The Pandora Report

The holidays may be fast approaching but you can count on us to provide you with the latest news on all things biodefense in the coming weeks. Do you miss the Oregon Trail game? The CDC has got something even better- the 1918 Pandemic Trail Game, in which you try to survive one day in the fall of 1918 and avoid infection.

 ASM Biothreats – GMU Student Coverage
ASM Biothreats is next month (January 28-31, 2019) and like recent years, we’ll be providing detailed accounts of the conference. Current GMU biodefense students – check your email for an opportunity to attend and report out on the event! For those unable to attend, make sure you check back in early February for a recap of the event (see our coverage in 2017 and 2018).

GMU Biodefense Spotlight – Leaders in Graduate Education
Foreign Policy is highlighting the GMU Schar School biodefense program and school of policy and government as a leader in graduate education. “With a focus on global health security, the Schar School’s Biodefense programs train students to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the full range of biological threats, from naturally occurring pandemics to deliberate threats from biological weapons and other types of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The Biodefense graduate programs include the Master’s in Biodefense, PhD in Biodefense, and Graduate Certificate in Biodefense. “’We aim to produce graduates who can bridge the gap between science and policy,’ says Koblentz, who also serves as an associate faculty member of the Schar School’s Center for Security Policy Studies and as a member of the Scientist Working Group on Biological and Chemical Security at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, D.C.”

GAO Report: Long-Range Emerging Threats Facing the United States As Identified by Federal Agencies
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just released a national security report that identified 26 long-term threats across 4 categories: Adversaries’ Political and Military Advancements, Dual-use Technologies, Weapons, and Events and Demographic Changes. “DOD, State, DHS, and ODNI independently identified various threats to the United States or its national security interests. In analyzing more than 210 individual threats identified by organizations across DOD, State, DHS, and ODNI, as well as its review of national security strategies and related documents, and interviews with key agency officials, GAO developed four broad categories for 26 long-range emerging threats that officials identified.” Within the Dual-Use Technologies, biotechnologies are listed – “Actors—which may include state or non-state entities such as violent extremist organizations and transnational criminal organizations—could alter genes or create DNA to modify plants, animals, and humans. Such biotechnologies could be used to enhance the performance of military personnel. The proliferation of synthetic biology—used to create genetic code that does not exist in nature—may increase the number of actors that can create chemical and biological weapons.” Under Events and Demographic Changes, you can find Infectious Diseases – “New and evolving diseases from the natural environment—exacerbated by changes in climate, the movement of people into cities, and global trade and travel—may become a pandemic. Drug-resistant forms of diseases previously considered treatable could become widespread again.” You can find the full report here.

Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 Includes Blue Ribbon Panel Biodefense Recommendations
“President Trump today signed into law H.R. 2, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018. Also known as the Farm Bill, the act includes several recommendations proposed by the bipartisan Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense to better protect the nation’s food and agriculture sector from biological attacks and naturally occurring outbreaks. Key provisions include: Establish a National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, as recommended in the Study Panel’s 2017 Defense of Animal Agriculture report; Create a National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Counter-Measures Bank, with increased funding for the stockpiling of animal medical countermeasures – also in the Defense of Animal Agriculture report; and Authorize increased funding levels for the National Animal Health Laboratory Network – addressed in Recommendation 14b from the Panel’s 2015 National Blueprint for Biodefense.”

 Congrats GMU Biodefense Graduates!
It’s our favorite time of year – graduation! We’d like to congratulate several students on their hard work and graduation from the Schar School Biodefense program. Steven Messersmith and Morasa Shaker are both graduating with their MS in Biodefense while Julie Duckett (dissertation title: Global Health Governance in the Caribbean: States, Institutions, and Networks) and Jennifer Osetek (The Last Mile: Removing Nonmedical Obstacles in the Pursuit of Global Health Security) are graduating with their doctorates. Congrats!!

