Category: Pandora Report

Pandora Report: 3.18.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Spring is upon us! Whether you’re suffering from allergies or enjoying the bloom of the cherry blossoms, we’ve got you covered from the biodefense side. Don’t forget to add our GMU SPGIA Master’s Open House to your calendar next week (Wednesday, March 23rd at 6:30pm at our Arlington Campus). We’ll also be hosting a biodefense breakout session at 7pm with Dr. Koblentz (bonus: you can attend virtually! Extra bonus: our MS program is offered online, so you can learn to be a biodefense guru from anywhere in the world!). Bioarchaeologists are at it again in their quest to determine the fall of ancient Rome (hint: Yersinia pestis may have played a larger role than you’d think). Here’s hoping that with the announcement of the new Indiana Jones movie we’ll see Indy doing some bioarchaeology on ancient biowarfare!

The Real Lessons of Ebola and Zika 
Emerging infectious diseases are not a new concept for global public health, so why did Zika and Ebola catch us so off guard? Where was prevention – the backbone of public health- in this fight? After the pledging of billions of dollars and deployment of countless health professionals, the reality of reaction versus proactive prevention was never more apparent than during the Ebola outbreak. As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Now, as we trudge our way through the Zika virus outbreak, many wonder why the Aedes mosquitoes are continuing to cause devastation when their role in outbreaks is so well known. “Controlling this mosquito would by itself ameliorate all these disease threats. Ironically, in South America, control of Aedes aegypti was largely successful earlier in the 20th century (with great expenditure of effort), only to be abandoned once the immediate threat receded.” So again, we must ask ourselves, why public health prevention measures are so frequently ignored. Inexpensive in comparison to the cost of an outbreak, these tools (surveillance, diagnostics, worldwide communication, etc.) are increasingly becoming stronger and more available. Zika and Ebola have proven the efficacy of these strategies and the damage of failing to use them, so what more will it take to get global public health measures a seat at the cool kids’ table? A recent study addressed the biosocial approaches to the Ebola outbreak, concluding that “biomedical and culturalist claims of causality have helped obscure the role of human rights failings (colonial legacies, structural adjustment, exploitative mining companies, enabled civil war, rural poverty, and the near absence of quality health care to name but a few) in the genesis of the 2013-16 pandemic.” Globally, we’re still struggling to recover from the outbreak – whether you’re on the the ground in the affected countries or in the public health agencies that attempted to help. In many ways, the lessons from this pandemic will continue to be identified and understood for years to come. The CDC has also just released an article regarding the perspectives on the outbreak here, where they discuss the factors that delayed disease detection, the role of civil instability, and the impact of historically limited ebola experience.

GMU Biodefense Alumni Career Services
Are you a GMU Biodefense alum? Don’t forget to sign up for the SPGIA CareersNow so you can get updates on job postings that are right up your alley! GMU has close ties within the biodefense industry and we love joining students with employers, so please make sure to sign up and utilize this great resource!

ISIS Chemical Weapons Attack
Officials are reporting on that on Saturday, terrorists linked to ISIS fired rockets into a residential part of Taza, a northern Iraqi town. These rockets are reported to have contained unspecified chemical substances that caused numerous deaths and injuries related to burns, dehydration, and suffocation. An American special forces team previously captured the lead ISIS chemical weapons engineer, however, “his capture has not stopped alleged chemical attacks by ISIS or other terrorists associated with the Islamist militant group. Earlier this week, for instance, officials in Iraq’s Kirkuk province claimed that around 100 people were injured in suspected chemical attack, also in Taza.” The attacks are recently reported to have injured 600 people and killed a 3-year-old girl. Many are now asking, where is ISIS getting their chemical weapons from?

Preventing “A Virological Hiroshima”: Cold War Press Coverage of Biological Weapons Disarmament
Since we’re in the middle of an election year, it has become even more apparent the massive role media plays in not just politics, but also security. A recent analysis was published utilizing written pieces from the US New York Times, UK Times, and the Guardian, during the period of the Biological Weapons Convention negotiation in 1972. Representations of biological weapons during this time not only reflect the societal ideologies, but the the high-stakes environment that the journalists were experiencing. “We argue that a conventional discourse can be found wherein biological weapons are portrayed as morally offensive, yet highly effective and militarily attractive. Interwoven with this discourse, however, is a secondary register which depicts biological weapons as ineffective, unpredictable and of questionable value for the military.” Interestingly, at the time of these news reports, journalists only knew of WMD’s via nuclear and chemical weapons. According to the authors, no biological attacks had been documented and the state sponsored programs were still buried in the depths of secrecy. Biological weapons could only be considered in terms of historical pandemics like the Black Death and the 1918 Influenza pandemic. The authors note that “this negative portrayal of biological weapons as unpredictable and ineffective was certainly flagged in the context of downplaying the significance or value of the BWC. But where it was put to more nuanced use, exemplified in the interview with Matthew Meselson in the wake of the Nixon decision to abandon the US offensive programme, biological weapons were indeed portrayed as useless, not because they were innocuous but because they were redundant: the USA already had access to the horrific, indiscriminate means to annihilate entire cities.”

A Little Bit of Zika Goes A Long Way
Recent CDC data reports 258 travel-associated cases within the US. Laura Beil with the New York Times describes the worry that pregnant women are now facing after they traveled to affected regions and later were found to have Zika. You can also find a timeline and map of the outbreak here. Here’s a spot of good news though – the European Commission announced on Tuesday that the European Union released $11.1 million for Zika virus research. Rob Stein from NPR discusses the unique cry of babies with Zika-associated birth defects and the stories from the pediatricians and health professionals that are working to help the affected families. “It’s not just that they cry more easily, and longer — which they do. There’s also something strange — harsher and more pained — about the cries of many of these babies.Screen Shot 2016-03-17 at 1.02.48 PM The realization that they even cry differently than normal babies drove home how many mysteries the world is facing because of the Zika virus.” Not surprisingly, ticket sales for the 2016 Summer Olympics have dropped since the announcement of the outbreak. Olympic-related event ticket revenues dropped 56.4% since mid-January. A new research article was just published regarding the seasonal occurrence and abundance of the Aedes mosquito and it’s role in potential Zika transmission within the US – specifically in regards to local transmission. Here’s a great map regarding the estimated risk of transmission within the US. 

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Use of Microbial Forensics in the Middle East/North Africa Region – The Federation of American Scientists (FSA) prepared a report for the Department of State Bureau of Arms Control and Verification regarding the use of microbial forensics as a means of combating biosecurity challenges. Whether naturally occurring or man-made, biological threats can pose a major challenge. Source recognition is “the key pre-condition that determines how a country will respond to a biological event, or take action in order to interrupt a potential emerging threat, ultimately centers around the ability to properly attribute the culpable sources (pathogens); in other words, governments need to determine the return address of the culpable microbe(s), be they from countries, individuals, or nature itself.”
  • Rice Krispies Food Safety Attack? An employee was recorded urinating on the production line for the cereal manufacturing company in 2014. Kellogg is now under investigation regarding the criminal activity and potential impact of the employee’s actions. I wonder, would you consider this a small-time biological attack?
  • Determinants and Drivers of Infectious Disease Threat Events in Europe – Researchers identified 17 drivers of infectious diseases threat events (IDTEs), categorizing them into 3 groups: globalization and environment, sociodemographic, and public health systems. They found that a combination of two or more drivers was responsible for most of the IDTEs and the driver “category of globalization and environment contributed to 61% of individual IDTEs, and the top 5 individual drivers of of all IDTEs were travel and tourism, food and water quality, natural environment, global trade, and climate.”

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Pandora Report 3.11.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

TGIF! We’ve got loads of global health security updates to keep you busy why you enjoy the warm spring weather. American special forces recently captured the chief ISIS chemical weapons engineer and you may want to avoid Wonderful Co. pistachios for a bit as they’re being linked to a salmonella outbreak.

The Smallpox Battlegrounds – Laboratories and Virtual RealityScreen Shot 2016-03-07 at 10.49.30 AM
Video game fans will be excited to hear about the new Tom Clancy game, The Division, released on March 8th. This isn’t your normal action-packed video game, but rather it has something more sinister about its premise. The Division focusses on a biochem attack involving a take over by a group called the Strategic Homeland Division aka “The Division”. The Division is compromised of sleeper agents that “act independently in the interest of restoring order after a mass event”. Now here’s where it gets spooky, the game’s premise involves a scenario that may give deja vu to many in the biodefense world- Operation Dark Winter. Operation Dark Winter was a June 2001 exercise/senior-level war game put on by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies, the ANSER Institute for Homeland Security, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. The scenario focussed on the impact and response of a smallpox outbreak coupled with tensions in the Taiwan Straits and additional crises. In a nutshell, the scenario found that “current organizational structures and capabilities are not well suited for the management of a BW attack”, media management would be challenging for the government, containment and infection prevention would present several issues, and we’d pretty much be in a whirlwind of trouble. If you’re more of a purest and The Division doesn’t appeal to you, there’s also The Collapse, which is an internet-based game that lets you simulate a smallpox outbreak. Unlike other games where the player designs the outbreak, this one is from the viewpoint of the patient. You’re patient zero with a weaponized strain of smallpox and your decisions carry with them a world of outcomes involving the spread of the disease and rate of infection. I spent some time playing The Collapse (starting at GMU for sheer irony) and found it to be very detail oriented and enjoyed the decision making components like which pharmacy I would go to, my travel destination, etc. If you’re not much of a gamer, here’s the recent WHO report on the deliberations regarding the destruction of variola virus stocks. To destroy smallpox or not to destroy smallpox, that is the question.

GMU Course Sampler & Open Houses
Looking to study and work with people that share your love of biodefense? Come check out our March 23rd GMU SPGIA Open House at 6:30pm, in Founders Hall, room 126 at our Arlington Campus! Not only will you be able to chat biodefense, but we’ll have an informational session afterward (7pm) with Dr. Koblentz (you can check out the 2/25 one here). Each session allows us to discuss global health security and answer questions related to our program and the growing field of biodefense. Can’t attend in person? Enjoy our 3/23 biodefense breakout session virtually! If you happened to miss our biodefense course sampler from 3/2, check out the recording from Dr. Koblentz’s talk on Biosecurity as a Wicked Problem.

