Recent News

By Region: North America

Evolution of bird flu,and the race to keep up

(Indian Express) On May 20, a 10-year-old girl in rural Cambodia got a fever. Five days later, she was admitted to a hospital, and after two days of intensive care she was dead. The girl was the most recent documented victim of the influenza virus H5N1, a strain that has caused 606 known human cases Read More »

July 2, 2012
| Filed under North America, South Asia, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
Share

More than 100 nations support new strategy on livestock disease FAO/OIE Global Strategy to control Foot-and-Mouth Disease benefits farmers and consumers

Bangkok – Farmers and consumers stand to benefit from a new global strategy to control the spread of a deadly livestock disease that was endorsed today by representatives from more than 100 countries and international donors at a conference in Bangkok organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Read More »

July 2, 2012
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, South Asia, Agriculture, and Countermeasures
Share

It’s time to get serious about chemical and biological preparedness

(Government Security News) In Washington, attention has shifted from the daily grind towards a hyper-partisan presidential campaign. Battle lines are sharply cast between Republican challenger, Governor Mitt Romney, and the incumbent, President Barack Obama. While all eyes are on the economy, national security challenges abound. Obama’s killing of Bin Laden and targeting terrorists with Predator Read More »

June 29, 2012
| Filed under Africa, North America, Bioterrorism, Countermeasures, International, and Policy & Initiatives
Share

Ebola and Marburg Hemorrhagic Fevers: Neglected Tropical Diseases?

(PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases) Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) and Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF) are rare viral diseases, endemic to central Africa. The overall burden of EHF and MHF is small in comparison to the more common protozoan, helminth, and bacterial diseases typically referred to as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). However, EHF and MHF outbreaks typically Read More »

June 29, 2012
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
Share

Bio-Weapons Crusader Calls For Tighter Research Oversight

(AOL Defense) WASHINGTON: One of the grand old men of biodefense, Dr. Matthew Meselson, left his Harvard lab and came to Washington to call for greater international cooperation in monitoring new diseases, whether they arise in the wild or in the lab. The Department of Homeland Security’s process for reviewing potentially dangerous research, he said Read More »