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Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative
2017 Fellowship Application Now Open
We are pleased to announce the opening of the application process for the 2017 class of the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI), and invite you to circulate this call for applications among your colleagues.

The purpose of the ELBI fellowship program is to build a multi-disciplinary, inter-generational network of biosecurity professionals by identifying talented graduate students and early to mid career professionals in the field, providing Fellows with professional educational opportunities, and connecting them with established biosecurity leaders and ELBI alumni. Apply here
 
Today's Headlines: December 2, 2016  
 
Zika Virus

Imaging Studies Zero In on Zika Impact ( MedPage Today) Imaging studies helped Brazilian clinicians learn more about the effects of the Zika virus, according to several presentations at the Radiological Society of North America annual meeting. Go to article

Where is Abortion Illegal? Brazil Decriminalizes Early-Pregnancy Terminations Amid Zika Virus Debate ( International Business Times) Anti-abortion sentiment may be starting to shift in Latin America. Brazil's Supreme Court this week decriminalized early-term abortions, overturning prison sentences for 5 ex-employees of a Rio de Janeiro abortion clinic on the grounds that terminating pregnancies within the trimester should not be considered a crime, according to teleSUR. Go to article

Zika Virus Can Take Multiple Routes Into Developing Human Nerve Cells ( Medical Xpress) Around the world, hundreds of women infected with the Zika virus have given birth to children suffering from microcephaly or other brain defects, as the virus attacks key cells responsible for generating neurons and building the brain as the embryo develops. Go to article

Situation Report: Zika Virus, Microcephaly, Guillan-Barre Syndrome 1 December 2016 ( WHO) Overall, the global risk assessment has not changed. Zika virus continues to spread geographically to areas where competent vectors are present. Although a decline in cases of Zika infection has been reported in some countries, or in some parts of countries, vigilance needs to remain high. Go to article

BARDA Grants $43.2 Million USD to Sanofi Pasteur for Zika ( Satellite Press Releases) Sanofi and its vaccines global business unit Sanofi Pasteur announced today that BARDA within ASPR HHS has agreed to a proposal to fund the manufacture of an inactivated Zika vaccine for phase II development. Go to article


Global Health Security

UN Apologizes for Haiti Cholera Spread in Plan to Eradicate Disease ( CNN) The UN did not do enough to prevent the spread of cholera epidemic in Haiti that killed at least 10,000 people after the 2010 earthquake, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday, in what critics saw as an overdue apology. Go to article

Ulama Supports Polio Vaccination Program ( Outbreak News Today) Over 120 Islamic scholars, the ulama, gathered in a conference on 3 November 2016 in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, to express their support for Afghanistan's polio eradication programme. Go to article

Southern Africa's AID Epidemic Takes Nosedive ( Science) Today is World AIDS Day, and 3 neighboring countries in southern Africa that have been hard-hit by HIV received remarkably good news. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

National Influenza Vaccination Week--December 4-10, 2016 ( MMWR) HHS, CDC, state and local health departments, and other partners will observe National Influenza Vaccination Week during December 4-10, 2016, with educational and promotional activities across the country. Go to article


Science & Technology

Generation of Influenza A Viruses as Live But Replication-Incompetent Virus Vaccines ( Science) The conversion of life-threatening viruses into live but avirulent vaccines represents a revolution in vaccinology. In a proof-of-principle study, we expanded the genetic code of the genome of influenza A virus via a transgenic cell line containing orthogonal translation machinery. Go to article

The Most Comprehensive Study on Drones in Humanitarian Action ( iRevolutions) In August 2015, the Swiss humanitarian organization FSD kindly hired me as a consultant to work on the EU-funded Drones in Humanitarian Action program. I had the pleasure of working closely with FSD and team during the past 16 months. Go to article


Other 21st Century Threats

Crisis Overview 2016: Humanitarian Trends and Risks for 2017 ( ReliefWeb) The Crisis Overview 2016: Humanitarian Trends and Risks for 2017, outlines the countries where needs are greatest, and growing, as we approach the end of 2016. Go to article

Clinicians' Biosecurity News, December 2, 2016
  Targeting the Virulence Factors of MRSA. Despite the availability of highly effective therapies directed against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), it still exacts a considerable toll of morbidity and mortality. In its 2013 report, the CDC labeled MRSA a serious threat and estimated that it causes more than 11,000 deaths annually. Because of this sizable impact, there is a pressing need to improve therapy for MRSA infections beyond the various antibiotics that are predictably active against it.  Read Now
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