News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – A new set of journal articles related to the 10th anniversary of the SARS epidemic in 2003 says the episode did much to boost recognition of the need for coordinated international and national responses to emerging infectious diseases.

(CIDRAP News) – Researchers from the Erasmus University lab that first identified the novel coronavirus implicated in two severe infections have published its full genome sequence, which they and other European scientists used to develop two assays to help confirm any future infections.

(CIDRAP News) – Opening the 65th annual World Health Assembly (WHA) today, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan, MD, said she sees a bright future for health development, despite financial crises that many countries are facing, which has shrunk support for many initiatives.

(CIDRAP News) – Though botulism outbreaks in Europe are often traced to home-canned food, three recent outbreaks were linked to commercially distributed food, raising important food safety issues, investigators reported last week.

(CIDRAP News) – The US House Energy and Commerce Committee today approved legislation to renew and fine-tune a 2006 law that has been credited with significantly improving the nation's preparedness for public health emergencies.

(CIDRAP News) – When the World Health Assembly (WHA) considers the fate of the remaining stocks of smallpox virus this week, the debate is likely to be framed in part by a report from a group of independent experts that says the only strong reason for keeping the virus is to satisfy strict regulatory requirements for new vaccines and antivirals.

(CIDRAP News) – Health officials in the United Kingdom today released proposed revisions to its pandemic preparedness strategy, which take into account lessons learned during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, such as a need for flexible plans covering a range of severity scenarios.

(CIDRAP News) – In opening the World Health Organization's (WHO's) executive board meeting yesterday, the head of the WHO cited anti-vaccine sentiments as a worrisome trend that may be very difficult to change.