Biological Security - Weekly Update - October 2021

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.

October25

Africa	The virologist preparing Africa for the next pandemic
Africa/CDC	Africa CDC: The continent's COVID-19 infections surpass 8.45 mln
Africa	South-to-South Mentoring as a Vehicle for Implementing Sustainable Health Security in Africa
Africa/US	$34.5 Million to Advance Ebola Sudan and Marburg Virus Vaccines
Africa/US	How 8 U.S. diplomats fought the 2014 Ebola epidemic
Africa/US	Ridgeback Biotherapeutics Responds to 13th Ebola Outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo
DRC	Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak Emergency Action Plan (EPoA) DREF Operation n° MDRCD034
FAO	Food animals driving zoonoses
Germany	COVID-19 highlights risks of wildlife trade
Ghana/Canada	Plan Ghana, Global Affairs Canada, empowers rural women in Ghana "....Explaining how rural women can be empowered amidst covid19 pandemic coupled with other challenges, Lilian Bruce, Gender and Influencing Specialist at Plan International Ghana said, “eliminating gender, sexual and domestic violence and harmful practices among other interventions would enable women and girls to recover from the current global challenges including that of COVID-19 and position them on the path to sustainable economic growth.”..."
Global	Global One Health Day
Global	How environmental damage can lead to new diseases
India	Nipah virus: Threat neutralised in Kerala, says health minister Veena George...
OPCW	In Aftermath Of Navalny Poisoning, Chemical-Weapons Group Tiptoes Toward Unprecedented Step
Philippines	Amending the Wildlife Protection Act
Russian Federation	In harm’s way: Our actions put people and wildlife at risk of disease
Rwanda	Exploring the potential effect of COVID-19 on an endangered great ape
Uganda	Zoonotic diseases challenge conservation efforts in Western Uganda
United Kingdom	Are No Time To Die's Designer Diseases Possible in Real Life? The Science Behind Bond
United States	The US must separate nuclear deterrence from biological weapons
United States	1st Area Medical Laboratory leaders forge partnerships at German Biodefense Conference
United States	In the calm before the superbug storm, the world needs to prepare
United States	Sen. Murray promotes $1.85B budget increase for CDC, public health funding amidst pandemic
United States	House approves sweeping bipartisan bill to revamp Strategic National Stockpile
United States	Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Expand Urban Area Security Initiative Funding
United States	Feds Start Bio-Attack Readiness Test With Non-Toxic Gas Release in NYC Parks, Subways
United States	'Don't be alarmed!' US carries out eerie drill to imitate 'chemical attack' on NYC
United States	New Yorkers share opinions on the dispersal of non-toxic gas in the subways
United States	NYMC Center of Excellence in Precision Responses to Bioterrorism and Disasters Receives $250,000 in Funding
United States	Walmart Recalls Room Spray After Deaths ".....The US Department of Defense recently gave the University of Hawaii $3 million to develop a vaccine for the disease, which has a 50% mortality rate and could be used in biowarfare, CBS News reports....."
United States	To find zoonotic viruses, researchers seek genomic signatures of virus adaptations to hosts
United States	Animal disease surveillance
United States	53rd unit tests container against chemical/biological attacks
Global	Viral and Host Attributes Underlying the Origins of Zoonotic Coronaviruses in Bats
WHO	WHO recommends seven policies to build health system resilience, renew health security
WHO	WHO unveils action plan to address findings of Independent Commission on DRC SEA allegations

