News highlights on health security threats and countermeasures curated by Global Biodefense
This week’s selections include Marburg outbreaks in Tanzania and Equatorial Guinea; reforming regulation of Potential Pandemic Pathogens; biothreat crime scene management; and a pre-positioned protocol to trial Lassa fever vaccines.
POLICY + GOVERNMENT
Senate HELP Committee Seeks Stakeholder Feedback on PAHPA Reauthorization
Leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee are requesting input from public health officials, health care providers, and other stakeholders on policies the Committee should consider during the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA). Specifically, the senators asked stakeholders to provide feedback on the effectiveness of existing programs, how to improve the ability of states and localities to respond to public health crises, any gaps in activities or authorities in the PAHPA framework, and ways to bolster partnerships. Comments due by 29 March 2023. Senate.gov
WHO Details Discussions Over Newly Revealed Wuhan Market SARS-Cov-2 Sequences
Over the weekend, the WHO detailed conversations with Chinese researchers, its advisory group, and international researchers who found previously unknown SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the animal market outbreak epicenter on the GISAID database. The sequences from samples collected at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, in the early days of the outbreak recently appeared on GISAID and were downloaded by researchers from several countries before access was restricted. Chinese officials told the WHO that the genomic sequences are part of a 2022 preprint that has been submitted for publication to Nature. The preprint study said raccoon dogs weren’t tested, but the new data—showing high levels of raccoon dog mitochondrial DNA—suggest that raccoon dogs and other animals may have been at the market before it was cleaned as part of the outbreak response. CIDRAP
Biden Administration Overestimates Radiological Terrorism Risks and Underplays Biothreats
“Among WMD terrorism modes, bioterrorism risks are increasing most, even if the overall likelihood remains low. At the same time, new mass casualty terror threats are emerging that do not neatly fit into the WMD terrorism framework. The administration’s memorandum can be compared to a police department that prioritizes serial killers and jaywalkers.” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Why Nobody Believes The Kremlin’s Bioweapons Claims
“Among Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s most outlandish claims: Ukraine houses U.S.-supported biological weapons labs. In some tellings, migratory birds, even mosquitos, threaten to unleash biological weapons on Russia. Putin has used these and other false narratives as pretext for his unjustifiable war… The Kremlin and its ministers have repeatedly raised their false biological weapons lab claims to the U.N. Security Council. The U.N. always refutes these claims.” U.S. Embassy & Consulate
Potential Pandemic Pathogens – Risks, Regulation and Reform: Part I
Since the consequences of a “lab-leak” could be global, there is a need for international cooperation on research involving PPPs. If a pathogen were to escape a laboratory and cause a pandemic, the entire world and not only the funding/approving nation would be affected. Arguably, since the stakes are global, a nation that funds or approves research involving PPPs owes certain duties to other countries which would at minimum include transparency, information sharing and reasonable efforts to prevent transboundary harm. Stanford Law and Biosciences Blog
HERA Signs Agreement with ECDC and with EMA to Strengthen Cooperation on Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
The European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as well as HERA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have agreed to coordinate their work in support of health emergency preparedness and response in the area of medical countermeasures through: Intelligence gathering and assessment of health threats relevant to medical countermeasures; modelling, forecasts and foresight activities; promoting advanced research and development of medical countermeasures and related technologies; and strengthening knowledge in preparedness. European Commission
Biden Will Release Covid-19 Origin Intelligence
President Joe Biden signed into law Monday a bill to declassify intelligence on the origins of Covid-19, offering the public a chance to review information that government agencies say is inconclusive. U.S. intelligence agencies will redact their data to protect sources and methods before sharing it with Congress. Politico
Working Group on Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention – First Session
The first meeting of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention took place in Geneva from 15 to 16 March 2023. As decided by the Ninth Review Conference, the meeting discussed organizational issues and election of the Chairperson and two Vice-Chairpersons for the period 2023-2024. United Nations
The BWC Ninth Review Conference: An Overview of Outcomes, Outlooks and National Implementation
Following the conclusion of the Biological Weapons Convention’s Ninth Review Conference in December 2022, this Brief released in March 2023 analyses the outcomes and outlook of the Review Conference and takes stock of the progress, challenges, and ways forward for national implementation. While the Ninth Review Conference made limited progress in its formal recommendations regarding national implementation, the multitude of side-events and working papers submitted at the Conference highlight the breadth of assistance opportunities and guidance available to States Parties to work together and with assistance providers to advance national implementation throughout the next review cycle. VERTIC
MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES
Rapid Protection Induced by a Single-Shot Lassa Vaccine in Male Cynomolgus Monkeys
This study demonstrates that MeV-NP can induce a rapid protective immune response against Lassa fever in the presence of MeV pre-existing immunity but can likely not be used as therapeutic vaccine. Nature Communications
Expanded Profiling of Remdesivir as a Broad-Spectrum Antiviral
This data further support remdesivir as a broad-spectrum antiviral agent that has the potential to address multiple unmet medical needs, including those related to antiviral pandemic preparedness. Using cell-based assays, researchers show that remdesivir can inhibit infection of flaviviruses (dengue 1–4, West Nile, yellow fever, Zika viruses), picornaviruses (enterovirus and rhinovirus), and filoviruses (Ebola, Marburg, and Sudan virus isolates, including novel geographic isolates), but is ineffective or is significantly less effective against orthomyxoviruses (influenza A and B viruses), or hepadnaviruses B, D, and E. In addition, remdesivir shows no antagonistic effect when combined with favipiravir, another broadly acting antiviral nucleoside analog, and has minimal interaction with a panel of concomitant medications. Scientific Reports
West Africa Lassa Fever Consortium Pre-Positioned Protocol for a Phase II/III Trial to Evaluate Multiple Therapeutics
This pre-positioned protocol was developed and made available for adaptation and implementation by the wider Lassa fever research community in order to generate efficient, reliable, and comparable evidence for Lassa fever therapeutics. Wellcome Open Research
Measles Virus-Derived Vaccine Against Influenza A Virus H7N9
Since its emergence in 2013, 39% of more than 1500 H7N9-infected patients have succumbed to zoonotic infection with a few human-to-human transmissions. Although the infectivity of this virus for humans is still quite low, genetic changes facilitating an adaption to mammalian receptors and an efficient spread between ferrets by contact reveal an adaption to mammalian hosts and indicate that an enhanced human-to-human transmission is possible by genetic drift of the virus.
Vaccine production of typically rely on the amplification of live influenza virus in embryonated chicken eggs, which have limited production capacity. These limits have been responsible for vaccine shortages under special circumstances, such as the pandemics declared in June 2009 for H1N15, when the delayed availability of vaccines highlighted that classical influenza vaccine production strategies may not be fast enough to prevent the pandemic spread of a novel influenza virus. To be prepared for potential pandemics, broadly effective and safe vaccines are crucial. Recombinant measles virus (MeV) encoding antigens of foreign pathogens constitutes a promising vector platform to generate novel vaccines. NPJ Vaccines
Rapid Protection of Nonhuman Primates Against Marburg Virus Disease Using a Single Low-Dose VSV-Based Vaccine
Here researchers used a vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-based vaccine expressing the MARV-Angola glycoprotein (VSV-MARV) as the viral antigen. The data highlights VSV-MARV as a viable and fast-acting MARV vaccine candidate suitable for deployment in emergency outbreak situations and supports its clinical development. This vaccine has also demonstrated the ability to protect NHPs in a post-exposure therapeutic challenge setting. eBioMedicine
BIOSECURITY + BIOPREPAREDNESS
Ready or Not 2023: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism
This 20th edition of TFAH’s Ready or Not report measures states’ emergency preparedness and makes recommendations about how to strengthen the nation’s public health system. During 2022, the U.S. surpassed 1 million deaths due to COVID-19 and saw decreasing rates of routine vaccinations and increasing prevalence of health misinformation. In addition, the past year was the eighth consecutive year the U.S. experienced 10 or more billion-dollar weather-related disasters. This year’s report placed 19 states and DC in the high-performance tier, 16 states in the middle performance tier, and 15 states in the low performance tier. Trust for America’s Health
UNSGM Experts Join Training Course on Biological Crime Scene Management
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), in cooperation with INTERPOL’s Bioterrorism Prevention Unit and the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory, organized a training course on biological crime scene management for the United Nations Secretary-General’s Mechanism for Investigations of Alleged Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons (UNSGM) in New York earlier this month. Representatives from INTERPOL provided instructions to the participants on crime scene operations in an environment that is potentially biologically contaminated. This included a procedure for putting on and taking off personal protective equipment, considerations to access a contaminated scene, initial scene assessment, briefing and sampling strategy, as well as evidence packaging. Public Health Agency of Canada complemented these sections with training components on biological sampling, including field testing, laboratory analysis, and evidence transportation. United Nations Office for Disarmament
Canada’s Stockpile of Ventilators Up From 500 to 27,000 After Push to Procure Them
Like many nations, Canada raced to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the early days of the pandemic as hospitals were overwhelmed by severely ill patients. Public Services and Procurement Canada said the total cost of more than 27,000 ventilators Canada stockpiled was over $807 million. “Without a doubt, I think (procurement) is part of any sort of readiness or preparedness infrastructure but without adequate staff it’s not really useful and we need to emphasize that human resources component more and more.” A dramatic drop in use of ventilators occurred when vaccines became available, starting in mid-December 2020. As part of its efforts to divest of surplus supplies, the government then donated 539 ventilators to India, Pakistan and Nepal. CTV News
Will New Biosecurity Risk Policies Really Make Anyone Safer?
