Today's Headlines: May 24, 2019
Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases
As Ebola Cases Rise, so Do Worries of a Cross-Border Epidemic (The New Humanitarian) The second-largest Ebola outbreak ever continues to spread, and health officials now say it’s likely to reach the populous city of Goma. Once there, the risk of it spreading beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda, South Sudan, or Uganda increases. Go to article
Eurosurveillance: The Re-Emergence of HPAI H7N9 Human Infection in Mainland China, 2019 (Avian Flu Diary) Two years ago pandemic concerns were heightened as the world watched the biggest human outbreak of Avian Influenza on record, in Mainland China. Go to article
Government Affairs & National Security
US Senate Authorizes Increased Spending on Pandemic Flu Products   (BioPharma) The Senate has passed a bill authorising spending on the development of products to protect the US against pandemic influenza and other biological threats to public health.  Go to article
House Bill Would Help Prevent Outbreaks of Measles, Other Contagious Diseases (HPN) Legislation that would increase immunization rates across the country to prevent future outbreaks of contagious diseases was introduced in Congress this week. Go to article
Senate Passes Massive Disaster Aid Package  (Politico) The Senate passed a long-awaited bipartisan disaster aid package on Thursday after reaching a last-minute deal with President Donald Trump. In an 85-8 vote, the Senate approved a multi-billion dollar disaster aid bill, which will assist states devastated by wildfires, hurricanes and flooding, comes after months of roadblocks. Go to article
Global Health Security
Congo Wants More Use of Merck Vaccine Rather than J&J Newcomer: Minister (Reuters) Democratic Republic of Congo called on Wednesday for Merck’s experimental Ebola vaccine to be fully licensed to facilitate its use in the Ebola-hit country, while saying Johnson & Johnson’s rival drug would complicate matters.  Go to article
Emory Ousts Two Chinese-American Researchers After Investigation into Foreign Ties (Science) Emory University has ousted two veteran biomedical researchers and shuttered their laboratory after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) expressed concern about their foreign ties. The researchers “had failed to fully disclose foreign sources of research funding and the extent of their work for research institutions and universities in China,” the Atlanta-based university said in a statement first reported today by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Go to article
Medicine & Public Health
Officials Fighting U.S. Measles Outbreaks Threaten to Use Rare Air Travel Ban (The Washington Post)  Health officials in five states have warned people believed to be infected with measles and planning to travel that they could prevent them from getting on planes. Go to article
Five Pioneering Ways to Stop Superbugs (Wellcome Trust) Antibiotic-resistant bacteria currently kill 700,000 people a year, and the number could rise if the problem is not addressed. Innovation is vital to address the overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics in human and animal health, which drives the rise and spread of resistance. Go to article
To Calm Nervous Families, Pakistan Changes Polio Vaccination Tactics (The New York Times) Paralysis cases spiked after a vaccination drive was derailed by false rumors that dozens of children had collapsed and died. Go to article
To Fight Deadly Candida Auris, New York State Proposes New Tactics (The New York Times)  New York State health officials are considering rigorous new requirements for hospitals and nursing homes to prevent the spread of a deadly drug-resistant fungus called Candida auris. Go to article
China Says Making Progress on African Swine Fever Vaccine (Reuters) China will start work on clinical trials of an African swine fever vaccine, state media said on Friday, as the disease continues to spread through the world’s biggest hog herd. Go to article
Science & Technology
Scientists Modify Viruses With CRISPR to Create New Weapon Against Superbugs (NPR) "We are getting to the point where there are organisms that are resistant to every known antibiotic," says Michael Priebe, a doctor who heads the spinal cord injury service at the VA medical center. Go to article
Development of a Confinable Gene-Drive System in the Human Disease Vector, Aedes aegypti (BioRxiv) Aedes aegypti, the principal mosquito vector for many arboviruses that causes yellow fever, dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, increasingly infects millions of people every year. With an escalating burden of infections and the relative failure of traditional control methods, the development of innovative control measures has become of paramount importance. Go to article
Stay up-to-date with our newsletters
Health Security Headlines : Daily news related to US and global health security.
Preparedness Pulsepoints : Weekly updates on USG action on readiness and response.
Clinicians' Biosecurity News : Analysis of advances and challenges in clinical biosecurity.
Published by Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security 
Visit us on the web:  www.centerforhealthsecurity.org