Chinese Admission of False Korean War Allegations Involving US BW Use
Biodefense expert, Milton Leitenberg, discusses the allegations by North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union, that the US used bioweapons during the Korean War. While the Soviet Central Committee declared the allegations fraudulent in 1998, China and North Korea continued to maintain that bioweapons were used. The recent publication by Wu Zhili (previously the director of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army Health Division during the Korean War) refutes these claims. Published posthumously, Wu’s testimonial is critical in dismantling the claims as he was “critically involved in the Chinese government’s manipulations that produced the Korean War BW allegations.” The initial allegations claimed that the US was testing bioweapons (specifically plague) on native Inuit peoples of Alaska and then was spreading smallpox in North Korea between December 1950- January 1951. The major allegation campaign began on February 22, 1952 though, as “the North Korean Foreign Minister again issued an official statement addressed to the United Nations Secretariat, charging that in January and February the US had made multiple air drops over North Korea, littering the earth with insects infected with the microorganisms that caused plague, cholera, and other diseases.” Leitenberg discusses these allegations and the Soviet admission of being “misled” and their claims that “the accusations against the Americans were fictitious…Soviet workers responsible for participation in the fabrication of the so-called ‘proof’ of the use of bacteriological weapons will receive severe punishment.” He goes on to discuss Wu’s publication and explanation of the tasks that were carried out to further the belief in US bioweapon applications.

Gain of Function Research
Researchers, Dr. Lipsitch, Dr. Relman, and Dr. Ingelsby, have joined together to discuss the realistic future for research that seeks to alter pathogens. Pointing to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) meeting, they note that it “marks a turning point in a year-and-a-half-long policy process to consider the risks, benefits, oversight, and regulation of experiments that are designed to create influenza and other viruses that are simultaneously highly virulent and readily transmissible by respiratory droplets between mammals.” Focus has traditionally been on the pros and cons of gain-of-function (GOF) projects however, as time passes, a narrowing of concern seems to be focussed on experiments that seek to build chimeric viruses that are highly dangerous and transmissible. They recommend the following policy approach: lift the moratorium on GOFoc, seek international consensus, secure national and international agreement to restrict the performance of GOFoc studies, design a board, establish clear red lines for GOFoc research, and require the purchase by research institutions of specific liability insurance policies. You can also read the interview with the researchers regarding the implications of such research censorships. Dr. Filippa also discusses engineering a super flu here, noting that “the debate is really about risk assessment of this gain of function work and about who should be making those assessments. Should it just be scientists, should it be their institutions, should it be funders, should it be publishers or, much more broadly, should it be regulators, vaccine manufacturers, ethicists? ”

Zika Updates
CDC and NIAID officials are becoming frustrated as they feel Congress is blocking key efforts to fight the outbreak. A recently published report on research priorities to inform public health and medical practice for domestic Zika virus can be found here. The report emphasizes the growing spread of infection and subsequent need for additional research related to transmission, infection during pregnancy, and disease characteristics . The recent WHO stakeholders meeting provided updates on the most urgently needed tools to fight the growing pandemic. The roadmap includes diagnostic tests, inactivated vaccines targeted to childbearing-aged women, and new vector control mechanisms.  As of March 9th, there were 193 confirmed travel-associated Zika cases in the U.S.  A recent study found that 42% of questioned Americans believe the virus has high mortality rates. Aedes mosquitoes are also developing resistance to the go-to insecticide.

7 Sources for Understanding Epidemics
Feeling like all this Zika news has you needing to catch up on your outbreak cliff notes? The Washington Post has put together a nice list of seven books and movies you can enjoy to help ramp up your knowledge regarding the world of pandemics. This list is a great way to understand the different viewpoints of outbreaks and pandemics from social, medical, political, and scientific viewpoints. If you find yourself wanting more, here are some additional recommendations I’m throwing in: Spillover by David Quammen, Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond by Sonia Shah, and The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett. Feeling like something a little bit more dramatic? Check out Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone or Demon in the Freezer, or the movies Outbreak or World War Z. With the success of Contagion, I’m still hoping Hollywood will continue to back scientifically grounded films about pandemics (between ebola and Zika virus, they’ve got enough material!).

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Why Are Mosquitoes Just So Good At Spreading Disease? Mosquitoes have been causing outbreaks since the days of ancient Rome and yet we’re still battling them in the fight against Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and more. “According to Janet McAllister, an entomologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not all mosquitoes are good at transmitting disease, but the ones that are have evolved to live closer to humans.”
  • Global Health Security Agenda– GHSA was launched in 2014 as a multilateral approach to help protect the world from infectious disease threats. Endorsed by the G7, this agenda facilitates a “partnership of nearly 50 nations, international organizations, and non-governmental stakeholders, GHSA is facilitating collaborative, capacity-building efforts to achieve specific and measurable targets around biological threats, while accelerating achievement of the core capacities required by the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) International Health Regulations (IHR), the World Organization of Animal Health’s (OIE) Performance of Veterinary Services Pathway, and other relevant global health security frameworks.”
  • Fumbling Ebola– The San Francisco-based epidemiology company, Metabiota, is being charged with making several mistakes according to the Associated Press (AP). Recovered communication reveals that the company fueled an already chaotic situation via misdiagnoses, adding to confusion, and poor sample tracking.
  • Guidelines for Ebola Survivor Care– The WHO has published guidelines on the management and care of patients who were previously infected with Ebola. Since there are roughly 10,000 ebola survivors and several have required hospitalization for complications, these recommendations are extremely prudent. The report includes counseling, considerations for special patient populations, and common sequelae and management recommendations.

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Pandora Report: 3.4.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Dirty bombs, Zika virus, and biosecurity in Iraq? That’s just a taste of the biodefense news we’ve got in store for you this week. While norovirus hits the East Coast (thanks, oysters!) and an additional three cases were confirmed in the seven-month-long Listeria outbreak associated with Dole salads, it’s no wonder there’s been work to build a new US food safety system. Next month the CDC will be working with state and local officials to establish plans in the most hard-hit Zika areas.

Assessing America’s Soft Underbelly and The Threat of Agroterrorism
The House Committee on Homeland Security’s Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications Subcommittee held a hearing on Friday in which they discussed and reviewed the risk of agroterrorism or natural agro-disasters. Disruption to the agriculture infrastructure and economy could be devastating to the US. Regardless if it’s private or public sectors, preparedness is vital to reduce calamitous damage. “US food and agriculture accounts for roughly one-fifth of the nation’s economic activity, contributed $835 billion to the US gross domestic product in 2014, and is responsible for one out of every 12 US jobs, according to Subcommittee Chairman Martha McSally (R-AZ).” Consider the impact of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) on their respective sectors and country economies. Some of the highlighted vulnerabilities and challenges were insufficient quantity of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine, gaps in US biosecurity, traceability, gaps in detection, data sharing for regulated disease, and more.

Strengthening Biosecurity in Iraq: Development of a National Biorisk Management SystemScreen Shot 2016-03-04 at 10.02.47 AM
GMU Biodefense director and professor, Dr. Gregory Koblentz, and Mahdi al-Jewari, director of the biology department for the Iraqi National Monitoring Authority in the Iraq Ministry of Science of Technology, have joined together to discuss the furthering of Iraqi biosecurity. Mahdi al-Jewari visited GMU in early 2015 to speak on global biorisk management, hosted by the GMU School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs. In their research, Dr. Koblentz and Mr. al-Jewari discuss Iraq’s implementation of its non-proliferation commitments, highlighting that since 2004 “Iraq has taken a series of practical steps to implement its obligations under international non-proliferation treaties to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery to states and non-state actors.” The Iraqi National Monitoring Authority, established in 2012, strives to strengthen their biosecurity program through three primary functions: compliance, monitoring of dual-use materials, and capacity building. The National Biorisk Management System has also highlighted four priorities to “counter biological threats: establishing a national pathogen list, building laboratory capacity, developing the capability to conduct joint law enforcement–public health investigations, and establishing a biorisk management law. The NBMC has established sub-committees charged with developing new policies and programs to achieve these four objectives.” While sustainability will be the most challenging hurdle for Iraq, commitment to investments  in infrastructure, IT, biosecurity, and biosurveillance systems can help them overcome these difficulties.

Just How Far Down the Zika Rabbit Hole Are We So Far?
It seems like every week we’re learning new things about Zika virus and how much work needs to be done. I wonder, how far have we made it down the rabbit hole for Zika and how much more do we have to go? While the Aedes mosquito is the reigning king of Zika virus infections, what about animals? The CDC recently released information regarding the concerns over zoonotic cases. Originally discovered in a monkey in the Zika Forest in 1940’s Uganda , the CDC maintains that “at this time, animals do not appear to be involved in the spread” and that there is no evidence of zoonotic transmission. “Nonhuman primates (apes and monkeys) have shown the ability to become infected with Zika virus; but, only a few naturally and experimentally infected monkeys and apes have had any signs of illness at all, and then it was only a mild, transient fever without any other symptoms.” As international public health teams descend upon the outbreak regions, we will surely be learning more about this outbreak. Perhaps the most challenging issue is the dissemination of information, especially in regions of high transmission. University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health infectious disease professor, Dr. Kacey Ernst, is one of the top vector-borne researchers and she recently explained: “The Zika virus pandemic, thought to be primarily caused by transmission of the virus through Ae. aegypti requires urgent action to determine the role of the virus in neurological sequalea, including microcephaly as well as the relative transmission potential of Ae. albopictus. Given the important role of communities in preventing the proliferation of the peridomestic, anthropophilic Ae. aegypti, communication between the scientific communities and the public must be heightened to ensure timely dissemination of surveillance information. While much of the United States is currently too cold to allow high densities of the primary vector of Zika virus, Ae. aegypti, the growing evidence surrounding the role of sexual transmission in the spread of Zika could imply that outbreaks of disease are possible even when transmission by the mosquito is not. More research is needed to delineate the two modes of transmission and the role that sexual transmission may be playing in the explosive spread of Zika across Latin America and the Caribbean.” In more Zika updates, blood samples from French Polynesia patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) during their Zika virus outbreak are revealing the first look into the reality that Zika may actually cause GBS. The CDC is also urging pregnant women to avoid the summer Olympics in Brazil due to the outbreak. The FDA also just issued their Emergency Use Authorization for a Zika diagnostic tool for qualified countries. As of March 2nd, the CDC has reported 153 travel-associated Zika virus cases within the US.

