See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including the ethics of quarantines, rapid spread of Zika virus, anthrax post-exposure vaccine approval, biosafety accountability and more…
BIODEFENSE POLICY & PRACTICES
- Former DHS Secretary warns on biodefense (Emergency Management)
- Sanctioned biolabs’ names still kept secret despite White House memo (USA Today)
- How quarantines hurt the fight against Ebola and violate the constitution (ACLU)
- Ebola crisis passes, but questions on quarantines persist (NY Times)
- Measles outbreaks are a sign of bigger problems (The Atlantic)
- A compensation system for vaccine injuries is needed for diseases such as Ebola (MNT)
- Senate confirms Gayle E. Smith as head of USAID (NY Times)
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
- UN team investigating chemical attacks to visit Syria soon (NY Times)
- Syria has ‘continued to use chemical weapons on its own people’ (Foreign Policy)
- Worst case scenario — Surviving a chemical weapons attack (Manufacturing.net)
SELECT AGENTS
- First-ever vaccine approved via the FDA’s bioterror pathway (STAT News)
- Liberia’s last two Ebola patients recover, leave hospital (Reuters)
- Assessment of persons under investigation having low risk of exposure to Ebola (CDC)
INFECTIOUS DISEASE COUNTERMEASURES
- Superbug resistant to last-resort antibiotics turns up in Europe (STAT News)
- Fluoroquinolone resistance in the wild (UPMC Clinicians’ Biosecurity News)
- Texas engineers develop potential treatment for whooping cough (MNT)
- Adenovirus virologic response to Brincidofovir in patients with resistance (Chimerix) .pdf
- Scientists create malaria-blocking mosquitoes (HSNW)
- WHO calls for fighting food borne diseases that can be deadly (Reuters)
- Combating whooping cough (The Scientist)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- US tularemia cases now top 100 (CIDRAP)
- Fast-spreading Zika virus may cause severe birth defects (Science)
- Telltale signatures identify emerging flu viruses (C&EN)
- Interventions to reduce zoonotic & pandemic risks from avian flu in Asia (Avian Flu Diary)
- Zika virus spreads to more countries (CIDRAP)
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
- ECBC scientists gain insight directly from warfighters (ECBC)
- MIT, Broad scientists overcome key CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing hurdle (MIT News)
- Fiddling with human genes (The Scientist)
INDUSTRY NEWS
- GSK banks on Canadian mAbs (European Biotech)
- NIH solicitation for biological safety cabinet (FBO.gov)
- uBiome and CDC partner to study hospital acquired infections (PRWeb)
- Cleveland BioLabs announces expanded U.S. patent protection for Entolimod (IR Direct)
DETECTION & PROTECTION
- Innovative Technologies report from NCEZID (CDC) .pdf
- Investing in simple diagnostic tests could save lives (Imperial College London)
- How I made an Ebola rapid detector test: Interview with Dr. Wayengera (AllAfrica)
- Natick investigates self-healing protective clothing (Armed with Science)
- Diagnosing malaria with a cell phone (Reuters)
RADIOLOGICAL & NUCLEAR THREATS
- Five takeaways from the IAEA’s report on Iran’s nuclear program (BOTAS)
- IAEA publishes new emergency preparedness standards (World Nuclear News)
- Nuclear agency says Iran worked on weapons design until 2009 (NY Times)
HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS
- One nation under vaccines (i wish): My review of vaccine nation (Tracking Zebra)
- Odessa, 1812: Plague and tyranny at the edge of the empire (Balkanist)
- Back in the day: The 1885 smallpox scare in West Riverside (Press Enterprise)
- Famous people who died of smallpox (Ranker)
- Keeping Bronze Age Yersinia pestis in perspective (Contagions)