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By Category: Biosafety

Mutant virus sparks bioethics debate

(Toronto Star) In a storage facility in the Netherlands, a mutant virus has been locked in a freezer for more than a year, unaware of the global debate swirling around it. As far as scientists know, this virus cannot be found anywhere else on Earth; it was engineered into existence. This strain — once described Read More »

February 11, 2013
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Biosafety
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Poliovirus detected from environmental samples in Egypt

(WHO) In Egypt, wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was isolated from sewage samples collected on 2 and 6 December 2012 in two areas of greater Cairo. Virus has been detected in sewage only; no case of paralytic polio has been reported. Genetic sequencing shows that the virus strains are closely related to virus from northern Read More »

February 11, 2013
| Filed under Africa, Biosafety, and Public Health
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Senators Launch New Bid to Reauthorize Biodefense Initiatives

(GlobalSecurityNewswire) Senate lawmakers on Thursday launched their latest legislative attempt to renew several initiatives to increase the nation’s medical readiness for countering disease agents and other unconventional-weapon threats. The newly proposed Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act incorporates several semantic changes to language approved last month by the House of Representatives, and would need approval Read More »

February 8, 2013
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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FDA Data: Slight Uptick in Animal Antibiotic Use, Resistance Remains Issue in Meat

(FoodSafetyNews) The use of antibiotics in food animal production slightly increased and antibiotic resistant bacteria in meat products remained an issue 2011, according to two sets of data released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday. Antimicrobial drug sales data reported to the FDA showed a small uptick over 2010 numbers, up about Read More »

February 6, 2013
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, and Public Health
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Bioterrorism Preparedness – The Forgotten Patient Population

(GlobalBiodefense) Bioterrorism and preparedness have been highlighted topics since the 2001 “Amerithrax” attacks. The reality that the United States is particularly vulnerable to these attacks, while not a new notion, has become increasingly sensationalized in the media. The forefront to these initiatives, apart from prevention, is patient care and first responders. Hospital preparedness is being Read More »