Pandora Report 4.1.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Happy Friday! We’re excited to give you some great updates on the world of global health security. Firstly, a recent cluster of what some are calling “rabies” has claimed the lives of 12 individuals. Officials are concerned as transmission seems to be spread through biting and the affected individuals do not appear to be experiencing pain or concern over decaying skin. Just kidding – April Fools’ Day! The zombie apocalypse hasn’t started (that I know of….), but the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has issued a warning about Yellow Fever in Angola. The ECDC is stressing the role of vaccination in travelers as a means to prevent the disease from traveling to susceptible populations. Researchers from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre recently published their analysis regarding the barriers and facilitators for pathogens to jump species. They reviewed 203 human viruses to look at biological factors that may give us predictors as to which viruses are likely to emerge in human populations.

Mapping the Global Health Security Agenda
Raad Fadaak discusses the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) and its set of 11 Action Packages, working to better “prevent, detect, and respond to both human and animal infectious diseases threats.” Fighting an uphill war with organizational and political challenges, the GHSA has won some battles in the fight against global health security threats. In the midst of their MERS outbreak last year, South Korea looked to GHSA “to invest both diplomatic commitment as well as approximately $10 billion US dollars—in addition to graciously hosting the annual GHSA Ministerial High-Level Meeting.” Perhaps a challenging component to getting the GHSA and its Action Packages running smoothly is the vast array of partnerships and projects. Raad uses several wonderful spatial graphics to show timelines, participating countries, commitments, and much more in his analysis of GHSA. “Speaking more generally, it is important to not take the ‘global’ in ‘global health security’ for granted. These maps are a first step in helping to identify and isolate the unique scope and reach of US Governmental activity under GHSA programs – and the production of a specific kind of scalar policy through the GHSA.” In the midst of the Zika outbreak, now will be a telling time to see how the US will meet its commitments to the GHSA through the CDC and USAID.

Medical Rant & Response
Medical experiences tend to be low on the totem pole for “things I’d like to do with my day”. No one enjoys sitting in a busy emergency department waiting area, dealing with miscommunications, or waiting on lab results. Dallas, TX experienced first-hand the serious ramifications of medical frustrations when they had an Ebola patient stroll into their ED and then get discharged a few hours later. What happens when your symptoms are stumping physicians or the delivery of care is delayed? Researchers discuss an experience by a U.S. patient and “responses offered by several experts from various perspectives of the healthcare system.” As you read this article, consider your own healthcare experiences. Take it a step further and consider the global health security implications regarding some of these experiences…

How to (Make Chemical Weapons) Disappear Completely
GMU Biodefense MS student, Greg Mercer, is at it again! In this week’s commentary he’s discussing how chemical weapons are actually destroyed. Incineration and neutralization are the two most common practices employed by the US and Greg is breaking each technique down. Unfortunately, these methods aren’t aways perfect and can easily result in human and environmental damage. “Chemical weapons weren’t always disposed of so carefully, though. The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) cites at least 74 instances of the U.S. dumping chemical weapons at sea from 1918 to 1970.”

Ebola: We May have Won the Battle, But We Haven’t Won the War
It’s been two years since the first Ebola cases were identified in Guinea. Since then, you’ve surely read articles upon articles about the outbreak, how it spiraled out of control, and how we should’ve seen it coming. Why read more? History. Plain and simple – if we fail to study this outbreak and learn from all our mistakes, we’re doomed to repeat them. Ranging from infection and prevention control measures (music to my ears) to addressing the needs of Ebola survivors and social mobilization, there’s host of things we can learn. “And even when international partners responded, they often arrived too late. It took about three months from the time the United States announced in September 2014 it would send troops to Liberia to build Ebola treatment units (ETUs) to the time those were built. By then, the epidemic was already waning, and nine out of the eleven centers built never saw a patient.” What about fear? Fear became an issue not just on the ground in West Africa, but also in the U.S. after we started treating imported cases and the initial Dallas, TX case. “But I think we did most poorly when we let fear dictate the quality of the clinical care we provided to patients. ‘What if,’ Dr. Paul Farmer provokingly asked, ‘the fatality rate isn’t the virulence of the disease but the mediocrity of the medical delivery?’ Of course lack of staff, supplies and space, combined with an overwhelming patient load didn’t help.” Coordination, communication, and engagement. You may see these repeated several times whenever you read an after action report about this outbreak, and yet I’m not quite sure we’ve really let it sink in. Zika? Let’s just hope we can learn from the lessons of public health history before another outbreak sneaks up on us again. Update: two more cases have been identified in the now nine person cluster in Guinea. A young woman has died of Ebola in Liberia today, marking their first case in months.

