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By Category: Public Health

Battle over H5N1 research continues in media, journals

(CIDRAP) In another Times letter, Dr. Richard Ebright, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Princeton University, said the research on lab-generated transmissible H5N1 viruses should be regulated the same way smallpox virus research is regulated.

February 1, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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NSABB and H5N1 redactions: Biosecurity runs up against scientific endeavor

(American Society for Microbiology) In response to recent actions of the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, which recommended that two scientific journals withhold crucial details in upcoming reports about experiments with a novel strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1, the American Society for Microbiology will publish a special series of commentaries by Read More »

February 1, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Biosafety, Public Health, and Research
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Preparing for the next global pandemic – we are not doing enough

(PublicServiceEurope.com) The debate over studying avian influenza – or H5N1 virus – transmissibility returns pandemic risk to the fore of public anxiety. Regardless of the specific agent, influenza or otherwise, a robust plan for …

February 1, 2012
| Filed under Europe, Countermeasures, and Public Health
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Experts Weigh in on Bird Flu Research

(PBS NewsHour) Earlier this month, the scientists who altered the H5N1 virus to create a more contagious strain that’s transmissible between ferrets, agreed to a temporary moratorium, due to safety concerns. That decision has, if anything, intensified the debate. What began as a question on whether scientific journals should publish the complete research has grown Read More »

January 31, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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HHS issues medical surge guidance for healthcare systems

(CIDRAP News) The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released a new planning tool to help hospitals and health systems prepare for medical surges that could result from a bioterror attack, natural disaster, …