The current governance system is based on the idea that biological research is separate from its uses. It’s grounded in a mid-20th century idea that the best research comes from governments giving academics money to pursue research the experts think is most appropriate and then getting out of the way. This system is designed to have only a few points where high-level policy can directly touch basic research. This presents a challenge because the current oversight infrastructure was purposefully designed not to address biosecurity concerns. This means that every time a new security concern is identified, policymakers are scrambling to contain it. This reactionary model lacks the ability to adapt to new challenges over time. STAT
Triage Algorithms for Mass-Casualty Bioterrorism: A Systematic Review
Studies on triage algorithms for bioterrorism attacks are seriously insufficient. Most studies have proposed that attention be paid to triage algorithms, but no specific triage algorithms are proposed. Only 10 studies proposed specific triage algorithms, and these can be divided into triage algorithms for most bioterrorism events, triage algorithms for anthrax attacks and triage algorithms for mental or psychosocial problems caused by bioterrorism events. Environmental Research and Public Health
Global Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Equipment Management and Sustainability and Implications for Pandemic Preparedness Priorities
The results of this survey describe the status of equipment in veterinary diagnostic laboratories globally and highlight the difficulties relating to the sustainability of these laboratory networks. Developing local capacity, for example biosafety cabinet certification, is the ideal option and is the target of many development efforts, but it has been challenging to sustain because it is too often reliant on external donor funding. Equipment donation provides critical support to laboratories in low-resource settings, but is also fraught with good intentions. Partners often make decisions in isolation without proper consultation with the end users and national authorities.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, veterinary laboratories played a critical role by providing surge capacity for the human health sector for diagnostic testing response. In veterinary laboratories, 1,500 thermocyclers were out of service globally as of August 2019. That lost surge capacity is tangible, given the pressure on this technology during the pandemic. Emerging Infectious Diseases
How to Prepare for the Next Pandemic
As horrible as Covid has been — it remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States — it is not the worst-case scenario. There are viruses with case fatality rates twice, 10 times or even greater than that of Covid, such as H5N1 influenza (bird flu), Nipah and Ebola. 6 takeaways from the COVID-19 pandemic that, if enacted collectively, could help transform future national preparedness:
- We need to be able to get vaccines in arms much faster
- We need to make it much easier to develop and distribute tests
- We need a stronger stockpile of high-quality protective gear
- We need to seriously change our approach to indoor air quality
- We need stronger research oversight and lab safety
- The CDC needs a reset
Most importantly, Congress needs to support the Biden administration’s request for funding to prevent and prepare for the next pandemic and use the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) to broadly bolster preparedness. New York Times
SELECT AGENTS + PRIORITY PATHOGENS
Marburg Fever Outbreak in Equatorial Guinea Widens, WHO Reports
The ongoing Marburg fever outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is significantly larger than has previously been acknowledged, according to new information released Wednesday by the WHO, which warned there may be undetected chains of transmission. This outbreak of Marburg is the first the country has had to contend with. The WHO said it has sent experts in epidemiology, case management, infection prevention and control and risk communication to support the national response efforts. A mobile laboratory from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and the CDC staff to run it — is already in the country. STAT
Tanzania Confirms First-Ever Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease
On March 21, Tanzania confirmed its first-ever cases of Marburg Virus Disease after laboratory tests were carried out following reports of cases and deaths in the country’s north-west Kagera region. WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health with an emergency team to carry out further epidemiological investigations. While Tanzania has never previously recorded a Marburg case, it has had to respond to other health emergencies including COVID-19, cholera and dengue within the past three years. Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever, with a fatality ratio of up to 88%. World Health Organization
Assessment of Calcium Hypochlorite for Bacillus Anthracis Spore Surface’s Decontamination