Education Gaps on Dirty Bombs
David Ropeik from Scientific American discusses the impact that poor education and fear regarding dirty bombs can pose during an emergency. “The prospect of such a bomb seems terrifying, but anyone who knows the basic science of radiation biology knows that it wouldn’t cause much health damage, because the dose of radioactivity to which most people might be exposed would be very low. And experts know, based on the 65 year Life Span Study of the survivors of atomic bomb explosions in Japan, that even at extraordinarily high doses, ionizing radiation only raises lifetime cancer mortality rates a little bit—just two thirds of one percent for survivors who were within three kilometers of ground zero.” Few people know that low doses from a dirty bomb exposure pose little (not zero, but minimal) health risks, but rather people tend to hear “radioactive” or “nuclear radiation” and run screaming to the hills like a zombie hoard is approaching. While Ropeik points out that there will of course be devastation and economic damage, the resulting stress, fear, and public outcry for retaliation can be just as damaging. So what can we do? He points to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and CDC educational sites, but emphasizes that in the end, a communication campaign to combat fear would “take at least some power of a dirty bomb to terrorize us out of the hands of the terrorists”.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Biosurviellance Ecosystem- The DoD and DHS are currently working on a new system that would allow epidemiologists to “scan the planet for anomalies in human and animal disease prevalence, warn of coming pandemics, and protect warfighters and others worldwide.” The Biosurveillance Ecosystem (BSVE) is a brain child that would allow epidemiologists to customize and collaborate – better yet, it’s being developed using open-source software and works “as a dashboard-like service from the cloud, accessible through an Internet browser”.
  • Select Agent Guidance– The Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) is asking for community members to submit comments regarding the Guidance for Nonviable Select Agents and Nonfunctional Select Toxins. If you’re a member of the regulated community, help the FSAP become more transparent and strengthen biosecurity efforts! Comments will be accepted through March 14, 2016.
  • Giant Virus Secret Weapon: An Immune System – Whether it’s Frankenvirus or one of the other hundreds of giant viruses researchers have been finding, they’re teaching us a lot about secret weapons within the virus arsenal. Researchers working with a few of the giant viruses reported on Monday that some of the genes actually provide an immune system. Even crazier? The immune system “works a lot like the CRISPR system in bacteria that scientists have co-opted as a powerful gene editing tool.”

Pandora Report: 2.26.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

It’s been quite a week for global health security. Even the X-Files covered worldwide pandemics (that’s right, multiple diseases), CRISPR-Cas9, and military vaccination programs. Measles is hitting Nigeria hard as Lagos state officials announced the deaths of 20 children related to the outbreak. A recent study released by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center found that more than one third of participants believed Zika virus was a conspiracy theory related to genetically modified mosquitoes. Maybe they were also watching the X-Files? Before we begin, meningitis vaccine efforts were celebrated at the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) conference, due to success within Africa’s meningitis belt.

GMU Biodefense Students Awarded UPMC Biosecurity Fellowship
We’re happy to announce that two GMU Biodefense students have been selected as Fellows for the UPMC Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI)! Congrats to biodefense MS alum Francisco Cruz, and PhD candidate Siddha Hover! “The Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative is a competitive fellowship program designed to create and sustain an energetic, multidisciplinary, and intergenerational biosecurity community made up of motivated young professionals as well as current leaders. UPMC has selected 28 US and international emerging leaders in biosecurity from a wide array of backgrounds, including biological science, medicine, policy, the military, law, public health and the private sector.” Siddha Hover works for BAI, Inc. as an embedded contractor with the Department of Homeland Security, where she serves as DHS’s sole treaty analyst. In her role, she is responsible for reviewing all relevant DHS-sponsored research and activites for compliance with applicable arms control agreements. Siddha is currently pursuing her PhD in Biodefense. She holds a MSc in Biodefense from George Mason University and a MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics. Siddha notes that, “the GMU Biodefense program provided me with the foundational knowledge necessary to confidently begin a career in biodefense and enabled me to successfully apply for the ELBI Fellowship.” Francisco is a biologist in the Field Operations Branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Consequence Management Advisory Division (CBRN CMAD). As CBRN CMAD’s Biologist, Francisco provides operational guidance to federal, state, and local responders in the areas of decontamination and emergency response related to biological incidents. Francisco holds a B.A. in Biological Sciences from the University of Delaware. During his time at GMU, Francisco earned a Graduate Certificate in Critical Analysis and Strategic Responses to Terrorism, and earned his M.S. in Biodefense in December 2015. Congrats to Siddha and Francisco in their work furthering the field of global health security and representing GMU Biodefense in the ELBI program!

GMU Biodefense Course Sampler- “Biosecurity as a Wicked Problem”
If you’re on the fence about going back to school, curious about our program, or just want to hear what a class in biodefense would be like, check out our course sampler on Wednesday, March 2nd, at 7pm, in our Arlington Campus in Founders Hall, Room 502. “The United States and the world face unprecedented threats to global biosecurity, including emerging infectious diseases, pandemics, natural disasters, bioterrorism, and laboratory accidents. Find out about the challenges posed by these threats and strategies for enhancing global health security.” How many times can you sample a course from not only an expert in the field, but also the director of the program? Dr. Koblentz will be your host for this evening lecture on biodefense, dual-use research, CRISPR-Cas9, biosecurity, and much more. Can’t attend in person? Don’t worry – we’re also live-streaming here. Come join us for a look behind the curtain of not only our GMU graduate programs, but also the world of global health security.

CRISPR and The Battle of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes 
CRISPR-Cas9 technology has been a hot topic since it was discovered and things have only ramped up since a Chinese research team announced last Spring that they successfully edited human embryo genes. While many raised concerns over “designer babies” and genetically modified livestock, the case for genetically modified mosquitoes has also been discussed. What if science could modify mosquito capabilities to carry disease? CRISPR-Cas9 research is getting much closer to making this a reality with the help of two research teams. “The first group, led by Valentino Gantz and Ethan Bier at the University of California–San Diego, and Anthony James at the University of California–Irvine, engineered a gene drive carrying a pair of genes designed to kill the malaria parasite inside the mosquito.The second group, led by Nikolai Windbichler, Andrea Cristanti, and Tony Nolan at the Imperial College London, developed a more brute force approach, building a gene drive that breaks an important mosquito gene and renders the females sterile—a strategy designed to decimate a mosquito population. Both groups reported that, when the genetically modified insects were crossed with wild ones, as much as 99 percent of the offspring carried the modified genes, a clear sign that the gene drives were working.” While field tests are still necessary to establish efficacy, it’s important to note the researchers are taking great strides to ensure public buy-in given the sensitivity of such work. Gene drive is becoming more accessible and the applications appear limitless however, ethical use of this pioneering innovation is crucial for future work.

Climate Change & Zika Virus – What’s the Link?
Somewhere between reporting on CRISPR-Cas9 mosquitoes and Zika updates, it seems like a perfect place to discuss what kind of impact climate change is having on infectious diseases…especially Zika virus. GMU Biodefense MS student and one of our contributors, Greg Mercer elaborates on the role climate change may have on the growing geographical distribution of mosquitoes that pose some of the biggest threats. Greg points out that “exactly how climate change drives the spread of Zika and other diseases is hard to define. In 2013, researchers at the University of Arizona published a paper examining the effect of climate factors on dengue and its Aedes vectors. Their conclusion highlighted just how far scientists still have to go in understanding the climate-disease link: ‘Climate influences dengue ecology by affecting vector dynamics, agent development, and mosquito/human interactions,’ they wrote, but ‘although these relationships are known, the impact climate change will have on transmission is unclear.’ Climate change introduces additional complications into an already complex system, the study authors explained: It’s difficult enough to understand how weather, climate, human interaction, or mosquito behavior contribute to the spread of a virus.” Researchers are now comparing the global distribution of Aedes mosquitoes and the spread of Zika, which leaves many to wonder if the threat of global disease will evolve with that of global climate change.

BARDA Seeks Advanced Public Health Consequence Modeling
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is currently working to find partners that can aid in the development of a modeling system that would support federal decision makers in their planning and response to CBRN events. “The tools developed under this acquisition will assist Federal decision makers with medical and public health decision making for the advanced development and implementation of an integrated National medical countermeasures infrastructure (e.g., vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and medical devices).” They’re hoping to build partnerships to establish a network for medical consequence modeling, simulation, visualization, and decision support. BARDA plans to include two functional areas within the network, 1- decision support, reach back, analysis, and modeling (DREAM), and 2- professional services and systems integration (PSSI). “These activities include assisting government decisions makers during the development of preparedness plans, the implementation of response strategies, and communications with a wide variety of stakeholders, both during day to day operations and in the course of declared public health emergencies as part of the BARDA Modeling Coordination Group.” Each functional area will have multiple Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) awards that can be earned and they are encouraging interested stakeholders to submit proposals.

To Zika and Back 

Courtesy of the Council on Foreign Relations
Courtesy of the Council on Foreign Relations

As Zika virus continues to spread and South Africa reports the first of their cases, many are wondering how these outbreaks tend to go from 0-60 in a hot minute. NIAID director, Anthony Fauci, discusses the reality of disease surveillance and revealed this slide during an interview, of which you can see the global examples of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Dr. Fauci points to the unpredictable nature that is public health and global health security. Global public health is still reeling from the effects and imperfect response of Ebola 2014, coupled with the scrutiny of a response to H1N1 that was considered too zealous. I’ve always considered public health and disease prevention to be the kind of work where few realize when you’ve done your job correctly but when you fail, it’s something you’ll be hearing about for decades. Global health security is challenging on a good day and public health tends to get little funding, especially in the countries that need it most. After the devastation of Ebola and all the after-action reports, many are wondering how did we miss the rise of Zika virus? Dr. Ken Stuart, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research in Seattle, says, “We were unaware of the severity of the disease … [and] were unaware this virus had the capability for getting distributed so rapidly.” Regarding the funding issues that often plague infectious disease efforts, he noted that “this really goes back to funding priorities. Much of the funding devoted to infectious disease today is in reaction to outbreaks. Therefore, we’re not generally prepared to respond quickly. In other cases there are diseases that are very rare but they have an advocacy group that generates research activities. In the case of diseases like Zika, which were isolated in remote areas of the world where that population had no resources or advocacy group, there was no push to do research.We’re not stuck with what we’ve got. There are conversations between federal funding agencies and private organizations to try to prioritize the utilization of their resources, and I would say the NIH has been a leader in supporting the fundamental research that actually, probably positions us best to be prepared to respond to these disease outbreaks.” In other Zika news, a CDC team just arrived in Brazil to study the associated birth defects and the White House is urging Congress to provide emergency funds to support Zika response efforts, rather than just re-directing funds from Ebola-related projects. You can also see a map tracing the spread of Zika and some background here. As of February 24, the CDC has reported 107 travel-associated cases in the U.S.