New Book: Understanding Cyber Warfare: Politics, Policy, and Strategy
Just in time for a holiday gift – Christopher Whyte and GMU Biodefense alum Brian Mazanec have released their new book, Understanding Cyber Warfare: Politics, Policy, and Strategy. “The international relations, policy, doctrine, strategy, and operational issues associated with computer network attack, computer network exploitation, and computer network defense are collectively referred to as cyber warfare. This new textbook provides students with a comprehensive perspective on the technical, strategic, and policy issues associated with cyber conflict as well as an introduction to key state and non-state actors. Specifically, the book provides a comprehensive overview of these key issue areas: the historical emergence and evolution of cyber warfare, including the basic characteristics and methods of computer network attack, exploitation, and defense; a theoretical set of perspectives on conflict in the digital age from the point of view of international relations (IR) and the security studies field; the current national perspectives, policies, doctrines, and strategies relevant to cyber warfare; and an examination of key challenges in international law, norm development, and the potential impact of cyber warfare on future international conflicts.”

GMU Biodefense Student Receives Wilson Center Earth Challenge 2020 Special Project Internship
We’re proud to announce that Anthony Falzarano is the new Special Project Intern in the office of Science and Technology Innovation Policy at the Wilson Center, led by Dr. Anne Bowser. The Earth Challenge 2020 project is a joint initiative with Earth Day Network, Wilson Center, US Dept of State, and other partners to engage millions of people worldwide with the mission of collecting 1 billion data points from areas such as water quality, air pollution, and human health. The goal is to utilize citizen science to help inform research and empower the public to engage decision makers and drive meaningful policies at all levels. Anthony will be providing scoping and implementation support of this project as well as conducting research, writing, and stakeholder outreach.

AFM Is Testing Us For the Next Global Epidemic
Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is the disease we’ve been warned against and told to prepare for, but are we taking it for the learning lesson it is? The expectation of Disease X is that it would come in some massive pandemic wave like the 1918//1919 influenza, pushing public health and healthcare to the brink. Maryn McKenna writes about how AFM is actually doing this and giving us a heads up that we’re struggling against an unknown and uncommon illness. “The challenge of tracking an uncommon illness is giving us a glimpse of how our surveillance systems will struggle to counter the world-spanning epidemic that Disease X may turn out to be.” “AFM has not yet been made what the CDC calls a “nationally notifiable” disease, that is, something a physician is required to tell the state health department and thus the CDC about. But when or if it is, communicating the occurrence of a case will still require time-consuming composing of an email or filling out a web form, and equally time-consuming assessment and investigation on the other side. AFM appears to be an illness that moves slowly through the population; the CDC believes this year’s outbreak is over. When Disease X arrives, whatever it turns out to be, it is likely to move much faster. That makes our experience of investigating and communicating AFM something like a practice round—one that medical researchers should use wisely. We probably cannot avoid new diseases surprising us. But it is up to us to decide whether we’ll be able to catch up.”

 Antimicrobial Resistance: Addressing the Funding Dilemma
Read the latest report on this growing biological threat from the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and ReAct (Action on Antibiotic Resistance). “Effective antibiotics are critically important cornerstones of all health systems, but bacteria becoming resistant threatens the continued lifesaving value of antibiotics. A return to a pre-antibiotic era would have devastating impacts on global public health as well as the global economy. In December, the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and ReAct (Action on Antibiotic Resistance) organised a joint workshop in Uppsala, Sweden, inviting 20 international experts in the field of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and global health. The participants were invited to search together for financing options for this growing issue. Together they examined options for the mobilisation of capital and proposed new and existing funding streams to invest in addressing AMR. The outcomes of the workshop will feed into the ongoing discussions on future global governance for AMR”

Ebola Outbreak Update
Seven new cases and seven new deaths have been reported in the DRC due to Ebola. Three of the new cases were healthcare workers, which brings the total of HCW infections to 53, with 18 deaths. “Officials have now reported 549 total Ebola cases and 326 deaths. Eighty-two suspected cases are under investigation. Three of the new cases occurred in Katwa, two in Komanda, and two in Mabalako. Four of the seven new deaths were community deaths (two each in Katwa and Komanda), which raises the risk of transmission.” Nearly 50,000 people in the DRC have been vaccinated against Ebola in efforts to control the outbreak.

