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By Category: Agents & Toxins

City’s Smallpox History Inspires New Exhibit

(NY1) Smallpox is the only disease that’s been completely wiped out across the globe but remains one of the most feared. Now, its unique connection to the city is on display at the New York Historical Society. NY1’s Kafi Drexel filed the following report. If there’s any doubt about what vaccination can do to protect Read More »

May 22, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Public Health
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Needless conflict

(Nature.com) Independent experts should be kept from undue suspicion as well as undue influence. We are what we eat. So it should come as no surprise that food-related issues such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), bisphenol A contamination, foot-and-mouth disease, Escherichia coli outbreaks and genetic modification resonate with the public. It is unfortunate, then, that Read More »

May 17, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, Agriculture, and Public Health
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Smallpox: the facts

(OUPblog) On this day in 1496, British doctor Edward Jenner administered the first smallpox vaccination to James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy. To mark the anniversary, we speak with Martin S. Hirsch, MD, FIDSA. Dr. Hirsch is editor-in-chief of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, professor of infectious diseases and Read More »

May 14, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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H5N1 Transmission in Ferrets

(Clinicians’ Biosecurity News) Fears of an impending H5N1 influenza pandemic have existed since the first cases of human infection appeared 15 years ago. A pandemic could occur only if the virus acquired mutations that made it more adept at transmission among humans. Two recent and controversial studies have raised the spectre of increased mammalian droplet Read More »

May 11, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, Public Health, and Research
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NIH Funds Provides $8.1M for Virus Countermeasure Research

(Global Security Newswire) An $8.1 million federal funding package is expected to aid in advancing two potential biological defense virus countermeasures toward testing in people, the University of Washington said on Tuesday. The Washington state-based biotechnology firm Kineta would also use the funding to investigate the drugs’ applications against rarer diseases including Ebola, Marburg, plague Read More »