Pandora Report 11.11.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

The U.S. Election has concluded and whether your candidate is now our presidential elect or you’re just glad it’s all over, here’s something to celebrate – President Obama signed an executive order last week, cementing the GHSA as a national, presidential-level priority. Commitment to GHSA and fighting outbreaks on a global scale is a huge step forward to combating the health crises we’ve seen and will continue to battle in the future. Since researchers recently debunked the myth of Gaëtan Dugas as a primary source for HIV/AIDS in the U.S., check out more stories regarding the misunderstood “patient zero”.  World leaders are starting to realize that the antibiotic clock is ticking away.

Trump and the Issues Within Science
Donald Trump is the new president elect, but where does he stand on issues like Zika? Here’s a compilation of sources that cover his comments and plans for some of the top issues in science. NPR is looking at his comments on global health and humanitarian aid, while some are trying to figure out what Trump’s administration will mean for them and the need for a transition team tutorial. STAT is asking five questions regarding what the Trump administration will mean for science. Sources close to the Trump campaign have stated that two of the “best-known climate skeptics will lead his U.S. EPA transition team“.

It’s Time to Modernize the BWC 
GMU Biodefense graduate program director and professor, Gregory Koblentz teamed up with Filippa Lentzos to discuss why it’s so important for the BWC to modernize. They tackle the reality that while the convention isn’t failing, it’s definitely not flourishing. Despite its dedication to ban a whole class of weapons, the BWC is a somewhat toothless dog. “It lacks a dedicated forum to assess treaty implications of scientific advances, a robust institutional capacity, organized means of helping member nations meet their obligations, provisions for verifying compliance, and an operational role to respond in cases of a serious violations. The upcoming review conference provides a welcome opportunity to begin rectifying some of these shortcomings.” Koblentz and Lentzos point to the consistent challenges of science and technology reviews. Despite a rapidly evolving industry, the BWC hasn’t been able to keep up and maintain an international forum for the debates that are needed. Lagging behind the biotech times means the BWC is running the risk of irrelevance, not to mention the slow shift from the convention towards UNSCR 1540. In this climate, it doesn’t help that there is an even greater need for transparency. Biodefense programs have surged the last two decades, which means that transparency is increasingly important to ensure these programs aren’t biosecurity risks or being perceived as threats and becoming justifications for initiated offensive programs. The reform process is pivotal and this includes organizing a review of relevant S&T developments more systematically, renewing the mandate of an implementation unit, and setting up an Open-Ended Working Group on Providing Reassurance to encourage transparency and engagement in peer review exercises. “The Eighth Review Conference provides an opportunity to revitalize the bioweapons treaty by taking concrete actions to expand its relevance, enhance its capacity to review developments in science and technology, and strengthen the confidence of nations in the peaceful intentions of their fellow treaty members.”

RevCon began this week in Geneva and you can catch the U.S. opening statements by Thomas Countryman, Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. You can also read Mr. Kim Won-soo’s remarks as High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vice president, Christine Beerli, has also commented, noting that “States Parties should not become complacent; it remains their collective and individual responsibility to ensure that the treaty is implemented effectively. Over the past five years of annual meetings, a great deal of information has been shared and many proposals have been made on how to implement the treaty and improve its effectiveness. Disappointingly, however, there has been little collective agreement.” RevCon experts will also be focusing on new threats that may arise from technology. Guinea just became the 178th State Party to the BWC!

armas-biologicas-2NSABB Meeting on DURC and Other Hot Topics
On Friday, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) hosted a call to review policy updates, new activities, updates from the working group on institutional oversight of the life sciences DURC policy stakeholder engagement, and updates from the Blue Ribbon panel that is currently reviewing the 2014 NIH variola incident. The conference call was fast-paced but covered substantial ground – most of it you can find on the Power Point slides. The policy updates focused on initiatives to strengthen biosafety/biosecurity stewardship. The 2016 NSABB report recommended additional, multidisciplinary evaluation prior to funding decisions and appropriate, ongoing oversight if funding were given to projects. It was noted that this is a particularly exciting time for science as we’re seeing so many advancements in human health, however the applications of these technologies are testing the oversight and policies we currently have in place to ensure science is performed safely (and securely). While they may or may not all be under the purview of the NSABB, the emergence of CRISPR and evolution of genomic sequences and gene drive techs, and abilities to create next gen of chimeras – are all examples of biotech that are evolving very rapidly and we may need to rethink how they fit our current policy and framework. NSAAB has been a part of the DURC conversation with policy focus on research responsibilities and institutional approaches. NSABB is also working on how to increase and approach stakeholder engagement in DURC polices. There were several listed strategies and topics, ranging from regional meetings at universities or panel sessions at conferences like ASM and ASV. The biggest focus was on getting dialogue and metrics across institutions, not to mention the need for feedback to evolve an objective oversight system. The Blue Ribbon panel is working on the review of the NIH variola incident but they did note that the event was handled very well and while there were obvious gaps, they were all addressed and that the interagency work between the FBI, NIH, and CDC went very smoothly.

Sverdlovsk, Three Mile Island, and Government Oversight of Biological Safety
Greg Witt is talking to us about government oversight of biological research and the lessons learned from the Three Mile Island nuclear accident (did I mention that Greg is a nuclear systems engineer?). Pointing to the biosafety failures that have happened recently (remember that time a Pasteur Institute employee improperly took MERS samples on a commercial airline???), Greg pulls together the pieces to paint a bigger mosaic of systemic failure to properly control biological agents. Pointing to similarities between these events (they even happened days apart) he notes that “both were caused, in large part, by errors in maintenance: at Sverdlovsk, technicians neglected to replace an exhaust system filter, while at TMI, staff had isolated an auxiliary feedwater pump during routine maintenance in violation of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rules.”

The Glamor of Bad Science02-ebola-w529-h352
Yours truly is talking about the disparaging addiction we have to dramatic science. I’m a fan of any movie that involves an outbreak, but the truth is that an overwhelming majority of these films depict infectious disease outbreaks so outrageously and dramatically, they have become anti-science. After watching the latest, Inferno, it became increasingly apparent that we’ve created a false threshold for science, specifically infectious diseases, in film. By painting the picture of diseases and outbreak response like that of Outbreak, I Am Legend, and more, we’re creating an increasingly de-sensitized culture. The result of this de-sensitization means that it takes a lot more for people to take infectious disease outbreaks seriously in real life. It’s not a genetically engineered airborne organism that will make flesh rot? Meh – not that big of a deal. Our love of bad infectious disease science in film and television could easily create a culture of poor public health support.

Ebola Was Just the Beginning…Are We Ready?
Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is highlighting the realities that we simply aren’t ready for the next big virus epidemic. Piot discusses his work during the early days of Ebola in the 1970s, pointing to the challenges of attempting to figure out a novel virus while trying to put out the fires of an outbreak. Describing the 2014 outbreak as a perfect storm, he notes that the WHO response was too slow to act. The globalization of our interconnected world has made the capabilities of an outbreak much greater than 50 years ago. “Piot also believes there will be a ‘Big One’, a big influenza, similar to the likes of the Spanish Flu in World War One and we’re not quite ready for it. Yet. ‘Are we ready?’ Piot asked. ‘A little bit better than a few years ago but we’re not yet up to the job. We can’t afford to wait but we have a plan, and that’s the good news. The world has learnt from the problems of mobilisation around Ebola and we are now in a better situation; there is better technology to allow for more rapid diagnosis’.” Piot stresses the importance of investment in infrastructure, stronger global governance, and vaccine development incentives.