Tibetan Refugee Children Suffer High Rates of Tuberculosis
“Although tuberculosis is preventable and curable, it remains one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide. Furthermore, despite widespread eradication and treatment efforts, incidence of the disease has only fallen about 2% per year, which is well below the necessary reduction to meet the 2020 World Health Organization milestone. In 2017, 1.6 million people died from tuberculosis, including 230,000 children. Now, investigators on a new study have found that in Tibet, 1 in 5 children has the disease. The investigators, from Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of Wisconsin, found these troubling results among Tibetan refugee schoolchildren during their screening and treatment initiatives in northern India. The initiative, Zero TB Kids, found a dangerous high prevalence of tuberculosis, both active and latent, in children in Himachal Pradesh, India.”

“Outbreak Culture” Can Derail Effective Response
Despite the numerous opportunities we’ve had, humanity just doesn’t have a good response to infectious disease events. Addressing a problem rampant throughout this history, Lara Salahi and Pardis Sabeti discuss the societal and cultural dynamics that impact disease response. Starting with Ebola in 2015, they note that “Nearly all of those surveyed mentioned that political and interpersonal challenges at times slowed their responses. Many said they feared the politics more than the virus. More than a quarter reported either witnessing, hearing about, or falling victim to illegal or unethical tactics while responding to the outbreak. Among the tactics they reported: money and other forms of aid disappearing before it reached its intended recipients; knowingly defective personal protective equipment sent to health workers treating Ebola patients; harmful competitive practices among research groups, like intimidation and data hoarding, to prevent others from conducting field research.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

• Romaine Lettuce E coli Investigation – “Federal health officials today said Adam Brothers Family Farms, based in Santa Barbara County, Calif., may be a source of romaine lettuce contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7, based on testing that matched the bacteria in irrigation water sediment to the outbreak strain that sickened patients. In a media telebriefing today, however, Stephen Ostroff, MD, senior advisor to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, said the newly identified link doesn’t explain all of the outbreak cases and that traceback investigations are still under way”

 

 

Happy Friday fellow fans of biodefense! We’re grateful to share some of the latest health security news with you this week – McDonald’s has set a timeline to cut antibiotics in their meat supply as a measure to combat antimicrobial resistance.

Preventing Pandemics & Bioterrorism: Past, Present, & Future – Video
We’re excited to announce that you can now access the recording of our event featuring ASPR’s Dr. Robert Kadlec. If you missed this event, here’s your chance to learn about the history of biodefense programs in the United States, lessons learned from the 1918/1919 pandemic, and future implementation of the National Biodefense Strategy.

India Works to Tackle AMR
A new research study found that “strains of hypervirulent, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae associated with extremely high mortality rates” were found at an Indian hospital through the efforts of researchers at Christian Medical College in Tamil Nadu. “Of the 86 isolates tested, 27 (31.3%) had a positive string test, which indicates hypervirulence. But PCR tests found that only 3 of the string-test-positive isolates contained the rmpA2 hypervirulence gene, and none contained the rmpA or magA hypervirulence genes. The authors say the absence of these genes could indicate that other genes were responsible for the hypervirulence. The most common carbapenem-resistance gene found in the isolates wasblaNDM.” On the heels of this news, the Indian government is reportedly banning the use of colistin in livestock. “The UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Livemint, an Indian business news website, report that India’s National Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan committee, the country’s top drug advisory body, and government agencies that oversee agriculture and food safety have all recommended that the Indian government ban the use of the last-resort antibiotic in livestock in an effort to preserve the drug’s efficacy in humans. An advisor to the committee told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism that the Indian government is in the processing of crafting a rule on colistin use.” While it will take considerable more work to stop the spread of antimicrobial resistance, such findings and efforts are critical.

NTI – Preparing for Biological Threats: Are We Ready to Prevent a Global Catastrophe
NTI has released an extremely informative and helpful page with details regarding the cost of bio threats, quotes from reports, consequences of such events, etc. The best though, is a navigation tool that explores how every and any country is vulnerable. Make sure to check out this helpful website!

Blue Ribbon Study Panel – Fighting the Next War: Defense Against Biological Weapons
The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense will be hosting this meeting on February 5th, 2019, from 10am to 3:30pm at the Council on Foreign Relations. They are holding the “meeting to get a better understanding of the responsibilities and requirements for federal biodefense efforts that are unique to the U.S. Department of Defense. We want to know more about the role of the Department in implementing the National Biodefense Strategy. Participants will share their experiences regarding the current threat environment, research and development programs, and the Department’s biodefense policies.”