The Rise of Chikungunya
I always thought it sounded like the name of a monster and in some ways, that’s pretty spot on. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported 16,668 confirmed and suspected cases of Chikungunya in 2016 so far. Colombia shouldered the majority of 2016 disease burden, with a spike of 1,189 new cases added to their previous count of 5,752. The PAHO is still playing catch-up on their year-end reporting for 2015, but it looks like 28,722 additional infections were added to their 2015 data. These updates mean that this region experienced 726,478 cases in 2015, and with the the new cases reported as of February 19, this current outbreak has been responsible for 1.89 million infections. Starting in 2013, this outbreak began on St. Martin and has been gaining traction ever since. Hopefully with the mosquito-control efforts related to Zika virus, the mosquito population also responsible for Chikungunya will begin to decline.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Breaking Down the Barriers of MDRO’s:  Scientists in the UK have discovered how drug-resistant bacteria create and maintain their defensive wall. Using the Diamond Light Source machine to “investigate in tiny detail a class of bugs known as Gram-negative bacteria”, they were able to find a defensive wall and it’s assembly beta-barrel machinery (BAM). This new research means that future treatments can aim at preventing bacteria from building these defense measures versus just attempting to attack the bacteria itself.
  • Melbourne Measles Outbreak – 14 cases have already been confirmed in the suburb of Brunswick, of which 2 were children from a primary school. Students that attend the same school and are not fully immunized were instructed to stay home to avoid exposure.
  • E. coli Outbreak in Raw Milk – Not surprisingly, a recall has been issued related to unpasteurized raw milk from a local dairy farm in Fresno, CA. 10 people have been confirmed with Shiga-toxin producing E. coli 0157:H7. Thankfully the shelf-life of the product has passed and public health officials, while stating that the investigation is on going, have confirmed that no health alert was issued since the product is believed to no longer be within the marketplace. Moral of the story – avoid raw, unpasteurized milk.

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Pandora Report: 2.19.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

TGIF! We hope you had a lovely week while avoiding RAW Meal Organic Shake and Meal Replacement products. The FDA recently reported an outbreak of Salmonella Virchow linked to the moringa powder within these products. 11 people across nine states were impacted by the outbreak, leading to an expanded recall due to the contamination. In this week’s Pandora Report, we’re covering Zika virus, CRISPR, GMU’s Biodefense Open House, ISIS use of chemical weapons, and much more. Before we begin, you’ll be happy to hear that as of today, airline passengers flying from Guinea to the US will no longer have to fly through designated airports and undergo screening for Ebola.

Zika Response Plans 
The WHO just released their Zika Strategic Response Framework & Joint Operations Plan for January-June 2016. Within the report, readers can find a timeline of the outbreak, a current situation report (sitrep) and the three objectives, which include surveillance, response, and research. Response strategies include community engagement, control efforts for the Aedes mosquito, and efforts to support and guide “the potential impact on women of childbearing age and those who are pregnant, as well as families with children affected by Zika virus.” The WHO estimates that the community engagement components requires $15.4 million, 10 partners, and will involve public health risk communication, community engagement, and health care personnel. Overall, the WHO estimates that to “kickstart” the international response, it will take $56 million. Fortunately, the World Bank announced it’s commitment of $150 million to combat the growing epidemic. The FDA just released blood donation recommendations related to the outbreak to mitigate risk of contamination. They are recommending that “those at risk of having been infected with the Zika virus should not donate blood for four weeks. These include those who have had Zika virus symptoms or sexual contact with people who have traveled to countries known to have ongoing transmissions.” According to the CDC, as of February 10th, there have been 52 travel-associated Zika virus associated cases in the US. On Thursday, Pope Francis suggested that women could justifiably use contraception to avoid pregnancy in Zika affected countries.

Upcoming Events: SPGIA Master’s Open House and Biodefense Seminar!Biodefense_320x180
Interested in furthering your education and getting to study topics like bioweapons, disease outbreaks, and terrorism? Check out the GMU Master’s Open House on Thursday, February 25th, 6:30pm at our Arlington Campus in Founder’s Hall, Room 126. Dr. Koblentz, GMU biodefense program director and one of our amazing professors, will also be holding an informational session at 7pm. You can even virtually attend if you’re looking to get more details on the biodefense graduate program and what kinds of adventures it entails. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet by attending one of the Open Houses, try our Biodefense Course Sampler on Wednesday, March 2nd, at 7pm in Founders Hall (GMU Arlington Campus), room 502. Dr. Koblentz will be hosting the event to discuss the unique challenges the US faces when it comes to global health security. Ranging from biosafety to natural disasters, and even zombies, this is a great way to get a taste of the GMU Biodefense program! Make sure to RSVP though, since space is limited.

Workshop on Women’s Health in Global Perspective
GMU’s School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs will be hosting this engaging and informational workshop on March 3, 2016 (8:45am-4:45pm), at our Arlington campus, in Founders Hall 111 and 1113. The keynote address will be from Dr. Nancy Lee, director of the Office of Women’s Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. Panels will discuss contraception and prenatal care, violence against women, dealing with disease, cross border concerns, and the role of gender disparities in women’s health outcomes. Lunch will be provided and while this event is free and open to the public, you’ll need to register here.

ISIS Use of Chemical Weapons
On Friday, CIA director John Brennan, confirmed that ISIS fighters have not only utilized chemical weapons, but also have the means and capabilities to make them. Reports indicate that ISIS is capable of making small quantities of chlorine and mustard gas. Brennan also pointed to potential exportation of chemical weapon to the West for financial incentives, noting that “there’s always a potential for that. This is why it’s so important to cut off the various transportation routes and smuggling routes they have used.” Confirmatory lab results from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) established the definitive presence of mustard gas in the attacks on Kurdish forces last year. “The OPCW will not identify who used the chemical agent. But the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the findings have not yet been released, said the result confirmed that chemical weapons had been used by Islamic State fighters. The samples were taken after the soldiers became ill during fighting against Islamic State militants southwest of Erbil, capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.” Given their successful use of mustard gas and growing concerns over development capabilities, Brennan noted that “US intelligence is actively involved in being part of the efforts to destroy ISIS and to get as much insight into what they have on the ground inside Syria and Iraq.”

Ongoing Challenges and Future Considerations for DHS Biosurveillance Efforts 
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published their findings regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) biosurveillance efforts, specifically the National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) and the BioWatch program. Initial findings in 2009 found that NBIC wasn’t “fully equipped to carry out its mission because it lacked key resources—data and personnel—from its partner agencies, which may have been at least partially the result of collaboration challenges it faced.” Recommendations were made and then in August 2012, NBIC released its Strategic Plan in response to the deficiencies, of which focal points included clarification of its mission and efforts to fulfill its roles of analyzer, coordinator, and innovator. Since 2012 though, GAO has noted several challenges DHS has faced in attempts to justify the BioWatch program. In 2015, “GAO found that DHS lacks reliable information about the current system’s technical capabilities to detect a biological attack, in part because in the 12 years since BioWatch’s initial deployment, DHS has not developed technical performance requirements for the system. GAO reported in September 2015 that DHS commissioned tests of the current system’s technical performance characteristics, but without performance requirements, DHS cannot interpret the test results and draw conclusions about the system’s ability to detect attacks.” Based off their findings, GAO recommended DHS not pursue the upgrades it was considering to the program. Some of the changes NBIC will be pursuing include its modification to the Daily Monitoring List  and better integration of projections and forecasts. You can find the report here, which also includes a table regarding benefits and challenges for structural changes within NBIC. Coincidentally, there was a webinar this week on “Defending Against Bioterror with Improved BioWatch Standards”. During the webinar, the presenters (Dr. Georges Benjamin and Dr. Bruce Budowle) emphasized that BioWatch is an integrated system that “needs to be used with care and caution, but it’s really a marvelous piece of technology.” They also spent time discussing how PCR results may pose problematic for end users and how BioWatch “is a good investment that should continue”.

Mental Health Challenges in Ebola Fighters
The 2014 outbreak left untold damages upon the affected countries. Unfortunately, mental health is one that may have gone unnoticed. While doctors and nurses raced to respond to the outbreak, the response to mental health was given little thought. Fighters in the Ebola battle are now fighting personal struggles with alcoholism, depression, and drug addiction. In countries that have even fewer mental health professionals than medical doctors, many are in desperate need. Some of these include young men that signed up to bury the bodies of Ebola patients in the grassy mud within Liberia. Drew Hinshaw discusses how these “burial boys” found themselves digging graves for their own children and are now left struggling to find work and are suffering from severe PTSD and the emotional effects of such an ordeal. “Liberia has just one psychiatrist for a population of four million, according to the health ministry. Sierra Leone, home to seven million, also has only one. The mental-health wing of the Liberian health ministry has just two staffers on payroll.” The truth is simple- the impact of an outbreak of this magnitude, especially within impoverished countries, has rippling effects that go on for years. Perhaps future outbreak response and preparedness models should include mental health support during and following the outbreak?

