Recent News

By Region: North America

CDC using new technology to track Blue Bell listeria cases

The government is relying on some new technology — as well as a bit of luck — to track an outbreak of life-threatening listeria linked to Blue Bell ice cream products.

April 23, 2015
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, and Public Health
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Iowa Farm To Kill 5 Million Chickens In Effort To Contain Avian Flu : The Two-Way : NPR

A farm in Iowa is going to destroy more than five million of its chickens in an attempt to curb the spread of the highly infectious avian flu. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the H5N2 avian influenza outbreak Monday, adding that the agency says that there is little chance that humans could become infected.

April 23, 2015
| Filed under North America, Agriculture, and Public Health
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Biosecurity: DHS Seeks RFID Tracking of Select Agents

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Chemical Biological Defense Division is seeking proposals to develop, integrate and implement a standardized Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-capable, user-friendly, inventory tracking system that ensures the safety of Select Agents within select public health laboratory facilities nationwide.

April 2, 2015
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Countermeasures
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Smiths Detection Awarded 23M for Chemical Agent Detectors

The U.S. federal government has recently awarded several notable contracts related to the field of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) countermeasures or life science research of interest for potential applications in biodefense.

March 30, 2015
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, and Countermeasures
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New hepatitis C drugs cost government $4.5B

The federal government spent a whopping $4.5 billion on costly new drugs to cure hepatitis C among Medicare patients last year, a steep price that is likely to keep growing, federal records show.