Emerging Infectious Diseases
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) recently provided Takeda Vaccines, Inc., with a grant to develop a Zika virus vaccine.
The grant, worth $19.8 million, will be spaced out over the course of the next 18... Read More »
A collaborative research effort by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and Florida State University recently revealed two classes of compounds already in use in the pharmaceutical industry that might prove useful in the fight against Zika virus.... Read More »
A research team at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) recently identified compounds that could be used to inhibit the replication of Zika virus and reduce its ability to kill brain cells.
The research team identified two classes of compounds effective against Zika... Read More »
Researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently developed a novel system to grow norovirus in intestinal cells, which could bring about new therapeutic drugs and vaccines to combat the virus.
Intestinal cells are the natural site of norovirus... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL) released a plan on Tuesday to introduce legislation that would appropriate $1.1 billion in funding for Zika virus prevention programs through Fiscal Year 2017 when the House reconvenes in early September.
“With each passing day that we do not act, the Zika... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) awarded Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Inc., a $5.9 million contract on Wednesday for the development of a Zika virus test for use in doctors’ offices.
Chembio is... Read More »
Johns Hopkins Medicine formally opened the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Zika Center on Tuesday, becoming the first known multidisciplinary Zika virus center in the world.
The center is composed of providers and related staff from departments and divisions at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) entered into a $2.6 million agreement on Monday with the DiaSorin Group to further the development of a Zika virus test that may help diagnose the virus more quickly.... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) released a study on Monday showing the successful treatment of monkeys infected with Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) several days after infection.
Scientists have known about SUDV and Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) since 1976, with EBOV being the... Read More »
The Oakland County Health Division urged residents on Wednesday to protect themselves against mosquito bites and the threat of West Nile virus during upcoming summer events, including the Woodward Dream Cruise, Arts Beats & Eats, and other outdoor activities.
The recommendation comes after... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), released a study on Tuesday with evidence showing that people who were infected with the Ebola virus were 20 percent more likely to survive the virus if they were co-infected with the... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic A/S released a summary of its progress for the first half of 2016 on Wednesday.
“I am very pleased with the progress of the company this year,” Paul Chaplin, president and chief executive officer of Bavarian Nordic, said. “We have successfully built on our relationships... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a level 2 travel notice on Thursday for people traveling to destinations that have been affected by Zika virus.
Zika virus has spread rapidly in South America and Caribbean countries, with transmission of the virus typically... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exercised a contract option with Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., on Tuesday valued at $11.6 million over a 12-month period for the supply of vaccinia immune globulin (VIGIV) to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
The U.S. Food and... Read More »
ClinicalRM recently expanded access protocol with ZMapp, an investigational treatment for Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Africa and the United States.
ZMapp combines three monoclonal antibodies developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc., and LeafBio, the commercialization arm of Mapp, to fight... Read More »
Hologic, Inc., entered into an agreement on Tuesday worth $4.1 million with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistance Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to advance the development of a blood screening test that will detect Zika virus.
The one... Read More »
The Cumberland County Vector Control Office received confirmation from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Thursday of positive samples for the West Nile virus (WNV) collected in Cumberland County.
Nine samples tested positive for the virus. Counties with positive... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) renewed his push on Thursday to reintroduce legislation that would provide additional protections from the Zika virus to U.S. military men and women, including those serving in high-risk areas.
“At the start of June, I introduced an amendment to the 2017 National... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) awarded a $5.1 million, two-year contract to InBios International, Inc., on Monday for a newer, faster Zika virus diagnostic blood test.
InBios’ test may have the... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched a clinical trial this week for an experimental vaccine to prevent Zika virus infections, an effort that comes after local transmission of the virus hit a neighborhood in Florida.
“Given the Zika situation internationally and in the United... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Wellcome Trust of London, the AMR Centre of Alderley Park and Boston University released plans on Thursday to create one of the world’s largest public-private partnerships centered on the preclinical discovery and development of new... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic A/S initiated its Phase 1 clinical trial of MVA-BN YF on Tuesday to protect against yellow fever virus.
The vaccine is primarily based off of Bavarian Nordic’s proprietary MVA-BN platform. The study was sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases... Read More »
Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), released a study on Wednesday that found six Zika virus antibodies, including four that neutralize African, Asian and American strains of the virus.
Dr. Michael S.... Read More »
University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston researchers, working in collaboration with colleagues from Mexico, recently discovered a direct connection between the Aedes aegypti mosquito and Zika transmission in the Americas during an outbreak in southern Mexico.
The findings,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) on Tuesday decried actions by his congressional colleagues for jeopardizing the development of a vaccine for the Zika virus.
Donovan’s statement came in the wake of three different companies threatening to halt their developments due to funding uncertainty.... Read More »
The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill on Thursday introduced by U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA) aimed at incentivizing investments in vaccines and treatments for dangerous and deadly diseases identified as threats to our national security.
The Strengthening... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began a series of actions this week designed to combat the emerging threat of Zika virus and to mitigate its spread throughout the U.S. and the world.
The FDA began with important steps to help protect the safety of the blood supply. One of the first... Read More »
The European Parliament has taken an important step toward protecting victims of potential biological, chemical and other types of terrorist attacks in the European Union with its new draft counterterrorism directive that is being negotiated this week.
The European Parliament’s Civil... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a detailed account on Thursday of the agency’s response to the Ebola virus epidemic of 2014-2016.
The report, a special supplement to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), comes on the second anniversary of... Read More »
A team at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) has developed a means for Department of Defense (DoD) labs across the globe to quickly obtain a genomic analysis of unknown and potentially hazardous biological samples without incurring the cost and risk of shipping them to a robust... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) announced its support on Thursday for a bill authored by U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) that aims to control the spread of Zika virus.
The Strengthening Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health (SMASH) Act aims strengthen the nation’s ability to... Read More »
The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) recently announced that is has developed a decontamination spray that enables soldiers at the unit level to decontaminate vehicle surfaces in the field immediately after exposure to a chemical warfare agent and continue with their mission.
The... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) provided BioCryst Pharmaceuticals with additional funding on Monday for efficacy studies of BCX4430 in non-human primates to further assist effective dose regimens.
BCX4430 is a broad-spectrum antiviral that is advancing toward... Read More »
An independent panel of public health, emergency response and communication experts issued a report on Friday on the Ebola epidemic of 2014, identifying recommendations to improve the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) response to urgent public health threats.
Concerns... Read More »
The Partnership for Research on Ebola virus in Liberia (PREVAIL) on Monday opened PREVAIL IV, a treatment trial for men who have survived Ebola virus disease (EVD) but continue to have evidence of Ebola virus genetic material - RNA - in their semen.
The trial is sponsored by the National... Read More »
