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By Category: International

Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Uganda

(WHO) As of 21 October 2012, nine (9) probable and confirmed cases, including 5 deaths have been reported with Marburg haemorrhagic fever in Kitumba sub-county, Kabale district in South-western Uganda. Of these, 3 have been laboratory confirmed by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI). An investigation into the outbreak is ongoing. Preliminary investigations indicate that Read More »

October 23, 2012
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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Washington Plans Global Meeting on Weapon-Sensitive Biological Studies

(Global Security Newswire) The United States intends before January to convene a global gathering aimed at addressing questions over biological research with potential for misuse, the head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases wrote in a commentary published last week by mBio. The planned conference would seek to establish a justification Read More »

October 17, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biological Weapons, Biotechnology, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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The Armageddon virus: Why experts fear a disease that leaps from animals to humans could devastate mankind in the next five years

(Mail Online) The symptoms appear suddenly with a headache, high fever, joint pain, stomach pain and vomiting. As the illness progresses, patients can develop large areas of bruising and uncontrolled bleeding. In at least 30 per cent of cases, Crimean-Congo Viral Hemorrhagic Fever is fatal. And so it proved this month when a 38-year-old garage owner Read More »

October 16, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Public Health, and Research
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Engineered NASA microbes could build bricks on Mars

(Open Minds) Dr. Lynn Rothschild spoke about synthetic biology at the BioDesign Forum that took place on September 26 and 27 in Cambridge, UK. Rothschild, who is an evolutionary biologist and astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center, is involved with NASA’s new Synthetic Biology Initiative. TreeHugger.com reports that this initiative aims to engineer microbes “that Read More »

October 12, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, and Research
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Puerto Rico Health Secretary declares dengue fever epidemic

(Examiner) The Secretary of Health in Puerto Rico, Lorenzo Gonzalez Feliciano, in consultation with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dengue director, Dr. Harold Margolis, declared a dengue fever epidemic on the Caribbean island, according to a Puerto Rico Department of Health press release Oct. 8 (translated). According to Sec. Feliciano, “In consultation with Read More »