The California Department of Public Health, in partnership with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as the regional treatment center to treat patients infected with severe, highly infectious diseases for the region covering Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the Pacific island territories and freely associated states.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Vaxchora, a vaccine for the prevention of cholera caused by serogroup O1 in adults 18 through 64 years of age traveling to cholera-affected areas. Vaxchora is the only FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of cholera.
As mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus spread illness to people across the Americas and beyond, scientists at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research are moving quickly, conducting preclinical research on a Zika vaccine candidate with collaborators at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and planning to start human testing before the year ends.
Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL) researchers took to the New York City subway system to help study how a surrogate for a biological agent, such as anthrax, might disperse throughout the nation's largest rapid transit system as a result of a terrorist attack or an accidental release.
Air Techniques International (ATI) announced the release of the EBS Real-Time Biodetection Sensor. "The EBS provides biodetection capabilities that have previously been unachievable, including real-time classification of airborne particle types, single-spore sensitivity, and a substantial reduction in false triggers," said Ron Adkins, ATI President.
A multi-institutional collaboration, including The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health, has been awarded a $1.3 million training grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to fund the Biosafety and Infectious Disease Training Initiative.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology Directorate, today announced a $40 million funding opportunity for an institution to lead a new DHS Center of Excellence for Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis. DHS S&T is additionally searching for potential partners to work with the lead institution in support of the Center's activities.
Terahertz spectroscopy, which uses the band of electromagnetic radiation between microwaves and infrared light, is a promising security technology because it can extract the spectroscopic "fingerprints" of a wide range of materials, including chemicals used in explosives.
The National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) announces a new webpage containing tools and resources to help local and state 911 managers and authorities provide leadership and support for the regionalization of 911 systems.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized a new food safety rule under the landmark, bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that will help to prevent wide-scale public health harm by requiring companies in the United States and abroad to take steps to prevent intentional adulteration of the food supply.
