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By Category: Agents & Toxins

Human Exposures to Marine Brucella Isolated from a Harbor Porpoise

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) On February 10, 2012, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) was notified of a positive Brucella culture from a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) found on the coast of southern Maine. Maine CDC, in consultation with CDC, initiated an investigation of potential occupational exposures of staff Read More »

June 29, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biosafety, Public Health, and Research
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Building a better Rift Valley fever vaccine

(University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston) University of Texas Medical Branch researchers have significantly improved an existing experimental vaccine for Rift Valley fever virus, making possible the development of a more effective defense against the dangerous mosquito-borne pathogen. The African virus causes fever in humans, inflicting liver damage, blindness, encephalitis and even death on Read More »

June 29, 2012
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, and Research
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The Evolution of Bird Flu, and the Race to Keep Up

(New York Times) On May 20, a 10-year-old girl in rural Cambodia got a fever. Five days later, she was admitted to a hospital, and after two days of intensive care she was dead. The girl was the most recent documented victim of the influenza virus H5N1, a strain that has caused 606 known human Read More »

June 26, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, Agriculture, Countermeasures, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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Georgia sees more anthrax cases

(Fox News) At least 30 people in Georgia have contracted anthrax this year, prompting authorities to step up safety measures, medical officials said Friday. Georgia’s Center for Infectious Diseases said that by year’s end the ex-Soviet nation is expected to roughly match last year’s total of 59 cases. That would represent a marked increase from Read More »

June 25, 2012
| Filed under Europe, Agents & Toxins, Agriculture, and Public Health
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Ahmedabad hospital on alert as doctor dies of Congo Fever

(Zee News) Ahmedabad: A local hospital is on alert as a resident doctor died of the dreaded Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (Congo fever) here today. Dr Smiral Patel of V S Hospital, who contracted the virus while treating a patient with unknown hemorrhagic viral fever, today died at a private hospital. “We started screening all ward Read More »