Medical allocations to persons with special needs during a bioterrorism event - Brannen DE, Branum M, Pawani S, Miller S, Bowman J, Clare T.
After the bioterrorism-anthrax attacks of 2001, public health officials were tasked with planning population-wide medicine dispensing. This planning started with assumptions and then evaluations of seasonal immunization clinics. Research on the 2009 H1N1 p... (Source: SafetyLit)
Source: SafetyLit - February 23, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Tags: Disaster Preparedness Source Type: news
U.S. CDC labs close over concerns about air hose safety issues
(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has closed down its highest security biosafety laboratories after discovering that hoses that supply air to scientists wearing special protective suits were never approved for that use, the agency said on Friday.
“We have no evidence that anybody has suffered ill health effects from breathing air that came through these hoses,” Stephan Monroe, associate director for laboratory science and safety at the CDC, told Reuters.
Monroe said he was confident scientists were not exposed to pathogens because the air they breathed passed through HEPA fil...
Source: Mass Device - February 17, 2017 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: MassDevice Tags: Sterilization / Calibration Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Source Type: news
Bioforensics: DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Needs to Conduct a Formal Capability Gap Analysis to Better Identify and Address Gaps
U.S. Government Accountability Office. 01/11/2017 This 64-page report examines actions, if any, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have taken to enhance their ability to attribute the source of a biological attack, and to identify any challenges to enhancing bioforensics capabilities. The ability to attribute the source of an intentionally released biological threat agent and quickly apprehend and prosecute the perpetrator is essential to the nation ' s safety. Questions remain about whether DHS ' s and the FBI ' s capabilities have improved since the 2001 anthrax attack. (P...
Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - February 12, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: The U.S. National Library of Medicine Source Type: news
Meet Anne Schuchat, The Pro-Vaccine Researcher Who Just Took Over The CDC
This reporting is brought to you by HuffPost’s health and science platform, The Scope. Like us on Facebook and Twitter and tell us your story: scopestories@huffingtonpost.com.
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Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - January 24, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Summary of Findings and Recommendations of the Federal Security Advisory Panel on the Biennial Review of the Select Agents and Toxins List
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. 07/2016 This 15-page report summarizes the Federal Security Advisory Panel ' s charge to provide policy and technical input for the biennial review of the Biological Select Agents and Toxins (BSAT) list. The panel considered technical and policy factors related to C. burnetii (a bacterium that causes Q fever); R. prowazekii (a bacterium that causes epidemic typhus); B. anthracis Pasteur strain (an attenuated strain of the anthrax bacterium); B. abortus (a bacterium that causes brucellosis); B. melitensis (a bacter...
Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - January 20, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Authors: The U.S. National Library of Medicine Source Type: news
Two of region's anthrax-fighting companies announce merger
Gaithersburg-based immunotherapy company Altimmune Inc. is merging with Annapolis biodefense company PharmAthene Inc. to create a new immunotherapy firm focused on infectious diseases such as anthrax.
The merger announced Thursday is an all-stock transaction unanimously approved by both companies' boards.
Under the terms, Altimmune will become a wholly owned subsidiary of PharmAthene (NYSE MKT: PIP). Altimmune equity holders will own 58.2 percent of the fully diluted equity of the combined com pany.… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care News Headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care News Headlines - January 20, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Tina Reed Source Type: news
Porton Biopharma (PBL) Brochure
Porton Biopharma (PBL) manufactures the UK's licensed anthrax vaccine for and on behalf of the UK Government. (Source: Pharmaceutical Technology)
Source: Pharmaceutical Technology - January 19, 2017 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news
MassDevice.com +5 | The top 5 medtech stories for January 6, 2017
Say hello to MassDevice +5, a bite-sized view of the top five medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 5 biggest and most influential stories from the day’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
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5. Boston Scientific gives a lift to new erectile dysfunction device
Want to put some lead in your pencil? Try nitinol instead.
The wonder metal—a nickel-titanium alloy with heat-activated shape memory—has proved essential for...
