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Tyson destroys 15,000 chicken infected with H7N3
Arkansas poultry giant destroys 15,000 hens after routine tests discover antibodies to H7N3, a mild strain of avian flu; company says there is no threat to humans
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OSHA issues guidance regarding storage of face masks, respirators
OSHA requests comments on proposed guidance on workplace stockpiling of respirators and face masks for pandemic influenza
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Florida stocks cyanide antidote
Minute quantities of cyanide in smoke contribute to the death from smoke inhalation of 10,000 civilian and firefighter in the United States each year; Florida emergency services decide that emergency units will now be equipped with cyanide antidote
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UN: World failing to monitor biotech trade: U.N.
Efforts to control to spread of biotechnology know-how which could provide terrorists with the building blocks of biological weapons are insufficient; only $135 million, a fraction of the amount needed, had been spent on helping developing countries to build up skills to monitor a rising use of biotechnologies in the past fifteen years
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Avian flu by the numbers
Two Los Alamos National Laboratory theorists have developed a mathematical tool which could help health experts and crisis managers determine in real time whether an emerging infectious disease such as avian influenza H5N1 is poised to spread globally
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New grants to create fabrics which render toxic chemicals harmless
New fabrics made of functional nanofibers would decompose toxic industrial chemicals into harmless byproducts; potential applications include safety gear for soldiers and first responders —and filtration systems for buildings and vehicles
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Nanotechnology-based biosensor
NASA develops nanotechnology-based biosensor that can detect trace amounts of specific bacteria, viruses, and parasites; New York-based Early Warning, Inc. will initially market the sensor to water treatment facilities, food and beverage companies, industrial plants, hospitals, and airlines
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Boston biolab: Panel urges review of possible lab threats
As community opposition to the almost-complete Boston University biolab continues, a panel of experts says neighborhood’s concerns — and safety — should not be excluded from consideration of final approval for lab opening
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CDC biolab not ready after 2 1/2 years
A new CDC biosafety lab was supposed to open in the fall of 2005; it is still not open, and legislators begin to wonder why; they note that at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, it took less than seven months for its BSL-4 lab to become operational after construction was finished
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Is the threat of bioterrorism exaggerated?
William Clark, professor and chair emeritus of immunology at UCLA, says it is
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A dead end for free trade? I
Tightening border security along the U.S.-Canada border is hampering trade, experts say; delays owing to security checks have cascading effects, as supplies and raw materials are late arriving at manufacturing plants
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Chicago firm recalls beef products due to E. coli contamination fear
E. coli scare causes large beef recall: Chicago firm distributed the suspect beef product to processing plants in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin
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GSK gets EU green light for bird flu vaccine
Sanofi Pasteur, the joint venture between Sanofi Aventis and Merck, has produced a vaccine that targets one strand of H5N1; GSK argues that their new vaccine — Prepandrix — is the first to target several strains of the virus; Prepandrix contains an adjuvant, an ingredient that allows a low level of the vaccine’s active ingredient to be used in each shot
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Detailed studies of U.S. disaster preparedness offer recommendations
Critical care panel tackles disaster preparation, surge capacity, and health care rationing; some recommendations require largely greater budgets; other pose profound ethical and moral questions
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Insecticides in pet shampoo may trigger autism
New study shows that children growing up in a household in which pet shampoos containing a class of insecticide called pyrethrins were used, were twice as likely to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
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More headlines
The long view
Ransomware Attacks: Death Threats, Endangered Patients and Millions of Dollars in Damages
By Dino Jahic
A ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a company that processes 15 billion health care transactions annually and deals with 1 in 3 patient records in the United States, is continuing to cause massive disruptions nearly three weeks later. The incident, which started on February 21, has been called the “most significant cyberattack on the U.S. health care system” by the American Hospital Association. It is just the latest example of an increasing trend.