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By Eric Toner, Jennifer Nuzzo, Ali Khan, Anita Cicero, Crystal Boddie, Matthew Shearer
From June 20-July 2, 2016, a six-person External Assessment Team from the UPMC Center for Health Security met with governmental leaders in Taipei, Taiwan to conduct an independent assessment of Taiwan's capabilities under the Internal Health Regulations (2005) and its related progress toward the "Protect, Detect, and Respond" goals of Global Health Security Agenda.  Read the Report
 
Today's Headlines: October 27, 2016  
 
Zika Virus

Sanofi Partners with Brazil to Accelerate Zika Vaccine Work ( Reuters) Sanofi has struck a collaboration deal with a leading Brazilian research institute to speed development of a Zika vaccine, consolidating the French drugmaker's position in the race to defeat the mosquito-borne virus. Go to article

Expect Zika Virus to Reach India and Africa, Medical Research Charity Warns ( The Guardian) The Zika virus, which causes brain damage in babies, is likely to spread to India and the continent of Africa, according to the director of the Wellcome Trust, a medical charity deeply involved in research to try to limit the damage. Go to article

Zika May Be in the US to Stay ( NPR Shots) Public health authorities and infectious disease specialists now say we may not be able to rid the US of the Zika virus. Despite months of intense work -- including house to house inspections and aggressive mosquito control -- federal, state and local officials have not been able to stop the spread of Zika in Miami. Go to article


Government Affairs & National Security

Congress Took 233 Days to Respond. Here's How to Prepare for the Next Zika ( Health Affairs) Quite simply, we need a way to enable quicker responses to acute disease outbreaks. Relying on a legislative body that takes months to respond is not an effective plan. Go to article

Governance or Arms Control? The Future of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention ( CFR) Given the nonuse of biological weapons over the years and widespread state disinterest in pursuing them, it should follow that the 8th BWC review conference, to be held November 7-25, should be an unremarkable affair. However, 3 structural problems threaten to undermine existing international norms against the use of bioweapons and biological warfare. Go to article


Global Health & Security

Ebola-affected Countries Receive NIH Support to Strengthen Research Capacity ( NIH) The recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa highlighted the need for better global preparedness and response to disease outbreaks. To help address that need in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone -- the countries most affected by the epidemic -- the NIH has established a new program to strengthen the research capacity to study Ebola, Lassa fever, yellow fever and other emerging viral diseases. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

This Group Knows What Haiti Needs Most After the Hurricane ( Emergency Management) Helping Haiti after Hurricane Matthew can be a Herculean ordeal. That's true for Coconut Creek-based Food for the Poor despite being permanently on the ground in the country with the largest of its satellite offices. But, by scale, the natural disaster was manageable compared to the 2010 earthquake. Go to article

A Comparison of Language Use in Pro- and Anti-vaccination Comments in Response to a High Profile Facebook Post ( Vaccine) Vaccinations are important for controlling the spread of disease, yet an increasing number of people are distrustful of vaccines, and choose not to (fully) vaccinate themselves and their children. One proposed contributor to this distrust is anti-vaccination misinformation available on the internet, where people search for and discuss health information. Go to article

Rivers in European Plague Outbreak Patterns, 1347-1760 ( Contagions) A new study published this month in Scientific Reports took a database of 5559 European outbreak reports (81.9% from UK, France and Germany) between 1347 and 1760 to analyze the role of rivers in the incidence and spread of plague. Go to article

Canada Orders Anthrax Vaccine, Saying 'Lethal' Threat Remains, but Who Would Get It Remains Unknown ( Montreal Gazette) Recalling a largely forgotten terrorist threat, the Public Health Agency of Canada has ordered up to 28,000 doses of anthrax vaccine, saying the bacteria remains "one of the most dangerous and lethal" possible biological weapons. Go to article


Science & Technology

New Gene-editing Trick Discovered Just in Time for J-Lo's "CRISPR" TV Series ( Washington Post) Lopez, according to the Hollywood Reporter, is hoping to produce a dramatic TV series titled "C.R.I.S.P.R." which would feature male and female protagonists trying to save humanity from a mad scientist. Go to article

See Also: In Vivo Correction of Anaemia in β-thalassemic Mice by γPNA-mediated Gene Editing with Nanoparticle Delivery ( Nature: Communications) Gene editing in haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) may provide a strategy for treatment of inherited disorders such as sickle cell disease and Beta-thalassaemia. Go to article


21st Century Threats

Treatment of Chemical Warfare Casualties ( FAS) "Chemical warfare agents remain a significant and continuing threat to military forces," according to a newly updated manual jointly issued by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Islamic State fighters in Iraq set fire to a chemical factory south of Mosul, Pentagon spokesmen said last week, generating a cloud of sulfur dioxide that passed over a US base in the region. Go to article

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