July 17, 2018

JUST ANNOUNCED: Center for Health Security Designs New Health Security Track for DrPH Program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The new health security track in the Bloomberg School's Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree program will launch in the first term of the 2019 academic year. Center faculty will tailor the breadth of their experience to the classroom, immersing DrPH health security track students in the same highly relevant thinking that positions the Center at the forefront of a rapidly evolving field.

Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, and Crystal Watson, DrPH, designed the track and will serve as its directors. Both are faculty in the Bloomberg School's Department of Environmental Health and Engineering.

Learn more

NEWS
PEPFAR Chief Wants 70 Percent "Indigenous Funding in 30 Months. Deborah Birx, the U.S. global AIDS coordinator, has directed US agencies involved in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to reach a benchmark of directing 40 percent of their PEPFAR funding to "indigenous" organizations -- those based in the developing countries where the programs are operating -- in the next 18 months, and to reach 70 percent indigenous funding in the next 30 months.  (Devex, 7/16/18)

BLOG
New Smallpox Antiviral Increases National Health Security. TPOXX® is the first -- and only -- smallpox antiviral treatment approved by the FDA. It works by preventing the smallpox virus from leaving an infected cell and spreading to the rest of the body, effectively containing the infection until the body's immune system can fight off the disease.  (ASPR, 7/13/18)

See also:  Statement by Rick Bright, PhD, Director of ASPR's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority on the Recent FDA Approval of TPOXX® as a Treatment for Smallpox (ASPR, 7/13/18)

NEWS
HHS Plans to Delete 20 Years of Critical Medical Guidelines Next Week. Maintained by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the database is known as the National Guideline Clearinghouse, and it's scheduled to "go dark," in the words of an official there, on July 16.  (Daily Beast, 7/12/18)

SOLICITATION
NIH Clinical Center Seeks Decontamination Services for Drug-Resistant Bacteria. The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Hospital Epidemiology Service is seeking vendor quotes for decontamination services of rooms and equipment that may be contaminated with multidrug-resistant bacteria.  (Global Biodefense, 7/12/18)

SOLICITATION
FBI Seeks Tamiflu Supplier for Pandemic Flu Preparedness Program. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is seeking suppliers for anti-viral therapeutic Tamiflu to support is Pandemic Flu Preparedness Program stockpile.  (Global Biodefense, 7/12/18)

NEWS
1.6 Billion Opioid Doses Poured Into Missouri Over 6 Years. A report released by Sen. McCaskill shows that the three major drug wholesalers -- McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health -- together shipped 1.6 billion doses of opioids into Missouri from 2012 through 2017.  (NPR, 7/12/18)

See also: System for Reporting Suspicious Opioid Orders Repeatedly Failed, Report Finds (STAT News, 7/12/18)

NEWS
Feds Pay Two Companies to Develop At-home Flu Tests. In a bid to make at-home flu tests as cheap and easy as home pregnancy tests, the federal government said Wednesday that it had invested $24 million with two companies working on two entirely different approaches.  (NBC, 7/11/18)

See also:  At-Home Influenza Tests Take Leap Forward (HHS, 7/11/18)

PRESS RELEASE
NIH Researchers Identify Sequence Leading to Release of Malaria Parasites from Red Blood Cells. Researchers were able to chemically block the sequence of events leading to the rounding of the vacuole, a compartment inside human red blood cells in which malaria parasites reproduce and develop.  (NIH, 7/11/18)

See also:  Rounding Precedes Rupture and Breakdown of Vacuolar Membranes Minutes Before Malaria Parasite Egress From Erythrocytes (Cellular Microbiology, 6/13/18)

HEALTH ALERT
Rising Numbers of Deaths Involving Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analogs, Including Carfentanil, and Increased Usage and Mixing with Non-Opioids. This Health Alert Network Update is to alert public health departments, health care professionals, first responders, and medical examiners and coroners to important new developments in the evolving opioid overdose epidemic, which increasingly involves illicitly manufactured fentanyl and an array of potent fentanyl analogs.  (CDC, 7/11/18)

RESEARCH
Enhanced Surveillance for Coccidioidomycosis, 14 US States, 2016. CDC researchers conducted enhanced surveillance in 14 such states in 2016 by identifying cases according to the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists case definition and interviewing patients about their demographic characteristics, clinical features, and exposures.  (Emerging Infectious Diseases, 7/11/18)

PRESS RELEASE
NIAID Scientists Create 3D Structure of 1918 Influenza Virus-Like Particles. Realizing that fine details about influenza VLPs were scant, a team of researchers who specialize in visualizing molecular structures developed a 3D model based on the 1918 H1 pandemic influenza virus.  (NIAID, 7/11/18)

NOTICE
Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis Meeting (ACET). This Council advises and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Assistant Secretary for Health, and the Director, CDC, regarding the elimination of tuberculosis.  (Federal Register, 7/11/18)

