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New Ebola vaccine protects against lethal infection in animal models
Ebola virus is the the cause of severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates; it is transmitted through direct contact of bodily fluids with infected individuals resulting in death up to 90 percent of the time; no licensed vaccines or antivirals are available against EBOV; researchers say new vaccine shows promise
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Taliban renews opposition to polio vaccination
Taliban in Pakistan’s northwest territories and Afghanistan renew their campaign against vaccination of children against polio; clerics describe vaccination as “Western plot”; Taliban fighters have attacked vaccination teams in Pakistan’s Swat valley; Islamic clerics in northern Nigeria have embarked on similar campaign
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E. coli vaccine developed
A Michigan State University researcher has developed a working vaccine for a strain of E. coli that kills 2 million to 3 million children each year in the developing world
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New ricin detection test developed
As little as one-half milligram of ricin is lethal to humans; no antidote is available; two teams of researchers in New York and Georgia develop a test that can accurately detect and quantify the presence of ricin
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Hundreds of patients in Illinois exposed to TB
A medical residents on hospital rotations unknowingly exposes hundreds of patients to TB; o far, no one has tested positive for the disease
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U.S. food poisoning cases held steady in 2008
CDC says in a new report that United States did not suffer more food poisoning last year despite high-profile outbreaks involving peppers, peanut butter, and other foods
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Smart bandage tells doctors about state of wound healing
Dutch researchers develop a smart bandage which updates doctors about the wound healing process; bandage made of printed electronic sensors; the researchers’ next goal: add an antenna to transmit information about the patient’s health remotely to the attending physician
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Ebola lab accident tests experimental vaccine
A lab scientist in Germany accidentally pricked her finger with a needle carrying Ebola virus; there are no approved vaccines for Ebola, and Ebola accidents have killed lab technicians before; the German technician was given an experimental vaccine, and so far developed no symptoms
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Digital security companies eye emerging e-health care market
Gemalto joins SAFE-BioPharma Association; company said it will contribute its expertise in smart card-based solutions for authentication, network security, and digital signature — all essential elements of creating electronic health care business environment by 2012
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California pistachio growers worry about big losses from FDA recall
California produces 96 percent of the U.S. pistachios; the entire $540 million-a-year industry is under threat as a result of FDA’s pistachios recall last week
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Food safety standards must be shown to add to companies' bottom line
TraceGains says its supply-chain solutions help companies turn disparate data into actionable business and value chain intelligence — turning traceability from a cost center into a profit center
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A wave of food recalls fuels drive for food safety reform
The FDA told consumers Monday to stop eating anything containing pistachios; the FDA was tipped off by Kraft Foods on 24 March, after the company found salmonella in routine testing and recalled some trail mix
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Targeting mosquito larvae to control malaria
Larvicides were used in the early twentieth century, but the successful introduction of the pesticide DDT to kill adult mosquitoes meant that larvicides fell out of favor; new Tanzania study reopens debate on whether we should go back to targeting larvae
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Lax meat-import rules open Canada to bioterrorism
Former Canadian food inspector says the rules governing meat imports into Canada leave Canadians vulnerable to bioterrorism and outbreaks of dangerous bacteria such as listeria
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Predicting population of disease-carrying mosquitoes
Researchers at University of Adelaide in Australia create a model predicting population peaks of disease-carrying mosquitoes; model will help in developing cost-effective mosquito control policies
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