Biological Security - Weekly Update - February 2022

The Weekly Biological Security Update is prepared by PGA's International Peace and Security Program and provided strictly for informational purposes only. Any opinions expressed in articles contained in this Update are not necessarily shared by PGA or any individual/s associated with PGA, nor does PGA, or any individual/s associated with PGA, vouch for the accuracy of the contents of these articles.

February28

Country	Topic	Source
Africa	Africa's COVID-19 cases pass 11.17 mln: Africa CDC	CGTN
Africa	CDC Reports Declining Continental COVID-19 Testing	Morocco World News \| Morocco Current Events, Latest News
Canada	Organ transplants from pigs: Medical miracle or pandemic in the making?	The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.
Canada	Conservatives end boycott of Parliament's national security committee	Winnipeg Free Press - Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
Canada/Sierra Leone	Navy brings gift from Maritimes to West African chimps	CBC.ca - watch, listen, and discover with Canada's Public Broadcaster
China	Studies offer further evidence that the coronavirus pandemic began in animals in Wuhan market	CNN - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
DRC	'The response is like a big ship’: community feedback as a case study of evidence uptake and use in the 2018–2020 Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo	ReliefWeb - Informing humanitarians worldwide
Japan	Higher Viral Stability and Ethanol Resistance of Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus on Human Skin	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Liberia	Inside Liberia's fight to save pangolins from extinction	Africanews \| Latest breaking news, daily news and African news from Africa
Singapore	Singapore amends hijacking, aviation security laws amid high terror threat	The Straits Times
Global	The Dual-Use Education Gap: Awareness and Education of Life Science Researchers on Nonpathogen-Related Dual Use Research	Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. \| Home
United Kingdom	One Health as a catalyst for sustainable development	Nature
United Kingdom	New UKHSA laboratory will ‘define future pandemic response’ with pioneering COVID-19 vaccines and variants research	Welcome to GOV.UK
United Kingdom	An Ebola-Like Fever Is In The U.K.	Inverse
United Kingdom	40 years on, Dark Harvest campaign over 'anthrax island' is back in spotlight	The Herald - Scottish news, politics, sport and comment
United Kingdom	The Mystery of Anthrax Island airs on BBC Scotland	The Herald - Scottish news, politics, sport and comment
United Nations	Le Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU prolonge le mandat du comité sur les armes nucléaires, biologiques et chimiques	Centre d'Informations Internet de Chine
United States	US official: Russian invasion of Ukraine risks release of dangerous pathogens	Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
United States	US says it can’t rule out Putin using chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine: ‘Nothing is off the table with this guy’	The Independent \| Latest news and features from US, UK and worldwide
United States	There are no US-run biolabs in Ukraine, contrary to social media posts	PolitiFact
United States	Building to a zoonotic early warning system	RFD TV
United States	Oregon Legislature approves bill to ban selling certain wild animals for food	Statesman Journal: Salem news, sports, entertainment. Serving Salem, Oregon.
United States	Even as omicron infections trend down, long COVID remains a threat to the military	Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
United States	Cyber can now create biowarfare effects, without a bioweapon	Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary
United States	Three urgent priorities for the National Security Council to strengthen global health security and biodefense	STAT - Reporting from the frontiers of health and medicine
United States	U.S. House Passes Sweeping Ban on Mink Farming Citing Cruelty and Contagion Risks	Send Press Releases with GlobeNewswire
United States	Deer, mink and hyenas have caught COVID-19 – animal virologists explain how to find the coronavirus in animals and why humans need to worry	The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.
United States	Michigan prisoner sent letter threatening anthrax attack to Kalamazoo federal courthouse, indictment says	Michigan Local News, Breaking News, Sports & Weather
United States	Detailed analysis of the pathologic hallmarks of Nipah virus (Malaysia) disease in the African green monkey infected by the intratracheal route	Home - PLOS
United States	A Counter-Terrorism Medicine Analysis of Drone Attacks	Home \| Cambridge University Press & Assessment
United States	Deadly, highly contagious bird flu found in Kalamazoo County worries nearby poultry farms	Kalamazoo News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News \| WWMT
United States	Learning From Catastrophe: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic for Preparing for and Responding to a Domestic Radiation Emergency	Home - The Nuclear Threat Initiative
United States	Dr. Paul Farmer, who devoted his life to fighting deadly epidemics, has died. He was 62	Yahoo \| Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos
United States	NTI, MSC initiate biological threat elimination exercise	Homeland Preparedness News - The Leading Source
WHO	How the WHO might face future pandemics after COVID-19	CTV News \| Canada News \| Top Stories

