See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including Federal Select Agent Program shortfalls, the Marburg virus outbreak in Uganda, and stolen Ebola aid donation money.
BIOPREPAREDNESS
- Commentary: Pandemic preparedness and missed opportunities (CIDRAP)
- New biosecurity threats appear in less familiar forms (Contagions Live)
- Biorisk management is fundamental to global health security (APHL)
- U.S. food supply: Need to protect biological and nutritional safety (AJPM)
- Trump’s administration’s misaligned approach to national biodefense (BOTAS)
POLICY, PRACTICES & POLITICS
- Red Cross ‘outraged’ over pilfering of Ebola aid millions by own staff (Guardian)
- Federal research and development for agricultural biodefense (RAND)
- Coordinated actions needed to enhance Federal Select Agent Program (GAO)
- U.S. needs to improve oversight of labs handling dangerous pathogens (Reuters)
- Russia, US, UK agree on need to reinforce Biological Weapons Convention (TASS)
- Fund critical health programs without compromising public health (IDSA)
- GAO calls for better oversight of high-containment labs (CIDRAP)
- Division of Laboratory Systems biosafety initiatives (CDC)
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES
- Role of brincidofovir in preparation for a potential smallpox outbreak (Viruses)
- Sanofi inks AI pact to learn more about flu vaccine responses (Fierce Pharma)
- Novel monoclonal antibody targeting influenza A gets fast track status (MPR)
SELECT AGENTS
- Uganda battling deadly Marburg outbreak (Contagions Live)
- CDC scientists pursue deadly monkeypox virus in Africa (WaPo)
- Direct central nervous system effects of botulinum neurotoxin (Toxicon)
- Deadly plague outbreak in Madagascar appears to wane (NY Times)
- Biosecurity implications for synthesis of horsepox (Health Security)
- Madagascar plague: mitigating the risk of regional spread (WHO)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- Reports say highly virulent Klebsiella strains emerged 4 years ago (CIDRAP)
- MSF says closing most cholera centers in Yemen as epidemic wanes (Reuters)
- Flu is a slippery virus, a tough vaccine target and a challenge to contain (VDU)
- Real-time modelling of a pandemic influenza outbreak (PubMed)
- High wild-bird death rates detailed in Dutch H5N8 outbreaks (CIDRAP)
- FMD outbreak only a matter of time (Dairy News)
- The ascent of H7N9 (Clinicians’ Biosecurity News)
RESEARCH & TECH
- Organized sports and the threat of infectious diseases (Contagion Live)
- The unforgiving math that stops pandemics (Pandora Report)
- Solving a dengue mystery: Why second infection is worse than first (STAT)
- Scientists solve 50-year-old mystery about breakbone fever (NPR)
- Lab-on-chip devices: Gaining ground losing size (ACS Nano)
- Can math be used to predict an outbreak? (Pulitzer Center)
SPECIAL INTEREST
- Understanding what plagues us (Harvard Gazette)
- Wonder drug made from one of the deadliest toxins on earth (Bloomberg)
- ‘Big Chicken’ connects poultry farming to antibiotic-resistant bacteria (NPR)
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