Happy Friday! On March 26th, we celebrated the anniversary of the BWC entering into force in 1975! While it was initially ratified by 22 countries, the BWC now has 180 States Parties.
Antimicrobial Resistance – The Troublesome Truth
AMR isn’t that flashy and it doesn’t require the kind of PPE or laboratories that might lend itself to eye-catching photographs. AMR may not be the kind of biological threat that people think of when they consider pandemics, but one thing it undeniable is… is a growing threat of international proportion. A recent Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences shed some light on a pretty horrific truth – in over 76 countries, antibiotic use has risen by 65% in the last 16 years and it’s fueled by economic growth. “In this study, we analyzed the trends and drivers of antibiotic consumption from 2000 to 2015 in 76 countries and projected total global antibiotic consumption through 2030. Between 2000 and 2015, antibiotic consumption, expressed in defined daily doses (DDD), increased 65% (21.1–34.8 billion DDDs), and the antibiotic consumption rate increased 39% (11.3–15.7 DDDs per 1,000 inhabitants per day). The increase was driven by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where rising consumption was correlated with gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC) growth (P = 0.004).” High-income countries had modest antibiotic consumption increases, but there was no correlation with GDPPC. “Global antibiotic use rose by 65% from 2000 through 2015, while the antibiotic consumption rate increased by 39%.” The positive association of growing antimicrobial consumption and GDP is a scary notion. Researchers suggest that this relationship may be due to increasing capabilities to afford such medications. Not only does AMR have a substantial cost in terms of morbidity and mortality, but it also carries a hefty financial burden. A new study found that AMR has a price tag of $2 billion a year in the United States and costs an additional $1,400 for each infection in terms of medical treatment. These expenditures are due to increasing costs of inpatient treatments that are necessary when they have failed to respond to initial antibiotic treatment(s). Imagine how much the care for the UK’s first case of high-level resistant gonorrhea costs. Fighting these infections is increasing challenging though, as AMR crosses several industries (agriculture, medicine, etc.) but from just the medical standpoint, it poses unique obstacles. Prescribing habits are always the first be addressed, as a new study even found that a significant proportion of antibiotics given to children are unnecessary. “Nearly a third of hospitalized children are receiving antibiotics to prevent bacterial infections rather than to treat them, and in many cases are receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics or combinations of antibiotics. The authors of the study say this high rate of prophylactic prescribing in pediatric patients and frequent use of broad-spectrum agents suggests a clear overuse of antibiotics in this population and underscores the need for pediatric-specific antibiotic stewardship programs.” Prescribing practices are one issue, but Maryn McKenna recently drew attention to the role patients have in driving physicians to overprescribe for fear of bad online reviews. “Some health care workers and researchers are beginning to talk about an uncomfortable explanation: Doctors feel pressured by what patients may say about them afterward. The fear of bad patient-satisfaction scores, or negative reviews on online sites, may be creating a ‘Yelp effect’ that drives doctors to provide care that patients don’t actually need.” Just these handful of examples underscore the complexity of the clash against antimicrobial resistance. To fight the battle of the resistant bug, we need all hands on deck. A new release from APIC and SHEA called out the importance of infection prevention and control programs in antibiotic stewardship efforts. “According to the paper, when AS programs are implemented alongside IPC programs, they are more effective than AS measures alone, verifying that a well-functioning IPC program is fundamental to the success of an AS strategy. ’It is important that all clinicians depend on evidence-based IPC interventions to reduce demand for antimicrobial agents by preventing infections from occurring in the first place, and making every effort to prevent transmission when they do’.” This is a single piece of the puzzle when it comes to reducing AMR and we all play a vital role. Just another reason why antimicrobial resistance is an underrated biological threat.
NBACC Funding Restored
The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) is no longer in immediate jeopardy as the federal omnibus spending bill that was released on Wednesday evening provided full funding for the Fort Detrick laboratory. “The bill fully restores funding for federal laboratories the Trump administration proposed to close, including continued operational costs of $44.3 million for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC). The Fort Detrick facility includes two high-level laboratories that handle federal select agents and toxins, including the Ebola virus, ricin and avian influenza.” Within NBACC, there is the National Bioforensic Analysis Center, which aids in the processing of evidence surrounding biological events, and the National Biological Threat Characterization Center, which seeks to study the complexities of biological threats.
Summer Workshop – Are You Registered Yet?
