ACIP targets up to 159 million Americans for H1N1 vaccination
The top US advisory panel on immunizations recommended today that groups totaling up to 159 million people be targeted for vaccination against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus but that a narrower population of about 41 million have priority if initial supplies are short.     Read CIDRAP article…

Military may assist with US H1N1 response
US military personnel may work alongside civilian authorities during any significant outbreaks of the H1N1 influenza virus this fall, according a CNN report. Unnamed Department of Defense officials said the proposal is awaiting approval by Secretary Robert Gates. Personnel from all branches of the military may be involved, and it has not been determined whether the troops would be pulled from active duty or from the National Guard and/or reserves.     [Jul 29 CNN article]

Farmers and ranchers who have demanded food safety throughout the centuries have a new tool which was launched this week.  Detailed product labeling is being required as a result of COOL and other regulations/ laws. Many of us in the NoNAIS Movement have wondered how to drive our position home.   Labeling is the perfect tool for us!

happy-chip-free-goats

Whether you have fiber animals, food animals, dairy animals, companion animals please join me in the RFID Resistance Movement and label your products Chip-Free. There is no better way to advertise your product and let our government know that we will not tolerate RFID-chipped products.

Chip-Free Products

For Healthy and Safe Products

Hurry! We don’t have much time because the military and Public Private Partnerships such as Wal-Mart have a goal of 2010 for RFID labeling.

10 Minute Citizen: Buck the Global System. Make or order a Chip-Free label today.

The FAZD Center’s 2009 Annual Meeting is set for June 30-July 1 at the center’s headquarters in Texas A&M University’s Research Park.

The annual meeting attracts researchers, graduate students and stakeholders from across the United States, including Puerto Rico. This year’s attendance is expected to top last year’s mark of 75 participants. Continue reading →

Research Project: Swine Viral Diseases Pathogenesis and Immunology

Accessed June 24, 2009

Location: Virus and Prion Diseases of Livestock

Title: Characterization of an Influenza A Virus Isolated from Pigs During an Outbreak of Respiratory Disease in Swine and People at a County Fair in the United States
Authors

Vincent, Amy
Swenson, S – USDA APHIS NVSL
Lager, Kelly
Gauger, Phillip
Loiacono, C – USDA APHIS NVSL
Zhang, Yan – ADDL, REYNOLDSBURG, OH
Submitted to: Veterinary Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: January 2, 2009
Publication Date: May 28, 2009
Citation: Vincent, A.L., Swenson, S.L., Lager, K.M., Gauger, P.C., Loiacono, C., Zhang, Y. 2009. Characterization of an Influenza A Virus Isolated from Pigs During an Outbreak of Respiratory Disease in Swine and People at a County Fair in the United States. Veterinary Microbiology. 137(1-2):51-59.

Interpretive Summary: Swine influenza virus (SIV) is one of the primary causes of respiratory disease in growing pigs and can lead to major economic losses. There is a potential for people exposed to SIV to become infected, although this event is far less common than the spread of human influenza virus from person to person. In this paper, we studied a virus from pigs that also infected 2 people during a county fair in 2007. Continue reading →

And the shell game continues…..Ag can say NAIS funding is terminated when all that is happening is the shell game to secure funding from another source, in this case, the hot trend of Emergency Management.

Emergency Management Program Specialist 3

Please do NOT apply through the State e-Recruiting system. Follow application instructions on the job announcement.  Closes today, June 23, 2009

Desperately Needed: Free F E D E R A L Trained GPS Operator’s!  These Citizen Scientist’s will learn proper GPS use and monitoring

Accessed June 23, 2009

For Educational Purposes Only

FORT COLLINS – Researchers from Colorado State University are looking for members of the public to participate in a citizen science experiment, July 11-12 at CSU. As part of the experiment, volunteers will participate in a free workshop and online training where they will learn citizen scientist skills such as invasive species and plant identification, proper GPS use and monitoring protocols. Following the training, the new citizen scientists will test their skills against professionals in the field.

In this National Science Foundation-funded research experiment, CSU scientists from the university’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory are studying the effectiveness of different training approaches – in-person and hands-on, online training, and online multimedia presentations.

Firm wins HHS contract for new flu vaccine technology

Accessed June 23, 2009

For Educational Purpose Only

Notice that the government forced this company into Chapter 7 Bankruptcy,  and then awarded them the contract.  You scratch my back, I will scratch yours.  Watch the Public-Private- Partnership (PPP)  ball, bounce, bounce, bounce.

Robert Roos * News Editor

Jun 23, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – The US government has granted Protein Sciences Corp. (PSC) of Meriden, Conn., a $35 million contract to develop its technique for making influenza vaccines by growing flu virus proteins in insect cells, an approach said to be faster than traditional methods.

“The technology has advanced in recent years to the point that we believe it could help meet a surge in demand for US-based vaccine for seasonal and pandemic flu,” Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a press release today.

PSC’s approach involves extracting a gene from a flu virus and inserting it into a baculovirus, which infects insects but not people. The recombinant baculoviruses multiply quickly in insect cells, producing many copies of the flu gene, and the cells are purified and used to make a vaccine, HHS said.

The method may make it possible to produce vaccine candidates, vaccine for clinical trials, and commercial-scale amounts of vaccine faster than with the traditional method of growing flu viruses in chicken eggs, the agency said. It said the insect cells can be frozen and stored indefinitely, contributing to faster large-scale production.

If the technology is licensed by the Food and Drug Administration, the company will be required to establish a domestic manufacturing capability. The contract calls for the company to be prepared to make a finished vaccine within 12 weeks after a pandemic onset and to make 50 million doses within 6 months after pandemic onset, according to HHS.

The contract could be extended up to 5 years at a total cost of about $147 million, HHS officials said.

PSC has said it is using its baculovirus and insect-cell technology to make a vaccine for the novel H1N1 flu virus. On Jun 15 the firm announced it had begun manufacturing the vaccine, called PanBlok, and estimated it would be able to make 100,000 doses per week.

But the vaccine, like any other, will require extensive animal and human testing and regulatory approval before it can be marketed.

The HHS contract award came a day after a report that creditors of PSC had filed a petition to force the company into bankruptcy in an effort to collect on their claims.

Bloomberg News reported that creditors filed an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition against the company yesterday in US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The petition listed claims totaling $11.7 million, the story said.

Most of the debt-$11.5 million-is owed to Emergent BioSolutions Inc., Bloomberg reported. Emergent, which makes the only anthrax vaccine licensed in the United States, had agreed to buy most of PSC’s assets last year. On May 1 of this year, PSC announced it had reached a deal with Emergent that set terms for repaying a loan, terminated the 2008 asset purchase agreement, and resolved outstanding litigation.