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(CIDRAP News) – A study focusing on the two plasmids, or extrachromosomal DNA rings, usually found in Bacillus anthracis cells helps explain why different varieties of anthrax differ significantly in virulence.

(CIDRAP News) – Efforts to develop a fast, reliable diagnostic test for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) suffered setbacks in recent days as the disease continued to spread at a brisk pace, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Of three different tests under development, two don't work until relatively late in the course of the illness, and one can be used earlier but is not very reliable, WHO announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – Cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the United States and worldwide jumped significantly today, but most patients in the United States have recovered and none have died, according to health officials.

(CIDRAP News) – More than 9 million chickens have been killed and another 2 million are likely to meet the same fate in the battle to contain the month-old epidemic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the Netherlands, according to reports from there.

(CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported three more cases of heart problems in recent smallpox shot recipients, including two cases of heart inflammation and one heart attack. The cases bring the number of civilians who experienced cardiac problems after vaccination to 10 since the immunization program began in January.

(CIDRAP News) – A Republican proposal for compensating healthcare workers harmed by the smallpox vaccine won narrow approval from a Senate committee yesterday, over Democratic objections that the plan is not generous enough.

Apr 2 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today took the unusual step of advising against nonessential travel to Hong Kong and the neighboring Guangdong Province of China because of the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) there.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal agencies have reported four more cases of heart inflammation in military personnel who received smallpox shots, including one severe case. The report came as officials advised the states to suspend smallpox shots for people with three or more major cardiac risk factors as well as for those with known heart disease.

(CIDRAP News) – In an effort to slow the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Hong Kong health officials have sealed off a large apartment building where 107 people became infected.

(CIDRAP News) – A 55-year-old National Guard member died of a heart attack Mar 26, 5 days after getting a smallpox shot, a Department of Defense official reported today.

(CIDRAP News) – Global cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) have continued to climb rapidly in recent days, reaching 1,485 today, as the World Health Organization (WHO) and various cities and countries stepped up efforts to contain the disease.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal health officials revealed today that 12 people—10 military personnel and 2 civilians—have had heart inflammation after getting smallpox shots, strengthening evidence that the vaccine can cause such inflammation.

(CIDRAP News) – In its second report on the civilian smallpox vaccination program, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) urges the government to proceed cautiously and advises public health agencies to focus on coordination, not just numbers of people vaccinated.

(CIDRAP News) – Because of heart problems that occurred in seven healthcare workers after they received smallpox shots, federal health officials say people who have heart disease should postpone the shot while investigators look for a possible link between the vaccine and heart disorders.

(CIDRAP News) – An outbreak of atypical pneumonia that began in southern China last fall was probably severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the mysterious flu-like illness that has spread to 13 countries since late February, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – Analysts who mathematically simulated the results of a major airborne anthrax attack say that very aggressive use of prophylactic antibiotics would be the key to preventing tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of deaths after such an attack.

(CIDRAP News) – Tests by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that a previously unrecognized coronavirus—a virus family associated mainly with the common cold—may be the cause of sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), CDC officials announced today.

(CIDRAP News) – Suspected US cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) climbed to 22 today as the global total neared 360, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported.

The US total now includes three patients who didn't travel to Southeast Asia, the epicenter of the outbreak, but apparently caught the illness from close contacts who had traveled there, CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said at an afternoon news briefing.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal food regulators should consider asking Congress for authority to gather information about security measures at food processing plants so they can better assess industry efforts to protect food from deliberate contamination, according to a new report by Congress's General Accounting Office (GAO).

(CIDRAP News) – A Senate committee yesterday unanimously approved the Bush administration's "BioShield" plan to promote vaccines and treatments for biodefense but blocked the administration's proposal for compensating healthcare workers harmed by the smallpox vaccine.