Source: Mass Device - January 6, 2017 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: MassDevice Tags: News Well Plus 5 Source Type: news
Terumo, Xenex ink Japanese distro deal for LightStrike room disinfection robot
Terumo Corp. (TYO:4543) said today it inked a Japanese distribution deal with Xenex to distribute its Xenex LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots in the region.
The LightStrike device is designed to use pulsed xenon ultraviolet room disinfection technology to remove pathogens such as C. diff, staphylococcus aureus and carbapenem-resistent Enterobacteriaceae, Terumo said. The Xenex LightStrike device has also been shown to be effective against Ebola and Anthrax, the company added.
“We have carefully analyzed the room disinfection industry and evaluated the various technologies that are being used to combat HAIs. In Xenex,...
Source: Mass Device - January 5, 2017 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Fink Densford Tags: Business/Financial News Robotics Sterilization / Calibration Terumo Xenex Source Type: news
Notes from the Field: Compliance with Postexposure Prophylaxis for Exposure to Bacillus anthracis Among U.S. Military Personnel — South Korea, May 2015
(Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)
Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report - January 5, 2017 Category: American Health Source Type: news
Our news predictions for 2017
Climate change continues to impact on public health
Despite what many commenters have said in 2016, climate change is real and is ongoing. That's the thing about science. Just because you don't believe in it, it doesn't go away.
In 2016 we have seen evidence of the impact of climate change in a number of different ways.
There was an anthrax outbreak in northern Russia as warm weather caused the release of previously frozen deadly anthrax spores.
And many experts think that the spread of the Zika virus across much of the Americas was made possible, in part, by changes in temperature that created environments in which the ...
Source: NHS News Feed - December 30, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: QA articles Special reports Source Type: news
Modeling Tool for Decision Support during Early Days of an Anthrax Event
Article from Emerging Infectious Diseases provides a modeling tool that gives public health, hospital, and emergency planners scenario-specific information for developing quantitative response plans for an anthrax threat. (Source: PHPartners.org)
Source: PHPartners.org - December 19, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Why stock in this Gaithersburg biotech is up more than 25 percent
The share price of Gaithersburg-based Emergent BioSolutions Inc. remains up more than 25 percent this week after announcing Dec. 8 it scored federal deals worth up to $1 billion to supply the Strategic National Stockpile for millions of doses of its anthrax vaccine.
Emergent (NYSE: EBS) was awarded the contract with the Centers for Disease Control worth up to $911 million for 29.4 million doses of BioThrax through 2021. The company also received a separate notice that the Biomedical Advanced Research… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Physician Practices headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Physician Practices headlines - December 13, 2016 Category: American Health Authors: Tina Reed Source Type: news
Why stock in this Gaithersburg biotech is up more than 25 percent
The share price of Gaithersburg-based Emergent BioSolutions Inc. remains up more than 25 percent this week after announcing Dec. 8 it scored federal deals worth up to $1 billion to supply the Strategic National Stockpile for millions of doses of its anthrax vaccine.
Emergent (NYSE: EBS) was awarded the contract with the Centers for Disease Control worth up to $911 million for 29.4 million doses of BioThrax through 2021. The company also received a separate notice that the Biomedical Advanced Research… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines)
Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Biotechnology headlines - December 13, 2016 Category: Biotechnology Authors: Tina Reed Source Type: news
[Policy Forum] What life scientists should know about security threats
Although concerns about biological weapons and terrorism were discussed by a few scientists before 2001, the broader life-sciences community was not engaged until after the 2001 anthrax-laced letters. The events of 2001 led to efforts in the United States to strengthen biological security for pathogens that could adversely affect public health and safety (i.e., Biological Select Agents and Toxins) and research that could be directly misapplied for harmful purposes (i.e., Dual Use Life Sciences Research of Concern). Resulting policy and practices required scientists to assess security risks of certain types of pathogen rese...
Source: ScienceNOW - December 8, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Kavita M. Berger Tags: Biosecurity Source Type: news
