See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including polio cases in Nigeria, DoD chemical and biological defense programs, and chlorine attacks in Syria.
BIOPREPAREDNESS
- I got Zika. The US health care system had no idea what to do with me. (Vox)
- Report details DoD chem/bio defense programs (FAS)
- No more epidemics – A call to action (NME)
- Medical countermeasure dispensing summit, state of colistin-Resistance (PR)
- The woman protecting us from the next pandemic (UC Davis)
- Key facts about human infections with variant viruses (CDC)
- How Afghan Scientists are boosting their ability to fight deadly diseases (CRDF)
- Is Sierra Leone ready for the next epidemic? (BBC)
- Pandemic flu preparedness (King County)
POLICY & POLICTICS
- HHS letter to Texas senator regarding federal response to Zika (Politico)
- Biological weapons: Preparatory Committee for the Eighth Review Conference (ICRC)
- Feds use funds for Medicaid, children’s services to avoid delaying Zika vaccine (ABC)
- With Congress deadlocked, White House diverts funds to fight Zika (NY Times)
- Top presidential science, engineering, tech & health questions (Science Debate)
- Evolving the US model of global health engagement (CGD)
- US agency to lift ban on funding human–animal hybrids (Nature)
- Official will speak about new bio-defense facility (Marysville Advocate)
SELECT AGENTS
- Comparison of aerosol stability of Zaire ebolavirus from 1976 and 2013 (Nature)
- 2015 Zambia plague outbreak highlights testing problems, malaria co-infection (CIDRAP)
- Outbreak of plague in a high malaria endemic region – Zambia 2015 (MMWR)
- Anthrax vaccine stockpile: Emergent BioSolutions asks for patience (Motley Fool)
- Experts warn of threat of born-again smallpox from old Siberian graveyards (Siberian Times)
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES
- In the dark of night, a hunt for a deadly bug in the name of science (STAT)
- Nigeria to start emergency polio campaign (BBC)
- Army prepares to administer 1.6 million flu shots (Health.mil)
- Discovery could change how we treat diseases that affect 20 million people (BI)
- The race for a Zika vaccine may be missing the most important players (STAT)
- Single agent targets three parasitic infections (C&EN)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- Polio eradication faces setback as Nigeria records first cases in two years (Nature)
- Learning from the first autochthonous Zika outbreak (Clinicians’ Biosecurity News)
- U.S. declares Zika an emergency in Puerto Rico (NY Times)
- Global polio eradication hopes hang in the balance after Nigeria setback (Reuters)
- Waterborne food poisoning on the rise due to global warming, study says (STAT)
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
- Why do chlorine gas attacks persist in Syria? (NY Times)
- Syria conflict: Aleppo ‘chlorine gas attack’ investigated (BBC)
- View on Assad’s use of chemical weapons: our silence is shaming (The Guardian)
- Cleanup to start on old chemical weapons burial sites (Pueblo Chieftain)
- Possible chemical weapons use in Syria raises U.S. concern (Bloomberg)
- Uncle Sam wants a new chemical warfare suit (Defense Tech)
- Clam fisherman dredges up chemical weapons (Maritime Executive)
RESEARCH & TECH
- CRISPR patent fight: The legal bills are soaring (STAT)
- How ‘second skin’ suits will protect future soldiers from dirty weapons (Motherboard)
- Cellular delivery of RNA nanoparticles (ACS Combinatorial Science)
- Revised Hazmat Suit Guideline decreases burden during summer heat (Hazmat Mag)
- Replications, ridicule and a recluse: the controversy over NgAgo gene-editing (Nature)
- Rapid blood-testing technology being developed in Europe (MDT)
HISTORICAL & SPECIAL INTEREST
- What it took to discover bacteria in the 1670s (Vox)
- The Panic Virus: A book with no expiry date (Tracking Zebra)