All Things Zika
The Florida Health Department has released their Zika updates here. PAHO has recommended that Bolivian women delay pregnancy to avoid Zika. “Fernando Leanes, PAHO representative in Bolivia, said at a press conference that it was one of several advised measures to avoid the proliferation of microcephaly cases. ‘The epidemic of Zika, from what we have seen in other countries, will have a rise and fall in Bolivia. Therefore, there are options such as delaying the decision to get pregnant in areas where Zika is spreading. This will avoid the dreaded microcephaly and the complications it represents,’ explained Leanes.” An $18 million plan was just announced to release Zika-resistant mosquitoes into urban areas of Colombia and Brazil.  “A swarm of Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes–the species that transmits dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya and Zika, have been modified to carry a bacterium called Wolbachia pipientis, which inhibits their ability to spread the viruses. Scientist released these ‘good mosquitoes’ in Brazil as part of a successful international program called ‘Eliminate Dengue’.” Many researchers are wondering why Colombia has had such few Zika-associated birth defects. They are the second largest outbreak in the world, yet have much fewer cases of microcephaly than Brazil. Researchers have noted that adult women in Puerto Rico were significantly more likely to develop Zika than men. The CDC has reported 4,175 cases of Zika in the U.S. as of November 9th, 2016.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • How Trauma Explains Civil War– Don’t miss this event today at GMU’s Arlington campus, Founders Hall, Room 602. Eric Goepner will be discussing his research as to why “hurt people hurt people” and hypothesizing that a population’s prior traumatization predicts future civil war onset.
  • Searching for Ebola’s Hideout – The recent ebola outbreak is over, but this doesn’t mean the disease is gone. In fact, ebola is known for hiding out..so where has it gone? Leigh Cowart and other researchers are looking to stop future Ebola outbreaks by finding its hiding spot. “Such a long-term host, the quiet refuge of a pathogen, is known as a reservoir species. If a reservoir species is Ebola’s safe house, we are its luxury retirement property, a place for it to live out its last days with a bang. The trouble is that we aren’t sure where the safe house is. If we are going to be vigilant against Ebola’s re-emergence, we need to find it.”
  • The UK Forms Special Outbreak Response Team– with a five-year £20m funding, the UK is setting up a specialist team of health experts who will be able to respond to outbreaks around the world within 48 hours. “Public Health England will run the project with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, said: ‘Speed is key in tackling infectious disease and with this new capability we can now deploy specialists anywhere in the world within 48 hours, saving and protecting lives where an outbreak starts and helping to keep the UK safe at home.'”

 

Sverdlovsk, Three Mile Island, and Government Oversight of Biological Safety

by spopescu, posted in Commentary

To those of us who follow the world of biodefense, it seems as though every week brings news of a high-profile lapse in biosafety. In just the past month, we’ve seen an employee from the Pasteur Institute Korea transport samples of the coronavirus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) on a commercial airliner and reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shipped chikungunya virus without first performing tests to ensure that the specimens had been completely inactivated. These come on top of such disturbing stories as the US Army’s Dugway Proving Ground accidentally shipping live anthrax to almost 200 facilities and slip-ups at the CDC involving ebolavirus and avian influenza.

While each of these incidents would be alarming in its own right, collectively they imply a systemic failure to properly control biological agents. Determining the extent and severity of the problem is made even more difficult because consistent rules for reporting these types of biosafety events do not exist under the government’s Select Agent Program (SAP). For example, a review this year by the Government Accountability Office found that the number of incidents of incomplete inactivation between 2003 and 2015, similar to what occurred with the Dugway anthrax samples, was at least twice as high as initially reported. Clearly, a more comprehensive and thorough accounting is needed.

The corrosive impact that a lack of oversight can have on biosafety is apparent in the admittedly extreme case of the Sverdlovsk anthrax leak in 1979, in which a Soviet biological weapons facility near present-day Yekaterinburg, Russia unintentionally infected the city with a cloud of anthrax spores. Coincidentally, the incident occurred only five days after the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear accident in Pennsylvania, and the two events actually contain a number of similarities. Both were caused, in large part, by errors in maintenance: at Sverdlovsk, technicians neglected to replace an exhaust system filter, while at TMI, staff had isolated an auxiliary feedwater pump during routine maintenance in violation of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rules. Both resulted in the release of toxic materials into the environment: about a gram of anthrax at Sverdlovsk and 370 PBq of (biologically-inert) radionuclides from TMI. The consequences of both were severe as well: casualty estimates from the anthrax release range from 60 to over 100, and while no direct health effects from the Three Mile Island accident have been conclusively documented, the economic cost may have been in excess of $1 billion, in addition to the permanent damage done to the US nuclear industry’s public image.

If the events themselves bear similarities, the official responses to them could not have been more different. The Soviet government responded to the Sverdlovsk incident in its typical manner with a campaign of disinformation, blaming the anthrax cases on contaminated meat and destroying associated hospital records. Biopreparat, the Soviet biological weapons program, added yet more layers of secrecy to hide its involvement, making it even less accountable to the government of the Soviet Union, let alone its people. By the time the Soviet Union collapsed, the government had almost entirely lost operational control over the bioweapons program.

In stark contrast, the Three Mile Island accident prompted the NRC to make significant changes to how US nuclear power plants are regulated and operated. The agency instituted a number of policies such as tracking significant events and safety system actuations to determine which initiating events that might result in a radiological release were most common and issuing guidance to operating plants to reduce their frequency. In the years since TMI, accident precursors, reactor trips, and occupational radiation exposures at nuclear plants have decreased precipitously, in some cases by an order of magnitude. The NRC has also taken steps to increase transparency in its findings, such as publishing safety and performance assessments for all operating plants. This allows for public scrutiny and an informed conversation regarding the risks associated with civilian nuclear power.

What lessons can we take away from Sverdlovsk and Three Mile Island? The most obvious insight is that operational safety can be greatly enhanced by effective oversight, and effective oversight requires a well-informed regulator. A consistent and uniform mechanism for tracking biological safety incidents, perhaps through the SAP, would provide regulatory agencies with a better idea of the nature of the problem and allow them to spot trends. By publishing data on laboratory failures, organizations could be held accountable for poor performance and best practices could be more easily identified. The real lesson from Three Mile Island and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s response is that with enhanced scrutiny, the likelihood and severity of an accidental release drops and biological research can become safer and more secure. And in the end, isn’t that what biodefense is all about?

Week in DC: Events 11.7-11.11.2016

by spopescu, posted in Events

Monday, November 7th, 2016
Enhancing U.S.-Georgia Security Cooperation: The Way Forward– Heritage Foundation
Time: 10:30-11:30am
Location: Heritage Foundation214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 (map)
Located in the South Caucasus, Georgia sits at a crucial geographical and cultural crossroads and has proven to be strategically important for military and economic reasons for centuries. Today, Georgia’s strategic location is also important to the United States. In 2008 Georgia was promised eventual membership at the NATO summit in Bucharest. Since then few countries in the Euro-Atlantic region express as much enthusiasm for NATO as Georgia – even though it is not yet inside NATO. After the Russian invasion in 2008 and the subsequent Russian occupation of 20 percent of Georgia’s territory, Georgia has transformed its military and has contributed thousands of troops to overseas military operations – all in the hopes of speeding up its application to join NATO. What is Georgia’s prospect of joining the Alliance? How will the new Georgian government and the next U.S. president handle the issue of NATO membership? Join us as we address these issues and more.

Tuesday, November 8th, 2016
U.S. Election – Go Vote! 
Wednesday, November 9th, 2016
Biodefense Master’s Open Houses
We invite you to attend an open house to learn more about the Schar School of Policy and Government. The session will provide an overview of our master’s degree programs, an introduction to our world-class faculty and research, and highlights of the many ways we position our students for success in the classroom and beyond. Our admissions and student services staff will be on hand to answer your questions.

