Public health

Multivalent vaccine botulinum toxin shows promise
Bolulinum toxin is an extremely strong neurotoxin that causes fatal paralysis in its victims; Florida company reports initial success of its multivalent vaccine
- Read more
Missouri's cattlemen's group opposes BioDefense lab
Major agricutlrual associations in Missouri split over merit, risks of building national bio- and agro-defense lab in the state
- Read more

France, Germany raise bird flu threat level
In Germany, wild birds are found dead in Thuringia, Saxony, and Bavaria; in France, three dead swans found in Moselle; both countries raise bird flu alert levels
- Read more
Renewed worries about safety of biodefense research
Critics argue that universities, fearing loss of biodefense research funds, do not report infections, other problems
- Read more

CDC suspends A&M research on infectious diseases
In spring 2006, Aggies researchers were infected with Q fever and Brucella, but the school failed to report the cases to CDC; CDC pulls Texas A&M license
- Read more
CDC probes A&M bioweapons infections
Researchers’ exposure to weapons agents not reported promptly
- Read more

Study: vaccine may protect against Ebola
NIH researchers find that vaccine incorporating a common pediatric respiratory pathogen may be effective against the dreaded Ebola virus
- Read more
China embarks on ambitious bioterror protection program
The Chinese government launches a project aiming to develop vaccines and medicines for genes used in bioterrorism and technologies to evaluate genetically modified plants
- Read more

UW wins biofuel grant, and is in the running for DHS agro defense lab
University of Wisconsin wins biofuel grant: $125 million will fund center researching ways to convert plant matter into fuel
- Read more
Little moth poses a big threat to California's wine-growers
The discovery in the Bay Area of a tiny Australian moth with voracious apetite leads to renewed criticism of DHS’s inspection of cargo for agricultural threats
- Read more

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
- Read more
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
- Read more

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
- Read more
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
- Read more
Indonesia reports asymptomatic H5N1-infected poultry
Indonesia, China report bird flu traces found in healthy-looking poultry, increasing risk of human infection
- Read more

More headlines