• CDC: Action needed now to halt spread of deadly, antibiotics-resistant bacteria

    Data show more inpatients suffering infections from bacteria resistant to all or nearly all antibiotics. CDC says that the findings are a call to action for the entire health care community to work urgently — individually, regionally, and nationally — to protect patients. During just the first half of 2012, almost 200 hospitals and long-term acute care facilities treated at least one patient infected with these bacteria.

  • Superbug crisis shows progress in antibiotic development “alarmingly elusive”

    Despite the desperate need for new antibiotics to combat increasingly deadly resistant bacteria, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only one new systemic antibiotic since the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) launched its 10 x ’20 Initiative in 2010 — and that drug was approved two and a half years ago.The IDSA says that time is running out for meeting the IDSA Goal of ten new antibiotics by 2020.

  • Climate change threatens world food security

    The last few decades have witnessed a substantial decline in the number of hungry people worldwide. Since 2007, however, progress has slowed and world food supply and demand have been precariously balanced — climate change threatens to tip this balance, most dramatically in the poorer areas of the world.

  • Lawmakers criticize FDA, CDC for Cyclospora outbreak foot-dragging

    Lawmakers want to know why it has taken so long for food-safety authorities to respond to the cyclospora outbreak which, so far, has sickened at least 418 people in sixteen states. They also want to know why the FDA and CDC have been tight-lipped about the specific products carrying the parasite — health authorities in Nebraska and Iowa have pointed to bagged salad containing romaine and iceberg lettuce as well as carrots and cabbage as the source – and who is the manufacturer of the contaminated products.

  • University of Minnesota in new food-safety partnerships with China

    The National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD), a DHS center which has been housed at the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Minnesota since 2004, and the Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine (CAIQ) have signed a memorandum of understanding on food safety, protection, and defense issues. Both organizations will work to prevent and combat intentional contamination of the food supply for either economic or terroristic reasons.

  • New journal articles offer useful information for farmers, soldiers

    A new study of the Research Program for Deployed Warfighter Protection (DWFP) program discusses the program’s accomplishments, including the rodent feed-through technique with insecticidal baits for controlling phlebotomine sand flies; developing attractive targeted sugar bait for use against mosquitoes and sand flies; developing a lethal oviposition trap for container-breeding mosquitoes and evaluating using pyriproxyfen (an insect growth regulator) and autodissemination by these mosquitoes to block their reproduction and metamorphosis; defining the limitations of insect repellents against infected vectors; and developing the Florida Fly Baiter and several types of novel sprayer equipment for insecticide application.

  • CDC warns of parasites-related illnesses in fifteen states

    The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday that the number of Cyclospora cases has risen to 373 in fifteen states. State and federal health officials have not named the food or water source responsible for to the outbreak, but fresh produce is the likely source.

  • International partnership tries to preempt next global pandemic

    Researchers from Australia, Singapore, and the United States are joining forces, through a $20 million partnership, to help pre-empt and prepare the world for the next human pandemic.

  • Well water contaminants highest near natural gas drilling: study

    A new study of 100 private water wells in and near the Barnett Shale showed elevated levels of potential contaminants such as arsenic and selenium closest to natural gas extraction sites. Researchers believe the increased presence of metals could be due to a variety of factors including: industrial accidents such as faulty gas well casings; mechanical vibrations from natural gas drilling activity disturbing particles in neglected water well equipment; or the lowering of water tables through drought or the removal of water used for the hydraulic fracturing process. Any of these scenarios could release dangerous compounds into shallow groundwater.

  • North Carolina’s biothreat warning system receives funding

    The North Carolina Bio-Preparedness Collaborative (NCB-Prepared), a project to develop an early warning system to detect biothreats, has received $3 million in funding. The goal of NCB-Prepared project is to develop a statewide system that can detect and alert health officials and first responders within hours of an outbreak indicating a bioterror attack, contagious disease or illness, food-borne illness, and other biothreats.

  • The hidden dangers of south-of-the-border hot sauce

    In the last decade, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued several warnings about and recalls of imported food products that exceed federal standards for lead. Products containing chili peppers and salt, such as Mexican-style candies, were often suspected as sources of lead contamination. Researchers now find elevated lead levels in some hot sauces imported from Mexico. The researchers urge USDA and the FDA to develop enforceable screening standards for hot sauce.

  • New technology enables crops to take nitrogen directly from the air

    Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. Only a very small number of plants, however, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans, and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for most crops currently being grown across the world, this also means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen pollution is a major problem however, and efforts to deal with it are costly. Researchers have developed a method of putting nitrogen-fixing bacteria into the cells of plant roots. The implications for food production are enormous.

  • Tick rover robot kills ticks dead

    The day may not be too far away when homeowners can schedule monthly tick clearing service, drastically reducing the risk of tick-borne illness in their pets and children. This is because the “tick rover” robot has just cleared a major hurdle. Testing last month indicated unequivocally that the device kills between 75 and 100 percent of the ticks in its path.

  • Natural pest control protein for fighting hookworm: billion to benefit

    Hookworms, and other intestinal parasites known as helminths infect more than one billion people in poverty-stricken, tropical nations, sucking the vitality from the body, and leaving hundreds of millions of children physically and mentally stunted. A benign crystal protein, produced naturally by bacteria and used as an organic pesticide, could be a safe, inexpensive treatment for parasitic worms.

  • Food safety, farm groups oppose Smithfield sale

    A group of farm and food safety advocates is pushing federal regulators to prevent the sale of Smithfield Foods to Chinese food giant Shuanghui International Holdings. The coalition argues the sale could hurt domestic food safety, cause economic damage in rural communities, and could be a threat to national security.