See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including prioritization of infectious disease threats, pandemic stockpiling of Tamiflu, and Botulism toxin X.
POLICY, PRACTICES & POLITICS
- The future of the GHSA matters for us clinicians—find out why (Contagion Live)
- Hot topics in biodefense – what you need to know (GMU)
- Vaccine funding must continue — the health of American children is at stake (STAT)
- Pharmaceutical lobbying and pandemic stockpiling of Tamiflu (Public Health)
BIOPREPAREDNESS
- Biological risks must be among top security priorities (NTI)
- ECDC tool for the prioritization of infectious disease threats (ECDC)
- Extensible framework and database of infectious disease for biosurveillance (BMC)
SELECT AGENTS
- AI can now detect anthrax which could help the fight against bioterrorism (The Verge)
- Botulism toxin X: Time to update the textbooks, thanks to sequencing (Vector)
- Ebola ‘family tree’ suggests virus becomes more deadly as it evolves (GLP)
- Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest (Nature)
- Intoxication with ricin biochemical weapon (Revista de Chimie)
- Single particle CryoEM of the anthrax toxin initial engagement complex (Cambridge)
- Anthrax cousin wreaks havoc in the rainforest (Science)
- More than 800,000 reindeer vaccinated against anthrax (Barents Observer)
- Identification and characterization of a novel botulinum neurotoxin (Nature)
- Holographic deep learning for rapid optical screening of anthrax spores (Science)
- Flexible microcantilever aptasensor for trace level detection of ricin (IEEE)
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES
- Study: Change in inhaled flu vaccine did not help in 2015-16 (CIDRAP)
- Chembio Diagnostics reports smaller loss, higher sales (Newsday)
- Antibiotic use in the United States, 2017: Progress and opportunities (CDC)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- Forecasting outbreaks—1 image at a time (Scientific American)
- Cholera reaches Central Darfur, ‘becomes endemic disease’ in Sudan (ReliefWeb)
- Fleas are testing positive for the plague in parts of Arizona (ABC)
RESEARCH + TECH
- MERS-CoV spillover at the camel-human interface (bioRxiv)
- Biohackers encoded malware in a strand of DNA (Wired)
- Act-Compliant whole-genome sequencing in public health microbiology labs (ASM)
- University of Georgia software IDs foodborne pathogens faster (AG Daily)
- Wearable sensors for chemical & biological detection (DomPrep)
SPECIAL INTEREST
- 60 Minutes investigates medical gear sold during Ebola crisis (CBS)
- Emory University Hospital No. 6 in nation for infectious diseases (EDP)
- Winnipeg: Few worry about Ebola lab in city: poll (WFP)
- The intelligent and connected biolabs of the future (Pandora Report)
- CDC exhibit explores Ebola outbreak, aftermath (NIH)
HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS
- A Short History of Biological Warfare: From Pre-History to 21st Century (PR)
- Disease and discrimination in colonial Atlantic America (Contagions Blog)
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