See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including an anthrax outbreak simulation, Ebola virus disease small molecule countermeasures, and bioterrorism threats to the water supply.
BIOPREPAREDNESS
- UN Chief warns world not prepared to deal with biological attack (VOA)
- New era of synthetic biology could make dangers of atomic age seem quaint (Foreign Policy)
- Yellow fever vaccination campaign a dress rehearsal for the next big disease outbreak (STAT)
- Bioterrorism may pose threat to water supplies (WQP)
- Zika is just the first front in the 21st-century biowar (Foreign Policy)
- Dugway Proving Ground blows something up in the name of science (Salt Lake Tribune)
POLICY & POLICTICS
- All donated blood in U.S. will be tested for Zika (NY Times)
- Clinton proposes new fund to fight Zika, boost bioterrorism preparedness (Military Times)
- UN Security Council – calls for eradicating WMD’s (Pandora Report)
- City Council meeting discusses proposed BSL-4 research moratorium at BU (MySouthend.com)
- Asked and answered: a letter to a mother concerned about the Zika virus (White House)
- Bioterrorism: An interview with Lawrence Roberge, PhD (Outbreak News)
- Integration of molecular typing in surveillance and epidemic preparedness (ECDC)
SELECT AGENTS
- Attacking Ebola’s Achilles’ heel (Elsevier)
- Simulation exercise: Anthrax in Australia (OIE)
- Rescue of non-human primates from advanced Sudan ebolavirus (Nature)
- Tribute: The man who led the war to kill smallpox (NPR)
- New small molecule compounds could treat Ebola virus infection (Science Daily)
- Ebola: Outbreak info sources and impact on student populations (PLOS)
- Study suggests favipiravir benefits for Ebola patients (CIDRAP)
- Approval of anthrax vaccine under FDA’s animal rule is a step forward (RAPS)
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES
- HHS moves to accelerate Zika vaccine development (JAMA)
- Rotavirus infections ‘greatly reduced’ since vaccine (BBC)
- SAB Biotherapeutics wins contract to develop MERS candidate (GEN)
- Quality over quantity: making the case for vaccines (The Hill)
- Shades of grey in vaccination decision making (Science Comm)
- Regeneron, BARDA partner to develop MERS virus treatment (FierceBiotech)
- This new vaccine could tackle both Zika and Dengue at once (LabBioTech.eu)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- Virus hunters search for the next deadly disease outbreak (CNN)
- Guess how many Zika cases showed up at the Olympics? (NPR)
- Seven more fairgoers ill with variant H3N2 (CIDRAP)
- ESKAPES: Emerging pathogens of concern (InfectionContral.tips)
- FDA seeks US-wide Zika blood screening; sexual transmission concerns grow (CIDRAP)
- Mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis active this summer (NC DHHS)
- Fighting yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (The Guardian)
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
- Syrian regime and Isis carried out chemical attacks, say UN investigators (The Guardian)
- Pentagon taps Lululemon for chem-warfare suit challenge (DefenseNews)
- Proof Challenge: Designing America’s chemical biological defense suit (Tandem NSI)
RESEARCH & TECH
- Resistant paper developed thanks to nanotech (Digital Journal)
- Real-time biological target detection in operational environments by dogs (HDIAC)
- The Department of Defense needs help designing a biohazard suit (Engadget)
- Air Force to conduct chemical, biological decontamination tests on F-35 (ExecGov)
- Newly discovered virus has multi-part genome (The Scientist)
HISTORICAL & SPECIAL INTEREST
- The Red Queen & pneumococcus (Tracking Zebra)
- Yellow fever timeline: the history of a long misunderstood disease (NPR)
- The Strain season 3 review (We Got This Covered)
