In The News
1. Presidential Candidate Clinton Admonishes Congress For Not Moving On Emergency Zika Funding Before Recess
The Hill: Clinton: Congress must approve Zika funding
"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is slamming Congress for ignoring a request from President Obama for $1.8 billion to fight the Zika virus. 'The president asked for this funding over a month ago, but on Saturday, Congress will begin a two-week break without having allocated one penny,' Clinton wrote in a Medium post Friday..." (Hellmann, 3/19).
2. Rep. Pelosi Urges U.S. House Action On Zika Supplemental Spending Bill; Senate Approves Measure Making Experimental Zika Vaccines Eligible For FDA Priority Review
CQ HealthBeat: Zika Supplemental Pressure; House Budget Waits
"...House budget planners have developed a fiscal 2017 budget resolution but a vote on the measure has been deferred until next month (listen to CQ podcast on delay details). A separate fiscal 2016 supplemental spending bill seeking funds for a Zika virus awaits development by House appropriators. Democrats on Thursday reminded Republican leaders about the bill, but all three possible elements are disputed. GOP appropriators are looking to allow past Ebola virus funding covering more -- and possibly offering a faster response option -- of the $1.9 billion administration request for Zika virus response funding ... Prior to leaving for a spring break, the Senate quietly approved a measure (S 2512) making a Zika virus vaccine eligible for an FDA priority review process..." (Jenks, 3/18).
Roll Call: Pelosi Urges Emergency Spending as Appropriations Markups Near
"House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called on the House to bring a supplemental appropriations bill to the floor before adjourning for the spring recess, calling the emerging threat of the Zika virus, opioid abuse, and the water crisis in Flint, Mich., 'emergencies' that deserve urgent attention..." (Mejdrich/Lesniewski, 3/18).
3. FDA Approves Faster Zika Virus Test; Scientists Examining Ways To Control Mosquito Populations
The Hill: CDC takes key step toward Zika test
"The Food and Drug Administration has given preliminary approval for the first test that can confirm a diagnosis of the Zika virus without multiple tests. The faster test, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was approved for emergency use on Thursday..." (Ferris, 3/18).
Reuters: WHO backs trials of bacteria, genetic modification to fight Zika mosquitoes
"The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Friday for pilot projects to test two experimental ways to curb Zika-carrying mosquitoes, including testing the release of genetically modified insects and bacteria that stop their eggs hatching..." (Kelland, 3/18).
Washington Post: This lab is ground zero in the U.S. fight against Zika
"...Behind an unmarked gated entrance in this working-class neighborhood of San Juan, [Puerto Rico,] scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have only one focus: to stop Zika's spread. About 100 virologists, biologists, entomologists, and more are working here, including dozens brought from CDC sites in Colorado and Georgia. They're racing to develop tests for faster and more accurate diagnosis of infection and killing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by the hundreds to determine what chemicals are most effective..." (Sun, 3/20).
4. G7 Nations Considering Creation Of Liaison Entity To Coordinate International Disease Outbreak Responses, Sources Say
Japan Times: G7 to consider creating new body to coordinate efforts to combat infectious diseases
"The Group of Seven major industrialized countries are considering creating an organization that will serve as a liaison in international efforts to combat infectious diseases, according to informed sources. The body will ensure the coordination of international agencies, governments, and private entities so that they can respond quickly and efficiently to outbreaks of infectious diseases such as Ebola and Zika that cross national borders, the sources said on Saturday..." (3/20).
5. WHO Sends Emergency Response Team To Guinea After Ebola Resurfaces; At Least 4 Dead
Agence France-Presse: Ebola clinic reopens in Guinea after virus resurfaces
"A medical charity said Friday it had reopened its specialist Ebola clinic in southern Guinea to treat an infected woman and her child after the virus killed at least two of their relatives..." (3/18).
Associated Press: WHO sends specialists in response to Guinea Ebola flare-up
"The World Health Organization deployed specialists to southeast Guinea on Friday after two new Ebola cases were confirmed..." (3/18).
