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The food we eatFood flavoring widely used in U.S., Canada found to be contaminated with salmonella
Flavoring agent in a wide range of processed foods, including dips, salad dressings, chips, sauces, hotdogs, soups, and frozen dinners, found to be contaminated with salmonella; agent produced by Las Vegas-based Basic Food Flavors; U.S. and Canadian food authorities consider what measures to take, including recalls
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Two New York labs to develop anti-botulism drugs
U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University's Institute of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery to receive $1.4 million in Department of Defense research funds to develop anti-botulism drugs
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NRC panel has "high confidence" in Fort Detrick BioLab's security procedures
The U.S. Army plans to expand its biocontainment laboratories at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, to study deadly pathogens; a few incidents at the lab heightened security concerns in the neighboring communities, but National Research Council report finds that current safety procedures and regulations at the labs meet or exceed accepted standard
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New ways found to tackle deadly South American hemorrhagic fever viruses
New World hemorrhagic fevers are nasty, serious, and often fatal diseases which cause Ebola-like symptoms; most outbreaks occur in rural regions of Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil; the outbreaks of New World hemorrhagic fever tend to be brief and brutal, with mortality rates of 20 to 30 percent; scientists have discovered exactly how one type of New World hemorrhagic fever virus latches onto and infects human cells, offering a much-needed lead toward new treatments
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The food we eatFoodborne illness costs U.S. $152 billion annually
The most comprehensive study of the subject finds that the cumulative cost to Americans of foodborne illnesses is $152 billion annually; the cost per case for an individual is $1,850 on average; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are 76 million new cases of food-related illness in the United States every year, resulting in 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations
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Fighting diseaseNew way to control disease-spreading mosquitoes: Prevent them from urinating
Aedes aegypti mosquitoes transmit the virus that causes dengue fever, putting 40 percent of the world's population at risk of catching the disease, and causing 50 million to 100 million infections and 22,000 deaths annually; researchers find a way to control the mosquitoes: Prevent them from urinating as they feed on blood
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Fighting diseaseUseful tree provides low-cost water purification method for developing world
A billion people across Asia, Africa, and Latin America are estimated to rely on untreated surface water sources for their daily water needs; of these, some two million are thought to die from diseases caught from contaminated water every year, with the majority of these deaths occurring among children under five years of age; seeds from the Moringa oleifera tree, can produce a 90.00 percent to 99.99 percent bacterial reduction in previously untreated water
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iBio to license vaccine production facility using green plant technology
iBio will license the iBioLaunch platform to G-Con, LLC, a private Texas company; the “GreenVax Project” uses Nicotiana plants grown hydroponically; the green plant technology platform holds the promise of shortening vaccine production from months to weeks
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PharmAthene says its anthrax vaccine is superior to first-generation vaccine
PharmAthene's anthrax vaccine, called SparVax, will require three doses over a 60-day period -- the first-generation vaccine requires five doses over 18 months; a course of treatment with the currently available vaccine costs about $125; SparVax would cost just $45 a treatment
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$150 million anthrax vaccine contract goes to firm with close Democratic Party ties
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on the evening of 29 December that it was awarding PharmAthene $150 million to develop and produce an anthrax vaccine; FOXNews notes the strong ties to the Democratic Party of senior company executives
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Europe would be better with a generic, rather than disease-specific, pandemic response plan
New study argues that the emphasis in Europe on disease-specific emergency plans utilized by most European countries could cost precious time and resources; "Countries and organizations invest enormous resources in developing plans for specific diseases, which may not even present a threat in the future," the study says
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U.S. anthrax response undermined by public ignorance, lack of confidence in government
A Harvard School of Public Health's survey found that nearly 40 percent of respondents who said they would likely accept antibiotic pills distributed from public health authorities after an anthrax attack also said they would not start taking them immediately; about 35 percent indicated they would hold onto the drugs until they knew for certain they had been exposed to anthrax
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Montana State team developing new way to fight influenza, bioterrorism threats
Researchers develop aerosol spray containing tiny protein cages that will activate an immune response in the lungs; the protein cages trigger the rapid production of lymphoid tissue in the lung; the technology could be used to prevent or treat a range of pulmonary diseases including influenza; it might counter bioterrorism threats, such as airborne microbes
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China syndromeU.S.-China farm trade tensions grow
U.S. companies, steel producers, and unions have filed dozens of domestic trade complaints against Chinese imports; economists say the imports of food based on labor intensive crops are next in line for trade friction between the United States and China
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Farmers, ranchers urged to be aware of agroterrorism
South Dakota's U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson says all aspects of agriculture can be targets of terrorists, but Johnson said meat production is the most vulnerable; "Livestock are the number one target for terrorists attacking the agriculture system…. If you want to get a bunch of cattle sick at once, it's not rocket science on how to do it"
The Long View
Planetary securityDoomsday seed vault's stores are growing
In 1903, U.S. farmers planted 578 varieties of beans; by 1983 just 32 varieties remained in seedbanks; 46 countries collaborate to rescue some 53,000 of the 100,000 crop samples identified as endangered
Globalization and its discontentsRegulators cannot cope with food counterfeiting, contamination
New worry: Between the extremes of accidentally contaminated food and terrorism via intentional contamination, lies the counterfeiter, seeking not to harm but to hide the act for profit
Former top MI6 official says bird flu more of a threat than terrorism
Former assistant chief of U.K.'s MI6 says pandemics posed more of threat to the U.K. population than terrorism; he also says that privacy worries about the international counterterrorist databases are exaggerated
Zimbabwe: A country death watchCholera cases exceed 60,000 in Zimbabwe
Robert Mugabe's war on his people continues: the number of cholera cases in Zimbabwe has exceeded WHO's nightmare scenario of 60,000; the Mugabe regime's systematic looting of the country and its destruction of the country's public services and infrastructure -- especially the health care system and water delivery and treatment facilities -- may make the epidemic unstoppable
Graham, Talent: U.S. should do more to prevent terrorist attack
The leaders of the Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism say that the incoming administration must do more, much more, to prevent a terrorist attack on the United States
Researchers show promising approach to avian flu vaccine
Terrapin researchers are developing a universal flu vaccine for animals; it could ultimately help prevent or delay another avian flu pandemic in humans
Independent commission: WMD attack by terrorists likely
An independent commission of experts, set up by Congress as part of the recommendations by the 9/11 commission, concludes that terrorists will most likely carry out an attack with biological, nuclear, or other unconventional weapons somewhere in the world in the next five years
