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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

DA Henderson, Scientist Who Helped Eradicate Smallpox, Says US Is Unprepared …

(Huffington Post) Dr. DA Henderson, the epidemiologist who led the global effort to eradicate smallpox and is a leading voice on biodefense, told The Huffington Post that no one is in charge when it comes to dealing with the fallout from a bioterrorism attack. “I’ve kept quiet about this for a long time, but I’m Read More »

February 7, 2012
| Filed under North America, Bioterrorism, Countermeasures, and Policy & Initiatives
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Study of deadly flu sparks debate amidst fears of new pandemic

(Ars Technica) The 2009 flu pandemic, although not especially deadly, revealed just how quickly a new influenza virus could elude surveillance and spread internationally. It also left health experts eying the disease that many fear could cause the next pandemic: H5N1, the avian flu. According to World Health Organization standards, that virus is phenomenally deadly, Read More »

February 7, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Indian Crisis Teams to Receive WMD Response Training

(Global Security Newswire) Crisis management teams throughout India are to receive training in handling a disaster involving chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials, the Times of India reported on Monday. National Disaster Management Authority Vice President M. Shashidhar Reddy said a training facility is to be set up in Nagpur and property has also been Read More »

February 7, 2012
| Filed under South Asia, Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, Countermeasures, and Policy & Initiatives
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Vet seeks nod for FMD-free Zone 6

(Mmegi Online) The Department of Veterinary Services plans to make an application to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) for approval of the containment of Zone Six as a Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) free zone without vaccination. The move follows the fact …

February 6, 2012
| Filed under Africa, Agriculture, and Policy & Initiatives
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Emotion runs high at H5N1 debate

(Nature.com) Scientific debates erupted about the mortality rate of H5N1, generally known only to transmit from birds to humans. Peter Palese, a virologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York says that underestimates of the prevalence in the general population have led to an exaggeration as to how deadly H5N1 is.