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By Category: International

Scientists fear row over bird flu studies may undermine credibility of the field

(Global Edmonton) TORONTO – As influenza scientists and biosecurity experts continue to do battle over controversial bird flu studies, some in the flu world worry arguments being used to push for full publication of the studies may be eroding the credibility of the …

March 12, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Jordan Troops May Secure Syrian WMD in Event of Peacekeeping Mission

(Global Security Newswire) Jordan and the United States are collaboratively preparing a strategy for securing Syria’s considerable arsenal of chemical and possibly biological weapons in the event an Arab peacekeeping force is approved to enter the violence-wracked nation, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. In that scenario, Jordanian special forces teams would be assigned Read More »

March 9, 2012
| Filed under Middle East, North America, Biological Weapons, and International
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Another Clue to E. Coli O104:H4?

(Food Safety News) Scientists in Oslo say sequencing of a particular virulent strain of E. coli O103:H25, which caused an outbreak in Norway in 2006, revealed a resemblance to the 2011 German outbreak strain of E. coli O104:H4, and suggests the two strains are related.Writing in the online journal PLoS ONE, the researchers with the Read More »

March 9, 2012
| Filed under Europe, Agents & Toxins, International, Public Health, and Research
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New H5N1 viruses: How to balance risk of escape with benefits of research?

(ScienceDaily) In the controversy surrounding the newly developed strains of avian H5N1 flu viruses, scientists and policy makers are struggling with one question in particular: what level of biosafety is best for studying these potentially lethal strains of influenza? Experts now argue their different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses.

March 7, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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Pros and Cons Debated of Increasing Biosecurity in Labs Working With Engineered Bird Flu Viruses

(Science Now) Four papers published today in the online, open access journal mBio offer wide-ranging perspectives about the biocontainment facilities that researchers should use to work with bird flu viruses that can transmit in mammals.