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Governments worry about more cases of drug-resistant H1N1
Health officials in the United Kingdom and the United States report the likely person-to-person spread of a drug-resistant strain of H1N1; most patients thus far infected with the strain have already been immune-deficient
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Bioterrorism poses new challenges for the health care systems worldwide
A new book points out to one of the essential challenges bioterrorism poses: Nations’ primary health care system must be prepared properly to cope with cases of exceptional morbidity due to uncommon generators
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UIC to develop antibiotics against potential bioterrorism agents
The University of Illinois at Chicago receives $4 million in stimulus package funds to develop new antibiotics to treat anthrax, tularemia and plague
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Ricin antidote ready for production
U.K. scientists develop the first antidote to ricin poisoning; security experts say ricin — roughly 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide — could be used in a bio-terror attack; what worries experts about ricin is not only its toxicity, but its ready availability: Ricin is extracted from castor beans, which are processed throughout the world to make castor oil; the toxin is part of the waste “mash” produced when castor oil is made
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NIAID allocated $208 million to fight emerging infectious diseases from bioterrorism
Using its own research funds, augmented by stimulus package money, NIH awarded $208 million to two programs that support research better to understand the human immune response to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including those that may be introduced into a community through acts of bioterrorism
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Scientists track H1N1 virus for small changes which may mean big problems
A team at the University of California-San Francisco is using cutting-edge technology to track tiny genetic changes in H1N1 virus samples from around the word; what the scientists are worried about is a big change called genetic “shift,” when there is a dramatic re-assortment and exchange of strands of genetic material that trigger hard-to-predict epidemic trajectories
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Kent State to train lab workers for biocontainment
The increasing number of high-containment laboratories and the constant threat from emerging diseases and bioterrorism require more extensive biosafety training of the highest caliber, and more facilities in which to offer this training
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Tracking swine flu spread by monitoring electronic prescription records
Rhode Island is using information supplied by pharmacies to document how much Tamiflu and other antivirals are being dispensed to patients; the information — categorized by zip codes of the pharmacies where the medicine is dispensed and the age group of the patient receiving it — is given to epidemiologists at the state health department
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Uganda to conduct Marburg and Ebola vaccine trials
Ebola and Marburg are viral infections that have a high mortality, killing 90 percent of victims; no effective treatment exists for these highly infectious diseases, which cause extensive internal bleeding and rapid death
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Majority of Americans would refuse emergency use H1N1 vaccine or additive
Some 46 percent of people surveyed said they were concerned about
getting swine flu, but nearly 86 percent said they thought it was unlikely or very unlikely that they themselves would become ill -
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University of California campuses on alert for swine flu outbreak
University of California campuses have been active informing students, faculty, and staff about swine flu; the medical centers on these campuses have emergency plans
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Citizens worried about Fort Detrick biolab
A $680 million biolab is being constructed in Maryland; people living in the neighborhood told a panel that the military has not fully considered the possibility of a release of deadly germs by a disturbed or disgruntled worker
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Swine flu continues to spread long after fever stops
Swine flu appears to be contagious longer than ordinary seasonal flu, several experts said; more than 1 million Americans have been infected and nearly 600 have died from it
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Ohio to train EMTs to give flu vaccine
Ohio has about 41,000 EMTs and paramedics; the state wants them trained in giving swine flu shots if needed
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H1N1 remains relatively mild as vaccine production advances
CDC says most U.S. children who died ad pre-existing conditions; WHO pressures companies to donate 10% of their swine flu vaccine production to the developing world
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