Shortly after the terrorist events of Sept. 11, 2001, letters containing deadly anthrax spores arrived at locations across the country, killing five Americans and sickening 17 others. Twenty years after these incidents, considered the worst biological attacks in U.S. history, … Read More
Nerve agent poisoning can result in a quick death, causing the central and peripheral nervous systems to shut down. For those fortunate enough to receive medical care and survive exposure, long-lasting side effects are probable, including seizures, extreme muscle spasms, … Read More
As the CEO of American PAPR, a Brooklyn-based company that manufactures American-made personal protective equipment, Giles Kyser has hired lobbyists to make the case that the federal government should procure medical equipment whose raw materials are sourced and assembled in … Read More
State funding for public health departments has dropped by 16 percent since 2010, and these same departments have lost a quarter of their workforce in the last decade. How can the United States adequately prepare for the next pandemic when … Read More
Is the United States prepared for the next pandemic? That question has forced experts to either rethink preparedness strategies or find ways to bolster existing policy in the era of COVID-19. For the researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for … Read More
Antibiotics underpin modern medicine— used to treat everything from bacterial infections to cancer. However, a world without effective antibiotics because of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could mean the unraveling of health care. It also has implications for national security as antibiotics … Read More
When Ebola was a low priority for the private sector, the Department of Defense (DOD) was one of the few organizations that funded early-stage research and development on vaccines and treatments. The division of the DoD that played a critical … Read More
Even with the rollout of mass vaccination worldwide, COVID-19’s spread is nowhere near an immediate end. So, it might seem perplexing when biosecurity researchers appear optimistic about a future without pandemics. That reality is exactly what a new report has … Read More
The Biden administration’s plan to tackle COVID-19 includes delivering at least 100 million vaccines in 100 days to the American people. As of this week it was also announced that the federal government purchased 200 million additional doses from Moderna … Read More
Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest global public health concerns and is projected to be so for the next three decades. In the United States alone, 2.8 million people contract an antibiotic-resistant infection, killing more than 35,000 people each … Read More
While Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan implemented aggressive testing strategies and infrastructure during the early spread of SARS-CoV-2, the United States failed to develop and distribute reliable diagnostic tests when the pandemic initially hit the country, according to a new … Read More
Chemists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will spend the next month and a half preparing for an exam that will certify the laboratory to test for chemical weapons, a task it has been certified to do since 2003. … Read More
Scientists did not anticipate the initial threat of SARS-CoV-2, but what if they could have. In a commentary released this month by Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, society could be prepared for … Read More
A highly anticipated University of Minnesota study examining the use of hydroxychloroquine among young health care workers found the drug does not prevent symptoms of COVID-19. The randomized trial primarily examined the use of the drug on 821 young participants … Read More
From flooding to wildfires to the novel coronavirus, health emergencies have dominated and redefined public life in the last year. Experts say that keeping Americans safe from these disasters requires a well-funded public health system focused on three key areas: … Read More
The spread of coronavirus in the United States has unveiled various levels of inequalities in society, including between major cities with more robust hospital systems and rural communities with less access to resources. The COVID-19: A Frontline Guide for Local … Read More
Millions of N95 respirators used by U.S. health care workers in hospital settings can now be sterilized for reuse, helping to combat the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) on April … Read More
Sarah Lofgren’s voice had a tinge of excitement when she explained why the bright green dots on one scientific slide disappeared on the next. The co-investigator at the University of Minnesota Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine showed how … Read More
Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, is also a production hub for pharmaceutical ingredients for the United States. As the virus spreads throughout China, the U.S. drug supply remains vulnerable to reduced production and export of essential materials. … Read More
In the wake of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, policymakers and the public are asking what more could have been done to prevent the spread of that disease. Public health officials participated on Monday at the Hudson Institute in a … Read More
National health security advocates argue the U.S. government is not fiscally prepared to address the possible spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus in the United States, and it must take rapid steps to ensure funding is in place to head … Read More
The second wave of Americans arrived in California on Wednesday, traveling from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic. They will spend days on military bases in quarantine as public health officials determine if there are any cases … Read More
DNA synthesis technologies— a cornerstone of life sciences research and biotechnology development—are becoming more advanced and commercially available. Although much of this technology is used for clinical diagnosis and treatment, its potential exploitation may lead to ominous biological security threats. … Read More
Global health security may need an overhaul. That’s how Kathryn Bouskill, a social scientist at the RAND Corporation and associate director of the RAND Center for Global Risk and Security, sees the future of the discipline. In her recently published … Read More
It’s a disease that’s killed millions of pigs globally, crippled farming, and has no cure. African swine fever has devastated the Asian pork industry, as China has culled about half of its total swine population since the disease took hold … Read More
One of the most searing memories Thomas Frieden had during the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak was one in which he deeply questioned the international community’s effectiveness in supporting the health infrastructure of Ebola-plagued nations. Then head of the Centers … Read More
The constantly changing nature of the influenza virus makes it an annual effort of scientists, manufacturers, and the medical community to devise and disseminate vaccines to combat the disease. What if those efforts could be streamlined to develop a universal … Read More
China is rapidly gaining on the United States when it comes to creating technology that mitigates disease threats and developing pharmaceuticals faster, and it’s a phenomenon driven by a philosophy that the state, military, and the private sector are one … Read More
An online platform launched earlier this year crowdsources intelligence to predict the outcomes of disease outbreak. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security implemented its publicly available disease prediction policy dashboard 10 months ago, and officials hope forecasting efforts might … Read More
Countries are not prepared for the possible international spread of new or emerging pathogens or for the deliberate or accidental release of dangerous agents, according to a new index that assesses the capabilities of 195 nations. The Global Health Security … Read More
Terrorist threats against the United States continue to grow and evolve, including the use of non-conventional weapons, begging the question of whether this country is well-equipped for such attacks. The conclusion of experts who testified Thursday before the U.S. House … Read More
A new report issued by leaders in international health says the world may face great risk from pathogens, including a rapidly moving, highly lethal pandemic projected to kill 50 to 80 million people and wiping out nearly 5 percent of … Read More
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently identified several challenges related to the nation’s ability to detect and respond to biological events. These hurdles transcend what any one federal department or agency can individually address. The GAO found four precarious … Read More
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded SIGA Technologies a contract valued at up to $19.5 million, with an initial award of $12.4 million, to advance work that could provide a label expansion for TPOXX, a drug used to … Read More
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently cleared the first use of a commercially available product to manage blister injuries caused by sulfur mustard, otherwise known as mustard gas. Silverlon, a silver-plated nylon dressing, is used widely to aid in … Read More
