Ebola Outbreak May Be Smaller Than Feared, WHO Indicates (
STAT) There are signs that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo may not be as big as was once feared, WHO officials indicated Thursday. Fourteen suspected cases have tested negative for the deadly virus, Alison Clements-Hunt, a WHO spokeswoman currently in Likati, the epicenter of the response, told STAT in an interview.
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Global Health Security
Lessons Learned from the Final Ebola Outbreak in Guinea (
STAT) Lessons learned from the Ebola outbreak in Guinea emphasize the value of a strong local and tailored response to outbreaks, when possible. Guinea's fight against Ebola is a story of innovation, humility, and dedication. The country gave the world the wake-up call about the disease, and then offered solutions to take into the future. These include trained local responders, adequately staffed personnel at village health facilities, and a well-informed and engaged community.
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Too Many Health Clinics Hurt Developing Countries (
Project Syndicate) Donors like the World Bank and the World Health Organization often urge developing countries to invest in national health systems. But while rushing to construct clinics and other medical facilities in even the remotest regions may seem like a straightforward approach to ensuring universal health coverage, that has not turned out to be true.
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The Virus Hunters (
Scientific American) In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, teams of researchers are busy looking for the next deadly virus. The odds are not in their favor.
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Russian-United States Vaccine Science Diplomacy: Preserving the Legacy (
PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) US-Russia tensions over the hostilities in Ukraine, collapsed cease-fires and chemical weapons use in Syria, and accusations of alleged cyberattacks may require a diplomatic reset. To help ease growing strains and restore dialogue and cooperation, it is worth looking to a productive and extraordinary historical record of international scientific collaborations.
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Two Years After MERS, Korea Still Struggles with Public Health System (
H5N1) Two years have passed since the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome threw Koreans into the fear of infectious disease, but Korea's public health system remains fragile. Although the government has made some improvements, the country has a long way to go before completing infectious disease-related governance by, for instance, training public health experts and supporting research activities.
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Government Affairs & National Security
Trump's Proposed Budget Would Cut $2.2 Billion from Global Health Spending (
NPR: Goats and Soda) US aid for international family planning would be eliminated. Programs to combat HIV/AIDS in the world's poorest countries would be slashed by 17 percent. Efforts to fight malaria would be chopped by 11 percent. Those are just some of the cuts to global health spending called for by President Trump in the proposed budget he unveiled this week.
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Preserving the Fogarty International Center - Benefits for Americans and the World (
New England Journal of Medicine) In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2018, President Donald Trump recommended eliminating the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health. Although the NIH actually received increased funding in the fiscal year 2017 budget that was signed on May 5, the FIC - a leader of US global health research efforts for the past 50 years - may be vulnerable in upcoming negotiations over the 2018 budget.
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HHS Secretary Tom Price MD, Addresses the 70th World Health Assembly (
Mission of the United States--Geneva Switzerland) Madame President, Director-General Chan, fellow Ministers, distinguished leaders, it is a true honor to make my first visit to the World Health Assembly. As just the third physician to hold the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States, being here today is a remarkable privilege.
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Readout of Secretary Price's Second Day in Geneva for World Health Assembly (Mission of the United States--Geneva Switzerland) On Monday, May 22, Secretary Price participated in the opening activities of the 70th World Health Assembly. The Secretary participated in several events throughout the day - including one on antimicrobial resistance, a top concern for public health officials; an event sponsored by the US Delegation on international health regulations and how nations can and should assess their health security capacities; an event highlighting the critical role of public-private partnerships in addressing global health security; and an event on strengthening access to essential surgical and anesthesia care, particularly in underserved parts of the world.
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Readout of Secretary Price's Third and Fourth Day in Geneva for World Health Assembly (
Mission of the United States--Geneva Switzerland) On Tuesday, May 23 and Wednesday, May 24, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, MD completed his participation in the 70th World Health Assembly by leading the US delegation in meetings with public health officials from Singapore, the WHO Africa Regional Office, Finland, Norway, the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, and Brazil. These discussions wrapped up three days of meetings with many member state delegations to advance cooperation and collaboration on global health security, and other areas of important health collaboration.
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US: The GOP Health Bill Would Make Zika the Newest Preexisting Condition (
H5N1) The controversial GOP health care bill that narrowly passed the House of Representatives this month could have devastating consequences for mothers and children infected with Zika, experts say. The mosquito-borne virus is just one on a nearly endless list of preexisting medical conditions--cancer, asthma, pregnancy--for which insurers could potentially charge higher premiums if Republicans get their way.
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Medicine & Public Health
Science & Technology
High Infection Rates for Adult Macaques After Intravaginal or Intrarectal Inoculation with Zika Virus (
Emerging Infectious Diseases) Unprotected sexual intercourse between persons residing in or traveling from regions with Zika virus transmission is a risk factor for infection. To model risk for infection after sexual intercourse, we inoculated rhesus and cynomolgus macaques with Zika virus by intravaginal or intrarectal routes. In macaques inoculated intravaginally, we detected viremia in 75% of macaques and virus RNA in 100%, followed by seroconversion.
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Other 21st Century Threats