Archive for July, 2017
The Grenfell Tower blaze: “The 13th-richest in the world, and our highest ladder only goes up 30 meters.”
Monday, July 10th, 2017Wildfires continue to barrel across the scorched landscape of the western U.S. and Canada
Monday, July 10th, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lXUY9ySzPY
IMSR Summary
July 9th, 2017
National Preparedness Level
Level 3
National Fire Activity
Initial attack activity: Moderate (230) new fires
New large incidents: 20
Large fires contained: 9
Uncontained large fires: 50
Area Command Teams Committed: 0
NIMOs committed: 0
Type 1 IMTs committed: 6
Type 2 IMTs committed: 10
Wildfires barreled across the baking landscape of the western U.S. and Canada, destroying a smattering of homes.
Sunday, July 9th, 2017Rabies in Borneo: 2 siblings, aged four and six – from Kampung Paun Rimu Bakong, passed away on Tuesday while a third child remains in critical condition.
Sunday, July 9th, 2017“…..The girl was confirmed positive for contracting the rabies virus following laboratory tests on June 30.
She started having fever on June 23 and was brought to Serian Hospital, but was treated as outpatient then.
However, her condition worsened as she started showing changes in behaviour, getting aggressive and exhibiting signs of hydrophobia.
On June 28, she had seizures at home and was rushed to SGH by her parents. It is reported that she was bitten by a dog about a month before the symptoms appeared……”
Bataan province: Three persons die after being bitten by rabid dogs
Sunday, July 9th, 2017FDA develops rapid and sensitive assay to assess antibody response to Ebola virus vaccine without using the virus
Sunday, July 9th, 2017Scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have developed an assay that assesses the ability of antibodies to neutralize Ebola virus, using a technique that does not require the use of Ebola virus itself and can be automated for rapid testing of large numbers of samples.
The new FDA assay is important because the effectiveness of most licensed viral vaccines is based on their ability to trigger production of neutralizing antibodies. Therefore, methods for assessing neutralization activity of antibodies will likely be an important component for evaluating the effectiveness of Ebola virus vaccines and identifying correlates of protection (measurable signs of immunity).
The assay is based on a widely used technique called micro-neutralization, which measures the ability of antibodies to prevent viruses from infecting animal cells and reproducing themselves. The greater the neutralization of a virus by antibodies, the fewer the number of viruses are able to infect cells and the less the viruses can replicate themselves by making copies of viral genetic material.
A key attribute of the assay is built upon the use of a genetically modified, non-disease-causing virus called vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). The modified VSV carries part of the genome from Ebola virus and can substitute for Ebola virus in certain assays—an approach previously used at FDA.
The use of genetically engineered VSV eliminates the need for additional precautions, like a BSL-4 laboratory, because the modified virus is incapable of causing Ebola disease. These laboratories are designed for working with pathogens that pose a high risk of life-threatening disease through aerosol transmission and for which there is no vaccine or treatment. The FDA assay is appropriate for BSL-2 laboratories, which are widely available and do not require the more elaborate containment requirements of BSL-4. The need for BSL-4 laboratories for scientists to work with Ebola virus has complicated the worldwide effort to study the virus and develop and assess the effectiveness of Ebola virus vaccines.
The FDA scientists genetically modified different versions of VSV, so each one carried on its surface one of four variations of a molecule called an envelope glycoprotein (GP) found on different strains of the Ebola virus. Then they used a technique called quantitative polymerase chain reaction to measure the amount of genetic material produced by the hybrid VSV after it had been exposed to commercially available antibodies to Ebola virus. Automating the process should offer an important time advantage to public health scientists during investigations of an outbreak. The assay can determine within 6 to 16 hours if antibodies are effective against the Ebola virus.
The scientists showed that the assay was able to assess whether specific antibodies targeting each GP neutralized the different hybrid VSV variants, preventing the virus from infecting the cells and multiplying. Moreover, the results of the Ebola antibody assays agreed with those obtained by other, more complex assays, now used for such testing. This suggests that the assay will be useful in evaluating the ability of antibodies, triggered either by vaccines or natural infection, to neutralize specific varieties of the virus. Moreover, it might be possible to adapt the assay to assess neutralizing antibodies against other viral pathogens.
