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By Category: Agents & Toxins

BioShield report shows growth in biodefense stockpile

(CIDRAP) The recently released annual report for the federal Project BioShield program gives a snapshot of the US arsenal for blunting bioterrorist attacks, showing growth in the supplies of certain countermeasures for anthrax, botulism, and smallpox. The report states, among other things, that the government has decided it doesn’t need the full 200,000 doses of Read More »

September 18, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biological Weapons, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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DHS DEFENDS ACQUISITION PLAN FOR BIOWEAPON DETECTORS

(NextGov) The Obama administration on Thursday defended plans to press ahead in vetting and acquiring a new generation of sensors designed to provide early warning of a biological weapons attack, even as auditors and some lawmakers urged it to pause and reassess the effort. Before finalizing a blueprint three years ago for procuring a third Read More »

September 17, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biological Weapons, and Policy & Initiatives
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Fresh Fruit Product Recalled for Potential Salmonella Contamination

(Food Safety News) A Minnesota-based company is recalling its fresh cut fruit products because they contain cantaloupes that may be contaminated with Salmonella. Cut Fruit Express, Inc. of Inver Grove Heights, MN issued a voluntary recall of products distributed through September 5, 2012, because they were made with cantaloupes recalled by Fresno, CA-based DFI Marketing Read More »

September 17, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Public Health
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Flu antibodys ‘one-handed grab’ may boost effort toward universal vaccine, new therapies

(EurekAlert) Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Sea Lane Biotechnologies have solved the co-crystal structure of a human antibody that can neutralize influenza viruses in a unique way. The antibody recognizes the crucial structure that flu viruses use to attach to host cells, even though previously this structure had been thought too small for Read More »

September 17, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Public Health, and Research
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Majority of US Schools Not Ready for Next Pandemic, Researchers Say

(Science Daily) Many U.S. schools are not prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases or pandemics, despite the recent 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic that resulted in more than 18,000 deaths worldwide, Saint Louis University researchers say. The study, led by Terri Rebmann, Ph.D., associate professor at SLU’s Institute for Biosecurity, surveyed about 2000 Read More »