Recent News

By Region: North America

Scores of labs may have received live anthrax samples from Army facility

(LA Times) An Army bio-defense facility in Utah may have mistakenly sent live anthrax samples to 51 commercial companies, academic institutions and federal labs without proper safeguards, more than double the total disclosed last week, a widening Pentagon investigation has found.

H5N2 turns up in Kentucky wild birds

The H5N2 avian influenza virus has made its Kentucky debut with a detection in two wild waterfowl, federal officials announced today, signaling the pathogen’s easternmost appearance in the United States.

Everything You Want to Know About the Bird Flu Outbreak

Sixteen states have reported cases of highly pathogenic H5 avian flu among flocks of birds like turkeys and chickens as well as wild birds since last December, resulting in the culling of at least 30 million birds. Recently, the disease was confirmed in a flock of 1.7 million chickens in Nebraska. Other states have also  Read More »

Iowa Governor Declares State Of Emergency Due To Bird Flu Outbreak

Iowa, the top egg-producing state in the United States, is the third state to declare a state of emergency because of the viral outbreak, which either has led or will lead to the extermination of up to 21 million chickens and turkeys nationwide.

BMC develops protocol for preserving forensic evidence after a terrorist attack

Boston Medical Center (BMC) pathologists have developed a set of protocols for processing and preserving forensic evidence, such as shrapnel, bullets and other projectiles, in surgical specimens (i.e. amputated limbs, injured organs, etc.) after a terrorist attack based on lessons learned from the Boston Marathon bombing. Their findings are published online in advance of print  Read More »