Biodefense Headlines – Global Pandemic Preparedness, Novel Orthopox Infection, Triggers of Ebola Virus Spillover

See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including biomedical research funding cuts, Q&A on the state of pandemic security, and lab-made genomes.

BIOPREPAREDNESS

• Is the U.S. ready for future disease threats? (Scientific American)
• The world is completely unprepared for a global pandemic (HBR)
• A literature review on community and institutional preparedness synergies (ECDC)
• Building disaster health resilience in one of America’s largest communities (ASPR)
• Ebola preparedness cost hospitals 360M nationwide (RI NPR)
• Q&A with Tony Fauci on the state of pandemic security (Devex)
• How to prepare for a pandemic (NPR)

POLICY, PRACTICES & POLITICS

• Global health in a populist and nationalist age (Journal of International Affairs)
• NEIDL researchers present case for next-level research (BU.edu)
• Budget proposes devastating cuts for public health (TFAH)
• USDA has $80 million-$90 million to fight bird flu (Reuters)
• Bill Gates: cutting foreign aid makes America less safe (Time)
• What biosecurity and cybersecurity research have in common (Slate)
• Secretary Price statement on President’s budget blueprint (HHS)
• Alabama waits for U.S. verdict on bird flu; importers limit trade (Reuters)

SELECT AGENTS

• Prime-boost Ebola vaccine yields immune response at 1 year (CIDRAP)
• Spatiotemporal fluctuations and triggers of Ebola virus spillover (EID)
• Two-part Ebola vaccine offers long-lasting protection (Reuters)
• Aflatoxin: toward removing a toxin from corn (The Scientist)
• Novel Orthopoxvirus infection in an Alaska resident (CID)

MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES

• The feds are spending millions to help you survive nuclear war (Wired)
• MCMi Fiscal Year 2016 Program Update (FDA)
• Mining nature for the next groundbreaking antibiotic (PRI)
• Behind the Scenes: development of new medical countermeasure resource (NACCHO)
• Limited and variable use of antivirals for children hospitalized with flu (JAMA)

RESEARCH & TECH

• DARPA works towards “soldier cell” to fight bioweapons (Pandora Report)
• Scientists get closer to lab-made genome (STAT)
• A new toolkit for rapid bacterial detection (Phys.org)
• Researchers develop technique to track yellow fever virus replication (ICT)

SPECIAL INTEREST & HISTORICAL

• The Next Plague Part 2: 1940 – new infections arrive, but from where? (ACSH)
• Effects of reactive social distancing on the 1918 influenza pandemic (Cornell)
• Bacteria may mutate more rapidly in space (NASA)
• Evidence of pandemic influenza in Canada during the summer of 1918 (T&F)