Flu Scan for Oct 05, 2017

News brief

Biomedical research key to pandemic preparedness, US health leaders say

Comprehensive biomedical research must continue its crucial role in preparing the world for the next pandemic or other far-reaching public health emergency, whether it be caused by a novel influenza strain, Ebola, or some other transmissible pathogen, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and colleagues wrote in a commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) yesterday.

"The basic research portfolio leads naturally into and is complemented by investments in countermeasure development," the experts write. "Although treatments and vaccines are essential countermeasures, so too are rapid, deployable, and point-of-care diagnostics. The latter are key to an effective response in an evolving pandemic."

Fauci's coauthors are Hilary D. Marston, MD, MPH, NIAID medical officer and policy advisor, and Catharine I. Paules, MD, NIAID clinical associate. Fauci also highlighted this topic in a keynote address today at IDWeek in San Diego.

The commentary examines three basic approaches to pandemic preparedness: (1) pathogen-specific work, (2) platform-based technologies, and (3) prototype-pathogen efforts, highlighting each using vaccine development as an example. The authors conclude that all three approaches combine to produce the best pandemic preparedness.

Pathogen-specific research prioritizes diseases known to be dangerous, such as Ebola virus. In platform-based approaches, researchers focus on developing customizable techniques that can incorporate genetic material from the pandemic pathogen into the platform to protect recipients against a specific disease. The prototype-pathogen approach can shorten the time needed to create vaccines by employing platform-based methods.

The experts conclude, "Infectious disease outbreaks have been with humankind forever and will continue to occur. Whether dealing with HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola, Zika, or the inevitable unanticipated pathogen that will surely emerge, research has played and will play a critical role before, during, and after the outbreak."
Oct 4 JAMA commentary
Oct 5 NIAID press release

 

HHS invests $2 million in research on reusable respirators

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week that it is investing $1.97 million in the research and development of respirators that can be used up to 100 times to better protect healthcare providers during pandemics.

The HHS's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has awarded Applied Research Associates, Inc., of Albuquerque, N.M., a 15-month contract for the company to design and test a next-generation respirator prototype that will be a hybrid of the N95 filtering facepiece respirator and a half-mask elastomeric respirator, HHS said in a news release.

If successfully developed and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, the mask could be autoclaved at hospitals to sanitize it for reuse. The reusable respirator could also be incorporated into routine healthcare settings, which would make it readily available in a pandemic or other public health emergency, HHS said.

Reusable masks could cut stockpiling and distribution costs to taxpayers and ensure wider availability for first responders and healthcare workers, the agency added. The novel respirators could provide protection from multiple threats, including anthrax, Ebola, and pandemic influenza.

"During public health emergencies, particularly in severe pandemics, equipment may be in short supply to protect the professionals who are essential to saving lives," said BARDA Director Rick Bright, PhD. "By sponsoring the development of a novel, reusable respirator, we aim to make such personal protective equipment widely available during an emergency at the lowest possible cost."
Oct 2 HHS news release

 

HHS, Regeneron partner on monoclonal therapies for flu, other diseases

HHS's ASPR recently announced that it had formed a public-private partnership with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to develop a monoclonal antibody platform to produce a new treatment for severe flu and emerging infectious diseases.

In an Oct 3 statement, HHS said BARDA will share oversight and cost of developing the new therapies with Regeneron, with an initial contribution worth $18.7 million. Regeneron, based on Tarrytown, N.Y., has already developed candidate monoclonal antibody therapies for Ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The technology platform has the potential to shorten the treatment development timeline to months instead of years.

A few days ago, HHS announced $40.4 million in Project BioShield funding for Regeneron's monoclonal antibody cocktail for Ebola, putting the treatment on track for inclusion in the Strategic National Stockpile.

According to HHS, the ASPR and Regeneron will collaborate with an "other transaction agreement" (OTA), using authority granted by the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006. OTAs enable funding and advanced research of medical products needed in a public health emergency.
Oct 3 HHS press release
Oct 2 CIDRAP News story "Project BioShield adds Ebola vaccines, drugs to US stockpile"

News Scan for Oct 05, 2017

News brief

MRSA found in 7.6% of Iranian hospital food samples

Iranian scientists report a 7.6% prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in almost 500 hospital food samples they tested, and the bacteria had high levels of resistance to other antibiotics, as well, according to a study yesterday in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control.

The researchers identified MRSA strains using oxacillin and cefoxitin disk diffusion tests and polymerase chain reaction amplification from 488 raw and cooked hospital food samples. They found S aureus in 9.7% of samples and MRSA in 7.6%, with raw chicken (27.0%), raw meat (26.3%), meat barbecue (16.1%), and chicken barbecue (8.5%) having the highest prevalence.

The MRSA strains also harbored high instance of resistance against penicillin (100%), ceftaroline (100%), tetracycline (100%), erythromycin (89.18%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (83.78%). The team also found that the human-based biotypes of the MRSA strains harbored higher prevalence of resistance against human-based antibiotics.
Oct 4 Antimicrob Resist Infect Control study

 

San Diego hepatitis A outbreak climbs to 481 cases, 17 deaths

A hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego County that began early this year with most cases in homeless people and illicit drug users has now sickened at least 481, including 337 needing hospitalization and 17 who died, the county's Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) said in its most recent update.

The disease spreads person to person and through contact with environments contaminated with feces. In early September, the outbreak led county officials to declare and ratify a local public health emergency, and health officials have offered vaccination in targeted locations.

In a Sep 12 health alert, county officials said cases were reported in all parts of the county, and though there are several clusters that share epidemiologic links, so far no common food, beverage, or drug source had been found. Case clusters have been reported in people who used the same homeless shelters or shared bathrooms in other facilities such as jails, hotels, or drug treatment centers.

Viral sequencing shows that 13 closely related strains of genotype 1B are involved, with the main strain similar to the virus causing an outbreak in California's Santa Cruz County.
Oct 3 San Diego HHSA outbreak update
Sep 12 California Health Alert Network notice

 

Report: 11 sickened by monkeypox virus in Nigeria

Eleven people, including a doctor, are sick with monkeypox virus in Nigeria, according to TheNewsGuru.com. All of the cases are currently being treated under quarantine at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital.

The first patient, an 11-year-old boy, presented with symptoms on Sep 22, and as of Oct 5, there have been 11 confirmed cases. All patients are currently improving, according to a statement from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Thirty-two contacts are being monitored for signs of the virus.

The NCDC said Nigerians should avoid contact with any sick animals. Person-to-person transmission of the virus is rare but can occur.

Monkeypox has no cure and can be fatal in humans in 1% to 10% of cases. It is related to smallpox, and smallpox vaccine is used to prevent the disease among those exposed.
Oct 4 TheNewsGuru story

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