The first U.S. case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was diagnosed here in Washington State – bringing home, quite literally, the fact that pathogens know no borders, and highlighting the importance of local public health expertise and coordinated response.

The University of Washington Global Innovation Fund provides support for programs and initiatives that enhance the university’s global engagement through research partnerships, study abroad programs, faculty exchanges, and more. The fund, administered by the Department of Global Affairs, focuses on interdisciplinary and cross-college collaboration in their projects.

Following are the speakers who took part in the Coronavirus and Pandemic Disease Preparedness: What We Know and the Way Forward event on February 19, 5:30-7:30, in UW Seattle, and the event agenda. For a video of the event click here.

Gathering information in real time that is critical to gaining a better understanding of the coronavirus is the goal of a project being undertaken by UW Assistant Professor David Pigott, as part of team that includes multiple organizations around the world. The team is tracking publicly reported confirmed cases of the 2019 novel Coronavirus throughout the world.

Judd Walson, Vice Chair of the Department of Global Health, is the principal investigator on a $3.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant, titled The CHAIN Consortium, will analyze samples collected from an observational study at nine sites in Africa and South Asia with the purpose of gaining a better understanding of risk factors to child mortality rates that could be targeted by interventions. 

The news seemed to be positive: The number of new coronavirus cases reported in China over the past week suggested that the outbreak might be slowing — that containment efforts were working.

But on Thursday, officials added more than 14,840 cases to the tally of the infected in Hubei province alone, bringing the total number to 48,206, the largest one-day increase so far recorded. The death toll in the province rose to 1,310, including 242 new deaths.

Medical trainees want to help in less-resourced countries. But short-term programs can misread local needs, overburden hosts, and send students into situations they're not prepared to handle. Here’s how leaders are ensuring ethical, effective experiences.

A new coronavirus outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has spread throughout Asia and globally, has prompted people around the world to buy medical face masks in hopes of preventing infection.

Japan already had several confirmed coronavirus cases when a giant cruise ship arrived at the port of Yokohama last week.

Now, with the disclosure that 64 people from that ship have tested positive for the virus, Japan is scrambling to prevent a larger outbreak even as it prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors for the Summer Olympics starting in Tokyo in July.

Cervical cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in women in 42 low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), with the highest age-standardised incidence rates (40 cases per 100 000 women-years) occurring in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The gross disparity of the burden of this highly preventable disease, whereby 290 000 (51%) of the 570 000 new cases estimated to occur annually befall women in LMICs, has led many people to call attention to the need for urgent action.