BiodefenseEducation.org

is a Biodefense Digital Library and Collaboratory, curated from open source intelligence by Donna M. D'Alessandro M.D. and Michael P. D'Alessandro M.D., and intended to serve as a source of continuing education on biodefense affairs.

Public Health - Shift raises U.S. risk of infectious diseases - (Found July 8, 2008 )

Knight Ridder - Having defeated the scourges of smallpox, tuberculosis and polio, U.S. Surgeon General William Stewart confidently told Congress in 1969 that it was time to "close the books on infectious diseases." Within a few years, U.S. public health research, funding and manpower, especially at the National Institutes of Health, shifted largely from infectious diseases to chronic ones such as cancer, heart disease and stroke. Federal public hospitals that specialized in infectious...
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/science/13435832.htm

Iraq - US sets Saddam's scientists free - (Found July 8, 2008 )

BBC - Eight former aides to Saddam Hussein - including two women accused of making biological weapons - have been released from US custody in Iraq. The Times - Saddam's scientists freed as US house of cards starts to tumble.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4542084.stm

Anthrax - Anthrax vaccine can be grown in tobacco - (Found July 8, 2008 )

UPI - University of Central Florida scientists say they've found a safe and effective method of producing large quantities of anthrax vaccine. The researchers say enough anthrax vaccine to inoculate everyone in the United States could be grown inexpensively and safely with only one acre of tobacco plants.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051219-085915-4905r

Public Policy - NATO faults Russia for hindering efforts to secure nuclear material - (Found July 8, 2008 )

Chicago Tribune - Russia's reluctance to allow the United States access to nuclear and biological weapons sites severely hinders efforts to secure weapons-grade nuclear material and biological pathogens from terrorists and rogue states, according to a new report released by NATO.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/13459957.htm

Francisella Tularemia - Infectious Agent Thwarts Typical Defense Mechanisms - (Found July 8, 2008 )

News Wise Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - A new study found that an extremely infectious pneumonia-like disease in humans slips through the immune systems usual defense mechanisms.The bacterium at fault, Francisella tularensis, causes the disease tularemia.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/516959/

Francisella Tularemia - Infectious Agent Thwarts Typical Defense Mechanisms - (Found July 8, 2008 )

Infection Control Today Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - A longer description of the previous paper on the workings of Francisella Tularemia from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/hotnews/5ch228134559016.html

Anthrax - Mandatory anthrax inoculations should resume, court told - (Found July 8, 2008 )

Marine Corps Times - A government agencys ruling that the controversial anthrax vaccine is safe should clear the way for resumption of mandatory shots for military personnel, government attorneys argue in a new court filing.
http://www.marinetimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1428736.php

Iraq - What 'Mrs. Anthrax' Told Me - (Found July 8, 2008 )

Newsweek - Saddam Husseins top aides just released from prison may have stories to tell. But when it comes to Iraq, who should we trust
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10575149/site/newsweek/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Iraq - US frees Saddam aides, Iraq wants them re-arrested - (Found July 8, 2008 )

Reuters - Iraq's national security adviser said on Saturday he wanted to re-arrest Saddam Hussein's former top weapons experts, as the U.S. military confirmed the release of 14 more high-ranking detainees.
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=3160

Editorial Note - BiodefenseEducation.org on Long-Term Break - (Found July 8, 2008 )

Today, BiodefenseEducation.org will stop updating on a daily basis as the grant from the National Institute of Health's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that provided the funding for its operation has ended. To read a summary of what we have accomplished, look here. If you have any further comments on this site, please fill out our Evaluation Form. It has been our pleasure to have served you.
http://www.biodefenseeducation.org/2006/01/01#a781