Tag: Washington DC

Pandora Report: 8.23.2019

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Welcome to your favorite source for biodefense nerdom! We hope your week was wonderful and you’re ready for a dose of health security news…

STEM: An Open Source Tool for Disease Modeling
Have you been looking for a good epidemiological modeling software? Lucky for you, there’s STEM (Spatiotemporal Epidemiologic Modeler) and one of GMU’s very own biodefense doctoral alums, Nereyda Sevilla, was part of a team who published on how great this software is. “The Spatiotemporal Epidemiologic Modeler (STEM) is an open source software project supported by the Eclipse Foundation and used by a global community of researchers and public health officials working to track and, when possible, control outbreaks of infectious disease in human and animal populations. STEM is not a model or a tool designed for a specific disease; it is a flexible, modular framework supporting exchange and integration of community models, reusable plug-in components, and denominator data, available to researchers worldwide at www.eclipse.org/stem. A review of multiple projects illustrates its capabilities. STEM has been used to study variations in transmission of seasonal influenza in Israel by strains; evaluate social distancing measures taken to curb the H1N1 epidemic in Mexico City; study measles outbreaks in part of London and inform local policy on immunization; and gain insights into H7N9 avian influenza transmission in China. A multistrain dengue fever model explored the roles of the mosquito vector, cross-strain immunity, and antibody response in the frequency of dengue outbreaks. STEM has also been used to study the impact of variations in climate on malaria incidence. During the Ebola epidemic, a weekly conference call supported the global modeling community; subsequent work modeled the impact of behavioral change and tested disease reintroduction via animal reservoirs. Work in Germany tracked salmonella in pork from farm to fork; and a recent doctoral dissertation used the air travel feature to compare the potential threats posed by weaponizing infectious diseases. Current projects include work in Great Britain to evaluate control strategies for parasitic disease in sheep, and in Germany and Hungary, to validate the model and inform policy decisions for African swine fever. STEM Version 4.0.0, released in early 2019, includes tools used in these projects and updates technical aspects of the framework to ease its use and re-use.”

GMU Biodefense Fall Courses – Are You Registered?
The start of the Fall semester is just around the corner and if you’re a GMU biodefense graduate student, you’ve got a great menu of courses this term. There are still open spots in three courses – Global Health Security Policy taught by Ashley Grant (lead biotechnologist at the MITRE Corporation and previously the Senior Biological Scientist at the Government Accountability Office where she led government-wide technical performance audits focused on biosafety and biosecurity issues), Nonproliferation and Arms Control with Richard Cupitt (Senior Associate and Director of the Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention program at Stimson and prior to joining Stimson, he served as the Special Coordinator for U.N. Security Council resolution 1540 in the Office of Counterproliferation Initiatives at the U.S. State Department from 2012 through 2016.), and Biosurveillance with Andrew Kilianski (GMU professor and CINO for the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense JPEO-CBRND). These are just a handful of the classes but since there are a few spots left in each, now is your change to grab a seat!

GMU Biodefense MS and PhD Open Houses
Have you been considering investing in your education and career through a graduate degree in biodefense? Check out one of our Schar School Open Houses to get a feel for what the MS and PhD programs are like – you can chat with faculty, students, and learn more about the coursework and application process. The Master’s Open House will be at 6:30pm on Thursday, September 12th, and the PhD Open House will be at 7pm on Thursday, September 19th – both will be held at our Arlington campus in Van Metre Hall.

Ebola Outbreak – New Cases in Remote Areas 
Late last week two remote regions in the DRC reported cases of Ebola virus disease – North and South Kivu, of which there hadn’t been cases for several incubation periods. Moreover, there were 27 cases reported over 3 days, bringing the outbreak closer to 2,900. “According to Reuters, DRC officials today confirmed a new case of Ebola in the remote, militia-controlled territory of Walikale, which is 95 miles northwest of Goma. Goma recorded four cases of Ebola in the last 6 weeks, and it is unclear if the case in Walikale had any contact with other Ebola patients. Reuters also reported the DRC confirmed a third case in South Kivu region, which reported its first case late last week. South Kivu is more than 430 miles from the outbreak’s epicenter. The first cases in South Kivu were a mother and child who were likely exposed in Beni. For almost a year, the DRC’s Ebola outbreak—the second largest in history—was contained to North Kivu and Ituri provinces along the country’s eastern border.” Unfortunately, there has also been transmission within healthcare facilities where patients are being treated, as infection control is increasingly a challenge. “The World Health Organization (WHO) said today the third case of Ebola identified in South Kivu province was in a patient who contracted the virus at a health center where other Ebola patients had been treated. The details on the nosocomial transmission emerged in the WHO’s latest situation report on the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In the past week, two more DRC regions far from outbreak hot spots have reported cases: South Kivu province and Pinga health zone, which is in North Kivu province. The WHO is still investigating how the case-patient in Pinga contracted the virus, but investigations have shown a mother and child in Mwenga, South Kivu, became infected after contact with a patient from Beni, the city most hard hit by the outbreak this summer. The two towns are about 473 miles apart, and South Kivu province shares a border with Rwanda and Burundi.” The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is helping via $23 million funding towards Merck’s Ebola vaccine production. The WHO also just released their list of eight lessons being applied to the DRC outbreak in a “Ebola then and now” segment. This list includes things like putting research at the heart of response and supporting survivors.

Syria: Anniversary of the Ghouta Chemical Weapons Attack
The U.S. State Department recently released a statement on the attack that occurred six years ago. “On August 21, 2013, the Assad regime launched a horrific chemical attack with the nerve agent sarin on the Ghouta district in Damascus – killing more than 1,400 Syrians, many of them children. On this solemn anniversary we remember the numerous lives lost to the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons.  We reiterate our resolve to prevent further use of these deadly weapons and to hold the Assad regime accountable for these heinous crimes. The regime’s barbaric history of using chemical weapons against its own people cannot and will not be forgotten or tolerated. Assad and others in his regime who believe they can continue using chemical weapons with impunity are mistaken.  The United States remains determined to hold the Assad regime accountable for these heinous acts and will continue to pursue all efforts alongside partner countries to ensure that those involved in chemical attacks face serious consequences.  We will continue to leverage all of the tools available to us to prevent any future use. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons anywhere, by anyone, under any circumstances.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Packed Dorms Help MERS Transmission – Crowded living spaces and a high stress environment encouraged the transmission of a respiratory virus? Shocker… “New findings from an investigation into a large MERS-CoV cluster in a women’s dormitory revealed that crowded living conditions can lead to higher attack rates and hints that even healthcare workers who don’t directly care for patients can play a role in disease spread. In other developments, Saudi Arabia reported one new MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case.”
  • NIH Study to Offer Genetic Counseling – “A US government study that aims to sequence the genomes of one million volunteers will partner with a genetic-counselling company to help participants understand their results. It will be the largest US government study to provide such a service. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is leading the project, called All of Us. And on 21 August, the agency announced the award of a US$4.6-million, 5-year grant to Color. The firm, in Burlingame, California, will counsel every study participant with a genetic variant that could have serious health implications — such as BRCA mutations associated with breast cancer — when they receive their results. Color will also develop educational materials for all study participants, and will offer telephone consultations to anyone who wishes to discuss their results with a counsellor.”

 

Pandora Report: 7.26.2019

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

 Summer Workshop on Bioterrorism, Pandemics, and Global Health Security – A Recap
“The spectrum of biological threats is often much wider than many realize. From the current Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to CRISPR-designed babies, there are a lot of biological issues that trickle over into health care and public health. This week, I attended the Summer Workshop on Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Global Health Security: From Anthrax to Zika, where conversations ranged from protecting the bioeconomy to vaccine development. Here are the key takeaways: First, it’s a startling truth, but biological threats aren’t just black and white, but a vast spectrum of gray. We no longer live in a world where it’s just pandemics and bioterrorism, but also conversations surrounding dual-use research of concern (DURC), gene drive worries with CRISPR-modified mosquitoes, pandemic response, vaccine development, and so much more. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Edward You discussed concerns of garage biohacking and how the US government has policies on oversight for life sciences DURC. Furthermore, You discussed synthetic biology and how the price for DNA synthesis kits (ie, biohacking kits) have dramatically dropped over the years.”

Bashar al-Assad is Waging Biological War – By Neglect
Going against the traditional definition of biological warfare, Annie Sparrow discusses how the deliberate efforts by the Assad regime to destroy public health and healthcare are actually a form of biological warfare. “Beyond being unpredictable and difficult to control, anthrax or sarin attacks are too visible and risk a global reaction. And in war, they kill in far smaller numbers and much less reliably than common diseases and wound infections. In contrast, the behavior of Assad’s preferred pathogens is predictable. Here lies the key to a far more insidious strategy: By deliberately degrading an already precarious public health situation, the new biological warfare is able to fly under the radar. Assad’s most visible mass atrocities include indiscriminate attacks on and the resulting forced displacement of civilians, devastating sieges, and assaults on hospitals. But an unappreciated dimension of his total-war strategy has been his attacks on public health infrastructure and programs in order to fast-track the epidemic diseases that thrive in the crowded living conditions created by mass displacement, while simultaneously withholding essential public health tools and medicines. The aim is to weaken the entire population in these areas and overburden the rudimentary medical facilities that were able to survive in an effort to punish populations opposed to Assad. While there is a brutal battlefield logic to these attacks on health care infrastructure, they are prohibited by the Geneva Conventions, which are designed to spare civilians—and the institutions on which they depend—from the hazards of war. Assad is deliberately engaging in war crimes.”

In Memory of Prof. Andrew Price-Smith
The biodefense world got a bit dimmer with the passing of one its greats – Dr. Andrew Price-Smith. The author of one of my personal favorites – Contagions and Chaos, “Professor Andrew Price-Smith, David Packard Professor of International Relations and Director of the Global Health Initiative, passed away last week after a lengthy illness. He is survived by his wife, Janell Price-Smith, and their two children. Our thoughts and prayers are with Drew’s family, colleagues, and friends. Professor Price-Smith joined the CC faculty in 2005 and served as chair of the political science department from 2013-2016 and as the founding director of our Global Health Initiative. Drew’s research focused on the effects of disease, environmental change, and energy scarcity on the security of nations and taught courses on the environment, health and security, and international relations.”

 UK Parliament Inquiry into Government’s Biosecurity Efforts
It’s been a year since the UK Government published their first ever Biosecurity Strategy, and the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy is set to inquire how they’re approaching biosecurity and human health. “The strategy is intended to coordinate a cross-government approach to biosecurity threats, whether they materialise naturally, accidentally or deliberately in the form of a malicious attack. It cites globalisation and technology as key factors in today’s biosecurity risks. The Government has long prioritised public health as a national security issue, with pandemics and emerging infectious diseases categorised as a top-tier risk in the 2010 and 2015 National Security Risk Assessments. Attacks using biological weapons are categorised as a second-tier risk, along with attacks using chemical, radiological and nuclear weapons. In 2018, the Government’s National Security Capability Review elevated ‘diseases and natural hazards affecting the UK’ to one of six principal challenges likely to drive national security priorities over the coming decade.” You can read the UK Biological Security Strategy here,  which “recognises the importance of intervening early to prevent biological threats from emerging, or from spreading once they emerge. To this end, it sets out how we will make best use of our international activity to help reduce the risks to the UK and our interests, at home and overseas. This includes our engagement with international partners (at local, regional and national levels) and forums. Our investment in overseas biological security education and our international work on global health security, led by DHSC and DFID, is building resilience to health threats in developing countries.”

