Recent News

By Region: North America

University of Maryland School of Medicine finds gut bacteria play key role in vaccination

(EurekAlert) The bacteria that live in the human gut may play an important role in immune response to vaccines and infection by wild-type enteric organisms, according to two recent studies resulting from a collaborative effort between the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute for Genome Sciences and the Center for Vaccine Development. The first Read More »

June 6, 2013
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, Public Health, and Research
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World Health Agency Gets a Grip on Its Budget

(ScientificAmerican) Just three years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) was in deep financial trouble, with a US$300-million deficit. Today the agency’s future looks healthier. Last week, the World Health Assembly — the annual gathering in Geneva, Switzerland, of health ministers of the WHO’s 194 governing member states — voted in favor of major budgetary Read More »

June 5, 2013
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)

(WHO) The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia has notified WHO of an additional laboratory-confirmed case with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). The patient is a 14-year-old girl with underlying medical conditions who became ill on 29 May 2013. She is reported from the Eastern region, but not from Al-Ahsa where an outbreak began Read More »

June 5, 2013
| Filed under Europe, Middle East, North America, International, and Public Health
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Of Mosquitoes And Men: Scientists Discover How Disease-carrying Vectors Are Attracted To Humans

(Science2.0) Female mosquitoes are predators of mammalian blood, relying on blood proteins to lay their eggs. While certain mosquito species are attracted to mammals by their emission of body heat and carbon dioxide, other species, such as Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti, have evolved a strong lust for the smell of humans. Such mosquitoes are Read More »

June 5, 2013
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Public Health, and Research
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Not too early to vaccinate for anthrax

(BovineVeterinarian) Now is the time for livestock producers to get their animals vaccinated against anthrax. “Conditions this year are conducive to the development of anthrax,” warns Charlie Stoltenow, North Dakota State University Extension Service veterinarian. Those conditions include the heavy rainfall most of North Dakota is experiencing this spring. Anthrax spores can survive in the Read More »