Biosecurity News - Issue 28
Contents
Conferences, Seminars and Journal Issues
The National Academies has released two reports: one into Ethics Education and Scientific and Engineering Research and another entitled Live Variola Virus: Considerations for Continuing Research. More information and here
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The August issue of the Lancet Infectious Diseases (Volume 9, Number 8) contains a number of excellent articles relevant to the current influenza pandemic. More information
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The latest issue of Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science (Volume 7, Issue 2) has been released. More information
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Previous Announcement
- The Lancet Infectious Diseases and The Lancet are organising a conference and special issue on influenza in the Asia-Pacific region. Conference: 21-23 August, 2009 in Qingdao, China. More information
- Global Biosecurity 2010: safeguarding agriculture and the environment in Brisbane, Australia. Abstracts: 31 July 2009. Conference: 28 February – 3 March 2010. More information
- US Department of State’s Biosecurity Engagement Program provides funding for travel to biosecurity-related conferences. More information
Special Coverage - H1N1
The novel H1N1 Influenza A outbreak affecting multiple countries receives special attention below. Some stories have been sourced to either the ABC (Australian Broadcast Corporation) or BBC online news sites because of their persistence over long periods of time and the continuity of their coverage. Readers seeking references to traditional print-based media should endeavour to search the online archives of their preferred news outlet using the key terms and dates gathered here.
Official Sources
The latest information update from the WHO:
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2009_07_06/en/index.html
The WHO will no longer provide regular reporting of case numbers and deaths as the pandemic is too widespread, and reporting capacity too patchy, to make these number meaningful. See:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/h1n1_surveillance_20090710/en/index.html
Latest CDC update:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm
and
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
WHO interactive timeline:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/interactive_map/en/index.html
Full list of guidance information from WHO:
http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/swineflu/en/index.html
National Response Sites:
Australia: http://www.healthemergency.gov.au/
Canada: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/swine_200904-eng.php
European Union: http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/Health_topics/novel_influenza_virus/2009_Outbreak/
New Zealand: http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/mexican-swine-influenza-update-270409
Singapore: http://www.crisis.gov.sg/FLU/InfluenzaA/
United Kingdom: http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&Page&HPAwebAutoListName/Page/1240732817665?p=1240732817665
United States: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
Epidemiology, Disease Progression and Impact
‘More Canadian Pigs Catch New Flu Virus’
29 July 2009
WHO says average age of H1N1 cases increasing
24 July 2009
‘A/H1N1 influenza virus: the basics’
24 July 2009
‘A/H1N1 influenza update’ from the British Medical Journal
23 July 2009
‘Possible origin of current influenza A H1N1 viruses’
21 July 2009
‘Assessing the severity of the novel influenza A/H1N1 pandemic’
14 July 2009
‘In vitro and in vivo characterization of new swine-origin H1N1 influenza viruses’
14 July 2009
‘Cases of A/H1N1 flu are nearing epidemic levels in London and West Midlands, say GPs’
13 July 2009
Pandemic H1N1 Virus in Canadian Pigs is proving difficult to trace
10 July 2009
‘Spread of a Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus via Global Airline Transportation’
9 July 2009
‘Viruses resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) identified’
8 July 2009
Science publishes two animal model studies of pandemic strain
2 July 2009
Study One and Study Two
‘Denmark finds 1st case of H1N1 resistance to Tamiflu’
29 June 2009
‘Rapid-Test Sensitivity for Novel Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in Humans’
29 June 2009
Response
‘Age-prioritized use of antivirals during an influenza pandemic’
28 July 2009
‘Swine flu website inundated as cases in England double in a week’
24 July 2009
NIAID Set to Launch Clinical Trials to Test 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Candidates
22 July 2009
and commentary
‘Rich countries' pandemic strategies may cause vaccine shortages elsewhere’
21 July 2009
and ‘flu jabs urged for developing countries’
‘Closure of schools during an influenza pandemic’
21 July 2009
‘England to launch special flu service next week to take pressure off primary care’
20 July 2009
