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By Category: Agents & Toxins

Designer bacteria may lead to better vaccines

(EurekAlert) Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a menu of 61 new strains of genetically engineered bacteria that may improve the efficacy of vaccines for diseases such as flu, pertussis, cholera and HPV. The strains of E. coli, which were described in a paper published this month in the journal PNAS, Read More »

January 16, 2013
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Public Health, and Research
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What science should we fund? Questioning new policy on H5N1 gain-of-function research

(Scientific American) Science can be risky business, but it is important to know what those risks are. It is established wisdom that we need to experiment on viruses, for example, to better defend against emerging infectious diseases. But there is a fine line between creating a new strain of avian influenza to better understand how Read More »

January 15, 2013
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Public Health, and Research
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Bomb and anthrax hoax at Camden building

(Philadelphia Inquirer) The FBI is investigating a bomb and anthrax hoax at the U.S. District Court building in Camden. A mail clerk opened an envelope Friday morning to find a letter claiming a bomb was in the building and the white powder inside the envelope was anthrax, said Juan Matos, the U.S. marshal for New Read More »

January 14, 2013
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Bioterrorism
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Norovirus Outbreak Hits Illinois Prison

(Food Safety News) At least 140 inmates at an Illinois prison were sickened with Norovirus infections this week, according to local news reports. The outbreak struck inmates at the The Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, IL, a maximum security facility for men. The first victims fell ill Christmas Day, according to local news station CBS Read More »

December 31, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Public Health
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UK Sees Spike in Norovirus Cases

(Food Safety News) There have been 3,538 laboratory confirmed Norovirus infections in the United Kingdom this fall and winter, according to new figures from the Health Protection Agency. This number marks an 83 percent increase from the number of cases recorded over the same time period last year, says the group. Almost 500 of this Read More »