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African governments neglect tropical diseases
To appreciate the staggering scope of African governments’ indifference to the welfare of their people, consider this: There are 890 million people on the African continent; an estimated 500 million of them are suffering from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs); these debilitating and sometimes deadly diseases produce profound physical and mental deficits in children
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WHO issue antiviral flu recommendations
The World Health Organization issued recommendations for antiviral treatment of both seasonal and swine flu; the guidelines represent the consensus reached by an international panel of experts who reviewed all available studies on the safety and effectiveness of these drugs
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Canada recalls some Sprouts Alive products
Canadian food inspection agency warns Canadians about salmonella contamination of Sprouts Alive products
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Scientists develop optimal flu vaccine priorities, question federal guidelines
Researchers find that vaccines targeted at groups more likely to transmit flu viruses, rather than those at highest risk of complications, would result in fewer infections and improved survival rates
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Government's flu season recommendations for companies
Toughing it out is not the solution; the U.S. government hopes that workers who think they may be coming down with something will stay home so as not to infect their coworkers
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Medical experts divided on swine flu precautions
Sixty public health officials, epidemiologists, and flu researchers worldwide about what, if any, personal precautions they have taken as the autumn flu season hits; there is no consensus
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Food safety moves up on Americans' agenda
The problem of food safety has been very much on the minds of Americans this summer; the government and the private sector are doing more to address the problem
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1957-58 flu pandemic can offer clues to planning for H1N1
During the 1957 pandemic, 25 percent of the U.S. population became ill, and excess mortality due to pneumonia and influenza occurred; much can be learned from looking at this previous pandemic that had similar patterns
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U.S. human tests of swine flu vaccine begin
Nine academic sites in the United States will test swine flu vaccine on 2,400 volunteers; testing will involve two vaccines in five population groups and at two different strengths
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Flying prayers to stop H1N1 virus
Fifty Jewish dignitaries, including rabbis, religious scholars, and yeshiva students, recited special prayers and blew shofars while flying over Israel, aiming to prevent more Israeli fatalities from swine flu
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Making sense of food safety legislation
The U.S. Congress is moving toward making food supplies safer; the House bill is modeled on a preventive approach called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or HACCP, which experts say is a sensible way to go
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Dog likely source of deadly pneumonic plague in China
The city of Ziketan has been sealed off sine the weekend after an outbreak of pneumonic plague; the first fatality was a 32-year old herdsman — and initial tests show that the herdsman’s dead dog was the likely origin of the outbreak
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Swine flu deaths reach to 1,154
Laboratory confirmed cases world-wide have reached 162,380; WHO has estimated that 2 billion people, or one in three of the world’s population, will have been infected by the virus by the end of the pandemic
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Third patient dies of plague in remote Chinese town
Chinese authorities have sealed off a remote Chinese town after an outbreak of pneumonic plague; authorities have set up a cordon with a 17-mile radius around the town of Ziketan; public buses were pulled off the streets, and the police is patrolling on the streets, advising shops to close
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Novartis starts human testing of swine flu vaccine
The Swiss company began testing its swine flu vaccine in 6,000 people of all ages in Britain, Germany, and the United States; the vaccine will likely be on the market before the trial finishes
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The long view
What We’ve Learned from Survivors of the Atomic Bombs
Q&A with Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, New Vice Chair for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
Combatting the Measles Threat Means Examining the Reasons for Declining Vaccination Rates
Measles was supposedly eradicated in Canada more than a quarter century ago. But today, measles is surging. The cause of this resurgence is declining vaccination rates.
Social Networks Are Not Effective at Mobilizing Vaccination Uptake
The persuasive power of social networks is immense, but not limitless. Vaccine preferences, based on the COVID experience in the United States, proved quite insensitive to persuasion, even through friendship networks.
Vaccine Integrity Project Says New FDA Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines Show Lack of Consensus, Clarity
Sidestepping both the FDA’s own Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two Trump-appointed FDA leaders penned an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine to announce new, more restrictive, COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Critics say that not seeking broad input into the new policy, which would help FDA to understand its implications, feasibility, and the potential for unintended consequences, amounts to policy by proclamation.
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
“Tulsi Gabbard as US Intelligence Chief Would Undermine Efforts Against the Spread of Chemical and Biological Weapons”: Expert
The Senate, along party lines, last week confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National intelligence. One expert on biological and chemical weapons says that Gabbard’s “longstanding history of parroting Russian propaganda talking points, unfounded claims about Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and conspiracy theories all in efforts to undermine the quality of the community she now leads” make her confirmation a “national security malpractice.”