Dutch Polio Vaccine Facility Had Lab Breach; WHO Extends Polio Emergency

CIDRAP: WHO Continues Global Polio Emergency As Breach Noted At Dutch Vaccine Facility 
In the Eurosurveillance report, Dutch researchers described a wild poliovirus type 3 detection in November 2022 as part of surveillance surrounding a polio lab in Bilthoven. One sewage sample was positive for infectious virus, which was genetically similar to vaccine stocks used at the facility. In addition, the study authors found slight mutation differences that hinted at human shedding. The investigators, using national and international protocols, conducted serologic testing and found that one employee likely had recently been infected. The fully vaccinated, asymptomatic employee's stool samples were positive for WPV3. (Schnirring, 2/2)

Stat: Polio Case Highlights Challenge Of Containing Virus After Eradication
An incident that took place at a Dutch polio vaccine production facility late last year is a critical reminder of a major challenge the world faces if and when polio eradication is completed: How do we keep polio from re-establishing itself, given that laboratories and vaccine manufacturers in numerous countries will need to continue to work with the viruses? (Branswell, 2/2)

On listeria and CWD —

CBS News: Employees Had Nowhere To Wash Hands At Ice Cream Factory Behind Listeria Outbreak, FDA Says
Employees at Big Olaf Creamery, the Florida-based creamery behind a multistate listeria outbreak last year, had nowhere to wash their hands before they entered the production room, according to an investigation conducted by the Food and Drug Administration. The outbreak killed at least one person and hospitalized 27 others across 11 states. (Howard, 2/2)

CIDRAP: US Experiencing Nationwide Shortage Of Tests For Chronic Wasting Disease 
The United States is experiencing a nationwide shortage of test kits for identifying chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids such as deer, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) said in a news release, noting that the backlog is causing "significant delays." The TWRA said it has a backlog of about 2,180 samples that cannot be processed until new tests arrive. The test manufacturer, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc, expects more test kits to become available by the end of the month. Before the shortage, the TWRA's testing turnaround time for deer samples submitted by hunters was 8 to 12 days. (Wappes, 2/2)

On RSV treatments —

NPR: New Treatment To Prevent Serious RSV Symptoms In Infants May Be Approved Soon
Cheryl Meany, a high school teacher from Camillus, N.Y., was excited when she learned she was carrying twins in 2014. But her joy quickly turned to worry as doctors flagged several health concerns, including possible brain lesions. So she needed a moment to process when her husband, a respiratory therapist, proposed enrolling the soon-to-be-born babies in an experimental study for an unrelated illness. (Mento, 2/2)

In updates about covid —

San Francisco Chronicle: “Put Your Mask On,” Bay Area Health Official Urges As Cases Hit Another Plateau
The decline in California’s COVID-19 infections has slowed substantially, with the state’s health department reporting 2,434 average cases per day — or about 6 per 100,000 residents — as of Thursday. That marks a small improvement over the 2,715 cases per day, or 7 per 100,000 residents, reported a week ago. Other metrics also show signs of plateauing. (Vaziri, 2/2)

San Francisco Chronicle: COVID In California: Most Virus Deaths In Older People, Study Confirms
Worldwide, over 80% of the people who died from COVID-19 in the first two years of the pandemic were over the age of 60, according to a new study. More than 5.4 million COVID-19 deaths were reported globally in 2020 and 2021, the report published Thursday by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that there were 14.9 million excess deaths during that time — indicating the actual toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is nearly three times the official tally. (Vaziri, 2/2)

CIDRAP: VA Drug Formulary May Have Limited Dispensing Of The Futile COVID Treatment Ivermectin 
Dispensing of the unproven COVID-19 treatment "potentially harmed patients while resulting in wasteful insurer spending," the authors wrote. They noted that the VA has a national formulary that may reduce prescribing of ineffective drugs; in September 2021, the VA developed national criteria that restricted ivermectin prescribing to parasitic infections but allowed decisions to be made on a case-by-case basis per local facility policy. (Van Beusekom, 2/2)

KHN: Au Revoir, Public Health Emergency 
The public health emergency in effect since the start of the covid-19 pandemic will end on May 11, the Biden administration announced this week. The end of the so-called PHE will bring about a raft of policy changes affecting patients, health care providers, and states. But Republicans in Congress, along with some Democrats, have been agitating for an end to the “emergency” designation for months. (2/2)

NPR: Who's Most Likely To Save The World From The Next Pandemic?
"So we're just gonna go in a freezer," says Tulio de Oliveira. We're at the institute that he directs, the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University near Cape Town, South Africa. And he's taking me to a cold storage room chilled to 20 degrees below freezing. He calls over his deputy, Yeshnee Naidoo, to lead the way. (Aizenman, 2/2)