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Future of CRISPR– CRISPR technology has been making headlines since it’s initial discovery, especially with Science naming it the Breakthrough of the Year. Its ease of use has raised many red flags for those within the science and biosecurity community. One of its discoverers, Jennifer Doudna, worked to answer questions and dispel concerns regarding mis-use, stating that “she considers it one of her responsibilities as a researcher to ensure that she educates people about the technology and listens to their questions and concerns about its use. She says one of her biggest fears is “waking up one morning and reading about the first CRISPR baby, and having that create a public backlash where people ban or regulators shut this down, and I think that could be very detrimental to the progress of the field.”
  • UK Parliament Report – Lesson Learned from Ebola – The UK Parliament has released their findings on the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the UK’s response efforts. Pointing to the necessity of strong and reliable communication, they emphasized that research must be started swiftly during such events. “The willingness of Government agencies, third sector organisations, health and aid workers, universities, and pharmaceutical companies to go above and beyond to help tackle the outbreak was phenomenal. The swift pace at which clinical trials were approved and conducted particularly stood out.” For updates on the outbreak, you can see the WHO sitrep here.
  • MERS-CoV Updates – A new report from Emerging Infectious Diseases discusses the infection of alpacas in a region where MERS-CoV is endemic. Given the susceptibility of alpacas, this could broaden the geographical distribution of potential cases. Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) has started a Phase 1 clinical trial (the first to be tested in humans) for a MERS-CoV vaccine.

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Pandora Report 2.12.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

This week we saw a lot of movement on the Zika response front – from increased funding to research teams prepping for field work, the outbreak hype is picking up traction as the horrors of Ebola are still fresh. Natural outbreaks aren’t the only thing drawing concern this week, as James Clapper, Director of US National Intelligence, added gene editing to the list of dangers posed by “weapons of mass destruction and proliferation.” The annual worldwide threat assessment report stated that, “research in genome editing conducted by countries with different regulatory or ethical standards than those of Western countries probably increases the risk of the creation of potentially harmful biological agents or products,”. Good news for hospital preparedness, the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the CDC have announced continued funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP). The HPP supports critical healthcare preparedness efforts in order to reduce the “supplemental state and federal resources during emergencies, and enables rapid recovery.” If you’re trying to work some biodefense into your Valentine’s Day, you’ve got a few options via Jane Austen-inspired zombie adventures in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or episodes of The Walking Dead. Whichever zombie adventure you choose, just remember to avoid cuddling with any armadillos (read on to find out why). Happy Friday!

Lassa Fever Outbreak Grows
The Lassa fever outbreak that began hitting Nigeria in August 2015 has continued to spread, worrying many health officials. 101 people have already died from the infection and roughly 175 people have become infected. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated, “As of today, 19 [including Abuja] states are currently following up contacts, or have suspected cases with laboratory results pending or laboratory confirmed cases.” Annually, Lassa fever causes 100,000-300,000 infections and 5,000 deaths in west Africa. Nigeria’s neighbor, Benin, is also seeing an increase in cases, in which seventeen have died and fifty have been infected.

Back Down the Zika Rabbit Hole
In response to the growing threat of Zika virus, the Obama administration announced on Monday that it would formally be requesting an emergency funding of $1.8 billion to combat the outbreak. The Department of Health and Human Services (including the CDC) would obtain the majority of the funds ($1.48 billion). CDC efforts will be ramped up as its emergency operations center was moved to a level 1 (the highest level) and teams are being coordinated to study the microcephaly-infection links. You can also check out the White House press release here. The WHO will be working to prioritize and fast-track research and development projects, of which Zika virus will be included. You can also find a great timeline here. According to the CDC, as of February 3, 2016, there were 35 travel-associated cases in the US. The Lancet also just released this piece discussing the labeling of Zika virus as a public health issue of concern.  On February 16, 2016, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are holding a workshop on research priorities to inform public health and medical practice for domestic Zika virus cases.

ASM-BiodefenseScreen Shot 2016-02-10 at 11.49.22 PM 
The 2016 American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting took place this week in Arlington, VA. For a biodefense fan, this was a pretty amazing three-day experience. Conference attendees were treated to presentations on antimicrobial resistance, applied biodefense, medical countermeasure developments, agroterrorism, and much more. Did I mention the keynote speaker was Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC? I’m not even a little ashamed to admit how great it was to see Dr. Frieden emphasize that “nature is unpredictable but what is predictable is that we can be better prepared.” He also noted that “Zika is a rapidly changing situation” and the CDC would be sending a team within the next week to start a case-control study related to infection and microcephaly. Some highlights included getting to listen to Dr. Raymond Zilinskas discuss Russian biodefense efforts and how CBR training exercises increased in 2015. Dr. Jens Kuhn from the NIH wins the award for most humor during his fascinating presentation on Marburg and Ebola research within the Soviet bioweapons program. The infection preventionist in me greatly appreciated the session on antibiotic resistance and the role of medical tourism as an exposure for patients to CRE, not to mention how travel assists global clonal expansion. The Mayo Clinic’s Dr Tosh pointed out the short term (isolation of patients, hand hygiene, etc.), medium term (new microbial therapeutics, new diagnostics, etc.), and long term (specific pathogen therapy, decolonization, and immunologic therapy) response and control mechanisms for drug resistance. Last but not least, one of the biggest objectives from the applied biodefense presentations was the need for scientists to help inform policymakers about their work to drive the best policies. I would highly encourage anyone interested in the biodefense field to attend future conferences, as it was a wonderful learning experience and the poster/exhibitor sessions were an excellent way to learn about new research and network.

Lessons Learned: Using North Korea’s History to Better Understand Iran’s Nuclear Program
GMU biodefense professors, Dr. Thrall and Dr. Koblentz, discuss the use of North Korean nuclear history as a teaching tool regarding Iran’s nuclear program. By comparing and contrasting these two countries and their propensity for nuclear weapons, they look to similarities like the fact that both countries “are located in historically dangerous neighborhoods and face militarily superior adversaries. In North Korea’s case, South Korea and the United States; in Iran’s case, a Middle East full of Sunni Arabs and a nuclear-armed Israel. From a national security perspective, both countries have obvious reasons for pursuing a nuclear capability.” Given that both countries tend to be immune towards coercion, continued engagement and confrontation is vital. Using North Korea as a model for behavior, vigilant deterrence will be necessary to prevent Iran from cheating on the nuclear deal.

Managing Emerging Health Security Threats Since 9/11: The Role of Intelligence
Dr. Patrick F. Walsh, Associate Professor of Intelligence and Security Studies at Charles Sturt University in Australia, discusses the role of intelligence throughout the evolution of biosecurity since the 9/11 attacks. Dr. Walsh calls attention to the difficulties in defining biosecurity and that “cross-disciplinary focus is both a strength and weakness to understanding biosecurity threats. It is a weakness in that the presence of multiple players in the biosecurity field can result in a more fragmented understanding and operational response to various biosecurity threats. But it is also a strength in that, if intelligence systems are optimal, a multi-disciplinary approach allows a combination of expertise to assess and manage the bio-threat or risk.” Dr. Walsh presents the role of dual-use research, stolen biological agents, and the growing concern among biosecurity regulators and national security intelligence groups regarding the dwindling role of tacit knowledge and availability of equipment and technology. Dr. Walsh points out that the character of intelligence varies depending on the issue and one must account for the role of decision making. Lastly, he reminds us that “to conceptualize the role of intelligence in improving early warning of biosecurity threats is to examine how it can provide warning through various stages of the intelligence cycle, which includes the following stages—direction, collection, analysis, and dissemination.” While the role of intelligence will continue to evolve with biosecurity threats, Dr. Walsh emphasizes that strategic early warning capabilities are dependent upon the efficacy of intelligence framework. Improving these two facets of biodefense will allow critical infrastructure to not only respond to threats of bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases, but also the growing threats of microbial resistance and dual-use research. You can also find the article here (2016 Walsh Health Security and Intelligence Jan).

Biosecurity in the Age of Big Data: A Conversation with the FBI
Advances in life science and technology can solve many health issues, but they can also pose a threat if used within the wrong context. Dual-use research of concern, CRISPR, and biotechnologies have led to some remarkable revolutionary advances, however, where do these fit within the FBI’s security concerns for bioweapons? Keith Kozminski of Molecular Biology of the Cell met with FBI Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) and head of the Biological Countermeasures Unit at their Washington, DC headquarters, Edward You, to discuss the security implications of Big Data. SSA You detailed his work with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute to identify the security issues associated with Big Data when it comes to biology. Whether collaborating with companies like Amazon and IBM or government agencies like the CDC, SSA You has worked to identify potential vulnerabilities and how they can be addressed without halting innovation. SSA You states that “Over the last two years, we have had the issues with regard to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Defense (DoD). A lot of discussion also came when the J. Craig Venter Institute synthesized that bacterial genome. There were a lot of calls and discussions about the scientific community needing more ethics training and the need to develop a greater culture of responsibility. From a law enforcement perspective those are necessary but not sufficient. What has been lacking is the scientific community being provided security awareness—something that augments how they approach the life sciences.” While there are vulnerabilities across the board, SSA You emphasized the need for partnership between biologists and WMD coordinators to not only safeguard science, but reduce threats.

UN- Protecting Humanity from Future Health Crises: Report of the High-level on the Global Response to Health Crises 
The UN has released an advanced copy of their report regarding global health safety. Highlighting the efforts and failures within the Ebola outbreak, this report emphasizes the global burden of communicable diseases and how better response and preparedness is needed. The report points out that only a third of the 196 State Parties have fully implemented the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) and there has been little global investment in R&D for emerging infectious diseases. 27 recommendations were made to address issues at the national, regional, and international levels, of which one of the first was for the WHO to build a new Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response. The report also states that “all countries must meet the full obligations of the IHR” and “appropriate financing is required. Assistance should be provided to countries requiring additional support for IHR compliance, while WHO and the new Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response must be resourced to meet global needs.” Overall, the use of the 2014 Ebola outbreak as a case study for health security recommendations echoes the sentiment that Dr. Frieden once noted– “a disease outbreak somewhere is a risk anywhere”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Vaccines & Therapeutic Conference– Mark your calendars for the 14th annual conference from May 17-19, 2016, in Washington DC, that covers biodefense, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging infectious diseases. Given the recent push for emergency funding for Zika virus research, this conference will be a great resource for up and coming research.
  • Quality Training for BSL-4 Biocontainment Laboratories– Interested in BSL-4 lab training? The FDA and University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston National Medical Branch, will host training April 25-29, 2016. Held in Bethesda, MD, the course will include faculty and subject matter experts from the FDA, academia, and more.
  • Leprosy Spike in Florida– Florida has seen an increase in leprosy cases this year. Five cases have been reported in 2016 so far and 27 were reported in 2015. The spike in cases is suspected to be a result of armadillo transmission. If you find yourself traveling in Florida, you may want to avoid armadillo cuddling.

