Recent News

By Region: North America

Florida man admits producing, selling ricin

(Miami Herald) A Florida man pleaded guilty Tuesday to producing and selling ricin and abrin and sending some of the deadly toxin overseas to a woman who wanted to kill her mother. Jesse William Korff, 19, pleaded guilty in federal court in New Jersey to several counts of producing, developing, possessing and smuggling the toxins Read More »

August 13, 2014
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Biocrimes
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WHO OKs use of experimental drugs for Ebola patients in West Africa

(Los Angeles Times) A World Health Organization panel advised Tuesday that it was ethical to use experimental, non-approved drugs to combat the Ebola virus in West Africa, and that five such treatments were being considered for “compassionate use”. “There was unanimous agreement among the experts,” said Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant director general of health systems Read More »

August 13, 2014
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, International, and Public Health
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DoD Establishes Ebola Task Force

(Global Biodefense) Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has established an internal Ebola task force to evaluate how the department can most effectively support overarching U.S. government and international efforts to prevent further transmission of the virus, the Pentagon press secretary said today.

August 11, 2014
| Filed under Africa, North America, Countermeasures, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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Water Safe To Drink in Ohio’s Fourth Largest City

(Associated Press) Two days after warning some 400,000 people in Ohio and Michigan not to drink their tap water, the mayor of Ohio’s fourth-largest city declared on Monday that the water was now safe and took a sip.The city lifted the advisory after dozens of tests over the weekend showed an algae-induced toxin contaminating Lake Read More »

August 4, 2014
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biosafety, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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U.S. CDC lab inspectors may have risked public safety: documents

(Reuters) U.S. laboratory inspectors charged with protecting the public from the release of deadly pathogens were repeatedly criticized by a federal watchdog for overlooking biosafety lapses long before this year’s anthrax scare at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Newly released federal documents show that oversight gaps at the CDC Division of Select Read More »