Ebola Outbreak Updates
The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the DRC has been changing daily, but here’s an update to help catch you up. On Wednesday, it was reported that more violence has occurred in the outbreak region, “the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a rebel group, attacked two villages near Beni, killing 12 people who live in the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC’s) ongoing Ebola outbreak. The terrorists killed nine in Eringeti and three in Oicha, according to Reuters. ADF has not publically pledged allegiance to the Islamic state (ISIL), but that hasn’t stopped ISIL from claiming responsibility for the attacks.” This comes has the World Bank Group announced it would be mobilizing $300 million to help respond to the outbreak. “The US$300 million in grants and credits will be largely financed through the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and its Crisis Response Window, which is designed to help countries respond to severe crises and return to their long-term development paths. The financing package will cover the Ebola-affected health zones in DRC and enable the government, WHO, UNICEF, WFP, IOM and other responders to step up the frontline health response, deliver cash-for-work programs to support the local economy, strengthen resilience in the affected communities, and contain the spread of this deadly virus. This amount is approximately half of the anticipated financing needs of the Fourth Strategic Response Plan (SRP4), which is expected to be finalized in the coming week by the Government and the international consortium of partners working on the response. The World Bank has been supporting programs to combat DRC’s ongoing battle with Ebola since May 2018, with resources going to the frontline response, health system strengthening, and preparedness to reduce the risk of spread.” This outbreak in particular has forced response efforts to change the way we approach not only outbreak control, but also vaccine deployment. “Every aspect of the outbreak is affected by the area’s long history of conflict and trauma. Residents have endured more than two decades of terror from armed groups, along with resource exploitation, political instability and neglect from the world at large. That has bred distrust of authorities — including foreign health workers — and conspiracy theories about why Ebola is thriving. One popular rumour alleges that Ebola responders inject people with deadly substances at treatment centres and vaccination sites. These false ideas have fostered nearly 200 attacks on Ebola responders and treatment centres so far this year, according to the WHO. Seven people have been killed and 58 injured.” You can check the latest case-counts here, which shows now 2,620 cases.

Defense Officials See Increased Threat from Chinese, Russian Chem-Bio Weapons
At a recent CBRN Conference, a hot topic of concern was the threat of Chinese and Russian CBW. In fact – Dr. Kilianski (GMU biodefense professor) spoke on this – “Much attention has been focused on Russia and China’s modernization of their nuclear and conventional forces. But there is growing concern at the Pentagon about those nations’ chemical and biological weapons, U.S. officials said July 23. There is now an increased focus on threats posed by near-peer adversaries, noted Andrew Kilianski, chief intelligence officer at the joint program executive office for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense. ‘They’re in that emerging space … in terms of things we haven’t seen before or things that we don’t have a lot of information on,’ he said during remarks at the National Defense Industrial Association’s annual CBRN Conference and Exhibition in Wilmington, Delaware. The question now is, ‘how do we build capability against a threat space which … we don’t know much about?’ he added”.

DARPA Awards ASU Contract to Build Epigenetic-based WMD Exposure Measurement Tool
For $38.8 million, Arizona State University will get the chance to help build a measurement tool against WMDs. “Arizona State University announced today that it has been awarded $38.8 million by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build a field-deployable, point-of-care device that can determine if a person has been exposed to weapons of mass destruction or their precursors, in 30 minutes or less. The grant, which will be funded over four years in phases and options, was awarded under DARPA’s Epigenetic Characterization and Observation (ECHO) program, which aims to identify epigenetic signatures created by exposure to threat agents and to develop technology that performs highly specific forensic and diagnostic analyses to reveal the exact type and time of exposure. ASU said the device it plans to develop will be capable of detecting the health effects of a number of substances associated with weapons of mass destruction — including biological agents, radiation, chemicals, and explosives — from a single drop of blood. The technology could also eventually be used for simple, low-cost monitoring of epigenetic changes to detect a broad range of human diseases.”

 Troublesome Ticks: Dispelling Bioweapon Rumors
“A government-owned island used for biodefense testing, a devastating vector-borne disease, and an amendment quietly slipped into major legislation—Although these might sound like scenes from the latest sci-fi movie, they are actually part of a current hot topic that stemmed from some rather poor information. Let’s start from the beginning as we tackle the misinformation circulating in today’s anti-vaccine movement. Plum Island, as idyllic as it sounds, is an island off the coast of Orient Point, New York. Purchased by the US government in the 1950s, it became the home for animal disease research, first for the US Army and then for the US Department of Agriculture. The island is now the site of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), which falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Office of National Laboratories (ONL). The island allows PIADC to maintain a safe, isolated area to develop biodefense efforts to defend against intentional, accidental, or natural animal diseases like foot-and-mouth (FMD), which can be devastating to cattle. Hundreds of investigators and employees come to the island to work on research, which can include efforts of treatment, diagnostics, vaccines, and bioforensics. Not surprisingly, rumors about the island and its work have swirled for decades. Like all the other biodefense laboratories, it maintains a heavy biosecurity and biosafety culture.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Highly Resistant Malaria Spreading Rapidly in Southeast Asia – “An aggressive strain of drug-resistant malaria that originated in Cambodia has rapidly spread into neighboring countries, causing high rates of treatment failure to first-line treatment and complicating efforts to eliminate the disease, according to two studies published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. One of the studies found that the KEL1/PLA1 strain of Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria, now accounts for more than 80% of the malaria parasites in northeastern Thailand and Vietnam, and has acquired new genetic mutations that have enhanced its fitness and ability to resist treatment. The strain is resistant to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine, a form of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) that has been the first-line treatment for malaria in Cambodia for more than a decade, and was more recently adopted as the preferred treatment in Thailand and Vietnam.”
  • Outbreak of Chapare-like Virus in Bolivia– “On June 28, 2019, the Bolivian Ministry of Health received notice of three cases of hemorrhagic fever syndrome. Two additional cases have since been reported. Current evidence suggests that the etiologic agent is Chapare virus or a similar virus, according to the US CDC”.

 

Pandora Report: 7.12.2019

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

 Summer Workshop Welcomes New Instructor
We’re excited to announce that Nancy Connell will be joining us for the Summer Workshop on Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Global Health Security next week. Dr. Connell “is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a visiting Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a microbial geneticist by training. Dr. Connell’s work at the Center is focused on advances in life sciences and technology and their application to a number of developments in the areas of biosecurity, biosafety and biodefense.  Her research projects analyze novel biotechnologies that might impact the development of Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (GCBR) in ecosystems, and the development of surge capacity for medical countermeasure manufacturing and other response mechanisms in the event of a global pandemic or other global catastrophic event.  Dr. Connell is a member of the Board on Life Sciences and is a National Associate of the National Academies of Sciences, and she completed a six-month sabbatical as Visiting Scholar at the Board on Life Sciences.  Dr. Connell is a member of the US-CDC’s Biological Agent Containment Working Group in the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response and was recently appointed the serve on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity. Before joining the Center, Dr. Connell was Professor and Director of Research in the Division of Infectious Disease in the Department of Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences.  Dr. Connell’s major research focus was antibacterial drug discovery in respiratory pathogens such as M. tuberculosis and B. anthracis. Dr. Connell chaired the Institutional Biosafety Committee of Rutgers University and directed NJMS’s biosafety level three containment laboratory beginning in 1997. Her recent work focused on the use of predatory bacteria as novel therapeutics for treatment of Gram negative bacterial infections, including MDR strains and select agents. Dr. Connell was continuously funded by the NIH, the Department of Defense and DARPA, industry, and/or other sources from 1992 to 2018.  She received a PhD in microbial genetics from Harvard University.” If you’re not able to make the workshop next week, keep an eye on the @PandoraReport twitter for updates.

Is the U.S. Ready for A Tech War?
GMU Biodefense doctoral alum Daniel Gerstein discusses technological priorities and how the US invests in technological advances related to national security. “Today, important technology development changes are underway that could dramatically affect world order. The continued shift in global research and development spending highlights how far U.S. dominance has eroded. In 1960, when considering federal, industry and academia, the United States accounted for 69 percent of the global R&D. By 2016, the United States accounted for only 28 percent of the global R&D. With such a shift, it is no wonder that U.S. technology leadership and superiority can no longer be assured.” Gerstein notes that “the Trump administration should develop technology priorities, and technologies considered vital to U.S. economic and national security should receive investments to stimulate advances and promote U.S. leadership. The administration’s recent call to have greater industry investment in basic research, in lieu of government funding, seems shortsighted and should be reconsidered given the emerging tech war. A reevaluation of programs such as export controls, programs for approving foreign investment transactions, and intellectual property protections would also be useful to both protect and promote U.S. technology.”

Ebola Outbreak – Cases Surge with Violence – and How the CDC Made a Synthetic Ebola Virus to Test Treatments
Recently, the WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros, warned that instability in the DRC is fueling the Ebola outbreak. “In an interview with The Guardian, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said the political climate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is preventing an end to the current Ebola outbreak. ‘The root cause of the problem is lack of peace, the lack of a political solution. The incidence of Ebola, malaria and cholera is the symptom,’ Tedros told the British newspaper. ‘I know we can finish this Ebola outbreak…But at the same time it can come back because all the [political and security] conditions remain the same.’ The DRC outbreak expanded by 10 cases today, to 2,428 cases, according to the WHO’s online Ebola dashboard. Tedros’s comments come 1 day after the UK’s International Development Secretary, Rory Stewart, returned from a trip to the DRC and called on G7 world leaders to increase funding for outbreak response. ‘There is a real danger, that if we lose control of this outbreak, it could spread beyond DRC’s borders to the wider region and the wider world. Diseases like Ebola have no respect for borders and are a threat to us all,’ Stewart said in a Department for International Development (DID) news release.” Ebola has been challenging response efforts since 2013 and the CDC has been working to combat testing and treatment roadblocks through a unique strategy – a synthetic Ebola virus. Helen Branswell recently discussed how the CDC created a synthetic version of the Ebola virus to help guide diagnostic tests and experimental treatments…and it ended up working. “The research, conducted in the agency’s most secure laboratories — BSL4 — showed that even though the tests and two of the treatments being used in the field were developed based on earlier variation of Ebola viruses, they continue to be effective against the virus causing the current outbreak, the second largest on record. The results, reported Tuesday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, are encouraging, but also raise questions about why outside research groups have not received direct access to viral specimens from the DRC and instead had to create a synthetic version. The paper noted that there have been no Ebola samples available to the scientific community from the past four outbreaks in the DRC. Those outbreaks occurred in 2014, 2017, and 2018.”

Mason Hosts Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence 2019 Summit 
“George Mason University will host Homeland Security Challenges: Evolving Threats and Dynamic Solutions, a Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence Summit, July 31-Aug. 1 at its Arlington Campus. The summit is an opportunity to gather some of the nation’s best academic, public, and private sector leaders to discuss strategies for advancing the DHS mission. Sponsored through the DHS Science and Technology Directorate Office of University Programs, the Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence network is a consortium of universities conducting groundbreaking research to address homeland security challenges by developing multidisciplinary, customer-driven, homeland security science and technology solutions and helping train the next generation of homeland security experts. The summit provides a platform for creating connections, fostering collaborations and inspiring new ideas to address homeland security challenges. It also provides an opportunity to highlight student research and innovative problem solving.”

