Archive for Week of June 22, 2009Note: All links accessed and active on day of Biosecurity News in Brief publication. June 22 | June 23 | June 24 | June 25 | June 26
June 26, 2009
Emergency Use Authorization Online Course (CDC) An EUA online course developed by the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide public health officials, emergency managers, or Strategic National Stockpile coordinators with an introduction to the Emergency Use Authorization of medical products.
Novel H1N1 Flu Situation Update (CDC) On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in response to the ongoing global spread of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. A Phase 6 designation indicates that a global pandemic is underway.
Update: General Business and Workplace Guidance for the Prevention of Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Flu in Workers (CDC) This guidance as been updated as of Jun 25, 2009 to state that a worker who has been exposed to a person with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) may continue to go to work unless he/she becomes ill.
Pandemic Reveals Strengths of New Flu Database (CIDRAP News) Against the backdrop of a global struggle to solve a dispute related to H5N1 avian influenza virus sharing and an anxious watch over the novel H1N1 virus sweeping the globe, a new public database for sharing influenza genetic sequences is easing the flow of data and winning the support of a growing community of researchers and health officials, even some from countries that have sparred in the past over intellectual property rights.
U.S. Swine Flu Cases May Have Hit 1 Million (AP/Yahoo! News) Swine flu has infected as many as 1 million Americans, U.S. health officials said Thursday, adding that 6 percent or more of some urban populations are infected. The estimate voiced by a government flu scientist Thursday was no surprise to the experts who have been closely watching the virus.
Intercell Supports the Japanese Encephalitis Vaccination Recommendations of CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (Medical News TODAY) Intercell AG (VSE: ICLL) announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to update its previous recommendations and include IXIARO, a new Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine for travelers to countries in Asia where the disease is endemic, as well as Americans living in such high-risk areas.
Joint Commission Offers Seasonal Flu Immunization Strategies (Medical News TODAY) Seasonal influenza in health care workers is a personal health threat, but also poses a significant risk to the patients in their care. In an effort to help health care organizations improve the rate of health care worker influenza vaccinations, The Joint Commission is releasing a monograph "Providing a Safer Environment for Health Care Personnel and Patients Through Influenza Vaccination: Strategies from Research and Practice."
Code Calling: Web-Based Emergency Preparedness Platform Revolutionizes Hospital System for Internal Crisis Communications (PRWeb/Yahoo! News) LiveProcess, the leader in web-based emergency preparedness solutions, has launched a versatile system that standardizes the intricate hospital incident "code-calling" process, and also allows end users to customize every aspect of a process that can vary from code to code and hospital to hospital.
Contested Provisions Survive Chemical Security Bill Challenges (HSToday) The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 (HR 2868), as passed by the House Homeland Security Committee Tuesday night, contains a little something to upset everyone.
June 25, 2009
Outsmarting Swine Flu Pandemic (EurekAlert!) Mathematicians, biostaticians and public health officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States will gather at Arizona State University this week to focus on understanding, possibly mitigating the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. They are planning to take up the challenge of proposing science-based strategies that can slow the spread of pandemic flu.
Indonesia Finds Swine Flu Virus After Exporting Cases (Bloomberg) Indonesia reported its first swine flu infections, two days after it was listed by the Singapore health ministry among countries known to have exported cases to the city-state.
House Passes $44B Homeland Security Spending Bill (The Washington Post) The House passed a $44 billion spending bill Wednesday that awards the Homeland Security Department a 7 percent budget increase, with money for more border patrol agents and for anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia.
FDA Launches Focus on Transparency (Outsourcing-Pharma.com) Regulatory agencies are putting increased emphasis on transparency, with the FDA holding its first public meeting on the topic and the EMEA seeking feedback from citizens on its draft policy.
Experts Divided on Treatment for Bird Flu Patients (Reuters) Experts on the H5N1 bird flu virus are divided on how to treat patients infected by the virus, which kills 60 percent of its victims.
