July 24, 2018

Six Ways Countries Can Prepare for the Next Infectious Disease Pandemic

This week, the Center for Health Security's director, Dr. Tom Inglesby, reflected on the lessons learned during the Clade X exercise, which was designed to simulate a series of US National Security Council meetings responding to an evolving pandemic. The scenario was built on an epidemiological model that was informed by data from the SARS epidemic in 2003 and H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009. The fictional Clade X virus had the lethality of SARS and was about as contagious as flu, but spread more slowly.

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NEWS

US Officials Watching International Outbreak; No Illnesses Here. Federal officials in the United States are investigating the supply chain of frozen vegetables linked to a deadly, international Listeria outbreak. Nine people in Europe and one in Australia who were infected with the outbreak strain have died.  (Food Safety News, 7/20/18)

PERSPECTIVE

The FDA and the Next Wave of Drug Abuse - Proactive Pharmacovigilance. Going forward, the FDA needs to remain vigilant to recognize shifting trends in the addiction landscape, and taking a systematic approach to monitoring such trends should allow us to intervene promptly and appropriately and protect the public from associated risks.  (NEJM, 7/19/18)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Advancing Research Needed to Develop a Universal Influenza Vaccine. The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to support research activities that will advance NIAID's mission to develop a universal influenza vaccine providing durable protection against multiple influenza strains.  (Grants.gov, 7/18/18)

NEWS
Novartis Hits the Brakes on Price Hikes as Political Pressure Builds. In response to the heated political rhetoric over the cost of prescription drugs, Novartis has decided not to raise prices on its medicines in the US for the rest of 2018.  (STAT News, 7/18/18)

NOTICE

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; Statement of Organization, Functions and Delegations of Authority. Office of the Secretary, Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority of the Department of Health and Human Services is being amended to realign the functions of ASPR to reflect the changes mandated by the 21st Century Cures Act and to address ever-increasing man-made and naturally occurring threats which degrade public health, access to healthcare, access to emergency medical services and national security.  (Federal Register, 7/18/18)

BLOG
Tracking Progress in Public Health Genomics at CDC: A New CDC-Authored Genomics Publication Database. This new database is a valuable resource for CDC staff, providing CDC's genomics community a portal to access scientific publications in genomics research and a means to track progress on this research at CDC.  (CDC, 7/18/18)

NEWS

CDC Issues Travel Alert for Papua New Guinea Due to Polio Outbreak. The recent polio outbreak reported in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a notice for travelers to that country.  (Outbreak News Today, 7/16/18)

NEWS
New Drug is Stockpiled to Treat Smallpox, Addresses Bioweapons Threat. The US Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a new drug for the treatment of smallpox, a pill stockpiled in case the virus is used as a bioweapon.  (Homeland Preparedness News, 7/17/18)

NEWS
US Health Official Reveals Fentanyl Almost Killed His Son. The head of the nation's top public health agency says the opioid epidemic will be one of his priorities, and he revealed a personal reason for it: His son almost died from taking cocaine contaminated with the powerful painkiller fentanyl.  (Washington Post, 7/16/18)

RESEARCH
Comparison of Antibiotic Prescribing in Retail Clinics, Urgent Care Centers, Emergency Departments, and Traditional Ambulatory Care Settings in the United States. Researchers from CDC, the University of Utah, and Pew Charitable Trusts compared antibiotic prescribing among urgent care centers, retail clinics, EDs, and medical offices. There was substantial variability between settings in the percentage of visits at which antibiotics were prescribed among all visits and among visits for antibiotic-inappropriate respiratory diagnoses.  (JAMA, 7/16/18)

BLOG

Protecting and Promoting Public Health: Advancing the FDA's Medical Countermeasures Mission. The US Food and Drug Administration's wide-ranging public health responsibilities include the vital role we play on the frontlines of national security by facilitating the development and availability of safe and effective medical countermeasures.  (FDA, 7/16/18)

PRESS RELEASE

HHS, DoD, Spero Co-sponsor Novel Oral Antibiotic Development to Treat

Deadly Infections. To combat deadly infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria or bioterrorism agents, the US Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response will partner for the first time with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Spero Therapeutics Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to develop a drug that could become the first oral antibiotic in its class.  (Public Health Emergency, 7/16/18)

NEWS

Trump's Battle Against Breastfeeding Is a Small Part of a Wider War. With escalating drug prices and growing vaccine paranoia, American populism is taking down the edifice of global public health.  (Foreign Policy, 7/16/18)

