Recent News

By Category: Policy & Initiatives

Senators Launch New Bid to Reauthorize Biodefense Initiatives

(GlobalSecurityNewswire) Senate lawmakers on Thursday launched their latest legislative attempt to renew several initiatives to increase the nation’s medical readiness for countering disease agents and other unconventional-weapon threats. The newly proposed Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act incorporates several semantic changes to language approved last month by the House of Representatives, and would need approval  Read More »

Canadian Dairy Farm Biosecurity Standard Introduced

(Farms) The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) launched a biosecurity standard for all Canadian dairy farms. The new standard was developed over a two-year period in collaboration with the Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) and the CFIA.

Bioterrorism Preparedness – The Forgotten Patient Population

(GlobalBiodefense) Bioterrorism and preparedness have been highlighted topics since the 2001 “Amerithrax” attacks. The reality that the United States is particularly vulnerable to these attacks, while not a new notion, has become increasingly sensationalized in the media. The forefront to these initiatives, apart from prevention, is patient care and first responders. Hospital preparedness is being  Read More »

New Foot-and-Mouth Scare Hits Namibian Farmers

(AllAfrica) The movement of livestock has been restricted in certain areas of Namibia after a lone African buffalo was spotted in the Otjituuo communal area in Otjozondjupa. Anna Shiweda, acting permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, on Friday said cattle, goats, pigs, game and any cloven- hoofed animals may not be  Read More »

House investigators seek BioWatch documents

(LosAngelesTimes) Leaders of a House committee probing BioWatch, the nation’s troubled system for detecting biological attacks, complained Thursday that administration officials had blocked them from seeing documents held by two senior federal scientists known to have been privately skeptical of the nationwide program. The materials are of particular interest to congressional investigators, in part because  Read More »