This week’s Pandora Report covers the United States’ designation of the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, a new strategic dialogue between the United States and the United Kingdom to combat biological threats, and more.
Houthis Added to US List of Specially Designated Global Terrorist Groups
The US Department of State announced this week that Ansarallah, commonly known as the Houthis, has been designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group. This will enter into effect on February 16. In the press statement on the designation, the Department said “Since November, the Houthis have launched unprecedented attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as military forces positioned in the area to defend the safety and security of commercial shipping. These attacks against international shipping have endangered mariners, disrupted the free flow of commerce, and interfered with navigational rights and freedoms. This designation seeks to promote accountability for the group’s terrorist activities. If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will reevaluate this designation.”
“The Houthis must be held accountable for their actions, but it should not be at the expense of Yemeni civilians. As the Department of State moves forward with this designation, we are taking significant steps to mitigate any adverse impacts this designation may have on the people of Yemen. During the 30-day implementation delay, the U.S. government will conduct robust outreach to stakeholders, aid providers, and partners who are crucial to facilitating humanitarian assistance and the commercial import of critical commodities in Yemen. The Department of the Treasury is also publishing licenses authorizing certain transactions related to the provision of food, medicine, and fuel, as well as personal remittances, telecommunications and mail, and port and airport operations on which the Yemeni people rely.”
Mahmut Cengiz, an Assistant Professor at George Mason University, published an in-depth overview of the group and their previous designation on the list for Homeland Security Today just before the State Department’s announcement. In addition to outlining the organization’s connection to Iran and other Iranian-backed terrorist organizations, Cengiz covers previous attacks by the Houthis and the complicated situation in Yemen, writing “The civil war in Yemen has morphed into proxy wars for states and their surrogate organizations to pursue their interests. Much like the ongoing civil war in Syria that involves many parties, the Yemeni conflict involves several states (Iran and Saudi Arabia) and non-state actors – including surrogate organizations for the states, terrorist organizations, and rebel groups. Several of them are Houthis, Al Qaeda In the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), ISIS’s affiliate in Yemen, the Southern Transitional Council backed by UAE, and the southern separatist groups. This diverse mix of participants makes it difficult to determine which states and groups are involved and what they hope to achieve by inserting themselves into the Yemeni civil war.”
Cengiz concludes his piece with a warning about the organization and the threat it poses to Yemeni civilians and broader security concerns, writing “To conclude, given the capacity of the Houthis to commit violent acts and the involvement of regional powers in the conflict in Yemen, it would not be wrong to conclude that the Yemeni conflict and the death of innocent Yemeni civilians will continue. Houthis will be a strong pawn in the game played by Tehran and serve the interests of its regime in the region. The United States removed Houthis from the list of FTOs due to humanitarian concerns in 2021, but its growing threat in the region has pushed Houthis to knock on the door of the terrorist list.”
United States and United Kingdom Announce Strategic Partnership to Tackle Biological Threats
The governments of the United States and the United Kingdom announced the creation of a new strategic dialogue on biological security this week. The White House said in a press release, “Building on the June 10, 2021 New Atlantic Charter and the June 8, 2023 Atlantic Declaration on Economic Security, the U.S. National Security Council and the UK Cabinet Office announced a new Strategic Dialogue on Biological Security during a launch event today.”
“Underpinned by the UK Biological Security Strategy and the U.S. National Biodefense Strategy, this Strategic Dialogue reflects a shared ambition to bolster future heath and economic resilience against a growing and diverse spectrum of biological threats.”
“The Strategic Dialogue reaffirms both nations’ commitment to increase collaboration in the following ways:
- Develop a shared understanding of research and development (R&D) needs at the onset of new disease outbreaks, allowing for improved responsiveness by shaping global R&D efforts and supporting early technology assessments.
- Adopt a One Health approach to biosurveillance and biological threat detection, in support of international efforts to develop stronger and more interconnected global surveillance capabilities.
- Pursue the development of new tools and methodologies for microbial forensics and attribution.
- Promote responsible innovation in the biotechnology, health, and life sciences sectors, shaping global norms and standards on biosafety and biosecurity while simultaneously protecting burgeoning bio-economies.
- Facilitate the development of next-generation vaccines and therapeutics, in line with the 100-Days Mission vision supported by G7 leaders in Carbis Bay in 2021 and reaffirmed at the 2023 G7 Summit in Hiroshima.
