Situation Report

A September 2008 photo released by the Ocean Conservancy on March 10, 2009, shows a trash-covered beach in Manilla, Philippines. (Tamara Thoreson Pierce/Ocean Conservancy/AP)

CLICK HERE - REPORT - World Economic Forum - The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Independent study tallies 'true catch' of global fishing

washingtonpost.com - by Sarah Kaplan - January 20, 2016

There is a lot of plastic in the world’s oceans.

It coagulates into great floating “garbage patches” that cover large swaths of the Pacific. It washes up on urban beaches and remote islands, tossed about in the waves and transported across incredible distances before arriving, unwanted, back on land. It has wound up in the stomachs of more than half the world’s sea turtles and nearly all of its marine birds, studies say . . .

. . . But that quantity pales in comparison with the amount that the World Economic Forum expects will be floating into the oceans by the middle of the century.

Officials confirm new cases of Zika virus.  James Gathany/AP Photo

CLICK HERE - CDC - Interim Guidelines for Pregnant Women During a Zika Virus Outbreak — United States, 2016

abcnews.go.com - by Gillian Mohney - January 20, 2016

The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne pathogen that has been linked to a rise of birth defects in Brazil, has been found in at least five people this month in the U.S., prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to release new guidelines for pregnant women.

The new interim guidelines issued by the CDC on Tuesday advise doctors to ask all pregnant women if they have recently traveled to a country where the a Zika virus outbreak is ongoing. The CDC has also advised any pregnant women who have traveled to countries with the Zika virus to get tested for the virus if they are have two or more symptoms of the virus.

The illness often results in fever, joint pain and rash, health officials said. There is no cure or vaccine for the virus besides supportive care.

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The mosquito-borne illness may cause birth defects that include a small head and developmental problems.

CLICK HERE - CDC - Travel Health Notices

huffingtonpost.com - by Anna Almendrala - January 15, 2016

People traveling to Central America and South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean, should take special precautions against mosquito bites because of an outbreak of Zika virus, a previously rare disease that may be linked to serious birth defects. Pregnant women should consider avoiding the region, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised.

The CDC on Friday issued a "Level 2" travel notice for Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico, as well as the Caribbean islands Haiti and Martinique. A Level 2 notice means that Americans should "practice enhanced precautions" while on their trip and that, in this case, pregnant women should consider not going.

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nam.edu - January 13, 2016

CLICK HERE - National Academy of Medicine - Global Health Risk Framework - The Neglected Dimension of Global Security: A Framework to Counter Infectious Disease Crises

CLICK HERE - REPORT - The Neglected Dimension of Global Security: A Framework to Counter Infectious Disease Crises (144 page .PDF report)

The Global Health Risk Framework (GHRF) initiative will build on lessons from the current Ebola outbreak and other major outbreaks to develop a comprehensive framework for improving our response to future global public health threats. The Commission will rigorously analyze options for improving governance, finance, health system resilience, and research and development for global health security. To foster trust internationally with various levels of government, civil society, academia, and industry, the Commission intends to keep the framework from being influenced by politics or the interests of any one country or organization.