Happy Friday – we hope you had a wonderful time celebrating Antibiotic Awareness Week! As Canada reports rising antibiotic resistance despite decreasing use of antibiotics in humans and animals, it’s important we recognize the importance of stewardship and infection control. November 13-19 marks Antibiotic Awareness week, in which we observe the importance of proper antibiotic use and prescribing practices. In the United States alone, 23,000 people die a year due to an infection that was resistant to antimicrobials. Help stop antimicrobial resistance through antibiotic stewardship.
Reflections from the GHSA Ministerial Meeting in Kampala, Uganda
The recent GHSA Ministerial Meeting was not only a success, but also reaffirmed the importance of the agenda and those dedicated to combatting health security threats. We’re excited to provide you with a series of on-the-ground reflections from those who participated through the George Mason Global Health Security Ambassador Fellowship and the Next Generation Global Health Security Network. Within these reflections, you’ll get to hear from Next Generation Coordinator Jamechia D. Hoyle and a wonderful array of international students and professionals. Hoyle notes that “the meeting was called to order during a time where health security professionals were addressing a plague outbreak in Madagascar and a local Marburg outbreak in the host country, Uganda. This alone was a vivid reminder that health security must remain a priority.” The reflections present unique outlooks on the meeting and range from detailed descriptions of the sessions to visiting the Uganda Virus Research Institute, and more. Make sure you catch reflections from GMU biodefense MS students Anthony Falzarano and Stephen Taylor!
Did Russia Accidentally Provide the Best Evidence of the Syrian Government’s Involvement in Sarin Attacks?
Russia has been trying to downplay the Syrian government’s role in chemical weapons attacks, but their latest press conference may have just backfired on them. The November 2nd press conference in which Russian officials responded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons – UN Join Mission, included a presentation that revealed a bit more than anticipated. “The presentation included a series of slides, which included diagrams of two types of chemical bombs, designated the MYM6000 and M4000. Remarkably, the Russian presentation appears to be the first-time images of these munitions have been made public, and before the press conference, no other references to MYM6000 or M4000 bombs appear online.” GMU Biodefense Graduate Program Director and Professor Dr. Gregory Koblentz noted that “‘these designations match bombs declared by Syria to the OPCW’, although there appears to be no open source material that provides specifics about the types of bombs declared to the OPCW. In the press conference the source of the diagrams are described as being provided ‘by certain organisations’, but no more specifics are given.” The Russian presentation diagrams provide some pretty clear matches between munitions found during investigations into the attacks. “The only way for the Russian or Syrian governments to now deny the M4000 bomb was used is to produce detailed photographs of the M4000 bomb, showing the same parts indicated above, or, if the Syrians still claim all these bombs were destroyed after 2013, declassify and publish further information about the bomb.”
The Center for Global Security Research – Student Internship The Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is now accepting applications for Spring 2018 student internships! “The Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) was established at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in 1996 to bring together experts from the science, technology, and policy communities to address pressing national security challenges. For more than 20 years, CGSR has engaged diverse perspectives on topics important to national security, deterrence, diplomacy, dual-use technology, arms control, nonproliferation, peacekeeping, cyber defense and energy security.”
A Field Test of CRISPR
Researchers are getting to test, for the first time, treatment of a genetic disorder with gene-editing tools infused into the patient’s blood. The 44-year-old man suffers from Hunter syndrome, which is a metabolic disorder. “The company (Sangamo Therapeutics) inserts a replacement copy of the gene, using gene editing to snip the DNA helix of liver cells in a specific place near the promotor, or on-off switch, for the gene for a protein called albumin. The cells fix the damage by inserting the DNA for the new gene, supplied by the researchers along with the gene editor’s DNA scissors, and the gene’s activity is then controlled by the powerful albumin promotor. The idea is to turn these modified liver cells into a factory for making the enzyme missing in Hunter syndrome.” This is an exciting step forward for gene-editing technologies and their ability to treat chronic diseases. Curious what CRISPR looks like in action? Check out this video here.
Call for Papers- Women’s Health in Global Perspective
World Medical & Health Policy’s call for papers on Women’s Health in Global Perspective seeks to contribute to understanding and improve policy on women’s health and wellbeing around the world. Manuscripts on all factors that influence health outcomes for women will be considered, including social determinants such as education, nutrition, poverty, violence, access to health care, job opportunities and personal freedom. The 2018 Workshop on Women’s Health in Global Perspective will follow a successful 2016 workshop by the same name (see video at http://www.ipsonet.org/conferences/whgp/2016-womens-health-in-global-perspective-videos), which resulted in a special issue http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1002/wmh3.212/full and an ongoing series of articles in WMHP highlighting global women’s health issues and their implications for economic, political and social development. Abstract submission deadline (250 words): December 15, 2017. Contact: Bonnie Stabile, Co-Editor, bstabile@gmu.edu
Three Decades of Responding to Infectious Disease Threats
NIAID Director Anthony Fauci has been fighting infectious diseases in his role since 1984. After 30+ years of work, Dr. Fauci undoubtedly has some fascinating stories, whether it be from the beginning of the HIV pandemic or SARS. “Initial responses to a newly recognized disease, now known as HIV/AIDS, in the early 1980s were criticized as being too slow, the essay notes. ‘The insidious emergence of HIV/AIDS and the lack of due attention by policymakers illustrate how some outbreaks that start subtly can grow to global proportions if they are not aggressively addressed early on,’ Dr. Fauci writes. Between the early 1980s and the early 1990s, federal funding for HIV/AIDS research increased markedly, reaching $1 billion by the end of 1992. The accelerated government response supported both research and research infrastructure, and yielded advances in countering the HIV/AIDS pandemic domestically and internationally. Ultimately, notes Dr. Fauci, sustained support for scientific research coupled with political and community engagement helped transform HIV/AIDS from a nearly universally fatal disease to a condition that can be managed with appropriate treatment.”