  • Thursday, November 10: 6:30pm-8:30pm—Master’s Open House, Founders Hall, Room 126

Continue reading “Week in DC: Events 11.7-11.11.2016” →

Pandora Report 11.4.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Happy Friday! We’ve got some great news – you can now watch our book launch and panel from the Biological Threats in the 21 Century event via YouTube here. Whether you missed out on attending or want a recap, you can get all the biodefense goodies there. UNMC was recently awarded $19.8 million to build an Ebola and advanced infectious disease training center. Their new center will include a training, simulation, and quarantine section, with the hope of training healthcare workers to treat patients with Ebola and other highly infectious diseases. A recent study found that limited access to Ebola diagnostic and supportive pathology assays facilitated the failure of initial 2014 outbreak control efforts, regardless if the setting was a resource-rich or resource-poor location.  Shocking news – hand hygiene is one of the biggest issues in norovirus infections.

3rd Annual Summit on Global Food Security and Health 
GMU’s Schar School of Policy and Government will be hosting this informational event on Wednesday, November 16th from 10:30am-5:30pm. Speakers include experts from organizations such as the Association of Public Land Grant Universities, Bread for the World, the International Medical Corps and the US Agency for International Development: Academics will discuss their research on Food Security with an eye to improving access, addressing challenges and developing partnerships to improve global food security and related health outcomes. Organized with the support of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; The Farm Journal Foundation; The Global Harvest Initiative, Policy Studies Organization; World Medical & Health Policyjournal; Center for the Study of International Medical Policies and Practices (CSIMPP) in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George MasonUniversity; American Public University; and World Food Policy. The conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Contact Professor Bonnie Stabile bstabile@gmu.edu with any questions.

FDA Manipulation of Media
A new report from the Scientific American is drawing attention to the FDA’s arm-twisting of journalists “into relinquishing their reportorial independence”. Their investigators found that NPR and a series of other news outlets had a deal with the FDA-  get news announcements early but the FDA would dictate whom their reporters could and couldn’t interview. “This kind of deal offered by the FDA—known as a close-hold embargo—is an increasingly important tool used by scientific and government agencies to control the behavior of the science press. Or so it seems. It is impossible to tell for sure because it is happening almost entirely behind the scenes. We only know about the FDA deal because of a wayward sentence inserted by an editor at the New York Times.” The Scientific American was able to obtain supportive documents via the Freedom of Information Act, which revealed that despite their public demeanor, the FDA denies many reporters access and grows their own group of journalists that will follow their rules. Much of this is held together with the journalistic practice of embargo – a deal between source and journalist that the story won’t be published prior to a specific date/time. This is actually pretty common in the science world, but it can actually create an aura of favoritism and bias. The issue with the FDA situation is far deeper though – aside from getting early access to stories and agreeing not to publish before the agreed date/time (embargo), the other rules stated that journalists could not seek outside comment and in a nutshell, had to give up the ability to do independent reporting. In the end, this kind of control of the media and journalistic favoritism reveals things about both sides of the agreement, but also emphasizes the need for transparency and re-thinking of the embargo system.

BWC 8th Review Conference sheet-1
The eighth RevCon is fast approaching and if you’re behind as to what’s happened since the last RevCon, check out UNLOG’s (The United Nation’s Office at Geneva) Think Zone and the latest information. You’ll also find some great articles from GMU’s Biodefense faculty in there – like Dr. Koblentz’s article on dual-use and Dr. Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley’s article on gene drive. Better yet, check out the BWC RevCon Series from the International Law and Policy Institute. These three papers discuss a series of issues related to the BWC and RevCon. The first, Divide and Delegate: the Future of the BWC, focuses on the pursuit of BWC aims outside RevCons and the normative strengths and operational weaknesses. LPI2, Keeping Up With the Science, looks to support enhanced science and technology review processes. LPI3, is a joint effort by GMU’s very own Biodefense Director, Gregory Koblentz, and the author of your favorite new book (Biological Threats in the 21st Century), Filippa Lentzos. The third paper, Risks, Trade-Offs & Responsible Science , looks at the security trade-off risks of the increasing volume of labs and scientists working on dangerous pathogens. They note that “the 2016 BWC Review Conference must encourage states to implement stringent national biosafety, biosecurity and dual-use research regulations; task the science advisory group to develop clear, internationally- recognized guidelines governing dual-use research of concern (DURC); establish a working group to revise the CBMs; and encourage states to participate in the CBM mechanism as well as more interactive information exchanges such as peer review and compliance assessment.”

RevCon will take place from November 7-25th in the Palais des Nations and a general agenda is available here. Gabrielle Tarini writes that this RevCon will be a “pivotal opportunity for countries to take action to ensure that the treaty remains a relevant and useful tool for preventing the development, spread, and use of biological weapons. A failure by member states to invest the necessary attention, time, and political capital in the conference could mean decreased interest and weakened multilateral engagement in a treaty that was the first to ban an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.” Moreover, the BWC should have a dedicated process, like that of the CWC, to inform and advise member states, pointing to the need for a great capacity to have expert-led meetings and continuous monitoring. Lastly, Tarini highlights that this RevCon will be an opportunity to strengthen and revise the intersessional process and framework. “The treaty should be restructured, with a stronger steering body and increased time for preparation and multilateral engagement. Adding more meetings, and limiting what gets discussed at each of those meetings, would allow the BWC to begin operating more like an international organization and would provide oversight equivalent to that for other nonproliferation treaties.” Can everyone help verify the BWC? Some are saying open source monitoring may just be that sweet spot.

Increasing Transparency in Biodefense: A 2016 Visit to a German Military Medical Biodefense Facility  screen-shot-2014-09-22-at-21-57-41
Filippa Lentzos is taking us on a journey through German biodefense practices and why transparency is so vital for these programs. Citing Germany as a prime example of countries going above and beyond their voluntary BWC efforts, she delves into the world of Germany’s biodefense activities. She notes the visitors were highly encouraged to review Germany’s most recent CBM submission and briefed on the Institute of Microbiology’s safety and health regulations. “Few restrictions were placed on us other than those related to safety and security. We were free to view rooms, lab equipment and installations. The type and scope of access was to be determined by Institute staff on a case-by-case basis. Any access denials could derive from national security, biosafety and health regulations, data privacy issues, unpublished scientific results or ongoing lab work. If access or certain information was refused, the Institute would explain the particular considerations and o er alternatives.” The Bundeswehr institute focuses on three main CBRN tasks – ensuring protection and an ability of the armed forces to act under CBRN threats, preventing vulnerability to potential CBRN threats and weapons via preventative measures, and limiting the consequences should a CBRN event ever occur. The medical biodefense responsibilities focus more on the ability to rapidly diagnose and identify pathogens, distinguishing natural outbreaks from intentional, and controlling outbreaks. The official noted on their visit that within the institute, there are 65 staff and 18 externally funded fixed-term positions over three departments (bacteria/toxins, viruses/intracellular pathogens, and medical biological reconnaissance and bioforensics). From genome sequencers to electron microscope rooms, check out Filippa’s report for a virtual tour of this amazing biodefense facility.

Assessing the Epidemic Potential of RNA and DNA Viruses  screen-shot-2016-11-02-at-7-19-56-am
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh are looking at zoonotic viruses and their transmissibility. The Ebola outbreak in 2014 highlighted the needed to better understand what kinds of pathogens, especially zoonotic, were likely to emerge as potential epidemics. Given the vast diversity and high rates of viral evolution, this was no easy task. “Of human transmissible virus, 37 species have so far been restricted to self-limiting outbreaks. These viruses are priorities for surveillance because relatively minor changes in their epidemiologies can potentially lead to major changes in the threat they pose to public health.” Researchers used the basic reproductive number, R0, as a means of answering this question. They looked at hundreds of viral species and then categorized them into 4 levels with epidemic potential in humans. They found that the taxonomic diversity is wide, but bounded and most human infective viruses are closely related to viruses of other mammals. Transmissibility within the human population is a key determinant, as well as the R0 threshold of>1. “We currently have few clues to help us predict which mammalian or avian viruses might pose a threat to humans and, especially, which might be transmissible between humans. One argument in favor of experimental studies of these traits, including controversial gain of function experiments, is that they could help guide molecular surveillance for high-risk virus lineages in nonhuman reservoirs.The first line of defense against emerging viruses is effective surveillance. A better understanding of which kinds of viruses in which circumstances pose the greatest risk to human health would enable evidence-based targeting of surveillance efforts, which would reduce costs and increase probable effectiveness of this endeavor.”