Ebola
The Ebola outbreak in the DRC continues to stress response efforts with the unique security situation that is an active war zone. “It was like a horror film,” Anoko said of the Nov. 16 attack in the city of Beni, the epicenter of the outbreak. “Attacks by armed groups happen on a daily basis across Congo’s North Kivu province, where the Ebola virus has been spreading since August, infecting almost 500 people and killing more than 270. It is now the second-biggest outbreak ever, after the vast epidemic that swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia between 2014 and 2016.” The WHO has had to address growing concerns regarding the number of women and children that have been disproportionately infected during this outbreak as females account for 62% of cases and within that patient subgroup, 18 were pregnant and 7 were breastfeeding. As of December 12th, the DRC’s health ministry reported 5 new cases and 9 new deaths, with 100 people being investigated as potential cases. “Outbreak totals now stand at 505 cases, including 298 deaths. The new cases include two in Katwa and one each in Komanda, Musienene, and Mabalako. At least one of the newly recorded deaths occurred in the community, in Katwa, an event that heightens the risk of virus spread, the DRC said. Officials also issued two health alerts about possible disease spread in Goma, the capital and largest city in North Kivu province. For weeks, officials have warned that Ebola could spread in the city.”

One Health-Social Sciences Webinar Series
The One Health Social Sciences (OH-SS) Initiative is hosting a free webinar series to feature inspirational speakers addressing the role of the social sciences in advancing animal, human, and environmental health systems. Don’t miss the Tuesday, January 15th webinar from 11am-noon EST “Addressing Gender issues in One Health andInfectious Disease preparedness” presented by Dr. Bridgitte Bagnol and Dr. Janetrix Hellen Amuguni. Attendance is free but you must register here.

CEPI Partnership to Create Vaccines Against Emerging Infectious Diseases
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Imperial College London just announced a new partnership “to develop a self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine platform that enables tailored—just-in-time—vaccine production against multiple viral pathogens. The idea behind this saRNA approach is to harness the body’s own cell machinery to make an antigen (ie, a foreign substance that induces an immune response) rather than injecting the antigen directly. Currently, vaccines can take 10 years or more to develop. They must go through many phases of development—including research, discovery, pre-clinical testing, clinical testing, and regulatory approval. However, epidemics, by their nature, are sporadic, unpredictable and fast-moving. Through this partnership, CEPI aims to develop vaccines against new and unknown pathogens (also referred to as Disease X) within 16 weeks from identification of antigen to product release for clinical trials.” The partnership is worth up to $8.4 million and has the potential to change global preparedness efforts against emerging and unknown pathogens.

Release – National Strategy for Countering WMD Terrorism
The White House has just released the latest WMD national strategy which you can read here. “The National Strategy for Countering WMD Terrorism describes the United States Government’s approach to countering non-state WMD threats, emphasizing the need for continuous pressure against WMD-capable terrorist groups, enhanced security for dangerous materials throughout the world, and increased burden sharing among our foreign partners. The United States will draw on the full range of our nation’s and partner nations’ capabilities to place WMD and associated materials and expertise beyond the reach of terrorists. We will also strengthen our defenses at home to ensure the peace and security to which every American is entitled. Although not every class of weapon that falls under the rubric of ‘WMD’ is capable of producing truly large-scale casualties, chemical, bio- logical, radiological, and nuclear weapons each have characteristics that set them apart from conventional arms. Rudimentary chemical weapons, for instance, may be difficult to disseminate widely and may thus be inefficient killing agents, yet their gruesome effects make the psychological impact of these weapons especially potent.” Some of the objectives include: states and individuals are deterred from providing support to would-be WMD terrorists, the U.S. is able to identify and respond to technological trends that may enable terrorist development, acquisition, or use of WMD, etc.

Meat Allergy? You May Have Been Bitten By A Tick
Maryn McKenna lifts back the curtain on a spike in meat allergies and how a pesky vector is increasingly found to be the cause. “McGraw is allergic to the meat of mammals and everything else that comes from them: dairy products, wool and fibre, gelatine from their hooves, char from their bones. This syndrome affects some thousands of people in the USA and an uncertain but likely larger number worldwide, and after a decade of research, scientists have begun to understand what causes it. It is created by the bite of a tick, picked up on a hike or brushed against in a garden, or hitchhiking on the fur of a pet that was roaming outside. The illness, which generally goes by the name ‘alpha-gal allergy’ after the component of meat that triggers it, is a trial that McGraw and her family are still learning to cope with. In much the same way, medicine is grappling with it too.”

