Bioterrorism Week articles from July 2003

Bioterrorism Week archives from July 2003

Disaster preparedness course offered for physicians.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American Medical Association (AMA), in cooperation with four major medical centers, announced the establishment of training courses to better prepare healthcare professionals and emergency response...

Ocular complications of smallpox and smallpox immunization outlined.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The ocular complications of smallpox and smallpox immunization have been outlined in a recent issue of Archives of Ophthalmology. "Although smallpox was eradicated worldwide, concerns have been...

Diversa receives DoD Chemical and Biological Defense Initiatives Fund award.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Diversa Corporation (DVSA) announced that one of its biodefense proposals has been selected to receive a $1.38 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense's Chemical and Biological Defense (CBD)...

Interleukins-2 and -4, but not interferon-gamma, exhibit adjuvant activity.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Cell wall components of Bacillus anthracis Sterne did not adversely affect the immune response generated by protective antigen, the main bacterial...

IGEN expands biodefense customer base in Europe.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IGEN International, Inc., (IGEN) announced that the French Ministry of Defense has purchased IGEN's biological agent detection products, adding France to the company's base of European customers using...

INT wins NSF grant biological agents sensor.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The National Science Foundation awarded Integrated Nano-Technologies (INT) a grant for further development of chemical processes pertaining to its BioDetect system. The device is the first...

AMA pushes bioterror preparedness effort.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American Medical Association announced on June 16, 2003, a new program that aims to standardize bioterrorism training for doctors and others in the U.S. who respond to mass disasters. The...

Report says microbial genotyping is an underserved market.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With public attention focused on outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and monkeypox, along with fears of bioterrorism, microbiologists are increasingly finding themselves in the...

InMat receives phase II SBIR contract.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- InMat, Inc., the leader in aqueous nanocomposite barrier coating technology, announced that the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, also known as Natick Labs, Natick, Massachusetts, has awarded InMat,...

Panel warns against danger of smallpox vaccine.
July 7, 2003... 2003 JUL 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A U.S. federal health advisory committee recommended that the Bush administration shouldn't follow through on plans to offer smallpox vaccinations to 10 million emergency workers because of previously...

CDC guidelines would not have identified inhalational anthrax patients.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines would not have identified the 11 patients who contracted inhalational anthrax in October through November 2001. According to...

Study shows large-scale immunization can be conducted safely.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Despite concerns about the safety of a large-scale smallpox vaccination program, new research from the U.S. military suggests that such a program can be carried out safely, with relatively few serious...

Virulence gene regulator atxA controls many genes, acpA controls few.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Bacillus anthracis virulence regulatory genes atxA and acpA play different roles; atxA controls many genes, while acpA controls few. According to a study from the United States, "Control of...

First-of-its-kind nanoscale sensor has many medical, biotech applications.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) physicists have created a first-of-its-kind nanoscale sensor using a single molecule less than 20 nanometers long - more than 1,000 times smaller than the...

Emergency response communications developed to speed response.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- American Telesource, Inc., (ATI) has developed an emergency response communications system (ERCS) that will automatically dispatch and provide specific instructions to medical professionals and...

New drug to be tested on people.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human Genome Sciences Inc. announced on June 25, 2003, that it will soon start human tests of an anthrax drug that blocks the toxins released by the deadly bacteria. The drug is envisioned as both...

R&D agreement initiated with U.S. Army for oral anthrax vaccine.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Emisphere Technologies, Inc., (EMIS) announced that it has signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases...

Development agreement signed for biothreat detection system.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Centrex, Inc., (CNEX) announced that it has signed a development agreement with Seattle-based Stratos Product Development, LLC, to design and develop an adaptable, functional, and durable integration...

FDA approval for Atropen announced.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (KG) announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) covering pediatric and adult formulations...

Drug being developed as countermeasure for nuclear threats.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Congressional Pharmaceutical Corporation (CPC) announced positive results from a study that demonstrated one of its genoprotective agents conferred delayed radioprotection to human endothelial cells....

In situ hybridization suitable for diagnosis.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In situ hybridization is an effective method for distinguishing smallpox cases from similar infections. "The potential for a bioterrorism-induced smallpox outbreak has been much discussed of...

Acne-like outbreak in immunized volunteers is not vaccinia, study says.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The national smallpox vaccine program in the U.S. proved to be a bumpy road in 2002; it was also especially spotty for about 10% Vanderbilt's vaccinated volunteers who broke out in a curious acne-like...

Heart ailment is a possible adverse event.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Myopericarditis, which involves the inflammation of the heart muscle or sac surrounding the heart, should be an expected but apparently uncommon adverse event associated with smallpox vaccination,...

Vaccines for viral diseases with dermatologic manifestations reviewed.
July 14, 2003... 2003 JUL 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A review of the vaccines available for viral diseases with dermatologic manifestations has been published in a recent issue of the journal Dermatologic Clinics. According to researchers in the...