ASPR Updates- the SNS and Biodefense Strategy Summit 
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) just released several good resources for the biodefense community. First, they’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and you can find some great information on it here. “When state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency. Organized for scalable response to a variety of public health threats, this repository contains enough supplies to respond to multiple large-scale emergencies simultaneously.” Next, ASPR provided the transcripts from the Biodefense Summit that occurred in April. “The Biodefense Summit, was held on April 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C.  The Summit aimed to engage the biodefense stakeholder community to inform national biodefense enterprise efforts to counter biological threats, reduce risk, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological incidents. The Summit informed stakeholders of the implementation of the National Biodefense Strategy. “

Arizona Battles Hepatitis A
Arizona is working to contain an outbreak of hepatitis A and GMU biodefense doctoral student Saskia Popescu discusses how they’re incorporating healthcare providers into these efforts. “Despite making great strides in reducing the burden of HAV, Arizona is experiencing a growing outbreak that began in late 2018. Currently, there have been 424 cases and 3 deaths documented since November 2018, with a 79% hospitalization rate. The outbreak has spread to 7 counties within Arizona, including the largest—Maricopa. A total of 48% of Arizona’s HAV cases have occurred in those individuals who are homeless and report drug use, 25% of cases have been in those reporting using drugs (ie, no reported homelessness), and 22% of cases are in individuals with no identified risk factors. Public health investigators found that 28% of the cases have been in patients who are currently or were recently incarcerated. Five percent of the HAV cases in this ongoing Arizona outbreak have been reported in patients who report homelessness, but no drug use.  More recently, an employee at a restaurant in Maricopa County tested positive for HAV and may have exposed people visiting the restaurant over a 9-day period from late May to June. Public health officials are encouraging those patrons to get vaccinated against HAV to reduce the risk of transmission.”

Worldwide Reduction in MERS-CoV Cases Since 2016
In the latest CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, they note the overall decline in MERS-CoV cases and mortality since 2016. “From 2012 through May 31, 2019, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has infected 2,442 persons and killed 842 worldwide. MERS-CoV is currently circulating in dromedary camels in Africa, the Middle East, and southern Asia; however, most cases of human infection have been reported in the Arabian Peninsula. Large hospital outbreaks in 2014 and 2015 motivated affected countries to substantially invest in prevention and control activities. To estimate the potential number of MERS cases and deaths that might have been averted since 2016 had the risk levels of 2014–2015 continued, we analyzed case-based data on laboratory-confirmed human cases of MERS-CoV infections reported to the World Health Organization. We categorized cases as either secondary (human-to-human transmission) or community-acquired (presumed camel-to-human transmission). In addition, we used case-based data on date of onset (for symptomatic infections) or report (for asymptomatic infections), outcome (died/recovered), and dates and sizes of reported clusters of human-to-human–transmission cases”.

Self-destructing Mosquitoes and Sterilized Rodents: the Promise of Gene Drives
What might the consequences of this novel biotech be? In the face of potential eradication of disease and alteration of an entire animal population’s genome, researchers have very real concerns. “As soon as researchers began to make gene drives regularly in labs, animals developed resistance against them — accumulating mutations that prevented the drives from spreading. In tests of two drives inserted into fruit flies, for example, genetic variants conferring resistance formed frequently. Most commonly, mutations alter a sequence that CRISPR is set to recognize, preventing the gene from being edited. In experiments with caged mosquitoes, Crisanti and Target Malaria researcher Tony Nolan watched a gene drive gradually decrease in frequency over multiple generations owing to resistant mutations at the target gene. The results rocked the field. Would resistance render gene drives impotent? Not necessarily — if researchers select the right target. Some genes are highly conserved, meaning that any change is likely to kill their owners. Picking these genes as a drive target means fewer mutations and less resistance. In September 2018, Crisanti and his team crashed a population of caged Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes with 100% efficiency by making a drive that disrupts a fertility gene called doublesex. With the drive in place, female mosquitoes cannot bite and do not lay eggs; within 8–12 generations, the caged populations produced no eggs at all. And because it is crucial for procreation, doublesex is resistant to mutations, including those that would confer resistance to a drive construct.” “Before Kevin Esvelt ever built a single CRISPR-based gene drive, he’d wake up in cold sweats thinking about the ramifications. ‘I realized, oh hey, this isn’t just going to be about malaria, this is potentially going to be something any individual who can make a transgenic fruit fly could build to edit all the fruit flies.’”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • UK Works to Test New Payment Model for Antibiotics – “In an effort to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) yesterday announced the launch of a trial for a new pilot program that will pay drug companies for antibiotics using a subscription-style model. Under the program, NHS will pay pharmaceutical companies up front for access to effective antibiotics, rather than reimbursing them based on the quantity of antibiotics sold. The idea behind the program is to delink profit from the volume sold, pay for antibiotics based on their public health value, and encourage the development of new antibiotics.”

Pandora Report: 6.21.2019

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Global Health Security – From Anthrax to Zika Workshop 
Less than one month until our workshop and just a couple weeks to get your early registration discount…have you signed up? This 3.5 day workshop is the place to be to learn the challenges facing the world at the intersection of national security, public health, and the life sciences. The workshop faculty are internationally recognized experts from the government, private sector, and academia who have been extensively involved with research and policy-making on public health, biodefense, and national security issues. Topics range from protecting the bioeconomy, to biosecurity, vaccine development, disease risk assessments, and more!

Pandemic Preparedness in the Face of Fake News
Biopreparedness is challenging enough…but when you throw in the growing threat of mis/disinformation…this can seem like a feat requiring nothing short of a Herculean effort. “When the next pandemic strikes, we’ll be fighting it on two fronts. The first is the one you immediately think about: understanding the disease, researching a cure and inoculating the population. The second is new, and one you might not have thought much about: fighting the deluge of rumors, misinformation and flat-out lies that will appear on the internet. The second battle will be like the Russian disinformation campaigns during the 2016 presidential election, only with the addition of a deadly health crisis and possibly without a malicious government actor. But while the two problems — misinformation affecting democracy and misinformation affecting public health — will have similar solutions, the latter is much less political. If we work to solve the pandemic disinformation problem, any solutions are likely to also be applicable to the democracy one.” From misinformation regarding the source of a disease or outbreak, to that involving treatments that work…the implications can make or break “society’s ability to deal with a pandemic at many different levels.”

A Call for Cooperation in a New Cyberbiosecurity Landscape
Vulnerabilities within cyberbiosecurity range from biomanufacturing to farm-to-table enterprises, but it will take a true collaboration within these fields to drive change. “The life sciences now interface broadly with information technology (IT) and cybersecurity. This convergence is a key driver in the explosion of biotechnology research and its industrial applications in health care, agriculture, manufacturing, automation, artificial intelligence, and synthetic biology. As the information and handling mechanisms for biological materials have become increasingly digitized, many market sectors are now vulnerable to threats at the digital interface. This growing landscape will be addressed by cyberbiosecurity, the emerging field at the convergence of both the life sciences and IT disciplines. This manuscript summarizes the current cyberbiosecurity landscape, identifies existing vulnerabilities, and calls for formalized collaboration across a swath of disciplines to develop frameworks for early response systems to anticipate, identify, and mitigate threats in this emerging domain.”

Australian Health System Capacity to Handle a Bioattack
How well do you think the U.S. health system would handle a smallpox bioattack? Researchers in Australia tested out the health system capacity in Sydney against this very scenario. “We used a model for smallpox transmission to determine requirements for hospital beds, contact tracing and health workers (HCWs) in Sydney, Australia, during a modelled epidemic of smallpox. Sensitivity analysis was done on attack size, speed of response and proportion of case isolation and contact tracing. We estimated 100638 clinical HCWs and 14595 public hospital beds in Sydney. Rapid response, case isolation and contact tracing are influential on epidemic size, with case isolation more influential than contact tracing. With 95% of cases isolated, outbreak control can be achieved within 100 days even with only 50% of contacts traced. However, if case isolation and contact tracing both fall to 50%, epidemic control is lost. With a smaller initial attack and a response commencing 20 days after the attack, health system impacts are modest. The requirement for hospital beds will vary from up to 4% to 100% of all available beds in best and worst case scenarios. If the response is delayed, or if the attack infects 10000 people, all available beds will be exceeded within 40 days, with corresponding surge requirements for clinical health care workers (HCWs). We estimated there are 330 public health workers in Sydney with up to 940,350 contacts to be traced. At least 3 million respirators will be needed for the first 100 days. To ensure adequate health system capacity, rapid response, high rates of case isolation, excellent contact tracing and vaccination, and protection of HCWs should be a priority. Surge capacity must be planned. Failures in any of these could cause health system failure, with inadequate beds, quarantine spaces, personnel, PPE and inability to manage other acute health conditions.”

Developing a PPE Selection Matrix for Preventing Occupational Exposure to Ebola
Preparing your workplace for a potential Ebola patient? Check out this matrix for choosing PPE. GMU Biodefense alum Chris Brown co-authored this helpful article to guide healthcare workers, laboratories, and other work environments in avoiding occupational exposure to Ebola virus. “The matrix applies to a variety of job tasks in health care, laboratories, waste handling, janitorial services, travel and transportation, and other sectors where workers may be exposed to the Ebola virus during outbreak events. A discussion of the information sources and decision-making process for developing the matrix forms the basis of the recommendations. The article then emphasizes challenges and considerations for formulating the matrix, including identifying information sources to help characterize occupational exposures, aligning recommendations among stakeholders with varying viewpoints, and balancing worker protections with feasibility concerns. These considerations highlight issues that remain relevant for preparedness efforts ahead of future US cases of Ebola or other emerging infectious diseases. OSHA developed a personal protective equipment selection matrix to help employers protect workers from exposure to Ebola virus in the event of future US cases. Toward facilitating preparedness for cases associated with outbreaks, this article discusses the matrix of personal protective equipment recommendations, which apply to a variety of job tasks in healthcare, laboratories, waste handling, janitorial services, travel and transportation, and other sectors where workers may be exposed to the Ebola virus during outbreak events.”

NTI Report – A Spreading Plague: Lessons and Recommendations for Responding  to A Deliberate Biological Attack
“To address this preparedness deficit, NTI | bio, Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security, and the Center for Global Development offer recommendations for urgent action in a new paper, A Spreading Plague: Lessons and Recommendations for Responding to a Deliberate Biological Event. Drawn from a senior leaders’ tabletop exercise held in advance of the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2019, the paper presents key findings and organizers’ recommendations for critical improvements, including within the United Nations system, to prevent catastrophic consequences of deliberate and other high-consequence biological events.” Pulling from a tabletop exercise, the report highlights five emergent themes – international coordination, information sharing, investigation and attribution, and financing for response and preparedness.