- Strengthen coordination of efforts to counter biological threats, including developing joint measures to address Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention compliance.”
The Cabinet Office added in its own press release, “Announced as part of a joint statement by the UK Cabinet Office and White House National Security Council, the Strategic Dialogue builds on the UK’s position as a global thought-leader on biological security and strengthens our commitment to work with like-minded partners to build international consensus and collaboration towards strengthened global resilience and threat deterrence.”
“In further efforts to strengthen the UK’s biosecurity capabilities, the Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden also announced a £2 million uplift for the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Respiratory Metagenomics Project, which uses genetic sequencing to detect pathogens and improve patient outcomes while providing crucial data sources to support surveillance of new and emerging diseases.”
Scientists Are Exploring How Chrysalis-Based “Living Bioreactors” May Accelerate Production of New Vaccines
A recent news update from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations explains that “Scientists in Spain are to investigate whether moth chrysalises infected with an insect virus known as a baculovirus could act as ‘living bioreactors’ in a new rapid vaccine production technique to help protect people faster from pandemic threats.”
The piece continues, explaining “In a project funded with a CEPI award of up to $3.14 million, researchers at Algenex, a Spanish biotech company, will further develop their chrysalis-based baculovirus vaccine platform technology, known as CrisBio®. The aim of the project is to conduct a pre-clinical proof of concept study for a vaccine against influenza, and to demonstrate CrisBio’s potential application for rapid and large-scale human vaccine production.”
“By enabling swift scalability and early large-scale production of viral antigens needed for vaccines, Algenex’s CrisBio® technology could bypass the need for smaller, iterative bioreaction processes and regulations, potentially expediting vaccine production timelines. The CEPI-Algenex partnership supports the 100 Days Mission – a goal embraced by leaders of the G7 and G20 to reduce new vaccine development timelines to 100 Days in response to a potential pandemic disease threat.”
Learn more here.
“What to Know About JN.1, the Latest Omicron Variant”
Aliza Rosen and Melissa Hartman cover all things JN.1 with Andy Pekosz in this piece from Johns Hopkins SPH: “In early November 2023, the JN.1 variant caused less than 5% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Now it is estimated to cause more than 60% of them. Virologists including Andy Pekosz, PhD, a professor in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, are paying attention.”
“Here, Pekosz explains what virologists are seeing, what this new variant means for case rates and treatments, and why it’s so important for more people to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine rolled out this fall.”
Read more here.
“How Much Less to Worry About Long COVID Now”
Katherine J. Wu tackles the still present threat of Long COVID in this piece for The Atlantic, writing in part, “Compared with the worst days of the pandemic—when vaccines and antivirals were nonexistent or scarce, when more than 10,000 people around the world were dying each day, when long COVID largely went unacknowledged even as countless people fell chronically ill—the prognosis for the average infection with this coronavirus has clearly improved.”
“In the past four years, the likelihood of severe COVID has massively dropped. Even now, as the United States barrels through what may be its second-largest wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections, rates of death remain near their all-time low. And although tens of thousands of Americans are still being hospitalized with COVID each week, emergency rooms and intensive-care units are no longer routinely being forced into crisis mode. Long COVID, too, appears to be a less common outcome of new infections than it once was.”
“Global Risks Report 2024”
From the World Economic Forum: “The Global Risks Report explores some of the most severe risks we may face over the next decade, against a backdrop of rapid technological change, economic uncertainty, a warming planet and conflict. As cooperation comes under pressure, weakened economies and societies may only require the smallest shock to edge past the tipping point of resilience.”
ICYMI: “The Panzootic Spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Sublineage 2.3.4.4b: A Critical Appraisal of One Health Preparedness and Prevention”
From WHO: “With the world gradually recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to think forward when it comes to prevention of infectious disease outbreaks originating from the animal world.”
“There has been a huge body of work on the early detection and response to emerging disease outbreaks following spillover of animal viruses to humans, but far less focus on primary prevention. Primary prevention starts before the first cases of human illness occur, but its implementation is challenging. It requires a focus on understanding underlying principles of disease emergence, and the prevention of spillovers through a One Health approach across human, animal and environmental health sectors. Therefore, in addition to the public health concerns that are currently already widely addressed, One Health requires a focus also on biodiversity conservation and environmental impacts, wildlife health, and livestock production and consumption, and both wild and domestic animal health and welfare concerns. The recent unprecedented shift in the ecology of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) illustrates this need.”
