Bioterrorism

EU worries about threat posed by drug-resistant "super bugs"
Four million people in the 27 EU member states have health-care infections every year — infections attributable to drug-resistant bugs; of these, 35,000 die; health officials plan EU-wide campaign
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Man sickened in Las Vegas ricin incident arrested
The man who was hospitalized on 14 February for breathing difficulties — and slipped into a coma until 14 March — is now charged with attempted bioterrorism; police find the following in his room: An “Anarchist’s Cookbook,” a collection of instructions on poisons and other dangerous recipes, including instructions on the preparation of ricin, two semiautomatic pistols, a rifle, and a pistol with a silencer
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New airborne pathogen detector
An Austrian company joins forces with a German specialist to develop autonomous lab-on-a-chip based detection system for the European Defense Agency
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Palestinian terrorists planned to poison diners at Israel restaurant
Two Palestinians staying illegally in Israel and working in a restaurant in a Tel Aviv suburb, planned to use poison supplied by Hezbollah to kill restaurant patrons
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Government admits accidents at Plum Island biolab
The biolab on Plum Island, off the tip of Long Island, is the only lab allowed to do research on the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease; DHS officials admit that since 1978 here have been several accidental releases of the virus into cattle in holding pens
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UDTT's anthrax detection featured on Chinese TV
The Chinese Government has warned that terrorists pose the biggest risk to this summer’s Olympic Games; officials say they foiled two plots, one to bring down an airliner, and another to disrupt the summer games; they are also worried about bioterrorism
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Water monitoring system to be demonstrated in Congress technology fair
The House Committee on Homeland Security is holding a homeland security technology fair at the Rayburn building on Wednesday; a water bioterror monitoring system will be on display, and caught our eye
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Understanding – and minimizing – today’s prevalent CBRNE threats // by Matthew Sweatt
Today’s response structures are too narrow in focus; while being prepared for a small pox attack is great, what would happen if another bio-toxin were used? Most billion-dollar detection equipment today only looks for anthrax, allowing today’s emerging threats easily to penetrate most systems
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Massachusetts not ready for bioterror attack
State auditor criticizes state’s preparedness for a bioterror attack; the state acquired ten medical trailers to treat victims, but one of them is missing
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Canadain chocolate factory off-limit to visitors
Non-American companies exporting food to the United States must comply with the strictures of the 2002 BioTerrorism Act; for a Victoria, Canada, chocolate factory this meant prohibiting school kids from touring the factory
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CSC in $16 million contract to continue development of NEDSS
The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Base System (NEDSS) electronically links surveillance activities to improve the ability to track and identify emerging infectious diseases and potential bioterrorism attacks
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CDC enlists U Indiana in epidemic information sharing, bioterror response
Indiana University awarded $2.6 million to bolster the ability of local, state, and federal agencies ability to share data and information on the outbreak of epidemics
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With biological warfare, real-time detection is key
The largest improvements in any biowarfare identification system’s performance will come in the form of smaller packages, more automated measurement, and faster measurement
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U.K., U.S. work together toward shared goals // Sir Alan Collins
The shared goal of both the United States and the United Kingdom is safeguarding our citizens and the security of key national assets. Our governments are working collaboratively and have long recognized the need to work closely on science and technologies for security
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Boeing shows biological detection UAV
UAVs have been performing more and more military and homeland security missions; Boeing demonstrates the use of its ScanEagle UAV in detecting, intercepting, and flying through simulated biological plumes or clouds to collect airborne agents
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