• Soldier in Afghanistan dies of Ebola-like virus infection

    Rare virus poses new threat to troops; on 16 September an American soldier died from what turned out to be Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever after he was bitten by a tick

  • Scientists track H1N1 virus for small changes which may mean big problems

    A team at the University of California-San Francisco is using cutting-edge technology to track tiny genetic changes in H1N1 virus samples from around the word; what the scientists are worried about is a big change called genetic “shift,” when there is a dramatic re-assortment and exchange of strands of genetic material that trigger hard-to-predict epidemic trajectories

  • H1N1-induced work-from-home may clog Internet

    Telecommuting is a good idea — up to a point; if, as a result of a pandemic, too many people decide to work from home, this could threaten to overwhelm the Internet, rendering it useless as a way for communicating and conducting transactions vital to public safety and the economy

  • Clinics increase security owing to anger over H1N1 vaccine shortage

    Clinics around the country report anger among people who come to be vaccinated, only to find H1N1 vaccine shortages; some clinics bolster security

  • Sixty U.S. poison centers answer questions about H1N1

    There are sixty poison centers in the United States, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, staffed with medical professionals; lately they have been answering questions about H1N1

  • Kent State to train lab workers for biocontainment

    The increasing number of high-containment laboratories and the constant threat from emerging diseases and bioterrorism require more extensive biosafety training of the highest caliber, and more facilities in which to offer this training

  • Tracking swine flu spread by monitoring electronic prescription records

    Rhode Island is using information supplied by pharmacies to document how much Tamiflu and other antivirals are being dispensed to patients; the information — categorized by zip codes of the pharmacies where the medicine is dispensed and the age group of the patient receiving it — is given to epidemiologists at the state health department

  • DARPA seeking to improve bio-threat detectors

    The agency is requesting proposals for a device that would enable faster, more accurate detection of a broad range of biological agents; DARPA hopes to create a biosensor that would identify viral and bacterial threats, and do so using a natural first-line of defense: human antibodies

  • Kansas officials confident that BioLab project will not be derailed

    Congress has allocated $32 million for the design of the Manhattan, Kansas biolab which will replace the aging Plum Island facility; Congress conditioned the release of the rest of the money on the result of studies examining the risks involved in building a biolab in “Tornado alley”; other states that wanted the lab have been slow to give up the fight

  • U.S. bioterrorism efforts criticized

    The task force criticized President Obama for requesting $305 million in 2010 for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which it called “insufficient by a factor of 10”

  • Some in the livestock industry worry about disease lab's Kansas location

    Two national cattlemen’s organizations say moving the study of dangerous pathogens to the mainland would be unwise because a tornado or other mishap could allow diseases to escape into the surrounding animal population; supporters say facility presents no risk to agriculture

  • Uganda to conduct Marburg and Ebola vaccine trials

    Ebola and Marburg are viral infections that have a high mortality, killing 90 percent of victims; no effective treatment exists for these highly infectious diseases, which cause extensive internal bleeding and rapid death

  • Victims of food-poisoning on Hill in support of S. 510

    Food safety debate intensifies as food-borne illness victims lobby for stronger food laws; new bill, S. 510s would increase FDA inspections of food processing plants, especially of high-risk facilities, require imports to meet U.S. safety standards, establish science-based minimum safety standards for growing fresh produce, and give the agency mandatory recall authority

  • Congress allocates funds for planning Kansas biolab

    Congress allocates $32 million for planning and design of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas; the money for construction of the 520,000-square-foot lab and the transferring of research equipment from Plum Island, New York — about $915 million — will be released only if security concerns are satisfactorily addressed

  • Trust for America's Health calls on Senate to reform U.S. food safety

    Approximately 76 million Americans — one in 4 — are sickened by food-borne diseases each year. Of these, an estimated 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die. Medical costs and lost productivity due to food-borne illnesses in the United States are estimated to cost $44 billion annually