See what we’re reading this week at Global Biodefense on topics including internet-based biosurveillance methods, lifting the moratorium on gain-of-function studies, and the threat posed by botulinum neurotoxins.
BIOPREPAREDNESS
- We’re not remotely prepared for the bioweapons threat (Gant Daily)
- Agroterrorism a real threat to America’s food supply (The Hill)
- Animal disease outbreaks could devastate Kansas economy (KSNT)
- Pandemic influenza preparedness in urban environments (S&T Studies)
- Ag not ready for biodefense (Progressive Farmer)
POLICY, PRACTICES & POLITICS
- NIH lifts funding pause on gain-of-function research (NIH)
- 2017-2018 PHEMCE Strategy and Implementation Plan (PHE.gov)
- Trump’s biodefense strategy: Naughty? Nice? M.I.A? (Pandora Report)
- There’s a new Ebola epidemic: This one involves corruption (USA Today)
- Why the U.S. will fund research to make viruses deadlier again (Fortune)
- ASM supports NIH decision to lift funding pause on gain-of-function research (ASM)
- International Criminal Court adds use of biological weapons to Rome Statute (PR)
- Arab alliance: Yemen one million cholera cases report exaggerated (Reuters)
- Fight opioids with lessons learned from Ebola, HIV crises (The Hill)
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES
- WHO advisors to conduct full review of Dengvaxia data (CIDRAP)
- Experts call for use of Sanofi’s dengue vaccine to be halted in most cases (STAT)
- ASU scientists develop new, rapid pipeline for antimicrobials (ASU)
- Nontraditional products in development to combat bacterial infections (PEW)
- WHO panel offers list of drug-resistant priority pathogens (CIDRAP)
- Why a pill that’s 4 cents in Tanzania costs up to $400 in the U.S. (NPR)
SELECT AGENTS
- Inside Texas’ anthrax triangle (KUT)
- Pinprick test designed for Ebola heads for field trial (SciDevNet)
- Botulinum neurotoxins, a real bioterrorism threat (SID)
- Simultaneous detection of bioterrorism relevant toxins using pBDi (Bruker)
- Burkholderia aortic aneurysm: a case report (Hindawi)
OUTBREAK NEWS & THREAT SURVEILLANCE
- Internet-based biosurveillance methods for vector-borne diseases (PLOS)
- Global respiratory surveillance program keeps armed forces healthy (Stripes)
- Outpatient flu visits spike as more states note high activity (CIDRAP)
- Revision of clinical case definitions: influenza-like illness (WHO)
- How does the flu actually kill people? (Scientific American)
- Yemen cholera cases reach one million – ICRC (BBC News)
- Zika remains a research and public health challenge (NIAID)
- Netherlands, Italy report new avian flu outbreaks (CIDRAP)
RESEARCH & TECH
- Comparison of oseltamivir free base and oseltamivir phosphate (J of Microbiology)
- Could this zoo of mutant mosquitoes lead the way to eradicating Zika? (STAT)
- Quantifying the risk and cost of active monitoring for infectious diseases (BioRxiv)
SPECIAL INTEREST
- GMU Biodefense visits DARPA (Pandora Report)
- Remembering Ebola: two years on (Varsity)
- CDC museum gives on-the-ground look at West Africa Ebola outbreak (WABE)
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