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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

A Central Researcher in the H5N1 Flu Debate Breaks His Silence

(AAAS) In the heated debate about two labs that engineered a variant of the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus that for the first time easily transmits between mammals, one critical voice has been missing: Yoshihiro Kawaoka. But today, Kawaoka speaks his mind in a Nature commentary and in a detailed response to questions from ScienceInsider. Read More »

January 26, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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HHS aids development of next generation broad spectrum antibiotic

(Press Release) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today issued a contract for advanced development of a novel antibiotic that potentially could treat illnesses caused by biological threats, such as anthrax and plague, as well as treat bacterial pneumonia and certain life-threatening bacterial infections associated with prolonged hospitalization.

January 26, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Livestock industry wins Supreme Court appeal

(CNN) The meat industry argued being forced to immediately euthanize all downed animals would hurt its ability to detect and fight one particularly virulent disease: foot-and-mouth, which is highly contagious. The industry says federal inspection is …

January 25, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agriculture, and Policy & Initiatives
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Congresswoman Jenkins Sends President Obama Letter on NBAF

(Press Release) Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins released the following statement after sending the attached letter to President Obama asking for his continued support of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas: “Both the Bush and Obama administrations have made it exceedingly clear that the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) is essential to Read More »

January 25, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Barriers to Integrating Crisis Standards of Care Principles into International Disaster Response Plans – Workshop Summary

(IOM) When a nation or region prepares for public health emergencies such as a pandemic influenza, a large-scale earthquake, or any major disaster scenario in which the health system may be destroyed or stressed to its limits, it is important to describe how standards of care would change due to shortages of critical resources. At Read More »