‘BA, Virgin block swine flu travellers’
20 July 2009
‘Studies aim to answer key questions as world readies for swine flu vaccination’
19 July 2009
US allocates 1.85 billion in emergency funds to the H1N1 pandemic
18 July 2009
‘Not to Worry About Vaccine Availability, U.S. Health Officials Say’
17 July 2009
Harvard’s School of Public Health survey on US citizens’ reactions to flu pandemic
16 July 2009
and the full survey
‘Refusal to declare national emergency (in Argentina) restricts pandemic measures’
14 July 2009
‘Australian studies of A/H1N1 flu could help northern hemisphere this winter’
13 July 2009
and the full list of projects
‘WHO recommendations on pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccines’ (Healthcare workers first to be immunized)
13 July 2009
Comment and further comment
‘China - H1N1 Quarantine Measures’ (from the US State Department)
9 July 2009
‘WHO to call on nations with high rates of swine flu to move away from testing all suspected cases’
9 July 2009
and the official report
Patients and doctors are asked to report antivirals' side effects as swine flu spreads
7 July 2009
‘UK government predicts 100 000 new A/H1N1 flu cases a day by September’
3 July 2009
‘U.S. to Provide Antiviral Medication to Latin America and the Caribbean for Novel H1N1 Influenza’
2 July 2009
Commentary and Editorials
‘Flu: vaccinate to cut risk of chimaeric virus emerging’
30 July 2009
‘Flu: weighing up conflicting expert information’
30 July 2009
‘Laurie Garrett Interview: U.S. Global Health Leader MIA on Swine Flu’
28 July 2009
‘Closing the door on potential pandemics’
27 July 2009
‘Swine Flu Continues to Camp Out in U.S. and Vexing Vaccine Questions Remain’
24 July 2009
‘Predicting and preparing for pandemic flu’
23 July 2009
‘Think H1N1 Is Bad Now? Wait Till Flu Season’
22 July 2009
‘Historical Perspective — Emergence of Influenza A (H1N1) Viruses’
16 July 2009
‘The persistent legacy of the 1918 Influenza virus’
16 July 2009
‘How well are we managing the influenza A/H1N1 pandemic in the UK?’
15 July 2009
‘Straight From the Pig's Mouth: Swine Research With Swine Influenzas’
10 July 2009
‘Geographic Dependence, Surveillance, and Origins of the 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Virus’
9 July 2009
‘Inside China’s swine flu quarantine system’
6 July 2009
‘Who should receive Tamiflu for swine flu?’
6 July 2009
‘Can We “Hedge” against the Development of Antiviral Resistance among Pandemic Influenza Viruses?’
30 June 2009
News Articles
Pandemic and Avian Influenza
The following reports and studies relate to avian influenza and pandemic influenza in general, for information specific to currently circulating H1N1 Influenza, see above
‘Genomic Diversity of Oseltamivir-Resistant Influenza Virus A (H1N1), Luxembourg, 2007–08’
22 July 2009
‘Control of avian influenza A H5N1 in China’
21 July 2009
Influenza in the tropics
21 July 2009
‘Economics of stockpiling for an influenza pandemic’
21 July 2009
‘Dating the emergence of pandemic influenza viruses’
14 July 2009
HIV
‘AIDS: lessons learnt and myths dispelled’
18 July 2009
‘Male circumcision and HIV risks and benefits for women’
18 July 2009
and the full report
Drug resistance in newly acquired HIV infections
16 July 2009
UNAIDS Report on the global economic crisis and HIV/AIDS
6 July 2009
Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases
‘Malaria becoming more drug resistant’ (to artemisin)
29 July 2009
and the WHO cracks down on artemisin monotherapy
‘Bubonic and Pneumonic Plague - Uganda, 2006’
24 July 2009
‘Tularemia - Missouri, 2000-2007’
17 July 2009
‘Forever Unprepared — The Predictable Unpredictability of Pathogens’
9 July 2009
Book Review of Dread: How Fear and Fantasy Have Fueled Epidemics From the Black Death to the Avian Flu
18 July 2009
‘Overseas Screening for Tuberculosis in U.S.-Bound Immigrants and Refugees’
4 June 2009
Biological Weapons
‘Infectious Diseases Study Site Questioned’
27 July 2009
and additional reporting
‘Biodevelopment and the Biological Weapons Convention’
14 July 2009
‘The U.S. Army's new biomedical regulations’
13 July 2009
‘Protecting against Future Shock — Inhalational Anthrax’
9 July 2009
US Congress ‘Denies Funds For Ag Biodefense Lab’
30 June 2009
Biosecurity Policy and Ethics
‘Germany outlines synthetic biology strategy’
27 July 2009
‘CDC tightens controls on labs that possess SARS virus’
13 July 2009
US National Academies hosts a workshop on opportunities and challenges in synthetic biology
9 July 2009
Profile of two prominent synthetic biologists
27 June 2009
Global Health Governance and Disease Control
World Intellectual Property Organisation looks at its effect on public health
15 July 2009
‘Non-communicable diseases must have greater priority, says WHO’
14 July 2009
‘Chan Calls For ‘Moral Dimension’ In Critical Public Policies’
6 July 2009
‘Public health requirements for rapid progress in global health’
3 July 2009
‘Modernizing health care: Reinventing professions, the state and the public’
3 July 2009
