Weekly Digest: White House calls for $1.2 billion in antibiotic resistance funding

An article published this week in Choices Magazine examines the economics of agricultural antibiotic use in the US. The study, co-authored by CDDEP Director Ramanan Laxminarayan, examines the economic value of antibiotics to the livestock industry and the potential effects of a ban on antibiotic growth products in U.S. swine and poultry farms. Laxminarayan cites the concerning statistic that four times as many antibiotics are sold for agricultural use in the US as for human medical use, and investigates potential policy implications using similar bans that were implemented in the European Union in 2006. [Choices]

President Obama is seeking to double federal funding to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The White House proposed a $1.2 billion investment in new drug development, antibiotic stewardship and surveillance programs and evaluation of antibiotic use in agriculture as part of the 2016 federal budget. CDDEP Director Laxminarayan was interviewed for a PBS Frontline article on the potential merits of the plan, calling the increase in funding “at a level that will actually make a significant impact on the problem.” [The White House, PBS Frontline]

The World Health Organization unanimously agreed to a resolution that will reform its responses to public health emergencies. The decision, made Sunday by the WHO executive board at a special session meeting, came after the organization received criticism regarding its slow and disorganized response to the recent Ebola epidemic. The executive board also named a new regional director for their Africa office, Botswanan physician Dr. Matshidiso Moeti. [WHO, The New York Times]

The US measles epidemic has spread to more than 90 people in 14 states. Arizona, the location of this Sunday’s Super Bowl game, is one of the states with a reported case of the disease, prompting public health concerns from officials who have warned that anyone without a vaccination should not attend the event. The CDC continues to urge Americans to vaccinate their children against measles, which had been declared eliminated in the US in 2000. [The Los Angeles Times, Reuters]

An index that quantifies the effects of pharmaceutical companies on combating infectious diseases was unveiled this week. The Global Health Impact Extending Access Index aims to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop and provide infectious disease drug therapies in low- and middle-income countries. The authors of the index estimated the alleviated burden of disease for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria drugs and created an impact score for each pharmaceutical company by combining the scores for the medications each company makes. Of the sixteen companies evaluated, drug makers Sanofi, Novartis and Shire Pharmaceuticals ranked the highest. [Global Health Impact, The Wall Street Journal]

Ebola cases in West Africa are at a nine-month low, as the most recent weekly WHO count of confirmed cases dropped below 100, the lowest reported incidence since June of 2014. The WHO declared this week that the aim of the Ebola fight has now shifted from control to ending the epidemic entirely, and highlighted that this remains a formidable challenge. [World Health Organization]

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria may travel through wind-carried dust on farm feedlots, increasing the spread of resistance in agricultural sites in the US, found a paper published last week in Environmental Health Perspectives. The paper found that resistant bacteria were more prevalent downwind in cattle yards, implying that wind dispersal is a factor in the spread of such pathogens. [Environmental Health Perspectives]

A rise in multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in Zimbabwe has health officials in the country concerned. The near-doubling of MDR-TB rates is particularly concerning as overall tuberculosis cases in the country had declined in recent years, meaning a greater proportion of those with the disease may now have a drug-resistant case. Zimbabwe has struggled with efforts to combat TB for years; the nation had the fourth-highest incidence in the world in 2009. [Inter Press Service]

Patients respond better to placebos classified as “expensive”, according to a study done on patients with Parkinson’s disease published in Neurology this week. The study found that both placebos achieved the desired effect of increased motor function in patients, but those randomly assigned a drug labeled as more expensive improved to a greater degree, implying that cost perception may alter patient response to drug therapies. [Neurology]

Researchers at the Institute of Bioengineering and Technology have developed a rapid diagnostic test for dengue fever. The paper-based diagnostic uses saliva to uncover the presence of antibodies for the virus within twenty minutes—an innovation that would save critical time on the process, which normally requires a blood sample be taken to a nearby lab. [Lab on a Chip]

CDDEP is seeking to hire a Research Analyst in Economics for its New Delhi, India office. For more information and to apply, visit CDDEP’s jobs page. [CDDEP]