Spikes in C-diff and MDRO’s 
Halloween may be over but the rise of the resistant bugs is still going on. A recent study looked at the changing epidemiology of MDRO’s (multi-drug resistant organisms) within a specific healthcare network. While they were able to observe a significant reduction in MRSA, there was a sharp rise in other MDRO’s and C-diff (Clostridium difficile). Examining eight years of data from a Utah-based health network, researchers looked at 22 hospitals clinics to establish trends in C-diff and other MDRO’s. Of the 900,000 patient admissions, 1.4% tested positive for an MDRO and/or C-diff. MRSA was by far the most common MDRO (51% of MDRO infections) but they did see a 32% decrease in MRSA infections over the eight years. “Researchers, however, observed a 222% increase in C difficile and a 322% increase in ESBL-positive bacteria. The data also showed that 70% of all MDROs and C difficile cases originated from an ambulatory setting.” There has also been a significant rise in ESBL’s, which points to a need to refine and revise screening protocols. Overall, this points to the complexity and ever-changing habits of infection prevention and control.

Zika Updates
A recent study is showing that Zika infections have caused reduced fertility and low testosterone in male mice. The ECDC has updated their Zika epidemic rapid risk assessment, noting that “although continuing, vector-borne transmission seems to be slowing down in Central American countries and the Caribbean. The outbreak continues to evolve in Mexico and the southern part of the US, as weather conditions still favour seasonal vector activity. In addition to the Americas, cases have been reported in some Asian countries.” Researchers are working to use the Wolbachia bacteria (which naturally infect several mosquito species) against diseases like Zika and dengue. Overcoming the hurdle of infecting Aedes (a species not naturally infected with Wolbachia), they found that the bacteria was able to survive in the mosquito and then was a passed down through generations…but the best news is that those mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia weren’t able to pass dengue. When the Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes were infected with dengue, the virus couldn’t replicate and spread in the mosquito’s salivary glands (i.e. couldn’t be transmitted). This new technique shows some pretty remarkable abilities to reduce the capabilities of Aedes species to spread diseases like Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The CDC has reported, as  of November 2nd, 4,128 cases in the U.S.  Interestingly 53 people in Minnesota have been found to be infected.

Stories You May Have Missed: 

  • Pandemic Simulations – The Ebola outbreak in 2014/2015 taught us a great many lessons regarding international preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks. As a result of this, the World Bank Group and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is starting a new project to conduct the first set of pandemic simulation exercises. “President Jim Yong Kim, Bill Gates and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will jointly host simulation exercises on pandemic preparedness for the Heads of State and private sector leaders during the next World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2017 and the G-20 Heads of State meeting in July 2017.  In preparation for the two major events, the World Bank will collaborate with the technical team from WHO, WEF and the German government to conduct similar exercises for G20 technical staff and and G20 Ministers of Health. Simulation exercises help make a theoretical possibility real, by allowing policymakers to role-play and map out gaps and concrete solutions to those gaps along with their peers.”
  • New Genetic Mutations in Antibiotic BW Agent– Researchers at Lawerence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently found a new genetic mutation in antibiotic-resistant tularemia (Francisella tularensis). Tularemia is a Category A Select Agent, which means it is a prime concern for bioterrorism and public safety. “This perspective allows you to see mutations that are new that we didn’t know about. If you don’t do this type of study, you’re going to miss other mechanisms that cause resistance in the bacteria. So by doing a genome-wide study, it gives you a much more complete picture about what’s going on,” said LLNL biologist and lead author Crystal Jaing. “The study found resistance-conferring mutations in a hypothetical protein, an asparagine synthase, and a sugar transamine/perosamine synthetase in addition to observing known variants.”

Week in DC: Events 10.31-11.4.2016

by spopescu, posted in Events

Monday, October 31st, 2016
Nuclear Arms Control Choices For The Next Administration– Brookings Institution
Time: 2-3:30pm
Location: Brookings Institution1775 Massachusetts Avenue N.W., Washington, DC (map)
Nuclear arms control has been a feature on the U.S.-Soviet/Russian agenda for nearly five decades. While discussions between Washington and Moscow currently are at a standstill, the limitations, transparency, and predictability provided by agreements such as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty are more important than ever in times of tense bilateral relations. The next U.S. president and her or his administration will face a number of choices about nuclear weapons, nuclear policy, and arms control. On October 31, the Brookings Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative will host a discussion on nuclear arms control choices for the next administration. Following the discussion, the speakers will take questions from the audience.

Tuesday, November 1st, 2016
2nd International Who’s Who in One Health Webinar – Don’t miss the One Health Commissions’ upcoming webinar on November 4th, 2016. This webinar is a great place to take part in dialogue with One Health leaders, advocates, professionals, and students The webinar is set to start at 7:45am EST and seeks to create new strategic partnerships and networks for collective, purposeful and coordinated action and educate participants about the One Health paradigm and ways of thinking towards improved health outcomes Continue reading “Week in DC: Events 10.31-11.4.2016” →

Pandora Report 10.28.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

A leaked report to the UN Security Council from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, states that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave the order for the use of chemical weapons in 2015. The ECDC is seeing the initial cases for the 2015/2016 flu season, so make sure to get your flu shot! Science is sharing six science lessons for the next president. A new study finds that the correct antibiotics are only given half the time for common infections. Make sure to celebrate One Health Day on November 3rd!

Spillover: Ebola & Beyond Film Screening and Discussion
Don’t miss this great event at the National Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, November 15th from 6:30-8:30pm. If you loved the PBS documentary this summer, now is your chance to listen to a panel of experts discuss how they track diseases internationally and locally. “The film extends to the new frontiers of disease detection, prevention, and containment, and travels the world with virus hunters who are tracking old enemies while vigilantly looking out for new foes.” Featured speakers will include Vanessa van der Linden, Anthony Fauci, Yvonne-Marie Linton, and LaQuandra S. Nesbitt. Make sure to register before the event if you’d like to attend.

iow-zoonoses-onpgIf you enjoyed the Spillover documentary, check out this one (from the same team at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute who brought you Spillover) on Nipah virus hunters and their use of bat populations to track the disease. It’s a great film on epidemiology, One Health, and how we can study diseases in bat populations to predict outbreaks in humans. The HHMI has all sorts of wonderful disease-tracking goodies, like this one on the patterns of zoonotic diseases or an interactive on viruses. HHMI has some great interactive and fascinating learning tools for adults and children alike. Nothing like a little zoonotic disease lesson before bedtime, right?

MetaBiota Presentation for GMU Students 14875059_1343053735705798_1059784359_n
This week GMU was fortunate to hold an informational session by MetaBiota in which Dr. Kimberly Dodd discussed the organization and what life is like working on shifting emerging infectious disease response to prevention. GMU Biodefense MS student Greg Mercer was able to  listen to her experiences that range from the front lines of virus chasing to work on PREDICT and the factors that lead to zoonotic spillover. Dr. Dodd deployed to Uganda as part of the CDC’s response to the 2012 Marburg virus outbreak and to Sierra Leone during the West African Ebola outbreak. She described the challenges of trying to set up a BSL-4 equivalent laboratory in the field and the stressed of working with dangerous pathogens and noted that even in an outbreak of a high fear-factor disease like Ebola, there is often an international outpouring of volunteers. Experts are enthusiastic to help both for humanitarian reasons and the promise of cutting edge research to be done. Her experiences responding to outbreaks in the field prompted her interest in what preventative measures can be taken to forecast, identify, and mitigate outbreaks faster. She described her work on USAID’s PREDICT project, which seeks to catalogue viruses with potential to become pandemics. In its first 5 years, PREDICT sampled 56,000 animals, ran 400,000 diagnostics, and detected 984 unique viruses, 815 of which were novel. This new data was fed into Healthmap. In later pahses, PREDICT will go on to more closely examine the human-animal dynamics of spillover events.