Read here.
“New NIH Chief Opens Up About Risky Pathogens, Postdoc Salaries and the Year Ahead”
Nature interviewed Monica Bertagnolli in this recent piece for Nature News focused on how the new NIH head plans to make progress in such a challenging political environment. The introduction explains: “Monica Bertagnolli took charge of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) — the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research — in November, giving the agency a permanent director for the first time in nearly two years. Her predecessor, Francis Collins, was known for his agency-wide initiatives on genomics and precision medicine, but Bertagnolli says she would like to make her mark by advancing health-care delivery and transforming how researchers use and share data, among other things.”
“However, the US presidential election this year could usher in a new government, meaning that Bertagnolli might have only a limited time to accomplish her goals. And researchers say she faces other challenges: trust in science took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, congressional investigations continue into the NIH’s response to the massive outbreak and the agency’s US$47-billion budget is likely to remain stagnant in 2024.”
Read more here.
“A Potential CFATS-trophe”
Joseph Gedeon demonstrates pun mastery in this edition of Politico’s cybersecurity newsletter covering Congress’ failure to re-authorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards. Gedeon writes in part, “It’s been about six months since the nation’s chemical security shield vanished, and now industry and agency officials are banding together today to push Congress to restore the regulation as part of this year’s must-pass spending bills.”
“And in the shadow of a war threatening expansion in the Middle East, anxieties are mounting about the vulnerability of the nation’s potentially weaponizable materials sitting overexposed — all which could be within reach for some of America’s foreign adversaries.”
Gedeon by explaining some challenges CFATS faced, writing “While the program is important, it needs some updates “to justify its monumental historical price tag,” Brian Harrell, CISA’s former assistant director for infrastructure security under the Trump administration, told POLITICO’s Matt Berg. CFATS was last approved with a $74 million budget.”
“Harrell adds that the threat of terrorism is overhyped since there haven’t been any major disasters at such facilities or other high-risk places that don’t use the program.”
‘“The idea that the lack of a terrorist screening database is putting the country at risk is a stretch given that other critical sectors screen without this tool just fine.”’
Read more here.
“Alarm Sounded Over Declining US Radiation Professional Workforce”
David Kramer recently published this article in Physics Today covering the decline of interest in different radiation specialties, including health physics, radiation biology, medical physics and radiology, nuclear engineering, and radiochemistry. Kramer explains in his introduction, “The exact size of the professional radiation workforce is hard to determine, in part because of its fragmentation among different fields and its sometimes ambiguous definitions and qualifications. The JACMP review, which took the authors seven years to complete on a pro bono basis, includes estimates that vary in fidelity depending on the field; some of the radiation specialties do not keep figures at all.”
Read more here.
The Bull Dog DetectiveL William J. Flynn and America’s First War Against the Mafia, Spies, and Terrorists
Jeffrey D. Simon recently published this book covering the life of William J. Flynn, the former Director of the Bureau of Investigation (the predecessor to the FBI): “America in the early twentieth century was rife with threats. Organized crime groups like the Mafia, German spies embedded behind enemy lines ahead of World War I, package bombs sent throughout the country, and the 1920 Wall Street bombing dominated headlines. Yet the story of the one man tasked with combating these threats has yet to be told. The Bulldog Detective: William J. Flynn and America’s First War Against the Mafia, Spies, and Terrorists is the first book to tell the story of Flynn, the first government official to bring down the powerful Mafia, uncover a sophisticated German spy ring in the United States, and launch a formal war on terrorism on his way to becoming one of the most respected and effective law enforcement officials in American history.”
“Long before Eliot Ness and the Untouchables went after Al Capone and the Italian mob in Chicago, Flynn dismantled the first Mafia family to exist in America. Next stop for the indefatigable crime fighter would be Chief of the Secret Service where he would set his crosshairs on the country’s most notorious currency counterfeiters. Coined “the Bulldog” for his tenacity, Flynn’s fame soared as he exposed Kaiser Germany’s sophisticated spy and sabotage ring on the cusp of America’s entry into World War I. As the Director of the Bureau of Investigation (the forerunner of the FBI), the Bulldog would devise the first counterterrorist strategy in U.S. history. In this riveting biography, author Jeffrey D. Simon brings to life the forgotten saga of one of America’s greatest crime and terrorist fighters. Exquisitely researched, The Bulldog Detective finally uncovers the important legacy of this fascinating man who will now no longer be lost in history.”
