Bioterrorism

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Factors governing infectiousness of anthrax still mysterious, experts say

(CIDRAP News) – A lengthy report by an expert panel on anthrax generally echoes treatment and prevention recommendations made by federal health officials last fall while highlighting how little is known about the epidemiology of the disease, especially how many spores it takes to cause infection.

Robert Roos
 

State public health emergency bills getting favorable reception

With only 6 months elapsed since the anthrax outbreak of 2001, at least six states have passed legislation expanding their power to cope with public health emergencies, including the power to require people to be vaccinated, treated, or quarantined.
Robert Roos
 

Emergency responders see need for better safety gear and training

Many emergency response workers feel they don't have adequate safety equipment and training for situations like the Sep 11 attacks and the subsequent anthrax attacks, according to a new federal report.
 

Team of four will lead CDC until new director is named

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announces that three at CDC plus CIDRAP's director to guide transition.
 

Aventis to give millions of smallpox vaccine doses to US government

Aventis Pasteur announced today that it will give an estimated 75 million to 90 million doses of decades-old smallpox vaccine to the US government.
 

President Bush moves to fill NIH and surgeon general positions

President Bush yesterday nominated an administrator from Johns Hopkins University to head the National Institutes of Health and an Arizona trauma surgeon and public health expert to be surgeon general.
Robert Roos
 

In simulated smallpox attack, vaccine shortage crippled national response

(CIDRAP News) – It is 13 days since the emergence of a hypothetical smallpox epidemic caused by the release of virus in three US shopping malls. Some 16,000 cases have been reported, 1,000 people have died, and the nation is running out of vaccine. Hospitals are overflowing, and federal and state officials are at odds over how to contain the epidemic.

 

US is vulnerable to foodborne bioterrorism, CDC report says

A recent Lancet report says the US needs to strengthen its public health system to minimize the danger.
 

NIAID releases lengthy bioterrorism research agenda

(CIDRAP News) – The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has released a 68-page report on its plan for expanding research on "Category A" bioterrorism agents: anthrax, smallpox, plague, tularemia, viral hemorrhagic fevers, and botulism.

 

US tularemia rate remains low, with four states accounting for most cases

(CIDRAP News) – Tularemia, one of the six diseases considered most likely to be spread by bioterrorists, remains uncommon in the United States, with 1,368 cases reported between 1990 and 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

 

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