News Scan for Jul 10, 2014

News brief

House committee members question CDC over anthrax safety lapse

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) director, Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, has been asked by three top Republicans on the US House Energy Committee for several types of information on the recent breach of safety protocols resulting in possible exposure of lab personnel to Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, according to Reuters today.

The writers of a series of letters to Frieden, which include committee chair Fred Upton (R-MI) as well as Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Michael Burgess (R-TX), said they are gathering materials for a hearing before the committee's Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Jul 16, at which he is scheduled to testify. A spokesperson for a committee Democrat said that party's members were not told of the letters until after they were sent, according to the story.

The materials sought include results of CDC lab inspections and audits of potential weaknesses in biosecurity protocols back to 2007. Ten questions were asked, including "How many suspected exposures to select agents and/or toxins have been reported at CDC since October 2007?" and "How many actual exposures have been reported?"

The CDC is working with the subcommittee and will respond "quickly and as completely as possible," according to the story.

The anthrax scare occurred last month, when B anthracis thought to be inactivated was transferred from a CDC biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) lab to three BSL-2 labs for research purposes. When it was discovered that viable anthrax spores might have been aerosolized at the latter labs, more than 80 staff were given antibiotics prophylactically; none have shown symptoms.

Information on the incident was also requested from the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general, says the story.
Jul 10 Reuters story
Most recent (Jul 2) CIDRAP News story on anthrax scare

 

Liberia health workers said to flee after Ebola cases, deaths

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are said to be fleeing their assignments in Liberia after 12 Ebola infections among their ranks, 10 of them fatal, AllAfrica reported today.

Dr. Peter Coleman, a Liberian senator from Grand Kru County and committee chair on health, cited the cases and deaths yesterday at Liberia's Capitol Building. He said HCWs are leaving clinics and hospitals in affected areas out of fear of infection with the deadly virus, which has infected 131 people in the country, killing 84, according to an update this week from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Outbreak cases in Liberia and neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone now total 844, including 518 deaths, a 61% case-fatality rate, the WHO said.

The Liberian Senate called for $1.5 million to combat the deadly disease, the story said.

In related news, the Ebola outbreak, which is the deadliest on record, will be one of the main agenda items today for the 45thsession of the Economic Community of West African State of Heads and Government, according to Africa Business Communities, a network of African companies and organizations.
Jul 10 AllAfrica story
Jul 8
CIDRAP News scan on recent WHO update
Jul 10 African Business Communities
report

 

WHO, meteorological agency launch climate and health office

The WHO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have established a new climate and health office under the auspices of the Global Framework for Climate Services to promote the coordinated use of climate research and reporting to improve public health, the two agencies said in a news release this week.

"There have been great strides in both climate and health science in recent years. By working together we can maximize the benefits of these advances for the greatest possible number of people," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud in the WHO/WMO release.

"Climate change is leading to an increase in extreme events such as heat-waves and heavy rains which have a major impact on human health. We need to have a common understanding of the challenges we face in order to overcome them."

The office will address the increasing demand from the health community for improved access to climate and weather tools like regional climate predictions, hazard warnings, and seasonal outlooks needed to understand and manage health risks related to weather and climate, according to the WHO/WMO release.

"The most significant impacts [of climate change] often occur indirectly and more slowly, such as under-nutrition resulting from crop failure, respiratory diseases from poor air quality, and water-borne and vector-borne diseases. Climate-informed preparedness and prevention can greatly reduce these health risks," said Flavia Bustreo, MD, MPH, WHO assistant director-general of family, women, and children's health.
Jul 8 WHO/WMO press release

Flu Scan for Jul 10, 2014

News brief

UK study finds low H3N2 vaccine protection in 2012-13

An analysis of flu vaccine effectiveness (VE) during the 2012-13 season in the United Kingdom found moderate protection against influenza B, good protection against the 2009 H1N1 virus, but very poor protection against H3N2.

A research team from several European countries used a test-negative study design and surveillance data from five primary care sentinel sites, including swabbing results from 4,649 people. They published their findings today in Eurosurveillance.

The UK flu season was long that year, marked by early outbreaks of influenza B, followed by H3N2 activity that lasted late into the season.

The researchers found that VE against H3N2 was only 26% (95% confidence interval [CI], -4% to 48%), for 2009 H1N1 it was 73% (95% CI, 37%-89%)—although data were based on only 127 cases—and for influenza B it was 51% (95% CI, 34%-63%). Also, partly because about three fourths of influenza A cases studied involved H3N2, VE for both influenza A strains was only 35% (95% CI, 11%-53%).

In addition, the team found evidence, though not significant, that VE declined over time against H3N2.

Results pointed to a second year of low VE against H3N2, which the researchers said supported the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation for a change to a cell-propogated H3N2 vaccine virus. They also said the lower VE against influenza B reflects antigenic drift away from that season's vaccine strain, findings that also triggered a WHO-recommended change to a different influenza B component.

The team wrote that the test-negative design has now become the most commonly used approach for evaluating flu VE, because it is simple and involves a well-matched control group. They added that late-season nursing home outbreaks also hint at waning protection, and continuous VE monitoring is needed to gauge the impact of vaccine strain changes and introductions of different vaccine schemes, such as the intranasal vaccine for younger UK children.
Jul 10 Eurosurveill report

 

Study finds 2009 H1N1 impact on Chinese swine flu viruses

A genetic analysis shows that repeated introduction of 2009 H1N1 influenza into Chinese swine over the past few years appears to have changed the makeup of circulating swine influenza viruses (SIVs), a development that bears watching in case the viruses jump to humans, according to a new study.

To assess the impact, the research team from China looked at the complete genomes of 387 SIVs that were collected from 2009 to 2012 as part of the country's flu surveillance, according to the study in the Journal of Virology.

The investigators found 17 reassortants that had genes from the 2009 H1N1 virus, along with evidence suggesting that internal genes from the former pandemic virus have become established and are now the predominant lineage in Chinese pigs. The main reassortants had at least five 2009 H1N1 internal genes with surface genes that were European avian-like (EA) or human H3N2-like.

The researchers said the findings point to a change in the evolution of Chinese SIVs, with the possibility that 2009 H1N1 internal genes might be replacing EA- or triple-reassortant–like internal genes.
Jul 9 J Virol abstract

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