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By Category: Policy & Initiatives
Overuse of antibiotics means that a scraped knee could become deadly, WHO warns
(GlobalPost) Before antibiotics were invented, even minor infections could become extremely dangerous. But now scientists say that antibiotics are not as effective as they used to be. In a new conference this week, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan sounded the alarm on antibiotic resistance, caused by excessive use of the drugs.
- March 19, 2012
- | Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
WHO hopes controversial bird flu studies will be published by summer
(Winnipeg Free Press) The moratorium Fukuda refers to is a promise, made by the world’s leading influenza scientists, not to conduct further study for the time being into what might make H5N1 avian flu viruses transmit among mammals — including maybe humans.
- March 19, 2012
- | Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
CDC Refuses to Identify “Select Agent” Sites
(Global Security Newswire) The U.S. government is not obligated to disclose the names or placement of facilities that manage dangerous disease materials, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told activists in Maryland on Tuesday. The United States as of March 1 had 365 sites listed as handling or delivering potentially harmful substances designated Read More »
- March 16, 2012
- | Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biosafety, Bioterrorism, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
Flu Debate Highlights Opacity of Public Health Research
(PLoS Blogs) After weeks of debate, the decision was finally made in February to publish in full two studies that report the cultivation of H5N1 bird flu virus mutants that can pass between mammals. The decision was made with the caveat of delaying publication, in part to settle the anxieties of the public over the Read More »
- March 16, 2012
- | Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
Talk of Food Safety Consolidation Takes Bipartisan Turn
(Food Safety News) U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, a conservative Republican from Wyoming, is starting to sound a lot like her colleague Rep. Rose DeLauro, a liberal Democrat from Connecticut — at least when it comes to fixing the nation’s fragmented food safety system. Citing a Government Accountability Office report on the issue, Rep. Lummis argued Read More »
- March 16, 2012
- | Filed under North America, Agriculture, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health