Fears and Misperceptions of the Ebola Response System during 2014/2015 Outbreak in Sierra Leone
We’re still learning lessons from the worst Ebola outbreak in history, but will we actually apply this knowledge or continue to make the same mistakes? Public perception of public health response systems is a vastly important aspect of any outbreak response, however researchers are pointing to the severity it had on containment in 2014/2015. This study focuses on Sierra Leone and the barriers that prevented people from trusting and utilizing the Ebola response system that was established during the height of the outbreak. Researchers found that most people feared calling the national hotline for some one they believed to have Ebola as it would result in that person’s death. People tended to self medicate if they developed a fever and assumed it was not Ebola. “Fears and misperceptions, related to lack of trust in the response system, may have delayed care-seeking during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Protocols for future outbreak responses should incorporate dynamic, qualitative research to understand and address people’s perception”

Estimating the BioTech Sector’s Contribution to the U.S. Economy screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-2-44-22-am
While the biotech sector has opened the floor for questions over dual-use, there’s no denying its growth. U.S. biotech sector revenue is estimated to have grown on average more than 10% per year over the past decade, which is faster than the rest of the economy..much faster. Data collected from various public and private sources allowed Robert Carlson to pain a much larger picture of what biotech is contributing to the U.S. economy. He found that total domestic U.S. revenue generated by biotech in 2012 reached at least $324 billion, which is the equivalent of >2% of GDP. Biotech revenue growth was >5% of annual U.S. GDP growth every year between 2007 and 2012. While the field is obviously growing, the rapid acceleration also means that there will be decreasing costs and more access to more powerful technology. “Governments around the globe are grappling with the desire to benefit from biotech-driven economic development, while simultaneously facing questions about who should have access to which technology and under what circumstances.” It’s important to not only support and monitor the technologies, but also facilitate data and reporting within the industry as these measurement deficiencies fuels biosecurity concerns. “Alongside the preexisting bioeconomy, we are building a system composed of inherently ‘dual-use’ engineering technologies that will constitute critical infrastructure for the future economy. Assuming that the revenue and growth estimates above are borne out with improved measurement and analysis, biosecurity is now clearly synonymous with economic security. The focus of biosecurity policy must shift from protecting specific targets from specific threats to securing the bioeconomy as a system that increasingly drives economic growth and employment and, ultimately, enables humans to thrive on a global scale.”

Hospitals Add Sinks to Help Fight Infections – Bad Move
Adding more easily accessible hand washing stations is one of the strategies to combating poor compliance and growing infection rates. Unfortunately, there have been some unintended consequences of upping the sink volume. Several hospitals throughout Baltimore, the Netherlands, and Shanghai have noted an increase in infections after adding more sinks (especially in patient rooms). Biofilms were a growing issue, which draws attention to the importance of facility and environmental service maintenance. I was a bit disparaged to see that the article points to the presence of non-sterile water from sinks in rooms with immunocompromised patients. Patients that are severely neutropenic are usually placed into positive pressure rooms (under protective precautions) and almost all hem-oncology units have special water filters on everything in the patient’s room (shower, sink, etc.). The concern for legionella is always an issue for those with weakened immune systems and while it’s important to cut down as much environmental exposure as possible, it’s impractical to think there should be sterile water. Another aspect of this is that patients in pre-op immune-suppression or post-op recovery will be exposed to germs – it’s a simple fact. If you’re concerned about sinks, then the patient should either be in a protective precautions room or you should not allow visitors. A sink is a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to patients that aren’t severely neutropenic. Sink design and cleaning is hugely important, which is another component to hospital infection control as anytime water is temporarily shut off, there needs to be water treatment plans in place, etc. It’s nice to see attention being brought to the environmental aspects of sinks and infection control, however one big aspect of the problem is also that people typically don’t wash their hands correctly. Yes, most people don’t spend the 15-20 seconds correctly lathering, washing all the nooks and crannies of their hands, etc. Needless to say, it takes a village to stop an infection and just one tiny moment to cause one – sinks are just one piece of the pie.

Terrorists Hamper Polio Eradication Efforts in Africa salk_headlines
Global eradication of a disease is never easy, however efforts to rid Africa of polio have encountered barriers that are allowing the disease to resurge. Nigeria has seen lingering polio as a result of “porous borders and shifting populations where travel has been blocked by terrorism.” Despite consistent work and effort to eradicate the disease from Nigeria, it was re-declared endemic in August, which leaves many concerned about it spilling over borders into neighboring countries. While Nigeria has always been a hotspot for polio, there has been increasing religious preaching that parents should not allow vaccination, specifically Muslim imams in Kano state in 2003, claiming that the vaccine had been contaminated to hurt Islamic children. Distrust compounds into lagging vaccination rates and during this time there was a spike in cases, which was coupled with terrorist activity by the Book Haram militia. “They cut off entire provinces, blocking the access needed by teams vaccinating children and epidemiologists counting cases. When the Nigerian military forced the militia out of parts of Borno state, in Nigeria’s northeast corner, the polio campaign discovered that wild polio virus had been circulating there for years.” The area around Lake Chad – Chad, Cameroon, and Niger – all pose problematic for vaccination efforts as the WHO calls the situation a “complex emergency” with more than 150,000 people fleeing across national borders. Despite these challenges, the governments of Nigeria and five nearby countries have initiated a massive emergency vaccination campaign that covers more than five million children per round, of which they’ll perform six rounds. “That may be an even more difficult task than in Afghanistan or Pakistan. In those countries, most of the areas where polio survives are remote, with little traffic in or out. Nigeria, on the other hand, is the most populous country in Africa, and a crossroads for the rest of the continent. There is no quick fix that can make the risk of onward spread go away; it requires yet more of the hard, grinding, repetitive work that eradication campaigners have been doing for almost 30 years.”

Zika Virus – What’s the Latest?
Brits are being warned not to travel to Florida after two British journalists contracted Zika during their travel to the state. The Florida state health department has released their Zika data– there are four new travel associated cases and nine non-travel associated cases. Wellcome Trust medical research charity is warning that we should expect Zika to reach India and Africa. “I think we can anticipate global spread,” said Jeremy Farrar, speaking to the Guardian alongside Sue Desmond-Hellmann, the chief executive officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “Given the [Aedes aegypti] mosquito’s availability across the world, I think the spread will next be across Asia and I think we really have to be prepared for it spreading in Africa. I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t.” The WHO has released their Zika Research Agenda here, with a goal of “supporting the generation of evidence needed to strengthen essential public health guidance and actions to prevent and limit the impact of Zika virus and its complications”. Scientists are still bewildered by Zika’s path through Latin America as cases continue to grow. The CDC has reported 4,091 cases of Zika in the U.S. as of October 26th.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • The Antibiotic Era Review – Infectious disease physician Amesh Adalja is discussing Dr. Scott Podolsky’s most recent book on antimicrobial resistance. As the realities of microbial resistance grows larger and gains more attention, it’s important to understand that this isn’t a solely modern issue. Dr. Adalja notes that the book should be required for anyone in the field as it takes great care to incorporate details that paint the larger picture of infectious diseases and antibiotics. “As Podolosky illustrates, in the post WWII era, civilization caused infectious diseases to recede in the US at the same time scores of new treatments (i.e. antibiotics) were coming to the market and experts who knew the (now rare) bug and the drugs used to treat them were valuable.” Adding it to our holiday reading list, thanks for the tip Dr. Adalja!
  • Climate & Evolutionary Drivers of Phase Shifts in Plague Epidemics of Colonial India – A recent study is looking at the climatic and evolutionary forces that impact plague epidemics. Researchers looked at the arrival of plague in colonial India through archival data and were able to identify the evolution of resistance in rats as a significant driver of the shifts within seasonal outbreaks. The findings “substantiate the rapid emergence of host heterogeneity and show how evolutionary responses can buffer host populations against environmentally forced disease dynamics.”
  • 2nd International Who’s Who in One Health Webinar – Don’t miss the One Health Commissions’ upcoming webinar on November 4th, 2016. This webinar is a great place to take part in dialogue with One Health leaders, advocates, professionals, and students The webinar is set to start at 7:45am EST and seeks to create new strategic partnerships and networks for collective, purposeful and coordinated action and educate participants about the One Health paradigm and ways of thinking towards improved health outcomes

