April 18, 2024



US White House launches new 5-year global health security strategy

The Biden administration this week launched the US Government Global Health Security Strategy, which outlines a 5-year, whole-of-government plan to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats. In a statement, President Joe Biden said the strategy will ensure the US “is prepared for any future pandemic, outbreak, or biological threat” and “it will make the United States stronger, safer, and healthier than ever before.” Key elements of the strategy include:

• Strengthening global health security capacities by expanding the nation’s number of bilateral partnerships to 50 countries in Africa, Europe and Eurasia, the Middle East, East Asia and the Pacific, Central and South Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Notably, the US is already working with the Democratic Republic of Congo to combat its mpox outbreak.
• Mobilizing greater political commitment, financing, and leadership in health security at local, national, regional, and global levels. This includes efforts to strengthen global policies, with a focus on equity and social inclusion; drive innovation; and rapidly respond to global health emergencies.
• Increasing linkages between global health security programs and other health, development, and security programs to bolster sustainability, efficiently utilize resources, and achieve better outcomes. These efforts include strengthening a One Health approach to global health security.

While many experts praised the strategy, some expressed concern and had questions about several issues, including potential funding constraints, how the plan fits into ongoing pandemic agreement negotiations, geopolitical competition, and addressing misinformation.

WHO updates terminology for pathogens that transmit through the air; US ARPA-H launches indoor air quality program

The WHO has updated its terminology for pathogens that transmit through the air, including those that cause respiratory infections like COVID-19, influenza, measles, and tuberculosis, among others. The updated lexicon is the result of a global technical consultation involving a diverse group of more than 100 experts from various fields and public health agencies. The primary outcome of the multiyear collaborative effort is the adoption of new terminology that classifies all pathogens that can spread through the air—regardless of droplet size, how far they travel, or for how long they stay afloat—as “airborne.”

WHO said the consensus changes will help clarify the implementation of public health interventions to identify, communicate about, and respond to existing and emerging pathogens, as well as establish a new path for research agendas. The updated terminology is expected to be incorporated into WHO’s and other public health agencies’ guidance, policies, and recommendations on disease transmission and prevention.

In related news, the US Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) on April 10 launched a program to drive the next generation of smart buildings to ensure indoor air is always safe and healthy. Poor indoor air quality is a leading cause of preventable diseases, such as the respiratory illnesses named above. The Building Resilient Environments for Air and Total HEalth (BREATHE) program will engage a wide range of experts to create next-generation building systems that monitor and improve indoor air quality. A forthcoming solicitation will accept proposals in 3 technical areas: creating indoor air biosensors to quickly detect airborne biothreats; developing respiratory risk assessment software to gauge any potential health impacts; and enhancing building controls for improved health and energy efficiency.

Check out this case study discussing lessons from a private New York City school that implemented COVID-19 mitigation measures based on public health expert guidance, including some related to indoor air quality. The study team involved several Center for Health Security scholars. 

New streamlined draft of global pandemic agreement retains some equity provisions, includes plan for PABS system but pushes deadline for its operational details to 2026

AFP/Yahoo News: Slimmer draft pandemic agreement released ahead of fresh talks

Health Policy Watch: Latest Pandemic Agreement Draft Keeps Equity Hopes Alive – But Defers Key Operational Decisions

Health Policy Watch: Pandemic Negotiations: ‘Hopeful and Scary Times’

US federal officials say government prepared to escalate avian flu response if necessary; USDA urges testing of dairy herds before interstate movement

Politico: The federal role if avian flu picks up

Politico Pro: Avian flu appears to be stabilizing. Here’s what would happen if it heated up.

CIDRAP: USDA scientists weigh avian flu vaccine for cows; virus may be spreading from cattle to poultry

Successful Farming: USDA: Test for bird flu before interstate transport of cattle

“The testing approach to H5N1 in cattle needs to change substantially. USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) may be doing what it can now with minimal resources, but testing needs to expand, get simpler, more available, and transparent.” – Center for Health Security Director Dr. Tom Inglesby writing on LinkedIn

Editorial, opinion pieces discuss urgent need for pandemic preparedness in light of H5N1 detection in US cattle, human

Washington Post: The world is unprepared for the next pandemic. Here’s a start to fix that. (editorial)

CNN: The next pandemic threat demands action now (opinion)

STAT: H5N1 bird flu in U.S. cattle: A wake-up call to action (opinion)

MedPage Today: The H5N1 Outbreak Is Not a Test Run, It's a Warning Shot (opinion)

Washington Post: Why the spread of bird flu to a Texas dairy worker is so alarming (opinion)

The Hill: Move our pandemic, cybersecurity strategies from ‘panic and neglect’ to ‘prepare and prevent’ (opinion)

Common factory farming practices possibly contribute to avian flu, other diseases’ spread

Vox: The dairy industry really, really doesn’t want you to say “bird flu in cows”

Los Angeles Times: Avian flu outbreak raises a disturbing question: Is our food system built on poop?

