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T oday's Headlines: January 14, 2019

Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

African Swine Fever in China: 1st Outbreak in Gansu Province (Outbreak News Today) The China Ministry of Agriculture reported today (computer translated) on an African swine fever outbreak on a farm in Qingcheng County, Gansu Province in northwest China. This is the first outbreak recorded in Gansu and the 24th Chinese province affected by the epidemic. Go to article
 
American Monitored for Ebola at Medical Center Released (KETV 7 ABC) The patient being monitored for possible exposure to the Ebola virus at Nebraska Medicine has been released, hospital officials say. The unidentified American health care professional was providing medical assistance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when the exposure could have happened. Go to article
 
The Flu Has Sickened About 7 Million in the US So Far, CDC Estimates (Washington Post) Flu has sickened between 6 and 7 million people in the US so far this season, sending about half to the doctor for fever, chills and other influenza symptoms, according to estimates released Friday by federal health officials. Go to article
 
 
Government Affairs & National Security
 
House Advances Third Iteration of Bipartisan All-hazards Legislation (Homeland Preparedness News) The US House of Representatives yesterday approved the newest version of bipartisan legislation that would keep Americans safe against natural disasters and chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threats. Go to article
 
 
Global Health Security
 
Vaccines for Emerging Infectious Diseases: Funding, R&D, and Global Partnership Strategies (Research and Markets) Although development of interventions for emerging infectious diseases has traditionally been limited by a lack of market incentives, novel funding mechanisms and global partnerships for outbreak preparedness are expanding the commercial prospects for vaccine developers. Go to article
 
 
Medicine & Public Health
 
Emergence of Extensively Drug-Resistant Salmonella Typhi Infections Among Travelers to or from Pakistan - United States, 2016-2018 (MMWR) In February 2018, a typhoid fever outbreak caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, resistant to chloramphenicol, ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, fluoroquinolones, and third-generation cephalosporins, was reported in Pakistan. During November 2016-September 2017, 339 cases of this extensively drug-resistant Typhi strain were reported in Pakistan, mostly in Karachi and Hyderabad; one travel-associated case was also reported from the UK. More cases have been detected in Karachi and Hyderabad as surveillance efforts have been strengthened, with recent reports increasing the number of cases to 5,372. In the US, in response to the reports from Pakistan, enhanced surveillance identified 29 patients with typhoid fever who had traveled to or from Pakistan during 2016-2018, including five with XDR Typhi. Go to article
 
Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Phlebovirus non-Structural Protein Activates TPL2 Signalling Pathway for Viral Immunopathogenesis (Nature Microbiology) Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome phlebovirus, listed in the World Health Organization Prioritized Pathogens, is an emerging phlebovirus with a high fatality. Owing to the lack of therapies and vaccines5,6, there is a pressing need to understand SFTSV pathogenesis. SFSTV non-structural protein has been shown to block type I interferon induction and facilitate disease progression. Go to article
 
 
Science & Technology
 
New Research Could Allow Fast Diagnosis of Viruses Like Ebola and Zika (Digital Trends) A new development in molecular biology is a step towards enabling mobile and instant diagnosis of viruses like Ebola or Zika in the field. The Oxford Nanopore MinION device can sequence DNA and RNA in real time, and researchers at the French agriculture research center CIRAD have found a way to use the device as a tool for identifying plant viruses and potentially animal and human viruses too. Go to article
 
Device Update Enables Mobile Testing for Viruses, Bacteria, Active Toxins (ECN) You're sweating and feverish and have no idea why. Fortunately, Sandia National Laboratories scientists have a device that can pinpoint what's wrong in less than an hour. Unlike most medical diagnostic devices which can perform only one type of test - either protein or nucleic acid tests - Sandia's SpinDx can now perform both. This allows it to identify nearly any cause of illness, including viruses, bacteria, toxins or immune system markers of chemical agent exposure. Go to article
 
Improved State-level Influenza Nowcasting in the United States Leveraging Internet-based Data and Network Approaches (Nature Communications) In the presence of health threats, precision public health approaches aim to provide targeted, timely, and population-specific interventions. Accurate surveillance methodologies that can estimate infectious disease activity ahead of official healthcare-based reports, at relevant spatial resolutions, are important for achieving this goal. Go to article


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