October18

Africa/Kenya	Africa CDC launches regional collaboration facility in Kenya to boost disease fight
Africa	Two of Africa's COVID-19 experts are leaving the continent. Is this a brain drain or gain for Africa?
Africa	COVID-19’s impact on overall health care services in Africa
Australia	New Type of Hendra Virus Detected in Flying Foxes in Broad Region of Australia
Global	Biosurveillance of markets and legal wildlife trade needed to curb pandemic risk: Experts
Canada	The military as a neglected pathogen transmitter and its implications for COVID-19: A systematic review
Canada / C‌hina⁠	Exit of top public health agency official leaves questions on Chinese military involvement with high-security disease lab
Caribbean	COVID-19 Biosafety in the Caribbean Requires Solidarity, Expert Says
China/US	China is promoting a boatload of misinformation about Maine lobster
China/Russian Federation	China and Russia: A new bioweapons tango
Côte d’Ivoire/Guinea-Bissau	Leprosy in wild chimpanzees
DRC	DRC Ebola outbreak could be worst ever
DRC	Three new Ebola cases confirmed in eastern Congo
DRC	Democratic Republic of the Congo starts Ebola vaccination
DRC	Fears that Ebola 'lurks under the radar' of immune system as new cases linked to past outbreak
Congo/Chile	From Congo to Chile, small labs are playing a growing role in global understanding of COVID
Gabon	Au Gabon, les chasseurs de brousse sous surveillance
Gabon	CIRMF: les Etats-Unis prêts à accompagner le Gabon en matière de biosûreté et de biosécurité
Global	Gain-of-function research isn’t the problem. Gain-of-virulence isn’t either
Germany	COVID: German infectious disease chief receives death threats
Ghana/Canada	WHO Ghana supports ongoing COVID-19 vaccine rollout with digital tablets
Guinea	FAO and USAID help Guinea upgrade veterinary laboratories to fight infectious diseases
India	Toxic blister agents: Chemistry, mode of their action and effective treatment strategies
India	Govt launches 'One Health' consortium for surveillance of bacterial, viral infections
India	What it means to work in a Biosafety Level-4 laboratory at NIV
India	Terror outfits benefited during pandemic as people spent more time online
Japan	Scientists identify emerging infectious disease caused by a new nairovirus in Japan
Japan	Japan's vaccine minister visits infectious diseases institute
Kenya	The killer disease ravaging goats and sheep in Turkana, West Pokot
Laos	Newly Discovered Bat Viruses Give Hints to Covid’s Origins
Nigeria	LASG Moves To Ensure Biosecurity In The State
Nigeria	Lagos to Host Conference on Biosecurity, One Health
Nigeria	Experts harp on genomic intelligence to fight diseases, produce vaccines
Nigeria	About 1,500 Nigerians die of rabies annually, says FAO
Nigeria	Nigeria’s Biosafety System is Safe to Human Health, Says NEMA DG
Global	Opinion: It's time for leaders to tackle another deadly viral disease
Pakistan	AQ Khan's death doesn't stop the threat of nuclear proliferation
Philippines	PH moves up 37 places in terms of strategic trade
Global	Preparing for “Disease X”
RDC	RDC: un deuxième cas d’Ebola détecté dans l’Est
South Sudan	Strengthening yellow fever laboratory testing capacities in South Sudan
Thailand	Exporters told to equip for weapons rule
Thailand	Exporters sign up to anti-WMD proliferation trade controls "....The TCWMD Act came into full force in early 2020. The new act is in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution No.1540 from April 28, 2004..."
Uganda	Uganda edges toward accepting biotechnology as climate challenges mount
Uganda	Kanunga on alert after ebola outbreak in DRC
United Kingdom	Nipah virus could cause another deadly pandemic, warns the inventor of AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine
United Kingdom	A Scoping Review on Category A Agents as Bioweapons
United Kingdom	Safety breaches investigated at UK labs that deal with deadly viruses
United Kingdom	New Bond film 'almost on the mark' showing terrorists able to create pandemics experts say
United Kingdom	Plant biosecurity strategy for Great Britain
Ukraine	Defense Council approves strategy of Ukraine’s biosafety, biosecurity
United States	Statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the Global Health Security Agenda Annual Report
United States	Commission Warns Federal Biodetection System Still Does Not Work, 20 years After Deadly Anthrax Attacks
United States	Raise America’s biodefenses, finally
United States	MITRE panel: Maintain warp speed in preparation for next global health crisis
United States	20 years after anthrax attacks, report finds U.S. government still behind on biodetection
United States	Lesson of the Day: ‘Past Pandemics Remind Us Covid Will Be an Era, Not a Crisis That Fades’
United States	WSU to Lead USAID’s Global Sampling Project for Discovery of Emerging Viral Zoonoses
United States	Ticking Time Bomb ‘Insane’ plan to collect 12,000 deadly viruses unveiled by US gov – but expert warns research could spark next pandemic
United States	Detecting and Deterring Biological Threats, Then and Now
United States	Detecting and Deterring Biological Threats
United States	New Controls on Biotech Software May Restrict Exports, Trigger CFIUS Filings
United States	K-State gets $3.4 million for new infectious disease lab
United States	Petitions Filed with Federal Agencies to Ban Trade in Wild Mammals and Birds
United States	20th CBRNE Command recognizes retired generals with Defender of Liberty Award
United States	U.S. Army civilian participates in ‘Tough as Nails’ competition television series
United States	IG investigation probes whether DC crime lab tried to keep information from defense attorneys
United States	U of Tennessee health center lands $3.2M for lab upgrade
United States	Emergent BioSolutions begins phase 3 study of chikungunya virus vaccine candidate
United States	Reporting all biosafety errors could improve labs worldwide – and increase public trust in biological research
United States	Looking Back at the Biological Threat Reduction Program Through the Decades
United States	How Long Island became a hotbed of espionage during the Cold War
United States	New Versatile Composite Fabric Helps Deactivate Biological, Chemical Threats
United States	How the Nipah virus jumped from humans to animals has shaped the search for covid's origins
United States	Rep. Swallwell introduces bills to improve intelligence gathering and response for biological threats
United States	CBP adding new radiation detectors at ports to find weapons of mass destruction
United States	‘Fauci’ review: A noble attempt to add context to a hero
United States	Suffolk Closeup: How did Lyme Disease start?
United States	Feds Prepared ‘Deadly Force Countermeasures’ Ahead of ‘Storm Area 51’ Rally, Documents Reveal
United States	Job Opening
WHO	WHO/Europe and GOARN – second simulation exercise for Rapid Response Mobile Laboratories for stronger emergency response preparedness
WHO	WHO to send in experts to prevent sexual abuse after Congo scandal
WHO	The world must be better prepared for “Disease X” – WHO
WHO	WHO launches a new group to study the origins of the coronavirus
WHO	WHO names researchers to reboot outbreak origin investigations
Zambia	Suspected typhoid outbreak confirmed in Zambian capital
Zambia	Misinformation still hindering COVID-19 uptake in Zambia
Zimbabwe (Rhodesia)/South Africa	Deadly medicine: Poison and warfare