February22

Country	Topic	Source
Africa	Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing: Scaling up Rapid Antigen Self-testing	Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing: Scaling up Rapid Antigen Self-testing – Africa CDC/
Africa	Africa CDC expects to become public health agency by July	Africa CDC expects to become public health agency by July \| Devex/
Asia	Asian firms top list of protein producers at risk of incubating next pandemic	AFN
Canada	A brilliant scientist was mysteriously fired from a Winnipeg virus lab. No one knows why.	Macleans.ca - Canada's magazine since 1905
China	Foreword: Insight on Infectious Diseases from the Perspective of One Health	Insight on Infectious Diseases from the Perspective of One Health (chinacdc.cn)/
China	Recollection: Elimination of Schistosomiasis Japonica in China: From the One Health Perspective	Elimination of Schistosomiasis Japonica in China: From the One Health Perspective (chinacdc.cn)/
China	China reports 2 more human cases of H5N6 bird flu	China reports 2 more human cases of H5N6 bird flu - BNO News/
Global	Five questions about pandemics and climate change, answered	laloyolan.com \| Your home. Your voice. Your news.
Global	Future pandemics: failing to prepare means preparing to fail	The Lancet \| The best science for better lives
Hungary/Bangladesh	Hungarian researchers working on stopping a lethal virus	Home - Daily News Hungary
India	First biosafety level 3 mobile lab launched in India	Business News \| Stock and Share Market News \| Finance News \| Sensex Nifty, NSE, BSE Live IPO News
Indonesia	Anthrax confirmed in Indonesia outbreak	Anthrax confirmed in Indonesia outbreak - Outbreak News Today/
Ireland	Opinion: Our war on nature has led to climate change, biodiversity loss, and zoonotic pandemics	TheJournal.ie - Read, Share and Shape the News
Israel	Structure and receptor recognition by the Lassa virus spike complex	Nature
Global	It's not all bats' fault	Eco-Business.com - Asia Pacific's Sustainable Business Community
Malawi	Malawi finds Africa’s first wild polio case in five years	BBC - Homepage
Global	Media Briefing: How to Prevent the Next “Big One” -- Pandemic Prevention at the Source	Newswise: News for Journalists
Nigeria	FG targets 70% implementation of new biosecurity policy	FG targets 70% implementation of new biosecurity policy - Punch Newspapers (punchng.com)/
RDC/Belgique	Un détachement militaire belge en RDC dès le printemps	Un détachement militaire belge en RDC dès le printemps — La Libre Afrique/
Singapore	Cultivating smallpox, plague: S'pore was a major biological warfare centre during WWII	https://www.straitstimes.com/
Global	The Lab-Leak Hypothesis Made It Harder for Scientists to Seek the Truth	Scientific American: Science News, Expert Analysis, Health Research - Scientific American
Global	The Next Pandemic Could Start With A Terrorist Attack	The Atlantic
Global	La prochaine pandémie pourrait être déclenchée par un virus synthétique	La prochaine pandémie pourrait être déclenchée par un virus synthétique (trustmyscience.com)/
Global	The Mongols Helped Spread a Pandemic to Europe Through Biological Warfare	Please Wait... \| Cloudflare
Global	The Next Front in Russia’s Propaganda Campaign Against the U.S.	The Dispatch \| Substack
United Kingdom	Afghanistan is becoming a breeding ground for jihadis again just months after the West's withdrawal in the face of Taliban advancements and they will pose a threat to the UK, MI5 chief warns	Afghanistan is a breeding ground for jihadis again months after West's withdrawal, MI5 chief warns \| Daily Mail Online/
United Kingdom	Government to review UK approach to future biological security ".....In a wide-ranging interview, Mr McCallum also spoke about the enduring threat of a biological attack on Britain. He said: ‘Al Qaeda, for example, determinedly engaged in research and development. This is never something which has gone away as a risk.’ Mr McCallum added that the global impact of the Covid pandemic may also have inspired potential terrorists. ‘It will have occurred to many people that biological or viral or their agents can be tools of significant game-changing events,’ he said. ‘It does not automatically follow that anyone having that thought has the wherewithal to do something intelligent about it. ‘But this has always been one of the risks that we are mindful of and seek to manage.’..."	Welcome to GOV.UK