NKorea Warns of 'Dark Clouds of Nuclear War' (AFP/Yahoo! News) North Korea warned that "dark clouds of nuclear war" are gathering over the peninsula and vowed to strengthen its atomic arsenal as it marked the anniversary of the 1950-1953 conflict.
June 24, 2009
U.S. Company Makes First Batch of Swine Flu Vaccine (AFP/Google News) A U.S. company that was awarded a 35-million-dollar contract to develop an influenza vaccine using insect cell technology has produced a first batch against (A)H1N1 flu, company boss Dan Adams said.
Influenza A(H1N1) - Update 53 (WHO) Laboratory-confirmed cases of new influenza A(H1N1) as officially reported to WHO by States Parties to the International Health Regulations (2005)
Delta: H1N1 Will Trim Revenue by $250M (New Mexico Business Weekly) Delta Air Lines Inc. says the H1N1 virus will have a $250 million impact on its earnings this year, the Associated Press reports.
Epidemic Sans Frontieres (indianexpress.com) As of June 17, 88 countries have officially reported 39,620 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection, also known as swine flu. These include 167 deaths. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 44 confirmed cases were reported in India. The global nature of the swine flu situation is clearly alarming for public health officials and policy makers.
In New Theory, Swine Flu Started in Asia, Not Mexico (The New York Times) Contrary to the popular assumption that the new swine flu pandemic arose on factory farms in Mexico, federal agriculture officials now believe that it most likely emerged in pigs in Asia, but then traveled to North America in a human.
Scientists Block Ebola Infection in Cell-Culture Experiments (e! Science News) Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered two biochemical pathways that the Ebola virus relies on to infect cells. Using substances that block the activation of those pathways, they've prevented Ebola infection in cell culture experiments — potentially providing a critical early step in developing the first successful therapy for the deadly virus.
Senate Appropriations Panel Signs off on NBAF Funding (KansasCity.com) The Senate Appropriations Committee today approved $36 million in funding for construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kan.
Statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health on National HIV Testing Day (NIH News) The importance of National HIV Testing Day becomes clear when one recognizes that an estimated one-fifth of all Americans infected with HIV do not know they are infected. Among Americans who have been tested for the virus, more than one-third of those who learned they are infected became aware of their status less than a year before being diagnosed with AIDS — long after the optimal time to begin antiretroviral therapy.
AAMC, FASEB Recommend Ways to Strengthen Security of Select Agents (AAMC) The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) is pleased to have the opportunity to provide feedback to the Working Group on Strengthening the Biosecurity of the United States.
Gates Approves Creation of New Cyber Command (AP/Technology Review) Defense Secretary Robert Gates formally ordered the creation Tuesday of a new military cyber command that will coordinate the Pentagon's efforts to defend its networks and conduct cyberwarfare. A three-page memo signed by Gates orders U.S. Strategic Command to begin plans to set up a subcommand and be prepared to provide an implementation plan by Sept. 1, and begin initial operation no later than October.
Obama Urges Fast Work on Climate-Change Bill (The Houston Chronicle) President Barack Obama on Tuesday pressed Congress to quickly pass broad energy and climate change legislation as lawmakers reached a compromise that could improve the odds of passage later this week.
Bioterrorism Detection Equipment Market to Reach $1.02 Billion by 2012, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (PRWeb) Over the past few years, the US spending on bioweapons prevention and defense has been growing only modestly, unlike in the early part of this decade when the government allocated significant funds to counter bioterrorism. This has been projected as the primary factor for the growth of the US bioterrorism detection equipment market over the forecast period 2008-2015. The second largest market, trailing with a sizeable difference, is Europe where funding and programs for biodefense are not strong enough to provide substantial impetus for market growth.
June 23, 2009
Influenza A(H1N1) - Update 52 (WHO) Laboratory-confirmed cases of new influenza A(H1N1) as officially reported to WHO by States Parties to the International Health Regulations (2005)
Pandemic Reality Check: What Can Be Done—and What Can't—To Protect Against H1N1 (The Washington Post) This month, the World Health Organization finally declared that the new H1N1 virus has become pandemic. Yesterday it reported a big jump in cases and fatalities since Friday.
