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By Category: Agents & Toxins

Anthrax Toxicity Depends on Human Genetics

(Scientific American) But just how toxic anthrax is to an individual might depend on their genetic makeup, according to a new study, published online Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers found that some people’s lymphocyte cells, when exposed to a laboratory mixture of the bacterium, were less likely to die than Read More »

February 7, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Research
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Pakistani Lab Could Take Another Look at Anthrax Package

(Global Security Newswire) Pakistani authorities want another examination of a package mailed to the nation’s prime minister that initial laboratory analysis said contained anthrax. That finding appears in doubt, the Islamabad Dateline newspaper reported on Friday. A parcel purportedly containing anthrax spores was earlier reported to have been sent to Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Read More »

February 7, 2012
| Filed under South Asia, Agents & Toxins, and Bioterrorism
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MSU researcher finds link to H5N1 bird flu

(Delta Farm Press) Wan said the goal of his research is to find the sources of human H5N1 infections and provide the foundations for policy-making for protecting public health. While the United States has regulations in place to protect consumers, this is not the case in all countries. Wan began studying avian influenza while conducting Read More »

February 3, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Agents & Toxins, Agriculture, Public Health, and Research
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Lungs infected with plague bacteria also become playgrounds for other microbes

(University of North Carolina School of Medicine) Researchers led by William E. Goldman, Ph.D. of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine show that the plague bacteria transform the lungs from a nasty place for microbes into a playground for them to flourish.

January 31, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Research
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Producers are on front lines of identifying infectious diseases

(Tri-State Neighbor) “While foodborne outbreaks of zoonotic diseases continue to challenge public health authorities, the human cases of some of the more severe diseases – such as anthrax, tularemia or plague – are extremely rare,” said Marty Zaluski, state veterinarian …