NEWS

Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative Funding. The Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative: Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) provides national coordination of EDEN for outreach service to enhance biosecurity of the US agriculture and food system.  (Global Biodefense, 7/12/18)

WEBINAR

US Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Seventh Annual Building Resilience Conference. To engage partners across sectors in this conversation, the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation will host the seventh annual Building Resilience through Private-Public Partnerships Conference. (NACCHO, 7/18)

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Partnership for Disaster Health Response. This funding opportunity announcement will fund a limited number of demonstration projects that will help identify issues, develop best practices, and demonstrate the potential effectiveness and viability of the Regional Disaster Health Response System.  (Grants.gov, 7/18)

WEBINAR

The Role of Educators in Public Health Emergencies. Teachers and educators can help students and parents know what to do to stay safer and healthier during natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and other types of public health emergencies.  (NACCHO, 7/18)

STATEMENT

The 2018 Hurricane Season is Here, Now is the Time to Prepare. As recovery from hurricanes Irma and Maria continues, territorial and federal officials emphasize the critical importance of preparing for the 2018 hurricane season.  (FEMA, 7/20/18)

STATEMENT
Statement on Court Order Regarding Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program for Puerto Rico. FEMA is aware of the judge's ruling regarding the continuation of its emergency sheltering program, Transitional Sheltering Assistance, for Puerto Rico survivors with a new checkout date of Aug. 7.  (FEMA, 7/20/18)

PRESS RELEASE

Appropriations Committee Releases Fiscal Year 2019 Homeland Security Bill. The House Appropriations Committee today released its proposed fiscal year 2019 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations bill, which will be considered tomorrow by the subcommittee.  (House.gov, 7/18/18)

NEWS

Revealed: The New Structure for the Pentagon's Tech and Acquisition Offices. Pentagon leaders, already worried about the emerging technologies that will shape the next generation of war, have reorganized their leadership structure to emphasize quantum science, artificial intelligence and directed energy.  (Defense News, 7/18/18)

NEWS

Developing Microrobotics for Disaster Recovery and High-Risk Environments. To help overcome the challenges of creating extremely SWaP (Size, Weight & Power)-constrained microrobotics, DARPA is launching a new program called Short-Range Independent Microrobotic Platforms (SHRIMP). The goal of SHRIMP is to develop and demonstrate multi-functional micro-to-milli robotic platforms for use in natural and critical disaster scenarios.  (DARPA, 7/17/18)

NEWS

The Troubling Failure of America's Disaster Response. Trump's FEMA wasn't ready for last year's record-breaking hurricane season, and it wants the public to know that it's not ready for another one.  (The New Republic, 7/17/18)

NEWS

Army Future Command to be Headquartered in Austin. The US Army announced the selection of Austin, Texas, as the headquarters for the new Army Future Command on Friday, marking the most significant reorganization of the Army since the early 1970s. The Futures Command, which began operating on July 1, will evaluate emerging threats, operational environments, and new technologies.  (Homeland Preparedness News, 7/17/18)

NEWS

FEMA Avoids 'Climate Change' When Introducing Future Storm Resiliency Plans. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is taking blame for its response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated communities across Puerto Rico last summer, but the agency and its leaders are largely avoiding all mention of climate change preparedness.  (The Hill, 7/17/18)

NEWS

Army Scientists Brief Peers on Biodefense. Two Army experts recently briefed government and civilian scientists in biology, chemistry and other disciplines on techniques and technology used to support and defend soldiers from biological and chemical warfare agents.  (DVIDS, 7/13/18)

NEWS

This Bomb-Simulating US Supercomputer Broke a World Record. Brad Settlemyer had a supercomputing solution in search of a problem. Los Alamos National Lab, where Settlemyer works as a research scientist, hosts the Trinity supercomputer -- a machine that regularly makes the internet's (ever-evolving) Top 10 Fastest lists. As large as a Midwestern McMansion, Trinity's main job is to ensure that the cache of US nuclear weapons works when it's supposed to, and doesn't when it's not.   (Wired, 7/23/18)

NEWS

Pentagon Plans to Publish Broad Artificial Intelligence Strategy 'Within Weeks.' The department's updated cyber strategy, which is scheduled to publish shortly before the artificial intelligence plan, will also discuss AI and offer more details on how the military is funneling additional resources into the technology.  (Nextgov, 7/17/18)

This Week's Hearings

There are no hearings scheduled for this week.