• Immunovaccine offers enhanced anthrax vaccine candidate

    Currently, to provide protection from anthrax, individuals receive a 6-dose regime with three injections given two weeks apart, followed by three additional injections given at 6, 12, and 18 months; annual booster injections of the vaccine are recommended thereafter; Canadian company Immunovaccine says it developed a method to cut this arduous regimen by half

  • Tulane University, Corgenix awarded $15,000,000 to expand Lassa fever research

    Lassa fever, because of its high fatality rate, the ability to spread easily by human-to-human contact, and the potential for aerosol release, is classified as a bio safety level 4 agent and is included on the NIAID Category A list of potential bioterrorism threats; new study will focus on identification of novel B-cell epitopes on Lassa virus proteins, aiming to develop agents to treat and prevent the disease

  • New virtual community to connect bioterrorism experts

    Mount St. Mary’s University launches launched a new virtual community that allows intelligence officers, students, and even Capitol Hill executives to network with bioterrorism experts and academics; the invitation-only network takes place on the Yakabox knowledge sharing systems which are certified for use in classified environments by the U.S. government

  • U.S. gets “F” in preparation for threat of biological terrorism

    The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism gave the U.S. government an “F” for bioweapon preparedness; the commission warned: “On the current course, what is likely to occur within a very few years is an attack using weapons of mass destruction — probably a bioweapon — that will fundamentally change the character of life for the world’s democracies”

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  • Battling against biological threats with ultrasonics

    A tweezers-like device uses ultrasonics to detect bioterror agents; when a small sample such as a powdery anthrax mix is placed inside the device, an array of piezoelectric transducers would generate an ultrasonic force field onto the sample; security officials would be able to detect anthrax from innocuous powders in the mix through differences in compressibility and density

  • Recalled beef in California could be two years old

    An examination of tainted beef sold to restaurants and stores by a California company between 5 and 15 January this year revealed that it was processed nearly two years old; this means that beef already in the freezers of restaurants, hotels, stores, and consumers may be tainted with E. coli

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  • Food facilities failing to comply with Bioterrorism Act of 2002

    There are approximately 420,000 domestic and foreign food facilities – not including farms, retail facilities, and restaurants — doing food-related business in the United States; the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 requires these food facilities to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and provide information which could be used in the event of a bioemergency (farms, retail facilities, and restaurants are exempt from registration), many have done so yet

  • Llamas’ antibodies to aid bioterror fight

    A new system, which utilized antibodies found in llamas, detects seven types of botulinum neurotoxins simultaneously; the system uses antibodies from llamas; the llama antibodies, which are proteins made by the body to fight disease, are “nanobodies,” sometimes called single domain antibodies, and are molecularly flexible, unlike traditional antibodies; the new method could lead to increased protection of food and water supplies against bioterror attacks

  • Israel conducts large bioterrorism drill

    Israel conducts two-day bioterrorism drill — reported to be the largest simulation of a biological attack ever conducted; the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps, national Health Ministry, hospitals, and health clinics took part in the simulation which dealt with soldiers and others experiencing rashes, fever, and mouth lesions

  • Budget cuts more than $600 million from Bioshield program

    Randall Larsen, executive director of the congressionally chartered Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism: “Using Bioshield funds for flu preparedness and other issues not associated with national security will severely diminish the nation’s efforts to prepare for WMD events and will leave the nation less, not more, prepared”

  • Germ threat: Preparing for bioterrorism

    The Christmas terrorist near-miss serves as a reminder, if one were needed, that there are hundreds of terrorist planners, and thousands of dedicated followers, who plot day and night to inflict harm on the United States and its people; former Senators Bob Graham (D-Florida), and Jim Talent (R-Missouri), co-chairmen of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, argue that the most likely weapon of mass destruction terrorists will use would be biological weapons; the two also argue that the H1N1 flu crisis offered an early test of the U.S. abilities to respond to bioterrorism; they conclude the United States flunked it badly

  • Preventing terrorists from infecting passengers on a plane with deadly disease

    RGF Environmental Group Inc. is in discussion with Sandia Labs over identifying potential airline bioterrorism threats, and in association with Kansas State University presents a study on the solutions

  • Texas foundation wins contract to assist in fight against bioterrorism

    Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research receives first installment of $456,216 of a $2.2 million contract to do research on Ebola and Marburg viruses, which could be used as potential bioterror weapons

  • NIH grants to aid study of smallpox and other bioterror-related diseases

    NIH gives the La Jolla Institute $18.8 million to do immunological research into diseases which could be used in bioterrorist attacks; the institute will study vaccines and treatments for smallpox, dengue, malaria, and tuberculosis

  • Anthrax false alarm disrupts Alabama

    Envelopes sent to the offices of leading politicians in Alabama found to contain fructose sugar; the nine letters had different postmarks but were all postmarked in the state of Alabama, and investigators now believe the sugar-filled mailings came from the same source