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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 24, 2017

Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

Establishing a Timeline to Discontinue Routine Testing of Asymptomatic Pregnant Women for Zika Virus Infection--American Samoa, 2016-2017 ( MMWR) The first patients with laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus disease in American Samoa had symptom onset in January 2016. In response, the American Samoa Department of Health implemented mosquito control measures, strategies to protect pregnant women, syndromic surveillance based on electronic health record reports, Zika virus testing of persons with one or more signs or symptoms of Zika virus disease, and routine testing of all asymptomatic pregnant women in accordance with CDC guidance. Go to article

Another Yellow Fever Case Noted in Rio de Janeiro State ( CIDRAP) The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, in an epidemiologic update yesterday on Brazil, noted one additional suspected yellow fever case in Rio de Janeiro state. Late last week, the Brazilian ministry of health confirmed 2 cases of the mosquito-borne disease in that part of Brazil, including 1 death. Go to article

The Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Transmission, Diagnosis, and Management of Multidrug-Resistant, Extensively Drug-Resistant and Incurable Tuberculosis ( The Lancet) Although tuberculosis control has been effective in some regions of the world, these gains are threatened by the increasing burden of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis.  Go to article

See also: Tuberculosis--United States, 2016 ( MMWR) In 2016, a total of 9,287 new tuberculosis cases were reported in the United States; this provisional count represents the lowest number of US TB cases on record and a 2.7% decrease from 2015. Go to article


Domestic Preparedness & Response

FEMA's Craig Fugate, On His Replacement and Hatred for Bureaucracy ( WUFT) Craig Fugate served as the administrator for FEMA under Barack Obama's full tenure as president. In the position, he dealt with many critical weather emergencies, including several in Florida, and terrorist attacks. Go to article

The Development of a Veterans Health Administration Emergency Management Research Agenda ( PLOS Currents: Disasters) The Veterans Health Administration, the largest integrated healthcare delivery system in the US, is charged with ensuring timely access to high-quality care for veterans during disasters, and supporting national, state, local, and tribal emergency management and homeland security efforts. Go to article


Government Affairs & National Security

High Stakes for Trump as Vote Looms on Republican Health Plan ( Reuters) As the clock ticked on Friday toward a high-stakes vote demanded by Donald Trump to overhaul the US healthcare system, fellow Republicans in Congress scrambled to secure enough votes to avoid a loss that could hobble his presidency. Go to article


Global Health Security

Will a New 2017 Global Leadership Commit to NTDs? ( PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) By 2017 we will experience a nearly wholesale shift in global governance as it relates to the world's neglected tropical diseases.  Go to article

From Coast to Coast: Africa Unites to Tackle Threat of Polio ( WHO) More than 190 000 polio vaccinators in 13 countries across west and central Africa will immunize more than 116 million children over the next week, to tackle the last remaining stronghold of polio on the continent. Go to article

New Plan to End Tuberculosis in South and Southeast Asia ( The Lancet) Health ministers from south and southeast Asia agreed to fast-track strategies to eliminate tuberculosis by 2030 at a WHO regional meeting in Delhi last week. Go to article

Getting Pandemic Prevention Right ( The Lancet) The voices of the countries most affected by Ebola have not been at the forefront of the numerous global commissions convened to review the crisis. The history of the HIV pandemic suggests that nuances of managing such a response need to come from those who managed the response and were most affected by it. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

Population Responses during the Pandemic Phase of the Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Epidemic, Hong Kong, China ( Emerging Infectious Diseases) During August 2009-July 2010, we conducted 7 longitudinal telephone surveys among 503 adults in Hong Kong, China, to explore changes in their behavioral and psychological responses to the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus epidemic. Go to article

No Such Thing as Chronic Q Fever ( Emerging Infectious Diseases) Modern diagnostic methods enable clinicians to look beyond a diagnosis of chronic Q fever and discern whether patients instead have persistent focalized Coxiella burnetii infection(s). Go to article

Zika: A Scourge in Urban Slums ( PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) Zika is, and will continue to be, a disease of the urban poor. Slum-defining characteristics--poor water and sanitation infrastructure, crowding, and poor structural quality of housing--offer ample opportunities for mosquitoes to breed and spread the Zika virus. Go to article

Mortality and Morbidity in the 21st Century ( Brookings) In "Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century," Princeton Professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton follow up on their groundbreaking 2015 paper that revealed a shocking increase in midlife mortality among white non-Hispanic Americans, exploring patterns and contributing factors to the troubling trend. Go to article


Science & Technology

Zika Mosquito Genome Mapped--At Last ( Nature) 'Breakthrough' technique used to piece together genome sequence of Zika vector, Aedes aegypti, 10 years after publication of draft sequence. Go to article

A Novel Live Attenuated Anthrax Vaccine Based on an Acapsular Bacillus anthracis Sterne Strain with Mutations in the htrA, lef and cya Genes ( Vaccine) We recently reported the development of a novel, next-generation, live attenuated anthrax spore vaccine based on disruption of the htrA gene in the Bacillus anthracis Sterne veterinary vaccine strain. Go to article


Other 21st Century Threats

White-Nose Syndrome Discovered for 1st Time in Texas ( Outbreak News Today) The fungus known to cause White-nose Syndrome, a disease that has decimated hibernating bat populations in the US and Canada, has been discovered for the first time in Texas. Go to article

The US Can't Really Know if Farmers Are Cutting Back on Antibiotics, GAO Says ( NPR) When the FDA created controls in January on how farmers can give antibiotics to livestock, scientists concerned about antibiotic resistance and advocates for animal welfare called it a historic shift in how meat animals are raised. Go to article
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