Week in DC: Events 10.24-10.28.2016

by spopescu, posted in Events

Monday, October 24th, 2016
The U.S. Military And Commercial Space Industry– Center for Strategic and International Studies
Time: 2-3:30pm
Location: Center for Strategic and International Studies1616 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 (map)
Please join us for the inaugural event of the CSIS Aerospace Security Project. This panel discussion will explore how the U.S. military can better leverage commercial space capabilities and what policy measures can be taken to support a thriving U.S. commercial space industry.
The event will also include a brief introduction of the Aerospace Security Project. The purpose of this project is to examine the technological, budgetary, and policy issues affecting the air and space domains. The project’s focus will be in three areas: space security, air dominance and long range strike, and commercial and civil space.

Tuesday, October 25th, 2016
War And Tweets: Terrorism In America In The Digital Age– New America Foundation
Time: 3-5pm
Location: New America740 15th St NW #900 Washington, D.C. 20005 (map)

“Here in Orlando, we are reminded not only of our obligations as a country to be resolute against terrorists,” President Obama said in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting, “we’re also reminded…that what unites us is far stronger than the hate and the terror of those who target us.”
In the past year, terrorists have struck not only in Orlando, but in cities all over the world, from Beirut to Brussels, seeking to generate fear and anger. But what really determines public reaction? Is it, indeed, possible to be resolute in the face of terrorism?
Join us on October 25th at New America as we examine these questions and launch a new report as part of the “Building Civic Resilience to Terrorism” project, a partnership between New America and the charitable organization Democracy Fund Voice.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will join the Hon. Sharon Burke, Director of the Resource Security program at New America, Juliette Kayyem, CNN National Security Analyst, and Dr. Peter Singer, Senior Fellow of the International Security Program at New America to discuss how political rhetoric, news media, and social media shape the public reaction to terrorism. The panel will also look at how to use strategic communications to build community resilience in the aftermath of an attack.
Wednesday, October 26th, 2016  Continue reading “Week in DC: Events 10.24-10.28.2016” →

Pandora Report 10.21.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

TGIF! It looks like biodefense and genetic engineering are the new hot topics in Hollywood. Inferno will be opening in theaters next week, but it was also reported that Jennifer Lopez will be starring in a new bioterror TV drama, “C.R.I.S.P.R.“, that takes on topics like genetic assassination. That’s right, JLo will be a CDC scientist exploring “the next generation of terror”. You can get an epidemiological update on the cholera situation in the Americas here. A new Ebola vaccine will be tested by researchers in Canada next month.

Biological Threats in the 21st Century Book Launchimg_0359
Last Friday we celebrated the book launch of Biological Threats in the 21st Century. For those who attended, thank you and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! For those unable to attend, don’t fret – we’ll have the recording up ASAP, but in the meant time, here’s a brief recap… We were fortunate to have Dr. Koblentz MC’ing the event, with Andrew C. Weber discussing the threats we face in the 21st century and that the topic is really the orphan of the bunch as nuclear weapons tend to get all the bandwidth. Weber noted that we learned the wrong lesson from Amerithrax and need to remember that one person did it all by himself and despite a very primitive delivery mechanism, it took us eight years to find him. He emphasized the lessons learned from 9/11 and the use of imagination in regards to potential attacks, specifically that we should all challenge ourselves to think about these things and be imaginative. Filippa Lentzos, the editor of the book, took us through her journey to bring together the politics, people, and science of biological warfare. Her goal was to create a one-stop shop for issues regarding bioweapons and socio-politics. Incorporating narratives from people that are both advocates and negotiators of biological disarmament, she highlighted the importance of scientists in building the agenda and biological risk management. Perhaps one of the highlights of the event was the expert panel comprised of Jo Husbands, GMU’s Sonia Ben Ougrham-Gormley, GiGi Gronvall, and Nancy Connell. The panel took questions from the audience and each expert discussed a range of topics – the role of scientists in DURC, GoF experiments and governance efforts, talking to US and Soviet bioweapons specialists from the days of offensive programs, and the efforts to engage scientists and make them part of the solution. Overall, the event was a wonderful mixture of experts, students, and industry people who are all passionate about the world of biodefense.

How Do You Know Your Flu Shot is Working?
GMU Biodefense MS student Greg Mercer is tackling the topic of flu shot performance. Despite the challenges of antigenic drift and forecasting, there has to be a way to check how well the vaccine is performing..right? “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a guide to how they assess flu vaccine effectiveness and efficacy in the United States. These are two slightly different measurements. Efficacy is measured with randomized controlled trials. This is a classic, high rigorous scientific setup designed to eliminate research biases. Effectiveness is measured with observational studies. These are more reflective of real world conditions, since they rely on self-identifying subjects seeking care.”

On Patrol with a Bioterror Cop
For biodefense students, Edward You is pretty much our crime-fighting role model. Supervisory special agent in the WMD directorate in the FBI’s DC headquarters, You monitors the growth of lab tech to help prevent bioterrorism. Trying to find the gaps within the detection chain is no easy feat, but You helps to improve FBI and interagency efforts to identify, assess, and respond to biological threats. What makes his approach so unique is that prior to the FBI, he worked for six years in graduate research focusing on retrovirology and human gene therapy at USC. Simply put, You knows the science, tech, and culture that make biocrimes and emerging biotechnologies worrisome. You’s background and perspective has helped shift FBI credibility within the science community after incidents like the detainment of Buffalo bio-artist, Steve Kurtz. The FBI is now helping to sponsor events like the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, and is helping build a network where scientists share concerns. “You is often the first to hear about scientists’ darkest worries. Lately some of these have been connected to the gene-editing method CRISPR, which can be used to create self-spreading gene alterations in insects or DNA-slashing viruses.” You notes that “a threat implies intent, and we haven’t seen that yet,” he says. “But as things become more widely available, more widely distributed, the bar gets lower, and the possibility of an incident gets higher.”

Infection Prevention & Control Week  screen-shot-2016-10-18-at-10-32-54-am
Hand hygiene, PPE, and vaccines, oh my! Infection prevention doesn’t take breaks, so this week we’re celebrating the importance of reducing the spread of infections, specifically in healthcare. The Ebola outbreak lifted back the curtain as to just how impacting minor breaches in infection control can be, but as the threat of antibiotic resistance grows, we need to invest more into this field. Here are a few things you can do to help fight the battle of the bug in healthcare – need to wear PPE? Make sure you’re donning and doffing correctly. Wash your hands! Know about infection preventionists, follow rules of isolation if visiting a sick friend (or you’re sick!), get your annual flu shot and stay up to date on vaccines, make sure to follow directions and finish antibiotics appropriately if you’re taking them, and keep your work environment clean.