Although extensive literature can be found for decontamination of the vegetative form, it is scarce for spores and largely underexplored for fully virulent strains, except for the Ames strain since the Amerithrax incident in the USA. Here researchers developed a two-step protocol that was first assessed on an attenuated B. anthracis Sterne strain and then validated on two independent fully virulent B. anthracis strains. Research in Microbiology
European Scientists Highlight Worrisome H5N1 Avian Flu Mutations
In an updated assessment on H5N1 avian influenza, European health groups said though the risk to humans is still low, worrisome signs include the appearance of certain mutations in circulating strains and mass animal mortality events that hint at a greater risk of spread among mammals. CIDRAP
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in a Harbor Porpoise
Researchers found highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b associated with meningoencephalitis in a stranded harbor porpoise. The virus was closely related to strains responsible for a concurrent avian influenza outbreak in wild birds. This case highlights the potential risk for virus spillover to mammalian hosts. Emerging Infectious Diseases
Crimean–Congo Haemorrhagic Fever Virus
The expanding range of the Hyalomma tick vector is placing new populations at risk for CCHF, and no licensed vaccines or specific antivirals exist to treat CCHF. Despite cases of CCHF being reported annually, the host and viral determinants of CCHFV pathogenesis are poorly understood. In recent years, improved animal models have led to increased insights into CCHFV pathogenesis, and several antivirals and vaccines for CCHFV have shown robust efficacy in preclinical models. Translation of these insights and candidate therapeutics to the clinic will hopefully reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by CCHFV. Nature Reviews Microbiology
Sweden Probes Severe Influenza B Cases in Kids
Swedish health officials are investigating a cluster of severe influenza B infections in children and adolescents, some of whom had complications, including myocarditis and meningoencephalitis. CIDRAP
CHEMICAL + RADIOLOGICAL THREATS
Expanding the Australia Group’s Chemical Weapons Precursors Control List with a Family-Based Approach
There are practical reasons why the Australia Group’s Chemical Weapons Precursors (AG CWP) list is exclusively based on individual chemical enumeration. A cheminformatics tool in development, the Nonproliferation Compliance Cheminformatics Tool (NCCT), has the potential to enable export control officers to handle control lists that contain families of chemicals, opening the way to expand the AG CWP list to a family-based approach for some of its entries, thereby closing loopholes for proliferators. Stimson
Progression of Radiation Injury in a Wistar Rat Model of Partial Body Irradiation
Rodent models of radiation injury are critical to the development of medical countermeasures against radiation. In the rat model of partial body irradiation (PBI) with bone marrow sparing, animals develop both acute radiation syndrome (ARS) and, in the surviving animals, delayed effects of acute radiation exposure (DEARE) in the form of multi-organ injury, which includes the lung and kidney. However, recent experience has shown that reliance on a single species or strain can lead to shortages of animals, hampering MCM development. The objective of this manuscript is to describe the dose response relationship and natural history of radiation injury in the widely available Wistar rat, to evaluate its suitability for use in MCM testing. International Journal of Radiation Biology
DEARE: Characteristics, Mechanisms, Animal Models, and Promising Medical Countermeasures
Although relevant animal models have been developed in several species and four MCM for treatment of the acute radiation syndrome are now FDA-approved, animal models for the delayed effects of acute radiation exposure (DEARE) have only recently been developed, and there are no licensed MCM for DEARE. Intensification of research efforts and support focused on better understanding of mechanisms and natural history of DEARE are urgently needed. Such knowledge provides the necessary first steps toward the design and development of MCM that effectively alleviate the life-debilitating consequences of the DEARE. International Journal of Radiation Biology
Remarks at a UN Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting Hosted by Russia on the OPCW
“Let us be clear about why we are here today. This meeting is yet another episode of Russia’s protracted disinformation campaign, and just the latest installment of its blatant effort to undermine the long and well-established history of the OPCW’s impartiality, transparency, and professionalism as a technical body… The facts captured in the OPCW’s years’ worth of findings on this file are clear. Together, the OPCW’s IIT and UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found the Assad regime is responsible for a total of nine chemical weapons attacks against Syrian civilians.” United States Mission to the UN
ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE CRISIS
Challenges in Forecasting Antimicrobial Resistance
