(CIDRAP News) – For the seventh year in a row, cases of tularemia are being reported on Martha's Vineyard, where six cases of the rare respiratory form of the disease have occurred so far.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) in a Jul 27 press release said that the patients, ages 33 to 67, became ill between May 13 and Jul 5. All have been successfully treated and are recovering. Four of the six are employed as landscapers.
(CIDRAP News) A US Senate committee today approved a bill packed with a wide variety of provisions designed to improve the nation's ability to handle public health emergencies, including pandemic influenza.
(CIDRAP News) The role of state officials in an influenza pandemic has been hazy, but the focus became clearer yesterday when the National Governors Association (NGA) released a guide that spells out key planning issues for top state officials.
(CIDRAP News) – Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials broke ground yesterday for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Md.
Construction of the NBACC is slated for completion in 2008, DHS officials said in a news release. The facility's estimated cost is $128 million, according to an April 2005 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
(CIDRAP News) The US emergency medical care system is woefully inadequate and unprepared for a pandemic, bioterrorist attack, natural disaster, or other national crisis, three recent reports from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) conclude.
(CIDRAP News) Federal officials announced this week that about $1.22 billion will be made available to states and territories this year to prepare for bioterrorism and other public health emergencies, down from about $1.33 billion last year.
(CIDRAP News) When vaccine supplies are limited, should children, young adults, or seniors move to the front of the line for shots? Is it appropriate to remove one person from a ventilator to put somebody else on the machine?
(CIDRAP News) – Combining vaccination with 14 days of antibiotic therapy after exposure to airborne anthrax may be an alternative to the current recommendation of 60 days of antibiotics alone, according to an animal study reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
(CIDRAP News) An agreement between US security and health agencies to share more data about travelers in order to keep infectious diseases out of the country has drawn criticism.
(CIDRAP News) The Bush administration acknowledged last week that its $5.6 billion program to build a supply of medical countermeasures against biological weapons and other threats is struggling and needs help, according to a newspaper report.
