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Today's Headlines: July 13, 2016
 
Zika Virus

Experts Warn Spraying May Not Be Very Effective Against Aedes (CIDRAP) On the heels of a federal recommendation to begin aerial spraying in Puerto Rico as a way to beat back Aedes mosquitoes, the hosts of the Zika virus, several vector control experts are voicing their concern over the plan. Go to article

FDA Takes Action Against Zika Virus (FDA Voice) The FDA is taking important steps to rapidly respond to the Zika virus outbreak. We are engaged with our partners across the US Government, the private sector, and the international community--including the WHO and ANVISA (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency)--to help minimize the impact of this outbreak. Go to article

The Zika Epidemic and Association to Microcephaly and Guillain-Barre - Updated ECDC Risk Assessment (ECDC) Imported cases are expected to be reported continuously during the summer in EU, while the risk of local transmission is considered to be low to moderate, states the latest update of ECDC risk assessment on the Zika epidemic in the Americas and the Pacific. Go to article

Bracing for Zika: Meet the Mosquito Hunters (NBC News) The mosquito virology lab at the Harris County health department is crowded and that's only about to get worse. The 5 staffers who spend their days checking "mosquito juice"--pulverized mosquito samples--for various harmful viruses have already had to add a batch of new tests to their daily routine as the county gets more serious about fighting Zika. Soon, they will also be sharing their tight lab space with some new staff. Go to article

Colombia Offers the Possibility That the Zika Epidemic May Not Be as Bad as Feared (Washington Post) In the nine months since the Zika virus appeared in Colombia, the government has reported nearly 100,000 cases, including more than 17,000 pregnant women. But the epidemic has not produced the dreaded wave of fetal deformities witnessed in Brazil. Go to article

Austrian Biotech Firm Set To Hold Trials for Zika Vaccine (news.com.au) An Austrian biotech company working with the Institut Pasteur says it plans to start clinical trials with an experimental Zika vaccine in the next 12 months, marking a further acceleration of research in the field. Go to article


Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

High Incidence of Chikungunya Virus and Frequency of Viremic Blood Donations during Epidemic, Puerto Rico, USA, 2014 (Emerging Infectious Diseases) Chikungunya virus caused large epidemics throughout the Caribbean in 2014. We conducted nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) for CHIKV RNA (n = 29,695) and serologic testing for IgG against CHIKV (n = 1,232) in archived blood donor samples collected during and after an epidemic in Puerto Rico in 2014. Go to article

Scary New Superbug Is Popping up in More Places (National Geographic) The "new superbug" MCR--actually a gene, carried by gut bacteria, that confers resistance to the absolutely last-ditch antibiotic colistin--has been in the US for at least a year, according to a new report. Go to article


Domestic Preparedness & Response

Hospitals Gird for Party Conventions, with Surgeons on Call and Enough Supplies for a Siege (STAT) The Republican National Convention is coming to town next week, and Dr. Robert Wyllie is ready with a binder 6 inches thick, crammed full of plans for dealing with any potential medical emergency. Go to article

FSIS to Begin Posting Location-specific Food Safety Data Online (USDA) The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service today announced that it will soon begin sharing new levels of food safety data specific to slaughter and processing facilities in the US, on Data.gov. Go to article


Government Affairs & National Security

National Biodefense Strategy Act of 2016 (Global Biodefense) The US Congressional Budget Office this week released its summary assessment of the costs of S. 2967 - The National Biodefense Strategy Act of 2016. The bill, introduced by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on May 23, 2016, amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the President to establish a Biodefense Coordination Council to develop a national strategy to help the federal government prevent and respond to major biological incidents. Go to article

Critical Infrastructure Protection: DHS Has Made Progress in Enhancing Critical Infrastructure Assessments but Additional Improvements are Needed (GAO) GAO's prior work has shown the Department of Homeland Security has made progress in addressing barriers to conducting voluntary assessments but guidance is needed for DHS's critical infrastructure vulnerability assessments activities and to address potential duplication and gaps. Go to article


Global Health Security

What Is Next for NTDs in the Era of the Sustainable Development Goals? (PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) In a previous article, we outlined the efforts of the NTD lobby to overcome the diseases' snub in the 2000 Millennium Development Goals and to campaign for inclusion in the post-2015 development agenda. In doing so, we noted the extraordinary achievements made by the lobby despite its view from outside of the MDG juggernaut, which singled out just three diseases for special consideration (HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and, latterly, Tuberculosis), leaving a group of previously disparate diseases to be formulated within a plan for inclusion. The plan resulted in a three-pronged attack forged on advocacy, policy, and science. Go to article

This US Government Program May Have Stopped Ebola - but Never Had the Funding It Requested (Vice News) Six years ago, the scientist leading the US government's program to catch diseases before they turn into global pandemics went to Capitol Hill with a map of the world. Dr. Scott Dowell was meeting with key Congressional staffers to warn them about what he believed were gaping holes in the system designed to detect and contain infectious disease outbreaks, before they could kill thousands or potentially millions of people. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

Hate Is a Public Health Emergency (Huffington Post) The massacre of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12 is the latest manifestation of violence as a public health emergency. Public health and common sense dictate that imminent threats are not nursed with the hope that they will extinguish by neglect. Public health emergencies--and hate is a public health emergency--require aggressive and decisive action. Go to article

The Antibiotic Apocalypse Has Been Happening for Years--We Just Didn't Notice (Ars Technica) At this point, alarmist headlines about the end of the antibiotic era may seem a lot like those car alarms that periodically go off on your street: distracting, annoying, and probably nothing worth panicking over. After all, despite years of distressing headlines, drug-resistant superbugs have yet to rain down upon the public, striking the otherwise healthy with deadly, incurable infections. Go to article


Science & Technology

Considering Gene Editing (The Scientist) Shortly after 8:00 this morning, more than two dozen people filled the small conference room at the National Academies' Keck Center as the Committee on Human Gene Editing convened for the fourth time since it was assembled last year. The committee's task: to research, discuss, and report on "the scientific underpinnings of human gene-editing technologies, their potential use in biomedical research and medicine--including human germline editing--and the clinical, ethical, legal, and social implications of their use." Go to article

Bio-tech Firm PathSensors Announces New Universal BioSensor (PRWeb) Baltimore-based biotech firm, PathSensors, Inc., announced today the launch of its Universal BioSensor technology. Developed in partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the Universal BioSensor is a new bio threat detection platform that can use any existing antibody to rapidly develop tests for the presence of pathogens in environmental samples. Go to article


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