Where Are We With Zika?

Screen Shot 2016-03-31 at 11.11.34 AM US knowledge gaps are the name of the game this week. 1/3 of Americans polled in a recent survey believed that Zika virus can be transmitted from coughing and sneezing. This same survey, conducted by a team from the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health and the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC), found that people in households not affected by pregnancy issues held the most misconceptions about the virus. 39% thought that a non-pregnant woman’s illness could pose a threat to future birth defects. Brazil’s Health Ministry reported that the number of confirmed and suspected cases of microcephaly associated with Zika virus in the country have grown to 5,235 cases. The ministry also reported 19 infant deaths related to the virus. Revised estimates and a map released by the CDC now show that a larger percentage of the US population could be exposed to the virus as the mosquito season approaches . The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (UTMB) has developed the first Zika animal model since the recent outbreak. “Several research institutions and companies have vaccine and drug candidates nearly ready to test, but until now a mouse model – a critical stage in preclinical testing – has not been available. The study, published this week in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (AJTMH), removes a major bottleneck that was delaying treatment screening.” There is also concern regarding the ability for ultrasounds to fully detect brain damage and microcephaly in pregnant women with or exposed to Zika virus. If you’re looking to get your Zika on, attend the Zika Innovation Hack-a-thon April 2-3, 2016! As of March 30, 2016, there were 312 travel-associated Zika cases in the US.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Ancient Malaria Roots – researchers from Oregon State University are suggesting that the origins of malaria may have actually begun 100 million years ago. The protozoa genus, Plasmodium, has ancestral forms that may have used different insects during its evolution. “Scientists have argued and disagreed for a long time about how malaria evolved and how old it is,” Poinar said. “I think the fossil evidence shows that modern malaria vectored by mosquitoes is at least 20 million years old, and earlier forms of the disease, carried by biting midges, are at least 100 million years old and probably much older.”
  • Ebola Is No Longer A Public Health Emergency of International Concern – On Tuesday, March 29th, 2016, the WHO Emergency Committee met, noting that since its last meeting, all three countries met criteria for interruption of original transmission chains. The WHO Direct General, Margaret Chan, stated that any trade and travel restrictions initiated during the outbreak should be lifted.
  • Ethiopia Drought Emergency – Ethiopia is currently experiencing the worst drought it’s had in 50 years, causing water and food security issues. As of March 2016, over 10.2 million people need food assistance. Food security issues and poor access to water are severely impacting the agricultural industry as well as human health.

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How to (Make Chemical Weapons) Disappear Completely

by spopescu, posted in Commentary

By Greg Mercer

Let’s say you’ve just had an authoritarian leader surrender his chemical weapons stockpile to you, or you’re a major world power and you’ve agreed to eliminate your chemical arsenal. How do you destroy chemical weapons?

Chemical weapons became a global security issue in the early 20th century. They were most famously used in World War I, though some early international efforts were made to prevent their use before they were actually developed and used. The horrors of their use in World War I is frequently credited with preventing their use in later conflicts (though hardly comprehensively; the Holocaust saw their pervasive use, and Iraq is no stranger to chemical weapons, to name but two examples). The modern chemical weapons prohibition as we know it, however, came to be with the 1990 Chemical Weapons Accord and 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. These agreements thoroughly strengthened the chemical weapons control regime, and the latter created the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

So, when chemical weapons need destroying, there are a few options to turn to. Two methods are commonly employed in the U.S.: incineration and neutralization.