NEWS
FDA Revises Decade-Old Guidance on Smallpox Antivirals. In an effort to support the development of antiviral drugs to treat or prevent smallpox (variola virus) infection, the US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday updated its decade-old drug development guidance.  (RAPS, 7/10/18)

See also:  Smallpox (Variola Virus) Infection: Developing Drugs for Treatment or Prevention; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability

BLOG
Using Trauma-informed Care to Guide Emergency Preparedness and Response. Exposure to a traumatic event or set of circumstances can negatively affect a person's mental, physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being for a long time after the initial incident. The CDC's Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response collaborated with SAMHSA to develop a trauma-informed care training for CDC.  (CDC, 7/9/18)

COURSE
Strategic National Stockpile Preparedness Course. The Strategic National Stockpile Preparedness Course is a five-day course designed to give Federal, state, and local officials information on how to best plan and prepare for a public health emergency and how to use and manage the Strategic National Stockpile in response to a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or technological accident. (NACCHO, 7/18)

REPORT
2017 Hurricane Season FEMA After-Action Report. The unprecedented scale, scope, and impacts of the complex combination of hurricanes Harvey, capabilities FEMA has developed and improved since hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Following the 2017 hurricane season, FEMA conducted an after-action review of the agency's preparations for, immediate response to, and initial recovery operations for hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.  (FEMA, 7/12/18)

See also:

• FEMA Admits it was Understaffed and Underprepared for 2017 Hurricanes (CNN, 7/13/18)
• FEMA was Sorely Unprepared for Puerto Rico Hurricane, Report Says (New York Times, 7/12/18)

NEWS
House GOP Appropriators Block Funding for Gun Violence Research. The party-line vote marked Democrats' latest failed bid to spur studies into preventing firearm-related injuries and deaths - and comes despite a bipartisan agreement earlier this year that the CDC is permitted to conduct such research.  (Politico, 7/11/18)

NEWS
China, Russia, and the US Are All Building Centers for Military AI. The US Joint Artificial Intelligence Center aims to apply lessons from an Air Force pilot project to other military services, while the Chinese approach fuses civilian and military research and Russia's efforts are closely directed from the Kremlin.   (Defense One, 7/11/18)

NEWS
SAFETY Act Program Grants 1,000th Anti-Terrorism Technologies Through DHS S&T. Established under the Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies (SAFETY) Act, the program encourages the private sector to develop and deploy innovative technologies in sporting venues, commercial properties, corporate headquarters and other places where large crowds.  (Homeland Preparedness News, 7/11/18)

NEWS
DoD Personnel Assist in Thai Cave Rescue Operations. Defense Department personnel continue to assist in the rescue operations in Thailand to evacuate the remaining four boys and their coach from a flooded cave system, the director of defense press operations said today.  (DOD, 7/9/18)

EVENT
Ready & Resilient: A Discussion with FEMA Deputy Administrator Daniel Kaniewski. In the wake of one of the most active -- and costliest -- hurricane seasons in recent memory, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is redoubling its efforts to help individuals and communities build resilience to disasters.  (Atlantic Council, 7/18)

REPORT
NRC Publishes Annual Report to Congress on Nuclear Security Inspections. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made publicly available an unclassified version of its annual report to Congress detailing the previous year's security inspection program. (NRC, 7/6/18)

NEWS
NSF Wants to Know What You Think It Should Fund. The $7.8 billion research agency in Alexandria, Virginia, already gets way more good research proposals from scientists than it can fund. But NSF officials worry they still might be missing something important. So this fall they will give the public a chance to win glory-and some money-in a contest dubbed The NSF 2026 Idea Machine.  (Science, 7/13/18)

NEWS
Trump's Pick to Lead Energy Technology Program Puzzles Observers. This week, the White House announced that Trump intends to nominate S. Lane Genatowski, a Houston, Texas-based investment adviser, to be ARPA-E's next director. If confirmed by the Senate, he would become ARPA-E's third director. The 10 July announcement is prompting questions about the direction ARPA-E will take under Trump-and whether someone with Genatowski's experience is equipped to lead a small, tight-knit agency where discussions can touch on the latest developments in fields as diverse as nuclear fusion and batteries. (Science, 7/13/18)

NEWS
Science Under Siege: Behind the Scenes at Trump's Troubled Environment Agency. Since assuming power, this administration has launched more assaults on the EPA than on any other science agency. The president has sought to slash its budget by nearly one-third, and former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt's team has tried to weaken the part that science plays in setting environmental regulations. He barred some top researchers from participating in EPA advisory panels, and replaced them with scientists who are more friendly to industry. All of this has elevated the power of corporations to influence the rules that govern chemicals and pollutants.  (Nature, 7/12/18)

This Week's Hearings

Reducing Health Care Costs: Eliminating Excess Health Care Spending and Improving Quality and Value for Patients. US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. 7/17/18, 10 AM. Dirksen 430. More

Are We Ready? Recovering from 2017 Disasters and Preparing for the 2018 Hurricane Season. US House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management. 7/18/18, 10 AM. Rayburn 2167. More