See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including POC diagnostics data security, MERS-CoV virus shedding, public health agency CBRN threat capabilities and more…
BIODEFENSE POLICY & PRACTICES
- Blue Ribbon Panel report sends strong messages – is anyone listening? (Security Debrief)
- A health threat anywhere is a health threat everywhere (WUSTL Public Health)
- National biodefense: You’re doing it wrong (War on the Rocks)
- Public health’s role beyond biologicals (Domestic Preparedness)
- Emergency preparedness planning on a regional level (WUSTL Public Health)
- Refugee crisis demands European union-wide surveillance (Eurosurveillance)
- Worst-case scenarios that are more likely than you think (Reuters)
SELECT AGENTS
- Nanoparticle delivery maximizes drug defense against bioterrorism agent (UCLA)
- ASPR Hospital Preparedness Program Ebola Measures (YouTube)
- Shining light on Ebola virus for faster diagnosis (NIH Director’s Blog)
- Irradiated anthrax can be sequenced – fast! (MNT)
- Epidemiology and typing of brucella strains in Georgia (PubMed)
- Guinea releases last 68 people from Ebola quarantine (Reuters)
- WHO declares end to Ebola transmission in Sierra Leone (CIDRAP)
- We’ve reached a major milestone in the fight against Ebola (White House)
- Ask well: Ebola and sex (NY Times)
INFECTIOUS DISEASE COUNTERMEASURES
- Army malaria drug mefloquine safety inquiry to start (BBC)
- Good talks needed to combat HPV vaccine myth (NY Times)
- The oral polio vaccine can go ‘feral,’ but WHO vows to tame it (NPR)
- Meningitis jab in Africa a ‘stunning success’ (BBC)
- Victoria’s Secret perfume is actually mosquito repellent (Gizmodo)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- Joe Camel and MERS: Does his mayhem know no limits? (Bifurcated Needle)
- The mysterious rise of Valley fever (Yahoo News)
- El Niño season temperatures linked to dengue epidemics (Biomedical Beat)
- Study notes MERS, SARS virus shedding similarities (CIDRAP)
- A microbial map of the city (The Atlantic)
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
- Vanderbilt’s medical capsule robots’ hardware, software goes open-source (Science 360)
- Germany, U.S. in hot pursuit of ‘messenger’ drug molecules (Reuters)
RADIOLOGICAL & NUCLEAR THREATS
- 200,000 Toronto residents given pills to protect against radiation (Hamilton Spectator)
- New, portable radiological detectors for frontline personnel (HSNW)
INDUSTRY NEWS
- Emergent Biosolutions: Spinning off, but not sputtering out (Motley Fool)
- NVIC calls for repeal of 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (BusinessWire)
DETECTION & PROTECTION
- The Ebola mobile suitcase laboratory successfully tested in Guinea (Leibniz Institute)
- A true point-of-care molecular assay—ready for global implementation? (The Lancet)
- Australian troops are prepared for chemical attacks by ISIS (The Guardian)
- Data security and reliability in point of care medical devices (MDT)
- From lab coats to hazmat suits (IAEA)
FOOD SAFETY
- Letter from the editor: A ‘Herculean accomplishment’ (Food Safety News)