The Role of the Department of Defense During a Flu Pandemic (Congressional Research Service) A flu pandemic is a worldwide epidemic of an influenza virus. As such, the United States’ response to a flu pandemic would have both international and domestic components.
Congress Approves $7.65 Billion for Pandemic Flu Response (CIDRAP News) Responding to lobbying by the Obama administration and public health advocates, Congress last week approved $7.65 billion for battling pandemic influenza, more than three times what the House and Senate had earlier proposed.
MRSA Transmission Between Dogs/Cats and Humans: An Increasing Problem (Medical News TODAY) MRSA infections that are transmitted between dogs/cats and their human handlers, and vice-versa, are increasing—with infections of the skin, soft-tissue, and surgical infections the most common.
Advanced Life Sciences' Restanza(TM) Shows 100% Survival in Confirmatory Anthrax Study (Advanced Life Sciences) Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ADLS), today announced that a second non-human primate study involving its novel, once-a-day, oral antibiotic Restanza(TM) (cethromycin), showed that a 14-day course of Restanza achieved a 100% survival rate against an inhaled lethal dose of anthrax.
$19 Million to Washington University Scientists to Decode Microbe DNA and Explore Links to Disease (EurekAlert!) The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis four grants totaling $19 million to explore the trillions of microbes that inhabit the human body and determine how they contribute to good health and disease.
June 22, 2009
Influenza A(H1N1) - Update 51 (WHO) Laboratory-confirmed cases of new influenza A(H1N1) as officially reported to WHO by States Parties to the International Health Regulations (2005)
Novel H1N1 Flu Situation Update (CDC) Weekly Influenza Activity Estimates Reported by State and Territorial Epidemiologists
EU Health Ministers Meet Thursday on Efforts to Prevent Spread of Swine Flu (AP/Washington Examiner) EU officials say a Europe-wide travel advisory to avoid Mexico and unified prevention and treatment measures for swine flu will top the agenda Thursday at an emergency meeting of European Union health ministers.
UN Head in Polio Eradication Call (BBC) The United Nations Secretary General has urged governments around the world to work towards eradicating polio. Ban Ki-moon made his comments to delegates at the Rotary International Annual Convention at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.
Tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology (EurekAlert!) Newly Discovered Interferon Response May Offer Early Control of H5N1 Influenza Virus: Researchers from Georgia suggest that the cell-signaling protein, interferon type 1, reduced H5N1 influenza virus replication in mice and may offer some degree of protection in the early stages of infection. They report their findings in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Virology.
New Vaccination Strategy May Protect Against Both Lethal 1918 and H5N1 Influenza Viruses (ScienceDaily) A new study suggests that vaccination with 1918 H1N1 influenza virus-like particles not only protected mice and ferrets against the lethal 1918 influenza virus, but also displayed cross-reactive immunity against the potentially pandemic H5N1 influenza virus.
Federal Officials Link E coli Outbreak to Raw Cookie Dough (CIDRAP News) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers today not to eat Nestle Toll House refrigerated raw cookie dough, as state and federal officials investigate 66 Escherichia coli O157:H7 illnesses, many of them children, across 28 states that they suspect are linked to the product.
Mass Notification: Social Networks to the Rescue (HSToday) Tools initially designed for making friends in cyberspace are transforming emergency management in new and unexpected ways.
Budget Cuts Threaten Support Program for Former Soviet Weapons Experts (Global Security Newswire) Reduced international contributions have endangered the work of a Moscow-based organization dedicated to providing civilian opportunities for weapons specialists once employed by the Soviet Union, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, March 17). "Our center clearly has less funds available than two or three years ago," said Adriaan van der Meer, head of the International Science and Technology Center.
DHS Improved Testing of Advanced Radiation Detection Portal Monitors, but Preliminary Results Show Limits of the New Technology (GAO) The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) is testing new advanced spectroscopic portal (ASP) radiation detection monitors.
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