Recent News

By Region: North America

D.C.’s Public Health Laboratory Gets Federal Approval to Open Region’s First Biosafety Level 3 Lab

(LabManager) The District has received approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin operations at the first Biosafety Level 3 laboratory in the national capital region, Department of Forensic Sciences Director Max Houck announced. That means the city’s Public Health Laboratory can now conduct biological analysis that will identify dozens of materials Read More »

November 7, 2013
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, and Research
Share

Next Steps in U.S.-Iran Diplomacy: Vaccines

(PacificStandard) September’s historic dialogue between President Obama and Iran’s President Rouhani together with calls to seek constructive engagement opens the door to a little known but powerful foreign policy instrument, which could simultaneously create new life-saving vaccines. The cornerstone of vaccine diplomacy is two or more countries putting aside their ideological differences to engage in Read More »

November 7, 2013
| Filed under Middle East, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
Share

US trains Uganda in disaster management

(NewVision) The US government has started training Ugandan officials on the best epidemics preparedness and management techniques. Organised by the disaster preparedness programme of the US Africa Command, the four-day training has attracted officials from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), health ministry, Police and the army.

November 6, 2013
| Filed under Africa, North America, International, and Public Health
Share

Vietnam Releases Dengue-Blocking Mosquito

(Time) Nguyen Thi Yen rolls up the sleeves of her white lab coat and delicately slips her arms into a box covered by a sheath of mesh netting. Immediately, the feeding frenzy begins. Hundreds of mosquitoes light on her thin forearms and swarm her manicured fingers. They spit, bite and suck until becoming drunk with Read More »

November 5, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Countermeasures, International, and Public Health
Share

Closer to vaccine against C. difficile

(ScienceDaily) A group of leading scientists from across Europe have launched a three-year project aimed at developing an oral vaccine against Clostridium difficile, an infection that kills around 4,000 people a year (almost four-times more than MRSA) and for which there is currently no effective treatments.