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By Category: Public Health

Colombia Reports Anthrax Livestock Deaths and Skin Lesions

(BusinessWeek) Colombia reported livestock deaths from anthrax on two farms in the country’s north near the border with Venezuela as well as a person with skin lesions. The disease killed goats, sheep and pigs on two farms in the La Guajira community, the first outbreaks in the country since April last year, and a person Read More »

May 31, 2012
| Filed under South America, Agriculture, International, and Public Health
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Questions Persist Over Biodefense Board’s Review of Bird Flu Research

(Global Security Newswire) A U.S. biodefense panel’s 2011 recommendation to withhold certain details from two avian influenza virus studies and its subsequent reversal of that call have prompted questions among participants and other experts over the board’s readiness to advise on future research with possible biological weapons applications, the journal Nature reported last week.

May 31, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Biological Weapons, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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Anthrax vaccine – To the victor, the spoils

(Scientific American) In my last post, we began to play “Follow the Money” to better understand the history of the anthrax vaccine and the current proposal to test the vaccine on children. Conflicts of Interest-Case Study: Major issues with the anthrax vaccine include safety, conflicts of interest and the lobbying power of the drug developer. Read More »

May 31, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center develops new, safer method for making vaccines

(Oregon Health & Science University) OHSU researchers have discovered a new method for creating vaccines that is thought to be safer and more effective than current approaches. The method uses hydrogen peroxide to inactivate viruses for use as vaccines. The research results are published online in the journal Nature Medicine.

May 30, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Public Health, and Research
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New Plan To Increase Global Access To Vaccines Endorsed By World Health Assembly

(Medical News Today) Ministers of Health from 194 countries at the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly have endorsed a landmark Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), a roadmap to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities…