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Today's Headlines: June 24, 2016
 
Zika Virus

Zika Is the 'Most Difficult' Emergency Health Response Ever, CDC Official Says (The Atlantic) After the House of Representatives finally passed a Zika funding bill on Thursday--for $1.1 billion (less than the $1.9 billion President Obama originally requested), much of it taken away from Affordable Care Act funding, and remaining Ebola emergency money. Given that, the White House has threatened to veto the bill. Which would mean still no federal funding for what Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called "the most difficult" emergency response the agency has ever had to do, at the Aspen Ideas Festival on Thursday. Go to article

Without Federal Funding, Counties Brace to Confront Zika on Their Own (Washington Post) In Alabama and New Mexico, officials are handing out hundreds of thousands of mosquito-themed coloring books to schoolchildren, hoping to teach them and their families how to avoid the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. Go to article

This Cheap, Ingenious Strip Can Detect Zika Virus in Your Spit (Tech Insider: Science) Brolo, now a chemist at the University of Victoria, wanted to apply his expertise in nanotechnology to make something that could help beleaguered governments fight dengue. Workers are already in the field interacting with people who are getting infected, he thought - so why not give them cheap, easy tools to make their roles more effective? Go to article

White House Threatens Veto of GOP's Zika Bill (The Hill) The White House on Thursday officially rejected a $1.1 billion Zika funding package from Republicans that would have forced the administration to pull most of the money from existing healthcare programs. Go to article


Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

WHO Says Saudi Misdiagnosis Caused MERS Outbreak (Scientific American) The wrong diagnosis of a woman suffering from the MERS coronavirus led to more than 49 other patients and medical staff being exposed to the disease in a Saudi hospital, the WHO said in a statement on Tuesday. Go to article

Colistin Resistance: The Pig Is out of the Barn (National Geographic: Phenomena) The scientists who this week reported dangerous drug resistance in seagulls aren't the only researchers looking for mcr-1, the gene that confers protection against the last-resort antibiotic colistin. Go to article


Domestic Preparedness & Response

Zika, Flint, and the Uncertainties of Emergency Preparedness (Health Affairs Blog) Ongoing Congressional debates concerning the spreading Zika virus provide the latest reminder about our national uncertainties in preparing for and responding to large-scale health emergencies. Storms, fires, industrial accidents, and infrastructure failures like the recent Flint water crisis add to the constellation of emergencies and "near misses" that threaten health and safety somewhere in the US nearly every day. Go to article


Government Affairs & National Security

Here's Why 'Brexit' Could Be a British Public Health Disaster (Huffington Post) Officially, the referendum was about the pros and cons of remaining in the EU, an economic partnership between the 28 member countries that allows people, goods and information to move easily through the region. Exiting this partnership will have an impact on issues as wide-ranging as the economy, scientific research, the labor force, British vacation time and the future of the British territory of Gibraltar. The exit will also have major effects on public health, according to many in the field. Go to article


Global Health Security

Results of a Nationwide Capacity Survey of Hospitals Providing Trauma Care in War-Affected Syria (JAMA Surgery) The Syrian civil war has resulted in large-scale devastation of Syria's health infrastructure along with widespread injuries and death from trauma. The capacity of Syrian trauma hospitals is not well characterized. Data are needed to allocate resources for trauma care to the population remaining in Syria. Go to article

Africa: Ban Underlines Progress Towards Strengthening Responses to Global Health Crises (allAfrica) With the continued increase in the number and gravity of health emergencies globally, the international community must continue to work towards charting a path for how nations and communities can proactively prepare for and respond to such challenges in the future, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized today. Go to article

Yellow Fever Outbreak Puts Pressure on Global Vaccine Supply (Time) Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo declared an epidemic of yellow fever in three regions on Monday. The announcement comes amid an outbreak that is rapidly using up the global stockpile of vaccines for the mosquito-borne disease. Go to article

WHO Investigates Mysterious Outbreak in South Sudan (The Lancet) A team from WHO's Regional Office for Africa is investigating a mysterious viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak in northern South Sudan that has killed ten people. At the same time, national health officials are scrambling to put preventive measures in place based on the scant knowledge they have so far. Go to article


Science & Technology

FDA Uses Whole Genome Sequencing to Pinpoint Foodborne Outbreak Origins (Food Safety) A person commits a crime, and the detective uses DNA evidence collected from the crime scene to track the criminal down. An outbreak of foodborne illness makes people sick, and the FDA uses DNA evidence to track down the bacteria that caused it. Go to article


21st Century Threats

The Growing Risk of a War in Space (The Atlantic) In Ghost Fleet, a 2015 novel by security theorists Peter Singer and August Cole, the next world war begins in space. Aboard an apparently civilian space station called the Tiangong, or "Heavenly Palace," Chinese astronauts--taikonauts--maneuver a chemical oxygen iodine laser into place. They aim their clandestine electromagnetic weapon at its first target, a US Air Force communications satellite that helps to coordinate forces in the Pacific theater far below. Go to article

After Appearing on Russian Jets, Incendiary Munitions Make a Resurgence in Syria (Washington Post) Earlier this week analysts found that RT, a government-funded Russian media company, edited out footage that initially showed Russian jets in Syria armed with incendiary munitions. The original clip was restored after RT said it had deleted the footage out of concerns for the pilot's safety. Go to article


Clinicians' Biosecurity News, June 24, 2016
Facilitating Antibiotic Stewardship with Procalcitonin. One of the major drivers of antibiotic overuse is the lack of confidence many prescribers have in discontinuing antibiotics that have been prescribed empirically. Nowhere is this decision more crucial than in the intensive care unit, where critically ill patients often on the precipice of death are cared for. However, in recent years, as antibiotic stewardship has become increasingly emphasized, novel biomarkers hold the promise to optimize antibiotic prescribing and potentially facilitate the safe discontinuation of antibiotics. A new study, published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, reports on the results of a trial in which the biomarker procalcitonin-a molecule specific for bacterial infection-was employed to guide antibiotic discontinuation. Read Now
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