Pandemic Influenza Vaccine – Investing in Preparedness
Creating a vaccine that can combat pandemic flu is sort of the holy grail in bio preparedness. It’s something we desperately want but haven’t been able to develop…yet. ASPR and BARDA have been working hard to fix this gap in preparedness. “BARDA began pre-pandemic influenza vaccine procurement in 2005 for vaccines that would provide protection against emerging avian influenza H5N1 viruses posing a significant pandemic threat.  But a decade later we were compelled to ask how long would those stored vaccine components continue to be safe and effective at providing protection and when would they need to be replaced? The results of the ‘BARDA Ready In Times of Emergency’ (BRITE) study have just been finalized. The study is the first of its kind in the world and provided the data needed to answer that important preparedness question. H5N1 influenza vaccine stored for more than a decade in the National Pre-Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Stockpile (NPIVS) is still safe and immunogenic.”

One Health Video Competition Winner Announced
“ISOHA and NextGen Global Health Security Agenda are excited to announce Makerere University, Uganda, with the winning submission for our One Health Video Competition. They did a spectacular job of representing the diversity of One Health and defining what One Health means to them.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

• Mobile HIV Diagnostic Tool Could Revolutionize Detection in Developing Countries – “HIV diagnostics have gone mobile thanks to a new cellphone app and 3D-printed attachment that use optical sensing and micromotor motion to detect the presence of the RNA nucleic acids of HIV-1 in a single drop of blood. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, detailed this innovation in a recent paper published in Nature Communications.”

• Organization of oversight for integrated control of neglected tropical diseases within Ministries of Health – “Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are communicable diseases that impact billions of people but receive disproportionately little attention from researchers and funders. Many of these diseases have similarities in their epidemiology and control measures, rendering the integration of control programs a practical option to improve accountability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Efforts to integrate NTD control programs have begun across many of the countries with the highest overall burden of NTDs, although no standardized approach for integration exists. Our research sought to examine the landscape of approaches for NTD integration, across the 25 countries with the highest burden of NTDs, to identify models that could be used for countries seeking to integrate their NTD programs. Integration often first targets diseases that can be treated with preventative chemotherapy, though multiple administrative pathways and models exist, including integrating NTD control programs with other NTDs, other communicable diseases, or other health initiatives. Still, no country has yet fully integrated all of their NTD control efforts into a single program. This may be due to internal and external factors that impede the integration of NTD control. Future NTD integration efforts must account for these factors to maximize the potential success of integrated programs.”

Review – Preventing Pandemics & Bioterrorism Event 
If you weren’t able to make this event on Tuesday evening, you’re in luck. We’ve got everything from the program to a detailed recap. You can also see the slides from our featured speaker, Dr. Robert Kadlec of ASPR. We highly suggest watching the recording of the event (to be released shortly) as you’ll not only learn about pandemic preparedness from Dr. Kadlec, but also the evolution of biodefense strategies through several administrations. “’Biology makes our world a better, safer place, but it could also end the world,’ he said. ‘The key is understanding the opportunities, risks, and considerations for what we need to do in security.’ For students in the field, ‘the bio-economy is an extraordinary opportunity,’ he said. ‘What Greg Koblentz [director of the Schar School biodefense program] has done is an incredible effort. I understand he has 300 graduates, 60-plus students this year—that’s a testimony not only to Greg and his counterparts on the faculty but also to the interest and recognition of how important a topic this is’.”

Biosecurity in the Age of Genome Editing
Last week was a busy biodefense events week! If you weren’t able to attend the launch of New America’s latest report on biosecurity in the age of genome editing, we’ve got a full summary from GMU Biodefense graduate student Justin Hurt. Justin noted that “the discussion centered around the findings of the recently released study, Editing Biosecurity, Needs and Strategies for Governing Genome Editing, and included authors Jesse Kirkpatrick of Arizona State University, Greg Koblentz and Edward Perello, both from George Mason University, and Megan Palmer and David Relman, both from Stanford University. Each author spoke about specific portions of the study, a two-year project designed to ascertain the inherent risks and security challenges regarding the rapidly developing field of genome editing, which includes such technologies as the highly promising but potentially risky CRISPR gene editing technique.” We also have created a page with everything from the video recording of the event to the full report available in one place to make it easier.