Public Health: Biosecurity and the GHSA Distance Learning Opportunity 
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity for a 2-hour webinar session on Wednesday, December 7th, 2016 at 11am CST. The U.S. has taken the lead on a global campaign to fortify both public health and international security. The Public Health: Biosecurity and the Global Health Security Agenda webinar will review the nexus between public health and biosecurity, through the context of the developing Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). We will learn how modern threat management concepts can be efficiently employed by the GHSA to augment both public health response and preparedness in the event of a natural outbreak, or from the perspective of an intentional attack. The webinar will be presented by Ryan N. Burnette, PhD, Director, International Biosecurity & Biosafety Programs, At Risk International. Upon completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Define the methods and goals of the GHSA
  • Paraphrase how threat management techniques can be applied at a macro level to augment global security in the context of epidemics and bioterrorism
  • Describe how biosecurity plays a vital role in public and global health

Gene Drives – the Good, the Bad, and the Hype
GMU Biodefense professor, Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley, and Kathleen Vogel are discussing the advances in life sciences and what these new gene-editing techniques could mean for biodefense. “The absence of clear safety guidelines, coupled with ambiguous government regulations, has nurtured fears of an accidental or voluntary release of a gene drive in nature that could cause irreparable damage. On the security front, the presumed simplicity and accessibility of Crispr raise the possibility that states, terrorists, or rogue scientists might use the technology to modify genomes to develop malicious gene drives and create novel bioweapons that could spread more quickly, cheaply, and globally than traditional bioweapons agents.” Caution is always a good strategy, but Ouagrham-Gormley and Vogel emphasize the importance of approaching these new technologies with a realistic approach grounded in empirical findings, rather than the hype of a shiny new toy. Understanding gene drive and the capabilities of CRISPR are necessary to not only proceed with advancements, but also fully assess the risks versus rewards. Gene drive does have some potential benefits, especially in terms of vectors and pest-control, in trying to impact the population of disease-transmitting mosquitoes and invasive mouse species that wreak agricultural havoc. There is also potential for gene drives to aid in endangered species and environmental conservation work as “gene-drive rodent control on islands can mitigate the environmental impact of invasive species, which disrupt island ecosystems by bringing in invasive plants, or eating plants and insects essential for other species’ survival.” Like anything, there is a potential for mis-use or neglect. In the wake of any new exciting innovation, the spread of CRISPR and gene drive technology has amplified concerns over lab safety and establishing a fundamentally better understanding of the technology before such rapid innovative leaps. Concerns over adverse effects on target species and damage to non-target species is crucial and regulators are racing to keep up with this constantly evolving technology. “These two cases show that Crispr-induced alterations have outpaced and continue to defy current regulations, leaving governments around the world to play catch-up. In this context, fears that an altered organism might escape the laboratory to potentially eradicate a whole species, or unexpectedly jump into another population and cause unpredictable economic and environmental damage, do not seem far-fetched.” Lastly, from the viewpoint of a bioweapons threat, the authors note that the perceived low cost, easy availability, and self-propagating nature of gene drives make it appealing to would-be bioterrorists. There are significant technical challenges that do form substantial roadblocks, not to mention that gene drives only work with organisms that produce sexually (in other words, they’re unable to alter a virus or bacteria). “However, to accurately evaluate their potential misuse, one needs to rigorously assess the state of the technology and consider its limitations. Current fears (and hopes) related to gene drives are based on projections of what gene drives could in theory do if they spread in nature. At the moment, these are still anecdotal, speculative claims and are not based on in-depth empirical research and analysis. One needs to keep in mind that the techniques under debate are still in their infancy, and in spite of their apparent progress, they may not prove to be as dangerous or promising as expected.” In the end, it is important to identify the risks when it comes to a lack of Cas enzyme control, capabilities of potentially a state-level gene-editing technology based bioweapons program, and slow regulatory catch-up. Threat estimates are speculative and the authors point to problematic historical security assessments of emerging biotech. Overall, it’s important to have a better understating of the complex and unique factors that push state and non-state actors to develop biological weapons and in the wake of this uncertainty, the authors “are engaged in a project that aims to understand the social and technical factors for how Crispr scientists around the world actually work in the lab.”

A Threat to the U.S. Food System
Food safety is often a forgotten component of biodefense when Anthrax and Ebola tend to steal the spotlight. Sadly, this is America’s soft underbelly as a threat to U.S. food production and security could have devastating economic ramifications. While the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense report in 2015 did mention the vulnerability of the agriculture system, it’s easy to forget just how damaging such an event could be. “The agriculture sector in the U.S. is a $1 trillion business and employs approximately 9.2 percent of American workers. In 2012, domestic animal agriculture – livestock and poultry production – generated approximately 1.8 million jobs, $346 billion in total economic output and $60 billion in household income.” Consider even a disease that impacts crops – wheat and rice account for 39% of the world’s total calorie consumption. It’s important to consider the devastation that crop or livestock attacks could have on not only the U.S. system, but also on an international level.

Zika Virus Weekly Updates
Venezuela is struggling to respond to and support cases of Zika-related microcephaly as the government refuses to acknowledge a single case. “Some doctors accuse Venezuela’s unpopular government of hiding the Zika problem amid a deep recession that has everything from flour and rice to antibiotics and chemotherapy medicines running short and spurred fierce criticism of Maduro. They also say government inaction means kids are missing out on targeted state-sponsored therapy programs that would help to stimulate them”. HHS recently announced how the Zika funds will be allocated among players.  “According to Caitlyn Miller, director of the division of discretionary programs for HHS, $394 million will go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), $152 million to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and $387 million toward the public health and social services emergency fund. Within that $387 million, $75 million will be used to reimburse healthcare providers who treat uninsured Zika patients, $40 million will be used to expand Zika resources in US territories, and $20 million will go to regional and national projects, such as creating microcephaly registries.” Public health officials have created a color-coded map of Zika zones in Florida. As of October 19th, the CDC has reported 5,016 cases of Zika in the U.S.

Stories You May Have Missed

  • EU Reports Animal Antibiotic Use Is Up– Despite a drop in overall sales, a recent report from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has revealed the worrisome reality that there has been an increase in the use of medically important antibiotics. While there was a 2.4% drop from 2011-2014 in sales of veterinary antibiotics, there was a sharp increase in “critically important” antibiotic usage. The usage of “fluoroquinolones, macrolides, and polymyxins sold for use in food-producing animals rose significantly—14%, 13%, and 19%, respectively.” The report does note that responsible-use campaigns in some countries could be effective in countering antibiotic resistance, however the increase in usage is raising many red flags.
  • Global Civil Society Coalition for the Biological Weapons Convention – last week Kathryn Millet, on behalf of the Global Civil Society Coalition for Biological Weapons, delivered a statement to the UN General Assembly First Committee. The statement points to the importance of the BWC but also the challenges and necessity of avoiding complacency. The coalition statement emphasizes the importance of recognizing the evolving threat posed by malign use of the life sciences since the last Review Conference and the need for more systematic advice for BWC State Parties on S&T. Further recommendations include the need for States to ensure that the interval between Review Conferences is used more effectively, reexamination and improvement on dealing with compliance with the BWC, and the application of more resources to support work that is necessary to fulfill the BWC’s objectives.

Pandora Report 10.14.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

The Biological Threats in the 21st Century book launch is hours away and we’ll be live tweeting the event, so make sure to follow us on Twitter @PandoraReport. The event will also be recorded and we’ll let you know when you can watch in case you aren’t able to attend. Check out how virus hunters are using epigenetics and big data to map epidemics and trace the origins of viral outbreaks.  You can also read the WHO’s Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework for the sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines here. The global CRISPR-Cas9 Market Outlook 2022 is now available here.