Ebola Outbreak Updates 
With nearly 50 cases reported over 3 days, this outbreak is not showing signs of slowing. “Over the weekend, the ministry of health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recorded 28 new cases of Ebola, and will likely confirm another 20 new cases today. With nearly 50 cases in 3 days, the outbreak is experiencing another spike in activity following the discovery of cases in neighboring Uganda last week. According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Ebola dashboard, the outbreak total now stands at 2,168 cases. In addition to the newly confirmed cases, there were 19 fatalities over the weekend, including 8 that took place in the community.” As cases spilled over into Uganda, there is growing concern that the porous border will continue to made control measures unsuccessful. “The footpaths show the close kinship between the two countries, where most people have relatives on both sides of the border. But as Ebola rages they are a source of worry for health workers and local authorities trying to prevent any further cross-border contamination. Eastern Congo has battled the Ebola outbreak since last August and last week the disease spread to Uganda, where two people died of the hemorrhagic fever. ‘This border is very porous,’ said James Mwanga, a Ugandan police officer in charge of the Mpondwe border post. ‘You will not know who has passed if the person went through the unofficial border posts, in most cases. Now there is anxiety and so on. We have heightened our alertness’.” Moreover, there has been concern over hospital infections and a desperate call for financial support. “During recent meeting in Kinshasa, Tedros met with the DRC’s prime minister, opposition leaders, religious officials, and other partners, the WHO said in a statement yesterday. He also traveled to Butembo, which has been one of the main epicenters, to meet with community and religious leaders, business representatives, and nongovernmental organization representatives.Also, he strongly appealed to other countries across the world to support the health responders in the DRC. Tedros said the WHO needs $98 million to fund the response, but it has received only $44 million, leaving a $54 million gap, a shortfall he said must immediate be addressed. ‘If the funds are not received, WHO will be unable to sustain the response at the current scale,’ he said, adding that other partners face funding gaps and that response decisions risk being driven by financial capacity rather than operational needs.”
The Engineering Biology Research Consortium has just released this roadmap “to provide researchers and other stakeholders (including government funders) with a compelling set of technical challenges and opportunities in the near and long term. Our ongoing roadmapping process was initiated in response to the recommendations put forth in the 2015 National Academies report, Industrialization of Biology, and was partially supported by the National Science Foundation. With this inaugural release of the Roadmap, EBRC endeavors to provide a go-to resource for engineering/synthetic biology research and related endeavors. Further details can be found in the overview section, including a brief discussion of societal and security considerations. The EBRC Technical Roadmapping Working Group led the development of the roadmap scope and content. Collective insight and input was leveraged from more than 80 leading scientists and engineers, including academic, industry, and student members of EBRC and from the broader research community. Since mid-2018, the working group has held five workshops and countless teleconferences to develop the content and engage discussion around the roadmap. The result is a collaborative effort of the engineering biology research community and represents the community’s vision for the future of the field.”
Biodefense World Summit
If you missed this event over the last week, you can catch two articles covering a few talks. “At the 5th Annual Biodefense World Summit, Luther Lindler, PhD, science advisor for Bio Programs, Technology Centers, S&T Directorate of DHS, discussed the work that DHS has been doing to help beef up US biodefense efforts. Within the DHS S&T program, there are 5 major mission areas: prevent terrorism and enhance security; secure and manage our borders; enforce and administer our immigration laws; safeguard and secure cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. Imagine trying to prevent microbial contamination or security threats from the Port of Los Angeles, which encompasses 7500 acres, with 30,000 containers arriving per day and $285 billion in cargo per year.”  “One of the hardest aspects of biodefense, though, is integrating new technology to truly make a difference. Every day, there are advancements in tech; yet, it can be challenging to truly discern how these new tools can help global health security and prevent the next pandemic. In a Biodefense presentation that called on the use of data technology and forecasting to help tackle the next epidemic, Dylan George, PhD, BS, vice president of technical staff at In-Q-Tel and associate director of BNext, discussed integrating novel and available data technologies into public health processes to not only help guide interventions, but also to establish more efficient response practices and improve situational awareness.”
Stories You May Have Missed:
  • Global Trust in Healthcare, Scientists, and Vaccines – “The Wellcome Global Monitor, conducted as part of the Gallup World Poll 2018, is designed to provide a baseline to gauge how attitudes evolve over time and to help guide policies to improve public engagement on science and health issues. The data were published today. The survey included more than 140,000 people ages 15 and older from more than 140 countries, Wellcome Trust said today in a press release. It added that the survey shows the first glimpse into what people think about the issues for many countries, including Colombia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Vietnam. Among the key findings were that three quarters of the world’s population trust doctors and nurses more than anyone else on healthcare issues. And 72% trust scientists.”
  • Dirty Hospital Sinks: A Source for Contamination – “For decades we’ve been taught that hand hygiene is the most critical aspect of infection control. Although that may be true, what about the sinks and faucets? These oft overlooked areas can easily pose infection control risks. How clean can your hands really be if the sink and faucet are heavily contaminated and dirty? The topic of slime and biofilm is increasingly being brought up as we focus more on vulnerabilities in health care and the role of environmental contamination. Earlier this year, there were studies that identified sink proximity to toilets as a risk factor for contamination. Bugs like Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing organisms tend to be prolific in moist environments and are often pervasive in intensive care unit sinks and drains. Researchers found that sinks near toilets were 4-times more likely to host the organisms than those further from toilets.”

Pandora Report: 6.6.2019

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Happy Thursday! That’s right – you’re getting your weekly dose of biodefense news a tad early, but don’t worry, we’ll be back to our normal schedule next week! Have you registered for the Summer Workshop on Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Global Health Security? From anthrax to Zika, we’ll be covering all the topics, debates, and threats related to health security.

GMU Welcomes New Faculty Member – Dr. Ashley Grant
We’re excited to announce that Dr. Ashley Grant, a lead biotechnologist at the MITRE Corporation, is joining the Biodefense Program as an Adjunct Professor to teach BIOD 620: Global Health Security Policy. Dr. Grant was previously the Senior Biological Scientist at the Government Accountability Office where she led government-wide technical performance audits focused on biosafety and biosecurity issues. Dr. Grant was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Fellow in the Chemical and Biological Defense Program Office in the Department of Defense and also worked at the National Academies of Science on the Committee on International Security and Arms Control. Her work focused on international security, nonproliferation, and medical countermeasures against chemical and biological threats. She completed the Field Epidemiology Course at the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) in Lima, Peru and was a Visiting Graduate Researcher at the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Virales Humanas J. Maitegui (INEVH) in Pergamino, Argentina. Dr. Grant received her PhD in experimental pathology and a MPH in epidemiology from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Her graduate work focused on investigating pathogenesis and potential countermeasures for viral hemorrhagic fevers under biological safety level (BSL)-4 conditions. In addition, she received a MA in National Security Studies from the Naval War College and a BS in Chemistry and a BS in Business Economics and Management from the California Institute of Technology.

Congress Passes the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act
On Tuesday, June 4th, the House “passed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act. The bill reauthorizes existing statute governing public health efforts at the Department of Health and Human Services. Additions made by the bill – some of which were recommended by the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense – address biodetection, hospital preparedness, medical countermeasures and response. Many of these programs will enable HHS to better defend the nation against biological threats. Both chambers of Congress have passed the bill, and it will now go to President Trump for signature. ‘Naturally occurring diseases and biological weapons continue to endanger our nation,’ said Governor Tom Ridge, Panel Co-Chair. ‘The Panel is pleased to see that Congress addressed 15 of our recommendations in this legislation, which will help the nation better prepare for, detect, respond to, and recover from large-scale biological events, bioterrorism or other biological events’.”

National Biodefense Science Board Public Meeting
“The June 10-11, 2019 meeting of the National Biodefense Science Board will focus on early results and progress reports from four new programs that were designed to strengthen disaster health preparedness, response and recovery: the Regional Disaster Health Response System; BARDA DRIVe; ASPR’s new Incident Management Team; One Health; and the National Biodefense Strategy. As part of the evolution of the National Disaster Medical System, NBSB will discuss disaster veterinary medicine and National Veterinary Response Teams. The board will also address issues facing the medical community, including disaster medicine training for community physicians and advance practice physicians and learn about ways to develop and operationalize core competencies for disaster medicine.”

 Exploring Lessons Learned from a Century of Outbreaks
Check out the latest from the proceedings of a 2019 NAS workshop on outbreak readiness. “In November 2018, an ad hoc planning committee at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine planned two sister workshops held in Washington, DC, to examine the lessons from influenza pandemics and other major outbreaks, understand the extent to which the lessons have been learned, and discuss how they could be applied further to ensure that countries are sufficiently ready for future pandemics. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from both workshops.” Within this document, you can access sections on global preparedness progress for the next pandemic influenza, building local and national capacities for outbreak preparedness, pandemic vaccine considerations, etc. “The participants in this workshop examined the lessons from major outbreaks and explored the extent to which they have both been learned and applied in different settings. The workshop also focused on key gaps in pandemic preparedness and explored immediate and short-term actions that exhibited potential for the greatest impact on global health security by 2030. Workshop speakers and discussants contributed perspectives from government, academic, private, and nonprofit sectors. This workshop opened with a keynote address and a plenary presentation, followed by three sessions of presentations and discussions. Additionally, panelists, forum members, and attendees were given the opportunity to assemble into small groups and asked to consider potential priority actions and strategies for systematizing and integrating outbreak and pandemic preparedness so that it is a routine activity from the local to global levels.”

Inside Britain’s Top Secret Research Laboratory 
Have you ever wanted to tour Britain’s top secret laboratory? If Porton Down has been on your wish list, here’s your chance to get a virtual tour. “The BBC was given access inside Porton Down to see what the highly secretive facility was like and, for the first time ever, entered a cleansed version of a level four laboratory. This level is where the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory team analyse some of the world’s deadliest viruses – Ebola and Marburg.”

 DRC Ebola Outbreak Updates 
The outbreak has officially reached 2,000 cases and aid groups in “the region called for pushing the reset button on the response. In its daily update yesterday, the DRC said the outbreak passed the 2,000-case bar on Jun 2. Officials said that, although the landmark is concerning, the health ministry sees some positive signs, including a slight improvement in the security situation, though the situation remains volatile and unpredictable. The ministry added that most incidents related to community resistance have been resolved by community leaders, sensitizers, and psychosocial experts.” For many, the question is still – who is attacking Ebola responders and why? “The first is that local political figures are fomenting and even organizing the attacks as a way of undermining their rivals, presumably officials of the central government or local leaders aligned with them. Many analysts hold that it was actually the national government that set the stage for the use of the Ebola crisis as a political tool, and Gressly largely echoed that account. Last December, he noted, just days before presidential elections, national electoral officials announced that voting would be suspended in the two largest cities in the outbreak zone, Beni and Butembo.” “At least one type of attack appears very much linked: Many of the incidents seem to be outbursts by members of the community who have heard the rumors and believe them. An Ebola team will arrive in a neighborhood to bury a suspected Ebola patient or vaccinate their relatives, and people will throw rocks and chase the team out. Similarly, doctors and nurses at regular health facilities have been threatened by mobs, who are angry that the health workers refer Ebola patients to treatment centers. In one case, a nurse was killed. But there has also been an increase in seemingly well-coordinated assaults by well-armed assailants. More than half-a-dozen times, gunmen have shot up Ebola treatment centers and health facilities where Ebola teams are based, including on April 19, when a group of armed men burst into a hospital where an Ebola team was meeting and killed an epidemiologist with the World Health Organization.”

African Swine Fever and China’s Pork Industry
A highly virulent virus meets a $128 billion dollar industry and we’re not sure which will win. “The virus that causes the hemorrhagic disease is highly virulent and tenacious, and spreads in multiple ways. There’s no safe and effective vaccine to prevent infection, nor anything to treat it. The widespread presence in China means it’s now being amplified across a country with 440 million pigs—half the planet’s total—with vast trading networks, permeable land borders and farms with little or no ability to stop animal diseases.” Despite 50 years of efforts, there has been no vaccine for this devastating disease and “even if China is able to stop the virus transmitting from pig to pig, two other disease vectors may frustrate eradication efforts: wild boars and Ornithodoros ticks. These are the natural hosts of African swine fever virus and are widely distributed in China, though it’s not yet known what role they are playing in spreading the disease there. Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai, has about 150,000 wild boars.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • U.S. Measles Cases Top 1,000 – “Federal officials yesterday said US measles cases have reached 1,001, the first time since 1992 that cases have been in quadruple figures, while experts continued to urge vaccination and underscored the safety of the vaccine. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said in an HHS news release, ‘We cannot say this enough: Vaccines are a safe and highly effective public health tool that can prevent this disease and end the current outbreak’.”
  • Nipah Virus in Indian Man – “The Indian government today confirmed that a 23-year-old man from Kerala has a Nipah virus infection, and another 86 case contacts are being monitored for the deadly disease, according to the Deccan Chronicle. Officials said the patient, a college student, is hospitalized and in stable condition. They also said two of the case contacts have fevers, and two nurses who took care of the 23-year-old were also experiencing fevers and sore throats.”
  • GM Fungus Kills 99% of Malaria Mosquitoes – “Trials, which took place in Burkina Faso, showed mosquito populations collapsed by 99% within 45 days. The researchers say their aim is not to make the insects extinct but to help stop the spread of malaria. The disease, which is spread when female mosquitoes drink blood, kills more than 400,000 people per year. Worldwide, there are about 219 million cases of malaria each year. Conducting the study, researchers at the University of Maryland in the US – and the IRSS research institute in Burkina Faso – first identified a fungus called Metarhizium pingshaense, which naturally infects the Anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria. The next stage was to enhance the fungus. ‘They’re very malleable, you can genetically engineer them very easily,’ Prof Raymond St Leger, from the University of Maryland, told BBC News.”