Incineration is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) preferred method. Chemical munitions are drained from their delivery mechanisms and burned, rendering the end products either harmless or controllable. Empty warheads and shells are treated to the same heat to ensure the offending substances are completely destroyed. Incineration takes place at a handful of sites in Utah, Alabama, Oregon, and the Johnston Atoll in the Pacific.

Alternatively, the DoD has neutralized chemical agents via chemical hydrolysis, where water and a caustic agent are mixed with the agent, rendering it inert. VX nerve agent being stored in Newport, Indiana was destroyed this way. Once the process is complete, the end product must be stored.

Chemical weapons weren’t always disposed of so carefully, though. The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) cites at least 74 instances of the U.S. dumping chemical weapons at sea from 1918 to 1970. Soviet dumping was prolific but poorly documented. This was banned internationally by a 1972 convention but could still have latent effects. Deaths and injuries from exposure to chemical agents have been recorded among fishermen. When militaries dumped chemical weapons into the oceans, little thought was given to whether they would stay in one place or be distributed by currents. In 2007, the Congressional Research Service prepared a report for Congress on dealing with future ramifications from the dumping. The latent effects remain to be seen.

Week in DC: Events 3.28-4.1.2016

by spopescu, posted in Events, Week In DC

Monday, March 28th, 2016
Enterprise Risk Management: A Form Of Organizational Self-Defense– Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA)
Time: 12:30-1:30pm
Location: The George Washington University School of Business2201 G St NW, Washington, DC 20052 (map)
Room 652
A disturbing pattern has hit too many companies and government agencies: Everything seems to be going well when suddenly news comes about a serious failure from deep in the organization. Depending on the organization, this might involve defective automobile airbags, or a failure of federal health services for veterans, or a massive data breach, for example. Public outrage follows swiftly and senior leaders are sent packing in favor of a new team that promises to conduct a full investigation and clean up the mess. Such incidents come to light with increasing frequency. Chastened by risks that emerge at unexpected times and in unexpected ways, leaders increasingly turn to a form of organizational self-defense known as Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). ERM builds on a simple question: looking at the organization as a whole, what are the risks that could prevent my company or government agency from accomplishing its mission? Thomas H. Stanton will discuss ERM, lessons from the Financial Crisis, and ERM’s applications to government organizations.

Tuesday, March 29th, 2016
Beyond The Nuclear Security Summits: The Role Of Centers Of Nuclear Security Excellence– Center for Strategic and International Studies
Time: 9:45am-noon
Location: Center for Strategic and International Studies1616 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 (map)
Please join the CSIS Proliferation Prevention Program as it explores  BEYOND THE NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMITS: THE ROLE OF CENTERS OF NUCLEAR SECURITY EXCELLENCE on March 29, from 9:45am – 12:00pm. In advance of the final Nuclear Security Summit, we will bring together leaders from three Centers of Excellence to share how their centers have helped build nuclear security in East Asia as well as discuss what the future may hold for them in the post-summit environment. Dr. Jongsook Kim, Director General of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control International Nuclear Nonproliferation and Security Academy,  Mr. Yosuke Naoi, Deputy Director of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency Integrated Support Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Nuclear Safety, and Mr. Zhenhua Xu (invited), Deputy Director General of China State Nuclear Security Technology Center will brief on the current status of their centers.

