WHO: Early Flu Rise for Some Southern Hemisphere Countries (CIDRAP) The Southern Hemisphere's temperate countries are experiencing an earlier-than-average start to the flu season, including Australia, Chile, South Africa, and New Zealand, the World Health Organization said this week in its latest global flu update. Go to article

Potentially Deadly Valley Fever Is Hitting California Farmworkers Hard, Worrying Researchers (NBC News) Victor Gutierrez contracted valley fever, an illness caused by a soil-borne fungus, and he thinks he got it in the summer of 2011 when he worked in the nectarine orchards of California’s dry, dusty Central Valley. Go to article

The Congressional Futures Office (Belfer Center) This report interrogates the widening gap between responsive lawmaking in Congress and the deepening complexity of advancements in science and technology. Go to article

House Advances Three Bills to Modernize DHS (HPN) The US House of Representatives advanced three different bills that are designed to modernize the Department of Homeland Security. Go to article

Towards Harmonisation of Entomological Surveillance in the Mediterranean Area (PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) The Mediterranean Basin is historically a hotspot for trade, transport, and migration. As a result, countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea share common public health threats. Go to article

Update on African Union Actions in Response to Recent Ebola Outbreaks (Relief Web) Following the recent outbreak of Ebola cases reported in Uganda, The African Union is collaborating with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uganda to mobilise support to ensure adequate response and implementation of prevention and control measures, including deployment of senior experts from the AU’s Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Go to article

Colistin-Resistance Gene MCR-3.1 Makes Us Appearance (CIDRAP) A Salmonella infection in a young man who had traveled to China has led to the first US finding of an unusual variant of a gene that confers resistance to colistin, a last-resort antibiotic, according to a recent report in the Journal of Medical Microbiology. Go to article

Acute Flaccid Myelitis Cluster (JAMA) A cluster of 6 cases of acute flaccid myelitis paralysis in children was reported in Minnesota in the fall of 2018, according to a CDC report. Go to article

Bacillus cereus–Attributable Primary Cutaneous Anthrax-Like Infection in Newborn Infants, India  (Emerging Infectious Diseases) During March 13–June 23, 2018, anthrax-like cutaneous lesions attributed to the Bacillus cereus group of organisms developed in 12 newborns in India. We traced the source of infection to the healthcare kits used for newborn care. Go to article

Estimating Undetected Ebola Spillovers (PLOS: Neglected Tropical Diseases) The preparedness of health systems to detect, treat, and prevent onward transmission of Ebola virus disease is central to mitigating future outbreaks. Go to article

Largest World Stock of Animal-Killing Virus Destroyed by UK Lab (BBC News) These stocks accounted for most of the world's lab samples of rinderpest, which were held at The Pirbright Institute in Surrey. Go to article

What Could Personalised Medicine Mean for Your Health? (BBC News) Medicine has always been personal to some extent - a doctor looks for the best way to help the patient sitting in front of them. Go to article

Study Finds That a GPS Outage Would Cost $1 Billion per Day (Ars Technica) Since becoming fully operational in 1995, Global Positioning System technology has become widely adopted in the United States and abroad. The concept of satellite-based navigation has become so essential that other world powers, including China, Russia, the European Union, India, and Japan, have all started building their own regional or global systems. Go to article

‘Massive Failure’ in Power Grid Causes Blackout in Argentina and Uruguay (NY Times)  A blackout stripped all of mainland Argentina and Uruguay of power early Sunday, affecting tens of millions of people in an electrical failure that officials called unprecedented in its scope. Go to article

U.S. Escalates Online Attacks on Russia’s Power Grid (NY Times) The United States is stepping up digital incursions into Russia’s electric power grid in a warning to President Vladimir V. Putin and a demonstration of how the Trump administration is using new authorities to deploy cybertools more aggressively, current and former government officials said. Go to article