 

Pandora Report 9.28.2018

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Happy Friday biodefense gurus! October is right around the corner, which means the flu vaccine will be available soon. Make sure to get vaccinated this season, as the CDC just announced that 80,000 people died of the flu during the 2017/2018 season, which is the highest death toll in 40 years.

GMU Global Health Security Ambassador
We’re excited to announce that two graduate students from the Schar biodefense program will be attending the 5th GHSA Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia. The two students, Annette Prieto and Saskia Popescu, will observe the Global Health Security Agenda in action and the the GHSA 2024 planning. Following their attendance in early November, we’ll be providing a report out on the events. Meet our two GMU Global Health Security Ambassadors – Annette Prieto has a background in Microbiology and Immunology and is currently a Biodefense student in the Master’s Program here at George Mason University. Before coming to George Mason, Annette focused on medical Microbiology at the University of Miami before moving into the laboratory and becoming a Teacher’s Assistant. From there, Annette became an Adjunct Instructor at Daytona State College and taught for a year before entering the Biodefense Program. Annette is also a part of the Next Generation Global Health Security Network. Saskia Popescu is a biodefense doctoral candidate at GMU and infection preventionist. She worked as an infection preventionist during the Dallas Ebola cluster, a 2015 measles outbreak, and is an external expert for the ECDC. She is a 2017 ELBI fellow and trained infectious disease epidemiologist. Saskia’s research focuses on the utilization of infection control in the U.S. healthcare system and it’s impact on biodefense. Make sure to check back in the weeks following their trip to learn about their experiences at the ministerial meeting.

Why Poor Pandemic Preparedness is Deadly
Ebola response efforts in the DRC are struggling and were suspended earlier this week, after violence between rebels and armed forces. While outbreak response in Beni have resumed, events like these are a prime example of why outbreaks can quickly spread beyond control and ultimately emphasize the need for pandemic preparedness. Drs. Tom Inglesby and Eric Toner from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security recently discussed the importance of investing in biopreparedness and how their Clade-X tabletop revealed many of the existing weaknesses. “Could a natural or man-made pandemic happen today? Yes. New lethal viruses are emerging from nature, and dizzying developments in biotechnology mean that biological weapons no longer are the sole province of a few state-sponsored programs — a manufactured pandemic could be unleashed by a rogue regime or by terrorists utilizing one of the thousands of laboratories around the world capable of making a dangerous pathogen. If the worst-case scenario unfolds, strong pandemic preparedness planning would save millions of lives. But progress is possible only with effective leadership.”

Rebuilding Health Security in the Wake of Ebola
GMU Biodefense graduate student Stephen Taylor discusses the latest talk from Georgetown University on global health security following the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak. “In the midst of this disaster, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control turned to health security experts at the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security to support the expansion and augmentation of the Guinean public health infrastructure.  Dr. Alpha Barry, Dr. Erin Sorrell, Dr. Claire Standley, and Ms. Aurelia Attal-Juncqua supported on-the-ground efforts to develop and implement improved health security policy that would make Guinea more resilient against future infectious disease outbreaks.  The Guinean government’s priorities for capacity and capability building were to prevent further outbreaks of zoonotic diseases, improve the capacity of surveillance laboratories and capabilities of the healthcare workforce to identify outbreaks, and to better respond to outbreaks by streamlining and coordinating emergency response operations.  On September 14th, 2018, as part of its Global Health Security Seminar Series, Georgetown University hosted a panel discussion of Dr Sorrell, Dr. Standley, and Ms. Attal-Juncqua on their efforts in Guinea.”

 The AMR Challenge
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly was held this week and one particular topic captured our attention – antimicrobial stewardship and a new initiative to combat resistance. “The AMR Challenge is a way for governments, private industries, and non-governmental organizations worldwide to make formal commitments that further the progress against antimicrobial resistance. The challenge encourages a One Health approach, recognizing that the health of people is connected to the health and animals and the environment. The AMR Challenge launches at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in September 2018. Organizations can make commitments beginning September 25, 2018 until September 2019. CDC will feature commitments throughout the year. At the 2019 UN General Assembly, antimicrobial resistance will continue to be a priority topic for world leaders.” Within the Challenge, there are commitments to tracking and sharing data, reducing the spread of resistant germs through infection prevention and control, improving antibiotic use, decreasing antibiotics and resistance in the environment, and investing in vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.

NASEM – Review & Assessment of Planetary Protection Policy Development Processes
How do we protect the Earth from contamination following space exploration? How can we avoid bringing microorganisms from Earth to other planets and solar system bodies? The latest NASEM report discusses how scientists tackle these issues and implement such policies. As you read the text, you’ll also see one of the Center for Health Security’s ELBI fellows in there – Betsy Pugel of NASA. “For decades, the scientific, political, and economic conditions of space exploration converged in ways that contributed to effective development and implementation of planetary protection policies at national and international levels. However, the future of space exploration faces serious challenges to the development and implementation of planetary protection policy. The most disruptive changes are associated with (1) sample return from, and human missions to, Mars; and (2) missions to those bodies in the outer solar system possessing water oceans beneath their icy surfaces.” This gives new insight into a field we may not be considering in health security – what about interstellar health security?

The Spanish Flu, Epidemics, and the Turn to Biomedical Responses
We already discussed the impact of poor pandemic preparedness, but what about biomedical efforts? A recent article from AJPH discusses the role of the 1918/1919 pandemic in bringing biomedical approaches to the forefront of outbreak response. “A century ago, nonpharmaceutical interventions such as school closings, restrictions on large gatherings, and isolation and quarantine were the centerpiece of the response to the Spanish Flu. Yet, even though its cause was unknown and the science of vaccine development was in its infancy, considerable enthusiasm also existed for using vaccines to prevent its spread. This desire far exceeded the scientific knowledge and technological capabilities of the time. Beginning in the early 1930s, however, advances in virology and influenza vaccine development reshaped the relative priority given to biomedical approaches in epidemic response over traditional public health activities. Today, the large-scale implementation of nonpharmaceutical interventions akin to the response to the Spanish Flu would face enormous legal, ethical, and political challenges, but the enthusiasm for vaccines and other biomedical interventions that was emerging in 1918 has flourished.”

HHS Sponsors TPOXX
Speaking of biomedical measures…the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just announced its sponsorship of a new formulation of the world’s first approved smallpox treatment – TPOXX. This purchase will be used for the Strategic National Stockpile and will work with Siga Technologies to develop an IV formulation of the drug. “Purchase of TPOXX in pill form and development of an IV formulation will be completed under a contract between Siga Technologies and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. BARDA will use funding from the Project BioShield Special Reserve Fund. The contract can be extended for up to 10 years and $629 million if necessary to complete development of the IV formulation.”

NASEM – Engaging the Private-Sector Health Care System in Building Capacity to Respond to Threats to the Public’s Health and National Security
Don’t miss the latest NASEM report on the intersection of preparedness and healthcare. From Ebola patients to natural disasters, and even terrorism, the private-sector healthcare system plays a critical role in response. “As a result, disasters often require responses from multiple levels of government and multiple organizations in the public and private sectors. This means that public and private organizations that normally operate independently must work together to mount an effective disaster response. To identify and understand approaches to aligning health care system incentives with the American public’s need for a health care system that is prepared to manage acutely ill and injured patients during a disaster, public health emergency, or other mass casualty event, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a 2-day public workshop on March 20 and 21, 2018. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.”

USDA ARS 5th International Biosafety & Biocontainment Symposium
ABSA has just announced this event being held on February 11-14, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. “The focus of the symposium will be Biorisk and Facility Challenges in Agriculture. Seven professional development courses will address topics including life science security, facility maintenance and operational issues, agricultural risk assessment, emergency response and preparedness for livestock disease outbreaks, waste management, and strategic leadership. Courses will be held on Monday, February 11. There will be 2 1/2 days of scientific presentations covering various topics including; governance updates, design methodologies, deferred maintenance, rabies, occ health laboratory to the field, gene editing, risk management and communication, and many others. The poster and networking reception will be held on Wednesday, February 13, attendees will have the opportunity to meet with presenters and discuss their presentations. Exhibits showcasing the latest biosafety, biosecurity, and biocontainment products and services will be open February 12-13.”

Next Generation Biosecurity Webinar 
Don’t miss this webinar today, Friday 9.28, at 11am (CDT, Mexico City). Hosted by Next Generation GHSA, this webinar will be with Luis Alberto Ochoa Carrera, Coordinator of Biosafety and Biochemistry of the GHSN and Coordinator of the Biosafety Laboratory Level 3 of the National Reference Laboratory (InDRE) of Mexico.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Airplanes and Airports – Hubs for Germs: GMU biodefense doctoral candidate Saskia Popescu discusses the latest on germ transmission during air travel. “Most people have a general sense that air travel tends to involve exposure to germs. Whether it’s through the thousands of people we will come into contact with, the sick person next to us on the plane, or the dirty surfaces, many of us get a sense of unease knowing there is a real chance we may arrive at our destination with a microscopic companion.”

 

Pandora Report 7.6.2018

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

 

We hope you had a lovely holiday this week and are ready to get back into the world of biodefense! News is still unfolding regarding the two British citizens who were hospitalized after exposure to the nerve agent, Novichok, but we’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.

Summer Biodefense Workshop – Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Global Health Security
In less than two weeks the summer workshop on all things health security, from anthrax to Zika, will be taking place – are you registered? This three-day workshop will cover everything biodefense from the most recent Ebola outbreak, to DIY biohackers and vaccine development, and also the challenges of defending against biothreats. Speakers include experts in the field like David R. Franz, who was the chief inspector on three United Nations Special Commission biological warfare inspection missions to Iraq and served as technical advisor on long-term monitoring. His current standing committee appointments include the Department of Health and Human Services National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control, the National Research Council Board on Life Sciences, and the Senior Technical Advisory Committee of the National Biodefense Countermeasures Analysis Center. Jens H. Kuhn will also be speaking on filoviruses and what it was like to be the first western scientist with permission to work in a former Soviet biological warfare facility, SRCVB “Vektor” in Siberia, Russia, within the US Department of Defense’s Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program. These are just two of our speakers who will be leading discussions over the three days – come join the conversation at our workshop from July 18-20!

All Hands on Deck – U.S. Response to Ebola in West Africa
Princeton University’s Innovations for Successful Societies has just released their report on the quality of the U.S. response to Ebola. The case study is part of a series on Liberian response to the outbreak and includes great information on coordination, political response, and the challenges of international outbreak management. “Although the deployment, which scaled up earlier assistance, took place five months after the first reported cases and required extensive adaptation of standard practices, it succeeded in helping bring the epidemic under control: the total number of people infected—28,616—was well below the potential levels predicted by the CDC’s models. This US–focused case study highlights the challenges of making an interagency process work in the context of an infectious disease outbreak in areas where health systems are weak.”

