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GSK donates bird flu vaccine to WHO
The bird flu vacinne market is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion in sales, and leading drug makers actively work on such a vaccine
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New global infectious disease reporting goes into effect today
Member states of the World Health Organization unanimously agree to a new set of epidemic reporting rules — even if such reporting hurts local economies
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China promises safe food for 2008 Olympic Games
China expects 10,000 athletes, 500,000 foreign visitors, and 1 million Chinese to converge on Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games; stung by criticism of food safety standards, government says food will be safe
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UAV tracks airborne pathogens
Virginia Tech researchers build a UAV that detects and tracks airborne pathogens above agricultural areas; a new field is born: aerogenomics
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Indonesia reports asymptomatic H5N1-infected poultry
Indonesia, China report bird flu traces found in healthy-looking poultry, increasing risk of human infection
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More beef, chicken products recalled as E. coli contamination spreads
California-based meat distributor orders recall of 5.7 million pounds of both fresh and frozen products; Tyson recalls 40,000 pounds of ground beef
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IBM develops technology to track spread of disease
Spatio-Temporal Epidemiological Modeler (STEM) is designed to enable the rapid creation of epidemiological models for how an infectious disease spreads over time
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Pressures grow to ban Chinese food imports
The growing number of instances of tainted food and other products imported from China move members of Congress to urge consideration of importationm ban
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Kent State to establish biodefense center
Kent State transforms existing laboratory on the Kent campus to a Level 3 biosafety training laboratory and opens Center for Public Health Preparedness
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Dramatic increase in use of RFID in food supply chain
RFID technology allows for better tracking and tracing of food stuff and livestock, and new study predicts dramatic increase in use of the technology in the food supply chain
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Congress to tighten border monitoring of disease carriers
A TB-carrying patient was allowed to go out of and come back into the country, risking the infection of hundreds, despite a lookout alert for him; Congress wants tighter control
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Customers for anthrax detector in Persian Gulf states
UDT in distribution agreement for its portable anthrax detector in the Persian Gulf region
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Army continues to incinerate WMD antidote kits
Millions of dollars are wasted each year because the kits are stored in military vans rather than in cooled facilities; and there aren’t any WMDs in Iraq, right?
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More evidence that beach sand harbors E. coli
Minnesota researchers measure seasonal variations in bacteria in water; worrry over replication in bacteria in sand and sediment
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Border guard thought TB warning was "discretionary"
The system worked, but the human factor failed; despite a warning to don a mask and call health authorities, guard waved Andrew Speaker through
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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.”