New therapies against superantigens cover natural and bioterrorism exposure.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Many therapeutic approaches to managing Staphylococcus aureus superantigen based disease are being tested to cover natural and bioterrorism exposures. "Superantigens secreted by the bacterial...

FDA clears trial of drug to prevent, treat Anthrax infections.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cambridge Antibody Technology (CATG) acknowledged the announcement by Human Genome Sciences, Inc (HGSI) that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its...

Biological detection company wins $23M multiple-year Army contract.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IGEN International, Inc., (IGEN) announced that it has signed an agreement to sell products based on its ORIGEN technology to the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense for...

$6M contract awarded to develop CpG immunostimulatory TLR9 agonists.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Coley Pharmaceutical Group announced that the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded an additional $6M to Coley to support the clinical development of Coley's CpG...

Educational video about anthrax available for mail workers.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An educational video about anthrax is available for mail workers in the United States. According to a study from the United States, "The anthrax bioterrorist attacks in 2001 affected millions of...

FDA okays human trials of ABthrax.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human Genome Sciences, Inc., (HGSI) announced that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of its investigational new drug (IND) application to begin human trials of...

Researchers find a new way to potentially thwart germ.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a new study, NYU School of Medicine researchers have found what may be an Achilles' heel of deadly anthrax - a system that the bacteria use to communicate their presence to others of their kind. ...

BioChemFX system helps with response to threat of terrorist attack.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- 3D Pipeline Corporation announces BioChemFX, a field-deployable, real-time 2D/3D simulation system for predicting the dispersion of biological and chemical airborne agents within real-world urban...

Scientists use new research technology to understand ancient human foe.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Florida scientists have invented a way of teasing out the genes bacteria use to outwit their human hosts, a discovery that could prove to be a boon for researchers brewing new vaccines...

DNA viruses like herpes, smallpox, papilloma may be manageable with cidofovir.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dermatological conditions by DNA viruses including herpes, smallpox, and papilloma may be manageable with topical cidofovir. According to a study from the United States, "Cidofovir is new...

Law on self-defense has pros and cons to do with terrorism and defense from it.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- International law on self-defense has pros and cons to do with terrorism and defense from it. According to recent research published in the journal Current History, "The traditional interpretation...

U.S. government releases Weill Cornell computer model for bioterror response.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced the release of a new computer model, developed by researchers in the department of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, that...

Online bioterrorism course to train clinical laboratories to respond to threats.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) introduced the first online bioterrorism education program for clinical laboratory professionals at a meeting of the World Health Organization. ...

Is there a benefit to having been vaccinated as a child?
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adults who were vaccinated against smallpox as children can be successfully revaccinated by using diluted doses of the vaccine and with fewer side effects, according to research published by Saint...

Model helps hospitals, health systems better respond to potential bioterrorism.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- On June 26, 2003, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the availability of a new computer model to help hospitals and health systems plan antibiotic dispensing and vaccination...

Automated response for tracking SARS, West Nile gains acceptance.
July 21, 2003... 2003 JUL 21 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Carmina Technologies, Inc., (CARL) announced that the company's ASSUR technology for detecting virulent virus strains is gaining momentum thanks to overwhelming response at recent health information...

Bioterrorism website offers resources for clinicians.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A bioterrorism website provides resources for infectious disease clinicians and epidemiologists. According to recent research from the United States, "Finding bioterrorism-related information on...

AAMC issues new report on bioterrorism education for medical students.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a new report, Training Future Physicians About Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) provides the first guidance ever issued to medical educators about how...

Effective mucosal immunity to anthrax obtained.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neutralizing antibodies and Th cell responses to anthrax occurred after nasal immunization with protective antigen. According to a study from the United States, "Mucosal, but not parenteral,...

Perceptions about the threat of bioterrorism could impair the U.S. response.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study by researchers at St. Louis University School of Public Health has found that while a majority of health care professionals surveyed believe the United States is at a high or somewhat high risk...

Germ foils host immune system.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The anthrax bacterium has a novel strategy for evading the host immune reaction, research reveals. Key proteins prevent specific cells in the immune system from functioning. Infection with...

ORNL wins four R&D 100 prizes, pushing total to 116.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have won four R&D awards from R&D Magazine, which since 1963 has given the awards for the 100 most significant innovations...

Patent issued for platform technology to develop classes of antimicrobial agents.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Morphotek, Inc., announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued it a patent covering the isolation of mutant cell lines to generate novel antimicrobial agents. The issued...

FDA streamlines vaccination, drug-reporting systems.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Informatica Corporation (INFA) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) has successfully implemented the Informatica data...

Miniature biolab embedded on silicon chip.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from Cornell University have developed a miniaturized DNA-based biological testing system that fits on a silicon chip and can be customized to detect a wide variety of microorganisms. ...

States may have to destroy unused vaccine.
July 28, 2003... 2003 JUL 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lackluster response to a nationwide drive to inoculate hospital workers against smallpox may lead to public health officials destroying thousands of doses of the vaccine that have sat on shelves too...