Title
Development of a micro-neutralization assay for ebolaviruses using a replication-competent vesicular stomatitis hybrid virus and a quantitative PCR readout
Vaccine 17 April 2017
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.03.019
Authors
Stella S. Lee, Kathryn Phy, Keith Peden ⇑, Li Sheng-Fowler
Laboratory of DNA Viruses, Division of Viral Products, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States
⇑ Corresponding author at: Building 52/72, Room 1220, CBER, FDA, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993, United States.
E-mail address: keith.peden@fda.hhs.gov (K. Peden).
Naegleria fowleri, the brain-eating amoeba, has claimed another life in Karachi: a young man of around 29 years of age;
Sunday, July 9th, 2017“…..Ruling out the possibility of swimming, he said the patient had spent four separate nights of Ramazan at a lawn for prayers. The doctor suspected that he might have contracted the infection during ablution before the prayers……They said that whenever the brain-eating amoeba found suitable environmental conditions and temperatures, it multiplied and infected the people who ingested the water through their nostrils. “Our research has shown that Naegleria fowleri colonies are present in the water tanks that were not cleaned for months and years,” said an AKUH expert and researcher.
“These microorganisms live in the layer of mud at the bottom of the water tanks, and when they find suitable environmental conditions, they start multiplying and targeting humans.”
The researcher said the best option to stay safe from N fowleri was to clean the overhead and underground tanks at houses, mosques and apartment buildings, and then to regularly chlorinate the water to kill the microorganisms.
“The water tanks at mosques should be cleaned on priority basis, as they are hardly cleaned and taken care of by the management of the mosques.” He said a large number of people made ablution on a daily basis at mosques and ingested the water through their nostrils, which could infect them with the amoeba……..”
Yemen: Since a severe outbreak began in late April, cholera has spread to 21 of the country’s 22 provinces, infecting at least 269,608 people and killing at least 1,614.
Saturday, July 8th, 2017- “…..the fighting and airstrikes have killed more than 8,000 people and displaced at least three million…”
- “…..27 million people lack access to clean water and 17 million do not have enough food….”
- “…..the war has damaged 65 percent of Yemen’s medical facilities, denying more than 14 million people access to health care…..”
- “….The United Nations says it needs $2.1 billion for its work in Yemen this year, but it has received only 29 percent of that amount despite repeated pleas for donations from aid groups……”
Outcomes for Completed Pregnancies in the US States, the District of Columbia, and the US Territories
Saturday, July 8th, 2017
As of June 27, 2017
Completed pregnancies with or without birth defects: 1,687
Includes aggregated data reported to the US Zika Pregnancy Registry(https://www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/registry.html)
Liveborn infants with birth defects: 88
Includes aggregated data reported to the US Zika Pregnancy Registry(https://www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/registry.html)
Pregnancy losses with birth defects: 8
Includes aggregated data reported to the US Zika Pregnancy Registry(https://www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/registry.html)
Completed pregnancies with or without birth defects: 2,830
Includes aggregated data reported to the Zika pregnancy and infant registries(https://www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/index.html)
Liveborn infants with birth defects: 122
Includes aggregated data reported to the Zika pregnancy and infant registries(https://www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/index.html)
Pregnancy losses with birth defects: 6
Includes aggregated data reported to the Zika pregnancy and infant registries(https://www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/index.html)
About these numbers
What these numbers show
- The number of completed pregnancies with or without birth defects include those that ended in a live birth, miscarriage, stillbirth, or termination.
- The number of liveborn infants and pregnancy losses with birth defects include those among completed pregnancies with laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection.
- The numbers are aggregated into two categories 1) the 50 US states and the District of Columbia, and 2) the US territories and freely associated states. At this time, CDC is not reporting individual state, tribal, territorial or jurisdictional data to protect the privacy of the women and children affected by Zika. CDC is using the standard CDC surveillance case definition for the Zika Pregnancy and Infant registries to monitor brain abnormalities, microcephaly, and other serious birth defects that have been linked to Zika virus infection during pregnancy across the United States and territories.
