Recent News

By Region: Asia/Pacific

Infectious Diseases Kill 17315 on Chinese Mainland

(Crienglish) Infectious diseases killed a total of 17,315 people across the Chinese mainland in 2012, up from 15,802 in the previous year, the Ministry of Health said Friday. The top six infectious diseases, in terms of the number of deaths they caused, were AIDS, tuberculosis, rabies, viral hepatitis, hand-foot-mouth disease and epidemic hemorrhagic fever, a Read More »

March 15, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific and Public Health
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An end to hand, foot and mouth disease?

(GoKunming) Scientists in Yunnan have produced what they hope will be the world’s first hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) vaccine. If cleared for production, the serum would also be the first ever vaccination developed in the province, Yunnan Net is reporting. Researchers at the Kunming branch of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) Read More »

March 13, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Countermeasures, and Research
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Biosecurity threat to local waters

(NorthernAdvocate) The Northland Regional Council hopes it can hold back the tide of an invader being carried into Whangarei Harbour on boats. Marine services heads fear a local presence of Mediterranean fan worm will jeopardise the industry, the local economy and the ecology. The fan worm (Sabella spallanzanii), listed among the worst 10 marine pests Read More »

March 8, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific and Biosafety
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Nauru Joins Biological Weapons Convention

(NTI) The South Pacific island state of Nauru has become the 168th member nation to the Biological Weapons Convention, the United Nations announced on Tuesday. “The United States, as depositary government, confirmed the accession of Nauru to the convention on 5 March 2013,” according to a statement from the U.N. Office at Geneva.

March 7, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific and Policy & Initiatives
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Publicly funded H5N1 vaccine available for high-risk people

(ChinaPost) A publicly funded H5N1 flu vaccine is available until Aug. 31 for people over 18 years old and at high risk, the Centers for Disease Control said yesterday.