Bats and Military Defense
Sure, your first inclination might be a vampire or Batman joke, but there’s actually a significant history regarding the U.S. military and utilization of these mammals. Historically, efforts focused on employing them as bombs in Japan but a more modern plan focuses on their uncanny ability to carry deadly diseases. “‘What we are trying to do is to study bat immunology, but that turned out to be a very difficult thing to do when starting from scratch,’ said Thomas Kepler, a professor of microbiology at Boston University. It took decades to create the reactive substances necessary to study human or mouse antibodies. With bats, he explained, they were starting from zero.” Battling potential Russian bioweapons means thinking outside of the box, right? The truth is that fruit bats have a pretty amazing weapon of their own – a super immunity that might just lend itself to curing Marburg and other devastating infections. “The Marburg virus is classed as a Category A bioterrorism agent by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Kepler’s study was supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, a Defense Department division established during the Manhattan Project era to combat weapons of mass destruction. If the virus is ever deployed as biological warfare, the fruit bat’s super-immunity may hold the answer to preventing its spread. But it may also go some way toward redeeming the bat in the eyes of the U.S. military — and could even make the animal an unlikely hero.”

 NASPAA Pandemic Simulation
How would you handle a pandemic? GMU’s Schar School team qualified for the final round of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) pandemic simulation, in which student teams had to respond to a constantly evolving situation and make real-time decisions regarding quarantine, trade, etc. “‘The simulation is an especially valuable experience for the biodefense students since the pandemic crisis provided students with complex problems like those that they will tackle in their professional careers,’ said director of the Schar School’s biodefense graduate program, Gregory Koblentz. ‘These exercises also test the students’ ability to bridge the gap between the science and policy-making, a key goal of the biodefense programs’.”

Gene Editing – Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and How DARPA Wants to Boost Body Defense Through Gene Editing
This week’s episode of Last Week Tonight featured one of our favorite topics – gene editing! While there’s only so much you can cover in the span of 20 minutes, it was nice to see some of the complexities, personalities, and technical hurdles, covered by John Oliver. From biohackers to germline edits, Oliver mixed humor into a discussion on the very real issues surrounding gene editing technologies like CRISPR (although his version of the acronym is much more comical – Crunchy Rectums In Sassy Pink Ray-bans). Make sure to check out the episode to get a humorous overview on this gene-editing technology. Meanwhile, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is actually working to harness gene editing to make your body’s natural defenses that much stronger through specific gene expressions. The project is called PREPARE (PReemptive Expression of Protective Alleles and Response Elements) and works to provide temporary boots to your natural defenses. “In contrast to recent gene-editing techniques, such as CRISPR, which focus on permanently changing the genome by cutting DNA and inserting new genes, the PREPARE program will concentrate on techniques that don’t make permanent changes to DNA. These techniques target the ‘epigenome,’ or the system that controls gene expression. Genes can be turned on or off by making external modifications to DNA, which don’t change the DNA sequence, but instead affect how cells ‘read’ genes. To start, the PREPARE program will focus on four key health challenges: influenza viral infection, opioid overdose, organophosphate poisoning (from chemicals in pesticides or nerve agents) and exposure to gamma radiation, the statement said.” While there are a lot of hurdles to overcome, the overall goal is to extend the platform to known and unknown threat application.

Improving Mass Casualty Management: The Role of Radiation Biodosimetry 
How would we handle the medical response of large-scale radiological exposure? GMU Biodefense PhD student Mary Sproull presented on this very topic and the work she and her team are doing, which is aimed at making testing more efficient and effective. “Drs. Sproull and Camphausen are working to make the medical management process more efficient and effective in the event of a mass casualty radiation exposure. Specifically, they are developing a dosimetry dose prediction model to determine how radiation biodosimetry diagnostics can help physicians estimate just how much radiation exposure a patient has experienced. (Radiation biodosimetry diagnostics estimate a person’s radiation exposure by measuring changes in biological markers that include cytogenic assays like dicentric chromosome assay.)”

Everything You Need to Know About Ricin
A few weeks back a Tunisian man was arrested by German police regarding suspected plans for a bioterrorism attack with ricin. German police were searching his residence in Cologne and found enough ricin for 1,000 toxic doses. During the fervor of the news, it was reported that such a a plot could have been more devastating than 9/11 – but what’s the reality behind ricin? Check out this comprehensive review of what ricin is (a naturally occurring biological poison), its history as a biological weapon and WMD, and more. “In summary, ricin’s status as a biological weapon is quite mixed. In terms of actual potential for harm, it is more at the level of knives than bombs. Its status as a WMD is a legal one, not so much a practical one. It would be useful to the public debate and our general social assessment of risk if the media could reflect this, rather than churn out hysterical reporting.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • VA Study Reveals Antibiotic Prescribing Habits – “A team of researchers establishing baseline data on antibiotic use by the Veterans Administration (VA) healthcare system in Pittsburgh found that about 75% of all antibiotic prescriptions were inappropriate, meaning they were either not indicated or were used for a duration that’s not recommended. The study, which took place over 12 months, looked at prescribing information, medical records, and charts of 40,734 patients, who were written 3,880 acute antibiotic prescriptions by 76 primary care providers (PCPs). The median antibiotic index was 84 antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 patients per year.”
  • Drone Crashes Into French Nuclear Plant – “GREENPEACE activists say they have crashed a drone into a French nuclear plant to highlight the lack of security around the facility. The drone, which was decked out to resemble a tiny Superman, slammed into the tower in Bugey, 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the eastern city of Lyon, according to a video released Tuesday by Greenpeace. The environmental group says the drone was harmless but it showed the lax nuclear security in France, which is heavily dependent on nuclear power, using it for about 75 percent of its energy needs.”

Pandora Report: 4.20.2018

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Summer Workshop on Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Global Health Security: From Anthrax to Zika
The early-bird registration discount deadline is fast approaching, so make sure you’re signed up for the workshop on all things health security from July 18-20! Whether it’s the 2001 anthrax letter attacks, SARS and avian influenza, Ebola in West Africa, or dual-use research of concern, we’ll be covering it all in this three-day workshop. Where else can you mingle with some of the top minds in the field, engage with other passionate health security professionals, and learn about the latest issues in biodefense?

80,000 Hours Interview With Dr. Tom Inglesby – Careers & Policies That Can Prevent Global Catastrophic Biological Risks
If you’re not listening to the 80,000 Hours podcast, make sure to add it to your list. This is a wonderful podcast on making the right career choices and lucky us, they’re covering global health security jobs. In October, NTI’s Dr. Beth Cameron spoke about fighting pandemics and the challenge of preparing an entire country. Cameron spoke about the current state of American health security, what we’ve learned, new technologies, and more. This week, they spoke with Dr. Tom Inglesby from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security on how passionate health security gurus can pursue a career in the field, the top jobs, worrisome scientific breakthroughs, etc. You’ll even catch Dr. Inglesby discuss PhD programs and advisors in the field, in which he names GMU’s very own Dr. Gregory Koblentz! During his talk, Inglesby notes that “I don’t think it’s a good approach to think about it [catastrophic biological risk] as zero sum with other epidemic problems and here’s why: I think in many cases it’s gonna be similar communities that are thinking about these problems. I don’t think it’s likely, even if we really decided to get very serious as a world, I don’t think it’s likely that there will be a community solely dedicated. I don’t want to say never, because it could happen, but I don’t think it’s likely that there will be a robust enduring community of professionals that would only, solely be dedicated to global catastrophic risk, biological risks alone.”

An Afternoon with ASPR – Dr. Robert Korch and Dr. Dana Perkins
GMU Biodefense MS student Anthony Falzarano is reporting on his time at the National Academies monthly series on biological, chemical, and health security issues. “This luncheon – consisting of an open forum session with a two-member panel and a moderator – featured Dr. George W. Korch and Dr. Dana Perkins, both from the Department of Health and Human Services office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). Drawing from their current roles with ASPR as well as their illustrious careers and vast experiences, two presenters made for a compelling afternoon discussing health security issues and the work being done by ASPR to prepare for and address them.” Make sure to read his report-out on this luncheon to learn Dr. Korch’s favorite priorities for ASPR!

Chemical Weapons Attack on Douma – Update
Last Saturday, 105 missiles were fired against three Syrian chemical weapons facilities in a joint effort by the U.S., UK, and France. While this is unlikely to have completely removed Assad’s chemical weapons capabilities, many are wondering how effective the airstrike truly is. “‘This is now part of their standard combat doctrine’,” said Gregory Koblentz, a chemical weapons expert at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. The attack April 7 that triggered the U.S.-led retaliatory strikes forced the surrender of a rebel group holed up in a suburb of Damascus. ‘It changed the course of battle on the ground,’ Koblentz said.” Social media is also increasingly playing a large role in the U.S. and Russian dialogue of the attacks. “The heavy reliance of President Donald Trump’s administration on publicly available information marks a shift from his predecessor’s, which insisted on obtaining physical evidence of chemical weapons use with an established chain of custody before considering the use of force. It also highlights the difficulties Western intelligence agencies have faced in obtaining such evidence — blood, hair, or soil samples — from the Damascus suburb of Douma in the days following the April 7 chemical weapons attack that left nearly 50 dead and hundreds wounded.” The Director-General of the OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) recently provided an update on the fact-finding mission (FFM) in Douma, which you can find here. Challenges were found in OPCW actually getting into the site. “The United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) has made the necessary arrangements with the Syrian authorities to escort the team to a certain point and then for the escort to be taken over by the Russian Military Police. However, the UNDSS preferred to first conduct a reconnaissance visit to the sites, which took place yesterday. FFM team members did not participate in this visit.On arrival at Site 1, a large crowd gathered and the advice provided by the UNDSS was that the reconnaissance team should withdraw. At Site 2, the team came under small arms fire and an explosive was detonated. The reconnaissance team returned to Damascus.” “The delay in the inspectors’ arrival, 10 days after the attack, will raise fresh concerns over the relevance of the OPCW investigation and possible evidence-tampering. The efforts to investigate the attack, which has been blamed on Bashar al-Assad’s government and sparked a joint operation by the US, Britain and France to bomb chemical weapons facilities near Damascus, has been repeatedly delayed despite Syria’s claim to have established full control over Douma and the surrounding region.” Koblentz notes that “Douma has been completely surrounded by the Syrian government and has been subject to intensive bombardment as part of the regime offensive since February,. The problem is that the territory is now occupied by the Syrian government and the crime scene is no longer secure. It doesn’t lend itself to a credible investigation. It’s like the criminals came back to the scene of the crime and they can do whatever they want with the evidence before the cops show up.”

CRISPR, Avengers, & Super Soldiers, Oh My! 
As we get closer to the release of Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War, discussions about super soldiers and genome editing are growing like a mean, green, fighting machine. A frequent topic of conversation during the December 2017 Meeting of States Parties (at least among the ELBI attendees!), Matt Shearer posed the question – is Captain America a biological weapon? What about the other Avengers though – like Hawkeye, who is one of the few “normal” humans in the group? “Hawkeye’s accuracy with a bow and arrow is heavily dependent on his eyesight, which is clearly more advanced than the average human’s. As far as we know, his genome has not been intentionally altered, leading us to believe that Hawkeye has inherited his extraordinary eyesight from his parents. This theory is strengthened by the fact in the Marvel comic books, Barney Barton, Clint’s brother, is also an accomplished archer thanks to his enhanced vision. Perhaps Hawkeye’s advanced eyesight is the result of thousands of years of genetic evolution in the form of adaptation, genetic drift, or mutation of his ancestor’s DNA.” Writers at Synthego decided to look at which genes would need CRISPR modification to improve vision – like targeting specific opsin genes OPN1SW, OPN1MW, etc.