Meeting Today’s Global Security Challenges with General Joseph F. Dunford– Center for Strategic and International Studies
Time: 10-11am
Location: Center for Strategic and International Studies1616 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 (map)
Please join the Center for Strategic and International Studies for a Military Strategy Forum with the 19th Chairmain of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. Gen Duford will discuss how the Department of Defense is thinking about meeting all of today’s global security challenges. Continue reading “Week in DC: Events 3.28-4.1.2016” →

Pandora Report: 3.25.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Happy Friday! Ready for some global health security news? Down the rabbit hole we go….the FDA has just approved ANTHIM injection, a new treatment for inhalation anthrax in adults and children. Researchers are considering the possibility that the highly virulent E. coli O104:H4 strain that hit Germany in 2011 may have been an intentional act. “The sudden and unexplainable emerging of a fast increasing number of cases and deaths from bloody diarrhea and HUS might have been caused naturally, accidentally, or intentionally,” a Serbian-German research team writes in the European Journal of Public Health Advance Access for April 15.

The Finances of A Pandemic
From SARS to Ebola and now Zika, the growing threat of emerging infectious diseases doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Has this become our new normal? Will we learn from these outbreaks and start putting the resources and support into prevention? “Ebola has infected almost 30,000 people, killed more than 11,000 and cost more than $2 billion in lost output in the three hardest-hit countries. SARS infected 8,000 and killed 800; because it hit richer places, it cost more than $40 billion. Predicting these losses is hard, but a recent report on global health risks puts the expected economic losses from potential pandemics at around $60 billion a year.” So how do we defend against these international security threats? America’s National Academy of Medicine recently made the suggestion that $4.5 billion a year solely dedicated to pandemic preparedness and defense could halt this impending reality. Even more interesting? This estimate accounts to roughly 3% of what “rich countries spend on development aid”, while the world spends about $2 trillion annually on defense.

U.S. Biothreat Defense Inadequate
American response to Ebola and now Zika reveals a startling trend of slow response, inadequate supplies, and poor cooperation and coordination between agencies. Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper states that “Gaps in disease surveillance and reporting, limited health care resources, and other factors contributed to the outpacing of the international community’s response in West Africa,”. The National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) is one such agency that was developed in 2007 in attempts to “be a hub of information and coordination for federal agencies tracking disease and biological threats”, however it has been frustrated by poor relationships and sharing from other agencies like the CDC. In essence, agencies that are developed for global health security, like NBIC, suffer from poor cooperation that then trickles into their reputation and capabilities in the eyes of their federal partners. “Congress has put forth a potential legislative fix. The CBRNE Defense Act of 2015 would create a new office within DHS, the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives Office, which would place both NBIC and BioWatch under integrated new management.” Just as we reported from the Blue Ribbon Study Panel, federal biodefense efforts and resources need to be better organized and developed.

Rare Blood Infection Outbreak
Elizabethkingiam is currently causing dozens of cases in Wisconsin and now a Michigan resident is suffering from the bloodstream infection. The bacteria that causes the infection, Elizabethkingia meningoseptica, is commonly found in soil but has also caused infections in hospitals. Typical infections have resulted in bacteremia and neonatal meningitis related to the gram-negative bacillus, although it is naturally found in soil, fresh water, and salt water. Most of the 54 cases in Wisconsin have been in patients 65 years and older, of which 17 have died. Public health officials are working to identify the source of the outbreak and the links between the Michigan case and those in Wisconsin. The concerning aspects of this rising outbreak is also the difficulty in treating the organism and prevalence of multi-drug resistant organisms in seniors.

Complex Engineering by Violent Non-State Actors
Check out this special issue on complex engineering by violent non-state actors (VSNAs). “Why and how different VNSAs remain low-level and localized or undertake and achieve complex engineering tasks in pursuit of their objectives are at the heart of understanding the threat environment faced by states.” The authors address several terrorist groups like Aum Shinrikyo (the chapter was actually co-authored by GMU Biodefense Alum Benjamin Ash!), Hamas (also co-authored by GMU Biodefense Alum Alena James!), the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA), etc.  “The approach of this collection moves beyond weapons and embraces facilitating or logistical aspects that support the operations and objectives of the various actors”. This special edition, with an introduction by Jez Littlewood, reviews these organizations and their resources and strategies. The authors also consider the attitudes of leadership regarding innovation in detail to assess the role of complex engineering by VSNAs. Through this close look into the VSNA use of complex engineering, further research and preparedness can occur to understand the threats posed by these actors.

