Romania confirms first leprosy cases in over 40 years, two more under investigation

Romania has confirmed its first case of leprosy in more than 40 years, with three other suspected cases currently under clinical and microbiological investigation, health minister Alexandru Rogobete announced on Thursday, December 11. All four individuals are women from Asia Read More …

Washington: Patient dies of complications after contracting H5N5 avian influenza

A Washington resident died of complications from an infection with a bird flu strain never before reported in humans, the state Department of Health said on Friday. The patient was an older adult with underlying health conditions who had been Read More …

Ethiopia confirms first outbreak of Marburg virus disease

Ethiopia has confirmed its first outbreak of Marburg virus disease, after nine cases were reported in the south of the country. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday commended the Ethiopian Health Ministry and other health agencies Read More …

UK tests response to discovery of deadly biological toxin

The UK has tested an emergency response to the discovery of a deadly biological toxin. Up to 600 members of the military, police, ambulance and other services took part in the three-day exercise last week, which also involved dealing with Read More …

DR Congo: A new Ebola outbreak kills dozens as health officials warn of lack of funds

As a deadly new Ebola outbreak kills dozens in southern Congo, health authorities and organizations are sounding the alarm, warning they lack the funds and resources to mount an effective response to the crisis. The World Health Organization said Wednesday Read More …

Ireland: Letter containing ‘anthrax’ sent to Dublin offices of Iona Institute

The Defence Forces’ Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit are examining a suspicious package sent to the Dublin City office of the Iona Institute. The package, which was addressed to the Iona Institute, was opened by the organisation’s CEO, David Quinn Read More …

Michigan: Chinese Nationals Charged with Conspiracy and Smuggling a Dangerous Biological Pathogen into the U.S.

DETROIT – Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, citizens of the People’s Republic of China, were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the United States, false statements, and visa fraud, announced United States Attorney Jerome Read More …

German police raid home of teenage boy suspected of making highly toxic warfare agent

Police in Germany have raided the home of a teenage boy suspected of making and storing ricin, a highly toxic and deadly biological warfare agent. The 16-year-old is accused of producing “several vials” containing a mixture of ricin and aconitine, Read More …

Uganda: Ebola cases in rise to 9, while 265 others are being monitored under quarantine

Ebola cases in Uganda have risen to nine, while 265 other people were being monitored under quarantine, health authorities said Tuesday. The nine include the first victim, a male nurse who died the day before the outbreak was declared on Read More …

Uganda confirms new Ebola outbreak

Uganda has confirmed an outbreak of Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (SUDV) in the capital city of Kampala. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Health today following positive tests from three National Reference Laboratories. “Our rapid response teams are Read More …

Seychelles and Kenya experts train to identify and manage hazardous lab waste

Experts from Seychelles and Kenya met to enhance their skills and ability to identify and manage various types of infectious laboratory waste through a week-long training session. The initiative is part of the European Union’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear Read More …

Investigation launched into Queensland lab breach, with vials of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus missing

Nearly 100 live samples of the deadly Hendra virus have been lost in a biosecurity bungle at a state-run Queensland laboratory. An investigation has been launched after it was revealed 323 virus samples went missing from Virology Laboratory in 2021 Read More …

Wuhan lab samples hold no close relatives to virus behind COVID

After years of rumours that the virus that causes COVID-19 escaped from a laboratory in China, the virologist at the centre of the claims has presented data on dozens of new coronaviruses collected from bats in southern China. At a Read More …

DR Congo: Unknown flu-like disease kills at least 79 people

At least 79 people have died from an unknown disease that is causing flu-like symptoms in south-western Democratic Republic of Congo, the health ministry says. The health ministry says the majority of people who have died are between the ages Read More …

WHO says mpox remains public health emergency of international concern

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it will keep its alert for mpox at the highest level amid a surge in cases. A WHO committee made up of about a dozen independent experts made the decision at a meeting in Read More …

UK: NHS staff ‘may have treated Covid with poor PPE’

A former Welsh health minister has said that NHS staff may have treated Covid patients during the pandemic with inadequate PPE. Former first minister Vaughan Gething, who was in charge of the health service from 2016 to 2021, returned to Read More …

UK: Two new cases of Clade lb mpox detected

Two new cases of a strain of mpox that is thought to be more transmissable have been detected in the UK, the Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of the Clade lb mpox Read More …

First case of Clade 1b mpox strain confirmed in the UK

The first case of a new, more dangerous strain of mpox has been found in Britain, the UK Health Security Agency has said. The patient, who had recently returned from Africa, has been transferred to a high-level isolation unit at Read More …

Biosafety: Laboratory Planning and Preparedness to Mitigate Risk

Biosafety is focused on reducing the risk of people, animals, and the environment being accidentally exposed to dangerous biological materials such as viruses and bacteria. More formally, biosafety is a risk assessment-based approach to identifying and mitigating the risks posed Read More …