Survey – Most Americans Favor More Funding to Support Biosecurity Capabilities
A new survey by Alliance for Biosecurity has found that public confidence in US preparedness to address biosecurity has dropped. “Nationally, 73% of the 1,612 Americans surveyed say they would have a favorable reaction ‘if Congress decided to increase the budget this year for developing preventive measures for biological and chemical threats.’ How elected officials act on biosecurity issues is important enough to affect voters at the ballot box, according to the survey. A majority of Americans – 52% –  say they are more likely to support their elected representative if that representative is ‘actively engaged in promoting and supporting biosecurity.’ Similarly, 52% say they would become less likely to re-elect a representative who voted AGAINST providing additional funding to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). Only 20% say voting against the additional funding would make them more likely to re-elect that representative.” The survey found that only 31% of Americans are confident in our national preparedness, which is a drop from the 50% found in a March 2016 survey.

Curious 2018
Are you planning on being in Germany July 16-18? Don’t miss out on the Curious2018 Future Insight conference in Darmstadt. “The Curious2018 Future Insight conference is a world-renowned event around the future of science & technology and its application to build a better world for humanity. The best minds in science, technology, and entrepreneurship will come together to make great things happen and join forces to realize the dreams of a better tomorrow.” Topics will include healthy lives, materials & solutions, life reimagined (synthetic biology!), vibrant digital, and bright future.

Foodborne Illness Outbreaks – Romaine Lettuce and Eggs
Cobb salads may be taking a beating this week as two main ingredients are setting food epidemiologists into overtime with E.coli and Salmonella outbreaks. Three days ago, it was announced that the source of a 16-state E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, had been identified as a romaine lettuce farm in Yuma, AZ. The CDC recently announced that 53 people have been sickened and the common ingredient amongst them was chopped romaine lettuce, which was traced back to the Yuma region. If that wasn’t bad enough, over 206 million eggs have been recalled across 9 states due to a Salmonella outbreak linked back to eggs from a farm in Hyde County, N.C., and distributed by an Indiana company. “The FDA said the voluntary recall is the result of 22 illnesses reported in East Coast states, which led to extensive interviews and an inspection of the Hyde County farm. The outbreak involves the Salmonella Braenderup subtype. Federal and state officials have been investigating the outbreak since early March.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Holding Russia Accountable in Salisbury– During this week, the UN Security Council and the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) met to discuss the most recent OPCW findings. Per the U.S. State Department – “The OPCW’s independent report, released last week, confirms the UK lab analysis regarding the identity of the chemical used in Salisbury. We applaud the OPCW’s expeditious support and technical efforts to uncover the facts. We fully support the UK and the need for today’s special meetings of the OPCW Executive Council and the UN Security Council to discuss the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury and the OPCW’s detailed independent analysis.”
  • Apartment Mice: Harborers of Disease? “In a study today in mBio, the researchers report that a genetic analysis of droppings collected from house mice in New York City detected several types of bacteria capable of causing gastrointestinal disease, including Shigella, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Clostridium difficile. They also found genes that confer resistance to fluoroquinolones, beta-lactam antibiotics, and methicillin. Overall, more than a third of mice carried at least one potentially pathogenic bacterium, and nearly a quarter carried at least one antibiotic resistance gene.”

Thank you for reading the Pandora Report. If you would like to share any biodefense news, events, or stories, please contact our Editor Saskia Popescu (biodefense@gmu.edu) or via Twitter: @PandoraReport

Pandora Report 4.13.2018

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Welcome to your Friday biodefense fix! Have you registered for the summer workshop on pandemics, bioterrorism, and global health security? Don’t miss the chance to learn from the top minds in the field on everything from anthrax to Zika.

Blue Ribbon Study Panel Meeting – Transnational Biological Threats & Global Security
On April 25th, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense will be hosting a meeting regarding transnational biological threats. From 10am to 3pm, you can attend (or watch live!) this event. “Biological threats to the Nation increase continuously, recognizing no borders. As emerging and reemerging naturally occurring diseases continue to spread throughout the world, terrorists continue to pursue biological weapons to add to their arsenal, and nation states are establishing new and reinvigorating old offensive biological weapons programs. This meeting of the Study Panel, chaired by former Senator Joe Lieberman and Governor Tom Ridge, will provide the Study Panel with a better understanding of: Current transnational biological threats, Homeland defense and security in the global context, Global security efforts to combat these threats, International public health security efforts; and the need to elevate global health security as a national and global priority”.

Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria
This past weekend saw a horrific suspected chemical weapons attack upon the rebel-held Syrian city of Douma. Victims began seeking medical care on Saturday evening with the telling signs of chemical weapons exposure. Rough estimates are that 500 people sought medical care related to the attack and the WHO has demanded “immediate unhindered access to the area to provide care to those affected, to assess the health impacts, and to deliver a comprehensive public health response.” Healthcare workers on the ground have reported patients with symptoms, “which included frothing at the mouth, suffocation, dilated and constricted pupils, corneal burns, central cyanosis – a blue tinge to the skin – and a chlorine-like odour, were consistent with exposure to an organophosphorus compound. Sarin gas is such a chemical”. Sadly, the use of chemical weapons is becoming increasingly common in Syria, as the Assad regime has revealed an appreciation for the abhorrent tactic. “Gregory D. Koblentz, the director of George Mason University’s Biodefense Graduate Program, said the attack appeared to reflect how much the clout of U.S. policy has faded in Syria. ‘Assad is less concerned about Beltway politics, less concerned by who is in the White House. His calculation is based on whether it will help his chances in achieving gains on the ground, or punishing the rebels,’ he said.” “The possibility of western intervention against Assad was heightened on Tuesday after Russia and its western opponents, the US, UK and France, respectively vetoed duelling resolutions at the UN security council over the latest atrocity. The UN high commissioner for human rights said the world must react to the use of chemical weapons or risk dire consequences. ‘After decades when we thought we had successfully outlawed the use of chemical and biological weapons, the world is sitting idly by while their use is becoming normalised in Syria,’ said Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein. ‘This collective shrug to yet another possible use of one of the most ghastly weapons ever devised by man is incredibly dangerous’.” What is to be done? President Trump’s recent Twitter activity points to planned use of “smart” missiles, but U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Wednesday that the U.S. is still assessing intelligence about the suspected chemical weapons attack. The OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) is set to meet on April 16th to discuss the “alleged use of chemical weapons” in Syria. The OPCW team is also currently en-route to Syria for investigation into the suspected attack. “‘I think it looks pretty clear that a chlorine weapon was used’ on the civilians, said Charles Duelfer, former deputy head of the U.N. inspections team in Iraq, in an interview with NPR.”

Who Owns Smallpox?: The Nagoya Protocol and Smallpox Virus Retention
This week the Center for the Study of WMD held a talk on smallpox stockpiles. Spotlight speaker Michelle Rourke discussed her article regarding the convention on biological diversity and the Nagoya Protocol. If you missed the event, GMU biodefense graduate student Morasa Shaker was able to attend and has provided a detailed account of the day. “While the case can be made that endangered species pose an intrinsic value to the world’s genetic diversity, it is has proven less feasible to make the same case for a virus, specifically the variola virus—the causative agent of smallpox. Nevertheless, Michelle Rourke, a Fulbright scholar at Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for Domestic and Global Health Law, led an in-depth educational seminar organized by the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction to support that very case—the smallpox virus is worthy of our conservation efforts.”

Controlling Dangerous Biological Research
Filippa Lentzos is asking a question we’ve been trying to avoid for a while – how can we control biological research that is inherently dangerous? The desire to advance technologically and in the life sciences pushes researchers and defense programs to invest in biological sciences, like synthetic biology. Just as we make gains in such research, we also worry that adversaries could use the same technologies against us. “Washington, Moscow, and other governments say they are focused only on ‘defensive’ biosecurity activities, but there is a fine line between ‘defensive’ and ‘offensive’ in this realm, and the alarming military focus on synthetic biology may cause people to wonder if there is some way to control the weaponization of biology.” Lentzos calls upon the international community to face the monster head on – let’s discuss how to address biological research that pushes the boundary of defense into offense. “To accomplish any of this, we have to be able to both characterize and evaluate biological research with high misuse potential. This is exceptionally difficult to do, and continues to elude both the international community and national policymakers.” Lentzos points to the horsepox synthesis experiment as a good example of the failures that occurred along the way and that ultimately, risk-benefit analysis is the wrong approach to biosecurity review. “Good security rests not on evaluating risks and benefits, but rather on managing uncertainty, ambiguity, and ignorance—sometimes even situations where we don’t know what we don’t know. Standard risk-benefit calculations are the wrong approach to evaluating biological research with high misuse potential.”

HHS Large-scale Exercise Moving Highly Infectious Patients
How do you transport a highly-infectious patient? The care of Ebola patients in the United States during the 2014/2015 outbreak highlighted the challenges of moving such patients to regional treatment centers. HHS sponsored a large-scale exercise that took place this week, with a hot-wash today. “The exercise focuses on moving seven people acting as patients with Ebola symptoms in different regions of the country. The patients, including one pediatric patient, first present themselves at one of the following healthcare facilities: CHI St. Luke’s Health-The Woodlands Hospital in The Woodlands, Texas; Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina; Norman Regional Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma; St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, and St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho.At each facility, healthcare workers will collect and ship samples for diagnostic tests to state laboratories, which in turn will practice running the necessary laboratory tests to diagnose the patients with Ebola. As part of the exercise, each patient will receive a positive diagnosis. Using appropriate isolation techniques and personal protective equipment, health care workers then must take steps to have six of the patients transported by air to designated Regional Ebola Treatment Centers. These patients will be placed into mobile biocontainment units for these flights. The pediatric patient will be placed into protective equipment and transported by ground ambulance.” The drills will also involve several airports, which include LAX, Charleston International, etc.

NASEM Bio, Chem, and Health Security Luncheon: April
Don’t miss the National Academies-hosted lunch today from noon to 1:30PM EDT. “April’s event features features George Korch, Senior Science Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the Department of Health and Human Services and Dana Perkins, Senior Science Advisor in ASPR’s Office of Policy and Planning. Dr. Korch will discuss recent developments and ASPR strategic priorities in support of the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE). Dr. Perkins will talk about implementation of the recommendations arising from the Federal Experts Security Advisory Panel (FESAP) and current activities for 2018. This event is free and open to the public, but you must register to attend. This event will not be webcast, and a summary will not be provided after the fact, so please register to attend in person if you are interested! A light lunch and beverages will be provided for all attendees.”

Cyberbiosecurity – A New Way To Protect The Bioeconomy and Gene Editing for Good
How can we better ensure cybersecurity and biosecurity? Researchers are bringing forth this emerging hybrid field that we should be giving more attention to. Life sciences and biotech are heavily engrained in cyber systems. Consider 3-D printing, personalized genomics, medical labs and surgical robots, etc.  “We propose ‘Cyberbiosecurity’ as an emerging hybridized discipline at the interface of cybersecurity, cyber-physical security and biosecurity. Initially, we define this term as ‘understanding the vulnerabilities to unwanted surveillance, intrusions, and malicious and harmful activities which can occur within or at the interfaces of comingled life and medical sciences, cyber, cyber-physical, supply chain and infrastructure systems, and developing and instituting measures to prevent, protect against, mitigate, investigate and attribute such threats as it pertains to security, competitiveness and resilience’.” Promoting this field and strengthening educational strategies is key to inform people on cyberbiosecurity and ensure a trajectory that can be supported. How do we move cyberbiosecurity forward though? “Academia, industry, government or non-profits (including policy, regulatory and legal experts) need to begin to learn to communicate with and educate each other, harmoniously identify and develop priorities, opportunities and specify ‘next steps.’ A major opportunity exists right now to propose a unified structure and common vernacular. Lastly, while definition and assemblage of Cyberbiosecurity is occurring, national or international strategies should be pursued to harmonize the emerging enterprise and foster measurable value, success and sustainability.” As the talks surrounding cyberbiosecurity grow, it’s hard not to consider some of the technologies we’re discussing and their potential. Bill Gates recently wrote for Foreign Affairs regarding the good that CRISPR could do. “the next decade, gene editing could help humanity overcome some of the biggest and most persistent challenges in global health and development. The technology is making it much easier for scientists to discover better diagnostics, treatments, and other tools to fight diseases that still kill and disable millions of people every year, primarily the poor. It is also accelerating research that could help end extreme poverty by enabling millions of farmers in the developing world to grow crops and raise livestock that are more productive, more nutritious, and hardier. New technologies are often met with skepticism. But if the world is to continue the remarkable progress of the past few decades, it is vital that scientists, subject to safety and ethics guidelines, be encouraged to continue taking advantage of such promising tools as CRISPR.” Gates points to several avenues for good – feeding the world, ending malaria, etc. He also notes though that there are legitimate questions regarding the potential for misuse and risks, and that regulations for genetic engineering are decades old and need revision to remain applicable. Part of the process for truly utilizing CRISPR is also to responsibly assess risks and communicate openly.

