See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including pandemic flu preparedness, big pharma vs. superbugs, and North Korea’s biological weapons.
BIODEFENSE POLICY & PRACTICES
- More pandemics are inevitable, and the U.S. is grossly underprepared (WaPo)
- Preparing for the next pandemic: Fear cannot be our motivation (World Economic Forum)
- Daydreams and nightmares in biological weapon control (BioChem Security 2030)
- Drug firms ask governments to join fight against superbugs (Reuters)
- Why the world should fear North Korea’s biological weapons (National Interest)
- Targeted school closures might help fight pandemic flu (Reuters)
- Where will the next pandemic come from? (Pulitzer Center)
- U.S. deploys newly minted bird flu plan to protect humans, poultry (Reuters)
- U.S. national biosurveillance: An integrated enterprise (HDIAC)
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
- A farewell to chemical arms (Chemistry World)
- Three centuries of trying to stop chemical weapons (Bloomberg)
- Germany assisting in destruction of Iraq’s chemical weapons stockpiles (ReliefWeb)
- Chemical weapons, barrel bombs and starvation (SETA)
SELECT AGENTS
- Planning for the next Ebola outbreak (The Scientist)
- Vaccines alliance signs 5M advance deal for Merck’s Ebola shot (Reuters)
- US Army to implement new measures to manage biological toxins (Army Technology)
- ISIS and bioterrorism: Tularemia planned use in Turkey’s water (Outbreak News)
- Panic as Lassa fever spreads (Nigeria Guardian)
- Cross-reactive Ebola antibodies (The Scientist)
- Hot, humid air decontamination of a C-130 aircraft (PubMed)
- Smallpox eradication: Destruction of variola virus stocks (WHO) .pdf
- Tough anthrax rules causing ‘hardship’ for livestock farmers (Farmers Weekly)
- Fear, doubts obstruct efforts to contain Ebola in Sierra Leone (Reuters)
- Hunt for Ebola’s wild hideout takes off as epidemic wanes (Nature)
INFECTIOUS DISEASE COUNTERMEASURES
- Pharma ‘cash call’ for new antibiotics (BBC)
- Why Mark Zuckerberg was right to vaccinate his daughter (The Conversation)
- Camel vaccine curbs MERS threat at source (SciDevNet)
- Whooping Cough outbreak: How effective is the vaccine? (SciAm)
- How do you convince vaccine deniers? Show the reality of disease (Dallas News)
- Meningitis B vaccine shortage leaves parents unable to get jab (Telegraph)
- Brazil Zika outbreak: New test kits for mosquito-borne viruses (BBC)
- California’s pro-vaccination law may be working (Wired)
- Scientists test vaccine against deadly dengue virus in Brazil (NBC)
- FL pertussis outbreak shows vaccine works – but not well enough (Forbes)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- H1N1 swine flu kills 18 in Armenia, three in Georgia (Reuters)
- Brazil Zika outbreak: More babies born with birth defects (BBC)
- Details about what’s next in bird flu response efforts (Seattle Times)
- Outbreak of locally acquired cases of dengue fever in Hawaii (CDC)
- Mosquito-borne Zika virus found in 3 New York state patients (NY Times)
- An Influenza Viral Swarm (Clinicians’ Biosecurity News)
- Zika virus, explained in 6 charts and maps (Vox)
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
- CRISPR controversy reveals how badly journals handle conflicts of interest (STAT)
- Simulated radioactive decon of biological samples using a portable DNA extraction (FSI)
- Sequencing program targets the genomic bases of common, rare disease (NIH)
- Eglin Medical Group first to find bacteria unseen in humans (HDIAC)
- Simple, scalable, and sensitive protocol for retrieving Bacillus anthracis (FSI)
- Heroes of CRISPR disputed (The Scientist)
- A Whig history of CRISPR (Genotopia)
INDUSTRY NEWS
- Amid federal cuts, Draper Laboratory looks to biopharma for new contracts (STAT)
- GeneOne Life Science joins with Inovio on Zika virus vaccine development (Outbreak News)
- US government is making it possible to dump identifiers tracking contracts (NextGov)
- Telephus Medical gains Japanese patent for anti-MRSA antibodies (BW)
RADIOLOGICAL & NUCLEAR THREATS
- Troubling truth beneath Litvinenko headlines (CNN)
- Litvinenko poisoning: Polonium explained (IFL Science)
- Hanford employee positive for radioactive contamination (Chem.info)
- New X-ray method could detect nuclear materials (HSNW)
- Alexander Litvinenko: the man who solved his own murder (The Guardian)
EDUCATION & TRAINING
- Veterinary and undergraduate internship applications due Feb. 1 (IIAD)
- Chemical unit trains to respond to stateside emergencies (Fay Observer)