Recent News

By Category: Agents & Toxins

U.S. CDC says to announce safety advisory panel by end of week

(Reuters) The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will announce its safety advisory panel later this week following breaches in its handling of anthrax and a deadly form of bird flu in recent weeks, the director of the agency said on Tuesday. CDC’s Dr Thomas Frieden told reporters the members of the panel will Read More »

July 23, 2014
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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China bubonic plague death: Town of 30,000 placed in quarantine after man dies sparking ‘Black Death’ outbreak fears

(The Independent) An entire Chinese town of 30,000 people has been quarantined off from the rest of the country after a man living in a nearby village died from bubonic plague. Police have now had the old town of Yumen city in Gansu province sealed off for more than a week, the Xinhua state media Read More »

July 23, 2014
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, International, and Public Health
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West Africa Ebola outbreak total tops 1,000

(University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy) As 67 new Ebola virus disease (EVD) illnesses in Sierra Leone and Liberia pushed the outbreak total to 1,048 cases, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned about the risk of virus transmission from wildlife, especially fruit bats. Along with new infections, 19 Read More »

July 23, 2014
| Filed under Africa, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, International, and Public Health
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FAO warns of fruit bat risk in West African Ebola epidemic

(FAO) Increased efforts are needed to improve awareness among rural communities in West Africa about the risks of contracting the Ebola virus from eating certain wildlife species including fruit bats, FAO warned today. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are struggling to contain the world’s deadliest recorded outbreak of the virus, which is transmitted by direct Read More »

July 21, 2014
| Filed under Africa, Agents & Toxins, Agriculture, International, and Public Health
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Experts see flaws in promising dengue fever vaccine candidate

(Deutsche Welle) The most advanced vaccine candidate against dengue fever could prevent many deaths, its developers say. But some experts warn that the substance could even make things worse rather than effectively treat it.