What We’re Watching 🍿
New Video Series on Promoting Chemical Security
New from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute: “SIPRI is pleased to launch a new video series that explores ways of strengthening the global regime to promote chemical security. The series features interviews with chemical weapons experts.”
“The interviews were conducted during an expert workshop at SIPRI in Stockholm in November 2023, which was part of a project on strengthening the norm against chemical weapon use and promoting the effective implementation of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The event was convened to facilitate dialogue among stakeholders in the CWC regime, officials and experts from relevant fields of expertise.”
“The workshop, undertaken with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discussed the status of the CWC regime, including challenges and opportunities in the contemporary security environment. The workshop considered how stakeholders can strengthen the normative and legal dimensions of the regime and enhance national implementation including by bolstering the work of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The workshop also considered the difficulties presented by fast-moving scientific and technological developments in chemistry and explored the role of the newly opened OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology in this context.”
“The findings of the project will be presented in a paper being published by SIPRI early this year.”
Learn more and watch here.
NEW: 2024 Respiratory Trends: Navigating the Threat of RSV, Influenza, and COVID-19
From Bluedot: “As we enter the new year, concerns are echoing from health officials about the growing triple threat: the combined surge of COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounded the alarm with a notable uptick in emergency room visits attributed to COVID-19 and influenza. At the same time, RSV infections remain a significant threat, especially to vulnerable groups such as infants and the elderly.”
“As hospital visits rise, how concerned should we be?”
“Understanding the latest respiratory disease trends is critical to safeguarding public health.”
“Join Andrea Thomas, PhD, DVM, Head of Epidemiology, Anindita Marwah, MPH, Sr. Epidemiologist, and Josephine De Leon, MMASc, Enablement Specialist in Epidemiology, as they navigate the respiratory season and provide insights on:
- Current respiratory patterns and predictions for the upcoming season
- The trends that pose the greatest risk and deserve your focus
- The role COVID-19 is playing and variants of concern
- Key risk factors and strategies for an optimized approach”
This event will take place on Wednesday, January 24, at 11 am ET. Register here.
NEW: International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat to Host Launch Event for Third Annual Implementation Report
From IPPS: “On Wednesday the 24th of January 2024, the IPPS will host a launch event to explore the findings of the third 100 Days Mission annual implementation report. This report is a ‘pulse check’ for how close the world is to achieving the 100 Days Mission, which outlines the progress made in 2023, the barriers to action, and opportunities to overcome them, including leveraging investments that are complementary to tackling other global health issues.”
“This event will:
1. Publicly launch the third implementation report for the 100 Days Mission, sharing its key findings and areas for action in 2024;
2. Explore and explain how the 100 Days Mission can be implemented at the global, regional and national level;
3. Convene partners from all sectors for practical discussions on implementing proposed 2024 priorities”
Learn more and register here.
NEW: Beyond the SCIF: Biosecurity and the Weaponization of Artificial Intelligence
From the Ronald Reagan Institute: “The rapid, global spread of the COVID-19 virus exposed the fragility of pandemic warning systems and response mechanisms in America and around the world. Our lack of preparedness for the next biosecurity threat leaves us vulnerable to adversaries pursuing biological weapons programs, especially with access to advanced capabilities like artificial intelligence and machine learning.”
“While AI promises to accelerate breakthroughs in science and public health, it also threatens to democratize technology that can make it easier to create and use deadly bioweapons. To prove a point, scientists have tasked large language models and other AI software to pull from massive amounts of open-source data and invent lethal novel pathogen strains in a matter of hours. As this technology and other powerful tools like gene editing proliferate, our biodefense is increasingly at risk—both at the hands of strategic competitors like China in its race for AI and biotech dominance and from non-state actors that can now harness technology to design bioweapons without sophisticated bioengineering expertise.”
“The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Ronald Reagan Institute’s National Security Innovation Base Program will gather a panel of experts for “Beyond the SCIF: Biosecurity and the Weaponization of Artificial Intelligence” to discuss the threats to our biosecurity posed by technologies like AI, the state of our biodefense, and what concrete actions policymakers can take in light of these new vulnerabilities.”