 

Pandora Report 2.5.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Fear of mosquitoes continues to grow as Zika virus joins the list of burdening arbovirus infections. Perhaps the biggest surprise this week wasn’t that imported Zika cases continue to spring up across the US, but rather that the first sexually transmitted case occurred in Dallas, Texas. I’m starting to think Dallas, TX, could use a break from emerging infectious diseases… As influenza season picks up in the US, Avian influenza outbreaks are popping up in Taiwan, South Africa, and Macao. Good news- it’s safe to go back to your favorite burrito bowl! The CDC declared the Chipotle-associated E. coli outbreak over, however, their co-CEO has voiced frustration over delayed reporting. In the interview, he felt that it gave the “mistaken impression that people were still getting sick” and news was “fueled by the sort of unusual and even unorthodox way the CDC has chosen to announce cases.” Before we venture down the biodefense rabbit hole, don’t forget to stay healthy and safe this Super Bowl Sunday. Spikes in cases and flu-related deaths (in those >65 years of age) can jump by 18%  in the home regions of the two teams. Take care to avoid respiratory viruses and food-borne issues while cheering on your favorite team this weekend!

Medical Counter Measures for Children
Having worked in pediatrics, I was thrilled to see the American Academy of Pediatrics publish the updated guidelines. Throughout my work in infection prevention and collaborations with hospital emergency preparedness and local county health departments, it became increasingly evident that in many ways, this is a patient population that is easily forgotten. There is a woefully apparent gap in preparedness methodology to recognize and modify practices to meet the unique needs of children. While many may laugh at the notion that “children aren’t just little adults”, those who have worked in pediatrics can attest to these common misconceptions. Children are not only more susceptible to the devastation of disasters and CBRN attacks, the medical counter measures often do not account for pediatric dosages. The published report discussed their work over the past five years to better address and fill major gaps in preparedness efforts when it comes to medical counter measures (MCM) for children. “Moreover, until recently, there has been a relative lack of pediatric MCM development and procurement; many MCMs were initially developed for use by the military and have been evaluated and tested only in adults.” Some of the recommendations that were made from this report include: “the SNS and other federal, state, and local caches should contain MCMs appropriate for children in quantities at least in proportion to the number of children in he intended population for protection by the cache” and “federal agencies collaborating with industry, academia, and other BARDA partners, should research, develop, and procure pediatric MCMs for all public health emergency, disaster, and terrorism scenarios and report on progress made.” Perhaps one of the most interesting recommendations was that “the federal government should proactively identify anticipated uses of MCMs in children during a public health emergency and, where pediatric FDA-approved indications do not exist, establish a plan to collect sufficient data to support the issuance of a pre-event EUA that includes information such as safety and dosing information and the federal government should use existing entities with pediatric SMEs, such as the PHEMCE, PedsOB IPT, and the DHHS National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters, and continue to collaborate with private sector partners offering pediatric expertise to provide advice and consultation on pediatric MCMs and MCM distribution planning.” Overall, these recommendations and the push for data collection and clear progress reporting are definitely a step in the right direction.

GMU Open House
Interested in a master’s degree that allows you to focus on bioweapons, global health security, and WMD’s? Check out GMU’s School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs (SPGIA) Open House on Thursday, February 25th at 6:30pm, at our Arlington Campus in Founders Hall, room 126. Representatives from our Biodefense program will be there to answer all your questions. Better yet, check out our Biodefense Course Sampler on Wednesday, March 2nd, at 7pm (Arlington Campus, Founders Hall, room 502). Dr. Gregory Koblentz,  director of the Biodefense graduate program, will be presenting “Biosecurity as a Wicked Problem”. Come check out our curriculum and get a taste of the amazing topics we get to research!

From Anthrax to Zikam6502e1f
Researchers at the University of Greenwich are finding a potential cancer-fighting strategy using the anthrax toxin. Lead scientist, Dr. Simon Richardson, is working with his team to convert the anthrax toxin into a delivery tool for medications.“This is the first time a disarmed toxin has been used to deliver gene-modulating drugs directly to a specific compartment within the cell. We’ve achieved this without the use of so called helper molecules, such as large positively charged molecules like poly(L-lysine). This is important as while these positively charged molecules, known as polycations, can condense DNA and protect it from attack by enzymes before it reaches the target, they are also known to be toxic, break cell membranes and are sent quickly to the liver to be removed from the body. In this study we demonstrate that using disarmed toxins without a polycation is effective, at a cellular level.” In the world of Zika virus….On Monday, the WHO Zika virus team met and announced that the outbreak should now be considered a public health emergency of international concern. Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director general, stated, “I am now declaring that the recent cluster of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin America following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014 constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.” Given the level of uncertainty regarding the disease, many feel this was a justified classification of the outbreak. The first case of sexual transmission within the US also occurred in Dallas, Texas. The patient became sick after having sexual contact with an individual who became symptomatic upon return from Venezuela. Chile and Washington DC have just confirmed their first three cases this week. Mexico’s Health Ministry is trying to downplay the Zika impact on tourism, however as the outbreak unfolds, it will be interesting to see long-term tourism repercussions within the affected countries. The state of Florida is ramping up their mosquito elimination, control, and education efforts to combat the growing epidemic, as it is one of the mosquito-heavy states within the US. Governor Rick Scott recently declared a health emergency in four Florida counties. If you’re on the lookout for educational tools, there are several helpful CDC informational posters regarding mosquito bite prevention.

US Military and the Global Health Security Agenda
In effort to protect military members and support global public health, the DoD (specifically, the Military Health System in coordination with the Defense Health Agency’s Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch) developed the 2014 Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The GHSA established a five-year plan with specific agenda items, targets, and milestones that would incorporate its 31 partner countries. The DoD’s Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (GEIS) will also support these efforts through their biosurveillance practices in over 70 countries. The international work is as varied as the challenges one might see in global biosurveillance. The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch (AFHSB) “leveraged existing febrile and vector-borne infection control efforts in Liberia to support the recent Ebola outbreak response. The Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research served as a central hub for Ebola diagnostic testing with the help of the Naval Medical Research Unit-3 in Cairo, Egypt and two Maryland-based facilities, the Naval Medical Research Center in Silver Spring and the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick.” Surveillance efforts will also look at antimicrobial resistance and the development of additional research laboratories to work in coordination with host-nations and certain regional networks. You can also read Cheryl Pellerin’s work on DoD Biosurveillance and the role it plays in maintaining global public health efforts. Pellerin reports on the duties of the GEIS and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease (USAMRIID) in not only global health security, but also protecting US military personnel from infections while abroad.

Norovirus Outbreak in Kansas
There are few things that will make a food-borne disease epidemiologist (or infection preventionist for that matter) as frustrated as a norovirus outbreak. It hits quickly, is highly infectious, and tends to leave you with stories from case-control interviews that will make you either laugh, cry, or need some fresh air. A Kansas City suburb is currently experiencing a 400 person outbreak of gastroenteritis associated with the New Theatre Restaurant. Initial lab reports have confirmed norovirus as the culprit. The Vice President of the restaurant said that three employees have also been confirmed as norovirus cases. To date, the almost 400 people who reported symptoms are said to have eaten at the restaurant between January 15 to present. Norovirus is a pretty unpleasant gastroenteritis (you’ve probably heard it called the “cruise ship bug”) as it has a low infectious dose (estimates put it as low as 18 viral particles, while 5 billion can be shed in each gram of feces during peak shedding). Norovirus outbreaks tend to spring up quickly and infect high volumes of people, making it difficult for public health officials to jump ahead of the outbreak. Perhaps one of the biggest components to stopping the spread of infection is good hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, and staying home when sick.

TB Transmission on Airplanes
We’ve all been there – you’re seated next to someone with a nasty cough or cold and you just know you’re going to get sick. But what happens if you’re on a plane and there’s a person a few rows away that has tuberculosis (TB)? The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reviewed evidence of TB transmission on airplanes to update their Risk Assessment Guidelines. Of all the records/studies reviewed, 7/21 showed some evidence for potential in-flight (all flights lasted more than 8 hours) TB transmission, while only one presented evidence for transmission in this environment. The interesting component is that this low transmission risk is considered only for in-flight, as they excluded transmission on the ground since the before and after flight ventilation system is not in full-function mode. The one study that did show transmission risk involved six passengers that were in the same section as the index case, of which, four were seated within two rows. After their review, they found that the risk for TB transmission on airplanes is “very low”. They noted that “the updated ECDC guidelines for TB transmission on aircraft have global implications due to inevitable need for international collaboration in contact tracing and risk assessment.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Resistant HIV – A recent study published in The Lancet discusses drug resistance after virological failure with the first-line HIV medication, tenofovir-containing ART (antiretroviral  therapy). This treatment is used as both a prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Researchers found “drug resistance in a high proportion of patients after virological failure on a tenofovir-containing first-line regimen across low-income and middle-income regions”. This study highlights the growing need for surveillance of microbial drug resistance.
  • Active Monitoring of Returning Travelers – Ebola Surveillance – The CDC’s MMWR for the week of January 29, 2016, discussed NYC monitoring of returned travelers from October 2014-April 2015. Monitoring of returned travelers from Ebola-affected countries was one strategy the US employed to prevent imported cases. This report reviews the 2,407 travelers that returned from affected countries, of which no cases were detected. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)’s active monitoring system proved successful, however it was very taxing on resources and reinforces the need to minimize duplication and enhanced cooperation. Speaking of Ebola, investigators from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Vanderbilt University, the Scripps Research Institutem and Integral Molecular Inc., have performed research to establish that “antibodies in the blood of people who have survived a strain of the Ebola virus can kill various types of Ebola.” Further work will now seek to understand immune response to the virus and how we can modify treatments and potential vaccines to be more effective.
  • DoD BioChem Defense – take a glimpse into the global biosurveillance and defense efforts within the DoD Chemical and Biological Defense Program (CBDP). Working within several joint programs and striving to get ahead of outbreaks and attacks with early warning systems, this program faces the challenges of monitoring biochem threats on an international scale.

