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Today's Headlines: September 23, 2016
 
Zika Virus

Anthony Fauci: Forced to Rob Cancer Research to Pay for Zika Vaccine Push (Washington Post) "Hold up. Wait, wait, wait a minute." That was my response when Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID, told me that the ongoing congressional battle over Zika funding forced the federal government to take money from other diseases to finance the hunt for a vaccine. Go to article

Experimental Zika Virus DNA Vaccines Protective in Monkeys (NIH) Two experimental ZIka Virus DNA Vaccines Developed by NIH scientists protected monkeys against Zika infection after 2 doses, according to a study published in Science. Go to article

Characterization of a Zika Virus Isolate from Colombia (PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) We isolated Zika virus, strain FLR, directly from the serum of an individual infected in Barranquilla, Colombia. Here, we describe the patient's clinical course and characterize strain FLR by its growth characteristics in mosquito and mammalian cells and its partial resistance to UV-inactivation. Go to article

South-East Asian Zika Virus Strain Linked to Cluster of Cases in Singapore, August 2016 (Eurosurveillance) Zika virus is an ongoing global public health emergency with 70 countries and territories reporting evidence of ZIKV transmission since 2015. On 27 August 2016, Singapore reported its 1st case of local ZIKV transmission and identified an ongoing cluster. Go to article

Zika Vaccine: Clinical Trial and Error? (Science) Researchers are racing to develop a vaccine for the Zika virus and move it to clinical, but they are not considering whether the current candidates will be too expensive to make it to market. It remains unclear which of the current approaches is the most effective, whether the more sophisticated approaches are truly needed, and whether these vaccines will be affordable where they are needed most. Go to article

Overnight Healthcare: McConnell Unveils New Zika Package (The Hill) The Senate GOP's latest funding bill to fight Zika would end partisan fights over Planned Parenthood and pesticide use that have held up a package since February. Go to article


Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

Another Monkeypox Outbreak in the Central African Republic (Avian Flu Diary) For the second time in 2016 we are seeing reports of an outbreak of Monkeypox in the Central African Republic. The 1st outbreak, which started in late December of 2015, was reported in early January (see Monkeypox Outbreak Reported In Central African Republic), and was followed a month later Reports Of A Large Monkeypox Outbreak In The DRC. Go to article

Update: Influenza Activity--United States and Worldwide, May 22-September 10, 2016 (MMWR) During May 22-September 10, 2016, the US experienced typical low levels of seasonal influenza activity overall; beginning in late August, clinical laboratories reported a slight increase in influenza positive test results and CDC received reports of a small number of localized influenza outbreaks caused by influenza A (H3N2) viruses. Go to article


Government Affairs & National Security

Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense Receives 1.3M Grant (Global Biodefense) The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense this week announced it has received a $1.3 million grant from the Open Philanthropy Project. The grant will allow the Study Panel to continue its leadership role in assessing our nation's biodefense systems, issuing recommendations and advocating for their implementation, and informing policymakers and lawmakers on viable avenues for needed change. Go to article

High-Containment Laboratories: Actions Needed to Mitigate Risk of Potential Exposure and Release of Dangerous Pathogens (GAO) In 2015, the Department of Defense discovered that one of its labs had inadvertently sent live anthrax to almost 200 other labs worldwide over 12 years. The lab's "inactivation" (removal of hazardous effects) of the pathogen was incomplete. Go to article


Global Health Security

How We'll Tackle Diseases That Are Becoming Untreatable (National Geographic) The UN just declared antibiotic resistance "the greatest and most urgent global risk." Here's what they're going to do about it. Go to article

First Analysis of 'Sustainable Development Goals' Published (Medical News Today) In 2000, the United Nations Development Programme rolled out the Sustainable Development Goals. This week, The Lancet publishes the first analysis showing which countries are progressing toward these goals and which are struggling. Go to article

WHO: 6 Candidates Announced for Director-General (Avian Flu Diary) After 10 years Dr. Margaret Chan will turn over the reigns of the WHO to another Director-General next year.  6 countries have submitted candidates for the position, but we won't know who gets the nod until next May. Go to article

Training the Middle East's Future Health-Care Professionals (Project Syndicate) The Middle East's public-health challenges are enormous, especially when one accounts for the region's transient population of refugees and guest workers. The refugee population alone now numbers in the millions, and is straining health-care systems in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey nearly to the breaking point. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Pledge $2 Billion to Fighting Diseases (New York Times) Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, last year said they would give 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charitable causes. Now they are putting a large chunk of that money to work. Go to article

Experiences and Psychosocial Impact of West Africa Ebola Deployment on US Health Care Volunteers (PLOS: Current Outbreaks) In 2015, using snowball sampling, 16 US health care volunteers who had recently returned from West Africa were recruited for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect information associated with each phase of deployment. Go to article

Disentangling the ACA's Coverage Effects -Lessons for Policymakers (The New England Journal of Medicine) Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, an estimated 20 million Americans have gained health insurance, and the country's uninsured rate has dropped from 16% to 9% since 2010. In the upcoming presidential election, the ACA's future is again at stake. Go to article

Seasonal Influenza Circulation Patterns and Projections for 2016-2017 (BioRxiv) Despite the late-season 3c3.a epidemic in the USA, we predict clade 3c2.a viruses will continue to predominate in the H3N2 population. Within clade 3c2.a, the 171K variant has spread rapidly so that the majority of recent H3N2 infections are comprised of 171K viruses. Go to article

Dengue Contingency Planning: From Research to Policy and Practice (PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) This handbook facilitates contingency planning as well as the development and use of early warning and response systems for dengue fever epidemics, by identifying decision-making processes that contribute to the success or failure of dengue surveillance, as well as triggers that initiate effective responses to incipient outbreaks. Go to article

Dynamic Forecasting of Zika Epidemics Using Google Trends (BioRxiv) We developed a dynamic forecasting model for Zika virus, based on real-time online search data from Google Trends. It was designed to provide Zika virus disease surveillance for Health Departments with early warning, and predictions of numbers of infection cases, which would allow them sufficient time to implement interventions. Go to article


Science & Technology

Monsanto Licenses CRISPR Technology to Modify Crops--With Key Restrictions (STAT News) Agriculture giant Monsanto has licensed CRISPR-Cas91 genome-editing technology from the Broad Institute for use in seed development, the company announced on Thursday, a step that will likely accelerate and simplify the creation of crops that are resistant to drought or have consumer-pleasing properties such as soybean oil with fats as healthy as those in olive oil. Go to article

Freeze-Dried Molecules Can Be Used to Whip Up Medicines Anywhere (MIT Technology Review) and other molecules into small reaction pellets needed to make a wide range of pharmaceuticals. Go to article

Computers Learn to Spot Deadly Bacteria (Phys.org) Machine learning can predict strains of bacteria likely to cause food poisoning outbreaks, research has found. The study--which focused on harmful strains of E. coli bacteria--could help public health officials to target interventions and reduce risk to human health. Go to article

Clinicians' Biosecurity News, September 23, 2016
Livestock-associated MRSA: A Foodborne Illness? One of the main fronts in the battle against antimicrobial resistance involves the presence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in the food supply. Agricultural use of antibiotics for growth-promotion, in contrast to treatment of actual animal bacterial diseases, is increasingly being recognized as a driver of resistance. Furthermore, it has been shown that those in direct contact with or proximity to livestock can contract drug-resistant infections from animals and that drug-resistant bacteria can be found in food meant for consumption. However, it has been unclear to what extent transmission occurs to consumers of food harboring such bacteria. A new Danish study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, establishes that the risk of transmission extends away from the immediate livestock area to the general population. Read Now
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