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Today's Headlines: November 12, 2018
Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases
DR Congo Ebola Outbreak 'Worst' in Country's History (BBC) The latest outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the worst in the country's history, the health ministry says. Almost 200 people have died since August, officials say, with more than 300 confirmed or probable cases. A vaccination programme has so far inoculated about 25,000 people. Go to article
Situation Update: Summary of Weekly FluView Report (CDC) According to this week's FluView report, overall flu activity remains low nationally although small increases in flu activity were reported. Eight states and Guam are now reporting regional or local flu activity (Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas). That means those states are seeing outbreaks of flu and laboratory-confirmed flu in at least one or less than half of the regions of the state, respectively. Go to article
Canine Influenza Virus A(H3N2) Clade with Antigenic Variation, China, 2016-2017 (Emerging Infectious Diseases) During 2012-2017, we collected throat swabs from dogs in China to characterize canine influenza virus A(H3N2) isolates. A new antigenically and genetically distinct CIV H3N2 clade possessing mutations associated with mammalian adaptation emerged in 2016 and replaced previously circulating strains. This clade probably poses a risk for zoonotic infection. Go to article
Congenital Brain Abnormalities during a Zika Virus Epidemic in Salvador, Brazil, April 2015 to July 2016 (Eurosurveillance) Early in 2015, large outbreaks of acute exanthematous illness were detected in several states in north-eastern Brazil. By April 2015, Zika virus was identified as the aetiology of the illness. A few months after the epidemic peak in May 2015, an increase in newborns with microcephaly was noted in north-eastern Brazil and promptly gathered global attention due to a possible link between gestational ZIKV infection and microcephaly. Since then, evidence for a causal association between in utero exposure to ZIKV and microcephaly and other neurological complications has emerged. The constellation of clinical manifestations of congenital ZIKV infection may be referred to as 'congenital Zika syndrome'. Go to article
Domestic Preparedness & Response
'It Is Not Safe." California Wildfires Continue Deadly Assault on Populated Areas. (Washington Post) As authorities on Sunday continued to search for bodies in the destroyed Northern California town of Paradise, fire weather returned to Southern California, with parched air pouring down from the mountains and generating flare-ups from the historic Woolsey Fire. DC-10 air tankers fought the wind gusts to drop bright-red flame retardant on rugged, unburned terrain as the fire invaded canyons where California meets the Pacific Ocean. At midday Sunday, the combined efforts of several thousand firefighters seemed to have the Woolsey Fire, now a protracted disaster, in check. Go to article
A Pivotal Day in World's Response to Ebola Nears: The Launch of a Clinical Trial (STAT) Health officials are preparing to launch a clinical trial designed to test whether experimental Ebola therapies improve patients' chances of survival in the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a landmark moment in the world's efforts to respond to this and future crises. Go to article
Medicine & Public Health
The Flu Shot Needs Fewer Stats and More Stories (Wired) Two weeks ago, the CDC disclosed that more Americans were killed by the flu last year than at any time in 40 years--more than 79,000--and hospitalizations and illnesses hit record highs. The CDC pinpointed one possible reason for the high death rate: The number of people who got flu shots was unusually low. Go to article
Science & Technology
FDA Authorizes Emergency Use of First Ebola Fingerstick Test with Portable Reader (FDA) Today, the US Food and Drug Administration announced that an emergency use authorization (EUA) has been issued for a rapid, single-use test for the detection of Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus). This is the second Ebola rapid antigen fingerstick test available under EUA, but the first that uses a portable battery-operated reader, which can help provide clear diagnostic results outside of laboratories and in areas where patients are likely to be treated. Go to article
DNA Engineered Micromotors Powered by Metal Nanoparticles for Motion Based Cellphone Diagnostics (Nature Communications) HIV-1 infection is a major health threat in both developed and developing countries. The integration of mobile health approaches and bioengineered catalytic motors can allow the development of sensitive and portable technologies for HIV-1 management. Go to article
Other 21st Century Threats
In North Korea, Missile Bases Suggest a Great Deception (New York Times) North Korea is moving ahead with its ballistic missile program at 16 hidden bases that have been identified in new commercial satellite images, a network long known to American intelligence agencies but left undiscussed as President Trump claims to have neutralized the North's nuclear threat. Go to article
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