Forecasting for antimicrobial-resistant organisms has its own set of challenges, including wide and prolonged asymptomatic carriage, longer time scales, continuing evolution due to strain competition and antimicrobial drug use, and poorly observed disease burden. Given existing gaps in forecasting AMR, predictive models are still not mature enough for operational application. To advance the field, we first need better communication of data among multiple sectors and stakeholders, including academic researchers, public health agencies, healthcare providers, and the public. Investing in consistent surveillance and data collection is of utmost importance for improving understanding of the emergence, spread, and outcomes of AMR. More effective, computationally efficient algorithms are needed to calibrate complex AMR models to multitype and multiscale data. Better interpretability of models can infuse confidence in clinicians when using those tools. Emerging Infectious Diseases
Deadly Fungus Spread Rapidly During the Pandemic, C.D.C. Says
The fungus, Candida auris, preys primarily on older people with weakened immune systems and is particularly dangerous because it resists treatment by common antifungal medications. C. auris was first reported in the United States in 2016, showing up most notably in New York and Illinois, where public health officials hoped they could contain it by rigorous screening and infection control in long-term care facilities and nursing homes. But over the course of 2021, state and local health departments around the country reported 1,474 clinical cases, about a 200 percent increase from the nearly 500 cases in 2019. Nearly half of patients who contract C. auris die within 90 days. With attention focused on Covid-19 and severely strained resources, less emphasis was put on screening for C. auris. Also, the fungus tends to cling to nursing gowns, gloves and other personal protective gear that, under ideal conditions, would be changed frequently but that were reused during the pandemic because of supply shortages. C. auris can also attach to ventilators or other medical equipment. New York Times
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
People Who Catch Omicron Are Less Likely to Get Long Covid
A number of studies have pointed to a patients’ risk of developing Long Covid symptoms dropping significantly if infected with Omicron, instead of the original coronavirus strain, Alpha, or the Delta variant. Earlier variants seem to spread to vital organs more often than Omicron does. Such spread might not always produce symptoms in acute infection, but it might make someone more likely to wind up with Long Covid. Additionally, during acute illness, Omicron is much less likely to land patients in the hospital due to severe disease, which researchers know is a major risk factor for Long Covid. Though shifting variants are likely driving down Long Covid risk, vaccination is probably playing a role, too, although untangling its potency can be tricky. Even a small risk of Long Covid means a lot of affected people, and those who already have Long Covid are facing obstacles accessing care and support. Science
New Evidence Supports Animal Origin of COVID Virus through Raccoon Dogs
Scientists have uncovered new genetic evidence from the market in Wuhan, China, where COVID cases first clustered in late 2019. The findings add support to an animal origin of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. They were presented to an advisory group convened by the World Health Organization earlier this week. Florence Débarre, an evolutionary biologist at the French National Center for Scientific Research discovered genetic sequences of the virus that researchers in China—led by George Gao, former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention—had uploaded to a public genomic database called GISAID. The sequences were subsequently taken down but not before several other researchers from different countries downloaded and analyzed them. Scientific American
Court Blocks COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate For US Government Workers
President Joe Biden’s order that federal employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 was blocked by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Thursday. The ruling from the full appeals court, 16 full-time judges at the time the case was argued, reversed an earlier ruling by a three-judge 5th Circuit panel that had upheld the vaccination requirement. Judge Andrew Oldham, nominated to the court by then-President Donald Trump, wrote the opinion for a 10-member majority. The case will return to court for further arguments, when “both sides will have to grapple with the White House’s announcement that the COVID emergency will finally end on May 11, 2023.” AP News
Genetic Evidence of Susceptible Wildlife in SARS-Cov-2 Positive Samples at the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, Wuhan
Analysis of these data found that genetic evidence of multiple animal species was present in locations of the market where SARS-CoV-2 positive environmental samples had been collected. This includes raccoon dogs, which are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and shed sufficient virus to transmit to other species. However, this also included other mammalian species that require consideration as possible intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2.
