Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Amid the evolving H5N1 outbreak in cattle, our Center for Outbreak and Response Innovation (CORI) team prepared an informational fact sheet, providing a closer look into: ➡️Background and Current Situation ➡️Human Infection Prevention and Control ➡️Laboratory Testing and Diagnosis ➡️Treatment ➡️Vaccines Read the fact sheet here: https://lnkd.in/g3mtvXCh

🗞️ Senior Scholar Dr. Amesh Adalja says new findings on topical antibiotic cream may indicate broader antiviral uses beyond COVID-19. "The molecules in the topical antibiotic cream induce certain antiviral compounds, producing non-specific immunity that impacts various viruses," he explains. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eWJq5YWz

A hugely enriching few days in Namibia for the World Organisation for Animal Health's (WOAH) first "African Regional Training on Risk and Crisis Communication for Animal Health Emergencies", conducted in both English and French. This workshop is part of WOAH's "Fortifying Institutional Resilience against Biological Threats" (FIRABioT) project; which focuses on responses to deliberate or accidental biological threats and contributes to the Signature Initiative to Mitigate Biological Threats in Africa, under the G7-led Global Partnership against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP). I had the pleasure of facilitating training sessions on countering mis- and dis-information alongside Katy Carroll of UNICRI - United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and virtual presentations from my Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security colleagues Tara Sell and Aishwarya Nagar, MPH. An additional highlight was assisting Daniel Donachie (WOAH) in designing and running a tabletop simulation exercise for participants related to the hypothetical deliberate release of a biological agent, including simulated press briefings and ministerial briefings. Connecting lessons from this effort to the new Global Partnership Initiative on Countering WMD Disinformation. This work underlines the important contribution of animal health professionals in countering serious biological threats and the value added when public health and animal health communities share experiences and approaches. This week was made all the better by the 35 highly engaged and experienced participants, representing 9 African countries: Algeria, Congo (Republic), Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Thanks to WOAH for organising the workshop, our Namibian colleagues for hosting us in their wonderful country, to Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada for funding this important work, and all of the facilitators and participants for such an active workshop!

The recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 among US dairy cows appears more extensive than initially thought. The USDA has identified the virus in 33 herds across 8 states, released genetic sequencing data, and issued a federal order for increased testing. Catch up on all the developments with this week's Health Security Decoded—your weekend read: https://lnkd.in/euscRWFf

Our Director Dr. Tom Inglesby on the unexpected traces of bird flu in milk: "'This could mean that the extent of this outbreak is larger than we're seeing - could be substantially larger." Understanding this requires surveillance testing in unaffected areas. 🥛 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eCPurF5e

Yesterday, we brought together stakeholders from research, government, industry, and healthcare to discuss the vital role of reusable respirators in pandemic preparedness. The conversation focused on the opportunities and challenges of purchasing these respirators for the strategic national stockpile and everyday use. 🗣️ We thank our speakers for enriching the discussion with their perspectives: ◼ Rocco Casagrande, PhD, Managing Director, Gryphon Scientific ◼ Steve Adams, MPH, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and Director of the Strategic National Stockpile, US Department of Health and Human Services ◼ Stella Hines, MD, University of Maryland Medical Center ◼ Dan Shipp, President, International Safety Equipment Association ◼ Mali Smith, American Medical Manufacturers Association (AMMA) ◼ Dan Hanfling MD, Director of  Private Sector Strategic Partnerships, White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response   We also thank our speakers and attendees for all the great insights!

A successful week in Singapore with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Southeast Asian partners to discuss critical biosecurity and biotechnology issues and strengthen cross-border cooperation and communication! Together with DTRA, our Center has been facilitating the Southeast Asia Strategic Biosecurity Dialogues since 2014, expanding our reach and impact year after year. Check out the full press release for more details👇

Our Director Tom Inglesby emphasizes the need for rapid testing for #H5N1. “Investigators need to be on affected farms, and scientists and policymakers need to be bringing it all together to set a coordinated plan of action.”

🗞️ Our director Dr. Tom Inglesby notes that "additional information would be quite useful for the public and for scientists and public health agencies, research organizations to understand all of the data that has been collected so far, what farms have been tested, when they were tested, what the sampling strategy is, overall, what kind of testing is going on now, around the country." https://lnkd.in/gryZE7SB

📰 Check out our new #HealthSecurity issue! It includes the second part of the Threat Agnostic Approaches to Biodefense and Public Health special feature, with an introduction by guest editors Senior Scholar Amesh Adalja, Lane Warmbrod, and Mary Lancaster (from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory). https://lnkd.in/ecX8tkN5