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By Category: International

New case of anthrax reported in Armenia

(ARKANewsAgency) A patient diagnosed to have the cutaneous (skin) anthrax was admitted to Yerevan’s Nork hospital specializing in treatment of infectious diseases on Saturday, the health ministry said. It said the preliminary diagnosis was confirmed by laboratory tests.

October 28, 2013
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, and Public Health
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Cholera in Mexico – update

(WorldHealthOrganization) The Ministry of Health in Mexico has reported an additional five cases of infection with Vibrio cholerae O1 Ogawa toxigenic. The five cases occurred in the geographic zone of la Huasteca, an area where urbanization, availability of drinking water and basic sanitation services are limited.

October 28, 2013
| Filed under North America, South America, and International
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Six Deadly Bioterror Threats to Watch Out For

(Healthline) In the wake of concerns about controlling a new, highly lethal substance, Healthline asked the experts about the biggest bioterror threats we face. Bioterrorism is back in the news with word of a dangerous new strain of botulism, for which there is no antidote. The strain is so powerful, the researchers who discovered it Read More »

October 28, 2013
| Filed under North America, Bioterrorism, and International
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Policing the New Scientific Frontier of Synthetic Biology

(ForeignAffairs) Ongoing research and discoveries in the life sciences — the latest and most promising involving synthetic biology — have led to extraordinary advances that will benefit society. But criminals and terrorists could manipulate such advances to disrupt public safety and national security. Since its founding in 1923, Interpol has learned that the most effective Read More »

October 28, 2013
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, South Asia, Biosafety, Bioterrorism, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Guinea Worm Moves Toward Eradication

(NPR) The world has eradicated just one human disease: smallpox. But another illness is getting tantalizingly close to elimination. No, we’re not talking about polio; that virus also has its back against a wall. But a report Thursday puts a parasitic worm ahead of polio in the race to extinction. The world recorded just 89 Read More »