• Media reports influence the severity of pandemics

    Up-to-date media reports about the way an infectious disease is spreading could dramatically reduce the severity of an outbreak, according to a new mathematical model; there is a problem though: if the reports are untrue or exaggerated, then the next pandemic may be deadlier because people may not believe the media reports

  • George Mason University opens $50 million biomedical lab to fight bioterrorism

    George Mason University has opened a $50 million biomedical research laboratory as part of the U.S. effort to fight bioterrorism; research will focus on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and on pathogens the government thinks could be used in a bioterrorism attack

  • The optimal balance of vaccine stockpiles

    Once a disease has been eradicated there is a danger it could reappear, either naturally or as a result of an intentional release by a terrorist group; how much vaccine should be produced and stored for a disease that may never appear again — or which may infect hundreds of thousands tomorrow? modelers target optimal vaccine storage for eradicated diseases

  • A first: plastic antibodies pass initial test

    Plastic antibodies, which mimic the proteins produced by the body’s immune system, were found to work in the bloodstream of a living animal; the discovery is an advance toward medical use of plastic particles custom tailored to fight an array of antigens

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  • Researchers develop an Ebola vaccine

    Researchers develop an experimental vaccine that cures the Ebola virus by targeting its genetic material; trouble is, the Ebola vaccine can only work if it is administered within thirty minutes, which is an impracticality among civilian populations; the vaccine is a viable possibility within a research facility, so it may be used to protect the researchers themselves

  • Dengue fever strikes United States after 65-year absence

    After an absence of sixty-five years, dengue fever has reentered the United States through the Florida Keys; the CDC reports that twenty-eight people in Key West came down with the dangerous fever; infected mosquitoes have been moving northward thanks to global warming, and there has been increased travel between the United States and South and Central America and the Caribbean — areas which have seen nearly five million cases of dengue fever from 2000 to 2007

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  • Utah implements harsh triage guidelines for bioterror, epidemic emergencies

    Utah’s new triage health emergency guidelines would see some children and some seniors turned away from hospitals during a bioterror or epidemic emergency; those who are severely burned, have incurable and spreading cancer, fatal genetic diseases, end-stage multiple sclerosis, or severe dementia will be turned away; people older than 85 also would not be admitted in the worst pandemic; those who have signed “do not resuscitate” orders could be denied a bed

  • Is there a connection between ending smallpox vaccination and the explosive spread of HIV?

    Smallpox immunization was gradually withdrawn from the 1950s to the 1970s following the worldwide eradication of the disease, and HIV has been spreading exponentially since approximately the same time; researchers show that vaccinia immunization, given to prevent the spread of smallpox, produces a five-fold reduction in HIV replication in the laboratory; is there a connection between the end of smallpox immunization and the spread of HIV?

  • Wisconsin researcher punished for unauthorized research on bioterror agent

    A university of Wisconsin researchers conducted unauthorized research on bioterror agent; the researcher developed antibiotic-resistant variants of brucellosis and tested them on mice; the University of Wisconsin was fined $40,000 by the National Institutes of Health, and the professor was ordered to stay out of a lab for five years

  • DHS's Fort Detrick biolab about to open

    The new DHS biolab at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is slowly coming to life; the eight-story building has three distinct sections: administrative offices near the front, biosafety level 2 and 3 labs, and then biosafety level 4 labs on the other side of a thick concrete wall; designing the BSL-4 labs as essentially their own building has several benefits; most importantly, a fire or other hazard in the other section of the building wouldn’t require the BSL-4 labs to be frantically evacuated

  • DHS in Manhattan, Kansas, to discuss the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

    DHS visits the site of the site of the planned $725 million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, on the campus of the Kansas State University; DHS officials held a public meeting with Manhattan residents to discuss the new lab

  • Epidemic, bioterrorism study in Las Vegas

    A research project in Nevada looks to help hospitals and public health officials do a better job of quickly identifying the sources and pathways of influenza, E. coli, and other contagious pathogens that can quickly spread through a population; the project will also help in designing ways to cope with a bioterror attack

  • Korean scientists develop fast, accurate pathogen detection sensor

    On average 540 million people become sick with harmful bacteria every year with fifteen million losing their lives to infectious disease around the world; the key to fighting infectious disease is for doctors to determine quickly what kind of pathogen or infectious agents have entered the body and sidestepped the natural immune system

  • Infrared Thermal Detection System is a fast, effective fever screening tool during pandemics

    In the age of globalization, infectious diseases can rapidly spread worldwide and infect many populations; a technology which would allow healthcare professionals quickly to screen large numbers of patients with speed and accuracy and implement relevant measures to prevent further disease transmission would be very helpful; University of Nebraska researchers offer such a technology

  • iBio to license vaccine production facility using green plant technology

    iBio will license the iBioLaunch platform to G-Con, LLC, a private Texas company; the “GreenVax Project” uses Nicotiana plants grown hydroponically; the green plant technology platform holds the promise of shortening vaccine production from months to weeks