Dec 7, 2009 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Canadian scientist steals specimens, caught by U.S. Customs agent at the border
Laboratories are invariably out of the public eye—until there is a problem. In Canada, The Canadian Press reported earlier this year that audits had uncovered serious flaws in the tracking and accountability of dangerous pathogen specimens at federal laboratories. In response, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) called for increased security measures governing bio-safety at government laboratories.
These problems were identified at the nation’s National Microbiology Laboratory, located in Winnipeg. Earlier in the year, this lab played the lead role in testing swine flu (Novel A/H1N1) samples and mapped the progression of this flu strain from Mexico to Canada. Other labs visited and found lacking in full protection of pathogen specimens included the Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses in Guelph, Ontario, and federal satellite labs in Alberta and Quebec.
(more…)
Jun 22, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Milestone demonstration validates effectiveness of DNA vaccine technology in large mammals
Why is registration of a new equine vaccine for West Nile virus generating excitement among biomedical researchers? It represents a breakthrough in DNA vaccine technology, demonstrating this new class of vaccines is viable for human use.
Many pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals will find this news noteworthy for several reasons. First, it is an important milestone in the use of molecular technology to advance genetic medicine. Second, wider use of DNA vaccines will serve the goal of preventive healthcare. Third, should DNA vaccines eventually find a role in protecting humans from a wide spectrum of diseases, this, in turn, will significantly change the role and frequency of laboratory testing for these diseases. Along with other uses, it is because DNA vaccines can target cancers as well as infectious diseases.
(more…)
Jun 12, 2009 | Laboratory News
Clinical laboratory managers should be planning for a busy flu season this fall
Yesterday the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared that A/H1N1 influenza (swine flu) is a global pandemic. This is the first such flu pandemic in 41 years. The announcement was not a surprise, since it was know that WHO was prepared to make this declaration weeks ago. But objections from several countries that such a declaration might trigger civil unrest and economic disruption caused WHO to defer this decision until yesterday.
There was little drama to this development, since the new A/H1N1 strain of the influenza virus has not turned out to be especially virulent or lethal. As of Wednesday, WHO released information that 74 countries have reported 27,737 cases of A/H1N1 flu and 141 deaths attributed to this virus. In the United States, the case count has topped 13,000 with at least 27 deaths confirmed to this strain of influenza.
(more…)
Apr 29, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Officials in Mexico were criticized as being slow to respond to the spread of A/H1N1 swine flu on Tuesday, April 28. Mexico was reported to have failed to deliver medicine to the families of the dead, two weeks after the first confirmed death from the flu, the Associated Press reported. Also, the government had not determined where the outbreak began or how it spread, the AP said. In Mexico, 159 people may have died of swine flu, but only seven of these deaths have been verified as A/H1N1 by laboratory tests, the New York Times reported today (April 29).
(more…)
Apr 28, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Rapid diagnostic test rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel cleared by FDA for emergency use
Early today, it was reported that major hospitals in Mexico have fewer numbers of new cases of suspected or confirmed A/H1N1 swine flu. That is considered a favorable trend, even as there are now 92 confirmed cases worldwide, in at least six other countries.
The Associated Press quoted Mexican Minister of Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova, as saying that the number of new cases of confirmed or suspected swine flu at “Mexico’s largest government hospitals” had declined in the past three days, falling from 141 on Saturday to 119 on Sunday and 110 Monday.
(more…)