All Roads Lead to Zika 
Now that Spring has officially begun, the impending summer rains are right around the corner, and with those – mosquitoes. Many worry about the potential for local transmission in countries where imported cases have already been identified. The US isn’t immune to these concerns as the CDC reports 273 travel-related cases. Dr. Nabel mirrors the sentiments of Sanofi’s global R&D head, Dr. Elias Zherouni, who emphasizes the need for changes in global public health outbreak response. He notes that “we just run from one crisis to another. It’s not an optimal way to respond. Not when the stakes are so high and when so many people can either lose their lives or have their whole lives changed because of one five-day infection. That’s no way to protect the world’s population. We have to step back and we have to say, ‘Is there a more systematic way to gather the intelligence that we have about these viruses, recognize where they stand in terms of the threat level, and then develop a systematic program where, when the next Ebola outbreak occurs, it’s not that we haven’t done anything since the last outbreak, that we’ve actually moved things forward?’ That’s all possible. It’s just that we have not had the collective will to do it.” Panama has also announced their first case of microcephaly linked to Zika virus outside of Brazil. Chris Mooney from The Washington Post discusses why Zika virus, among other diseases, could disproportionally impact America’s poorer populations.  He notes that scientists have found that more mosquitoes are found in lower-income neighborhoods due to persistent trash and abandoned buildings, which creates a ripe environment for standing water and thus mosquito breeding. Researchers found that when compared to wealthier neighborhoods in New Jersey, “poverty was positively correlated with number of [Asian tiger mosquitoes] captured and accounted for over half the variation”. Many are saying that the “U.S. is botching the Zika fight” due to the problems within the FDA and the Agriculture Department regarding turf. “A genetically tweaked mosquito could stop the illness, but regulators won’t test it. Why would that be?” The combination of worrying reasons, like “budgetary concerns and antagonism to genetic engineering among some senior USDA officials”, leave many feeling that instead of getting ahead of the outbreak, “the U.S. is falling behind, solely because of bureaucratic muddle.” On the other hand, on Friday, the WHO rallied for pilot projects on two projects that would involve genetically modified mosquitoes to help stop the spread of Zika virus. In the meantime, the FDA gave emergency approval for a 3-in-1 test for Zika, Chikungunya, and Dengue.

Syria and the Future of the Chemical Weapons Taboo 

Courtesy of E-International Relations
Courtesy of E-International Relations

Brett Edwards and Mattia Cacciatori tackle the responses that the international security community has taken regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria and the resulting reinforcement of “a long standing prohibition norm.” The authors discuss the characteristics of chemical weapons taboo and and the significance that the international community gives to these weapons. “This alone does not support the claim episode has strengthened the global norm against chemical weapons. In this piece we have highlighted how this is not immediately apparent due to the fact that problem cases tend to be externalized from dominant institutional discourses, often justified in terms of the need to protect the sanctity of the chemical weapon norm, as well as those institution’s which embody the norm – especially the OPCW.” Overall, the more problematic cases, like those of incapacitating chemical agents, will grow to alter the existing foundation of chemical weapons norms if left ignored or unchecked.

New Ebola Flare Up
The west African Ebola outbreak is like a campfire that wasn’t put out properly – everyone thinks the flames are extinguished, but those hidden embers lurking in the ash end up causing a spark that leads to a massive forest fire. A fifth person has died from the recent flare in Guinea. The most recent death occurred in a man 200k from the initial four cases. Prior to this death, a young girl died from the village of Korokpara following her hospitalization in an Ebola treatment facility in Nzerekore. It’s still not clear how this specific surge began, but many worry about the lingering traces of the virus in the eyes, CNS, and bodily fluids. In response to the fifth death, Liberia has partially shut its borders. Emergency meetings are now underway and the WHO is sending specialist teams in to try and stop the outbreak before it grows beyond the 11,300 mortality count. On a positive note, Sierra Leone has gone two incubations periods (42 days) without a case, which means they’re Ebola-free since their last flare up.