US CDC launches updated Public Health Data Strategy to improve real-time reporting, data access

US CDC: CDC Data Modernization Efforts Accelerate Nation’s Ability to Detect and Rapidly Respond to Health Threats

Roll Call: CDC moves forward on data-sharing — without Congress

Meetings, report discuss intersections of Biological Weapons Convention, biotechnology, AI

BWC Implementation Support Unit on X (Twitter): WHO Technical Advisory Group sessions on the Responsible Use of Life Sciences and Dual-Use Research (thread)

NTI: NTI Convenes the First International AI-bio Forum

NK News: North Korea can use gene-editing tech to craft military bioweapons, US warns

For more on how the BWC can improve confidence in states parties’ compliance, read this new preprint study by a team at the Center for Health Security: BWC Confidence‐Building Measures: Increasing BWC Assurance through Transparency & Information Sharing

2 new initiatives launched to tackle mis/disinformation surrounding pandemic agreement negotiations, weapons of mass destruction

Nursing Now: Tackling mis/disinformation: Using your voice to influence

Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction: Countering WMD Disinformation: A Global Partnership Initiative (The Center for Health Security is a partner in this newly launched initiative. For more on our misinformation work, visit our website.)

Bipartisan, bicameral group of US lawmakers calls on White House to provide guidance on mitigating risk, misuse of synthetic nucleic acids

Politico: Pressure builds to stop AI’s ‘mad science’

Office of Rep. Julia Brownley: Brownley Leads Bipartisan, Bicameral Effort to Establish Biosecurity Guardrails in DNA Research

See also: Office of Sen. Maggie Hassan: Senators Hassan and Romney Urge Senate Leaders to Improve Programs to Respond to Public Health Threats

Many of world’s poorest countries getting poorer as result of COVID pandemic, World Bank warns

Reuters: World Bank sounds alarm on 'historical reversal' of development for poorest nations

The Guardian: Covid pandemic made poorest countries even worse off, World Bank warns

World Bank: The Great Reversal: Prospects, Risks, and Policies in International Development Association Countries

US marks end of flu season; COVID activity continues to decline in US, globally

Force of Infection: Outbreak Outlook - National - April 15

CIDRAP: US respiratory virus activity declines, with few hot spots reported

WHO: COVID-19 epidemiological update – 12 April 2024

See also: CIDRAP: COVID-19 caused 21% excess of respiratory infections last winter, analysis finds

As number of measles cases rises in US, CDC warns disease elimination status may be threatened

CNN: Recent increase in measles cases threatens elimination status in the US, CDC says

CIDRAP: US measles cases top 120 as LA County tracks case with multiple exposures

Forbes: Alarming Measles Outbreaks Surge Across Europe And Central Asia

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Why some adults may need another dose of measles vaccine

Washington Post: This could be the worst year for measles in five years. There is a simple answer. (editorial)

Moderna ‘pauses’ effort to build vaccine manufacturing plant in Kenya; Africa CDC says decision perpetuates inequities

Devex: Africa CDC calls out Moderna for 'abandoning' vaccine equity commitment

Fierce Pharma: Africa CDC blasts Moderna after it halts plans to build vaccine plant in Kenya

Science: Plans to expand African vaccine production face steep hurdles

Research continues into next-generation vaccines against COVID-19, flu, other viruses

Your Local Epidemiologist: Race for the next generation of Covid-19 vaccines

Salon: A one-shot vaccine for COVID, flu and future viruses? Researchers say it's coming

University of California, Riverside: Vaccine breakthrough means no more chasing strains

US lawmakers argue over government influence in science journals’ COVID-related publications

Nature: US COVID-origins hearing puts scientific journals in the hot seat

US House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic: Hearing Wrap Up: Americans Witnessed a Breakdown of Scientific Debate During COVID-19

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines not associated with sudden cardiac death among young people, study shows

The Hill: COVID vaccines not linked to cardiac death in young people: CDC study

MedPage Today: Only One Harm From mRNA COVID Vaccines, Report Determines

See also: CIDRAP: More than a fifth of older adults with RSV have acute cardiac events, data reveal

