See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including curbing the threat of MERS-CoV, BARDA medical countermeasure contracts, and a look at how the 1918 pandemic revolutionized public health.
POLICY, PRACTICES & POLITICS
- How you could help stop a flu pandemic (BBC)
- A new framework for considering security risks posed by synthetic biology (BN)
- Changing the narrative of lackluster efforts to defend against biothreats (PR)
- Navigating our way out of the jungle: Modernizing meat inspection (Contagion Live)
- Our unsung defenders against disease (Pharmacy Times)
- Maryland lawmakers move to block Frederick biolab shutdown (SMO)
- New lab will boost UN efforts to keep harmful insects at bay (UN)
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES
- An upbeat mood may boost your flu shot’s effectiveness (NY Times)
- WHO swaps out H3N2, B strains in Southern Hemisphere flu vaccine (CIDRAP)
- US will spend 170M to stockpile drugs used to treat the Ebola virus (The Verge)
- Mini-protein rapid design method opens way to create a new class of drugs (Phys.org)
- Antiviral combo cuts flu virus shedding but not symptoms (CIDRAP)
SELECT AGENTS
- U.S. invests $170 million in late-stage Ebola vaccines, drugs (Reuters)
- Stability and pre-formulation development of a plant-produced anthrax vaccine (SciDirect)
- Label-free detection of Bacillus spp spores using functionalized SERS (SPIE)
- Sierra Leone taps global cholera vaccine stockpile to prevent outbreak (Devex)
- Northumbria researcher develops faster and safer way to diagnose Ebola (NMN)
- A vital sugar code for ricin toxicity (PubMed)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- This sinister virus could cause the world’s next flu pandemic (Bloomberg)
- Countries agree next steps to combat global health threat by MERS-CoV (WHO)
- Fighting cholera with a smartphone (IEEE)
- Yemen cholera cases could hit 1 million by year-end: Red Cross (Reuters)
- Plague in Madagascar disease outbreak update (WHO)
SPECIAL INTEREST
- Drink up! Volunteers swallow bacteria that causes typhoid (NPR)
- Apply now: Public Health Informatics Fellowship Program (CDC)
- GMU Schar School MS Open House – October 19th (Pandora Report)
- Book on pandemic of 1918 should inspire you to get your flu shot (Jezebel)
- Life as an infectious diseases physician scientist (IDSA)
- How the 1918 flu pandemic revolutionized public health (Smithsonian)
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