GMU SPGIA Gettysburg Trip
GMU students interested in learning more about the battle of Gettysburg- the Center for Security Policy Studies (CSPS) will be hosting an informational session on April 6th from 4:30-6pm in Merten Hall 1203 regarding the April 9th trip! GMU students and staff will walk the battlefield, discussing the factors that caused the battle to unfold as it did. They will also link the battle into larger discussions about the causes of war and grand strategy.  The cost for the trip will be $35.  Bus transportation will be provided, and will pick up participants from both the Fairfax and Arlington campuses.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • U.N. Sued Over Haiti Cholera Outbreak– starting in October of 2014, Haiti was hit with an intense wave of cholera that is believed to have started with U.N. peacekeepers. “Poor sanitation at a U.N. camp for peacekeepers allowed cholera-contaminated sewage to enter a tributary of Haiti’s largest river, the Artibonite. Within days, hundreds of people downstream, like Jean-Clair Desir and his mother, were falling ill. The disease subsequently spread to the entire country.” The case is currently being reviewed in US courts and the lawsuit was brought forth by the Institute for Justice in Democracy, asking that the U.N. “end cholera by installing a national water and sanitation system; pay reparations to cholera victims and their families; and publicly apologize for bringing cholera to Haiti.”
  • Exploiting the Challenges to Bioweapons Development – Janne E. Nolan discusses GMU Biodefense Professor, Dr. Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley’s book, Barriers to Bioweapons, in regards to the misleading and often exaggerated notion of easy WMD development. Nolan discusses that understanding both the internal and external factors that impact BW program success would allow the international community to “devise better ways to realistically stem BW proliferation”. He notes that “Ben Ouagrham-Gormley’ s book is a fascinating study of the phenomenology of scientific knowledge, providing a compelling analysis of how knowledge is acquired, developed, transmitted, and, at the same time, diluted or lost as a result of organizational, social, economic, political, and ultimately very human factors that vary widely within countries and over time.” You can also access it here: Nolan final
  • Five Outbreaks That Stump Epidemiologists– As much as I’d love to say that all outbreaks are investigated and solved, the truth is that epidemiologists are often left with the nagging of an unresolved case. Outbreaks are squirrelly at best, often challenging even the best teams with confounders and biases. Here are some that have stumped public health teams over the years.
  • Lassa Fever Outbreak– Three people are suspected of having the viral infection after coming into contact with an infected American. The initial case was a medical director of a missionary hospital in Togo, who died last month. While there are conflicting reports of disease confirmation, several sources are saying the three contacts of this initial case have been diagnosed and are under observation. The outbreak in Nigeria and Benin has continued to grow, resulting in CDC travel warnings. In Nigeria there have been 254 cases and Benin has seen 71.

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Week in DC: Events 3.21-23.2016

by spopescu, posted in Events, Week In DC

Monday, March 21, 2016
Cybersecurity & Innovation: It’s The States, Stupid – Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Time: 11am-noon
Location: Woodrow Wilson Center1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004 (map)
Second term Governor John Hickenlooper will give a special talk about efforts in Colorado to address a rise in cyber threats while also driving innovation and creating jobs. As Federal support for cyber incidents begins to focus on the most high-level targets, leaving states and their businesses and non-profits to fend for themselves in the event of a breach, new solutions are necessary. The Governor will describe his state’s initiatives, including a new National Cyber Intelligence Center, which will provide training, incident response and serve as a resource for business, non-government organizations, and Colorado government officials. Why does it matter and what will it do? Speakers: The Honorable John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado Jane Harman, Director, President and CEO, Wilson Center