15 Worrying Things About the CRISPR Baby Situation
Speaking of CRISPR concerns….as more information comes out regarding Chinese researcher He Jiankui and his claims of making the first CRISPR-edited babies, here’s a good recap of 15 concerning details. One of the worrisome aspects of the experiment is the lack of clarity surrounding the function of the new mutations- “At least two of the three mutations that He introduced into Nana and Lulu’s genomes are substantial changes that could alter how CCR5 works. Typically, scientists would introduce the same mutations into mice or other lab animals to see what would happen. If they felt reassured enough to move into human patients, they could recruit patients with HIV, take out some immune cells, introduce the new CCR5 mutations, transplant the cells back, and monitor the volunteers to see if they’re healthy. ‘That could take months or years, but to do anything less would be cutting corners,’ Ryder says.” Bioethicist Kelly Hills of Rogue Bioethics noted the key differences though regarding innovative treatment and clinical research. “In the USA, there is no way any government authority would demand that a woman pregnant with a genetically modified fetus abort the pregnancy, so in the end, we have to ask: will a $100,000 fine and maybe a year in jail, as the most severe theoretical punishments, actually discourage people, especially given the very long history of both the FDA allowing innovative treatment AND not intervening when companies are clearly breaking much more clearly established laws around clinical research and human subjects Finally, and one of the other reasons I tie this to CellTex, the FDA often seems to expend its energy on enforcement of issues where they will have strong public support. In the case of stem cell injection, though, public support for prosecution was not there—and likewise, the American public overwhelmingly supports germline gene editing of serious medical issues. It is simply not clear the political will would be there to pursue someone doing He’s project in America, even if it were determined to be ‘distributing a new drug.’ (And again, I think it’s much more likely that it would be argued and treated as innovative treatment rather than a new drug—ESPECIALLY if it’s true that the new pregnancy is a PCSK9 modification, rather than CCR5.)”

Biological Weapons Convention – Meeting of States Parties (MSP)
The MSP began this week and not surprisingly, the topic of financing the BWC has been the elephant in the room – overlooked by many countries but not those in the audience. The BWC is in a dire situation due to many countries failing to meet their financial obligations. You can find daily reports from Richard Guthrie here, which provides a detailed account of the meetings and events. Guthrie reported that “Many statements noted that the root cause of the financial difficulties was the late payment of assessed contributions. Numerous calls were made for those states parties behind with payments to clear their arrears and, in future, to pay in full and pay on time. There were a number of expressions of support for some method to smooth cashflows such as a working capital fund. It was noted such a fund could be established through voluntary contributions, by placing any credits from future budgetary underspends into it or by putting arrears payments from past financial years into it. China noted that it had already paid its assessed contribution for 2019 to ease cashflow.” The Joint NGO Statement was also given – emphasizing the important role the NGO community plays in the BWC. One of the main issues discussed was that “over recent months, unsupported allegations of ‘secret laboratories developing biological weapons’ have intensified. These claims risk diminishing the taboo against biological weapons. They create uncertainty around the prohibition and undermine the BWC, and they may give the impression that biological weapons are worth pursuing, possibly even encouraging other nations to do so. If a state party has genuine concerns about a biological weapons threat, there are existing mechanisms and precedent under Article V of the BWC to raise the issue. In the meantime, the international community must push back on unsupported allegations, and step up its efforts to actively devalue biological weapons as a military option.”

Federal Select Agent Program Strategic Plan FY18-FY21
The latest Select Agent Program strategic plan is out! Within this document, there are several goals, such as ensuring the recruitment, development, and retention a knowledgable and professional FSAP workforce, harmonize FSAP organizational processes and inspections, engaging and increasing transparency and highlighting program benefits, etc. “We are pleased to share this FSAP Strategic Plan, which will guide our efforts for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2018 through FY2021. Our joint strategic planning effort serves as a clear reminder of the many successes we have achieved together over nearly two decades as FSAP, as well as the myriad challenges against which we must continue to focus in order to sustain and enhance biosafety and security of BSAT in the United States.”

