See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including the FY17 budget for health security activities, the Zika virus response, and ISIS use of chemical weapons.
BIODEFENSE POLICY & PRACTICES
- Congress considers priority review vouchers for medical countermeasures (RAPS)
- Top US intelligence official calls gene editing a WMD threat (MIT Tech Review)
- Millions could die as world unprepared for pandemics, says UN (The Guardian)
- Testimony on DoD’s CBRNE defense strategy and funding (Global Biodefense)
- Trust for America’s Health Analysis of HHS Budget (TFAH) .pdf
- Let’s prove we learned our lesson on preparedness after Ebola (US News)
- Map of things that keep NIH’s infectious diseases director up at night (WaPo)
- SubOversight continues work examining biodefense programs next week (E&C)
- A plea to presidential candidate Christie: please stop talking about Zika (Foreign Policy)
- Obama submits science-boosting budget (The Scientist)
- Global scientific community commits to sharing data on Zika (MRC)
- Obama administration seeks more than 1.8B to fight Zika virus (STAT)
- Lives at risk unless WHO reforms, U.N. report says (Reuters)
- FDA seeks 5.1 billion total for FY 2017 budget (FDA)
SELECT AGENTS
- Self-propelling microparticles spot ricin in minutes (C&EN)
- Sierra Leone discharges last known Ebola patient (Reuters)
- Adenovirus protein provides inhibition of the DNA damage response (PLOS Pathogens)
- DRC: Reports of a large monkeypox outbreak (Avian Flu Diary)
- Angola says 37 dead in yellow fever outbreak (Reuters)
INFECTIOUS DISEASE COUNTERMEASURES
- FDA designated a record number of orphan drugs last year (STAT)
- Fighting superbugs in 2016 (PEW)
- GHSA antimicrobial resistance action package (CDC)
- Behavioral cues reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions (CIDRAP)
- Antibiotic surgical prophylaxis: stewardship’s ‘elephant in the room’? (ROIPC)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- What’s next for the Zika virus? (Battelle Insider)
- Defense Department experts to support HHS with Zika virus research (Health.mil)
- Proving Zika link to birth defects poses huge challenge (Nature)
- Scientists scramble to develop tools, treatments for Zika virus (C&EN)
- Study in Brazil links Zika virus to eye damage in babies (NY Times)
- More than 5,000 pregnant women in Colombia have Zika virus: government (Reuters)
- Zika, dengue, yellow fever: what are flaviviruses? (The Conversation)
- Urbanization is a major driver of the Zika virus (CityLab)
- WHO stiffens Zika travel advice for women, airs countermeasure efforts (CIDRAP)
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
- Biosensors on demand (Medical Design Technology)
- Scientists improve DNA technology for detecting, treating disease (MNT)
CHEMICAL THREATS
- ISIS has ‘made and deployed chemical weapons’, says intelligence official (Independent)
- Once again, the VA turns down navy vets for Agent Orange benefits (ProPublica)
- Obama budget proposes increased funding for chemical safety board (Chem.info)
- Senate committee backs chemical weapons reclassification bill (WKMS)
- ISIS can make their own chlorine and mustard gas, warns CIA director (Daily Mail)
- Chemical weapons watchdog identifies possible sarin gas attack in Syria (Star.com)
- Critical infrastructure drone restrictions (CFSN)
RADIOLOGICAL & NUCLEAR THREATS
- North Korea nuclear threat cited by James Clapper, intelligence chief (NY Times)
- How is Fukushima’s cleanup going 5 years after its meltdown? Not so well (WaPo)
- Long-term cement study seeks nuclear waste solution (BBC News)