Recent News

By Region: Africa

CBP sees more imported animal parts and skins with fall hunting season

(Government Security News) … including African swine fever, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, classical swine fever, exotic Newcastle disease, foot-and-mouth disease, highly pathogenic avian influenza, and swine vesicular disease, as well as ticks and mites. …

November 3, 2011
| Filed under Africa, North America, and Agriculture
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Educating the life scientists

(Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) There are increasing signs that state parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) realize that the lack of biosecurity awareness and education among life scientists represents a serious gap in the overall web of policies designed to prevent bioterrorism and biowarfare. Without such awareness and education, how can practicing life Read More »

November 2, 2011
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, South Asia, Biotechnology, Countermeasures, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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FMD to cost beef industry P400m

(Mmegi Online) Throughput at the Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) is expected to drop by 80, 000 cattle this year due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak earlier this year. This means the industry is losing about P400 million in revenues, BMC chief executive …

October 12, 2011
| Filed under Africa and Agriculture
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General License To Be Issued by OFAC for Food Exports to Iran and Sudan

Also excluded are Rosary/Jequirity peas, the source of ricin's more potent cousin abrin, which although more powerful than ricin is not known, according to the CDC, to have been weaponized or used in terrorist attacks. My favorite part of the new rule …

October 12, 2011
| Filed under Africa, Middle East, North America, Agents & Toxins, and Policy & Initiatives
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First International VBC Conference: Video Available

The First Virtual Biosecurity Center international conference, 1 September 2011, can be accessed here. This conference explored the role of web-based networks in promoting global biosecurity, and provided an opportunity for experts from around the world to identify best practices and partnerships, and determine the feasibility of linking existing networks for global communication.