A Global Reality Check On Nuclear Security– Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Time: 12:30-2pm
Location: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 (map)
Much progress has been made in recent years to prevent the theft of weapons-useable nuclear material around the world, but some of these materials remain dangerously vulnerable. At a time of rising risk from the self-proclaimed Islamic State and other groups, governments must redouble their efforts to prevent nuclear weapons from getting into the hands of terrorists. Ahead of the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, a new report presents a stark choice: will the world recommit to continuous improvement in strengthening nuclear security, or will efforts decline and the danger of nuclear terrorism grow? Matthew Bunn, Martin Malin, Nickolas Roth, and William Tobey of the Harvard Belfer Center’s Project on Managing the Atom will launch the new report, Nuclear Security: A Global Reality Check. Carnegie’s Toby Dalton will moderate.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Advanced Analytics To Combat Cyber Threats- Government Executive
Time: 2pm
Location: Online
As one of the most digitally connected countries in the world, the United States is incredibly vulnerable to a range of cyber attacks. Adversaries use a variety of stealthy techniques, including sophisticated advanced persistent threats or “APT’s.” APT’s are very difficult to detect once inside a network as they employ a high degree of covertness over extended periods of time. Worse yet, they are becoming more common as the socially engineered spear phishing techniques used to initiate these attacks are becoming more personalized to human targets; spoofing even the most savvy users and allowing malware to infiltrate, obfuscate and exfiltrate your most sensitive data. CISO’s wage a 24/7 defense, working to keep potential threats out of their system while listening for those subtle system anomalies indicating they may already have an APT intruder. This Webcast explores the critical issue of how best to equip your agency with powerful cyber and big data analytics to spot even the most inconspicuous network activities and identify and isolate threats, investigate intrusions, and prevent future exploits.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
GMU SPGIA Master’s Open House 
Time: 6:30pm, 7pm Biodefense Breakout Session
Location: Arlington Campus, Founders Hall, Room 126
We invite you to attend an open house to learn more about the School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs. 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. Biodefense information session can also be attended virtually – here!  Continue reading “Week in DC: Events 3.21-23.2016” →

Pandora Report: 3.18.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stories You May Have Missed:

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

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Pandora Report 3.11.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stories You May Have Missed:

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

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Week in DC: Events 3.7-3.11.2016

by spopescu, posted in Events, Week In DC

Monday, March 7th, 2016
Dark Territory : The Secret History Of Cyber War– New America Foundation
Time: 12:15-1:45pm
Location: New America740 15th Street NW, Suite 900 Washington, DC 20005 (map)
For all the headlines about cyber warfare as a new type of conflict, it in fact dates back nearly 50 years, to the very birth of the Internet. In his new book Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War, Fred Kaplan—drawing on interviews with more than 100 participants in the story (including six NSA directors)—traces the evolution of cyber warfare in every US conflict since the 1991 Gulf War—and warns of the unexplored dangers ahead. And while most news stories on cyber attacks focus on Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, the first and still most serious hacks were mounted—and the first ideas about cyber war were conceived—by the United States. Fred Kaplan is the national-security columnist for Slate and the author of four other books , including The Wizards of Armageddon, 1959, Daydream Believers, and, most recentlyThe Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War, which was a New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize finalist. A former Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter for The Boston Globe, he graduated from Oberlin College and earned a PhD from MIT. New America is pleased to welcome Mr. Kaplan for a discussion of his book and the secret history of cyber war.

Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, National Security Council Director On Iran At GW!– Elliott School of International Affairs
Time: 7-9pm
Location: Elliott School of International Affairs1957 E Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20052 (map)
Sahar Nowrouzzadeh, a GW alumna, is a Director on Iran at the National Security Council. She was involved in the negotiations of the Iran- Nuclear deal and will be answering student questions about her life and experiences.