October12

Global	Addressing Biocrises After Covid-19: Is Deterrence An Option?
Africa	Africa's Covid-19 cases near 8.39 mn: Africa CDC
Africa	Moderna initiates Africa-based mRNA facility
Global	Another Global Pandemic is Spreading: Among Pigs
Bangladesh	Bangladesh adds additional Nipah virus case/death to 2020 tally
Bolivia	Bolivia refuerza condenas al terrorismo y armas de destrucción masiva
BWC ISU	Delegation from Kyrgyzstan \| 3-day Preparatory Meeting of a BWC Peer Review Exercise
Cambodia/China	Dual-use infrastructure projects cause of concern in the Indo-Pacific
Canada	Senior Indo-Canadian bureaucrat Harpeet Kochhar appointed chief of Canada’s Public Health Agency
Canada/Bermuda/PAHO/WHO	New PAHO/WHO Representative To Bermuda
Canada	Inside the murky, high-stakes investigation into New Brunswick's mystery illness
China	Xi stresses improving biosecurity risk control, management system
China	China, Russia urge strengthening of BWC: UN envoy
Comoros	United States Provides $200,000 for Urgent COVID-19 Assistance to Comoros
Global	Confronting future pandemics: what could a new treaty resolve beyond the IHR?
Côte d’Ivoire	Le gouvernement envisage de renforcer la répression contre les armes bactériologiques
Global	COVID-19 leads to African agricultural innovation
DRC	Ebola reemerges in North Kivu, DRC
DRC	Toddler dies of Ebola after 3 suspicious deaths in DRC; 148 contacts identified
DRC	WHO Ebola report: Commission set up to seek sanctions against perpetrators of sexual exploitation and abuse
DRC	Meningitis outbreak in DR Congo update
Global	From the plague to COVID: How epidemics shape(d) history
Guinea	Papers show what lay behind Condé regime’s Ebola denialism in Guinea
India	CRPF creates CBRN attack combat teams
Jamaica/PAHO/Caribbean	Beware spread of other diseases like COVID-19, PAHO tells region
Jamaica/PAHO/Caribbean	PAHO Member Countries Urged to Leverage ‘One Health’ Policy
Global	Machine learning may predict zoonotic potential of viral genomes
Global	Madagascar battles killer plague
Malaysia	Setting up Genomes and Vaccines Institute will address zoonotic threats
Nigeria	OFAB Day: NABDA lauds platform for defending emerging technology
Nigeria	Diplomats score Lagos govt high on COVID-19
PAHO	PAHO calls for more concerted action to prevent animal to human diseases, announces agreements to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines
Global	Pandemics :One Health preparedness for the next
Global	Past Pandemics Remind Us Covid Will Be an Era, Not a Crisis That Fades
RDC	La RDC signale un cas confirmé de la maladie à virus Ebola
Global	Reporting all biosafety errors could improve labs worldwide and increase public trust in biological research
Russian Federation	Now climate change is blamed for the spread of BUBONIC PLAGUE: Black Death is able to reach more areas due to global warming, Russia's top doctor warns
Global	‘Spillover’ diseases are emerging faster than ever before thanks to humans
Global	The Inescapable Dilemma of Infectious Disease
Global	The origin of COVID-19: Evidence piles up, but the jury’s still out
United Kingdom	UK Health Security Agency launches with a relentless focus on keeping the nation safe
United Kingdom	NIPAH WARNING: Delta-variant of virus could kill 50%
United Kingdom	Researchers Using AI To Track the Next Zoonotic Diseases
United Kingdom	Movie Review: Daniel Craig’s Bond exits in big, brash ‘No Time to Die’ "....Bond’s old nemesis Spectre and a rival crew are fighting for control of Heracles, a DNA-targeting biological weapon that could wipe out humanity. (A potential killer inside us: Maybe the real world is not so far away after all.)..."
United Kingdom	Sharri Markson’s book on Covid’s Wuhan lab leak theory raises more questions than it answers
Ukraine	Public Health System Recovery and Resilience Capacity Building in Ukraine
United Nations	Statement on behalf of the Chair of the 1540 Committee during Twenty-First Regular Session of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism of the Organization of American States
United States	20 Years After the Anthrax Attacks, We’re Still Unprepared
United States	2001 anthrax attacks were the catalyst for today's COVID defenses
United States	Op-Ed: The 2001 anthrax attacks, a tough history lesson
United States	New York to test readiness for biological attack by deploying ‘safe gas’ in subways and parks
United States	The next COVID-19 could be so much worse
United States	Continuing Enhanced National Surveillance for Prion Diseases in the U.S.
United States	Critical Infrastructure Sectors and DHS Must Prepare More for Biothreats, Report Warns
United States	Insidious Scourge \| Critical Infrastructure At Biological Risk \| Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense
Global	https://homelandprepnews.com/stories/74104-bipartisan-commission-on-biodefense-warns-of-biological-threats-to-critical-u-s-infrastructure/
United States	MIT Researchers Make Progress on Antibiotic Resistance Under DTRA-JSTO Research Program
United States	Artificial Intelligence Seed Projects Announced at Army’s Chemical Biological Center
United States	We're Already Barreling Toward The Next Pandemic
United States	Biological Weapons Policy Act seeks crackdown on bioweapons, countries of concern
United States	HHS tabs Emory University for disaster healthcare demonstration
United States	UW joins USAID’s $125M project to detect emerging viruses with pandemic potential
United States	Emergent lands another big money contract from BARDA for anthrax
United States	CSU awarded $6.7 million NIH award for research facility focused on bat health, disease transmission
United States	Plague vaccine development: Dynavax and DOD come to agreement
United States	A Biodefense Fusion Center to Improve Disease Surveillance and Early Warnings to Enhance National Security
WHO	Covid-19: Chikwe Ihekweazu: “It’s a rare privilege” to lead new pandemic hub

October4

Africa

Africa CDC head 'honored' by Biden's intent for PEPFAR n

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Biological Security - Weekly Update - October 2021