- The numbers may increase or decrease as new cases are added or information on existing cases is clarified.
- Birth defects reported include those that have been linked to Zika virus infection during pregnancy, including microcephaly, calcium deposits in the brain indicating possible brain damage, excess fluid in the brain cavities and surrounding the brain, absent or poorly formed brain structures, abnormal eye development, or other problems resulting from damage to brain that affects nerves, muscles and bones, such as clubfoot or inflexible joints, and confirmed hearing loss.
What these new numbers do not show
- These numbers reflect the outcomes of pregnancies with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection reported to the Zika pregnancy and infant registries as of the date specified. There may be delays in reporting of pregnancy outcomes from the jurisdictions.
- Although these birth defects occurred from pregnancies of women with laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection, we cannot determine whether individual defects were caused by Zika virus infection or other factors.
Where do these numbers come from?
- These data reflect pregnancies reported to the Zika pregnancy and infant registries(https://www.cdc.gov/zika/reporting/index.html). Together, these registries cover the full United States including territories and freely associated states.
- These systems were established in collaboration with state, local, tribal and territorial health departments for comprehensive monitoring of pregnancy and infant outcomes of pregnancies with any laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection.
- The data collected through the Zika pregnancy and infant registries will be used to update recommendations for clinical care, to plan for services and support for pregnant women and families affected by Zika virus, and to improve prevention of Zika virus infection during pregnancy.
- The Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registries) are protected by an Assurance of Confidentiality(https://www.cdc.gov/od/science/integrity/confidentiality/index.htm). Under the Assurance, CDC cannot report jurisdiction-specific information without permission from the jurisdiction.
Detailed case inclusion criteria for healthcare providers
The following details the inclusion criteria for brain abnormalities and other adverse outcomes potentially related to Zika virus infection during pregnancy. All pregnancy outcomes are monitored, but reporting of adverse outcomes is limited to those meeting the criteria below.
Brain abnormalities with and without microcephaly
- Confirmed or possible congenital microcephaly#
- Intracranial calcifications
- Cerebral atrophy
- Abnormal cortical formation (e.g., polymicrogyria, lissencephaly, pachygyria, schizencephaly, gray matter heterotopia)
- Corpus callosum abnormalities
- Cerebellar abnormalities
- Porencephaly
- Hydranencephaly
- Ventriculomegaly / hydrocephaly (excluding “mild” ventriculomegaly without other brain abnormalities)
- Fetal brain disruption sequence (collapsed skull, overlapping sutures, prominent occipital bone, scalp rugae)
- Other major brain abnormalities, including intraventricular hemorrhage in utero (excluding post-natal IVH)
Neural tube defects and other early brain malformations
- Neural tube defects (NTD)
- Anencephaly / Acrania
- Encephalocele
- Spina bifida
- Holoprosencephaly / Arhinencephaly
Structural eye abnormalities
- Microphthalmia / Anophthalmia
- Coloboma
- Cataract
- Intraocular calcifications
- Chorioretinal anomalies involving the macula (e.g., chorioretinal atrophy and scarring, macular pallor, gross pigmentary mottling and retinal hemorrhage); excluding retinopathy of prematurity
- Optic nerve atrophy, pallor, and other optic nerve abnormalities
Consequences of central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction
- Congenital contractures (e.g., arthrogryposis, club foot, congenital hip dysplasia) with associated brain abnormalities
- Congenital deafness documented by postnatal testing
#Live births: measured head circumference (HC) adjusted for gestational age and sex <3rd percentile at birth, or if not measured at birth, within first 2 weeks of life; pregnancy loss: prenatal HC more than 3 standard deviations below the mean based on ultrasound or postnatal HC <3rd percentile. Birth measurements based on intergrowth21 standards which are based on measurements within 24 hours of birth, and therefore measurements within 24 hours of birth are appropriate for this assessment.