characterize its growth properties to establish basic laboratory culturing conditions. Go to article

Pandemic-Seasonal H1N1 Reassortants Recovered from Patient Material Display a Phenotype Similar to the Seasonal Parent (Journal of Virology) Reassortment of influenza A viruses is readily observed during co-infection of host animals and in vitro, however, reports of reassortment occurring naturally in humans are rare. Using clinical specimen material, we show reassortment between the 2 co-infecting viruses occurred with high likelihood directly in 1 of the previously identified patients. Go to article

 

Preparedness Pulsepoints: June 14, 2016

Delivered first thing each Tuesday morning, Preparedness Pulsepoints provides a snapshot of each week's USG action on readiness and response. Read | Subscribe
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