Severe COVID-19 outcomes less common in children than older adults possibly due to age-specific nasal cell responses, study shows

News Medical: Study highlights how age affects nasal cell response to SARS-CoV-2

BBC: Young nose cells may help children fight off Covid

See also: CIDRAP: Study finds no evidence COVID-19 causes childhood asthma

Democratic Republic of Congo mpox outbreak possibly driven by newly identified clade; researchers, Africa CDC urge rapid, coordinated response

The Telegraph: Mutated strain of mpox with ‘pandemic potential’ found in DRC mining town

CBC News: New mpox lineage found in DRC could help fuel another global outbreak, study warns

Africa CDC: Communiqué: United in the Fight Against Mpox in Africa – High-Level Emergency Regional Meeting

Mpox maintains foothold in US; health officials urge vaccination, expand wastewater surveillance

The Hill: Mpox not going away any time soon

Precision Vaccinations News: Testing for Mpox Clade 1 in the United States

Several articles discuss One Health issues, including animal-to-human disease transmission, risk

Reuters: High risk of animal-to-human diseases developing in some China fur farms, animal protection group says

HealthDay News: Pets Are Passing Drug-Resistant 'Superbugs' to Their Owners

The Telegraph: Vietnam’s ‘dramatic’ rabies surge kills 29 people in four months

See also: WHO: The Quadripartite organizations announce the second Term members of its One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP)

Second-generation mosquito bed nets, genetically modified mosquitoes show promise as new tools in malaria fight  

STAT: Second-generation mosquito nets prevented 13 million malaria cases in large pilot programs

The Guardian: New types of mosquito bed nets could cut malaria risk by up to half, trial finds

Semafor: Genetically modified mosquitoes could one day end malaria

Surge of dengue fever in South America could be worst on record; disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes found in California

New York Times: The Push for a Better Dengue Vaccine Grows More Urgent

Reuters: Peru's dengue deaths triple as climate change swells mosquito population

The Guardian: ‘I felt pains all over my body’: Argentina battles dengue outbreak as politicians pass up vaccine opportunity

Mercury News: Invasive mosquitoes were spotted in East San Jose. Here’s how you can stop the dangerous pests.

African continent experiencing several cholera outbreaks as vaccine supplies run dry; WHO prequalifies oral vaccine with simplified production method

DW: Deadly cholera outbreak hits southern Africa

New York Times: Global Stockpile of Cholera Vaccine Is Gone as Outbreaks Spread

CIDRAP: WHO prequalifies simplified version of oral cholera vaccine

Nigeria becomes first country to roll out new 5-in-1 meningococcal vaccine; US FDA to review different 5-in-1 candidate

WHO: In world first, Nigeria introduces new 5-in-1 vaccine against meningitis

CIDRAP: FDA to review 5-in-1 meningococcal vaccine candidate

Long-acting HIV drug formulations could drastically simply prevention, treatment; equity must remain priority, Global Fund Board vice chair writes

New York Times: Long-Acting Drugs May Revolutionize H.I.V. Prevention and Treatment

Health Policy Watch: To End AIDS, We Must Reclaim Our Unyielding Pursuit of Equity (opinion)

See also: KFF Health News: The Path to a Better Tuberculosis Vaccine Runs Through Montana

Uganda’s Ebola control plan could serve as model for others; Marburg vaccine candidate receives orphan drug designation from US FDA

Healio: Plan to control rare Ebola outbreak in Uganda could be blueprint for others

Precision Vaccinations: Heat Stable Marburg Vaccine Candidate Awarded Orphan Drug Designation

FROM THE CENTER

Capitol Hill Steering Committee hosts panelist discussion on funding priorities for pandemic prevention, preparedness

On April 10, the Capitol Hill Steering Committee on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Security hosted a panel discussion titled “Preventing and Preparing for the Next Pandemic: A Focus on Funding Priorities.” Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) provided opening remarks, emphasizing the value of building a bipartisan community to advance the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) and to ensure our nation's health security.

Moderated by Anita Cicero, Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, panelists discussed highlights from the finalized fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding bills, explored future appropriations for FY25 and beyond, and considered priorities from President Biden’s budget request. Panelists included Dawn O'Connell, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services; Dr. Cartier Esham, Chief Science Officer and Executive Vice President of Emerging Companies at BIO; and Dr. Tom Inglesby, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

A full recording of the event can be found on the Steering Committee’s webpage and on YouTube. The Steering Committee is sponsored and managed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Editor: Alyson Browett, MPH

Contributing Editor: Prarthana Vasudevan, MS, MSPH, DrPH (c)