Reuters: Fourth person dies of Ebola in latest flare up in Guinea
"A fourth person has died of Ebola in Guinea in the latest flare up of an epidemic that has killed more than 11,300 people in that country, Sierra Leone, and Liberia since 2013 but now claims few victims..." (Samb/Bigg, 3/19).
U.N. News Centre: Ebola: U.N. health agency sends specialists to help contain flare-up in Guinea
"...Guinea's National Emergency Response Centre is convening a meeting today to further coordinate a rapid response to contain the flare-up, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a press release..." (3/18).
6. Strong El Niño Increasing Risk Of Malnutrition, Disease Worldwide
New York Times: El Niño Upsets Seasons and Upends Lives Worldwide
"In rural villages in Africa and Asia, and in urban neighborhoods in South America, millions of lives have been disrupted by weather linked to the strongest El Niño in a generation. ... The World Health Organization has estimated that worldwide, El Niño-related weather is putting 60 million people at increased risk of malnutrition, water- and mosquito-borne diseases, and other illnesses..." (Fountain, 3/19).
7. Ethiopia Prime Minister Calls For Additional Food Aid For Drought-Affected Country
Associated Press: Ethiopia leader calls for more foreign food aid amid drought
"Ethiopia's leader on Thursday urged the international community to donate more toward emergency food aid for millions of people amid a drought. Ethiopia 'should not be neglected by any means despite all the other crises that are going on elsewhere in the world,' Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn told the Associated Press in an interview..." (Meseret, 3/17).
8. WHO Suspends Approval Of TB Products From India’s Svizera Labs, Supplier Of Generic Drugs To 70 Nations
International Business Times: WHO Suspends Tuberculosis Drugs From Major Indian Supplier
"The World Health Organization (WHO) reportedly suspended its approval of all tuberculosis products made at India's Svizera Labs citing unreliable manufacturing standards and quality management. The company is one of the largest suppliers of generic TB medicines to more than 70 countries, according to its website..." (Kondalamahanty, 3/19).
9. Chinese Authorities Investigating Vaccine Stocks After Improper Storage, Sales Discovered
New York Times: China Says It Found Ring Said to Sell Improperly Stored Vaccines
"The police in China said they had uncovered a criminal ring suspected of selling improperly stored vaccines in dozens of provinces beginning in 2010. After the arrest of a former doctor and her daughter in Shandong Province, in eastern China, the police said they were searching for 300 suspects across the country..." (Ramzy, 3/21).
Reuters: China vows crackdown on fake vaccines amid scandal
"...The drug regulator in Shandong, the province at the heart of the scandal, said on Monday it would work with police forces and the health ministry to inspect vaccine stocks to ascertain where 570 million yuan ($88 million) worth of vaccines had ended up. The case, which involves vaccines against meningitis, rabies, and other illnesses, underlines the challenge the world's second-largest drug market faces to regulate its fragmented supply chain, even as Beijing looks to support home-grown firms..." (Jourdan, 3/21).
10. Haiti’s Cholera Death Toll Could Be Much Higher Than Official Count, MSF Study Suggests
New York Times: Cholera Deaths in Haiti Could Far Exceed Official Count
"Deaths from the cholera epidemic that ravaged Haiti after the 2010 earthquake could be much higher than the 9,200 officially tallied so far because of underreporting during the initial outbreak, a new study suggests. The study, by Doctors Without Borders, found that incomplete surveillance and data collection, overwhelmed health clinics, the rapid spread of the disease, and cholera's ability to kill quickly contributed to what appears to have been a drastic understating of the death toll..." (Gladstone, 3/18).
11. Shackling Of Mental Health Patients Still Occurs In Indonesia Despite Ban, Report Says
The Guardian: 'Living in hell': mentally ill people in Indonesia chained and confined
"Almost 40 years after Indonesia banned the practice of shackling people with mental health conditions, nearly 19,000 are still living in chains, or are locked up in institutions where they are vulnerable to abuse, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW)..." (Jones, 3/20).