United Kingdom	Government asks experts to inform the refresh of UK's Biological Security Strategy	Government asks experts to inform the refresh of UK's Biological Security Strategy (news-medical.net)/
United Kingdom	£200 million investment to fight zoonotic diseases	Welcome to GOV.UK
United Kingdom	Researchers aim to build upon a highly successful pseudorabies vaccine that is routinely used to vaccinate pigs in Southeast Asia.	National Hog Farmer
United Kingdom	UK Lassa fever death highlights global threat of infectious diseases, experts say	News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's US edition \| The Guardian
United Kingdom	What Is Lassa Fever? Zoonotic Virus That Just Caused A Death In UK. Know Symptoms, Treatment	ABP News LIVE, Latest News, Breaking News, Top Headlines, India News Today - ABP LIVE
United Kingdom	Lassa fever: what are the symptoms and is it easy to catch?	News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's US edition \| The Guardian
United Kingdom	Lassa fever patient who died in UK ‘was newborn baby’	The Independent \| Latest news and features from US, UK and worldwide
United Kingdom	New chief executive at Defence Science and Technology Laboratory	Welcome to GOV.UK
United Kingdom	New facility for developing and testing Covid vaccines opened at Porton Down	Salisbury Journal
United States	DHS CWMD and Seattle Conduct a Biological Threat Preparedness Exercise	Homeland Security Today
United States	Senators Told CWMD Needs Big Changes After DHS’ ‘Painful’ Attempts to Upgrade Biodetection	Homeland Security Today
United States	'Highly pathogenic' Avian influenza detected in Suffolk County	'Highly pathogenic' Avian influenza detected in Suffolk County (news12.com)/
United States	Avian flu detected in Maine birds for the first time	Avian flu detected in Maine birds for the first time (wmtw.com)/
United States	New York City Study Sheds Light Over Biological Attack Response Strategy	New York City Study Sheds Light Over Biological Attack Response Strategy - iHLS (i-hls.com)/
United States	Blinken says Russian attack plans for Ukraine go beyond ‘conventional’ weapons "US Secretary of State’s remarks raise the possibility that Russia’s attack plans for Ukraine could include the use of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons"	Blinken says Russian attack plans for Ukraine go beyond ‘conventional’ weapons \| The Independent/
United States	Blinken slams Russia over Navalny trial that could extend jail term by 15 years "....The US government assessed that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) officers used the nerve agent Novichok to poison Navalny, causing him to fall gravely ill while he was travelling back to Moscow after campaigning in Tomsk and Novosibirsk. Following the assessment, the US imposed additional sanctions on Russia under the US Chemical and Biological Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act)...."	ThePrint/
United States	Research Biologist and Contractor Charged in Bribery Scheme at DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center	Global Biodefense \| News on Pathogens and Preparedness
United States	Bioterrorism FAQ	Bioterrorism FAQ \| DOH (wa.gov)/
United States	Draft Policy Statement for Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) and Animal BSL-4 (ABSL-4) Laboratory Verification; Notice of Availability	Federal Register
United States	Single-domain antibodies neutralize ricin toxin intracellularly by blocking access to ribosomal P stalk proteins.	single-domain-antibodies-neutralize-ricin-toxin-intracellularly-by-blocking-access-to-ribosomal-p-stalk-proteins (physiciansweekly.com)/
United States	DARPA ReVector program to reduce mosquito attraction to humans reaches second phase	DARPA ReVector program to reduce mosquito attraction to humans reaches second phase - Homeland Preparedness News (homelandprepnews.com)/
WHO	WHO doctors warn against complete reversals of COVID-19 restrictions	Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

