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The Nebraska Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) recently underwent an inspection of its patient care, quality control, and other critical facets and was subsequently reaccredited by the College of American Pathologists.
The reaccreditation places the lab among 7,700 other accredited facilities... Read More »
A meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assembled experts in human and animal health last week to address early warning systems for animal-to-human (zoonotic) disease outbreaks.
“Early detection is the key,” Trevor Shoemaker, a CDC epidemiologist formerly based in Uganda,... Read More »
An algorithm that automatically determines how much useful information is contained in latent crime scene fingerprints was recently developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Michigan State University.
During the crime scene discovery process, the... Read More »
The number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has surpassed more than 500,000 during 2017, with approximately 2,000 patients succumbing to the virus’ lethal effects since the outbreak began, according to a recent release from the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Yemen’s health workers are... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has two new tools at their disposal for predicting cattle shipments and preparing for disease outbreaks among them.
With department funding, the two new web-based tools include the U.S. Animal Movement Model... Read More »
The research community involved with academic biomedicine should improve its abilities to mitigate and recover from disasters, according to a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
According to the report, the results of various disasters, ranging from... Read More »
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) recently published a database on the website of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) that details all of Iran’s missile and space launch vehicle (SLV) tests since 1988, which marked the end of the Iran-Iraq war.
Specifically, the... Read More »
The International Police Organization (INTERPOL) and Palo Alto Networks recently signed an agreement at the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore that will increase collaboration between the two organizations on cybercrime issues.
The agreement provides a framework for... Read More »
An outbreak of dengue fever first identified in May continues to affect multiple regions in the Ivory Coast, according to a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The first cases of the outbreak were reported to public health authorities on April 22 and were confirmed by an... Read More »
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) named Chief Tom Jenkins, from the fire department of Rogers, Arkansas as their new president and chairman last week.
In his new role, Jenkins will serve as the organization’s spokesman and dignitary. He will also be responsible to testify for... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions said on Monday it has been awarded a contract worth approximately $23 million from the Medical Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Consortium (MCDC) for the development of an innovative multi-drug auto injector for nerve agent antidote... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions said on Wednesday it has entered into a licensing agreement with Valneva SE for the global exclusive rights to the company’s Zika vaccine technology, ZIKV.
“Emergent is focused on providing preparedness solutions to public health threats and emerging infectious... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions said on Wednesday it plans to acquire GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) raxibacumab, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved monoclonal antibody used for the treatment of inhalation anthrax, in an all-cash transaction valued at up to $96 million.
Raxibacumab is approved... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. said on Friday it plans to acquire Sanofi’s ACAM2000 business, the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for active immunization against smallpox, in an all-cash transaction totaling up to $125 million.
ACAM2000 is the primary smallpox... Read More »
Botulinum toxin, produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria, is the most potent biological toxin known to exist on Earth. The toxin causes botulism, a severe muscle-paralyzing, potentially fatal disease, characteristics that increase its likelihood as a potential bioweapon.
And while the U.S.... Read More »
Raytheon Company’s advanced Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) Block IA, an offensive and defensive missile system, aced its final land-based test this week after engaging and destroying a subsonic target from a test site in southern New Mexico.
With this success, the SM-6 Block IA will now move to... Read More »
In the wake of a recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which found that Zika infection during any trimester of a pregnancy can lead to severe birth defects, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) called on public health leaders to... Read More »
The University of Nebraska Medical Center is transforming and centralizing infectious disease response and biodefense research with the creation of the Global Center for Health Security.
Such efforts are part of the brave new world of public health which, for years, has been plagued with... Read More »
Smiths Detection, a manufacturer of threat detection and screening technologies for military and homeland security applications, recently received explosives detection system (EDS) cabin baggage (CB) approvals for three of its scanners from the European Union (EU).
After its HI-SCAN 6040aTiX... Read More »
A resolution that reaffirms the airline industry’s commitment to keep air travel secure and promote greater public-private collaboration was recently adopted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at its 73rd Annual General Meeting.
The resolution was used to highlight the... Read More »
The Security Industry Association (SIA), a trade group representing thousands of security industry leaders and companies, recently established a new Public Safety Working Group, which aims to develop plans and recommendations to improve the overall safety, security and sustainability of cities... Read More »
A group of students at the University of Maryland-College Park (UMD) recently developed a program for family and friends of individuals at risk of radicalizing, with a goal of finding new ways of challenging extremism in the United States.
The initiative, “It Takes Just One,” is a... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions unveiled its new Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM) on Tuesday, which is designed to enable manufacturing of various medical countermeasures to address urgent public health threats.
The 112,000-sq. ft. facility was supported through a... Read More »
The nation’s supply of U.S.-licensed YF-VAX yellow fever vaccine is expected to be depleted by mid-2017 due to delays in the manufacturing process at Sanofi Pasteur, according to a recent report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
YF-VAX is the only yellow... Read More »
The nation’s biodefense response to emerging diseases and outbreaks is on an endless loop that, without a proper foundation, is not allowing for progressive countermeasure operations, according to Merck Pharmaceuticals Executive Director Julie Gerberding, former director of the Centers for... Read More »
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) recently called for continued resources to support a long-term public health response against Zika virus.
The group’s request includes increased laboratory, epidemiological, and surveillance capacity, along with enhanced vector... Read More »
Battelle recently announced it has entered into a research and development agreement with Nanotherapeutics Inc. to expedite the creation of new medical countermeasures for deployed military forces facing a variety of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats.
The agreement... Read More »
The Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) recently announced an immediate investment of $24 million and up to $24 million in additional, milestone-based payments over three years to accelerate the development of new antibiotics and diagnostics to treat... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions said on Friday it signed a $53 million modified contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in order to allow for future filling and deliveries of its botulism antitoxin to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.
The contract covers a... Read More »
Officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently outlined the organization's efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's most serious infectious diseases.
In a joint statement, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci and other NIAID officials said the... Read More »
Smiths Detection was recently awarded a contract to supply Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with new baggage screening equipment, including 24 HI-SCAN 10080 XCT systems.
The contract includes an option for six additional scanners to be deployed at Lelystad, Rotterdam - The Hague, and Eindhoven... Read More »
The Seattle-based Mobile Performance Management software company, NetMotion Software, recently released the world’s first mobile intelligence and analytics solution that captures network and security data across any wireless network, called Diagnostics 4.0.
NetMotion said the software gives... Read More »
Emergent Biosolutions Inc. on Friday signed a two-year contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) valued at $100 million for the delivery of the company’s anthrax vaccine, called BioThrax, to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
The most recent... Read More »
According to a recent study at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, Zika virus and dengue fever are so closely related to one another that the body’s immune system treats Zika like another version of dengue.
The researchers said the immune response showed that pre-existing... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) chaired a cybersecurity hearing last week to examine various opportunities for enhancing partnerships between the private sector and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The hearing, titled The Current State of DHS Private Sector Engagement for... Read More »