Biotechnology: An Era of Hopes and Fears
GMU Biodefense PhD alum, Douglas R. Lewis, writes for Strategic Studies Quarterly on the increasing pace of biotechnology capabilities. Lewis notes that while this isn’t a good or bad thing, it’s crucial to acknowledge that as capability and knowledge grows, so does the potential for bioweapons development. “Every new treatment represents a potential new weapon”. Advances like the manipulation of viral genetics allow researchers to create chimeric viruses that often bring out fears like those following the publication of The Cobra Event. While there was substantial effort during the height of the bioweapons development renaissance, it is unknown if programs, like the Soviets, succeeded. It’s important to remember that “while viral chimeras are a routine tool in laboratory practice, they are becoming common in therapeutic roles, for instance in vaccine production. A live, nonattenuated vaccine constructed from Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus and Sindbis virus has demonstrated the ability to protect primates from EEE.” Despite these advances, we often create at a faster rate than we learn or question. Understanding the genetic components of diseases allows researchers to mimic miRNA’s behavior and to make rapid advances in CRISPR-Cas9, but many are pointing to the slow rate of cautionary learning. Every advancement allows us to understand the world of genetics and medicine that much better, and the deeper we go, the more we’re able to develop extremely specific treatments. “Effective weaponization and large-scale employment of these new capabilities as a weapon would require a dedicated effort by a state sponsor. It is one thing for a medical provider to inject an experimental therapy into a patient but a much more difficult matter to deliver that substance simultaneously to thousands of people in a diverse environment.” Lewis emphasizes that the goal of his work is to inform the biodefense community of the evolving nature of biotechnology, emphasizing the need for continued support within the U.S. biodefense program. Keeping up with the biotechnology revolution is no easy task, however biodefense efforts must be as nimble as the science they seek to monitor.

Mighty Taco Outbreak logo-mighty-taco
Not the tacos! Sadly, at least 160 people have been sickened after eating at Mighty Taco locations in New York. The culprit? Refried beans. Public health officials are working with the state’s health and agriculture departments to identify the organism causing the illnesses. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available, but if you live in the New York area and frequent this taco establishment, rest assured they have thrown away the specific lot numbers of refrained beans.

GMU Biodefense MS Program Open HouseBiodefense_133x400
Don’t miss the next biodefense MS open house on October 19th! We invite you to attend an open house to learn more about the Schar School of Policy and Government. The session will provide an overview of our master’s degree programs, an introduction to our world-class faculty and research, and highlights of the many ways we position our students for success in the classroom and beyond. Our admissions and student services staff will be on hand to answer your questions. Check out the next MS info program on Wednesday, October 19: 6:30pm-8:30pm- Arlington Campus, Founders Hall, Room 126

 

Mayaro – Why Scientists Are Keeping An Eye on A Little-Known Virus 
Since the Ebola and Zika outbreaks, the concept of emerging infectious diseases is becoming much more well known and discussed. Mayaro disease may just be the next hot topic. Similar to chikungunya and spread by a tree-dwelling species of mosquito that is typically found in South America, this virus just popped up in a young boy in rural Haiti. While this may be an isolated case, it’s important to learn the lessons of past emerging infectious disease outbreaks and just how quickly things can spiral out of control. Moreover, since Mayaro is so similar to chikungunya and dengue, it may be under diagnosed. “The newly detected case of Mayaro in Haiti needs to be seen as a pattern of waves of viruses moving across continents, merging, changing and evolving,’ Morris says. ‘It reinforces the idea that there is a constant battle between humans and the microorganisms that infect humans.’ Diseases frequently emerge and re-emerge, says Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health. And one case doesn’t necessarily indicate an imminent epidemic. But Mayaro is worth keeping an eye on.” Researchers are now keeping an eye on at several mosquito and tick-borne viruses  – Mayaro, Rift Valley Fever, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, and Usutu.

International Infection Prevention Week
screen-shot-2016-09-17-at-6-13-12-pmHelp stop the chain of infection by celebrating Infection Prevention week from October 16-22! Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a healthcare worker to stop the spread of germs. On antibiotics? Take them as recommended and finish your dose! Visiting the hospital or being admitted? Ensure you and your visitors wash their hands and avoid visiting ill patients if you’re sick. There’s a lot we can do to prevent the spread of infection and fight the battle of the bug, so make sure to check out how you can get involved!

Weekly Zika Updates
Houston-based Legacy Community Health Services is frustrated over lab delays in Zika testing. The Legacy CMO has stated that pregnant women have had to wait as long as a month to know if their pregnancies are at risk as the turnaround time from the state public health department is so long. Public health departments in Zika-hit places are struggling to meet the testing demands, which is causing more of a delay in surveillance and diagnosis. The Florida Department of Health has released their Zika updates. Despite aiding the fight against the virus, the FDA won’t be getting any of the designated Zika funds. A new study is shedding light on the evolution and spread of Zika – “Their analysis revealed two distinct genotypes of the virus, African and Asiatic, and two separate clades (biological groupings that include a common ancestor and all the descendants of that ancestor). Clade I represented African gene sequences and Clade II, sequences of Asiatic and Brazilian origin. The Brazilian sequences were found to be closely related to a sequence from French Polynesia. This lends support to the hypothesis that the virus might have been introduced to Brazil during the Va’a World Sprint Canoeing Championship in Rio de Janeiro in 2014, which included a team from French Polynesia, rather than the World Cup in which no teams from Pacific countries participated.” Many are speaking about the experience of having a child with Zika-related microcephaly and the complications associated with the infection.  The CDC has reported 3,9836 cases of Zika in the U.S. as of October 12th.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Human H5N1 Cases in Egypt– Egypt has reported 356 cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) since early 2006, including 121 deaths, however they’ve already seen 10 cases in 2016. Unfortunately, four of these patients have died. The cases are concerning many international public health officials as the MOH has been largely silent, which may point to limited surveillance and testing, but also minimal reporting of cases on an international level.
  • The Case of the Traveling Surgical Scrub– We’ve all seen medical professionals in scrubs ordering a coffee or smoking a cigarette outside the facility. Sadly, this common practice is pretty gross from an infection control standpoint. While scrubs aren’t considered PPE, it’s still good to avoid taking them outside of the operating room. Fomites love to travel on clothing, which has led many physicians to avoid wearing ties and re-think the white coat habit. New guileless from the American College of Surgeons are pushing for scrubs to be changed once a day for this very reason – let’s  keep the OR as sterile as possible!
  • Modeling the Economic Burden of Adult Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the U.S. – It’s easy to forget the importance of vaccination and boosters in adults however, a recent study revealed just how costly vaccine-preventable diseases in adult are. The researchers “estimated the total remaining economic burden at approximately $9 billion (plausibility range: $4.7–$15.2 billion) in a single year, 2015, from vaccine-preventable diseases related to ten vaccines recommended for adults ages nineteen and older. Unvaccinated individuals are responsible for almost 80 percent, or $7.1 billion, of the financial burden.”

Week in DC: Events 10.10-10.14.2016

by spopescu, posted in Events

Monday, October 10th, 2016
Columbus Day 

Tuesday, October 11th, 2016
Conflict Prevention And Resolution Forum: Fragile States And Conflict Prevention Challenges– Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
Time: 9:30-11am
Location: Johns Hopkins SAIS – Rome Building1619 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. (map) Room: Rome Auditorium
Approximately 1 billion individuals live in “fragile and conflict-affected countries” across the world. A fragile state is considered one in which a lack of governmental capacity leaves citizens vulnerable to a range of shocks, amongst which violence prevails. With a lack of funding for conflict prevention in fragile states, these countries are left without recourse. It is important to examine the lifesaving role conflict prevention can provide these countries as they move towards sustaining long term peace and social cohesion. Join us on October 11th for an in depth discussion with two leading experts: Nancy Lindborg, President, United States Institute of Peace. Ozong Agborsangaya-Fiteu, Senior Operations Officer, World Bank FCV. The discussion will be moderated by:Daniel Serwer, Director of the Conflict Management Program, SAIS.

Wednesday, October 12th, 2016
GMU Biodefense PhD Open House – October 12th! Screen Shot 2016-03-04 at 11.00.29 AM
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for an upcoming PhD information session at our Fairfax Campus (Johnson Center, Room 334) on Wednesday, October 12th, from 7-8:30pm. We’ll be  discussing the nuts and bolts of the program, classes offered, and student perspectives on their PhD in biodefense! Continue reading “Week in DC: Events 10.10-10.14.2016” →