Tuesday, March 8th, 2016
Pathways To Resilience: Evidence From Africa On Links Between Conflict Management And Resilience To Food Security Shocks– Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Time: 3-5pm
Location: Woodrow Wilson Center1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004 (map)
Household food security is gravely affected by economic and climate-related shocks. A series of new research studies conducted by Mercy Corps in the Horn of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria argue that strengthening conflict management systems helps build resilience to those shocks. On March 8, Daniel Alemu, Chief of Party for Mercy Corps’ ‘Communities Helping Their Environment and Land by Bridging Interests’ program, and Jon Kurtz, Mercy Corps director of research and learning, will present the findings of the research and what it means for development and humanitarian policy. Following their presentations, experts on conflict, development, food security, and resilience will share their thoughts on the implications for cross-sectoral programming and efforts to bolster resilience in climate-affected areas. Want to attend but can’t? Tune into the live or archived webcast at WilsonCenter.org (not every event is webcast live; archived webcasts go up approximately one day after the meeting date). Continue reading “Week in DC: Events 3.7-3.11.2016” →

Pandora Report: 3.4.2016

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

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

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

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

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

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

Stories You May Have Missed:

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

Week in DC: Events 2.29-3.4.2016

by spopescu, posted in Events, Week In DC

Monday, February 29, 2016
Humanity In War: Adapting To The Urban Theater- American Red Cross IHL
Time: 9:30-11am
Location: American National Red Cross430 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20006 (map) Room: Board of Governors
An estimated ten civilians die for every one fighter killed in battle. Cities are frequently becoming combat zones and with an expected 6.3 billion people living in cities by 2050 it is important to consider how IHL adapts to the rising prevalence of urban warfare. Join us for an in-depth discussion on distinction, proportionality, and other challenges in this changing realm of armed conflict. RSVP HERE

Better Together? Exploring The Proposal For A Pooled Fund For Global Health Research And Development– O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law
Time: 11am-12:30pm
Location: Georgetown Law Center600 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington, DC (map)
Room: 600 New Jersey Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20001
On January 1, 2016, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) entered into force, setting an ambitious new global agenda to end all forms of poverty, fight inequality, and tackle climate change. In order to reach such ambitious goals, it is clear that new tools and techniques are sorely needed. Achieving the health-related SDGs will depend on new R&D to combat emerging infectious diseases, turn the tide against existing epidemics, and stay ahead of the rise of drug resistance.
Join GHTC and the O’Neill Institute for a webinar/panel discussion to learn more about proposals for a pooled fund for global health R&D. Panelists will explain current proposals and discuss the ways in which such a fund could be a vital resource in achieving the SDGs. To RSVP to attend the panel discussion or to watch the webinar, click here.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Strengthening National Security By Protecting Public Health- Georgetown Law
Time: 9am-5pm
Location: Gewirz Student Center120 F St NW, Washington, DC 20001 (map)
Room: Gewirz 12th Floor
The Journal of National Security Law & Policy, the Center, and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, are pleased to present the JNSLP 2016 symposium. The keynote speech will be offered by Prof. Lawrence Gostin, Faculty Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, on“Global Health Security in an Era of Explosive Pandemic Potential: Lessons from SARS and MERS to Ebola and Zika.” Please RSVP here. 

Wednesday, March 2, 2016Biodefense_133x400
GMU Biodefense Course Sampler- “Biosecurity as a Wicked Problem”
Time: 7pm
Location: George Mason Arlington Campus, Founders Hall, room 502
If you’re on the fence about going back to school, curious about our program, or just want to hear what a class in biodefense would be like, check out our course sampler on Wednesday, March 2nd, at 7pm, in our Arlington Campus in Founders Hall, Room 502. “The United States and the world face unprecedented threats to global biosecurity, including emerging infectious diseases, pandemics, natural disasters, bioterrorism, and laboratory accidents. Find out about the challenges posed by these threats and strategies for enhancing global health security.” How many times can you sample a course from not only an expert in the field, but also the director of the program? Dr. Koblentz will be your host for this evening lecture on biodefense, dual-use research, CRISPR-Cas9, biosecurity, and much more. Can’t attend in person? Don’t worry – we’re also live-streaming here. Come join us for a look behind the curtain of not only our GMU graduate programs, but also the world of global health security. Continue reading “Week in DC: Events 2.29-3.4.2016” →