Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2016/01/news-scan-jan-25-2016-0
News Scan for Jan 25, 2016
Dole Listeria in Canada; UK Ebola failings; Malaria funds
Filed Under:
Listeria; Foodborne Disease; Ebola; VHF; Malaria
[h=3]Canada links 7-case Listeria outbreak to Dole salads[/h] Over the weekend the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) linked Canada's multiprovince outbreak of listeriosis to salads from a Dole production plant in Springfield, Ohio, that on Jan 22 was implicated in a 12-case US outbreak, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued its own recall.
In a Jan 23 update, PHAC said it "is collaborating with federal and provincial public health partners, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United States Food and Drug Administration to investigate an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to Dole packaged salad products produced from a US processing facility in Springfield, Ohio."
The Canadian outbreak involves 7 cases in five provinces, with 3 in Ontario and 1 each in Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The patients' average age is 81. All were hospitalized, and one death was reported, but it has yet to be determined if the Listeria infection is the cause.
Jan 23 PHAC update
Jan 22 CFIA recall notice
Jan 22 CIDRAP News scan on US outbreak and recall
[h=3]Report cites multiple failings in UK response to Ebola outbreak[/h] The UK response to the Ebola outbreak met with delays and confusion on many fronts, including government steps, public health response, research priorities, and airport screening decisions, according to a parliamentary report today from the Science & Technology Committee.
Committee Chair Nicola Blackwood, MP (member of parliament), said in a UK Parliament press release, "Scientists, health workers and agencies did a heroic job working around the clock to confront the Ebola outbreak, sometimes at risk to their own lives. But the UK response to Ebola?like the international one?was undermined by systematic delay.
"We must take the opportunity now to ensure that the UK is not caught unprepared when the next disease emergency strikes. Lives can be lost for every day of delay."
Systemic delays included a lag in acting on Public Health England's disease surveillance data and a failure to convene a UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) until October 2014, 3 months after the government's emergency response committee met. The MPs recommended that in the future the country's chief scientist trigger the formation of a SAGE.
Regarding research priorities, MP Nicola Blackwood said, "Universities, regulatory bodies and pharmaceutical companies launched clinical trials for Ebola vaccines and treatments in record time. These efforts are to be commended, but it is also clear that the capacity to conduct research during an outbreak was not embedded in the UK?s emergency response."
The report also noted, "The UK's stance on implementing screening at airports changed over the course of three days during the height of the Ebola outbreak and ultimately went against guidance from the World Health Organisation and Public Health England."
Jan 25 UK Parliament report
Jan 25 UK Parliament news release
[h=3]Gates, UK announce $4.3 billion effort to combat malaria[/h] US philanthropist Bill Gates and Britain's finance minister today unveiled a $4.3 billion effort to eradicate malaria, Agence France-Presse reported.
Gates and Chancellor George Osborne announced a $200 million commitment per year from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and more than $700 million a year from the UK overseas aid budget for 5 years for research and other elimination efforts.
"When it comes to human tragedy, no creature comes close to the devastation caused by the mosquito," the two wrote. They added, however, "We are optimistic that in our lifetimes we can eradicate malaria and other deadly tropical diseases, and confront emerging threats, making the world a safer place for all."
The pair said that battling diseases like malaria requires collaboration among industry, governments, and charities and emphasized the need for new tools. "If new insecticides are not introduced by 2020, the situation will become critical and deaths could surge," they wrote.
The Geneva-based Global Fund welcomed the news. "Every child who stays alive, every stillbirth prevented, and every pregnant woman who is protected as a result of this investment represents new hope and expanded opportunity for families and communities," said Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul in a Global Fund news release.
Jan 25 AFP story
Jan 25 Global Fund press release
News Scan for Jan 25, 2016
Dole Listeria in Canada; UK Ebola failings; Malaria funds
Filed Under:
Listeria; Foodborne Disease; Ebola; VHF; Malaria
[h=3]Canada links 7-case Listeria outbreak to Dole salads[/h] Over the weekend the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) linked Canada's multiprovince outbreak of listeriosis to salads from a Dole production plant in Springfield, Ohio, that on Jan 22 was implicated in a 12-case US outbreak, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued its own recall.
In a Jan 23 update, PHAC said it "is collaborating with federal and provincial public health partners, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United States Food and Drug Administration to investigate an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to Dole packaged salad products produced from a US processing facility in Springfield, Ohio."
The Canadian outbreak involves 7 cases in five provinces, with 3 in Ontario and 1 each in Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The patients' average age is 81. All were hospitalized, and one death was reported, but it has yet to be determined if the Listeria infection is the cause.
Jan 23 PHAC update
Jan 22 CFIA recall notice
Jan 22 CIDRAP News scan on US outbreak and recall
[h=3]Report cites multiple failings in UK response to Ebola outbreak[/h] The UK response to the Ebola outbreak met with delays and confusion on many fronts, including government steps, public health response, research priorities, and airport screening decisions, according to a parliamentary report today from the Science & Technology Committee.
Committee Chair Nicola Blackwood, MP (member of parliament), said in a UK Parliament press release, "Scientists, health workers and agencies did a heroic job working around the clock to confront the Ebola outbreak, sometimes at risk to their own lives. But the UK response to Ebola?like the international one?was undermined by systematic delay.
"We must take the opportunity now to ensure that the UK is not caught unprepared when the next disease emergency strikes. Lives can be lost for every day of delay."
Systemic delays included a lag in acting on Public Health England's disease surveillance data and a failure to convene a UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) until October 2014, 3 months after the government's emergency response committee met. The MPs recommended that in the future the country's chief scientist trigger the formation of a SAGE.
Regarding research priorities, MP Nicola Blackwood said, "Universities, regulatory bodies and pharmaceutical companies launched clinical trials for Ebola vaccines and treatments in record time. These efforts are to be commended, but it is also clear that the capacity to conduct research during an outbreak was not embedded in the UK?s emergency response."
The report also noted, "The UK's stance on implementing screening at airports changed over the course of three days during the height of the Ebola outbreak and ultimately went against guidance from the World Health Organisation and Public Health England."
Jan 25 UK Parliament report
Jan 25 UK Parliament news release
[h=3]Gates, UK announce $4.3 billion effort to combat malaria[/h] US philanthropist Bill Gates and Britain's finance minister today unveiled a $4.3 billion effort to eradicate malaria, Agence France-Presse reported.
Gates and Chancellor George Osborne announced a $200 million commitment per year from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and more than $700 million a year from the UK overseas aid budget for 5 years for research and other elimination efforts.
"When it comes to human tragedy, no creature comes close to the devastation caused by the mosquito," the two wrote. They added, however, "We are optimistic that in our lifetimes we can eradicate malaria and other deadly tropical diseases, and confront emerging threats, making the world a safer place for all."
The pair said that battling diseases like malaria requires collaboration among industry, governments, and charities and emphasized the need for new tools. "If new insecticides are not introduced by 2020, the situation will become critical and deaths could surge," they wrote.
The Geneva-based Global Fund welcomed the news. "Every child who stays alive, every stillbirth prevented, and every pregnant woman who is protected as a result of this investment represents new hope and expanded opportunity for families and communities," said Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul in a Global Fund news release.
Jan 25 AFP story
Jan 25 Global Fund press release