infectious disease pandemics
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Experts Warn Of Antimicrobial Resistance, Additional Threats To National Biosecurity
Dr. Asha George...was among a panel of experts testifying about the state of U.S. preparedness for biological attacks and infectious disease pandemics. The experts agreed that a range of factors affect our country's ability to fight these threats, including weakened or fragmented federal oversight, limited incentives for research and development, and a lack of preparedness at the local level to protect vulnerable populations. "In short, the nation is not prepared for biological outbreaks, acts of bioterrorism, biological warfare of accidental releases with catastrophic consequences," George said. "We are talking about catastrophic events that affect the function of our entire society."
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Biodefense Takes Center Stage at House Oversight Hearing
Is the nation ready to defend against antibiotic-resistant diseases or bioterrorism? What would the response to a biological attack or disease pandemic look like? Those threats and the collaboration of private, federal and local agencies to respond to them were the focus of a hearing Wednesday in the House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security on biodefense preparedness. Congressman Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., said at the beginning of the hearing that around 2.4 million people could die in high-income countries between 2015 and 2050 without an effort to contain antimicrobial resistance, according to an April report to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
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Experts support a future Manhattan Project for Biodefense to thwart new threats
An effort similar to the Manhattan Project - in which American-led R&D produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II - is needed now in defense against the growing global threats posed by infectious diseases and bioterrorism, sources said Thursday during a Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense meeting...witness panelists and attendees at the panel's first public meeting held yesterday in New York City discussed "A Manhattan Project for Biodefense: Taking Biological Threats Off the Table," a proposed national, public-private research and development undertaking that would defend the United States against biological threats.
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Panel To Discuss 'A Manhattan Project For Biodefense' At NYC Public Meeting
The bipartisan Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense will host its first-ever public meeting in New York City this Thursday, July 11, to discuss A Manhattan Project for Biodefense - a national, public-private research and development undertaking to defend the U.S. against biological threats. These threats include biological warfare and bioterrorism, where nation-states or terror groups intentionally spread biological agents to cause widespread panic and harm, as well as infectious disease pandemics.
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