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Pandora Report 1.29.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Happy Friday! Now that winter storm Jonas is behind us, we can get back to tackling biodefense updates. Unless you’ve been avoiding the news, you’ve undoubtedly seen the surge in reports on Zika virus. Imported cases are popping up throughout the US, raising concerns about vulnerability and response. We’ll be covering the latest in Zika news, not to mention a pretty amazing disease modeling system, plague history, and how Brazil is prepping for the 2016 Olympics. Fun History Fact Friday: on January 28th, 2000, a US government study finally conceded that the cancer and premature deaths of several workers from a nuclear weapons plant (in service since WWII) were caused by radiation and chemicals and sticking with the nuclear weapon theme, on January 29th, 1964, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Atomic Bomb premiered.

Open Source Disease Modeling: to Combat the Next Pandemic
GMU Biodefense PhD student, Nereyda Sevilla, has teamed up with Global Biodefense to discuss how transportation advances of the 21st century make outbreak preparedness and response extremely difficult. In most cases, health alerts and travel restrictions are reactionary to an outbreak that has already reached epic proportions. In response to this, scientists are working to predict disease spread and potential interventions through disease modeling. Spatiotemporal Epidemiological Modeler (STEM)  is one of these modeling systems that looks at several variables and parameters within the spread of an infectious disease and then models the efficacy of interventions. “The unique nature of STEM is that it is a multi-disciplinary, collaborative modeling platform.  The open-source characteristics of the system allow researchers and programmers to add, compare, refine, and validate different scenarios as well as add denominator data based on specialty.  For example, an infectious disease specialist in dengue working in South America may have unique disease characteristics and population data that could be tailored into STEM.” The best part? STEM is already pre-loaded with country data regarding national borders, transportation networks, air travel, and environmental conditions. Utilizing customized graphs and spatial maps, it can even be used to “create a spatial map of animal pens on a farm and to import that graph into the model to study the spread of a veterinary disease.” STEM can easily be downloaded and even has sample projects that many researchers from around the world have shared, like the 2014 Ebola outbreak, dengue fever, H1N1, etc. STEM is undoubtedly a significant weapon in the global health security arsenal to combat future pandemics.

Zika Virus Outbreak Updates
While 200,000 Brazilian troops are being mobilized to battle mosquitoes in a house-to-house strategy, Zika virus has reached 23 countries. As of January 28th, 2016, the WHO has set up an emergency team to respond to the growing epidemic. Meeting on Monday, the WHO team will decide if the Zika virus outbreak should be treated as a global emergency, as they are predicting “three to four million cases” in the Americas. Fear continues to grow in the US as cases are popping up in Los Angeles Country, CA , Virginia, New York, and Arkansas, in a returned travelers. President Obama just called for a speeding up of Zika virus research to battle the growing outbreak. Sydney has also confirmed imported cases. While many worry that returning travelers are bringing the mosquito-borne disease back home, it’s important to note that it’s during the first week of infection that the virus is found in the blood and can be transmitted via mosquitoes.  Vertical transmission (from mother to child) is possible if the maternal infection is near the time of delivery, but there haven’t been cases of Zika virus in breast milk. To date, there has been one case of transmission through blood transfusions and one possibly spread through semen and sexual contact. Researchers are working to piece together the origins of this particular outbreak, but one hypothesis is that it came to Brazil from a major sporting event, specifically the 2014 World Cup. At this point, cases have been seen in 23 countries and the WHO has warned that it’s likely to “spread across nearly all of the Americas”. While no local transmission has occurred in the US, locally acquired cases are occurring in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The CDC has also released interim guidance on the evaluation and testing of infants with possible congenital Zika virus.

Brazil’s Olympic Woes

Courtesy of The Guardian & EPA
Courtesy of The Guardian & EPA

The growing outbreak of Zika virus and subsequent concerns over fetal microcephaly are just another public health issue on the laundry list of concerns for Brazil in their Olympic preparations. Building the infrastructure to support such a massive event is taxing on even the most industrialized country. Despite Brazil’s initial dismissal of water quality issues, there have been flourishing concerns over water safety for Olympians (the linked BBC pictures alone would have me rowing the boat back to land at record speed). 13 of the 40-member US rowing team experienced gastroenteritis after a trial run in a lake. While the exact culprit of the GI illness was never identified, it amplified the already increasing fears regarding water quality. It’s never a good sign when rowers are warned not to splash water or jump in at the end of a race, or when a sailor has to be hospitalized due to a severe MRSA infection after field tests. As we mentioned a few months back, an Associated Press investigation found dangerous viral and bacterial levels in the Olympic and Paralympic water venues. “Extreme water pollution is common in Brazil, where the majority of sewage is not treated. Raw waste runs through open-air ditches to streams and rivers that feed the Olympic water sites. As a result, Olympic athletes are almost certain to come into contact with disease-causing viruses that in some tests measured up to 1.7m times the level of what would be considered hazardous on a Southern California beach.” Water issues aside, vector-borne diseases like Zika virus, dengue, malaria, and even yellow fever, can pose a threat to those attending and participating in the events. The Brazilian health ministry has announced response plans in wake of the growing Zika virus outbreak. These large-scale events also raise security concerns, especially after the Paris attacks. Brazilian officials have promised “to guarantee absolute peace”  during the Olympics.

Congrats to 2015 GMU Biodefense MS alum, Francisco Cruz, on his acceptance as a fellow in UPMC’s 2016 Class of Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) The UPMC ELBI is a highly selective program that brings together and fosters partnerships within the biosecurity field. Biodefense MS alum, Francisco Cruz, will accompany several other prominent members of the biosecurity community in meetings, conferences, and networking. Congrats Francisco!

DNA Investigations from the Great Plague of Marseille
Always a sucker for a mixture of history and epidemiology, I was excited to come across this archaeological gem. Despite its initial devastation in the fourteenth century, the bubonic plague resurged and hit Europe with another destructive wave, “leading to continued high mortality and social unrest over the next three centuries.” Considered to be the last outbreak of medieval plague in Europe, the Great Plague of Marseille (1720-1722) has provided archaeologists with samples that allowed them to reconstruct the complete pathogen genome. Harnessing DNA from the teeth of victims within the Marseille plague pits, their results point to the disease hiding within the shadows of Europe for hundreds of years. Computational analyst Alexander Herbig notes, “we faced a significant challenge in reconstructing these ancient genomes. To our surprise, the 18th century plague seems to be a form that is no longer circulating, and it descends directly from the disease that entered Europe during the Black Death, several centuries earlier”. While they continue their work on tracing the origins of the disease and its mysterious disappearance, I’m hopeful that archaeogenetics is the new inspiration for future Indiana Jones films…

Stories You May Have Missed: 

  • Listeria Outbreak Associated With Dole Salads- A Dole production plan in Springfield, OH, is being linked to an outbreak of Listeria throughout the US and Canada. Twelve cases were identified in the US and another seven were found across five provinces in Canada. All twelve cases involved hospitalization and there has been one associated death. The CDC is continuing updates here.
  • USDA Updates on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Fall Plan- The USDA has updated their plans to combat the highly pathogenic avian influenza with more details regarding reimbursement on virus elimination activities and additional information on the August 2015 industry survey on preparedness.
  • British Government and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Roll Out New Plan to Combat Malaria –  The British government has teamed up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pledge three billion pounds to help stop malaria in the next fifteen years. Bill Gates and British Chancellor George Osborne stated, “We both believe that a malaria-free world has to be one of the highest global health priorities.” Britain will invest 500 million pounds a year over the next five years and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have put up $200 million this year and will continue with annual donations.
  • Tales from the Front Lines in the Ebola Fight-  Confusion, disorganization, fear, and communication gaps fill the notes from the ground in this interview with VICE correspondent, Danny Gold, during his time in West Africa during the outbreak.

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Pandora Report 1.22.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

In anticipation of the impending snow apocalypse (that may be a tad dramatic, but coming from this Arizona import, this snow business is quite harrowing), we’re serving up a warm cup of global health security news. While you’re staying inside, check out the upcoming book from Sonia Shaw, Pandemic: Tracking Contagions from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond, which travels through time to investigate the impact of emerging diseases. Dreaming of warmer temperatures? You may want to avoid some tropic locations as imported cases of Zika virus are cropping up in the US, and the CDC issued warnings for pregnant women to postpone travel to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other affected countries. Fun History Fact Friday: as we learned last week, on January 19, 1900 the bubonic plague reached Australia’s shores and on January 20, 1981, the Iran hostage crisis ended.

Dugway Insights Raise New(-ish?) Biosafety Concerns
Dugway Proving Ground is one of the largest Army biodefense labs and while lab biosafety issues are becoming a more prevalent headline, new findings point to the severity of these failures. GMU Biodefense professor and graduate program director (and all around biodefense-guru), Dr. Gregory Koblentz, noted that “the systemic disregard for biosafety at Dugway as revealed by the investigative report is appalling and alarming. Without strong leadership, an organizational culture that prizes safety and security, a well-trained staff, and a robust oversight mechanism, we can expect more such accidents to occur in the future.” Lacking accountability and oversight, Dugway is another in the laundry list of labs that became complacent (or as Dr. Richard Ebright stated, their actions are that of “criminal negligence”). It seems that the time of calling these biosafety failures, “serious mistakes”, has passed and we’re sadly moving more into an era of habitual practice. Dugway is a hotspot (pun intended) for chemical and biological defense work however, findings within the report note improper qualification of certain employees, erroneous environmental sampling of labs, etc. Brigadier General William E. King IV oversaw Dugway from 2009-2011 and was directly called out in the report – “Colonel King repeatedly deflected blame and minimized the severity of incidents – even now, Brigadier General King lacks introspection and fails to recognize the scope and severity of the incidents that occurred during his command at (Dugway).” If you have around 26 minutes to spare, you can also watch the Army media brief on the investigations here.

food-production-chain-650pxFarmers Markets and Food Safety
Farmers markets are often a great place to find local, organic vegetables and fruits. Growing in popularity, it’s not surprising that concerns over food-borne illness and safety issues would be raised. Researchers (applied economists in this case) are reporting preliminary data regarding the potential association between farmers markets and food-borne illness. Reviewing data from 2004-2011, they found “a positive relationship between the number of farmers markets per capita on the one hand, and on the other hand, the number of reported outbreaks of food borne-illness, cases of food borne-illness, outbreaks and cases of Campylobacter jejuni. Our estimates indicate that a 1% increase in the number of farmers is associated with a 0.7% (3.9%) increase in the total number of reported outbreaks of food-borne illness (Campylobacter jejuni), and a 3.9% (2.1%) increase in the total number of reported cases of food-borne illness (Campylobacter jejuni) in the average state-year.” While these correlations were found, there wasn’t a statistically significant relationship between farmers markets and reported outbreaks or cases of salmonella, E. coli, or staph. Given the recent Chipotle outbreaks, there has been increasing attention to the concerns over farm-to-table food safety. While some illness can be related to farm safety practices, a lot of food-borne illness is related to improper handling or cooking of food.

