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On Behalf of the Open Philanthropy Project
     
Call for Biosecurity and Pandemic Preparedness Pre-proposals

 

The Open Philanthropy Project invites pre-proposals for risk assessment in the biosecurity and pandemic preparedness field. We believe infectious disease pandemics represent one of the biggest current risks to global welfare and stability, and the risks from engineered pandemics may grow in the future. We think more rigorous and comprehensive risk assessment tools will help the U.S. and other countries prevent and respond to the most serious biological threats facing the world. Full program details are available at http://openphil-rfp.org. 
Today's Headlines: March 23, 2017

Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

Social Media, Math and the Mystery of a Mumps Outbreak ( NPR: Shots) In August 2016, an outbreak of mumps began in Arkansas. Since then, there have been nearly 3,000 cases of the disease across 33 counties in the state. As a public health practitioner, I wondered: Why did this outbreak take off? Go to article

Zika Isn't Over. Miami-Dade Has Another Locally Acquired Infection, State Says ( Miami Herald) The person likely acquired Zika in Miami-Dade in 2016 after "multiple exposures" to areas where mosquitoes were spreading the virus, the Florida Department of Health reported, adding that the state had just received confirmation from the federal CDC. Go to article


Government Affairs & National Security

What the GOP's Plan to Kill Essential Health Benefits Means ( The Hill) House Republicans are now discussing a deal that would do away with the requirements, which might win conservative votes but risks losing centrists. Go to article


Global Health Security

Human Rights and the Election of the Next Director-General: Public Accountability Now ( O'Neill Institute) Three candidates remain in the race to be the next WHO Director-General: Tedros Adhanom, David Nabarro, and Sania Nishtar. All candidates should be accountable for their past support of human rights, and outline their plans for furthering human rights around the world if chosen to lead WHO. Go to article

How Iraq and Syria Put Psychosocial Care into Emergency Education ( Devex) Sabine speaks deliberately, elevating her voice above those of her pupils at a tented school in Northern Iraq. The 13-year-old wants to talk about why she wasn't in class the past 2 years. The Islamic State took over her home village of Talabta in 2014. Go to article

FATE: The New Partnership to Fight Against TB in Central and Eastern Europe ( Lancet Infectious Diseases) With its association with HIV and the emergence of drug-resistance, TB remains the most deadly of all infectious diseases affecting human beings. Today, multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant TB leave patients and physicians with very few treatment options. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

Vaccine Compliance and the 2016 Arkansas Mumps Outbreak ( Lancet Infectious Diseaes) Since Aug 31, 2016, more than 2000 cases of confirmed or suspected mumps have been reported in Arkansas, 60% of which have occurred in school-aged children (aged 5-17 years). Rapid growth in the number of cases suggests that a substantial proportion of the exposed population might be susceptible to mumps because they have not had or completed the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination. Go to article

Potential High-Risk Areas for Zika Virus Transmission in the Contiguous United States ( APHA) We used an ecological study design to identify potential areas within the US considered higher risk for sustained Zika infection and transmission as well as to quantify the population at risk for exposure, with particular attention to women who are pregnant or of childbearing age because of the risk of microcephaly. Go to article

Using Simulation to Aid Trial Design: Ring-vaccination Trials ( PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) The 2014-6 West African Ebola epidemic highlights the need for rigorous, rapid clinical trial methods for vaccines. A challenge for trial design is making sample size calculations based on incidence within the trial, total vaccine effect, and intracluster correlation, when these parameters are uncertain in the presence of indirect effects of vaccination. Go to article

Evaluation of Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination Among Newly Arrived Refugees ( APHA) We selected 1500 refugee records from 14 states from March 2013 through July 2015 to determine whether overseas vaccination records were available at the US post-arrival health assessment and integrated into the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices schedule. We assessed number of doses, dosing interval, and contraindications. Go to article


Science & Technology

Chikungunya Virus: An Update on the Biology and Pathogenesis of this Emerging Pathogen ( Lancet Infectious Diseases) Chikungunya virus continues to cause large epidemics worldwide, with no specific treatment or vaccine currently available to prevent infection. In this Review, we provide an update on chikungunya virus with regard to its epidemiology, molecular virology, virus-host interactions, immunological responses, animal models of disease, and potential antiviral therapies and vaccines. Go to article

Bacteria Are Brewing Up the Next Generation of Antivenoms ( Wired) Daniel Dempsey was a grad student stationed in the jungles of Monteverde, Costa Rica when he first encountered the danger of a snakebite. A number of new biotech startups, both in the US and Europe, are signing on to tackle the antivenom problem. Dempsey's, called Venomyx, is using vats of antibody-burping bacteria to engineer their cure. Go to article

Harvard Scientists Call for Better Rules to Guide Research on 'Embryoids' ( NPR: Shots) How far should scientists be allowed to go in creating things that resemble primitive human brains, hearts, and even human embryos? That's the question being asked by a group of Harvard scientists who are doing exactly that in their labs. Go to article

Killing Science and Culture Doesn't Make the Nation Stronger ( American Scientist) Scientists throughout the country across a wide spectrum of fields, from biochemists to physicists, are bemoaning the potentially devastating impact on science and technology in the US of President Trump's proposed budget request to Congress. Go to article

'Lab-on-a-Glove' Could Bring Nerve-Agent Detection to a Wearer's Fingertips ( Science Daily) There's a reason why farmers wear protective gear when applying organophosphate pesticides. The substances are very effective at getting rid of unwanted bugs, but they can also make people sick. Now researchers have developed a fast way to detect the presence of such compounds in the field using a disposable "lab-on-a-glove." Go to article

Soft Law: New Tools for Governing Emerging Technologies ( Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) All around the world, governments, industry, and the public are struggling to realize the promising benefits -- and manage the disruptive impacts -- of one rapidly emerging technology after another. A frequent response by many politicians and policymakers to these successive waves of emerging technologies is that nations need to harmonize their regulatory response. Go to article


21st Century Threats

5 Dead in London Vehicle and Knife Attack, Including Police Officer, Attacker; 40 Hurt ( Baltimore Sun) The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for an attack by a man who plowed an SUV into pedestrians on a crowded London bridge and then stabbed a police officer to death on the grounds of Britain's Parliament. Go to article

US & Europe At Risk Of Deadly Nuclear Attack From Rogue States & Terror Groups ( Yahoo: Finance) As international tensions about North Korea's weapon capabilities escalate in the aftermath of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's stark warning of the potential for military action, and fears mount about whether Iran will comply with the terms of the nuclear deal it signed last year, global experts on nuclear proliferation gathered in Washington DC today (23 March) to warn of the risk of catastrophic terrorism from rogue states and radical terror groups. Go to article

Tackling Rising Waters in Atlantic City and Miami Beach ( CityLab) Sea level rise is making floods more common and as the New Jersey resort braces for the next Sandy, the well-heeled Florida city is throwing money at the problem. Go to article

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