News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – As labs in the United States study how the H7N9 virus behaves in humans and animals, state and local health officials should dust off their pandemic preparedness plans in case the virus becomes a bigger threat, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – A human isolate of the novel H7N9 influenza virus from China—needed for the development of diagnostic test kits and related efforts—is expected to arrive at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within 2 days, a CDC official said today.

(CIDRAP News) – The United States still lacks a way to assess the need for high-containment laboratories and national standards for building and maintaining them, despite 2009 recommendations, according to a report yesterday from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).