Bioterrorism

NEWS SCAN: More bad news for proposed BSL-4 lab, dengue in Asia, cost of drug resistance, Africa flu surveillance, meningococcal-Hib vaccine

Jun 15, 2012

RAND gives Cities Readiness Initiative good marks

(CIDRAP News) – A federal program designed to prepare communities to quickly distribute medications to the population to blunt a bioterrorist attack generally seems to be working well and making an impact, but there's room for improvement, according to a new report from the RAND Corp.

Robert Roos

Federal plan emphasizes resilience in national preparedness

(CIDRAP News) – The federal agency tasked with shoring up the nation's preparedness against a host of public health emergencies released a plan yesterday to help it and other partners focus and coordinate steps to meet national preparedness objectives.

Lisa Schnirring

House bill calls for White House biodefense advisor

(CIDRAP News) – A bill headed for the floor of the US House calls for appointing a special White House advisor to lead and coordinate biodefense activities, including developing a national biodefense plan and a biosurveillance strategy.

Robert Roos

FEMA's first national preparedness report cites progress, gaps

(CIDRAP News) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued a report last week on the nation's progress in emergency preparedness, highlighting successes in all-hazards planning and gaps in cybersecurity efforts and disaster recovery.

The report is the first in a series of annual reports designed to gauge key capabilities and help national officials set priorities and fill gaps.

Lisa Schnirring

NEWS SCAN: Funds to fight Ebola, plague; beef product plants closing; European measles pace slows

May 8, 2012

Twin Cities medicine-by-mail test called successful

(CIDRAP News) – Without any major hitches, mail carriers delivered empty pill bottles and fliers to about 37,000 Twin Cities area homes yesterday to rehearse part of the planned response to an anthrax attack or widespread disease outbreak, according to officials involved in the exercise.

Robert Roos

NIH preparing tool to help labs cope with new DURC policy

(CIDRAP News) – Federal officials are working on guidance to help local institutions implement the government's new policy on the oversight of life-sciences dual-use research of concern (DURC), an official from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said today.

Lisa Schnirring

NSABB member says officials stacked deck for board's H5N1 decision

(CIDRAP News) – In a leaked letter, a member of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) has charged that federal officials planned the board's meeting in late March in a way designed to lead the board to reverse its earlier recommendation against full publication of two studies describing lab-modified H5N1 viruses with increased transmissibility in mammals.

Robert Roos