From July 18-20, you can attend a workshop on all things health security – from pandemic flu to DIY genome editing, and all the outbreaks in between. Are you prepared to respond to the next pandemic? Attend our workshop and you’ll not only learn about how the U.S. has worked to better prepare, but also what future threats may look like. From anthrax to Zika, we’re covering all things biodefense. Register before May 1st and you’ll even get an early-bird discount!
ABSA 61st Annual Biological Safety Conference Call for Papers You are now able to submit proposals for ABSA’s 61st Annual Biological Safety Conference. The conference will take place October 12-17, 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina. We anticipate having 650 attendees and 80 commercial exhibits. The pre-conference courses will take place Friday, October 12 to Sunday, October 14. The conference presentations will take place Monday, October 15 to Wednesday, October 17. The Call for Papers submission deadline is March 30, 2018 at 12 (Noon) pm CDT. 2018 Call for Papers Submission Site
GMU Biodefense Student Awarded ASIS National Capital Chapter Scholarship
We’re proud to announce that GMU Biodefense MS student Mariam Awad has been selected to receive the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) Chapter scholarship! Mariam will receive the award at the Chapter’s Annual Scholarship Night on April 11th. ASIS is the world’s largest membership organization for security management professionals. Congrats to Mariam for all her hard work and showing off the dedication GMU biodefense study have to the field!
Global Health Security 2019 Conference
The first international conference on global health security will be taking place from June 18-20 in Sydney, Australia. “The conference will: Bring together stakeholders working in global health security to measure progress, determine gaps, and identify new opportunities to enhance national, regional and global health security; Provide a venue for government officials and International Organizations to share policy developments, hear from the research community, and create a space for side meetings that advance the health security agenda; Establish and solidify a health security ‘community of practice’ and guiding principles; Through an open call for abstracts, highlight work from partners around the world, bringing cutting edge, evidence-based research to the community; Provide an opportunity for students to showcase their research; Consider creating a professional association for global health security; and Develop and endorse a ‘Sydney Statement’ on global health security.” They also have a call for abstracts on April 27th “We are at a critical juncture in the field of global health security and it is appropriate to organize the community around a set of common principles, goals, and objectives. Like the London Declaration for Neglected Tropical Diseases or the Oslo Ministerial Declaration on global health, this Conference aims to bring together the global health security community to agree on a set of principles to guide the field and set priorities. The Conference themes will address the following topics.”
First Responder Safety
Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) highlighted the importance of protecting Americans from threats like biological weapons. “It is imperative for first responders to keep themselves safe, so that in turn, they can provide care to those who are injured or ill,”. “For example, first responders should become familiar with the ASPR’s Primary Response Incident Scene Management (PRISM) series, which Kadlec said has been developed to provide evidence-based guidance on mass casualty disrobe and decontamination during a chemical incident. The PRISM guidance is based on scientific evidence gathered under a research program sponsored by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is overseen by ASPR. What many first responders may not realize is that studies during the BARDA research showed that disrobing and wiping skin with a dry cloth removes 99 percent of decontamination, Kadlec said.”
ASM Washington DC Branch & GMU Student Chapter Meeting
Join DC area microbiologists (professionals and students) for an exciting evening of microbiology, networking, and refreshments! Submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation by March 30th! This even will be held at the GMU Fairfax campus (Exploratory Hall, Room 3301), on April 5th from 6:30-9pm.
Stories You May Have Missed:
- Clade X Exercise – The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security will be hosting a tabletop exercise in Washington, D.C. in May. “The goal of this exercise (‘Clade X’) is to illustrate high-level strategic decisions and policies that the United States and the world will need to pursue in order to diminish the consequences of a severe pandemic. It will address a pressing current concern, present plausible solutions, and be experientially engaging. Clade X is designed for national decision-makers in the thematic biosecurity tradition of the Center’s two previous exercises, Dark Winter (2001) and Atlantic Storm (2005). The day-long exercise will simulate a series of Cabinet meetings among prominent players who previously occupied similar leadership positions in past Presidential administrations. Players will be presented with a scenario that highlights unresolved real-world policy issues that could be solved with sufficient political will and attention now and into the future.”
- Rubber Ducky: Bacterial Deathtrap– Sure, this might be a little dramatic, but if you saw the inside of these beloved bath toys, you’d be pretty grossed out. “Swiss and American researchers counted the microbes swimming inside the toys and say the murky liquid released when ducks were squeezed contained ‘potentially pathogenic bacteria’ in four out of the five toys studied. The bacteria found included Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that is ‘often implicated in hospital-acquired infections’.”
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
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