What We're Reading: US Forms Partnership to Fight Superbugs

A trans-Atlantic, public-private partnership has been formed to fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as superbugs. Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) grew out of a 2015 Obama administration initiative and will receive $250 million over the next 5 years from HHS, according to The Wall Street Journal. The venture will provide money to small companies and laboratories that are in the earliest stages of creating ways to combat superbugs.

The FDA has halted blood collection in 2 Florida counties amid a Zika virus probe. The Washington Post reported that while the counties are investigating possible local transmission of the virus, blood centers have been asked to stop collecting blood until they can implement the use of an approved or investigational pathogen-inactivation technology.

Friday morning Florida Governor Rick Scott confirmed that while no mosquitoes in the state have tested positive for Zika, the 4 infections being investigated likely came from local mosquitoes. AP reported that the infections were believed to have occurred in a small area north of downtown Miami. These cases represent the first cases of local transmission by mosquitos in the continental United States.