“The panel will be moderated by Congressman Brad Wenstrup, OH-02, who serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and Chairs the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, and will feature panelists Mr. Hirsh Jain, Head of Public Health at Palantir Technologies; Dr. Michelle Rozo, Vice Chair of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology; Senator Jim Talent, Former Vice Chair of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism and Advisory Board Member of the RRI National Security Innovation Base Program; and the Hon. Ken Wainstein, Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security.”
This event will take place on Thursday, January 25, at 11 am ET. Learn more and register here.
NEW: GP Nonproliferation and Strategic Trade Hub Virtual Launch & Demo
“The Strategic Trade Research Institute (STRI) invites you to participate in the Global Partnership Nonproliferation and Strategic Trade Hub Virtual Launch and Demo event taking place on February 27, 2024, from 9:00-10:00 am EST.”
“Please join us to learn about the main features of the Hub, how to use it, and how it can be useful and impactful for nonproliferation and export control professionals. The event will feature Andrea Viski, Director of STRI, as well as introductory remarks from the Hub’s sponsor, the United Kingdom’s Counter-proliferation and Arms Control Center (CPACC).”
Learn more and register here.
“When Medicine Stops Saving Us: The Antimicrobial Resistance Crisis”
“Interim Dean Abel Valenzuela and the UCLA Division of Social Sciences present an exclusive screening of a new documentary from the team behind the award winning NETFLIX documentary, RESISTANCE. This genre-bending short film, HOLOBIOME, features the harrowing story of UCLA graduate Bradley Burnam’s personal encounter with a deadly superbug. Through a variety of creative elements, HOLOBIOME examines the need for innovation in AMR and questions the overall human relationship with infectious disease and the microbial world. The screening will be followed by an interdisciplinary panel discussing the looming AMR crisis through the lenses of sociology, public policy, industry, and public health.”
This event will be moderated by Biodefense PhD Program alumna Jomana Musmar. It will take place on January 22, at 5 pm PST. Learn more and register here.
AI Executive Order Report Card Reviewing the First 90 Days
“On October 30, 2023, the Biden Administration issued a call to action outlining a host of requirements and deliverables for U.S. government agencies on artificial intelligence. The executive order touched on a range of AI-relevant issues, including testing and evaluation of new AI systems, developing a healthy and capable U.S. AI workforce, and ensuring U.S. competitiveness in the years to come.”
“Join CSET researchers on January 31, 2024, for a discussion of what the U.S. Government has accomplished so far, what have we learned, and what’s left to do to complete the EO’s ambitious goals.”
This online event will begin at 12 pm EST. Learn more and register here.
International Conference, CBRNE Research & Innovation
“The last 40 years have demonstrated that both military and civilian populations could be exposed to highly hazardous CBRNE agents following conflicts, natural outbreaks and disasters, industrial incidents or terrorist attacks.”
“Worldwide, researchers, responders and industrial capacities have been commited to provide adapted response to these challenges.”
“Building on the success of the first 5 International Conferences « CBRNE Research and Innovation » which took place in Antibes (2015), Lyon (2017), Nantes (2019), on line (2021) and Lille (2022), we want to give you a new opportunity to build up or strengthen collaborative networks in Strabourg (March 19th – 21rst 2024).”
“The CBRNE R&I Conference is specifically devoted to scientific updates, responders’ feedbacks and expression of needs. It also includes workshops and demonstrations of innovative materials, technologies and procedures, according to the following themes: DETECTION – IDENTIFICATION, PROTECTION – DECONTAMINATION, MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES, RISKS & CRISIS MANAGEMENT.”
“Looking forward to your proposals for communication and to welcoming you at Strasbourg in March 2024!”
Learn more here.
Registration for GHS 2024 Now Open
Registration is now open for the Global Health Security 2024 conference in Sydney, Australia. This iteration will take place 18-21 June, 2024. The call for abstracts is also still open. “The mission of the Global Health Security conference is to provide a forum where leaders, researchers, policy-makers, and representatives from government, international organisations, civil society, and private industry from around the world can engage with each other, review the latest research and policy innovations, and agree solutions for making the world safer and healthier. To that end, our mission is to help foster a genuinely multidisciplinary community of practice that is committed to working collaboratively to enhance global health security and eliminate disease, irrespective of its origin or source.”
The Pandora Report 