February14

Africa	Africa's COVID-19 cases pass 11.03 mln: Africa CDC
Global	Biologie de synthèse : les instances internationales avancent dans le flou
Canada	Supercomputer helps Canadian researcher uncover thousands of viruses that could cause human diseases
Canada	Canada faces some trade restrictions on poultry due to bird flu found in Nova Scotia
DRC	Lessons from the DRC’s 10th Ebola epidemic: the people may know best
DRC	Ebola vaccine being used in Congo produces lasting antibody response, study finds
DRC	Measles: More than 350 cases reported in Budjala health zone, Sud-Ubangi
Global	Ebola can linger in brain fluid and trigger deadly relapse, monkey study suggests
European Union	Measures adopted by EU Member States on dual-use export control
Georgia	Tskhinvali KGB Targets Lugar Center, U.S. Health Facilities
Germany/Russian Federation	Germany exporting dual-use goods with possible military uses to Russia in breach of EU sanctions
Ghana	Surveillance for potentially zoonotic viruses in rodent and bat populations in an agricultural settlement in Ghana
Nigeria	National Biosafety Agency Launches Gene Editing Policy
Nigeria	NBMA policy move to secure Nigeria from health, environmental threats: Ikeazor "....Acting High Commissioner of Canada in Nigeria, Mr. Kevin Tokar, said Canada will continue to strengthen biosecurity and health security capacities in Africa....."
Russian Federation	Russian media spreading disinformation about US bioweapons as troops mass near Ukraine
Russian Federation/France	Macron refused to take Russian Covid test
South Africa	Lions in South Africa test positive for COVID-19
United Kingdom	Lassa fever: First death confirmed in UK from new outbreak
United Kingdom	UK health experts sound alarm after patient dies from Ebola-like virus carried by rats
United Nations	1540 Committee Chair delivered a video message to Workshop on Botswana’s 1540 National Implementation Action Plan
Global	https://www.un.org/en/sc/1540/assistance/request-for-assistance/current-requests-from-member-states.shtml
United States	Parking for Super Bowl Sunday Advertised for Up to $7,000 as LA Sheriff Preps Security Measures "....Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is converging around SoFi Stadium to keep the high profile event safe. Deputy Tom Mayberry showed Inside Edition his radiation tracking devices. His Labrador, Bear, is the only certified canine trained in the country to sniff out biological weapons...."
United States	Opinion: Coronavirus and Regulating Access to High-Risk Pathogens
United States	New York's plague of rats feared to be carrying new coronavirus variant through sewers
United States	Romney, Hassan Introduce Legislation to Improve Pandemic Preparedness & Response
United States	Chicken producers warn about fast-spreading bird flu spreading across US
United States	USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in a Commercial Turkey Flock in Dubois County, Indiana
United States	USDA announces expansion of wild bird surveillance for avian flu
United States	APHIS Announces Final Strategic Framework for Enhancing Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other Emerging Diseases Under the American Rescue Plan
United States	Nipah virus vaccine candidate Phase 1 clinical trial begins
United States	NIH uses $4.5M in grant funds to create collaborative research centers focused on Valley Fever
United States	United States Army Research Biologist and Contractor Charged in Bribery Scheme at Aberdeen Proving Ground
United States	Did the ‘Black Death’ Really Kill Half of Europe? New Research Says No.

February7

Africa	Africa not yet in endemic phase of COVID-19 pandemic – CDC director
Africa	Africa's COVID-19 cases near 10.9 mln: Africa CDC
Australia/UK	Pandemic preparedness: synthetic biology and publicly funded biofoundries can rapidly accelerate response time
Bangladesh	Challenges in the establishment of a biosafety testing laboratory for COVID-19 in Bangladesh
Brunéi Darussalam	One Health approach to prevent emergence of zoonotic pathogens
Burkina Faso	First avian flu cases confirmed in Burkina Faso
Canada	Opinion: Neglected diseases pose global threat
Canada	Avian flu detected in commercial flock in western Nova Scotia
China	Complete Protection Against Yersinia pestis in BALB/c Mouse Model Elicited by Immunization With Inhalable Formulations of rF1-V10 Fusion Protein via Aerosolized Intratracheal Inoculation
Deutschland	Terrorismus
DRC	Cross-sectional study of mental health and sexual behaviours for Ebola Survivors in Beni, Butembo and Katwa health zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo
DRC	Anthrax outbreak linked to consuming guinea pigs in South Kivu, DRC
Ghana	Bird flu infests 99,744 poultry in Central Region
Ghana/Canada	GCIC trains entrepreneurs on climate change
Global	Double Agents In Global Health
India	Threat, challenges, and preparedness for future pandemics: A descriptive review of phylogenetic analysis based predictions
India	iGEM Foundation to set up Indian league to boost synthetic biology in the country
Liberia	How the legacy of Liberia’s Ebola outbreak is improving the health of rural communities
New Zealand	Transmission models indicate Ebola virus persistence in non-human primate populations is unlikely
Nigeria	Govt to Combat Illegal Wildlife, Forest Crime
Global	".....Ikeazor disclosed that "we are commencing the Implementation of the National Biosecurity Policy and Action Plan 2022-2026, to guarantee a functional biosecurity system using the one-health approach to minimizing the risks of biological threats to the biodiversity and to humans...."
Nigeria	Why COVID-19 surveillance in Nigeria is critical
Nigeria	Nigeria reports more than 200 confirmed Lassa fever cases, 40 deaths in January
Poland	Nipah Virus–Another Threat From the World of Zoonotic Viruses

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Biological Security - Weekly Update - February 2022