The One Health Commission’s Call to Action for Social Scientists
“The One Health Commission, a 501(c)(3) global non-profit organization based in the U.S., stresses recognition of human, animal, and ecosystems interconnections and facilitates collaboration of all professions required to achieve global and planetary health. The One Health Social Sciences Team invites social scientists of all disciplines to become involved in the One Health community. By forging new and innovative partnerships, collaborations across human, animal, plant and ecosystem health communities will collectively enable betterment of health and well-being for all.” To learn more and get involved please contact the One Health and Social Sciences Working Group at ohss@onehealthcommission.org.
What Should The US National Biodefense Strategy Look Like? The complex nature and painful lessons of biological threats, regardless of source, have challenged U.S. biodefense efforts for decades. As the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense pointed out in their report, there is a general lack of clear leadership and coordination. The 2016 National Defense Authorization Act required that the DoD, DHHS, DHS, and USDA, all develop a national biodefense strategy and plan for implantation. Laura H. Kahn has provided a handful of critical strategies that are necessary. “First, human-intelligence-based monitoring of rogue nations and militant groups that use bioweapons is critical. Second, a national strategy must include a plan for disease surveillance of humans and animals, with a view to predicting the next naturally occurring epidemic. This kind of work is difficult, because there are so many viruses that could spill over from other mammals or birds into humans.” Kahn also highlights laboratory security and the importance of high-containment lab biosecurity, review of the Federal Select Agent Program, investigation of large-scale wildlife die-offs, and recognizing the importance of One Health. “Threat to one component in this triad threatens them all. For that reason, animal and environmental health must be taken just as seriously as human health—which requires devoting personnel and resources to monitoring them, which requires sufficient funding for entities like the EPA and the Fish and Wildlife Service.” Kahn also draws attention to the recent GAO report on biological threat awareness and the need to share information and resources. “Most distressingly, the current administration appears willfully ignorant of scientific issues, while at the same time disinclined to fund critical scientific efforts. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which is intimately involved with biodefense issues, remains leaderless and understaffed.” Overall, a national biodefense strategy will not be easy, but it must be as comprehensive and wholistic as the biological threats we face.
The World’s Deadliest Diseases: How Is Biotech Fighting Them?
Biotech has an increasingly important role of health security and infectious disease response. As we saw with CRISPR this week, it has the capacity to help treat chronic conditions, but what about infectious diseases? Rapid diagnostics and development of medical countermeasures are critical during outbreaks and can determine if an epidemic will turn into a pandemic. Ute Boronowsky, pulling on Robert Herriman’s list of the five deadliest diseases, is looking to the biotech approaches for such biothreats. Whether it be plague or amebic meningoencephalitis, biotech advances are providing new avenues for treatment and response. Naegleria fowleri (the amoeba that causes the fatal meningoencephalitis) can be difficult to track within water sources and treatment is even trickier. “In 2015, investigational breast cancer and anti-leishmania drug miltefosine was used successfully on a 12-year-old girl at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. However, when the same drug was used on two other patients, one of them died, and the other suffered from major neurological damage. This year saw a new therapeutic approach when scientists at the Virginia Commonwealth University found evidence that Naegleria relies on matrix metalloproteases to degrade the host extracellular matrix during infection, identifying these enzymes as potential therapeutic targets.” Other biotech advances, like prion disease therapy kinase inhibitors on the unfolded protein response, or the latest Ebola vaccine, all highlight the importance of biotech advances in combatting infectious diseases.
Stories You May Have Missed:
- Legionella in Disneyland – GMU biodefense PhD student Saskia Popescu is looking at the latest outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease and how it highlights the challenges of prevention. “There are many factors that may attribute an outbreak, such as warming climates, a large aging population, and increased attention on the disease, which all lead to a better chance of infections being reported. The recent outbreak in Disneyland is a good reminder of the inherent challenges with disinfection efforts and continued vigilance that is needed to ward off this bacterial infection. It is also a reminder that outbreaks can happen anywhere there is a water source, even Disneyland, or other areas that somehow seem to be untouchable.”
- Bulgaria and South Africa Battle HPAI – The two countries are dealing with outbreaks related to highly virulent strains of avian influenza. “A US vaccine company announced that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has conditionally approved the first DNA avian flu vaccine for chickens. Also, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provided a snapshot of current highly pathogenic H5 observations and what could play out in the upcoming season, and Chinese researchers reported new findings on airborne spread of avian flu based on sampling in a live-poultry market.”
Thank you for reading the Pandora Report. If you would like to share any biodefense news, events, or stories, please contact our Editor Saskia Popescu (biodefense@gmu.edu) or via Twitter: @PandoraReport
The Pandora Report 