Using metagenomic sequencing data, researchers provide evidence for the co-occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 and the genetic material of susceptible wildlife in environmental samples from the Huanan market during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding corroborates reports of putative intermediate animal hosts for SARS-CoV-2 being sold live in the market in late 2019 and adds to the body of evidence identifying the Huanan market as the spillover location of SARS-CoV-2 and the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zenodo, Nature
Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viruses with Non-Thermal Plasma for Hospital Disinfection
Current disinfection methods in hospital settings suffer from numerous drawbacks. As a result, several medical supplies that cannot be properly disinfected are not reused, leading to severe shortages and increasing amounts of waste. Here researchers report that non-thermal plasma (NTP) can effectively inactivate SARS-CoV-2 from non-porous and porous materials commonly found in healthcare facilities. A 5 min treatment with a dielectric barrier discharge NTP can inactivate 100% of SARS-CoV-2 (Original and Omicron strains) from plastic material. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
Study: 24% of Parents Hid That Their Children Were Covid-19 Positive
Well, so much for trusting people to do the right thing. A research letter recently published in JAMA Network Open described how 24.0% of parents in the U.S. surveyed (in this relatively small study) failed to tell others when they either thought or knew that their child had Covid-19. Moreover, 21.1% permitted their children to break quarantine or isolation rules. They wanted to exercise their “personal freedom” as parents. On the flip side, 9.7% who claimed that their children were older than they were so that their children could get vaccinated. Nearly a fifth (19.4%) didn’t get their children tested for Covid-19 even though they thought that their kids had Covid-19. Forbes
SPECIAL INTEREST
Anthony Fauci Documentary on PBS Covers a Career of Crises
“American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci,” offers a portrait of an unlikely lightning rod: A government infectious disease scientist who advised seven presidents. Fauci allowed a film crew to follow him for 23 months starting in January 2021. “I just felt that there needed to be a story of people understanding what public health officials go through, but also I hope as a source of inspiration for young people who are either in science or interested in going into science,” said Fauci. “The story illuminates — and he’d be the first to say it — some very dark stuff about this country and how a person who has devoted his life to helping individuals got so twisted in this current climate,” said Mark Mannucci, director of the film. AP News
‘We Were Helpless’: Despair at the C.D.C. as the Pandemic Erupted
It is generally known that morale at the C.D.C. plummeted as Trump administration officials sought to squelch dissent among career scientists who disagreed with the White House’s handling of the pandemic. But few employees have described the despair inside the beleaguered agency as hospitals overflowed with patients and bodies piled up in makeshift morgues. Interviews with 11 current and former agency employees, including trainees at the E.I.S., as well as a review of text messages and other documents obtained by The New York Times, portray an agency under intense pressure from the country’s political leaders. New York Times
Efforts to Modernize Public Health—An Unexpected Bright Spot
It would be difficult for public health officials to call these the best of times. Misinformation about COVID-19 remains rampant. State legislators across the country are limiting the emergency powers of health agencies. And yet, there is a bright spot, where one might least expect to find it. An increasing number of states—red and blue—have set up public processes to strengthen and modernize their public health efforts. These initiatives are finding support for reform from local residents, businesses, and community organizations. JAMA Forum
ALSO READING
The Complexity of Safety in BSL-4 Labs. Lab Design News
Neutralization of BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and XBB with RBD-Dimer Vaccines. New England Journal of Medicine
The approaching pilot for One Health governance index. Infectious Diseases of Poverty
Case-control study of human anthrax outbreak investigation in Northwest Ethiopia. BMC Infectious Diseases
First report of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus argenteus as a foodborne pathogen. International Journal of Food Microbiology
SIRT-1 is required for release of enveloped picornaviruses. BioRxiv
The global COVID-19 vaccine surplus: tackling expiring stockpiles. Infectious Diseases of Poverty
We need to keep an eye on avian influenza. Nature Reviews Immunology
Pathogenesis of the circulating mpox virus and its adaptation to humans. PNAS
Insights into monkeypox pathophysiology, global prevalence, clinical manifestation and treatments. Frontiers in Immunology
Analysis of bacterial pangenomes reduces CRISPR dark matter and reveals strong association between membranome and CRISPR-Cas systems. Science