Governance of Dual Use Research in the Life Sciences – NASEM Workshop
“Continuing rapid developments in the life sciences offer the promise of providing tools to meet global challenges in health, agriculture, the environment, and economic development; some of the benefits are already being realized. However, such advances also bring with them new social, ethical, legal, and security challenges. Governance questions form an increasingly important part of the discussions about these advances—whether the particular issue under debate is the development of ethical principles for human genome editing, how to establish regulatory systems for the safe conduct of field trials of gene drive-modified organisms, or many others. However there are continuing concerns that the knowledge, tools, and techniques resulting from life sciences research could also enable the development of bioweapons or facilitate bioterrorism.” The findings of this June 2018 workshop involved the efforts of more than 70 participants from 30 countries and 5 international organizations.

Ebola in the DRC – Updates
As of Wednesday, the additional cases of Ebola in the DRC have raised the total to 458 cases, of which 410 are confirmed, and 263 deaths. “In a weekly report from the WHO African regional office that covered 28 cases reported between Nov 23 and Dec 1, the group said the number of illnesses declined from 46 reported the week before. Weekly deaths dropped from 22 reported 2 weeks ago to 19 last week. Three more infections were reported in healthcare workers, raising the total to 43 illnesses in health workers, 12 of them fatal. Based on locations of cases reported over the past 3 week weeks, Beni, Katwa, and Kalunguta are still the hot spots.” There are 75 suspect cases still being investigated.

Infection Prevention Training Through the Center for Domestic Preparedness: An Infection Preventionist’s Experience
“For many of us, it has been a while since we’ve donned Ebola personal protective equipment (PPE). In 2014, there was a mad dash to obtain the PPE the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were recommending for working with patients with Ebola virus disease. We rapidly learned the art that was donning and doffing this enhanced PPE while working to ensure we did not cross contaminate each other, let alone the observer/aid that was helping us. This was a relatively novel moment for many of us in infection prevention and health care. Who would have thought we would be preparing for Ebola in the United States? Last week, I attended the Barrier Precautions and Controls for Highly Infectious Diseases (“HID”) training hosted by the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP). CDP is a training center used for military purposes (think chemical and biological incidents, etc). In 2007, the Noble Training Facility was integrated into the CDP and the former Noble Army Hospital was used as a new site to strengthen public health, health care, and medical personnel during disasters and incidents. The CDP is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after it was transferred from the Department of Homeland Security in 2007. The whole purpose of CDP is to strengthen critical infrastructure through training and education to state, local, tribal, and territory emergency responders.”

Book Review- Stalin’s Secret Weapon
Searching for a good winter book to read? Look no further – Stalin’s Secret Weapon discusses Stalin’s obsession with biological weapons. “Joseph Stalin’s obsession with weapons of mass destruction included the promotion of biological weapons (BW), but the background to his regime’s development of this type of warfare, with its triumphs and failures, makes for eye-opening and sometimes grim reading. Anthony Rimmington’s book pulls together his 30 years of research and specialist articles, showing first how Russia’s interest can be traced back to the late 19th century when a St Petersburg guards officer was bitten by a rabid horse. The officer’s treatment led to the establishment of groups of physicians and veterinary surgeons studying ways to combat the likes of brucellosis, glanders and rabbit fever, as well as diseases that affected humans, such as smallpox and pneumonic plague. During the First World War the focus shifted to military uses of this knowledge: horses and mules deliberately infected with dangerous bacteria could disrupt entire campaigns, and many of these animal diseases could transfer to enemy troops.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

• Cracking A Pandemic Flu Secret – “Rolland, a pathologist, had written a report in 1917, the year before the start of the Spanish flu. It described cases of British soldiers in France who had contracted an unusually fatal respiratory illness. Worobey, an evolutionary biology professor with a particular interest in the 1918 pandemic, wanted to know whether any of Rolland’s samples might still be lying about a century later. Within a few hours, he had found a possible contact and fired off an email. Across the Atlantic, 5,000 miles away, a retired family physician in England’s picturesque Lake District received it. He replied immediately.”