News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Federal health officials are in the midst of crafting a framework for funding H5N1 avian influenza gain-of-function studies, and today at a workshop they heard varied feedback from researchers, biosecurity experts, and others.

In the wake of a newspaper investigation that questioned the value of the federal BioWatch program for detecting dangerous airborne pathogens, some public health officials familiar with the program acknowledge that it's far from perfect, but they say it's not time to scrap it.

(CIDRAP News) – The Obama Administration this week unveiled the nation's first national biosurveillance strategy, designed to detect a range of threats, including bioterror attacks, infectious disease outbreaks, agricultural threats, and foodborne illness outbreaks.

(CIDRAP News) – Phone-based flu lines that operated during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic increased public flu knowledge, may have prevented unnecessary 911 calls and visits to health facilities, and eased access to antivirals when appropriate, a recent report found.

(CIDRAP News) – The Institute of Medicine (IOM) yesterday shared findings of three public opinion panels on antiviral distribution during a flu pandemic, including a nod for establishing diverse alternative strategies and support for Web and cell-phone information.

(CIDRAP News) – The Institute of Medicine (IOM) yesterday unveiled a decision-support model with a test version of software to help policymakers and other stakeholders determine what vaccines to develop at both national and global levels.

(CIDRAP News) – Stronger public health funding could stem rising spending on healthcare and not only improve the nation's health but also its economic standing, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report said yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – With the United States importing a vast river of foods and medicines from abroad, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other organizations need to increase their efforts to improve product safety monitoring in developing countries, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) said in a report released today.