Retaking Ramadi and the “Afghan Model”
GMU Biodefense student, Greg Mercer, has mined through the internet to provide some commentary on the recapturing of Ramadi from ISIS control. In his recap, Greg points to works in the New York Times, via authors Phil Ewing and Stephen Biddle, and several other security studies gurus. Greg notes, “many questions remain about the conflict- where it will go, how it will resolve, the political effort it will require from intervening forces, and ultimately what kind of conflict this is.”

Ebola Updates- Quarantines After Sierra Leone Death 
The day after the WHO declared the three hardest-hit countries Ebola free, a death in Sierra Leone hit the panic button for public health officials. As of January 21, 2016, a second case was reported in an individual that cared for this initial case. Over 100 people archive been quarantined after coming into contact with the woman who died of Ebola last week. During the course of her illness, she is reported to have stayed in a house with 22 other people. Five people later helped to wash and prepare her body for burial. Many homes of those high-risk patients under quarantine were attacked, pointing to increasing frustration. Close observation is being maintained on the 100+ people involved in this exposure.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • The Neglected Dimension of Global Security – The National Academies Press will soon be releasing this hard-copy publication as a Framework to Counter Infectious Disease Crises, but the good news is that you can download it today for free! Authored by the Commission on a Global Health Risk Framework for the Future; National Academy of Medicine, Secretariat, it discusses the Ebola outbreak’s far-reaching consequences that range from human rights to transportation and commerce disruption.
  • CBRN Crimes & The Sordid History of Litvinenko – GMU Biodefense PhD alum, Dr. Daniel Gerstein, discusses the recently released Owen Report and the details surrounding the finding of radioactive polonium-210 in Russian agent, Alexander Litvinenko’s body following his death. The troubling details surrounding the report “highlights the links between Litvinenko and the Russian government, even pointing the finger at President Vladimir Putin himself as likely having approved the alleged murder.” While CBRN weapons are not a new concept, these new details may shine light on the realistic applications and threats they pose.
  • ISIS Tularemia Plans – Recent Turkish intelligence reports revealed that that the group had plans to use biological weapons. Aimed at Turkish water supplies, the report noted that the main bioweapon discussed was Francisella tularensis, which causes tularemia.
  • Lassa Fever Hits Nigeria – 30 confirmed, 140 suspected, and 53 deaths have been reported in the outbreak of Lassa viral hemorrhagic fever hitting 14 states within Nigeria. The case fatality rate is being reported at 37.9%.
  • Online Drama in the CRISPR Universe – a recent perspective article by Eric Lander (president of the Broad Institute) in Cell noted the heroes in CRISPR but failed to account for a potential conflict of interest. Needless to say, the Twitterverse erupted in a scientific outcry with many also calling out Lander’s failure to include several key contributors to the biotechnology.

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Pandora Report 1.15.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Welcome back to the Pandora Report! Miss us? We hope you had a lovely holiday and with so much going on in the world of biodefense, there’s not a moment to waste! Before we venture down the rabbit hole of bioweapons, outbreak response, and Ebola, here is Fun History Fact Friday: on January 12, 1965, scientists conduct a nuclear test, or what they called a “controlled excursion”, in Nevada that produced a radioactive cloud over Los Angeles, CA.

The Civil-Military Response to the 2014 Ebola Outbreak
The University of Sydney recently published the report, “Saving Lives: The Civil-Military Response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa”. Co-authored by biodefense professor, Dr. Frank Smith III, the report discusses the international civilian response and eventual deployment of military personnel to fight the outbreak. “Strong leadership from the President and the health sector in Liberia was recognised as key to the country’s effective response, whereas weak leadership and patronage within the health sector was seen to hurt the response in Sierra Leone. Limited trust in government undermined public health, inhibiting behavioral change and social awareness campaigns (particularly in Sierra Leone).” The report includes eight recommendations that range from addressing gaps in national health systems to enhancing civilian and military response training. While many reports have focussed on civilian response, this provides actual statistics for military personnel, funds spent, PPE, military aircraft, international civilian personnel, etc. The University of Sydney summary sheds new light on the civilian and military successes and failures within outbreak response and how the 2014 Ebola outbreak revealed few organizations were truly prepared to handle a public health emergency of this magnitude.

5,300-Year-Old Gut Bacteria
Imagine you’re spending a lovely afternoon hiking and enjoying the great outdoors, when you stumble along a body in a snowfield. That’s exactly what happened to a German couple in 1991 in the Italian Alps. After days spent recovering the 5,300-year-old body (named Ötzi after the area he was found in) and 24 years worth of scientific work, researchers were able to reconstruct the genome of a bacterial species that was found in his stomach. Ötzi is unique in his level of preservation, which made this microbial discovery that much more possible. Interestingly, scientists found Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in Ötzi’s stomach. While H. pylori is known for causing stomach ulcers and gastric acid, it was fascinating to find that despite the bacteria being 5,3000 years old, they were “pretty much the same as ones carried by humans today.” Matching H. pylori strains from different points around the world has allowed epigeneticists to understand the introduction and transmission of certain organisms. While Ötzi was a rare find, his gut bacteria is helping researchers understand how certain strains combined and survived throughout history.

IMG_3512The Rocks – Sydney’s First Plague Sighting
During my adventures in the land down under, I couldn’t resist checking out the Rocks. A wonderful historical section of Sydney’s harbor, it’s famous for not only the preservation of buildings, but also it being the location of where the bubonic plague first broke out in Australia. Given the plague’s historical success via nautical enterprises, it’s not surprising that it would first rear its ugly head in this large harbor. Arriving in 1900, the bubonic plague was already anticipated to hit Australia, given the 1894 outbreak in Hong Kong and shipping trade routes. Officials were bracing for the outbreak when it finally reached Australian shores on January 19, 1900 via a 33-year-old delivery man by the name of Arthur Paine.

Since we’re on a history kick (and if you happened to read Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs from our holiday reading list), you may enjoy learning about ancient Roman sanitation. While their latrine and sewage system was highly advanced, researchers have pointed out that they didn’t keep people safe from intestinal parasites and a host of other hygiene-related illnesses.

Project SHAD: Veteran Exposures to CBW Agents
A recently published report discusses the US military testing performed between 1963 and 1969 for Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense). Project SHAD addressed naval vulnerabilities to chemical and biological weapons. “Approximately 5,900 military personnel, primarily from the Navy and Marine Corps, are reported to have been included in Project SHAD testing.” Initially disclosed in 2000, the first medical report was then released in 2007 after concerns related to veteran health. The push for further epidemiological studies prompted the 2016 report that reviewed health outcomes of the veterans that were exposed more than 50 years ago. While there are temporal limitations to the studies, they evaluate a range of concerns like frequency of exposure and reported health anomalies. With this new report, there may be future requests for research related to the US bioweapons program and its impact on those involved in field tests.

Solving the Geometrical Problem of Terrorism
GMU Biodefense PhD alum and SPGIA Distinguished Alum award recipient, Dr. Daniel M. Gerstein, discusses the components of terrorist organizations that make US response challenging. Dr. Gerstein points out that no single approach or tactic will ensure American safety, but rather that we need to see “terror organizations as being composed of four elements, organized in concentric circles with the leaders at the center bull’s eye, operational elements in the second ring, supporters in the third and sympathizers in the fourth.” By changing our outlook on terrorist organizations, separate strategies can be developed to address each unique feature and more effectively respond to terrorist threats.

One Step Closer to Ending West Africa’s Ebola Outbreak
On January 14, 2016, WHO declared “the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia and says all known chains of transmission have been stopped in West Africa.” This isn’t the first time Liberia has been declared free of the disease, however shortly after the country found itself with a new flare-up. Laboratory-confirmed cases soared beyond 15,000 and over 11,300 deaths have been reported in this outbreak, which is the worst since the identification of the disease. All three of the hardest hit countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) have reported zero cases for two incubation periods (42 days). WHO’s Special Representative for the Ebola Response, Dr. Bruce Aylward, notes that this is the critical point in the epidemic and flare-ups are anticipated but preparedness will determine the scope and brevity of future cases. While airport screening for returned travelers from the affected regions has ceased, many health departments have encouraged hospitals to continue with their screening questions and surveillance. *Update: Sierra Leone has reported a death due to Ebola on 1/15/2016.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Zika Virus Outbreak Updates: Reaching Puerto Rico (bringing the total to 14 countries) and with a newly identified case in Texas (not locally acquired, but due to recent travel), the outbreak has caused almost 3,000 cases in Brazil alone. Along with the growing geographical distribution, public health officials worry about the 20-fold increase of microcephaly in infants that may be associated with Zika virus infections.
  • Burkholderia pseudomallei Concerns –Mostly found in Southeast Asian and Australian soil, a recent study predicts that B. pseudomallei could move into southern parts of the US. While not a new concern in the biodefense community, B. pseudomallei worries many as it is highly resistant to antibiotics and may be remarkably underreported.
  • What Else Is Hiding in Laboratory Freezers? Biosecurity issues aren’t new, but what else is lurking in the depths of laboratory freezers? Recent WHO warnings to clear out freezers of Rinderpest virus point to the growing concern that once eradicated diseases may rear their ugly heads via lab safety failures.

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