3MT Competition 
The George Mason University 3-Minute Thesis competition took place this past weekend and we’d like to congratulate Biodefense PhD student Chris Brown on his participation in this exciting event! He was one of ten finalists who competed to explain their dissertation to a non-specialist audience in 3 minutes. Chris described his dissertation regarding protecting critical workers against emerging infectious diseases – “Many different types of workers, including those who provide essential services the rest of us frequently depend on, are at risk of exposure to emerging infectious diseases that spread through the general population. Although many factors play into these types of workers being exposed on the job, protective gear—equipment like gloves, gowns, goggles, and respirators—is an essential part of infection prevention programs aimed at keeping workers healthy. During recent outbreaks, the public health enterprise has tended toward reinventing guidelines for each new infectious disease we face. That can lead to confusion about what guidelines for worker protection should be followed, as well as delays in implementing protective measures as science works to understand the disease agent and its transmission mechanisms. Pivoting toward a system based on worker exposures associated with various job tasks instead of one built around accurately characterizing transmission routes, my research offers a guideline for protective gear that is applicable to a wide range of diseases and that can be used as soon as outbreaks begin. It serves as an off-the-shelf solution for worker protection until empirical evidence supports using disease-specific infection prevention practices.”

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • In Pictures: Decades of Navy Efforts To Combat Malaria – “Malaria is ranked by the Department of Defense as the number one infectious disease threat to military personnel deployed to areas where malaria is endemic. This includes countries spanning the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including most of sub-Saharan Africa and larger regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania, central Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America and the Caribbean.”

Thank you for reading the Pandora Report. If you would like to share any biodefense news, events, or stories, please contact our Editor Saskia Popescu (biodefense@gmu.edu) or via Twitter: @PandoraReport

Pandora Report 3.30.2018

by spopescu, posted in Pandora Report

Happy Friday! On March 26th, we celebrated the anniversary of the BWC entering into force in 1975! While it was initially ratified by 22 countries, the BWC now has 180 States Parties.

Antimicrobial Resistance – The Troublesome Truth
AMR isn’t that flashy and it doesn’t require the kind of PPE or laboratories that might lend itself to eye-catching photographs. AMR may not be the kind of biological threat that people think of when they consider pandemics, but one thing it undeniable is… is a growing threat of international proportion. A recent Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences shed some light on a pretty horrific truth – in over 76 countries, antibiotic use has risen by 65% in the last 16 years and it’s fueled by economic growth. “In this study, we analyzed the trends and drivers of antibiotic consumption from 2000 to 2015 in 76 countries and projected total global antibiotic consumption through 2030. Between 2000 and 2015, antibiotic consumption, expressed in defined daily doses (DDD), increased 65% (21.1–34.8 billion DDDs), and the antibiotic consumption rate increased 39% (11.3–15.7 DDDs per 1,000 inhabitants per day). The increase was driven by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where rising consumption was correlated with gross domestic product per capita (GDPPC) growth (P = 0.004).” High-income countries had modest antibiotic consumption increases, but there was no correlation with GDPPC. “Global antibiotic use rose by 65% from 2000 through 2015, while the antibiotic consumption rate increased by 39%.” The positive association of growing antimicrobial consumption and GDP is a scary notion. Researchers suggest that this relationship may be due to increasing capabilities to afford such medications. Not only does AMR have a substantial cost in terms of morbidity and mortality, but it also carries a hefty financial burden. A new study found that AMR has a price tag of $2 billion a year in the United States and costs an additional $1,400 for each infection in terms of medical treatment. These expenditures are due to increasing costs of inpatient treatments that are necessary when they have failed to respond to initial antibiotic treatment(s). Imagine how much the care for the UK’s first case of high-level resistant gonorrhea costs.  Fighting these infections is increasing challenging though, as AMR crosses several industries (agriculture, medicine, etc.) but from just the medical standpoint, it poses unique obstacles. Prescribing habits are always the first be addressed, as a new study even found that a significant proportion of antibiotics given to children are unnecessary. “Nearly a third of hospitalized children are receiving antibiotics to prevent bacterial infections rather than to treat them, and in many cases are receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics or combinations of antibiotics. The authors of the study say this high rate of prophylactic prescribing in pediatric patients and frequent use of broad-spectrum agents suggests a clear overuse of antibiotics in this population and underscores the need for pediatric-specific antibiotic stewardship programs.” Prescribing practices are one issue, but Maryn McKenna recently drew attention to the role patients have in driving physicians to overprescribe for fear of bad online reviews. “Some health care workers and researchers are beginning to talk about an uncomfortable explanation: Doctors feel pressured by what patients may say about them afterward. The fear of bad patient-satisfaction scores, or negative reviews on online sites, may be creating a ‘Yelp effect’ that drives doctors to provide care that patients don’t actually need.” Just these handful of examples underscore the complexity of the clash against antimicrobial resistance. To fight the battle of the resistant bug, we need all hands on deck. A new release from APIC and SHEA called out the importance of infection prevention and control programs in antibiotic stewardship efforts. “According to the paper, when AS programs are implemented alongside IPC programs, they are more effective than AS measures alone, verifying that a well-functioning IPC program is fundamental to the success of an AS strategy. ’It is important that all clinicians depend on evidence-based IPC interventions to reduce demand for antimicrobial agents by preventing infections from occurring in the first place, and making every effort to prevent transmission when they do’.” This is a single piece of the puzzle when it comes to reducing AMR and we all play a vital role. Just another reason why antimicrobial resistance is an underrated biological threat.

NBACC Funding Restored
The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) is no longer in immediate jeopardy as the federal omnibus spending bill that was released on Wednesday evening provided full funding for the Fort Detrick laboratory. “The bill fully restores funding for federal laboratories the Trump administration proposed to close, including continued operational costs of $44.3 million for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC). The Fort Detrick facility includes two high-level laboratories that handle federal select agents and toxins, including the Ebola virus, ricin and avian influenza.” Within NBACC, there is the National Bioforensic Analysis Center, which aids in the processing of evidence surrounding biological events, and the National Biological Threat Characterization Center, which seeks to study the complexities of biological threats.

 Summer Workshop – Are You Registered Yet?
From July 18-20, you can attend a workshop on all things health security – from pandemic flu to DIY genome editing, and all the outbreaks in between. Are you prepared to respond to the next pandemic? Attend our workshop and you’ll not only learn about how the U.S. has worked to better prepare, but also what future threats may look like. From anthrax to Zika, we’re covering all things biodefense. Register before May 1st and you’ll even get an early-bird discount!  

ABSA 61st Annual Biological Safety Conference Call for Papers                          You are now able to submit proposals for ABSA’s 61st Annual Biological Safety Conference. The conference will take place October 12-17, 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina. We anticipate having 650 attendees and 80 commercial exhibits. The pre-conference courses will take place Friday, October 12 to Sunday, October 14. The conference presentations will take place Monday, October 15 to Wednesday, October 17. The Call for Papers submission deadline is March 30, 2018 at 12 (Noon) pm CDT. 2018 Call for Papers Submission Site

GMU Biodefense Student Awarded ASIS National Capital Chapter Scholarship
We’re proud to announce that GMU Biodefense MS student Mariam Awad has been selected to receive the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) Chapter scholarship! Mariam will receive the award at the Chapter’s Annual Scholarship Night on April 11th. ASIS is the world’s largest membership organization for security management professionals. Congrats to Mariam for all her hard work and showing off the dedication GMU biodefense study have to the field!

Global Health Security 2019 Conference 
The first international conference on global health security will be taking place from June 18-20 in Sydney, Australia. “The conference will: Bring together stakeholders working in global health security to measure progress, determine gaps, and identify new opportunities to enhance national, regional and global health security; Provide a venue for government officials and International Organizations to share policy developments, hear from the research community, and create a space for side meetings that advance the health security agenda; Establish and solidify a health security ‘community of practice’ and guiding principles; Through an open call for abstracts, highlight work from partners around the world, bringing cutting edge, evidence-based research to the community; Provide an opportunity for students to showcase their research; Consider creating a professional association for global health security; and Develop and endorse a ‘Sydney Statement’ on global health security.” They also have a call for abstracts on April 27th “We are at a critical juncture in the field of global health security and it is appropriate to organize the community around a set of common principles, goals, and objectives. Like the London Declaration for Neglected Tropical Diseases or the Oslo Ministerial Declaration on global health, this Conference aims to bring together the global health security community to agree on a set of principles to guide the field and set priorities. The Conference themes will address the following topics.”

First Responder Safety
Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) highlighted the importance of protecting Americans from threats like biological weapons. “It is imperative for first responders to keep themselves safe, so that in turn, they can provide care to those who are injured or ill,”. “For example, first responders should become familiar with the ASPR’s Primary Response Incident Scene Management (PRISM) series, which Kadlec said has been developed to provide evidence-based guidance on mass casualty disrobe and decontamination during a chemical incident. The PRISM guidance is based on scientific evidence gathered under a research program sponsored by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is overseen by ASPR. What many first responders may not realize is that studies during the BARDA research showed that disrobing and wiping skin with a dry cloth removes 99 percent of decontamination, Kadlec said.”

ASM Washington DC Branch & GMU Student Chapter Meeting
Join DC area microbiologists (professionals and students) for an exciting evening of microbiology, networking, and refreshments! Submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation by March 30th! This even will be held at the GMU Fairfax campus (Exploratory Hall, Room 3301), on April 5th from 6:30-9pm.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Clade X Exercise – The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security will be hosting a tabletop exercise in Washington, D.C. in May. “The goal of this exercise (‘Clade X’) is to illustrate high-level strategic decisions and policies that the United States and the world will need to pursue in order to diminish the consequences of a severe pandemic. It will address a pressing current concern, present plausible solutions, and be experientially engaging. Clade X is designed for national decision-makers in the thematic biosecurity tradition of the Center’s two previous exercises, Dark Winter (2001) and Atlantic Storm (2005). The day-long exercise will simulate a series of Cabinet meetings among prominent players who previously occupied similar leadership positions in past Presidential administrations. Players will be presented with a scenario that highlights unresolved real-world policy issues that could be solved with sufficient political will and attention now and into the future.”
  • Rubber Ducky: Bacterial Deathtrap– Sure, this might be a little dramatic, but if you saw the inside of these beloved bath toys, you’d be pretty grossed out. “Swiss and American researchers counted the microbes swimming inside the toys and say the murky liquid released when ducks were squeezed contained ‘potentially pathogenic bacteria’ in four out of the five toys studied. The bacteria found included Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that is ‘often implicated in hospital-acquired infections’.”

Thank you for reading the Pandora Report. If you would like to share any biodefense news, events, or stories, please contact our Editor Saskia Popescu (biodefense@gmu.edu) or via Twitter: @PandoraReport