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 …

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 …

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 …

Marburg virus death toll in Rwanda rises to 11 as travellers in Germany test negative

Eleven people have died in Rwanda as the African country continues to fight an outbreak of Marburg virus. The Rwandan government said there were 36 confirmed cases of the virus in its latest update, with 25 people in isolation. Two Read More …

Africa CDC urges Western countries to boost funding for mpox response

The head of the African Union’s health agency has called on Western countries to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and not abandon Africa amid an ongoing mpox outbreak. Dr Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Read More …

WHO needs $87.4m to contain Mpox outbreak

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it needs 87.4 million dollars for more than six months to work with countries, partners and other stakeholders to contain the current outbreak of Mpox. The world body said on Tuesday in a statement Read More …

Philippines reports new mpox case with no history of foreign travel

The Philippines has reported a new case of the mpox virus, the first in the country since December. Health officials said on Monday that the patient, a 33-year-old Filipino male from capital Manila, has no history of foreign travel. The Read More …

Sweden reports first case of more dangerous mpox virus outside Africa

Sweden has reported the first confirmed case outside Africa of the more deadly mpox variant that sparked the World Health Organization to declare a global public health emergency a day earlier. The person was infected during a stay in a Read More …