Recent News

By Region: North America

TB outbreaks could be ‘solved’ by DNA tracking

(EurekAlert) Reconstructing the spread of killer diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) from person to person using DNA sequencing quickly identifies the origin and movement of pathogens. This approach is directly informing public health strategies to control infectious disease outbreaks, says a scientist speaking at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn Conference at the University of Read More »

September 4, 2012
| Filed under North America, Public Health, and Research
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As pretty as a picture (but a lot more deadly): Killer diseases as you’ve never seen them before

(Mail Online) They look like works of modern art but these incredible images actually show some of the world’s deadliest diseases – including the Black Death and anthrax. Many of the specimens can have devastating affects on the human body and have caused major epidemics. But the bacteria, invisible to the naked eye, are shown Read More »

September 4, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Research
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Ebola in Uganda – update

(World Health Organization) There have been no new confirmed cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever reported in Kibaale district, Uganda, since 3 August 2012, indicating that the outbreak is coming to an end. A total of 24 probable and confirmed cases including 17 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the outbreak. Of these, 11 Read More »

September 4, 2012
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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Anti-HIV drug simulation offers ‘realistic’ tool to predict drug resistance and viral mutation

(EurekAlert) Pooling data from thousands of tests of the antiviral activity of more than 20 commonly used anti-HIV drugs, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and Harvard universities have developed what they say is the first accurate computer simulation to explain drug effects. Already, the model clarifies how and why some treatment regimens fail in some Read More »

September 3, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Public Health, and Research
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Kofi Annan’s memoir: Did Colin Powell doubt his own WMD claims?

(The Week) Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has called the run-up to the Iraq invasion “a blot” on his distinguished career. But if he’s trying not to think about it, he’s out of luck. Kofi Annan, who was secretary-general of the United Nations during the lead-up to war, is releasing a new memoir — Read More »