See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including influenza surveillance programs, inadequate health emergency preparedness funding, and high containment ambulances.
BIODEFENSE POLICY & PRACTICES
- Resilient health systems can prevent and contain pandemics (USAID)
- Local health departments reflect on the impacts of PHEP funding cuts (NACCHO)
- Secret vote on WHO bodes ill for future of global health (Humanosphere)
- The world can’t find more than $4 million for the WHO to fight Zika (Quartz)
- Biodefense Panel welcomes key provision in defense authorization bill (HSNW)
- NSW Australia Health Influenza Pandemic Plan (NSW Ministry of Health)
- Blunt assessment on global failure to prepare for infectious disease (STAT)
- G7, we can prevent pandemics (Huff Post)
- Winnike recognized for work on emergency health preparedness law (UH)
- Disease detectives protect children in Pakistan (CDC)
- Zoonotic spillover, biothreats preparedness, antibiotic apocalypse (Pandora Report)
- Meeting report: Global outbreak research preparedness and response (ISARIC)
- Global influenza surveillance program shows promising results (Contagion Live)
- Committee explores bill to improve readiness, response to biothreats (Ripon Advance)
- OSHA’s Michaels backs disease surveillance program (OH&S)
- WHO: Pandemic preparations don’t go far enough (Fierce Healthcare)
- Japan plays leading role in global public health issues (Japan Times)
- New global partnership for preparedness launched (FAO UN)
- Preparing the WHO for the next outbreak (WSJ) sub
- WHO’s fairy dust financing (Foreign Policy)
SELECT AGENTS
- Ground squirrels south of Boise test positive for plague (KTVB)
- Plague warnings posted throughout popular hiking trail in Flagstaff (CBS5AZ)
- Whole genome sequence typing as an epidemiologic tool for Y. pestis (DMID)
- SERS detection of ricin b-chain via N-acetyl-galactosamine glycopolymers (ACS Sensors)
- Biosecurity center working on new anthrax vaccine (QC Online)
- Chicago Fire Department unveils Ebola ambulance (JEMS)
INFECTIOUS DISEASE COUNTERMEASURES
- Gavi welcomes price trend for pentavalent vaccine (Gavi)
- New incentives needed to develop antibiotics to fight superbugs (Reuters)
- Superbugs for dummies: Explaining the battle between bacteria and antibiotics (STAT)
- Diffusion of pharmacy-based influenza vaccination over time in U.S. (AJPH)
- Lariam should be drug of last resort for troops, MPs say (BBC)
- Cash prizes for pharma are needed to fight superbugs (STAT)
- Improving safety of first-in-human clinical trials (EMA)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- Mobile phone data highlights role of mass gatherings in spreading outbreaks (PNAS)
- Yellow fever: the resurgence of a forgotten disease (The Lancet)
- Zika’s getting all of the attention. It shouldn’t. (Slate)
- Dissecting the latest super bug (Tracking Zebra)
- Yellow fever, Zika virus, and lessons we have to keep learning (Pump Handle)
- To fight Zika, send in the National Guard (NOLA)
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
- Nerve agent metabolite hair analysis for long-term exposure verification (AC)
- China top general visits Japan WWII chemical weapons site (ABC News)
- DARPA’s new method for demilitarizing chemical weapons (iHLS)
- Fire burns several buildings at former Umatilla Chemical Depot (Oregon Live)
- Missouri WWII vet’s mustard gas claim again denied (Stars & Stripes)
- Dstl hosts 19th Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference (Gov.UK)
RESEARCH & TECH
- Pathogen uses promiscuous molecule to scavenge metals (C&EN)
- Metagenomics pathogen detection tool (Univ of Utah)
- Anitoa demonstrates portable chemiluminescence sensor (Yahoo)
- NIAID RFP: Pre-clinical models of infectious diseases (NIH Grants)
- BARDA modeling-visualization hub solicitation (FBO.gov)
- Improving physical infrastructure to enhance animal model research (NIH Grants)
HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS
- Researcher maps the devastation of the Black Plague using broken pottery (Mental Floss)
- The 1971 smallpox epidemic in Aralsk, Kazakhstan (Middlebury Institute)
- List of 1918 flu pandemic case deaths and notable survivors (Wikipedia)
- Research reveals more complete picture Black Death devastation (Smithsonian)
- Art or bioterrorism? The implications of the Kurtz case (Middlebury Institute)
- The Plague of Justinian (Wikipedia)
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